Oregon Patent of the Month – November 2021

During mining and construction operations, replaceable wear members are used to protect earth working equipment like excavation buckets. The wear member gradually wears down during use and is replaced once depleted. This replaces the need of replacing the construction device itself which is much more expensive. The members are secured by mechanical means like bolts or locking pins. These locks need to withstand the high forces of use but also be quick and safe to install and remove. 

ESCO Group, LLC is a global manufacturer of metal parts, castings, and components for industrial machinery. Recently, they have designed a new type of wear member and an accompanying fastener to attach them to earth working equipment. The design works especially well for load-haul-dump (LHD) buckets. The wear member is designed with a shroud attached toa lip of the LHD bucket. The shroud has a series of openings which align with the openings in the lip. Each opening receives a fastener to be secured. The fastener has two parts – an eccentrically-shaped head and a bolt to tighten it in place. By using multiple fasteners, a greater strength can be achieved. The design of the fasteners offers greater securement without compromising the installation and removal process.

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