This disclosure relates to an adjustable bracket for mounting a rock knocker or rock ejector, such as a chain or rock knocker bar, for removing rocks from between truck tires. In particular, this disclosure relates to a rock knocker that is suspended on a bracket above the gap between two adjoining tires and extends downward into the gap and removes rocks and other debris lodged in that gap.
Trucks that have dual tires on the rear axle often get rocks stuck between the dual tires. In some embodiments, a chain is affixed to the bottom of the truck body and hung between the tires. In other embodiments, an ejector bar placed midway between the tires hangs from the chassis or body above the tires. When a rock gets stuck in between the rotating tires, the chain or bar will act like an ejector and the rock will become displaced out from between the tires.
These rock removal devices are generally shipped loose and installed by means of welding in the field once the truck body is placed on a chassis. The reason for being shipped loose is that there are differences in tires and/or rims, or the truck body may be shimmed differently than perfect center or simply that manufacturing tolerances in the fabrication of the truck body require a later fit of all the components. The ejector bar or chain needs to be placed as close to the midpoint between the dual tires, and thus that placement is done in the field. In other circumstances, if the bar is not in the center of the dual tires and off to one side, the ejector bar will rub the tire and can cause damage to the tire. In the field, such placement can be very difficult, often involving little more than pure luck. Such in-field installation results in high cost and creates a potential safety issue with the workers installing these prior rock knocker brackets.
There are other problems as well. For example, trucks in the field often change tires and thus the distance between the tires may change. Other times, the truck bodies are swapped between different chassis when the truck bodies are removed for maintenance. Typically, this involves removing the bracket and reinstalling it by welding in a new location. Again, this creates cost and safety issues and some locations may not having welding available. Often, these prior brackets allow very little (if any) ability to make adjustments to the lateral spacing of the rock knocker bar. As a result, to change the lateral location of the rock knocker bar, the entire bracket needed to be cut from the bottom of the truck body and re-welded to the bottom in a new location. Hence, a rock knocker mounting bracket that permitted such adjustments could save significant expenses.
The present disclosure provides an adjustable rock knocker mounting bracket that overcomes many of the shortfalls of prior designs. In particular, the adjustable rock knocker bracket may be installed at the factory in a safer environment. The adjustable mounting bracket allows adjustment of the lateral location of the rock ejector. The ejector may thus be located, in the field, to fall directly between the tires, thereby reducing the risk of damage to the tires, even new tires with different sizing, and yet the rock ejector is still placed in a good position for prying out rocks and other debris that may become lodged in the gap between those tires.
The present rock knocker assembly includes a rock ejector, such as a bar that extends down from a rock knocker bracket. The bracket is affixed to the bottom of a truck body. The bracket holds a laterally mounted pin (that is, the pin extends horizontally in the side-to-side direction of the truck body). The upper end of the rock knocker bar is slidingly mounted to that pin.
Two bar retainers are also slidingly mounted to the pin, one on each side of the upper end of the rock knocker bar. The bar retainers may be affixed on the pin (in an exemplary embodiment, by using bolts that pass through the bar retainers and the pin and may have nuts threaded onto the bolt) so as to hold the rock knocker bar in the designated lateral location on the pin. Washers may be placed on the pin between each bar retainer and the rock knocker bar to facilitate rotational movement of the rock knocker bar about the axis of the pin.
In operation, when the rock ejector needs to be relocated, a worker releases the bar retainers (such as by taking the nut off the end of each bolt and pulling the bolt out of the pin and bar retainer). The bar retainers, rock ejector, and any washers may then be slid in either lateral direction to realign the rock ejector in a different lateral position, depending on where the center of the area between the tires is located. The bar retainers are then placed alongside the rock ejector (and any washers being used) and the bolt and nut re-affixed to the pin. The rock ejector is thus placed in the proper position for knocking rocks and other debris out from between the tires.
Other features and advantages of the present disclosure will be apparent from reference to the following Detailed Description taken in conjunction with the accompanying Drawings, in which:
In the embodiment depicted in
In this embodiment, the top of the bar retainer includes holes through which one or more fasteners may be inserted. In the figures, the fasteners are depicted as bolts 7, but other types of fasteners may be used, as is known in the art. As depicted in
As depicted in
As depicted in
As depicted in
In use, the rock knocker bar 1 is mounted about the pin 4. A bar retainer 6 and a washer 5 are placed on each side of the top of the rock knocker bar 1. Fasteners such as bolts 7 are inserted through the bar retainers 6 and through holes in the pin 4 (or through a mounting plate 20 of the bar retainer 6) to hold the bar retainers 6 (and thus the washers 5 and the rock knocker bar 1) in a predetermined lateral position along the pin 4. As a result, the rock knocker bar 1 may be relatively easily relocated to a different lateral position along the pin 4, and thus on the underside of the truck body, to allow the rock knocker bar 1 to be placed into the void between the two tires, without requiring removal of, and re-attachment of, the bracket 2 from and to the underside of the truck body.
It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that various rock knocker bracket 2 designs and pin 4 designs and configurations exist that meet the functionality requirements of the various truck bodies and tire configurations used in the industry. Although particular embodiments of the present invention have been described, those of skill in the art will appreciate that various modifications and changes may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. The present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from its structures, methods, or other essential characteristics as broadly described herein and claimed hereinafter. The described embodiments are to be considered in all respects only as illustrative, and not restrictive.
This application claims priority based on U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/907,429 filed 27 Sep. 2019 and titled “Adjustable Rock Knocker Bracket” the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by this reference.
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
PCT/US2020/052105 | 9/23/2020 | WO |
Publishing Document | Publishing Date | Country | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
WO2021/061700 | 4/1/2021 | WO | A |
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
2738986 | Pelton | Mar 1956 | A |
2799515 | Lobozzo | Jul 1957 | A |
2839313 | Walko | Jun 1958 | A |
3464714 | Prillinger | Sep 1969 | A |
3788668 | Perger | Jan 1974 | A |
3913943 | Tamburino | Oct 1975 | A |
7131670 | Kinoshita | Nov 2006 | B2 |
8690193 | Yamamoto | Apr 2014 | B2 |
9120466 | Lindemeier | Sep 2015 | B2 |
9434358 | Montgomery | Sep 2016 | B2 |
11279326 | Siegel, Jr. | Mar 2022 | B1 |
20050040695 | Kinoshita | Feb 2005 | A1 |
20120205961 | Yamamoto | Aug 2012 | A1 |
20230356697 | Reynolds | Nov 2023 | A1 |
Number | Date | Country | |
---|---|---|---|
20230356697 A1 | Nov 2023 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
---|---|---|---|
62907429 | Sep 2019 | US |