Patent Application
20180251953
N/A
The present disclosure relates to a ball socket assembly for a work vehicle where the ball socket assembly couples a ground-engaging blade with a chassis.
Work vehicles with ground-engaging blades may be used to shape and smooth ground surfaces. Such work vehicles may be supported by wheels or tracks which may encounter raised and lowered features on the ground as the work vehicles move, which cause stress on the ball socket assembly coupling the ground-engaging blade with the chassis of the work vehicle. The stress is amplified if the ball socket assembly is insufficiently lubricated, thereby increasing the rate of wear of the ball socket assembly.
This summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts that are further described below in the detailed description and accompanying drawings. This summary is not intended to identify key or essential features of the appended claims, nor is it intended to be used as an aid in determining the scope of the appended claims.
The present disclosure includes a ball and socket assembly for a work vehicle, wherein the work vehicle comprises a chassis, a ground-engaging blade movably coupled to the chassis via the ball and socket assembly to allow the blade to pivot relative to the chassis.
According to an aspect of the present disclosure, the ball and socket assembly comprises a semi-spherical socket with at least a first circular groove on a surface of the socket positioned coaxially with a centerline axis of the semi-spherical socket, a second circular groove concentric and spaced apart from the first circular groove along the surface of the socket, and at least two interconnecting grooves coupling the first circular groove and the second circular groove; and a ball member disposed within the socket.
The ball and socket assembly may further comprise a closure plate to retain the ball member within the socket.
The ball and socket assembly may further comprise a first grease fitting coupled with the first circular groove and the second grease fitting coupled with the second circular groove.
The first grease fitting and the second grease fitting may further be positioned at least ninety degrees from a perspective of a plane perpendicular to the centerline axis.
The first grease fitting and the second grease fitting may also be equidistant from a vertical plane along the length of the centerline axis.
In another embodiment, the socket may comprise at least eight interconnecting grooves coupling the first circular groove and the second circular groove.
The interconnecting grooves may extend radially along a path originating from the centerline axis.
The interconnecting grooves may further be equally spaced from one another.
Furthermore, the intersection of the surface of the socket and a groove may be one of a chamfer, a bevel, or a fillet.
These and other features will become apparent from the following detailed description and accompanying drawings, wherein various features are shown and described by way of illustration. The present disclosure is capable of other and different configurations and its several details are capable of modification in various other respects, all without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. Accordingly, the detailed description and accompanying drawings are to be regarded as illustrative in nature and not as restrictive or limiting.
The detailed description of the drawings refers to the accompanying figures in which:
The embodiments disclosed in the above drawings and the following detailed description are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the disclosure to these embodiments. Rather, there are several variations and modifications which may be made without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.
Work vehicle is supported on the ground by undercarriage 114. Undercarriage 114 includes a left track 116 and a right track 118, which engage the ground and provide tractive force for the work vehicle 100. Left track 116 and right track 118 may be comprised of shoes with grousers that sink into the ground to increase traction, and interconnecting components may include links, pins, bushings, and guides, to name a few components. Front idlers 120, track rollers 122, and rear sprockets 124, and top idlers 126 are all pivotably connected to the remainder of work vehicle 100 and rotationally coupled to their respective tracks so as to rotate with those tracks. Track frame 128 provides structural support to these components and the remainder of undercarriage 114.
Undercarriage 114 is affixed to, and provides support and tractive effort for, chassis 140 of work vehicle 100. Chassis 140 is the frame which provides structural support and rigidity to work vehicle 100, allowing for the transfer of forces between blade 142 and left track 116 and right track 118. In this embodiment, chassis 140 is a weldment comprised of multiple formed and joined and steel members, but in alternative embodiments it may be comprised of any number of different materials or configurations.
Blade 142 is a work implement which may engage the ground or material to move or shape it. Blade 142 may be used to move material from one location to another and to create features on the ground, including flat areas, grades, hills, roads, or more complexly shaped features. In this embodiment, blade 142 of work vehicle 100 may be referred to as a six-way blade, six-way adjustable blade, or power-angle-tilt (PAT) blade. Blade 142 may be hydraulically actuated to move vertically up or vertically down (which may also be referred to as blade lift, or raise and lower), roll left or roll right (which may be referred to as blade tilt, or tilt left and tilt right), and yaw left or yaw right (which may be referred to as blade angle, or angle left and angle right). Alternative embodiments may utilize a blade with fewer hydraulically controlled degrees of freedom, such as a 4-way blade that may not be angled, or actuated in the direction of yaw 112.
Blade 142 is movably connected to chassis 140 of work vehicle 100 through linkage 146, which supports and actuates blade 142 and is configured to allow blade 142 to be raised or lowered relative to chassis 140 (i.e., moved in the direction of vertical 110). Linkage 146 may include multiple structural members to carry forces between blade 142 and the remainder of work vehicle 100 and may provide attachment points for hydraulic cylinders which may actuate blade 142 in the lift, tilt, and angle directions.
Linkage 146 includes c-frame 148, a structural member with a C-shape positioned rearward of blade 142, with the C-shape opening toward the rear of work vehicle 100. Each rearward end of c-frame 148 is pivotally connected to chassis 140 of work vehicle 100, such as through a pin-bushing joint, allowing the front of c-frame 148 to be raised or lowered relative to work vehicle 100 about the pivotal connections at the rear of c-frame 148. The front portion of c-frame 148, which is approximately positioned at the lateral center of work vehicle 100, connects to blade 142 through a ball-socket assembly 150. This allows blade 142 three degrees of freedom in its orientation relative to c-frame 148 (lift-tilt-angle) while still transferring rearward forces on blade 142 to the remainder of work vehicle 100.
Now referring to
Referring again to
Now referring to
In one embodiment, as shown in
The socket further comprises at least two grease fittings 172, 174. The first grease fitting 172 is coupled with the first circular groove 164 and the second grease fitting 174 is coupled with the second circular groove 168. The coupling of a grease fitting 172, 174 to each respective circular groove 164, 168 ensures the grease is more evenly distributed along a greater surface area of the ball member 154 (as shown in
As shown in
In order to further facilitate smooth pivoting between the ball member 154 and the socket 152, the surface 166 of the socket 152 may be treated with a process (e.g. buffing, sanding, polishing) to smooth out any sharp edges created from manufacturing the circular grooves 164, 168 and the interconnecting grooves 170. As shown in
One or more of the steps or operations in any of the methods, processes, or systems discussed herein may be omitted, repeated, or re-ordered and are within the scope of the present disclosure.
While the above describes example embodiments of the present disclosure, these descriptions should not be viewed in a restrictive or limiting sense. Rather, there are several variations and modifications which may be made without departing from the scope of the appended claims.
