This application is a Reissue of U.S. Pat. No. 10,604,910, the entire content and disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.
This disclosure relates generally to demolition hammers, and more specifically to rock claws for demolition hammers.
Demolition hammers are used on work sites to break up hard objects such as rocks, concrete, asphalt, frozen ground, or other materials. The demolition hammers may be mounted to machines, such as back hoes and excavators, or may be hand-held. Such demolition hammers may include a pneumatically or hydraulically actuated power cell having an impact system operatively coupled to a tool that extends from the demolition hammer to engage the hard object. The impact system generates repeated, longitudinally directed forces against a proximal end of the tool. The distal end of the tool, extending outside of the housing, may be positioned against the hard object to break it up.
During operation, the hard objects may need to be rearranged or reoriented to better position them for breaking by the demolition hammer. Demolition hammer manufacturers discourage operators from using the tool to rearrange or reorient the hard objects because excessive side forces on the tool may damage the tool, seals, bushings, or other demolition hammer components. As a result, demolition hammer manufacturers may include rock claws on the demolition hammer that are used to push against the hard objects while protecting the demolition hammer housing and tool.
Rock claws are areas on the bottom portion of a demolition hammer that are built-up to absorb the abrasion and wear from frequent pushing and scraping against hard objects. Most manufacturers provide a rock claw by extending an end plate of the demolition hammer out beyond the profile of the housing. The cantilevered portion of the end plate is typically reinforced with other plates and gussets for strength.
After extended use, the end plate must be replaced due to wear on the rock claw portion. Since, however, the end plate is structurally a part of the functioning demolition hammer (i.e. the end plate helps support other portions of demolition hammer housing and power cell), replacing the end plate requires additional care, such as, for example, holding the housing structure square while the end plate is replaced.
In U.S. Pat. No. 8,500,207 to Nickels et al., the demolition hammer includes rock claws that are separate components attached to the external surface of the demolition hammer. The rock claws are welded into place along the side edges of the demolition hammer and include a first portion that extends up the side of the housing to protect the housing side surface and also a second portion that extends along the bottom of the housing to protect the bottom portion of the distal end of the housing and the end plate. The second portion includes a first leg spaced apart from a second leg to provide a recess that allows the rock claw to protect the distal end of the demolition hammer without obstructing the tool that extends from the demolition hammer.
According to certain aspects of this disclosure, a rock claw for attaching to a corner of a demolition hammer includes a first wall having a first inner side surface, a second wall having a second inner side surface joined to the first inner side surface along a first intersection, and a third wall having a third inner side surface. The third inner side surface is joined to the first inner side surface along a second intersection and the third inner side surface is joined to the second inner side surface along a third intersection.
In another aspect of the disclosure, a demolition hammer includes a housing having first side wall, a second side wall, and a bottom wall, wherein an intersection of the first side wall, the second side wall, and the bottom wall define a corner. The demolition hammer also includes a power cell positioned within the housing, a tool disposed in the power cell and projecting from the housing through an opening in the bottom wall, and a rock claw attached to an external surface of the housing. The rock claw includes a first wall, a second wall joined to the first wall, a third wall joined to both the first wall and the second wall, wherein the first wall covers a portion of the first side wall, the second wall covers a portion of the second side wall, and the third wall cover a portion of the bottom wall.
In another aspect of the disclosure that may be combined with any of these aspects, the rock claw is configured as an attachable component to a fully functional demolition hammer.
In another aspect of the disclosure that may be combined with any of these aspects, the rock claw is may be removed from the demolition hammer without disassembling any portion of the hammer.
Further features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the description of embodiments using the accompanying drawings. In the drawings:
Referring to
The power source 18 may embody an engine such as, for example, a diesel engine, a gasoline engine, a gaseous fuel-powered engine or any other type of combustion engine known in the art. It is contemplated that the power source 18 may alternatively embody a non-combustion source of power such as a fuel cell, a power storage device, or another source known in the art. The power source 18 may produce a mechanical or electrical power output that may then be converted to hydraulic pneumatic power for moving the implement system 14.
Implement system 14 may include a linkage structure acted on by fluid actuators to move the demolition hammer 10. The linkage structure of implement system 14 may be complex, for example, including three or more degrees of freedom. The implement system 14 may carry the demolition hammer 10 for breaking an object or ground surface 26.
The structure and operation of a demolition hammer are briefly described below. Demolition hammers are known in the art, and since it will be apparent to one skilled in the art that the rock claws disclosed may be used with a variety of demolition hammers, a detailed description of all the components and operation of a demolition hammer is not provided.
Referring to
An end wall 39, such as a removable end plate, defining an opening 40, is attached to the distal end 34 of the housing 30. The intersection of two adjacent side walls 36 and the end wall 39 forms a bottom corner 41 (illustrated by dashed lines in
A power cell 42 is disposed inside the housing 30. The power cell 42 includes several internal components of the demolition hammer 10. As shown in
The demolition hammer 10 may be powered by any suitable means, such as pneumatically-powered or hydraulically-powered. For example, a hydraulic or pneumatic circuit (not shown) may provide pressurized fluid to drive the piston 44 toward the tool 50 during a work stroke and to return the piston 44 during a return stroke. The hydraulic or pneumatic circuit is not described further, since it will be apparent to one skilled in the art that any suitable hydraulic or pneumatic systems may be used to provide pressurized fluid to the piston 44.
In operation, near the end of the work stroke, the piston 44 strikes the tool 50. The distal end of the tool 50 may be positioned to engage an object or ground surface 26 (
The demolition hammer 10 further includes a first rock claw 60, a second rock claw 62, a third rock claw 64, and a fourth rock claw 66. In some embodiments, the demolition hammer 10 may include more or less than four rock claws. The rock claws 60, 62, 64, 66 are separate components that are configured to be attached to and removed from exterior surfaces 70 of a fully functional, assembled demolition hammer. For example, in the depicted embodiment, each of the rock claws 60, 62, 64, 66 is attached to separate bottom corners 41 of the demolition hammer 10. The rock claws 60, 62, 64, 66 may be attached to the exterior surfaces 70 by any suitable manner, such as welding, fasteners, or other suitable means. In the disclosed embodiment, the rock claws 60, 62, 64, 66 are attached by welding.
The rock claws 60, 62, 64, 66 may be formed from a variety of materials. Since the rock claws 60, 62, 64, 66 are exposed to abrasive wear from contact with hard objects, the rock claws 60, 62, 64, 66 may be formed from a suitable wear resistant metal, ceramic, composite, or other material. In the depicted embodiment, the rock claws 60, 62, 64, 66 are cast from a wear resistant steel alloy.
The rock claws 60, 62, 64, 66 may be configured in a variety of ways. Any configuration that can be attached to the housing 30 and can be used to engage and move hard objects while adequately protecting the distal end 34 of the housing 30 and the tool 50 from damage during use may be used. In the depicted embodiment, the rock claws 60, 62, 64, 66 are configured identically. Thus, the description of the first rock claw 60 is equally applicable to the second, third and fourth rock claw 62, 64, 66 which are not described further in detail. In other embodiments, however, one or more of the rock claws 60, 62, 64, 66 may be configured differently than another of the rock claws.
Referring to
In the depicted embodiment, the first rock claw 60 includes a first wall 72, a second wall 74, and a third wall 76 extending between the first wall 72 and the second wall 74. The first wall 72 and the second wall 74 intersect along an axis A (
The first wall 72 includes a distal portion 80 and a proximal portion 82. The first wall 72 includes an inner face surface 84, an outer face surface 86 opposite the inner face surface 84, and a lateral edge surface 88 extending between the inner face surface 84 and the outer face surface 86. The inner face surface 84 includes a height H1 and a width W1. In the depicted embodiment, the height H1 is maximum adjacent the second wall 74 and the width W1 is maximum adjacent the third wall 76.
The lateral edge surface 88 extends from the distal portion 80 to the proximal portion 82. The lateral edge surface 88 may be configured in a variety of ways, such as for example, different shapes, thicknesses, and contours.
Referring to
The third portion 94 extends from the second portion 92 downward toward the third wall 76 at an angle Φ that is less than the angle α. In one exemplary embodiment, the angle Φ is in the range of 15 degrees to 35 degrees, or 25 degrees. Thus, the second portion 92 and the third portion 94 form a concave outer edge portion of the first wall 72.
The fourth portion 96 extends from the third portion 94 downward toward the third wall 76 at an angle μ that is greater than the angle α. In one exemplary embodiment, the angle μ is in the range of 70 degrees to 90 degrees, or 80 degrees. The fifth portion 98 extends from the fourth portion 96 downward toward the third wall 76 vertically. In the illustrated embodiment, the first wall 72 has a first thickness Td at the distal portion 80 and a second thickness Tp at the proximal portion 82 which is thicker than the first thickness Td. In one exemplary embodiment the ratio of the second thickness to the first thickness (Tp:Td) is in the range of 2.5 to 4.5, or 3.5.
In the illustrated embodiment, the inner face surface 84 is configured to generally conform to the distal end 34 of the depicted housing 30. For example, the inner face surface 84 may be configured to be parallel to the side wall 36 of the housing 30 when installed thereon. In other embodiments, the inner face surface 84 may not generally conform to the side wall 36 of the housing 30 but still cover at least a portion of the side all 36. In the illustrated embodiment, the inner face surface 84 includes a semicircular recess or groove 100 extending along the width W of the inner face surface 84 adjacent the third wall 76.
For a least a portion of the first wall 72, the outer face surface 86 tapers away from the inner face surface 84 in the direction of the proximal portion 82. As shown in
As indicated above, in the depicted embodiment, the first wall 72 is a mirror image of the second wall 74. Thus, the description of the first wall 72 applies equally to the second wall 74. As with the first wall 72, the second wall 74 includes a distal portion 110, a proximal portion 112, an inner face surface 114, an outer face surface 116 opposite the inner face surface 114, and a lateral edge surface 118 extending between the inner face surface 114 and the outer face surface 116. The lateral edge surface 118 extends from the distal portion 110 to the proximal portion 112.
The second wall 74 is thicker at the proximal portion 112 than at the distal portion 110, similar to the first wall 72. The inner face surface 114 is configured to generally conform to the distal end 34 of the depicted housing 30. For example, the inner face surface 114 may be configured to be parallel to the side wall 36 of the housing 30 when installed thereon. In the illustrated embodiment, the inner face surface 114 includes a semicircular recess or groove 130 extending along the width of the inner face surface 114 adjacent the third wall 76.
For a least a portion of the second wall 74, the outer face surface 116 tapers away from the inner face surface 114 in the direction of the proximal portion 112. As shown in
The first wall 72 is joined to the second wall 74, such as for example, by being formed integrally with the second wall 74. The inner face surface 114 of the second wall 74 is joined to the inner face surface 84 of the first wall 72 along a first intersection 150 (
In the illustrated embodiment, the third wall 76 is triangular. In other embodiments, however, the third wall 76 may be shaped other than triangular. The third wall 76 includes an inner face surface 154, an outer face surface 156 opposite the inner face surface 154, and a lateral edge surface 158 extending between the inner face surface 154 and the outer face surface 156.
In the illustrated embodiment, the inner face surface 154 is planar and the outer face surface 156 includes a recessed portion 160 at a location intermediate or inward from where the third wall 76 joins the first wall 72 and joins the second wall 74. The recessed portion 160 may be configured in a variety of ways. The recessed portion 160 results in the third wall 76 having a thickness Tr at the recessed portion 160 that is less in the thickness T3 of the third wall 76 adjacent where the third wall 76 joins the first wall 72 and/or is less than the thickness of the third wall 76 where the third wall 76 joins the second wall 74.
In other embodiments, however, the inner face surface 154 may be other than planar. The third wall 76 is joined to the first wall 72, such as for example, by being formed integrally with the first wall 72. The third wall 76 is also joined to the second wall 74, such as for example, by being formed integrally with the second wall 74. The inner face surface 154 of the third wall 76 is joined to the inner face surface 84 of the first wall 72 along a second intersection 170 (
In the illustrated embodiment, the first intersection, the second intersection, and the third intersection intersect at a point to form an inner corner 174. In other embodiments, however, the first intersection 150, the second intersection 170, and the third intersection 172 may not intersect at a single point. In the illustrated embodiment, the inner face surface 154 of the third wall 76 is perpendicular to the inner face surface 84 of the first wall 72 and/or to the inner face surface 114 of the second wall 74. In one embodiment, the each of the inner face surfaces 84, 114, 154 is perpendicular to the other two inner side surfaces.
The present disclosure is applicable to demolition hammers 10. The disclosed rock claws 60, 62, 64, 66 can be attached to a fully functional, assembled demolition hammer 10 to provide protection to the distal end 34 of the demolition hammer 10 such that an operator can use the rock claws to manipulate hard objects, such as boulders, to better position the objects for breaking.
As shown in
Conventional designs for demolition hammers and rock claws placed more wear material, at the distal end of the demolition hammer, along the face of side walls 36 rather than at the corners since it was thought that more wear occurred along the sides of the demolition hammer. Analysis by Applicant, however, shows that more wear occurs at the bottom corners of the demolition hammer, at least in some applications. Thus, the rock claws 60, 62, 64, 66 protect the housing 30, particularly adjacent the bottom corners 41, and also protect the bottom portion of the distal end 34 of the housing 30 and the end wall 39 in the areas most prone to wear. Further, the rock claws 60, 62, 64, 66 protect the distal end 34 of the demolition hammer 10 without obstructing movement of the tool 50 that extends from the demolition hammer 10.
The rock claws 60, 62, 64, 66 may be attached to exterior surface 70 by any suitable means, such as welding. For example, the first rock claw 60 can be positioned against the exterior surface 70 of the housing 30 and welded into place, such as along perimeter of the first rock claw 60, where the inner face surfaces 84, 114, 154 meet the lateral edge surfaces 88, 118, 158, respectively.
As shown in
Since the rock claws 60, 62, 64, 66 are separate from and attachable to the demolition hammer 10, when any of the rock claws 60, 62, 64, 66 needs replacing, it can be cut from the exterior surface 70 and replaced without disassembling the demolition hammer 10. Furthermore, in some embodiments, each of the rock claws 60, 62, 64, 66 are symmetric about the axis A. Thus, each of the rock claws 60, 62, 64, 66 is interchangeable with another of the rock claws 60, 62, 64, 66 and each of the rock claws 60, 62, 64, 66 can be attached to any of the bottom corners 41 of the demolition hammer 10.
While the disclosed embodiments have been illustrated and described in detail in the drawings and foregoing description, such illustration and description is to be considered as exemplary and not restrictive in character, it being understood that only certain exemplary embodiments have been shown and described and that all changes and modifications that come within the scope of the disclosure are desired to be protected.
Accordingly, this disclosure includes all modifications and equivalents of the subject matter recited in the claims appended hereto as permitted by applicable law. Moreover, any combination of the above-described elements in all possible variations thereof is encompassed by the disclosure unless otherwise indicated herein or otherwise clearly contradicted by context.
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3550691 | Peterson | Dec 1970 | A |
3750761 | Smith | Aug 1973 | A |
3778112 | Krekeler | Dec 1973 | A |
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Number | Date | Country |
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Entry |
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Extended European Search Report issued Oct. 16, 2019 in European Patent Application No. 19166924.1, 7 pages. |
Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | 10604910 | Mar 2020 | US |
Child | 17240385 | US |