Moldboard support structure for a milling machine

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10612196-B2
Application number	US-201715847194-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 19, 2017
Priority date	Dec 19, 2017
Publication date	Apr 7, 2020
Grant date	Apr 7, 2020

Abstract

A milling machine includes a frame, a ground engaging rotor assembly, a moldboard, and a hydraulic cylinder including a piston rod and a piston barrel. The ground engaging rotor assembly is at least partially enclosed by the moldboard. The moldboard is vertically movable via the hydraulic cylinder, and the hydraulic cylinder is coupled to the frame via a dual-trunnion assembly.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A milling machine, comprising
a frame;
a ground-engaging rotor assembly;
a moldboard including at least one projection on a bottom portion of the moldboard;
a bearing including a spherical portion and cylindrical end portions extending from opposing sides of the spherical portion, wherein at least one of the cylindrical end portions engages with the at least one projection of the moldboard; and
a hydraulic cylinder including a piston rod and a piston barrel, wherein the piston rod includes a coupling portion that is coupled to the spherical portion of the bearing such that the coupling portion of the piston rod is pivotable around at least a portion of the spherical portion of the bearing to provide a range of motion for the hydraulic cylinder relative to the moldboard,
wherein the ground-engaging rotor assembly is at least partially enclosed by the moldboard, wherein the moldboard is vertically moveable via the hydraulic cylinder, and wherein the hydraulic cylinder is coupled to the frame via a dual-trunnion assembly, and
wherein the dual-trunnion assembly is coupled to the machine in a central portion of a rear of the machine and to a central portion along a length of the hydraulic cylinder, wherein the dual-trunnion assembly is configured to provide a range of motion for the hydraulic cylinder relative to the machine in two directions, and wherein the piston rod of the hydraulic cylinder is pivotably coupled to a bottom portion of the moldboard.

2. The milling machine of claim 1 , wherein when the piston rod is coupled to the at least one projection, there is a gap between the coupling portion of the piston rod and the at least one projection such that the coupling portion is pivotable around at least a portion of the spherical portion of the bearing.

3. The milling machine of claim 1 , wherein the dual-trunnion assembly includes a first cradle mount and a second cradle mount.

4. The milling machine of claim 3 , wherein the second cradle mount includes two cradle pins configured to be received within and pivot relative to the first cradle mount in a first direction, and wherein the piston barrel includes two piston pins configured to be received within and pivot relative to the second cradle mount in a second direction different from the first direction.

5. The milling machine of claim 4 , wherein the first and second cradle mounts include central openings to allow the piston barrel to extend through and pivot relative to the first and second cradle mounts.

6. The milling machine of claim 4 , wherein the first cradle mount includes a plurality of through holes configured to receive a plurality of fasteners to couple the dual-trunnion assembly to the frame or to the ground-engaging rotor assembly.

7. The milling machine of claim 3 , further including a safety latch coupled to a bottom portion of the first cradle mount, wherein the safety latch is pivotable relative to the first cradle mount, and wherein the safety latch includes a hook portion configured to secure a portion of the moldboard when the moldboard is in a raised position.

8. The milling machine of claim 1 , wherein the dual-trunnion assembly is configured to allow for the hydraulic cylinder to pivot both left to right and forward to backward, relative to a direction of movement of the milling machine, based on the position and movement of the moldboard.

9. A milling machine, comprising:
a milling assembly;
a moldboard positioned to the rear of the milling assembly, wherein a bottom portion of the moldboard includes at least one projection;
a hydraulic cylinder coupling the moldboard to the milling assembly, wherein the hydraulic cylinder is coupled to the moldboard with a spherical portion extending through an end portion of the hydraulic cylinder and through the at least one projection, and wherein the hydraulic cylinder has at least two degrees of freedom of movement relative to the milling assembly;
a safety latch pivotably coupled to a first cradle mount and including a hook portion; and
a handle coupled to the moldboard,
wherein the handle is configured to be positioned within the hook portion to secure the moldboard in a raised position.

10. The milling machine of claim 9 , further comprising a second cradle mount, and wherein the hydraulic cylinder is coupled to the milling assembly via the first cradle mount and the second cradle mount.

11. The milling machine of claim 10 , wherein the first cradle mount is mounted on a central portion of the milling assembly.

12. A moldboard mounting assembly, comprising:
a hydraulic cylinder, including a piston rod and a piston barrel, wherein the piston barrel includes two piston pins;
a first cradle mount;
a second cradle mount, including two cradle pins; and
a safety latch coupled to a bottom portion of the first cradle mount, wherein the safety latch is movable relative to the first cradle mount, and wherein the safety latch includes a hook portion configured to secure a portion of a moldboard,
wherein the second cradle mount is pivotable in a first direction relative to the first cradle mount, and wherein the piston barrel is pivotable in a second direction relative to the second cradle mount.

13. The moldboard mounting assembly of claim 12 , wherein the first cradle mount is fixedly coupled to a machine.

14. The moldboard mounting assembly of claim 12 , further including a bearing, wherein a central portion of the bearing includes a spherical portion configured to be received within a mating portion of the piston rod.

15. The moldboard mounting assembly of claim 12 , wherein the safety latch is pivotable relative to the first cradle mount.

16. The moldboard mounting assembly of claim 12 , wherein the hook portion is configured to secure the portion of the moldboard in a raised position.

Assignees

• Caterpillar Paving Products Inc

Inventors

• Johnson Nick
• Wills Terry
• Argenziano Nicholas

Classifications

• E01C23/088 Primary

  Rotary tools, e.g. milling drums {(for forming recesses to receive marking materials E01C23/0946)} · CPC title