US2904909A - Dipper teeth - Google Patents

Description

S p .1959 I T. A. RATKQWSKI 2,904,909

DIPPER' TEETH 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed July 14, 1955 i I f fiomasd ikaikowa'kz' A TTORN YS Sept. 22, 1959 T. A. RATKOWSKI 2,904,909

' DIPPER TEETH Filed July 14, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Inven for 77mm as 4. Ha fko-uls'kl' United States Patent DIPPER TEETH Thomas A. Ratkowski, Chicago Heights, 111., assignor to American Brake Shoe Company, New York, N.Y., a corporation of Delaware Application July 14, 1955, Serial No. 522,051 6 Claims. (Cl. 37-9142) This invention relates to a dipper tooth for excavating equipment or the like.

Dipper teeth which are projectably mounted on the lip of an excavating shovel or the like are sometimes in the form of a hollow cap or so-called point of symmetrical construction removably mounted on an adapter, and the adapter includes a shank at the end opposite the end on which the cap is mounted for attachment to the excavating shovel. This construction enables the adapter to be repointed when the cap becomes unduly worn and moreover in those instances where but one edge of the cap at the digging point is unduly worn it is merely necessary to reverse the cap on the adapter to There have been various proposals heretofore made with regard to the way in which the cap is to be retained on the adapter. Many of these proposals have entailed relatively complicated structure with respect to which considerable diificulties are often encountered, and the primary object of the present invention is to enable a cap of the foregoing kind to be removably retained on the adapter of a dipper tooth in a relatively uncomplicated manner.

More specifically, it is an object of the present invention to removably retain a cap of the foregoing kind on the adapter of the dipper tooth merely by means of a leaf spring readily insertable in registered openings in the cap and the adapter that afford a mounting socket therefor, and to do this in such a Way that the spring acts along the center line of the cap and the adapter so that the cap is drawn up on the adapter with forces equally distributed with respect to the aforesaid center line. In this manner, assurance is had that the retaining forces serving to draw the cap upon the adapter are not unbalanced, as has heretofore been objectionable with retainers of the prior art and which have accounted for uneven wear or shifting of the cap on the adapter during use of the dipper tooth.

Other and further objects of the present invention will be apparent from the following description and claims, and are illustrated in the accompanying drawings which, by way of illustration, show a preferred embodiment of the present invention and the principles thereof and what I now consider to be the best mode in which I have contemplated applying these principles. Other embodiments of the invention embodying the same or equivalent principles may be used and structural changes may be made as desired by those skilled in the art Without departing from the present invention and the purview of the appended claims.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a cap and adapter in disassembled relation;

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the cap and adapter of Fig. l in assembled relation;

Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the cap and adapter as shown in Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a perspective view looking into the back of the cap;

expose the other edge.

ICC

Fig. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view through the cap and adapter in disassembled relation, the adapter being broken away in part;

Fig. 6 is horizontal sectional View similar to Fig. 5.;

Figs. 7, 8 and 9 are sectional views taken substantially on the lines 7--7, 8-8 and 9-9 of the Fig. 3; and

Fig. 10 is a perspective view of the retainer spring.

The present invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, Figs. 1, 2 and 3, as embodied in a dipper tooth 20 of the kind which includes a reversible cap 21 and a complemental adapter 22 on which the cap is removably mounted. The adapter in this instance has projecting therefrom a relatively long shank 23' and the end of this shank away from the body of the adapter includes an opening 24 formed therethrough enabling the adapter to be mounted on an excavating shovel or the like as is well known in the art, and the body of the adapter forwardof the shank 23 includes spaced apart projecting flanges 22F which embrace. the lip of the shovel.

On the end of the adapter opposite the. shank 23:, the adapter is cast with a forwardly projecting V shaped' nose 22'N which includes opposite, upper and lower faces that are tapered to converge in a forward direction to afford a. rounded end 25 away from the, base of the nose The cap 21 is complemental to the nose ZZN and thus includes upper and lower walls. 30. and, 31 which converge forwardly to afford a sharp dissin point whi h i relatively wide in nature as shown in Fig. 2.. The upper and, lower faces. of the di ging P int in. th pre ent: instanc ar f rm with a plurali y of spaced. part. V'- shaped, grooves 33V which. converge rearwardly, this construction being; in accordance'with my Prior" Patent No. 2,247,202.

The upper and lower W lls. 30 nd 1 of he cap are spaced apart by a pair of side walls 34 and 35, Fig. 4, and these side Walls are separated a distance corresponding to the width of the nose 2 2;N of; the adapter. The convergence forwardly of the upper and lower Walls 30 and 31 of the cap is complemental to the forward convergence of the upper an l wer faces of th nose. ZZN, and accordingly the socket thus afforded in the cap co nplemental to the nose 22N enables the cap to be mounted on the nose of the adapter as shown in Figs. 2 and 3, this being a relatively tight fit.

Preferably, the base of the nose 22N on the adapter is peripherally filleted at 22F, and, the border of the cap 21 about the rear edge thereof is likewise filleted t 21F, Fig. 2. When the cap is first mounted on the adapter, these filleted surfaces are in substantially spaced relation as shown in Fig. 2, and the rounded end 25 of the nose 22N is spaced an equal distance rearwardly of the. complementally rounded inner end 36 of the socket in the cap in which the nose 22N is adapted to fit. Such spacing enables the cap to take a firm set on the adapter as is well known.

Under the present invention, the cap is retained on the adapter by a leaf spring such as the leaf spring 40 illustrated in Fig. 10. To this end, the adapter in the nose portion thereof is formed with an opening 41, Fig. 1, extended vertically therethrough to open at theopposite upper and lower faces of the nose 22N. The opening 41 includes a forward wall 41F, Figs. 5 and 6, and a rear wall 41R which is afforded by a boss 45 formed in the adapter to project in the direction of the forward wall 41F of the recess 41. The boss 45 is of reduced dimension relative to the thickness of the base portion of the nose 22N as shown in Fig. 5, afiording a pair of shallow upper and lower recesses 45U and 45L respectively in which lugs 21U and 21L at the rear of the cap are adapted to seat. Both the cap and the adapter are conventionally of ferrous metal alloy casting of the usual kind, and thus the lugs 21U and. 21Larc formed integrally 35 with the cap 21 medially of the lateral extent of the upper and lower walls 30 and 31. The lugs as thus afforded, when seated in the recesses 45U and 45L of the adapter serve to prevent lateral shifting of the cap relative to the adapter.

Openings 48 and 49, Fig. 4, are formed in the upper and lower walls of the tooth cap adjacent the rear end of the cap, and these openings are so located that when the cap is on the adapter as aforesaid, the openings 48 and 49 register with the upper and lower ends of the opening 41 in the nose of the adapter as shown in Fig. 3, and the openings thus in registry afford a mounting or retaining socket for the spring 49 as will be described. It should here be pointed out that the forward sides of the lugs 21U and 21L constitute in effect extensions of the rear sides of the openings 48 and 49 extending inwardly of the mounting socket for the nose 22N in the cap as shown in Fig. 3.

As shown in Fig. 3, the rear wall 41R of the opening 41 afforded by the forward side of the boss 45 is spaced rearwardly of the rear sides of the openings 48 and 49 in the upper and lower walls of the cap when the cap is on the adapter defining a recess or confining space R within the nose of the adapter which is bounded in part by portions of the lugs 21U and 21L, and the forward wall 41F of the opening 41 under this circumstance is disposed somewhat rearwardly of the forward sides of the openings 48 and 49. When the cap has thus been mounted on the adapter, the parts are then to be locked together by a substantially C-shaped leaf spring 40 as will now be described.

The leaf spring 40 is of relatively strong spring steel 'and is generally C-shaped in outline. The spring 40 includes an arcuate back portion which at the medial portion thereof is sharply curved to afford a projecting and rounded node portion 40N adapted to extend in the direction of the boss 45 of the adapter as will be described. The opposite ends of the spring 40 are curved inwardly at 40A and 408 in the direction of the back of the spring, so that there is afforded a pair of spaced apart forward curved portions 40C and 40D which are centered opposite the node portion 40N of the spring, that is, the curved portions 40C and 40D are bowed in a forward direction. Such enables the spring 40 to be readily driven through the opening 48 or 49 in the cap to repose operatively in the opening 41 of the adapter.

Thus, when the cap has been mounted on the adapter as aforesaid with the openings 48 and 49 in registry with the opening 41, to afford the mounting socket for the retainer spring, the retainer spring 40 is then positioned above the opening in the upper wall of the cap in position to be driven downwardly therethrough by a sharp impact, and it is for this reason that the projecting portion 40N of the spring is provided. Thus, as the spring 40 is driven downwardly through the opening in the upper Wall of the cap, the spring 4%] undergoes progressive compression until the projecting node portion 40N thereof passes downwardly beyond the lower end of the upper lug 21U at the rear of the cap 21, and as this occurs the spring 40 expands into the operative position shown in Fig. 3 whereat the node portion 40N expands rearwardly beyond the vertical plane common to the rear sides of the aligned openings 48 and 49 in the cap 30 and the confining space R bounded by the lugs 21U and 21L, thus preventing displacement of the spring from the socket therefor.

When the spring 40 has thus been operatively positioned in the mounting socket therefor afforded by the registered openings in the walls of the cap and the nose of the adapter, the forward portion of the spring comprising the rounded end portions 46C and 49D is compressed against the forward wall 41F of the opening 41 in the nose of the adapter. The expanded and compressed states of the spring 40 are contrastingly illustrated in Figs. 3 and 10 and it will further be observed that the spring 40 in operative position presses against the forward sides or faces of the lugs 21U and ZElL at the portions of the spring that merge into the node portion 40N. In this connection, it will be appreciated that in those instances Where lugs as 21U and 21L are not provided for the purpose mentioned above, the spring 40 in operative position will have portions thereof bearing against either the rear sides or walls of the aligned openings as 48 and 49 in the cap 3t? or alternatively what constitute abutments of like order in the walls of the cap adjacent the openings 48 and 49.

Under the present invention, the mounting socket for the retainer spring 40 as afforded by the openings in the cap and the adapter that are registered when the cap is on the adapter are formed so as to be at the longitudinal center line of the dipper tooth, and as a consequence of this and the symmetry of the spring, the cap and the nose of the adapter, the retaining forces of the spring in operative position are equally distributed with respect to the center line of the dipper tooth. The cap is therefore pulled up evenly and uniformly on the nose of the adapter thereby assuring that no one portion of the cap is subjected to an unbalanced force.

Hence, while I have illustrated and described the preferred embodiments of my invention, it is to be understood that these are capable of variation and modification, and I therefore do not wish to be limited to the precise details set forth, but desire to avail myself of such changes and alterations as fall Within the purview of the following claims.

I claim:

1. A dipper tooth comprising, an adapter having a forwardly projecting nose portion defined by opposite faces that converge forwardly, a removable wear cap having opposed spaced side walls and opposed upper and lower rearwardly diverging walls complemental to said nose of the adapter, an opening extended through the nose of the adapter substantially at the longitudinal center line thereof, a boss of reduced dimension formed within the nose of the adapter substantially at the longitudinal center line of the adapter, spaced openings formed in opposed walls of the cap substantially at the longitudinal center line thereof and in registry with the open ends of the opening in the nose of the adapter so that the rear sides of said openings in the cap are spaced forwardly of the end of said boss within the nose of the adapter, and a symmetrical substantially C-shaped leaf spring reposed within said opening in the adapter and being under compression'between solid portions of said cap adjacent the openings therein and the forward wall of said opening in the adapter with a node portion substantially at the medial portion of the spring expanded into the space that lies between said end of the boss and the rear walls of the openings in said cap, to thereby hold the cap on the adapter with forces equally distributed with respect to the longitudinal center line of the tooth.

2. A dipper tooth comprising, an adapter having a forwardly projecting nose portion defined by opposite faces that converge forwardly, a removable Wear cap having upper and lower rearwardly diverging walls complemental to said nose of the adapter, a vertical opening extended through the nose of the adapter substantially at the longitudinal center line thereof, a boss of reduced dimension formed within the nose of the adapter, upper and lower openings formed in said walls of the cap substantially at the longitudinal center line thereof in registry with the open ends of the opening in the nose of the adapter, said openings in the cap having front and rear sides with the rear sides of said openings in the cap spaced forwardly of the end of said boss within the nose of the adapter, and a substantially C-shaped leaf spring reposed Within said opening in the adapter under compression between portions of said cap adjacent the openings therein and the forward wall of said opening in the adapter with a convex portion of the spring expanded into the space that lies between said end of the boss and the rear walls of the openings in said cap.

3. A dipper tooth comprising, an adapter having a forwardly projecting nose portion defined by opposite faces that converge forwardly, a removable wear cap having upper and lower reanwardly diverging walls complemental to said nose of the adapter, a vertical opening extended through the nose of the adapter substantially at the longitudinal center line thereof and being defined at least in part by front and rear walls within the nose of the adapter, upper and lower openings formed in said walls of the cap substantially at the longitudinal center line thereof and in registry with the open ends of the opening in the nose of the adapter, said upper and lower openings each having rear sides disposed forwardly of the rear wall defining in part the vertical opening in the adapter, and a leaf spring reposed within said opening in the adapter and being under compression between solid portions of said cap adjacent the openings therein and the forward wall of said opening in the adapter with a projecting portion of the spring expanded into the space between the rear sides of the upper and lower openings in said cap and the rear wall of the vertical opening in said adapter to prevent inadvertent displacement of said spring from the opening in the adapter and to thereby hold the cap on the adapter with forces equally distributed with respect to the longitudinal center line of the tooth.

4. A dipper tooth comprising, an adapter having a forwardly projecting nose portion defined by opposite faces that converge forwardly, a removable wear cap having opposed spaced side walls and opposed upper and lower rearwardly diverging walls complemental to said nose of the adapter, the nose of the adapter having an opening extended therethrough substantially at the longitudinal center line thereof, a boss of reduced dimension formed within the nose of the adapter substantially at the longitudinal center line of the adapter, opposed walls of the cap each having an opening therein substantially at the longitudinal center line thereof and in registry with the open ends of the opening in the nose of the adapter so that the rear sides of said openings in the cap are spaced forwardly of the end of said boss within the nose of the adapter, and a symmetrical substantially C-shaped leaf spring reposed within said opening in the adapter and being under compression between solid portions of said cap adjacent the openings therein and the forward wall of said opening in the adapter with a node portion substantially at the medial portion of the spring expanded into the space that lies between said end of the boss and the rear walls of the openings in said cap, to thereby hold the cap on the adapter with forces equally distributed with respect to the longitudinal center line of the tooth.

5. A dipper tooth comprising, an adapter having a forwardly projecting nose portion defined by opposite faces that converge forwardly, a removable wear cap having upper and lower rearwardly diverging walls complemental to said nose of the adapter, the nose of the adapter having a vertical opening therein substantially at the longitudinal center line thereof and being defined at least in part by front and rear walls within the nose of the adapter, said 'walls of the cap each having an opening therein substantially at the longitudinal center line thereof and in registry with the open ends of the opening in the nose of the adapter, said openings in the cap each having a rear side disposed forwardly of the rear Wall defining in part the vertical opening in the adapter, and a leaf spring reposed within said opening in the adapter and being under compression between solid portions of said cap adjacent the openings therein and the forward wall of said opening in the adapter with a projecting portion of the spring expanded into the space between the rear sides of the upper and lower openings in said cap and the rear wall of the vertical opening in said adapter to prevent inadvertent displacement of said spring from the opening in the adapter and to thereby hold the cap on the adapter with forces equally distributed with respect to the longitudinal center line of the tooth.

6. A dipper tooth comprising, an adapter having a forwardly projecting nose portion defined by opposite faces that converge folwardly, a removable wear cap having upper and lower rearwardly diverging walls complemental to said nose of the adapter, the nose of the adapter having a vertical opening extended therethrough substantially at the longitudinal center line thereof, a boss of reduced dimension formed within the nose of the adapter, said walls of the cap each having an opening substantially at the longitudinal center line thereof in registry with the open ends of the opening in the nose of the adapter, said openings in the cap having front and rear sides with the rear sides of said openings in the cap spaced forwardly of the end of said boss within the nose of the adapter, and a substantially C-shaped leaf spring reposed within said opening in the adapter under compression between portions of said cap adjacent the openings therein and the forward wall of said opening in the adapter with a convex portion of the spring expanded into the space that lies between said end of the boss and the rear walls of the openings in said cap.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 796,798 Blaine Aug. 8, 1905 1,247,043 Warne Nov. 20, 1917 2,129,420 Guy Sept. 6, 1938 2,251,169 Seal July 29, 1941 2,325,991 White Aug. 3, 1943 2,427,651 Baer Sept. 23, 1947 2,483,032 Baer Sept. 27, 1949 2,568,075 Launder Sept. 18, 1951 2,702,490 Launder Feb. 22, 1955

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