Hitch assembly for articulated machines

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11084340-B2
Application number	US-201816035892-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 16, 2018
Priority date	Aug 1, 2017
Publication date	Aug 10, 2021
Grant date	Aug 10, 2021

Abstract

A hitch assembly adapted to facilitate an articulation of a second frame relative to a first frame of an articulated machine includes a housing, a shaft member, and a pin member. The housing has a cavity, and is adapted to be coupled to the first frame through first fasteners. The shaft member has a through-hole and is received into the cavity, and is rotatable relative to the cavity and the housing to facilitate an oscillation of the second frame relative to the first frame. The pin member is received into the through-hole, and is rotatable relative to the through-hole and the shaft member to facilitate the articulation of the second frame relative to the first frame. The pin member is adapted to be coupled to the second frame through second fasteners.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A hitch assembly for an articulated machine, the articulated machine including a first frame and a second frame, the hitch assembly adapted to facilitate an articulation of the second frame relative to the first frame, the hitch assembly comprising:
a support plate mounted to the first frame and having a slot formed therethrough;
a housing comprising:
a cylindrical body having a first axial end and a second axial end, and
a flange structured at the second axial end of the cylindrical body and extending radially outward from an outer surface of the cylindrical body, the housing having a cavity defined within and extending along a full length of the cylindrical body and the flange, and the housing being attached to the first frame with the housing being inserted through the slot of the support plate and the flange being secured to the support plate by a set of first fasteners;

a shaft member comprising:
an elongated body having a first shaft end and a second shaft end, and
a swivel hub structured at the second shaft end and having a through-hole defined therethrough, wherein the first shaft end of the elongated body is inserted through the cavity of the cylindrical body and the elongated body is rotatable within the cavity, the shaft member being rotatable relative to the cavity and the housing about a first axis that is perpendicular to a through-hole axis of the through-hole to facilitate an oscillation of the second frame relative to the first frame;

a retainer plate having an outer diameter that is greater than an inner diameter of the cavity, wherein the retainer plate is coupled to the first shaft end by a plurality of fasteners extending through the retainer plate and into the first shaft end so the retainer plate engages the first axial end of the cylindrical body to retain the elongated body within the cylindrical body; and
a pin member at least partly received into the through-hole, the pin member being rotatable relative to the through-hole and the shaft member to facilitate the articulation of the second frame relative to the first frame, wherein the pin member is attachable to the second frame through a set of second fasteners.

2. The hitch assembly of claim 1 , wherein the first frame is an engine end frame (EEF) of the articulated machine and the second frame is a non-engine end frame (NEEF) of the articulated machine.

3. The hitch assembly of claim 1 , wherein
the shaft member defines the first axis, the oscillation being facilitated about the first axis, and
the pin member defines a second axis, the articulation being facilitated about the second axis.

4. The hitch assembly of claim 3 , wherein the first axis is perpendicular to the second axis.

5. The hitch assembly of claim 1 , further including a bearing coupled to the shaft member, the bearing facilitating a rotation of the shaft member relative to the housing.

6. The hitch assembly of claim 5 , wherein the bearing is a non-metallic bearing.

7. The hitch assembly of claim 1 , further including a bearing inserted into the cavity of the housing, the bearing facilitating a rotation of the shaft member relative to the housing.

8. The hitch assembly of claim 7 , wherein the bearing is a non-metallic bearing.

9. The hitch assembly of claim 1 , wherein the pin member includes a first end and a second end, the first end and the second end being adapted to be coupled to a yoke extending from the second frame.

10. The hitch assembly of claim 9 , wherein
the first end is coupled to a first arm of the yoke through the set of second fasteners, and
the pin member includes a base plate coupled to the second end, the base plate being adapted to abut against a second arm of the yoke, thereby facilitating a retentive coupling of the pin member to the yoke.

11. An articulated machine, comprising
an engine end frame (EEF);
a non-engine end frame (NEEF) having a yoke with a first arm and a second arm;
a hitch assembly facilitating a coupling of the NEEF to the EEF, the hitch assembly including:
a housing having a cavity, and being coupled to the EEF through a set of first fasteners;
a shaft member having a first shaft end, a second shaft end, and a through-hole and being at least partly received into the cavity, the shaft member being rotatable about a first axis relative to the cavity and the housing to facilitate an oscillation of the NEEF relative to the EEF, wherein the through-hole is defined in a swivel hub at the second shaft end and has a through-hole axis that is perpendicular to the first axis, and wherein the swivel hub is disposed between the first arm and the second arm of the yoke;
a pin member having a first pin end, a second pin end and a base plate mounted at the second pin end, wherein the first pin end is inserted through a second opening of the second arm, the through-hole and a first opening of the first arm, and wherein the base plate has an outer diameter that is greater than an inner diameter of the second opening, the pin member being rotatable relative to the through-hole and the shaft member to facilitate an articulation of the NEEF relative to the EEF; and
a lock plate having a plate outer diameter that is greater than an inner diameter of the first opening, wherein the lock plate is fastened to the first pin end by a first group of fasteners and is fastened to the first arm by a second group of fasteners so that the base plate and the lock plate restrict axial movement of the pin member along the through-hole axis.

12. The articulated machine of claim 11 , wherein
the shaft member defines the first axis, the oscillation being facilitated about the first axis, and
the pin member defines a second axis, perpendicular to the first axis, the articulation being facilitated about the second axis.

13. The articulated machine of claim 11 , further including a bearing coupled to the shaft member, the bearing facilitating a rotation of the shaft member relative to the housing.

14. The articulated machine of claim 13 , wherein the bearing is a non-metallic bearing.

15. The articulated machine of claim 11 , further including a bearing inserted into the cavity of the housing, the bearing facilitating a rotation of the shaft member relative to the housing.

16. The articulated machine of claim 15 , wherein the bearing is a non-metallic bearing.

17. The articulated machine of claim 11 , wherein the through-hole is defined at the second shaft end, the hitch assembly further including a retainer plate adapted to be coupled to the first shaft end to retentively couple the shaft member to the housing.

Assignees

• Caterpillar Sarl

Inventors

• Webb Adrian Jarrod
• White James

Classifications

• E02F9/0841 Primary

  Articulated frame, i.e. having at least one pivot point between two travelling gear units (tractor-trailer combinations B62D53/00) · CPC title

• E02F9/006

  Pivot joint assemblies (in general F16C11/04) · CPC title

• F16B21/14

  Details of locking-pins or split-pins · CPC title

• B62D53/023

  with two or more coupling joints allowing staggering of the units from a central plane · CPC title

• F16B21/12

  with locking-pins or split-pins thrust into holes · CPC title