This invention relates to a device which cleans between teeth of a compactor wheel on a work machine and, more specifically, to such a device adapted for mounting on a mounting beam attached to the work machine.
Work machines known as compactors are commonly used to compress and spread material, such as trash in a landfill or dirt at a building site. Compactors often have drum-type metal wheels with a plurality of rows of replaceable teeth attached to the outside surfaces of the wheels. The teeth provide traction to the compactor, as well as concentrating the weight of the machine on a small area to increase compression force on the underlying material.
Dirt and debris can become stuck to the wheel between the teeth, particularly in damp conditions or if the soil has a high clay content, such as that found in the southwestern United States. If such debris builds up sufficiently to clog the spaces of the wheel surface between, and roughly to the height of, the teeth, the teeth cannot dig into the ground. Build-up of this severity can cause loss of traction and/or poor compaction.
The generally accepted practice to avoid build-up involves mounting stationary cleaner fingers on a portion of the work machine such that, as the wheels rotate, the cleaner fingers scrape or deflect debris from between the rows of teeth before it has a chance to build up. An example of this type of cleaner finger arrangement is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,360,288, issued Nov. 1, 1994 to William N. O'Neill et al. (hereafter referenced as '288).
The '288 cleaner finger assembly includes a replaceable cleaner tooth having an arcuate upper surface, a trailing lower surface, and a fastening portion. However, the complexity of the tooth makes it expensive to produce, and the attachment method requires an operator to remove the tooth from below a mounting beam when changing the tooth, which may be an awkward or uncomfortable position for the operator. Additionally, the '288 cleaner finger assembly requires mirror-image cleaner fingers on either side of the wheel, at double the cost of a single system, to provide complete scraping functions when the machine moves both forward and backward because of the angle of the tooth in relation to the wheel.
Referring first to
The cleaner finger 206 is optionally attachable and replaceable, for longer life of the cleaner finger assembly 200. Preferably, the cleaner finger 206 is formed and attached to the support member 202 in such a way that the cleaner finger 206 breaks away under excessive force to protect other components of the wheel cleaner assembly 114 from damage. The cleaner finger 206 is intended to be a low-cost part, and as such, is simple in form, having four finger sides and a thickness. If the thickness is substantially uniform in a direction parallel to the longitudinal axis 204 when mounted, the cleaner finger 206 may be easily cut from a sheet of planar stock material.
The four main finger sides are a finger attachment side 220 (adapted to be attached to the support member 202), a finger end side 222 spaced from and substantially parallel to the finger attachment side 220, a finger top side 224 extending between the finger attachment side 220 and the finger end side 222, and a finger bottom side 226 spaced from the finger top side and extending between the finger attachment side 220 and the finger end side 222. Each of the finger sides 220,222,224,226 may optionally include one or more facets, angles, or curves, which would provide the mounted cleaner finger 206 with a nonuniform cross sectional area as taken at varying distances from the longitudinal axis 204.
The finger bottom side 226 is of special interest, as it is preferably curved to provide a concave aspect in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal axis 204. This concavity is selected to allow for the wheel 108 to oscillate normally without bringing the cleaner finger 206 into contact with the compactor teeth 112, while still leaving sufficient material in the cleaner finger 206 for desired strength and durability. The finger bottom side 226 shown in
The positioning of the cleaner finger 206 as attached to the support member 202 may also be chosen for optimal performance. Preferably, the cleaner finger 206 is attached to a longitudinally central area of the leg portion 208 in order to minimize the moment forces transferred to the support member 202 from the cleaner finger 206.
A preferred mounting of the cleaner finger assembly 200 to the work machine 100 is shown in
A plurality of cleaner finger assemblies 200 are removably attached to a mounting beam 302, which is in turn attached to the machine body 102. In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the mounting beam 302 extends out from the machine body 102 in a direction substantially parallel to the wheel axis 110.
The cleaner finger assemblies 200 are shown in
The attachment of the cleaner finger assemblies 200 to the mounting beam 302 is shown best in
As the work machine 100 travels back and forth at the compaction work site, the wheel cleaner assembly 114 stays stationary relative to the work machine 100 while the wheels 108 rotate, bringing the wheels 108 past the cleaner fingers 206 which perform the debris-removal function. Should one or more cleaner fingers 206 become damaged or break away from the support members 202, the operator can supply a replacement cleaner finger 206 and attach it to the support member 202 without having to dissemble the entire wheel cleaner assembly 114. In addition, the operator may use an undamaged cleaner finger 206 or a supplied outline as a template to form a new replacement cleaner finger 206—for example, cutting the cleaner finger 206 from a scrap sheet of steel of the desired type. This allows the operator to eliminate the stocking of spare cleaner fingers 206 and even the necessity of purchasing the cleaner fingers 206 premade, which could lead to substantial cost savings in the operation of the work machine 100.
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