Lock for securing wear parts to earth-working equipment

• US 8,074,383 B2
• Filed: 05/12/2009
• Issued: 12/13/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 06/16/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: ESCO Group LLC (WEIR Group PLC)
• Original Assignee: ESCO Corporation (WEIR Group PLC)
• Inventors: McClanahan, Robert
• Primary Examiner(s): Pezzuto, Robert
• Assistant Examiner(s): MCGOWAN, JAMIE LOUISE
• Application Number:
  US12/464,245
• Publication Number:
  US 20090217556A1
• Time in Patent Office: 945 Days
• Field of Search: 37350-360, 37450-460, 172/772, 172/772.5, 403/319, 403/320
• US Class Current: 37/455
• CPC Class Codes: E02F 9/2833 Retaining means, e.g. pins

Abstract

A lock for securing a wear part to earth-working equipment that is foldable between a retaining position to hold the wear part to the equipment and a release position that permits removal of the lock and release of the wear part from the equipment. The lock includes a retainer for releasably holding the lock in the retaining position. The retainer may comprise a threaded wedge received into a complementary threaded passage.

Claims

1. A wear assembly for earth-moving equipment, the wear assembly comprising:

a detachable wear member for earth-moving equipment that protects the earth-moving equipment from wear caused by contact with abrasive materials encountered by operation of the earth-moving equipment, the wear member having an opening with an inlet; and

a hammerless lock received through the inlet and into the opening in the wear member to releasably hold the wear member to the earth-moving equipment, the lock including (i) an elongate foldable element having a first end and a second end, the foldable element having a first position in which the foldable element has a first length extending the distance between the first and second ends, the first length being larger than the inlet of the opening so that the first and second ends of the foldable element extend beyond the inlet to retain the foldable element in the opening, the foldable element having one side for contacting the wear member and an opposite side for contacting the earth-moving equipment when in the opening to resist loads applied to the wear member during use that urge the wear member in a release direction so that the foldable element holds the wear member to the earth-moving equipment, and the foldable element having a second position in which the foldable element is folded relative to the first position and having a second length extending the distance between the first and second ends that is shorter than the first length, the second length being smaller than the inlet so that the lock is passed through the inlet for installation and removal of the lock to and from the opening without a hammer, and (ii) a retainer releasably engaging the foldable element when in the first position to prevent the foldable element from moving to the second position.

2. A wear assembly in accordance with claim 1 wherein the foldable element defines a passage into which the retainer is received.

3. A wear assembly in accordance with claim 1 wherein the foldable element includes two bodies joined together by a pivot pin.

4. A wear assembly in accordance with claim 1 wherein the foldable element includes

a pair of discrete bodies interconnected for pivotal movement about a post defining a pivot axis.

5. A wear assembly in accordance with claim 4 wherein the bodies collectively define a passage between the two bodies to receive the retainer when in the retaining position.

6. A wear assembly in accordance with claim 5 wherein the passage and the retainer are each tapered and threaded to mate with each other.

7. A wear assembly for earth-moving equipment, the wear assembly comprising:

a wear member adapted to be mounted on the earth-moving equipment and to protect the equipment from wear caused by contact with abrasive materials encountered by operation of the earth-moving equipment, the wear member having an opening with an inlet; and

a lock to be received through the inlet and into the opening in the wear member to releasably hold the wear member to the equipment, the lock including an elongate foldable element having a first end and a second end, the foldable element having a first position in which the foldable element has a first length extending the distance between the first and second ends, the first length being larger than the inlet of the opening so that the first and second ends of the foldable element extend beyond the inlet to retain the foldable element in the opening to hold the wear member to the equipment, and the foldable element having a second position in which the foldable element is folded relative to the first position and having a second length extending the distance between the first and second ends that is shorter than the first length, the second length being smaller than the inlet so that the lock can be passed through the inlet for installation and removal of the lock to and from the opening; and

the lock including a retainer engaging the foldable element to selectively prevent folding of the foldable element from the first position to the second position, the foldable element defining a passage into which the retainer is received, and the passage and retainer each being threaded to mate with each other.

8. A wear assembly in accordance with claim 7 wherein the passage and retainer are each tapered.

9. A lock for receipt through an inlet and into an opening in a wear member to releasably hold the wear member to earth-moving equipment, the lock including an elongate foldable element having a first end and a second end, the foldable element having a first position in which the foldable element has a first length extending the distance between the first and second ends, the first length being larger than the inlet of the opening so that the first and second ends of the foldable element extend beyond the inlet to retain the foldable element in the opening to hold the wear member to the earth-moving equipment, and the foldable element having a second position in which the foldable element is folded relative to the first position and having a second length extending the distance between the first and second ends that is shorter than the first length, the second length being smaller than the inlet so that the lock can be passed through the inlet for installation and removal of the lock to and from the opening without a hammer, wherein the lock includes a retainer engaging the foldable element to selectively prevent folding of the foldable element from the first position to the second position, the lock includes two bodies joined together by a pivot pin, at least one of the bodies defines a passage into which the retainer is received, and the passage and retainer are each threaded to mate with each other.

10. A lock in accordance with claim 9 wherein the passage and retainer are each tapered.

14. A hammerless lock in accordance with claim 10 further including at least one grip for a tool to engage the foldable element to move the foldable element from the retaining position to the release position.

11. A hammerless lock for releasably securing a wear member to earth-moving equipment, the lock comprising (i) a foldable element that pivots about a pivot axis between a retaining position where the foldable element holds the wear member to the equipment and a release position where the lock foldable element can be removed to permit removal of the wear member from the equipment each without a hammer, wherein the foldable element has a length in a direction transverse to the pivot axis that is greater in the retaining position than in release position, the foldable element having one side to contact the wear member and an opposite side to contact the earth-moving equipment to prevent the wear member from moving in a release direction relative to the earth-moving equipment, and (ii) a retainer operable to engage the foldable element in the retaining position to prevent movement of the foldable element to the release position.

12. A hammerless lock in accordance with claim 11 wherein the foldable element includes a pair of discrete bodies that collectively define a passage between the two bodies to receive the retainer when in the retaining position.

13. A hammerless lock in accordance with claim 12 wherein the passage and the retainer are each tapered and threaded to mate with each other.

15. A hammerless lock in accordance with claim 11 wherein the foldable element includes a pair of bodies, wherein one of said bodies defines a post, and wherein the other of said bodies defines a hole for receiving the post to define the pivot axis.

16. A hammerless lock receivable through an inlet and into a larger an opening for releasably securing a detachable component to a base component of earth-moving equipment to accommodate replacement of the detachable component due to wearing, the lock comprising:

a foldable element manipulable between an extended position in which the foldable element is elongate and generally linear, and a folded position in which the foldable element is folded relative to the extended position into an angular configuration, the foldable element having a first end and an opposite second end such that a length of the foldable element is defined between the first and second ends, the length of the foldable element being smaller than the inlet when in the folded position so that the foldable element is passed through the inlet for installation and removal of the foldable element to and from the opening without a hammer, and the length being larger than the inlet in the extended position, the foldable element having one side for contacting the wear member and an opposite side for contacting the earth-moving equipment when in the opening to resist loads applied to the wear member during use that urge the wear member in a release direction so that the foldable element holds the wear member to the earth-moving equipment;

a grip on the foldable element to be engaged when the foldable element is in the opening to withdraw the foldable element from the opening through the inlet to facilitate removal of the detachable component; and

a retainer releasably holding the foldable element in the extended position in the opening to hold the lock in the opening and thereby hold the detachable component to the base component during use.

17. A hammerless lock in accordance with claim 16 wherein the foldable element includes a pair of bodies secured together by a pivot element.

18. A hammerless lock in accordance with claim 17 wherein the bodies each include a channel to receive the retain to prevent the foldable element from moving from the folded position to the extended position.

19. An assembly for earth-moving equipment comprising:

a base component and a detachable component, the detachable component being removably secured to the base component to accommodate replacement of the detachable component due to wearing during use of the earth-moving equipment, wherein the base component and the detachable component fit together to collectively define a cavity, and the detachable component defining an inlet in communication with the cavity;

a foldable element manipulable between an extended position in which the foldable element is elongate and generally linear, and a folded position in which the foldable element is folded relative to the extended position into an angular configuration, the foldable element having a first end and an opposite second end such that a length of the foldable element is defined between the first and second ends, the length being larger than the inlet in the extended position and smaller than the inlet when in the folded position so that the foldable element is passed through the inlet for installation and removal of the foldable element to and from the cavity without a hammer, the foldable element having one side for contacting the wear member and an opposite side for contacting the earth-moving equipment when in the opening to resist loads applied to the wear member during use that urge the wear member in a release direction so that the foldable element holds the wear member to the earth-moving equipment;

a retainer releasably holding the foldable element in the extended position in the cavity to hold the foldable element in the cavity and thereby hold the detachable component to the base component during use; and

a grip on the foldable element to be engaged when the foldable element is in the cavity to withdraw the foldable element from the cavity through the inlet to facilitate removal of the detachable component.

20. An assembly for earth-moving equipment comprising:

a base component and a detachable component that is removably secured to the base component to accommodate replacement of the detachable component due to wearing during use of the earth-moving equipment, wherein the base component and the detachable component fit together to collectively define a cavity, the cavity being generally inaccessible except for an inlet defined in the detachable component that communicates with the cavity;

a hammerless lock receivable in the cavity to hold the detachable component to the base component, the lock including a pair of bodies pivotally secured together for movement about a pivot axis between a retaining position and a release position, each of the bodies including an outer end that is remote from the pivot axis, wherein the outer ends define opposite ends of the lock, wherein the bodies are moved about the pivot axis to the release position such that outer ends of the bodies are drawn toward one another for installation of the lock through the inlet and into the cavity, the bodies being moved about the pivot axis in an opposite direction during installation such that the outer ends move away from each other in the cavity to extend beyond the bounds of the inlet, and the bodies being movable about the pivot axis toward each other in the cavity during removal of the lock from the cavity for passage and exit through the inlet without a hammer, the bodies collectively defining one side for contacting the wear member and an opposite side for contacting the earth-moving equipment when in the opening to resist loads applied to the wear member during use that urge the wear member in a release direction so that the bodies hold the wear member to the earth-moving equipment; and

a retainer for contacting the bodies to hold the bodies in the retaining position to retain the lock in the cavity and thereby secure the detachable component to the base component.

21. A wear assembly in accordance with claim 20 wherein at least one of the bodies includes

a grip to be engaged when the bodies are in the cavity to withdraw the foldable element from the cavity through the inlet to facilitate removal of the detachable component.

22. A hammerless lock for releasably securing a detachable component to earth-moving equipment to accommodate removal when the detachable component is worn, the lock comprising a pair of bodies interconnected for pivotal movement about a pivot axis between a retaining position and a release position, and a retainer operable to engage the bodies in the retaining position to prevent movement of the bodies to the release position, the lock being more compact in the release position as compared to the extended position such that the lock is passed through an inlet in the assembly for installation and removal without a hammer, and larger than the inlet in the retaining position so as to prevent removal of the lock from the assembly during use, the bodies being unencumbered and freely movable about the pivot axis when the retainer is not engaged for easy movement between the retaining and release positions, and for installation and removal of the lock without a hammer, the foldable element having one side for contacting the wear member and an opposite side for contacting the earth-moving equipment when in the opening to resist loads applied to the wear member during use that urge the wear member in a release direction so that the foldable element holds the wear member to the earth-moving equipment.