TECHNICAL FIELD

This invention relates to a device which cleans between teeth of a compactor wheel on a work machine and, more specifically, to such a device adapted for mounting on a mounting beam attached to the work machine.

BACKGROUND

Work machines known as compactors are commonly used to compress and spread material, such as trash in a landfill or dirt at a building site. Compactors often have drum-type metal wheels with a plurality of rows of replaceable teeth attached to the outside surfaces of the wheels. The teeth provide traction to the compactor, as well as concentrating the weight of the machine on a small area to increase compression force on the underlying material.

Dirt and debris can become stuck to the wheel between the teeth, particularly in damp conditions or if the soil has a high clay content, such as that found in the southwestern United States. If such debris builds up sufficiently to clog the spaces of the wheel surface between, and roughly to the height of, the teeth, the teeth cannot dig into the ground. Build-up of this severity can cause loss of traction and/or poor compaction.

The generally accepted practice to avoid build-up involves mounting stationary cleaner fingers on a portion of the work machine such that, as the wheels rotate, the cleaner fingers scrape or deflect debris from between the rows of teeth before it has a chance to build up. An example of this type of cleaner finger arrangement is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,360,288, issued Nov. 1, 1994 to William N. O'Neill et al. (hereafter referenced as '288).

The '288 cleaner finger assembly includes a replaceable cleaner tooth having an arcuate upper surface, a trailing lower surface, and a fastening portion. However, the complexity of the tooth makes it expensive to produce, and the attachment method requires an operator to remove the tooth from below a mounting beam when changing the tooth, which may be an awkward or uncomfortable position for the operator. Additionally, the '288 cleaner finger assembly requires mirror-image cleaner fingers on either side of the wheel, at double the cost of a single system, to provide complete scraping functions when the machine moves both forward and backward because of the angle of the tooth in relation to the wheel.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a side view of a work machine incorporating an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a cleaner finger assembly according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a plurality of mounted cleaner finger assemblies according to an embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 4 is a partial perspective and sectional view, taken along line 4—4 of FIG. 3, of a plurality of mounted cleaner finger assemblies according to an embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring first to FIG. 1, a work machine 100 includes a machine body 102, an operator compartment 104 carried by the machine body 102, and a ground-engaging system (shown generally at 106) providing motive power to the machine body 102. The ground-engaging system 106 includes at least one wheel 108 having a wheel axis (shown end-on at 110). At least one compactor tooth 112 is attached to the wheel 108. Preferably, a plurality of compactor teeth 112 are arranged in rows in a known manner. The wheel 108 may oscillate in a known manner as the machine travels. The ground-engaging system 106 also includes at least one wheel cleaner assembly 114 set forth in detail below and including a mounting beam and a cleaner finger assembly 200. The wheel cleaner assembly 114 may be mounted in front of or behind the wheel 108. In addition, multiple wheel cleaner assemblies 114 can be associated with each wheel 108. Furthermore, each wheel cleaner assembly 114 may be mounted at any suitable angle with respect to the wheel axis 110. The configuration shown in FIG. 1 is for exemplary purposes only.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a cleaner finger assembly 200, which includes a support member 202, which defines a longitudinal axis 204, and a cleaner finger 206. The support member 202 has three or more leg portions 208. By “leg portion”, what is meant is a roughly planar piece of material which forms the support member in cooperation with other leg portions. The support member 202 depicted in FIG. 2 has a top leg portion 210 which is substantially parallel to a bottom leg portion 212. The top and bottom leg portions 210,212 are spaced apart along the longitudinal axis 204. A vertical leg portion 214 connects the top and bottom leg portions 210,212, and the cleaner finger 206 is attached to the vertical leg portion 214. Other suitable leg portion 208 arrangements which fall under the scope of the present invention include: a horizontal leg portion connecting two vertical leg portions 214 to one of which the cleaner finger 206 is attached, with the horizontal leg portion being a top or bottom leg portion 210,212 depending upon the orientation of the cleaner finger 206; and an arrangement of four or more leg portions 208, possibly forming a closed structure through which another component can be inserted. The top leg portion 210 shown in FIG. 2 includes a thickened portion, or leg portion extension 216, which may serve a reinforcement or spacing purpose, but is not present on the bottom leg portion 212 shown and is optional for all leg portions 208 in the present invention. Such leg portion extension 216 may be a separate piece, or attached to or formed integrally with the leg portion 208, without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. A mounting aperture 218 may be a hole, slot, indent, or the like, and need not extend totally through the thickness of the leg portion 208. The mounting aperture 218 should be operative to receive a mounting fastener (not shown) for attachment of the cleaner finger assembly 200 to another component.

The cleaner finger 206 is optionally attachable and replaceable, for longer life of the cleaner finger assembly 200. Preferably, the cleaner finger 206 is formed and attached to the support member 202 in such a way that the cleaner finger 206 breaks away under excessive force to protect other components of the wheel cleaner assembly 114 from damage. The cleaner finger 206 is intended to be a low-cost part, and as such, is simple in form, having four finger sides and a thickness. If the thickness is substantially uniform in a direction parallel to the longitudinal axis 204 when mounted, the cleaner finger 206 may be easily cut from a sheet of planar stock material.

The four main finger sides are a finger attachment side 220 (adapted to be attached to the support member 202), a finger end side 222 spaced from and substantially parallel to the finger attachment side 220, a finger top side 224 extending between the finger attachment side 220 and the finger end side 222, and a finger bottom side 226 spaced from the finger top side and extending between the finger attachment side 220 and the finger end side 222. Each of the finger sides 220,222,224,226 may optionally include one or more facets, angles, or curves, which would provide the mounted cleaner finger 206 with a nonuniform cross sectional area as taken at varying distances from the longitudinal axis 204.

The finger bottom side 226 is of special interest, as it is preferably curved to provide a concave aspect in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal axis 204. This concavity is selected to allow for the wheel 108 to oscillate normally without bringing the cleaner finger 206 into contact with the compactor teeth 112, while still leaving sufficient material in the cleaner finger 206 for desired strength and durability. The finger bottom side 226 shown in FIG. 2 is only an example of a suitably concave structure, and one skilled in the art will be able to readily determine an optimal concavity for any particular wheel cleaner assembly 114 in practice.

The positioning of the cleaner finger 206 as attached to the support member 202 may also be chosen for optimal performance. Preferably, the cleaner finger 206 is attached to a longitudinally central area of the leg portion 208 in order to minimize the moment forces transferred to the support member 202 from the cleaner finger 206.

A preferred mounting of the cleaner finger assembly 200 to the work machine 100 is shown in FIG. 3. The structure depicted is a portion of the wheel cleaner assembly 114 as attached to the work machine 100, with the wheel 108 removed for clarity. The wheel axis 110 provides a visual indication of the usual positioning of the wheel 108.

A plurality of cleaner finger assemblies 200 are removably attached to a mounting beam 302, which is in turn attached to the machine body 102. In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the mounting beam 302 extends out from the machine body 102 in a direction substantially parallel to the wheel axis 110.

The cleaner finger assemblies 200 are shown in FIG. 3 as being identical, but may be formed or mounted differently from one another along the length of the mounting beam 302 as needed. The mounting beam 302 shown is rectangular in cross-section, but any suitable cross-section, including but not limited to circular, ellipsoid, hexagonal, L-shaped, or the like, may be utilized without departing from the spirit of the present invention. In addition, the mounting beam 302 may be either hollow/tubular or solid, but will be discussed below as being a hollow rectangular beam.

The attachment of the cleaner finger assemblies 200 to the mounting beam 302 is shown best in FIG. 4, a cross-section through the wheel cleaner assembly 114 taken along line 4—4 of FIG. 3. The support member 202 partially surrounds the mounting beam 302 (in the case of a four or more sided support member 202, the mounting beam 302 may be completely surrounded) and is attached to the mounting beam 302. Though this may be accomplished in any known or suitable manner, the mounting connection depicted in FIG. 4 uses an optional mounting block 402 as an intermediate component to assist with the absorption and dispersal of forces from the cleaner finger assembly 200. The mounting block 402 is inserted through one or more beam apertures 404 formed in the mounting beam 302. The mounting block 402 defines at least one block aperture 406, shown in phantom view. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 4, a mounting fastener 408 is inserted through a first mounting aperture 218 in the support member 202, through the block aperture 406, and through a second mounting aperture 218 in the support member 202 to attach the support member 202 to the mounting beam 302. Many other attachment methods are contemplated by the present invention including those where the beam aperture 404 and/or the block aperture 406 are of any suitable shape and extend partially or fully through the mounting beam 302 and mounting block 402, should one be included, respectively.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

As the work machine 100 travels back and forth at the compaction work site, the wheel cleaner assembly 114 stays stationary relative to the work machine 100 while the wheels 108 rotate, bringing the wheels 108 past the cleaner fingers 206 which perform the debris-removal function. Should one or more cleaner fingers 206 become damaged or break away from the support members 202, the operator can supply a replacement cleaner finger 206 and attach it to the support member 202 without having to dissemble the entire wheel cleaner assembly 114. In addition, the operator may use an undamaged cleaner finger 206 or a supplied outline as a template to form a new replacement cleaner finger 206—for example, cutting the cleaner finger 206 from a scrap sheet of steel of the desired type. This allows the operator to eliminate the stocking of spare cleaner fingers 206 and even the necessity of purchasing the cleaner fingers 206 premade, which could lead to substantial cost savings in the operation of the work machine 100.