Crawler shoe having wear measurement features

• US 9,238,491 B1
• Filed: 07/22/2014
• Issued: 01/19/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 02/14/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Caterpillar Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Caterpillar Incorporated
• Inventors: Hakes, David J., Lawson, Roger E., Oertley, Thomas E.
• Primary Examiner(s): Dager, Jonathan M
• Application Number:
  US14/338,120
• Publication Number:
  US 20160023696A1
• Time in Patent Office: 546 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B62D 55/06 with tracks without ground wheels
• CPC Class Codes: B62D 55/20 of articulated type, e.g. chains with lubrication means B62D55/092
• CPC Class Codes: G01M 13/00 Testing of machine parts
• CPC Class Codes: G01M 7/00 Vibration-testing of structures; Shock-testing of structures G01M9/00 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 2291/011 Velocity or travel time
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 2291/023 Solids
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 2291/0258 Structural degradation, e.g. fatigue of composites, ageing of oils
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 2291/02854 Length, thickness
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 2291/044 Internal reflections (echoes), e.g. on walls or defects
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 29/07 by measuring propagation velocity or propagation time of acoustic waves
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 29/44 Processing the detected response signal , e.g. electronic circuits specially adapted therefor digital signal processing per se G06F17/00
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/085 using electronic data carriers

Abstract

A crawler shoe for a mining vehicle includes a first wear surface, a second wear surface positioned opposite the first wear surface, a recess formed within the first wear surface and including a measurement datum formed at a bottom portion of the recess, wherein the measurement datum is positioned below the first wear surface such that the measurement datum is subjected to less service wear than the first wear surface, and an approximately linear transmission path configured to receive an ultrasonic signal and extending from the measurement datum to the second wear surface.

Claims

1. A crawler shoe for a mining vehicle, the crawler shoe comprising:

a first wear surface;

a second wear surface positioned opposite the first wear surface;

a recess formed within the first wear surface and including a measurement datum formed at a bottom portion of the recess, wherein the measurement datum is positioned below the first wear surface such that the measurement datum is subjected to less service wear than the first wear surface; and

an approximately linear transmission path configured to receive an ultrasonic signal and extending from the measurement datum to the second wear surface.

2. The crawler shoe of claim 1, further comprising:

a transmission column positioned between and approximately perpendicular to the first and second wear surfaces, wherein the transmission path extends through the transmission column, and wherein the transmission path is provided for determining a wear measurement of the second wear surface.

3. The crawler shoe of claim 2, further comprising:

a core area extending from a first end of the crawler shoe to a second end of the crawler shoe; and

an internal web formed within the core area and positioned between the first and second wear surfaces, wherein the internal web is integrated with the transmission column and extends out from the transmission column toward the first and second ends of the crawler shoe, and wherein the internal web is configured to provide additional support for the first and second wear surfaces.

4. The crawler shoe of claim 2, further comprising:

a second recess formed within the second wear surface and including a second measurement datum formed at a bottom portion of the second recess, wherein the second measurement datum is positioned below the second wear surface such that the second measurement datum is subjected to less service wear than the second wear surface; and

an approximately linear second transmission path configured to receive the ultrasonic signal and extending from the second measurement datum to the first wear surface through the transmission column, wherein the second transmission path is provided for determining a wear measurement of the first wear surface.

5. The crawler shoe of claim 1, wherein the measurement datum is configured to receive less service wear than the first wear surface.

6. The crawler shoe of claim 1, wherein the recess is configured to receive a probe of a measurement device, and wherein the measurement datum provides a contact surface for locating the probe in order to send the ultrasonic signal through the transmission path and determine a wear measurement for the second wear surface.

7. An undercarriage system, the system comprising:

a load roller; and

a track comprising a plurality of interconnected crawler shoes configured to engage the load roller, wherein each of the crawler shoes is pivotably coupled to adjacent crawler shoes by a pin, and wherein at least one of the crawler shoes comprises;

a first wear surface;

a second wear surface positioned opposite the first wear surface, wherein the second wear surface is configured to engage the load roller;

a recess formed within the first wear surface and having a measurement datum formed at a bottom portion of the recess, wherein the measurement datum is positioned below the first wear surface such that the measurement datum is subjected to less service wear than the first wear surface; and

an approximately linear transmission path configured to receive an ultrasonic signal and extending from the measurement datum to the second wear surface.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the at least one crawler shoes further comprises:

a transmission column positioned between and approximately perpendicular to the first and second wear surfaces, wherein the transmission path extends through the transmission column, and wherein the transmission path is provided for determining a wear measurement of the second wear surface.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the at least one crawler shoes further comprises:

a core area extending from a first end of the at least one crawler shoes to a second end of the at least one crawler shoes; and

an internal web formed within the core area and positioned between the first and second wear surfaces, wherein the internal web is integrated with the transmission column and extends out from the transmission column toward the first and second ends of the at least one crawler shoes, and wherein the internal web is configured to provide additional support for the first and second wear surfaces.

10. The system of claim 7, wherein the recess is configured to receive an ultrasonic probe, and wherein the measurement datum provides a contact surface for locating the ultrasonic probe in order to determine a wear measurement of the second wear surface.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein the measurement datum is substantially flat and positioned approximately parallel to the second wear surface, and wherein the recess is configured to receive the ultrasonic probe such that the ultrasonic probe rests substantially flat against the contact surface.

12. The system of claim 7, wherein the at least one crawler shoes further comprises:

a second recess formed within the second wear surface and including a second measurement datum formed at a bottom portion of the second recess, wherein the second measurement datum is positioned below the second wear surface such that the second measurement datum is subjected to less service wear than the second wear surface; and

an approximately linear second transmission path configured to receive the ultrasonic signal and extending from the second measurement datum to the first wear surface, wherein the second transmission path is provided for determining a wear measurement of the first wear surface.

13. The system of claim 7, wherein the measurement datum is configured to receive less service wear than the first wear surface.

14. The system of claim 7, further comprising:

a controller configured to receive electronic signals from an ultrasonic measurement device configured to generate the ultrasonic signal, wherein the controller comprises a processor configured to determine the wear measurement of the second wear surface based on the electronic signals.

15. A computer-implemented method for determining wear of a crawler shoe, the method comprising:

causing a probe of a measurement device to generate and send an ultrasonic signal through an approximately linear transmission path of a crawler shoe, wherein the crawler shoe includes;

a first wear surface;

a second wear surface positioned opposite the first wear surface and configured to reflect the ultrasonic signal; and

a recess formed within the first wear surface and including a measurement datum formed at a bottom portion of the recess, wherein the measurement datum is positioned below the first wear surface such that the measurement datum is subjected to less service wear than the first wear surface, wherein the transmission path extends from the measurement datum to the second wear surface; and

determining a wear measurement of the second wear surface based upon receipt of the ultrasonic signal at the probe.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the probe is configured to generate a first electronic signal when the ultrasonic signal is sent, and to generate a second electronic signal when the ultrasonic signal is received, and wherein the wear measurement is determined based on the first and second electronic signals.

17. The method of claim 15, further comprising:

transmitting data to a remote storage device for storing the data;

wherein the data includes the wear measurement.

18. The method of claim 15, further comprising:

determining a distance between the measurement datum and the second wear surface based on receipt of the ultrasonic signal at the probe;

wherein the wear measurement of the second wear surface is determined based on the distance between the measurement datum and the second wear surface.

19. The method of claim 15, further comprising:

causing a display of the measurement device to provide the wear measurement as a visible output.

20. The method of claim 15, further comprising:

using a depth gauge, determining a distance between the measurement datum and the first wear surface; and

determining a wear measurement of the first wear surface based on the distance between the measurement datum and the first wear surface.