Fill and compaction roller using replaceable cleat assemblies with extended service life

#This invention generally concerns compaction machinery such as a roller or wheel for mounting upon a driven compactor vehicle or tractor, the roller having both destructive and tractive characteristics adapted to break up, crush, grind and compact throwaway materials commonly delivered to a sanitary land fill operations. More particularly this invention is characterized by cleat assemblies including removable wear caps configured for a long service life.

#Compaction rollers and wheels used on landfill operations and particularly sanitary landfill operations are equipped generally with cleats or feet of the type for grinding and crushing materials to reduce the size and bulk of the material. As shown in the assignee's prior patents, U.S. Pat. No. 3,922,106 and 4,919,566, an earth and sanitary fill compaction roller has been shown employing two different types of feet having a replaceable wear cap as a part of the cleat assemblies. The wear caps are welded to a base portion of the assembly, which in turn is welded to the roller as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,922,106. The wear caps in U.S. Pat. No. 4,919,566 are readily removable from the base portion of the assembly using common tools available at the job site. It has been observed that due in large degree to manufacturing tolerances that the use of removable wear caps coupled to a fixed base, in severe service exposes the assembly to twisting forces which in time materially reduce the service life of the wear cap and cleat assembly. In the '566 patent, a cleat assembly was disclosed including means for restraining twisting of the wear cap relative to the base, which function entirely satisfactory with compaction equipment then operating in the 70,000 lbs. gross weight class. Improvements in the cleat assembly are desired for use on compaction rollers mounted on compaction machines now furnished in the 100,000 to 120,000 lbs gross vehicular weight class.

#More particularly, the compaction vehicles of the higher operating weights now coming into service apply substantially more torque to the compaction rollers via their larger engines and transmissions than was the case with compactors that were 30,000 to 50,000 lbs. lighter in gross vehicle weight. Moreover, landfill operators expect very long service life of the compaction rollers and cleat assemblies, some required assurances that these components will render a service life on the order of 20,000 hours. Thus, it is highly desirable to accommodate in the cleat assemblies on the compaction rollers the higher torque than tractive forces applied by the extra heavy duty compaction machinery now entering into service.

#FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the rear of a sanitary landfill trash compactor equipped with compaction rollers having mounted thereon the cleat assemblies, all made in accordance with the principles of the present invention;

#FIG. 2 is a perspective view on an enlarged scale of a contour type wear cap having broad tractive working end faces;

#FIG. 3 is a view on the scale of FIG. 2 showing the contour cleat base;

#A compaction roller 10 constructed according to the present invention is illustrated in FIG. 1 mounted upon a power-driven trash compaction vehicle 11 of high gross vehicular weight, the roller 10 normally being deployed in sets of four as shown. The compaction roller 10 includes a rigid cylindrical body or rim 12 connected to a centrally disposed conical web 13 which in turn is rigidly secured to central wheels structure 14 shown diagrammatically but may be constructed according to U.S. Pat. No. 3,724,342 assigned to Caron Compactor Company to incorporate cushioning elements and the like.

#The wheel or roller 10 is shown mounted upon a very heavy duty compactor vehicle, one in the gross vehicle weight range of 70,000-120,000 lbs. The high vehicular weights are desirable to achieve high compaction densities in the sanitary land fill thereby to increase the capacity life of the landfill.

#The cylindrical rim 12 of each of the four wheels shown in FIG. 1 is equipped with cleat assemblies 16-17 as described more fully below which are arranged in rows as shown. For ease of reference the cleat assemblies 16 referred to as traction cleats being that the cleat is provided with broad flat bases presented to the direction of wheel rotation. The cleat assemblies 17 may be referred to as contour cleats being that they are oriented on the rim 12 With the long dimension of the cleat assembly extending in the direction of travel and their configuration follows the contour of the wheel rim. Both the contour cleats 17 and the traction cleats 16 have broad faces oriented in the direction of travel, and thus, both provide substantial traction effect for the wheel or if viewed in another way, the driving force applied by the transmission and a motor of the compactor are distributed onto both the traction and contour cleats which together serve to crush and grind materials normally deposited in a landfill.