WEAR ELEMENT FOR AN EARTH-MOVING MACHINE, CORRESPONDING MEASURING DEVICE AND MACHINE

Abstract

Wear element for an earth-moving machine, corresponding measuring device and machine, in particular an excavating machine, loading machine, dredging machine, or the like. Said wear element is provided with a measuring device and further comprising energy harvesting means configured for capturing energy derived from an external source with respect to said measuring device and supplying said energy, in the form of electrical energy, to said measuring device.

Claims

1. (canceled)

2. (canceled)

3. (canceled)

4. (canceled)

5. (canceled)

6. (canceled)

7. (canceled)

8. (canceled)

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10. (canceled)

11. (canceled)

12. (canceled)

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14. (canceled)

15. (canceled)

16. A wear element for an earth-moving machine, in particular an excavating machine, loading machine, dredging machine, or the like, provided with a measuring device , and further comprising energy harvesting means configured for capturing energy derived from an external source with respect to said measuring device and supplying said energy, in the form of electrical energy, to said measuring device, wherein said external source comprises a thermal energy source and said energy harvesting means comprise at least one thermoelectric cell and wherein said wear element is a tooth adapter having a tooth mounted thereto, and said at least one thermoelectric cell are two thermoelectric cells arranged in opposite side walls of said wear element.

17. The wear element according to claim 16, further comprising radiator elements connected to said thermoelectric cells, wherein each of said radiator elements is independently in direct contact with said thermoelectric cell or away from said thermoelectric cell and connected by means of a thermal conductor.

18. The wear element according to claim 16 wherein said external source further comprises vibrations present in said wear element when said wear element is in a usage position in said earth-moving machine, wherein said energy harvesting means are further configured for harvesting energy from said vibrations in a range of frequencies from 80 to 90 Hz.

19. The wear element according to claim 18, wherein said energy harvesting means are further configured for harvesting energy from said vibrations in a range of frequencies from 30 to 40 Hz.

20. The wear element according to claim 16, wherein said energy harvesting means comprise a microelectromechanical device, preferably a piezoelectric microelectromechanical device.

21. The wear element according to claim 18, wherein said energy harvesting means are configured for harvesting energy from said vibrations in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of said wear element.

22. The wear element according to claim 16, wherein said external source further comprises a solar energy source and said energy harvesting means further comprise at least one photovoltaic plate.

23. Wear element according to claim 22, wherein said at least one photovoltaic plate is arranged towards the outside of said wear element and protected by means of a transparent protective surface.

24. The wear element according to claim 16, wherein said measuring device comprises a wear sensor, a stress sensor, a wear element fall detector, a wear element location detector, or a combination thereof.

25. The wear element according to claim 16, wherein said external source comprises a combination of a solar, magnetic, electromagnetic, thermal or vibrational energy source.

26. The wear element according to claim 16, further comprising conditioning and storage means, configured for conditioning and storing the electrical energy supplied by said energy harvesting means, so that it can be supplied to said measuring device.

27. An earth-moving machine provided with at least one wear element according to claim 16.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0031] The advantages and features of the invention can be seen from the following description in which preferred embodiments of the invention are described in a non-limiting manner with respect to the scope of the main claim in reference to the drawings.

[0032] FIG. 1 shows a shovel or bucket of an earth-moving machine provided with several wear elements of the type of the invention.

[0033] FIG. 2 is a section view of a wear element of the type of the invention and the attachment part for attachment with an earth-moving machine. The figure shows a dashed line representing the longitudinal axis of the wear element. It also includes by way of reference a depiction of the coordinate axes.

[0034] FIGS. 3A to 3D show graphs in which the magnitude of the vibration is depicted with respect to its frequency for different working conditions of the earth-moving machine.

[0035] FIG. 4A and 4B show diagrams of a measuring device powered by two embodiments of the piezoelectric device.

[0036] FIG. 5 is a detailed view of a shovel with wear elements provided with solar energy harvesting means.

[0037] FIGS. 6A, 6B, 6C, and 7 are section views showing different configurations for a thermoelectric cell inside a wear element.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

[0038] FIGS. 1 and 2 show an exemplary embodiment of a wear element 1 for an earth-moving machine 2. As can be seen in FIG. 1, for the case of the example, said machine 2 is an excavator provided with a shovel in which said wear elements 1 are provided. The wear element 1 of the example is an excavator tooth provided with a measuring device 3 located in an inner cavity of the tooth, and configured for detecting the state of wear of the wear element 1. This therefore facilitates maintenance, replacement, fall detection operations, etc. The wear element 1 further comprises energy harvesting means configured for capturing energy derived from an external source with respect to the measuring device 3 and supplying said energy, in the form of electrical energy, to said measuring device 3.

[0039] In the first embodiment, the external source comprises vibrations present in said wear element 1 when said wear element 1 is in a usage position in said earth-moving machine 2, as shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2. In particular, for the case of this first embodiment, the energy harvesting means comprise a piezoelectric microelectromechanical device 103. Other embodiments may comprise devices of another type the functionality of which allows converting vibrations into electrical energy.

[0040] Experimental tests have been conducted to determine the range of vibration frequencies that optimize energy attainment during the working conditions of the earth-moving machine of the first embodiment. FIGS. 3A to 3D show graphs in which the magnitude of the vibration is depicted with respect to its frequency. FIG. 3A shows the vibrations when the machine is in standby but with the engine on, where it is actually two superimposed graphs that cannot be differentiated from one another due to the limitations of representation in black and white, one graph corresponding to the machine itself and the other being a measurement corresponding to noise. In any case, the identified peak corresponds to the measurement of the machine.

[0041] FIG. 3B shows the vibrations with the machine in motion, that is, moving traveling from one place to another. Said vibrations have another peak close to the preceding one. FIG. 3C shows the vibrations with the machine loading the material, in this case without any notable peaks. Finally, FIG. 3D shows the vibrations with the machine unloading the material. In this case, there is another peak in a lower frequency than the preceding ones.

[0042] Therefore, for the first embodiment, the energy harvesting means are configured for harvesting energy from said vibrations in the range of 80 to 90 Hz, which corresponds to maximizing the harvesting of energy in the case of the machine in standby or in motion. In other embodiments, the range is 30 to 40 Hz for optimizing material unloading operations. Still in other embodiments, both ranges are used simultaneously. Other ranges can also be envisaged in the case of machines or wear elements having different characteristics and involving vibrations with peaks centered in other ranges.

[0043] For the first embodiment, the energy harvesting means are configured for harvesting energy from said vibrations in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal axis 4 of the wear element 1. Specifically, in the first embodiment the piezoelectric device 103 gathers vibrations on the Y axis shown in FIG. 2. As can be observed, the longitudinal axis 4 corresponds with the coordinate axis Z. Depending on the type of wear element, its fixing, and its operative movement, other embodiments harvest vibrations in a direction of plane XY, or even in other directions transverse to the longitudinal axis 4.

[0044] In the first embodiment, the wear element 1 further comprises conditioning and storage means configured for conditioning and storing the electrical energy supplied by said energy harvesting means, such that it can be supplied to said measuring device 3. In particular, for this embodiment the storage means are a battery and the conditioning means are an electronic circuit comprising an electrical rectifier for conditioning the electrical signal together with a battery for storing same. In this example, the battery is used for powering the measuring device 3.

[0045] FIGS. 4A and 4B show conceptual diagrams of a measuring device 3 powered by a piezoelectric device 103. By way of comparison, the case of FIG. 4A in which power is supplied directly from the piezoelectric 103 to the measuring device 3 is included. The diagram shown in FIG. 4B corresponds with the first embodiment herein described. In this case, a battery which is powered from the piezoelectric 103 through an electronic rectification circuit is provided.

[0046] Other embodiments of the wear element 1 according to the invention sharing many of the features described in the preceding paragraphs are shown below. Accordingly, only the differentiating elements will be described hereinafter, whereas reference is made to the description of the first embodiment for the common elements.

[0047] In some embodiments, the external source comprises a solar, magnetic, electromagnetic, thermal, vibrational energy source, or a combination thereof.

[0048] In some embodiments, such as the one shown in FIG. 5, said external source comprises a solar energy source and said energy harvesting means comprise at least one photovoltaic plate 101. In particular, FIG. 5 shows an embodiment in which wear elements are provided with photovoltaic plates 101 which receive solar energy and transform it into electrical energy. In this embodiment, said photovoltaic plates 101 are arranged facing the outside of the wear element and protected by means of a transparent surface.

[0049] In other embodiments, said external source comprises a thermal energy source and said energy harvesting means comprise at least one thermoelectric cell 102. In particular, FIGS. 6A, 6B, 6C, and 7 show different configurations for said thermoelectric cell 102 inside a wear element. Each of said figures shows two types of wear elements fitted to one another, the one located in the top part of the figure is an excavator tooth, whereas the element that is fitted to said tooth is known as a tooth adapter. Said FIGS. 6A-6C and 7 are all horizontal section views of the same type of wear elements.

[0050] In the embodiment of FIG. 6A, the thermoelectric cell 102 is provided inside the tooth. Likewise, a thermal barrier going through the thermoelectric cell to facilitate heat flow through same has been provided.

[0051] The embodiment of FIG. 6B is equivalent to that of FIG. 6A but, in this case, the wear element is provided in the tooth adapter.

[0052] In the embodiment of FIG. 6C, the tooth adapter is provided with two thermoelectric cells 102, in opposite side walls. Radiator elements connected to the thermoelectric cell 102 for optimizing the thermal difference, and accordingly, the amount of obtainable electrical energy, have been schematically depicted in the figure. The figure shows two options for said radiator elements: one in direct contact with the cell 102, located on the right side of the figure, and another located away from the cell and connected by means of a thermal conductor. This last case has the advantage of the radiator element being located away from the area potentially exposed to wear. FIG. 6C depicts two preferred options for the arrangement of the thermoelectric cells 102, however, embodiments with a single cell 102 arranged according to one option or another may be envisaged.

[0053] FIG. 7 shows another embodiment in which the thermoelectric cell 102 is provided in the interface existing between the tooth and the tooth adapter. In this case, a dedicated thermal barrier is not provided given that a shielding effect which increases the temperature difference in the thermoelectric cell 12 already occurs between the two parts.