Earth working – Mounting for pushed tool at end of motor vehicle – Transversely mounted blade
Reexamination Certificate
1999-11-30
2001-06-19
Novosad, Christopher J. (Department: 3671)
Earth working
Mounting for pushed tool at end of motor vehicle
Transversely mounted blade
C172S430000, C037S906000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06247540
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention:
The present invention is directed to a simple blade pitch indicator for a bulldozer blade which is mounted to the linear actuator for changing the pitch of the blade.
2. Description of the Prior Art:
Work vehicles, such as crawler tractors and wheel tractors, may be equipped with bulldozer blades for pushing dirt and other materials. It is desirable to adjust the pitch of the blade for different operations and conditions. On utility crawler dozers, the assignee of the present patent application has provided specialized three hole pinning links to adjust the pitch position or three different pitch links for three different pitch positions. Each of the three pitch links are marked to indicated the selected pitch position. In another proposed pitch adjustment configuration a two position block is used to adjust pitch between two selected positions, see U.S. Pat. No. 5,507,352.
The pitch of the bulldozer blade can be adjusted by a linear actuator moving the top portion of the blade forward and backward relative to a lower pivot point. The assignee of the present patent application has provided screw jacks to adjust the pitch of a bulldozer blade. In addition, hydraulic cylinders have also been proposed to adjust blade pitch, see U.S. Pat. No. 3,900,073. In this proposed design, the operator is provided with a blade pitch indicator located adjacent to the operator's cab.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention to provide a simple and inexpensive blade pitch indicator that can be readily viewed by the operator.
The blade pitch indicator of the present invention is releasably secured to a linear actuator for controlling blade pitch. The blade pitch indicator comprises a cover having protrusions forming arrow points that line up with a line of demarcation on the linear actuator. Indicia is associated with the protrusions to provide blade pitch positioning information to the operator. In the preferred embodiment, the linear actuator is a turnbuckle having two moveable yokes and a stationary threaded shaft. The threaded shaft is rotated to extend and retract the yokes, thereby adjusting the pitch position of the bulldozer blade. The threaded shaft is provided with a multifaceted nut in the form of a hexagonal nut that is engaged by a wrench to rotate the threaded shaft. The hexagonal nut is provided with an aperture through which a pin is inserted releasably securing the cover to the turnbuckle. The arrow points of the protrusions line up with the base end of the yokes to indicate the bulldozer blades pitch position.
REFERENCES:
patent: 3900073 (1975-08-01), Crum
patent: 4828045 (1989-05-01), Horsch et al.
patent: 5507352 (1996-04-01), Frisbee et al.
Deere & Company Operator's Manual “450H Crawler Dozer”, OMT174088 B9, cover and pp. 35-1 and 35-2, printed in U.S.A., Nov. 1998.
Deere & Company Operator's Manual “450G, 550G, and 650G Torque Converter and Direct Drive Crawler Dozers”, OMT159724 Issue B6, cover and pp. 35-3 and 35-4, printed in U.S.A., Dec. 1994.
Deere & Company Operator's Manual “John Deere 550B, Crawler Tractor 555B Crawler Loader”, OM-T81348 Issue B5, cover and pp. 31-32, printed in U.S.A., date unknown.
Deere & Company Operator's Manual “750C and 850C Crawler Dozer” OMT162109 E7, cover and pp. 35-3 and 35.4, printed in U.S.A., Jun. 1996.
Clemen Larry Joseph
Miller Gregory G.
Roberts Preston Harold
Deere & Company
Novosad Christopher J.
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