Connector pin apparatus and associated methods
AssigneeGH Hensley Industries, Inc.
InventorsJohn A. Ruvang, Wesley E. Martin
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A connector pin assembly for releasably retaining a replaceable excavating tooth point on an adapter nose has opposite rigid body portions that are threadingly connected to one another in a manner permitting them to be selectively moved axially toward and away from one another, and a resilient structure captively retained between facing ends of the body portions. The connector pin assembly may be operatively inserted into the aligned point and adapter openings without the need to pound it in. Once the connector pin assembly is in place within the point and adapter openings the rigid body portions are threadingly moved toward one another to thereby compress the resilient structure in a manner forcing it against an interior surface portion of the adapter opening.
Claims34
Connector apparatus insertable into substantially aligned holes in an excavating wear member and an adapter member onto which the wear member is telescoped, said connector apparatus being operative to captively retain the wear member on the adapter member and comprising:
- first and second elongated cylindrical connector body members having substantially identical diameters along their lengths;
- cooperatively engageable threaded structures carried by said first and second connector body members and operative to coaxially interconnect said first and second connector body members with a longitudinally central annular space formed between facing end portions of said first and second connector body members, and to permit said first and second connector body members to be threadingly moved axially toward and away from one another;
- and
- a resilient structure having an annular configuration and being coaxially positionable in said longitudinally central annular space to be axially compressed when said first and second cylindrical body members are moved axially toward one another, and be axially uncompressed when said first and second connector body members are moved axially away from one another, said resilient structure projecting laterally outwardly beyond said facing end portions of said first and second connector body members only when said resilient structure is axially compressed.
Connector apparatus insertable into substantially aligned holes in an excavating wear member and an adapter member onto which the wear member is telescoped, said connector apparatus being operative to captively retain the wear member on the adapter member and comprising:
- first and second connector body members;
- cooperatively engageable threaded structures operative to forcibly move said first and second connector body members toward one another in a first direction;
- and
- a resilient structure interposable between said first and second connector body members and operative to be resiliently compressed thereby in said first direction in response to forcible movement of said first and second connector body members toward one another in said first direction by operation of said threaded structures,
- said first and second connector body members having generally cylindrical configurations,
- said cooperatively engageable threaded structures including an externally threaded, reduced diameter end portion of said first connector body member, and an internally threaded hole extending axially into an end of said second connector body member and configured to threadingly receive said externally threaded, reduced diameter end portion of said first connector body member, and
- said first and second connector body members having outer end surfaces with sockets extending inwardly therethrough and having noncircular cross-sections.
A method of captively retaining an excavating wear member on an adapter nose, the wear member having a socket for complementarily receiving the adapter nose, the adapter nose and the wear member having wall openings therein, said method comprising the steps of:
- placing the adapter nose into the wear member socket in a manner generally aligning the wear member and adapter nose openings;
- providing a connector pin assembly extending along an axis and having first and second opposite end portions, a resilient structure interposed between said first and second opposite end portions, and cooperating threaded structures operative to forcibly move said first and second opposite end portions axially toward one another to axially compress said resilient structure;
- axially inserting said connector pin assembly into the generally aligned wear member and adapter nose openings;
- and
- captively retaining the inserted connector pin assembly in the generally aligned wear member and adapter nose openings by using said cooperating threaded structures to forcibly move said first and second opposite end portions axially toward one another in a manner axially compressing said resilient structure.
Excavating apparatus comprising:
- an adapter having a nose portion;
- a wear member having a socket complementarily and removably receiving said nose portion;
- generally aligned openings formed in said nose portion and said wear member;
- and
- a connector pin assembly removably received and captively retained in said generally aligned openings, said connector pin assembly captively retaining said wear member on said nose portion and including:
- first and second rigid body portions spaced apart along an axis of said connector pin assembly,
- a resilient structure interposed between said body portions, and
- cooperating threaded structures associated with said body portions and forcing them axially toward one another in a manner axially compressing said resilient structure and forcing said resilient structure against a surface portion of said generally aligned openings.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.