Efficient degradation of materials is important to a variety of industries including the asphalt, mining, and excavation industries. In the asphalt industry, pavement may be degraded using attack tools, and in the mining industry, attack tools may be used to break minerals and rocks. Attack tools may also be used when excavating large amounts of hard materials. In asphalt recycling, often, a drum supporting an array of attack tools disposed within holders, together making up a degradation assembly, may be rotated and moved so that the attack tools engage a paved surface causing the tools and/or holders to wear. Much time is wasted in the asphalt recycling industry due to high wear of the degradation assemblies, which typically have a tungsten carbide tip.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,733,087 to Hall et al., which is herein incorporated by reference for all that it contains, discloses an attack tool for working natural and man-made materials that is made up of one or more segments, including a steel alloy base segment, an intermediate carbide wear protector segment, and a penetrator segment comprising a carbide substrate that is coated with a superhard material. The segments are joined at continuously curved interfacial surfaces that may be interrupted by grooves, ridges, protrusions, and posts. At least a portion of the curved surfaces vary from one another at about their apex in order to accommodate ease of manufacturing and to concentrate the bonding material in the region of greatest variance.
Examples of degradation assemblies from the prior art are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,824,225 to Stiffler, U.S. Pat. App. Pub. No. 2005/0173966 to Mouthaan, U.S. Pat. No. 6,692,083 to Latham, U.S. Pat. No. 6,786,557 to Montgomery, Jr., U.S. Pat. App. Pub. No. 2003/0230926, U.S. Pat. No. 4,932,723 to Mills, U.S. Pat. App. Pub. No. 2002/0175555 to Merceir, U.S. Pat. No. 6,854,810 to Montgomery, Jr., U.S. Pat. No. 6,851,758 to Beach, which are all herein incorporated by reference for all they contain.
In one aspect of the present invention, a degradation assembly comprises a rotating portion and a fixed portion. The rotating portion comprises a wear resistant tip bonded to a carbide bolster. The bolster is attached to a shaft adapted for a rotatable connection within a bore of the fixed portion. The fixed portion is adapted for a rigid connection to a driving mechanism. The fixed portion also comprises an O-ring slot formed within its bore and an O-ring being disposed within the bore, such that the O-ring contacts the shaft of the rotating portion. The O-ring is at least 15 percent compressed such that the O-ring resists rotation of the shaft.
The shaft may be a shank or a sleeve. The shank may be disposed within a sleeve. The shaft may also be tapered on the end attached to the bolster to aid in reducing stress risers. The shaft may be formed from a steel body which is rigidly connected to the bolster. The shaft may comprise a tapered face adapted to be attached to the bolster. The bolster may also comprise a cavity with a lip adapted to attach to a locking mechanism. The fixed portion may comprise a wire snap ring slot formed within its bore. The O-ring may comprise a diameter smaller than a diameter of a wire snap ring. The bolster may comprise a tapered base end. The bolster may be mechanically attached to the shaft or shank by a locking mechanism. The locking mechanism may be axially disposed within the fixed portion, the rotating portion, and the shaft. The locking mechanism may be adapted to lock to a cavity of the bolster. The locking mechanism may be threaded through the fixed portion. A bore of the shaft may comprise a geometry of the locking mechanism. This may aid in supporting the locking mechanism and help in stabilizing it.
The fixed portion 290 of the degradation assembly 200 may be adapted for a rigid connection to the driving mechanism. The fixed portion 290 may also comprise an O-ring slot 294 formed within its bore 292. With the shaft 240 installed in the bore 292 of the fixed portion, the O-ring 280 may be at least 15 percent compressed such that the O-ring resists rotation of the shaft 240 within the bore. It is believed that an O-ring 280 resisting rotation of the shaft 240 will aid in resisting wear of the rotating portion 210 of the degradation assembly 200. It is also believed that an O-ring 280 may prevent debris from entering the assembly 200. The O-ring 280 may be disposed proximate a first end 243 of the shaft 240.
The fixed portion 290 may also comprise a wire snap ring slot 296 formed within its bore 292. A snap ring 286 may be disposed around a second end 247 of the shaft 240 to stabilize the rotating portion 210 of the degradation assembly 200.
The base end 347 of the shaft 340 can include a threaded attachment 344 that is threaded into the base portion of the shank cavity 356 and about a spring 346, which spring 346 may add to the life of the degradation assembly by minimizing axial wobble in the rotating portion. The base end 347 of the shaft 340 may also comprise a snap ring 386 disposed around the threaded attachment 344 and adapted to connect the shaft 340 of the rotating portion 201 to the non-rotating sleeve 370 of the fixed portion 390 of the degradation assembly 300.
The degradation assembly 300 may also comprise a fluid passage 304 formed within the shaft 340 and/or shank 350 of the rotating portion 310. The fluid passage 304 may run through the shaft 340 and/or shank 350 and into surrounding portions of the degradation assembly 300. Thus, a fluid may be passed through a port in the threaded attachment 344, into the fluid passage 304 formed into the shaft 340 and/or shank 350, and into the degradation assembly 300, for added wear resistance and lubrication.
Whereas the present invention has been described in particular relation to the drawings attached hereto, it should be understood that other and further modifications apart from those shown or suggested herein, may be made within the scope and spirit of the present invention.
This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/021,051, filed on Jan. 28, 2008, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/021,019, filed on Jan. 28, 2008, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/971,965, filed on Jan. 10, 2008, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,648,210, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/947,644, filed on Nov. 29, 2007, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/844,586, filed on Aug. 24, 2007, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,600,823. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/844,586 is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/829,761, filed on Jul. 27, 2007, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,722,127. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/829,761 is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/773,271, filed on Jul. 3, 2007. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/773,271 is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/766,903, filed on Jun. 22, 2007. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/766,903 is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/766,865, filed on Jun. 22, 2007. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/766,865 is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/742,304, filed on Apr. 30, 2007, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,475,948. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/742,304 is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/742,261, filed on Apr. 30, 2007, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,469,971. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/742,261 is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/464,008, filed on Aug. 11, 2006, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,338,135. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/464,008 is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/463,998, filed on Aug. 11, 2006, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,384,105. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/463,998 is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/463,990, filed on Aug. 11, 2006, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,320,505. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/463,990 is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/463,975, filed on Aug. 11, 2006, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,445,294. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/463,975 is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/463,962, filed on Aug. 11, 2006, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,413,256. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/463,962 is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/463,953, filed on Aug. 11, 2006, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,464,993. The present application is also a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/695,672, filed on Dec. 27, 2007. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/695,672 is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/686,831, filed on Mar. 15, 2007, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,568,770. All of these applications are herein incorporated by reference for all that they contain.
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Number | Date | Country | |
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