Dump body with faceted shape
AssigneeCaterpillar Global Mining Equipment LLC
InventorsSteven J. Fujan, Earl Richard Thompson, Nathan R. Wagner, Vaitheeswaran Ponnuchamy
Life of this patent
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Abstract
It is advantageous for the dump body of a mining or off-road truck to be both strong and lightweight. Accordingly, a dump body with a faceted floor is disclosed. The dump body comprises a floor formed from a plurality of planar plates, arranged in two dimensions, and joined at angles to form a pseudo-curvature. The planar plates are easy and inexpensive to manufacture, and the angled joints provide rigidity that eliminates the need for external stiffeners, thereby maintaining the strength of the dump body while decreasing the weight and cost of the dump body.
Claims20
A dump body for a mobile equipment, the dump body comprising:
- a floor comprising a plurality of plates arranged in two dimensions, including a front-to-rear dimension and a side-to-side dimension,
- wherein each of the plurality of plates is planar, and
- wherein, in both the front-to-rear dimension and the side-to-side dimension, each of the plurality of plates is joined to each adjacent plate at an angle.
A dump body comprising:
- a floor comprising a plurality of plates arranged in two dimensions, including a front-to-rear dimension and a side-to-side dimension, wherein each of the plurality of plates is planar, and wherein, in both the front-to-rear dimension and the side-to-side dimension, each of the plurality of plates is joined to each adjacent plate at an angle;
- a front wall joined to a front edge of the floor,
- two side walls joined to two side edges of the floor and two side edges of the front wall;
- a cab protector extending forward from an edge of the front wall that is opposite an edge of the front wall that is joined to the floor;
- and
- a pair of attachment beams extending in the front-to-rear dimension on a bottom side of the floor.
A mobile equipment comprising:
- a frame;
- a plurality of ground-engagement members attached to the frame;
- a cab attached to the frame;
- a dump body that includes
- a floor comprising a plurality of plates arranged in two dimensions, including a front-to-rear dimension and a side-to-side dimension, wherein each of the plurality of plates is planar with beveled edges, and wherein, in both the front-to-rear dimension and the side-to-side dimension, each of the plurality of plates is joined to each adjacent plate at an angle,
- a front wall joined to a front edge of the floor,
- two side walls joined to two side edges of the floor and two side edges of the front wall,
- a cab protector extending, over the cab, from an edge of the front wall that is opposite an edge of the front wall that is joined to the floor, and
- a pair of attachment beams extending in the front-to-rear dimension on a bottom side of the floor, wherein each of the pair of attachment beams comprises a frame engagement element and a piston engagement element, and wherein the dump body is connected to the frame by the frame engagement element of each of the pair of attachment beams;
- and
- a pair of pistons that each comprises a first end and a second end, wherein the first end of each of the pair of pistons is connected to the frame, and wherein the second end of each of the pair of pistons is connected to the piston engagement element of a respective one of the pair of attachment beams.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.