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US 10,377,617 B2Granted
Opposable clamp arms having replaceable lower portions
AssigneeCascade Corporation
InventorsMark Schindlbeck, Richard R. Estep
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An opposable clamp arm of a load handling device such as a lift truck attachment. An upper clamp pad portion may have a generally planar plate as a main member and may have a load-gripping face layer. A lower clamp pad assembly has a plurality of separately replaceable wear-compensating load-contacting elements mounted interchangeably on a backing plate attached to a stabilizer member of the clamp arm. The load-contacting elements may be secured to the backing plate by retainer bars fastened to the backing plate with flanges of the retainer bars overlapping margins of the load contact elements.
Claims18
A clamp arm for grasping a load, comprising:
- (a) a clamp pad having a width and an upper clamp pad portion including a main body plate member having a first load-grasping face;
- (b) a lower clamp pad assembly, the lower clamp pad assembly being smaller in height than the upper clamp pad portion and including a wear-compensating load-contacting assembly, the lower clamp pad assembly including a second load-grasping face;
- and
- (c) the wear-compensating load-contacting assembly including:
- (i) a backing plate and a plurality of load-contact elements mounted on the backing plate alongside one another and spaced apart from one another along the width of the clamp pad;
- and
- (ii) a plurality of separate individual retainer bars and a plurality of fasteners, a respective one of the fasteners connecting each of the separate individual retainer bars to the backing plate, respective ones of the separate individual retainer bars being located between ones of the load-contact elements and having respective flanges overlapping respective portions of respective adjacent ones of the load-contact elements, thereby attaching each of the load-contact elements to the backing plate.
4 more elements
A clamp arm for grasping a load, comprising:
- (a) a clamp pad having a width and an upper clamp pad portion including a main body plate member and a first load-grasping face;
- (b) a lower clamp pad assembly, the lower clamp pad assembly being smaller in height than the upper clamp pad portion and including a wear-compensating load-contacting assembly, the lower clamp pad assembly including a second load-grasping face;
- and
- (c) the wear-compensating load-contacting assembly including:
- (i) a backing plate and a plurality of load-contact elements mounted on the backing plate alongside one another and spaced apart from one another along the width of the clamp pad;
- (ii) a plurality of retainer bars and a plurality of fasteners, a respective one of the fasteners connecting each of the retainer bars to the backing plate, respective ones of the retainer bars being located between ones of the load-contact elements and having flanges overlapping respective portions of respective adjacent ones of the load-contact elements, thereby attaching each of the load-contact elements to the backing plate;
- and
- (iii) a stabilizer portion, respective ones of the fasteners extending through at least two of the retainer bars and the backing plate and thereby connecting the lower clamp pad assembly to the stabilizer portion of the clamp arm.
5 more elements
A lift truck attachment including a pair of opposable clamp arms, one of the clamp arms comprising:
- (a) a clamp pad having a width and an upper clamp pad portion including a main body plate member having a first load-grasping face;
- (b) a lower clamp pad assembly, the lower clamp pad assembly being smaller in height than the upper clamp pad portion and including a wear-compensating load-contacting assembly, the lower clamp pad assembly including a second load-grasping face;
- and
- (c) the wear-compensating load-contacting assembly including:
- (i) a backing plate and a plurality of load-contact elements mounted on the backing plate alongside one another along the width of the clamp pad;
- and
- (ii) a plurality of separate individual retainer bars and a plurality of fasteners, a respective one of the fasteners connecting each of the separate individual retainer bars to the backing plate, respective ones of the separate individual retainer bars being located between ones of the load-contact elements and having respective flanges overlapping respective portions of respective adjacent ones of the load-contact elements, thereby attaching each of the load-contact elements to the backing plate.
4 more elements
A method of returning a worn clamp arm to a safely usable condition, comprising:
- (a) loosening at least two fasteners, thereby loosening two of a plurality of separate individual retainer bars from a backing plate of a wear-compensating load-contacting assembly included in a lower clamp pad assembly of the clamp arm;
- (b) removing a first replaceable load-contact element from a first position on the backing plate where it has been held by the two of the plurality of separate individual retainer bars;
- (c) placing a second replaceable load-contact element into the first position on the backing plate from which the first replaceable load-contact element has been removed;
- (d) placing two of the plurality of separate individual retainer bars into position to hold the second replaceable load-contact element in the first position on the backing plate;
- and
- (e) tightening the at least two fasteners, thereby causing the two of the plurality of separate individual retainer bars that have been placed into position to exert pressure against the second replaceable load-contact element and thereby to hold the second replaceable load-contact element in the first position on the backing plate.
3 more elements
A method of returning a worn clamp arm to a safely usable condition, comprising:
- (a) loosening at least two fasteners, thereby loosening two of a plurality of separate individual retainer bars from a backing plate of a lower clamp pad assembly;
- (b) removing a first replaceable load-contact element from a first position on the backing plate where it has been held by pressure exerted on the first replaceable load-contact element by the two of the plurality of separate individual retainer bars;
- (c) reorienting the first replaceable load-contact element and then replacing the first replaceable load-contact element, as reoriented, into the first position on the backing plate from which the first replaceable load-contact element has been removed;
- (d) placing two of the plurality of separate individual retainer bars in position to hold the first replaceable load-contact element, as reoriented, in the first position on the backing plate;
- and
- (e) tightening the at least two fasteners, thereby causing the two of the plurality of separate individual retainer bars to exert pressure against the first replaceable load-contact element and thereby to hold the first replaceable load-contact element, as reoriented, in the first position on the backing plate.
3 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.