Patent Application
20230064889
In general, the present disclosure relates to a guard for road maintenance equipment. More particularly, the disclosure relates to a guard that is attached to a snow plow. Most particularly, the disclosure relates to a guard having a groove used in attaching the guard and a chamfer on at least one edge of the groove to facilitate welding the guard.
The present disclosure generally relates to a guard used with road maintenance equipment comprising a guard body, the guard body defining a groove; the guard further defining a chamfer on at least one side of the groove.
A guard used with road maintenance equipment, the guard comprising a guard body having a thickness, the guard body defining a groove configured to receive a portion of the road maintenance equipment; the guard further defining a chamfer on at least one side of the groove to facilitate attachment of the guard
The present disclosure further relates to a guard used with road maintenance equipment, the guard comprising a guard body, wherein the guard body includes a first edge extending inward from a perimeter of the guard body and a second edge extending inward from the perimeter of the guard body, the first edge and second edge defining a groove extending inward from the perimeter of the guard body configured to receive a portion of a road maintenance equipment, the first edge defining a first plane and the second edged defining a second plane, wherein the guard body includes a chamfer adjacent to at least one of the first edge and second edge, the chamfer extending outward at an angle relative to the at least one edge and toward the perimeter of the guard body to define a well adjacent to at least one of the first edge and second edge.
The following description and the annexed drawings set forth in detail certain illustrative aspects of the claimed subject matter. These aspects are indicative, however, of but a few of the various ways in which the principles of the innovation may be employed and the claimed subject matter is intended to include all such aspects and their equivalents. Other advantages and novel features of the claimed subject matter will become apparent from the following detailed description of the innovation when considered in conjunction with the drawings.
In general, the following disclosure relates to a guard, generally indicated by the number 100, for road maintenance equipment 10. Road maintenance equipment 10 often includes a structure 15 used to move material M, such as earth, rock, sand, snow, wood, water, ice, metal, salt, and man-made materials. These materials are examples and are not limiting. In moving the material, the road maintenance equipment is exposed to friction or shear forces as it moves through material and occasional impacts or normal forces within the material or from adjacent objects or structures. Often portions of the road maintenance equipment are designed as wear components to help deflect or absorb these forces and increase the life span of more expensive or more difficult to replace portions of the road maintenance equipment. Since road maintenance equipment may be difficult to see in operation due to movement through material, it is also desirable to provide a buffer or guard at portions that are more prone to unintentional impacts such as the edges or ends of the equipment 10.
With reference to
The hardness of the tungsten carbide, which is near to that of a diamond, gives it extended wear life, but also makes the material susceptible to brittle fracture. Impacts may fracture the carbide prematurely shortening the useful life of the entire cutting edge.
To lengthen the lifespan of the carbide inserts and more generally the life of cutting edge 25, a guard may be employed to shield the cutting edge 25 and in turn the carbide from excessive wear or impacts from objects in or near the surface being maintained. For instance, in the snow plowing example, the lateral edges of the cutting edge may be vulnerable to wear or impacts from curbs or other road side objects. To that end, it is common to attach a guard to each end of the cutting edge to provide an additional wear component. The guard 100 may extend outward from the side of the cutting edge 25 as shown. Additional guards may be attached across the face of the cutting edge to help reduce damage to the cutting edge from impacts with obstacles in or on the road including but not limited to expansion joints, water boxes or manhole covers. Loader edges and scarifier boards are often implemented in similar ways to a plow and include similar cutting edges or tools that benefit from the same type of protection. Likewise, other road maintenance equipment may have portions that require a guard, and the guard described herein may be applied to such equipment with little or no modification. While a snow plow will be used as an example form of road maintenance equipment, this example is not limiting.
A guard 100 generally includes a guard body 102. The guard body 102 is constructed of at least one layer of material that may be attached to a part of a road maintenance equipment to help protect the part or extend its wear life. The material may be any suitable material including but not limited to wood, paper, metal, polymer, ceramic or combinations of such materials. In the example, guard body 102 is made of metal, such as a mild steel. The guard body 102 has a thickness 103. The thickness 103 of guard body 102 acts as a buffer to attempt to extend the life of other components in road maintenance equipment 10. In the example, guard 100 is mounted on a lateral end of road maintenance equipment forward of and extending outward relative to a cutting edge 25. In this way, guard 100 acts as a buffer for the end of cutting edge 25. The thickness 103 of guard 100 ensures that guard 100 contacts a curb C or other object on the side of a surface S being maintained before such object contact the lateral outward end of cutting edge 25. The forward position of guard 100 also helps reduce the likelihood of an object striking cutting edge 25. Guard 103 may have any thickness 103, and the thickness 103 may be constant or variable. In the example, guard 100 has a generally constant thickness 103 along its long axis. In the example, the guard's long axis is mounted parallel to the end of a cutting edge placing it in a generally vertical orientation. It will be understood, that guard may be oriented horizontally or at angles relative to the cutting edge. The upper and lower extremities of the guard 100 are tapered resulting in a slight variation in the thickness 103 at these extremes. The shape and cross section of the guard 100 shown is not limiting as any shape may be used. Since any shape having a thickness may be used, the shape, cross-section and appearance of the guard 100 is limited only by the imagination of the designer.
Guard 100 may include and be attached to a mounting plate 105 or other structure that facilitates attachment to a road maintenance equipment or portions thereof. In the plow example shown in
The mounting plate 105 is generally an elongate member having a thickness 111 that is less than its length 112. The height 114 of mounting plate 105 may vary but is generally dictated by the height of cutting edge 25. For example, suitable heights for plow applications are generally between 4 and 30 centimeters. Standard cutting edges often come in 4″ (10 cm), 5″ (12.5 cm), 6″ (15 cm), 7″ (17.5 cm) and 8″ (20 cm) heights. A backer bar 115 may be attached to mounting plate 105 to space it from cutting edge 25 when the assembly is bolted to the moldboard. Mounting plate 105 may have any shape. Rectangular shapes are common as shown in
In the example, guard 100 is attached at the outer end 120 of mounting plate 105 to act as a curb guard for the cutting edge 25. From the perspective of the moldboard, guard 100, shown, would be mounted on the left side of the moldboard 10. A right-side guard would be a mirror image of the guard shown. Guard 100 may have any outward shape limited only by the imagination of the designer. In the example, a generally cylindrical shape is shown with frusto-conical upper and lower ends. This example is not limiting with other shapes including but not limited to regular and irregular polygonal solids including but not limited to a rectangular solid, a semi-circular solid being suitable. Other custom shapes may be created as well. The guard 100 shields the end of the cutting edge by providing a thickness of material that will contact an object to the side of the cutting edge prior to the cutting edge itself. When the thickness 103 extends the guard 100 forward of cutting edge 25, as in the depicted example, it also provides a shield against objects that might be located in the path of cutting edge 25. The guard material may be worn away, damaged or chipped in the event of contact. The contact of the guard with an object, however, may warn the operator that they have struck an object or veered to close to the edge of a road and deter them from further contact that would damage the cutting edge. In some instances, an operator may actually use the material of the guard to find the curb C of the surface S being maintained and position the plow to clean all the way to the curb. In such instances, the guard may ride along the curb and be subjected to frictional wear from the prolonged contact with the curb C.
Guard 100 may be constructed of any material that is suitable to act as a buffer between the road maintenance equipment and structures encountered during road maintenance activities including paper products, wood products, metals, plastics, rubbers, ceramics or combinations thereof. Considering that guard 100 is a wear part, a recyclable material may be used so that it may be reclaimed once worn to the point that it would normally be discarded. It is understood that other materials including any of the categories of materials described above may also be selected with these purposes in mind. Therefore, the examples are not limiting.
In the example shown, a metal material is used. In one example, the metal is a steel having a hardness less than that of carbide. Such steels offer greater ductility than carbide and therefore are less likely to fracture upon impact. The guard material need not be uniform and portions of the guard may be constructed of different materials. For example, in the example of a curb guard, where it is common for the operator to ride the guard on a curb or contact a curb with greater frequency, the lateral outward surface of the guard may include or be constructed from a harder material. In some examples, carbide inserts may be located on the guard to increase the wear life of the guard under these circumstances. In other examples, hardened coatings, including but not limited to a carbide impreg material or a hardface weld, may be applied to a portion of the guard to improve the wear properties at a specific portion of guard 100.
The guard 100 may be formed in any suitable process including but not limited to casting, forging, cutting, machining, 3D printing, molding, extruding, laminating, or combinations thereof.
Guard 100 defines a groove 125 to receive at least a portion of the mounting plate 105. The groove 100 may have any profile or cross-section suitable for receiving a portion of mounting plate 105 and facilitating attachment thereto. As best shown, a portion of mounting plate 105 is received in groove 125 to help locate guard 100 on mounting plate 105. In the example shown, groove 125 includes a pair of edges 126,127 that are arranged perpendicular to each other to receive a square cross-sectioned portion of mounting plate therein. The square surfaces 118,119 of mounting plate 105 fit flush against the edges 126 of groove 125. A fastener such as a mechanical fastener, weld, or adhesive may be used to fix the position of guard 100 relative to mounting plate 105. In the example, a weld 130 is applied at least one seam 135 between guard 100 and mounting plate 105 adjacent to groove. 125. In the example, the weld 130 is applied to a pair of seams 135 located where the edges 126,127 of groove 125 butt against surfaces 119 of mounting plate 105.
According to the example shown, guard 100 may define a chamfer 140 adjacent to at least one edge of groove 125 to facilitate welding the guard 100 to mounting plate. Chamfer 140 includes a surface that extends at an angle relative to edge 126 to form a well 145. The presence of chamfer 140 increases the surface area over which the weld material may flow improving the bond strength of the weld. Moreover, the presence of the well 145 allows a greater amount of weld material between guard 100 and mounting plate 125. As shown, a chamfer 140 may be applied to both edges 126. First chamfer 141 may form a first angle α relative to a first plane 151, conforming to the end surface of plate in the example. A second chamfer 142 may be formed at an angle β relative to first plane 151. As shown first plane 151 may be defined by edge 118 of plate 105. The first angle α and second angle β may be equal to each other or have a different angle for define the desired weld on either side of plate. It will be understood that the shape and cross section of the plate may require variation of the first and second angles relative to each other to form the desired wells. Or, as discussed, the chamfer may be applied only at one edge 126 of plate. In the depicted example, a first chamfer 141 is formed adjacent to edge 118 (end of plate) and adjacent to second edge 119 (front surface of plate 105) to form two wells 145 adjacent to seam 135 between guard 100 and plate 105. In the example, the combined chamfer angle Ω is 180 degrees between the first and second chamfers 141,142.
With the guard 100 attached to mounting plate 105, guard 100 provides a first buffer thickness 161 relative to first plane 151 and a second buffer thickness 162 relative to second plane 152. The buffer thickness is a thickness of material 102 measured from a plane of the part to which the guard 100 is attached to the perimeter 104 of guard 100. The buffer thickness is the amount of material that may be worn off before the wear gets into the equipment to which the guard is mounted to. The buffer thickness also acts as a barrier to impacts. In the example, first buffer thickness 161 provides a barrier between the end of cutting edge 25 and objects on the side of the road, such as a Jersey barrier, curb, road signs, mailboxes and the like. In this way, the guard 100 contacts these objects before the cutting edge 25 or moldboard 15. The buffer thickness 161 allows wear to occur on the guard 100 for a period of time before damage to more expensive or more sensitive components are worn. The second buffer thickness 162 provides a layer of material forward of the mounting plate 105. This buffer thickness 162 shields cutting edge from impacts or other forces acting normal to the cutting edge 25.
With reference to
Example 1. A guard used with road maintenance equipment, the guard comprising a guard body having a thickness, the guard body defining a groove; the guard further defining a chamfer on at least one side of the groove.
Example 2. The guard of example 1, wherein the chamfer extends obliquely relative to the groove to define a well adjacent to the groove.
Example 3. The guard of example 1, wherein the groove includes a first edge and a second edge extending inward from a perimeter of the guard, the first edge defining a first plane and the second edge defining a second plane, wherein the body of the guard defines a first buffer thickness between the plane of the first plane and the perimeter of the guard body, and a second buffer thickness between the second plane and the perimeter of the guard body.
Example 4. The guard of example 3, wherein the at least one chamfer includes a first chamfer adjacent to the first edge of the groove and a second chamfer adjacent to the second edge of the groove, wherein the first chamfer extends at a first angle relative to the first plane and the second chamfer extends at a second angle relative to the first plane.
Example 5. The guard of example 4, wherein the first edge and second edge extend at a 90 degree angle relative to each other, and wherein a sum of the first angle and the second angle is 180 degrees.
Example 6. The guard of example 3, wherein the at least one chamfer extends outward relative to at least one of the first edge and second edge to define at least one well adjacent to the at least one of the first edge and second edge.
Example 7. The guard of example 1 further comprising a mounting plate having an edge, wherein at least a portion of the edge is received within the groove defining a seam between the mounting plate and the guard, wherein the chamfer defines a well adjacent to the seam; and a weld applied between the guard and the mounting plate along the seam and at least partially within the well.
Example 8. The guard of example 7, wherein the mounting plate includes an end having a first surface and a second surface oriented at 90 degrees relative to each other, wherein the groove includes a first edge and a second edge extending inward from a perimeter of the guard and meeting at a 90 degree angle.
Example 9. The guard of example 7, wherein the groove includes a first edge extending inward from a perimeter of the guard body, and wherein a lateral outward end of the mounting plate is received in the groove; a first buffer thickness defined between the first edge and a perimeter of the groove extends laterally outward relative to the mounting plate.
Example 10. The guard of example 7, wherein a second buffer thickness extends forward relative to the mounting plate.
Example 11. The guard of example 7, wherein the groove includes a first edge extending inward from a perimeter defining a first plane, wherein an end of the mounting plate extends parallel to the first plane and is received in the groove, the at least one chamfer including a first chamfer extending at an angle relative to the first plane to define the well adjacent to the end of the mounting plate.
Example 12. The guard of example 10, wherein the at least one chamfer includes a second chamfer extending at a second angle relative to the first plane to define a second well adjacent to a front surface of the mounting plate.
Example 13. The guard of example 7, wherein the groove extends vertically and is configured to receive a lateral outward end of the mounting plate.
Example 14. The guard of example 7, wherein a height of the guard body is no greater than a height of the mounting plate.
Example 15. The guard of example 1, wherein the guard is constructed of steel.
Example 16. A guard used with road maintenance equipment, the guard comprising a guard body, wherein the guard body includes a first edge extending inward from a perimeter of the guard body and a second edge extending inward from the perimeter of the guard body, the first edge and second edge defining a groove extending inward from the perimeter of the guard body configured to receive a portion of a road maintenance equipment, the first edge defining a first plane and the second edged defining a second plane, wherein the guard body includes a chamfer adjacent to at least one of the first edge and second edge, the chamfer extending outward at an angle relative to the at least one edge and toward the perimeter of the guard body to define a well adjacent to at least one of the first edge and second edge.
Example 17. The guard of example 16, wherein the first edge and second edge intersect at a 90 degree angle.
Example 18. The guard of example 16, wherein the guard body is constructed of steel.
Example 19. The guard of example 16, wherein the at least one chamfer includes a first chamfer extending obliquely to a first edge of the groove and a second chamfer extending obliquely to the second edge of the groove.
Example 20. The guard of example 16 further comprising a mounting plate configured to attach to the road maintenance equipment, wherein the mounting plate is at least partially received in the groove forming at least one seam between the guard body and the mounting plate; wherein the chamfer defines the well adjacent to the seam; and a weld formed along the seam and at least partially filling the well.
As used herein, spatially orienting terms such as “above,” “below,” “upper,” “lower,” “inner,” “outer,” “right,” “left,” “vertical,” “horizontal,” “top,” “bottom,” “upward,” “downward,” “laterally,” “upstanding,” et cetera, can refer to respective positions of aspects as shown in or according to the orientation of the accompanying drawings. “Inward” is intended to be a direction generally toward the center of an object from a point remote to the object, and “outward” is intended to be a direction generally away from an internal point in the object toward a point remote to the object. Such terms are employed for purposes of clarity in describing the drawings, and should not be construed as exclusive, exhaustive, or otherwise limiting with regard to position, orientation, perspective, configuration, and so forth.
Various embodiments herein need not include the described and/or illustrated geometries. As discussed guard 100 and mounting plate 105/205 may have various geometries, shapes and configurations. More generally, the embodiments shown are not limiting. For example, straight-line geometries can be employed in place of rounded portions and vice versa. Diameters and thicknesses of circular components can instead represent lengths, widths, and so forth. Thus, while one or more particular embodiments have been described in detail, these details are not to be interpreted as exhaustive or exclusive.
Similarly, the materials referenced herein are not limiting. The guard according to the disclosure can be constructed of various materials depending on the intended application. One or more portions of the guard can be made of different types of paper, plastic, metal, ceramic, rubber, glass, carbon, combinations thereof, and/or other suitable materials depending on the application for the guard. For example, for a guard used in road surface applications, a metal, such as steel may be used to form the guard. To improve wear life, the outer surface of the guard may be constructed of a hardened steel or covered with a hardface, carbide impregnated material or solid carbide inserts.
While principles and modes of operation have been explained and illustrated with regard to particular embodiments, it must be understood that this may be practiced otherwise than as specifically explained and illustrated without departing from its spirit or scope of the disclosure. What has been described above includes examples of the subject innovation. It is, of course, not possible to describe every conceivable combination of components or methodologies for purposes of describing the claimed subject matter, but one of ordinary skill in the art may recognize that many further combinations and permutations of the subject innovation are possible. Accordingly, the claimed subject matter is intended to embrace all such alterations, modifications, and variations that fall within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.
Specific embodiments of an innovation are disclosed herein. One of ordinary skill in the art will readily recognize that the innovation may have other applications in other environments. In fact, many embodiments and implementations are possible. The following claims are in no way intended to limit the scope of the subject innovation to the specific embodiments described above. Only a recitation of “means for” is intended to evoke a means-plus-function reading of an element and a claim, whereas, any elements that do not specifically use the recitation “means for”, are not intended to be read as means-plus-function elements.
Although the subject innovation has been shown and described with respect to a certain preferred embodiment or embodiments, it is obvious that equivalent alterations and modifications will occur to others skilled in the art upon the reading and understanding of this specification and the annexed drawings. In particular regard to the various functions performed by the above described elements (e.g., enclosures, sides, components, assemblies, etc.), the terms (including a reference to a “means”) used to describe such elements are intended to correspond, unless otherwise indicated, to any element which performs the specified function of the described element (e.g., that is functionally equivalent), even though not structurally equivalent to the disclosed structure which performs the function in the herein illustrated exemplary embodiment or embodiments of the innovation. In addition, while a particular feature of the innovation may have been described above with respect to only one or more of several illustrated embodiments, such feature may be combined with one or more other features of the other embodiments, as may be desired and advantageous for any given or particular application. Although certain embodiments have been shown and described, it is understood that equivalents and modifications falling within the scope of the appended claims will occur to others who are skilled in the art upon the reading and understanding of this specification.
In addition, while a particular feature of the subject innovation may have been disclosed with respect to only one of several implementations, such feature may be combined with one or more other features of the other implementations as may be desired and advantageous for any given or particular application. Furthermore, to the extent that the terms “includes,” “including,” “has,” “contains,” variants thereof, and other similar words are used in either the detailed description or the claims, these terms are intended to be inclusive in a manner similar to the term “comprising” as an open.
