Dipper handle assembly for a power shovel

Abstract

A yoke for a dipper handle assembly used on a power shovel. The yoke is constructed at least in part of a transition portion and associated lugs manufactured of a forged material as opposed to castings. Accordingly, the yoke is less prone to failure and easy to repair in the field.

Claims

1. A dipper handle assembly, comprising: a tube with a first end and a second end; a yoke comprising: a transition portion interconnected to the first end of the tube, an upper plate interconnected to an outer end of the transition and generally coincident with an upper surface of the transition, a lower plate interconnected to an outer end of the transition and generally coincident with a lower surface of the transition, a wrapper plate interconnecting an outer end of the upper plate and an outer end of the lower plate, a substantially planar first side plate interconnected to a first lateral end of the upper plate, a first lateral end of the lower plate, and a first lateral end of the transition; a substantially planar second side plate interconnected to a second lateral end of the upper plate, a second lateral end of the lower plate, and a second lateral end of the transition; a first lug interconnected to a first lateral end of the wrapper plate, an outer end of the substantially planar first side plate, the outer end of the upper plate, and the outer end of the lower plate; a second lug interconnected to a second lateral end of the wrapper plate, an outer end of the substantially planar second side plate, the outer end of the upper plate, and the outer end of the lower plate; a first pitch brace lug interconnected to the lower plate; and a second pitch brace lug interconnected to the lower plate and spaced from the first pitch brace.

2. The assembly of claim 1, wherein the transition portion is made of forged material.

3. The assembly of claim 1, further comprising an insert positioned within the transition portion.

4. The assembly of claim 1, wherein the transition portion has an aperture therethrough.

5. The assembly of claim 4, further comprising a collar located about a portion of the transition portion, the collar being interconnected to the transition portion by a pin that interfaces with the aperture.

6. The assembly of claim 1, wherein the transition portion of the yoke is at least partially hollow.

7. The assembly of claim 1, wherein the wrapper plate is arcuate.

8. A dipper handle assembly, comprising: a tube with a first end and a second end; a yoke comprising: a transition portion interconnected to the first end of the tube, an upper plate interconnected to an outer end of the transition, a lower plate interconnected to an outer end of the transition, a wrapper plate interconnecting an outer end of the upper plate and an outer end of the lower plate, a substantially planar first side plate interconnected to a first lateral end of the upper plate, a first lateral end of the lower plate, and a first lateral end of the transition, and a substantially planar second side plate interconnected to a second lateral end of the upper plate, a second lateral end of the lower plate, and a second lateral end of the transition; a first lug interconnected to a first lateral end of the wrapper plate, an outer end of the substantially planar first side plate, the outer end of the upper plate, and the outer end of the lower plate; and a second lug interconnected to a second lateral end of the wrapper plate, an outer end of the substantially planar second side plate, the outer end of the upper plate, and the outer end of the lower plate.

9. The assembly of claim 8, further comprising an insert positioned within the transition portion.

10. The assembly of claim 8, wherein the transition portion has an aperture therethrough.

11. The assembly of claim 10, further comprising a collar located about a portion of the transition portion, the collar being interconnected to the transition portion by a pin that interfaces with the aperture.

12. The assembly of claim 8, further comprising a first pitch brace lug interconnected to the lower plate; and a second pitch brace lug interconnected to the lower plate and spaced from the first pitch brace.

13. The assembly of claim 8, wherein the transition portion is made of forged material.

14. A power shovel, comprising: a boom assembly; a saddle block interconnected to the boom assembly; and a dipper handle assembly operably interconnected to the saddle block, the dipper handle assembly comprising: a tube with a first end and a second end; and a yoke comprising: a transition portion interconnected to the first end of the tube, an upper plate interconnected to an outer end of the transition, a lower plate interconnected to an outer end of the transition, a wrapper plate interconnecting an outer end of the upper plate and an outer end of the lower plate, a substantially planar first side plate interconnected to a first lateral end of the upper plate, a first lateral end of the lower plate, and a first lateral end of the transition, and a substantially planar second side plate interconnected to a second lateral end of the upper plate, a second lateral end of the lower plate, and a second lateral end of the transition; a first lug interconnected to a first lateral end of the wrapper plate, an outer end of the substantially planar first side plate, the outer end of the upper plate, and the outer end of the lower plate; and a second lug interconnected to a second lateral end of the wrapper plate, an outer end of the substantially planar second side plate, the outer end of the upper plate, and the outer end of the lower plate.

15. The power shovel of claim 14, wherein the yoke further comprises a first pitch brace lug interconnected to the lower plate; a second pitch brace lug interconnected to the lower plate and spaced from the first pitch brace; and wherein the first lug and the second lug are operatively interconnected to an upper portion of a dipper bucket, and the first pitch brace and the second pitch brace are operatively interconnected to a bottom portion of the dipper bucket.

16. The assembly of claim 15, wherein the transition portion of the yoke has an aperture therethrough.

17. The assembly of claim 16, further comprising a collar located about a portion of the transition portion, the collar being interconnected to the transition portion by a pin that interfaces with the aperture.

18. The assembly of claim 15, wherein the transition portion of the yoke is made of forged material.

19. The assembly of claim 15, wherein the yoke is further comprised of an insert positioned within the transition portion.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of the specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention and together with the general description of the invention given above and the detailed description of the drawings given below, serve to explain the principles of these inventions.

(2) FIG. 1 is an elevation view of a power shovel of the prior art.

(3) FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a dipper handle assembly of one embodiment of the present invention used by power shovels that employ a rope crowd configuration;

(4) FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a dipper handle assembly of another embodiment of the present invention used by power shovels that employ a hydraulic crowd configuration;

(5) FIG. 4 is a top perspective view of a yoke of one embodiment of the present invention;

(6) FIG. 5 is a bottom perspective view of a yoke of one embodiment of the present invention;

(7) FIG. 6 is a rear perspective view of a yoke of one embodiment of the present invention;

(8) FIG. 7 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of a yoke of one embodiment of the present invention;

(9) FIG. 8 is a detailed view of FIG. 7; and

(10) FIG. 9 is a transverse cross-sectional view of FIG. 6.

(11) The following component list and associated numbering found in the drawings is provided to assist in the understanding of one embodiment of the present invention:

#COMPONENT

(12) 1 Power shovel 2 Dipper 6 Cables 10 Boom assembly 20 Dipper handle assembly 22 Rope 24 Saddle block 28 Tube 32 Yoke 36 Pitch brace 50 Handle assembly 54 Yoke 58 Tube 60 D-ring 62 Collar 66 Pin 72 Weld 74 Transition portion 78 Lugs 82 Upper plate 86 Lower plate 90 Outer end of the transition portion 94 Outer end of the transition portion 98 Outer end of the transition portion 102 Outer end of the upper plate 106 Outer end of the lower plate 110 Wrapper plate 114 Lateral edge of the upper plate 118 Lateral edge of the lower plate 122 Side plate 126 Outer end of the side plate 130 Pitch brace lug 140 Insert 144 Aperture 148 Aperture 152 Shoulder 156 Weld

(13) It should be understood that the drawings are not necessarily to scale. In certain instances, details that are not necessary for an understanding of the invention or that render other details difficult to perceive may have been omitted. It should be understood, of course, that the invention is not necessarily limited to the particular embodiments illustrated herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

(14) FIGS. 2-10 show a dipper handle assembly 50 of one embodiment of the present invention that is comprised of a yoke 54 interconnected to one and of a tube 58. FIG. 2 shows one embodiment of the present invention configured to use with rope crowd power shovels, wherein a D-ring 60 or sheave is provided that receives a rope. Here, a collar 62 may also be provided that interconnects the yoke 54 to the tube by way of a pin 66. FIG. 3 shows another configuration used with hydraulic crowd power shovels, wherein a hydraulic cylinder extends the length of the tube and connects to the yoke through an aperture by way of a pin, which will be described in further detail below.

(15) FIGS. 4-8 show the yoke 54 of one embodiment of the present invention. The yoke is comprised of a transition portion 74, which is interconnected to the tube 58 with a full-thickness weld 72. The transition portion 74 is interconnected to a series of interconnected plates that accommodate lugs 78. More specifically, an upper plate 82 and a lower plate 86 are interconnected to an outer end 90 of the transition. The upper plate 82 and the lower plate 86 are also generally coincident with an upper surface 94 and a lower surface 98 of the transition, respectively. Outer ends 102, 106 of the upper plate 82 and the lower plate 86 are interconnected to a wrapper plate 110. The wrapper plate 110 is unique to some embodiments of the present invention and eliminates troublesome cross bracing found in traditional yoke designs. Cross bracing requires constant monitoring and crack repair, while the wrapper plate provides equivalent stiffness and removes the difficult to access weld joint that is prone to cracking. Lateral edges 114 and 118 of the upper plate and the lower plate, respectively, are interconnected to side plates 122, which are also interconnected to the transition's outer end 90. Finally, lugs 78 are interconnected to outer ends 126 of the side plates and outer ends 102, 106 of the upper and lower plates. As one of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate, the upper and lower plates may also include necessary components that interface with lifting and moving devices of the power shovel. For example, the lower plate may accommodate one or more pitch brace lugs 130.

(16) FIGS. 6-8 are cross-sectional views of a yoke of one embodiment of the present invention that employs an insert 140 that selectively receives an end of a hydraulic piston. The insert has an aperture 144 that corresponds with an aperture 148 in the transition portion 74 (see FIG. 4, for example). These apertures receive a pin 66 that receives the end of the hydraulic piston. In this embodiment, the pin 66 receives retainers at each end. The retainers may have a plurality of tabs for the receipt of a harness. The insert is abutted against the shoulder 152 provided by the transition portion 74, wherein an outer end of the insert 140 is welded 156 to an inner surface of the transition portion. As the transition portion and inner surface of are each made of the same forged material, the weld 156 is not affected by material difference concerns.

(17) While various embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail, it is apparent that modifications and alterations of those embodiments will occur to those skilled in the art. It is to be expressly understood that such modifications and alterations are within the scope and spirit of the present invention, as set forth in the following claims. Further, it is to be understood that the invention(s) described herein is not limited in its application to the details of construction and the arrangement of components set forth in the preceding description or illustrated in the drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced or of being carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology used herein is for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting. The use of including, comprising, or having and variations thereof herein is meant to encompass the items listed thereafter and equivalents thereof as well as additional items.