Patent Application
20160046149
The present disclosure generally relates to a wheel. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to a method of re-sizing a compactor wheel of a compactor and a compactor wheel produced using such method.
Compactors typically employ wheels to compact, crush and/or shred materials, such as, for example, waste, soil or trash. In some cases, dealers or other users may decrease a size of the original compactor wheels so as to attach the compactor wheels to a different machine or to attach a larger ground engaging tool on the compactor wheel. After a period of service, such modified wheels may be scrapped. Also, such wheels may not be usable on the machines it was earlier manufactured or produced for in the first place as these wheels now deviate from the original equipment manufacturers (OEM) standards. Although, methods may be known to salvage compactor wheels, such methods may not be economical and hence, may not salvage the compactor wheels in a simple, quick, and/or cost-effective manner.
Thus, there is a need for a method that allows manufacturers to economically salvage compactor wheels for fitment onto a compactor.
In one aspect of the present disclosure, a method of re-sizing a compactor wheel for fitment onto a machine is provided. The compactor wheel has a rim, a hub concentrically positioned within the rim, and a pair of discs connecting the rim to the hub. Each of the discs has a first edge and a second edge in rigid attachment with an outer surface of the hub and an inner surface of the rim respectively. The method of re-sizing the compactor wheel includes detaching the rim from the second edge of each disc, rigidly attaching a first side of a spacer element to the second edge of the disc, and rigidly attaching the rim to a second side of the spacer element.
In another aspect of the present disclosure, the method further includes reducing a diameter of each of the discs. Additionally, the spacer element that is used between the second edge of the disc and the inner surface of the rim is of a circular cross-section.
In another aspect of the present disclosure, a compactor wheel configured for fitment onto a machine includes a rim, a hub concentrically positioned within the rim and a pair of discs connecting the rim to the hub. Each of the discs has a first edge in rigid attachment with an outer surface of the hub. Each of the discs has a second edge that is configured to terminate partway between the outer surface of the hub and an inner surface of the rim. The compactor wheel includes a spacer element disposed between the second edge of the disc and the inner surface of the rim. A first side of the spacer element is rigidly attached to the disc while a second side of the spacer element is rigidly attached to the inner surface of the rim.
Other features and aspects of this disclosure will be apparent from the following description and the accompanying drawings.
Wherever possible, the same reference numbers will be used throughout the drawings to refer to same or like parts.
The compactor 100 includes a frame 106, an operator control station 110 and an implement 112, such as, a bucket or a blade. The compactor wheels 102 are rotatably mounted to the frame 106 which also serves to support the operator control station 110 and the implement 112 thereon.
Referring to
The compactor wheel 102 includes a rim 114 having two ends 116A, 116B. The two ends 116A, 116B may be spaced apart as shown in detail ‘B’ of
The compactor wheel 102 further includes a pair of discs 108 (shown in
A spacer element 132 is disposed between the second edge 126 of the disc 108 and the inner surface 130 of the rim 114. Further, the spacer element 132 has a first side 134 and a second side 136 (See detail ‘B’ of
Moreover, as illustrated in the embodiment of
In the illustrated embodiment of
Although, embodiments of the present disclosure are explained in conjunction with the disc 108 that is located at the first side 113 of the compactor wheel 102, such embodiments are to be understood as being similarly applied to the disc 108 located at the second side 115 of the compactor wheel 102. Therefore, as shown in
To re-size a compactor wheel that has been previously modified from a larger size to a smaller size and obtain the compactor wheel 102 disclosed herein, a manufacturer may employ one of the methods 400 or 500, as illustrated in
The compactor wheel that is to be re-sized includes the rim 114, the hub 118 concentrically positioned within the rim 114, and a disc 108 that connects the rim 114 to the hub 118. The first edge 124 of the disc 108 is in rigid attachment with the outer surface 129 of the hub 118 and the second edge 126 of the disc 108 is in rigid attachment with the inner surface 130 of the rim 114 (shown in dotted lines of
Referring to
At step 404, the method 400 includes rigidly attaching the first side 134 of the spacer element 132 to the second edge 126 of the disc 108. In the illustrated embodiment, the spacer element 132 has four segmented parts 132 Alternatively, the spacer element 132 may be a contiguous element that can be disposed along the circumference C1 defined by the second edge 126 of the disc 108. As disclosed earlier herein, the first side 134 of the spacer element 132 is rigidly attached to the second edge 126 of the disc 108 by welding, i.e., by use of a welding torch.
At step 406, the method 400 includes rigidly attaching the rim 114 to the second side 136 of the spacer element 132. In the illustrated embodiment of
The gap between the ends 116A, 116B may be filled with a weld material so as to weld the ends 116A, 116B upon attaching the rim 114 to second side 136 of the spacer elements 132. Alternatively, an insert may be disposed between the ends 116A, 116B and may be welded to the ends 116A, 116B of the rim 114. Although providing inserts and/or welding the ends 116A, 116B of the rim 114 is disclosed herein, one of ordinary skill in the art can contemplate other methods of joining or attaching or connecting the ends 116A, 116B of the rim 114 so as to dispose the rim 114 contiguously about the spacer element 132.
As with the first side 113 of the compactor wheel 102, the method 400 may be similarly applied to the second side 115 of the compactor wheel 102 to obtain the compactor wheel 102 illustrated in
Therefore, with an implementation of the method 400 described herein, a wheel may be re-sized for fitment onto the compactor 100. For example, to obtain the compactor wheel 102 having a rim diameter D1 of 54 centimeters, a manufacturer may use a wheel having a rim diameter D3 of 50 centimeters and re-size such compactor wheel by using the method 400. With use of the method 400, the manufacturer may first detach the rim 114 from the second edge 126 of the disc 108. Thereafter, the spacer element 132 having a thickness T of 2 centimeters may be attached to the disc 108. Thus, the spacer element 132 adds 4 centimeters to the overall diameter D3 of the compactor wheel 102. The rim 114 may then be attached to the spacer element 132. The compactor wheel is now configured to have a rim diameter D1 of 54 centimeters.
Referring to
At step 506, the method 500 includes rigidly attaching the first side 134 of the spacer element 132 to this second edge. As disclosed earlier herein, the spacer element 132 may be welded to the disc 108. The spacer element 132 is of circular cross-section as illustrated in
As with the first side 113 of the compactor wheel 102, the method 500 may be similarly applied to the second side 115 of the compactor wheel 102.
In methodologies directly or indirectly set forth herein, various steps and operations are described in one possible order of operation, but those skilled in the art will recognize that steps and operations may be rearranged, replaced, or eliminated without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure as set forth in the claims.
Various embodiments disclosed herein are to be taken in the illustrative and explanatory sense, and should in no way be construed as limiting of the present disclosure. All directional references (e.g., above, below, upper, lower, top, bottom, vertical, horizontal, inward, outward, radial, upward, downward, left, right, leftward, rightward, L.H.S, R.H.S, clockwise, and counter-clockwise) are only used for identification purposes to aid the reader's understanding of the present disclosure, and may not create limitations, particularly as to the position, orientation, or use of the devices and/or methods disclosed herein. Joinder references (e.g., attached, affixed, coupled, engaged, connected, and the like) are to be construed broadly. Moreover, such joinder references do not necessarily infer that two elements are directly connected to each other.
It is to be understood that individual features shown or described for one embodiment may be combined with individual features shown or described for another embodiment. The above described implementation does not in any way limit the scope of the present disclosure. Therefore, it is to be understood although some features are shown or described to illustrate the use of the present disclosure in the context of functional segments, such features may be omitted from the scope of the present disclosure without departing from the spirit of the present disclosure as defined in the appended claims
The present disclosure has applicability for implementation and use in salvaging wheels of compactors. The methods 400, 500, allow compactor wheels to be re-sized as per requirements. The requirements may be original equipment manufacturer (OEM) factory standards. Moreover, the compactor wheel 102 of the present disclosure may be readily implemented for fitment onto the compactors.
To salvage compactor wheels by using methods 400 or 500, the spacer element 132 may be used along with assembling other existing parts of the compactor wheel 102 such as, the rim 114, the hub 118. Therefore, with use of the methods 400 and 500 disclosed herein, costs that were previously incurred with use of fresh parts may be offset.
Further, simple tools such as welding torches may be employed in salvaging the compactor wheels. Therefore, the methods 400 and 500 offer simple yet cost effective solutions for manufacturers of compactor wheels in salvaging compactor wheels.
While aspects of the present disclosure have been particularly shown and described with reference to the embodiments above, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various additional embodiments may be contemplated by the modification of the disclosed machines, systems and methods without departing from the spirit and scope of what is disclosed. Such embodiments should be understood to fall within the scope of the present disclosure as determined based upon the claims and any equivalents thereof.
