The present disclosure relates generally to a blade for a tractor, and more particularly to a blade having a first blade member and one or more replaceable supplemental blade members.
Earth moving machines, such as track type tractors, are often used in the construction industry for moving large amounts of earth or other material. The earth moving machines may utilize a blade that is mounted onto the front of the machine to push the earth or other material. A variety of blade designs are available for different applications, such as straight blade or U-shaped blade.
Straight blades are typically constructed from a single, curved, steel moldboard while U-shaped blades or semi-U-shaped blades have a center moldboard and outer wings welded to the center moldboard and reinforced to provide support. Tractor blades, therefore, are manufactured in a single configuration. If a machine operator has a tractor with a straight blade, but the job is better suited for a U-shaped blade, the operator would need to either operate less efficiently with a straight blade or replace the entire straight blade with a U-shaped blade.
The present disclosure is directed toward one or more of the problems set forth above.
In one aspect of the present disclosure, a tractor blade assembly includes a first blade member having a supplemental blade mounting section extending laterally beyond the side edge of the first blade member and a second blade member that removably attaches to the supplemental blade mounting section such that a side edge of the second blade member abuts the side edge of the first blade member. The tractor blade assembly may include alignment structure to restrict vertical movement of the second blade member relative to the first blade member and align the side edge.
In another aspect, a tractor blade includes a supplemental blade mounting section extending laterally beyond the side edge of the blade and configured to receive a supplemental blade member for fixable attachment thereto.
In another aspect, a supplemental blade member includes a rearward facing mounting surface configured to engage a forward facing mounting surface on a first blade member. The rearward facing mounting surface being position adjacent the back surface between a first side edge and a second side edge of the supplemental blade member.
Referring to
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 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. Power source 18 may produce a mechanical or electrical power output that may then be converted to hydraulic or pneumatic power for moving the implement system 14.
Implement system 14 may include a linkage structure acted on by fluid actuators to move the tractor blade 10. The linkage structure of implement system 14 may be complex, including multiple degrees of freedom. For example, the implement system 14 may be able to move the tractor blade 10 up and down, tilt the top of the blade relative to the bottom, raise one side of the blade relative to the other, and angle the blade by moving one side of the blade forward relative to the other side.
Referring to
The exemplary embodiments in FIGS. 2 and 3A-3B illustrate supplemental blade sections attached to either side of a center blade section. In other embodiments, however, the first blade member 30 may be configured to only attach to a single supplemental blade section on one side.
In the depicted embodiment in
Referring to
The first blade member 30 also includes a first supplemental blade mounting section 60 extending laterally beyond the first side edge 44 and a second supplemental blade mounting section 62 extending laterally beyond the second side edge 46. The first supplemental blade mounting section 60 includes a first mounting surface 64. In the depicted embodiment, the first mounting surface 64 is forward facing and generally planar with a height of approximately two-thirds the vertical height of the moldboard 40 and extends laterally approximately one-third the width of the moldboard 40. In other embodiments, the first mounting surface 64 may have a height in the range of approximately half the vertical height of the moldboard 40 to approximately the entire vertical height of the moldboard and extends laterally in the range of approximately one-quarter the width of the moldboard to approximately three-quarters the width of the moldboard. In another embodiment, the first mounting surface 64 extends laterally for approximately the entire width of the supplemental blade member.
The first mounting surface 64 may be a single, continuous surface or multiple, separated surfaces. In the depicted embodiment, the first mounting surface 64 is separated into two sections by a horizontal vee-groove 66. The vee-groove 66 serves as a first alignment structure configured to cooperate with corresponding structure on the second blade member 32 to restrict vertical movement of the first blade member 30 relative to the second blade member, as will be described in more detail below. The first alignment structure may be configured in a variety of ways. Any suitable structure capable of restricting or preventing unwanted vertical movement of the first blade member 30 relative to the second blade member 32 may be used. For example, in other embodiments more than one groove per side may be present, the groove may be other than vee-shaped, or the alignment structure may be configured as a ridge instead of a groove.
The first blade member 30 may also include a second alignment structure configured to cooperate with structure on the second blade member 32 to align, in abutting engagement, the first side edge 44 with a side edge of the second blade member 32. The second alignment structure may be configured in a variety of ways. Any suitable structure capable of aligning side edges of the first and second blade members may be used. In the depicted embodiment, the second alignment structure is configured as one or more grooves or recesses 70 for receiving a corresponding projection on the supplemental blade member. The grooves or recesses 70 may be formed integrally with the first blade member 30 or formed in or on a component attached to the first blade member. The depicted embodiment includes an upper and a lower recess 70 formed by a part that is attached to the curved back surface 48 of the moldboard. Other embodiments, however, may include more or less than two recesses 70 per side.
The first supplemental blade mounting section 60 may also include one or more fastener holes 72 for receiving fasteners, such as bolts. In the depicted embodiment, the first supplemental blade mounting section 60 includes two upper fastener holes and two lower fastener holes, though other embodiments may include more or less than four fasteners holes per side.
The second blade member 32 includes a moldboard 80 having a curved front surface 82, a first side edge 84, a second side edge 86, and a curved back surface 88. An edge guard 89 may be attached to the second side edge 86. As with moldboard 40, the moldboard 80 may be a steel sheet rolled to form a curved surface. The moldboard 80 may be reinforced on the back surface to improve the strength of the second blade member 32. In the depicted embodiment, reinforcing structure on the second blade member 32 includes one or more rectangular tubes 90 extending along the length of the moldboard 80 and one or more vertical ribs 92 extending from along the curved back surface generally perpendicular to the one or more rectangular tubes 90.
The second blade member 32 also includes a second mounting surface 94 that is generally planar, rearward facing, and configured to engage the first mounting surface 64 on the first blade member 30. In the depicted embodiment, the second mounting surface 94 is approximately the same size are the first mounting surface 64. In other embodiments, however, the size of the second mounting surface 94 may differ from the size of the first mounting surface 64.
The second mounting surface 94 may be a single, continuous surface or multiple, separated surfaces. In the depicted embodiment, the second mounting surface 94 is separated into two surfaces by a horizontal ridge 96. The ridge 96 acts as an alignment structure by cooperating with the groove 66 on the first blade member 30 to restrict vertical movement of the first blade member 30 relative to the second blade member 32. The alignment structure may be configured in a variety of ways. Any suitable structure capable of cooperating with the first alignment structure on the first blade member to restrict or prevent unwanted vertical movement of the first blade member 30 relative to the second blade member 32 may be used. For example, other embodiments may have more than one ridge or be configured as a groove to cooperate with a ridge on the first blade member 30.
The second blade member 32 also includes a second alignment structure configured to cooperate with the groove or recess 70 on the first blade member to align, in abutting engagement, the first side edge 84 with the first side edge 44 of the first blade member 30. The second alignment structure may be configured in a variety of ways. Any suitable structure capable of cooperating with the second alignment structure on the first blade member to align side edges of the first and second blade members may be used. In the depicted embodiment, the second alignment structure is configured as one or more projections 98 that closely fit in the one or more recesses on the first blade member 30. The projections 98 may be formed integrally with the second blade member 32 or formed by a component attached to the second blade member. The depicted embodiment includes an upper and a lower projection 98 attached to the curved back surface 88 of the moldboard. Other embodiments, however, may include more or less than two projections 98 per side. Furthermore, in other embodiments, the projections may be formed on the first blade member 30 and the groove or recess formed on the second blade member.
The second blade member 32 may also include one or more fastener holes 100 for receiving fasteners, such as bolts. In the depicted embodiment, the second blade member 32 includes two upper fastener holes and two lower fastener holes that correspond to and line up with the fastener holes 72 on the first blade member 30 in an assembled position. In other embodiments, the second blade member 32 may include more or less than four fasteners holes per side.
When the edge lock 122 is attached to the second blade member 32, the second portion 126 extends beyond the first side edge 84. The second portion 126 includes a first finger 140 separated from a second finger 142 by a recess 144. The second portion 126 is configured such that the moldboard is wedged into the recess 144 while the first finger overlaps a portion of the back surface 48 and the second finger overlaps a portion of the front surface 42. The first finger 140 extends at an angle A relative from the second finger 142 to provide a lead-in for engaging the edge of the first blade member 30.
The tractor blade 10 may be used with a mobile machine, such as a track-type tractor, a wheel dozer, or other suitable machine, to push material, such as earth, coal, wood or metal chips, etc. The tractor blade 10 includes a first blade member and one or more supplemental blade members that can attach to the first blade member. As a result, the tractor blade 10 may be easily switched between different configurations. The operator need only have the supplemental blade members for the various configurations instead of entire blades for each configuration.
When properly mounted, the second mounting surface 94 on the second blade member 32 is seated against the first mounting surface 64 on the first blade member 30. Since many dozing applications place significant stress on the tractor blade 10, the first mounting surface 64 is configured with sufficient size and strength to provide a stable mounting structure for the second blade member 32 during these applications.
The ridge 96 is received in the groove 66 such that vertical movement of the second blade member 32 relative to the first blade member is restricted or prevented. In addition, the projection 98 is received in the recess 70 to align the first side edge 44 of the first blade member 30 with the first side edge 84 of the second blade member 32. In the embodiment of
The fastener holes 72 on the first blade member 30 align with the fastener holes 100 on the second blade member 32. Fasteners (not shown), such as bolts, may be inserted through the fastener holes 72, 100 to clamp the second blade member 32 to the first blade member 30.
The third blade member 34 may attach to the other side of the first blade member 30 in a similar manner. Thus, the first blade member 30 acts as a center, universal blade member and the second and third blade members 32, 34 act as supplemental blade members that may be interchanged with other supplemental blade members with different configurations to change the configuration of the tractor blade 10.
It should be understood that the above description is intended for illustrative purposes only, and is not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure in any way. Thus, those skilled in the art will appreciate that other aspects of the disclosure can be obtained from a study of the drawings, the disclosure and the appended claims.