Vehicle wheel axle guard

Abstract

 A vehicle wheel axle guard designed for a compactor vehicle such as a waste compactor has a part cylindrical surface which overlaps the wheel in use and an upstanding member extending outwardly from the cylindrical surface for deflecting debris approaching the vehicle side away from the vehicle axle.

Description

[0001] The present invention relates to axle guards for earth moving vehicles, waste compactor vehicles and other types of heavy vehicles whose wheels are designed to compress or disturb the soil or other material over which they move. Such vehicles are hereinafter collectively referred to as "compactor vehicles".

[0002] The invention was originally designed for a waste compactor vehicle for use on land fill sites but it is equally applicable to other types of compactor vehicle. A typical compactor vehicle has a cab in which the driver sits, a front blade assembly for shifting waste or soil and large metal toothed wheels whose purpose is to compact the material over which the vehicle travels.

[0003] The vehicle typically has four wheels mounted at opposite ends of two axles. The front axle is usually fixed to the chassis such that it can only rotate about its own axis. The rear axle is rotatable with respect to the chassis and can also pivot with respect to the chassis to give the vehicle a degree of suspension. A problem with these vehicles is that debris is inclined to collect within the region between the wheels and the chassis and frequently becomes entangled with the vehicle axles. The removal of such debris is extremely time consuming. The presence of debris in the axle region can hinder the operation of the vehicle and some types of refuse can cause extreme damage.

[0004] There have been some prior attempts to solve this problem. These have included devices positioned in the region between the chassis and the wheel in order to deflect incoming debris. The rear "pivotable" axle presents a particular problem. One complex axle guard arrangement which has been proposed comprises a first member mounted on the vehicle chassis and a second member mounted on the pivotable axle, the two members having interengaging teeth which are intended to provide a continuous surface over the vehicle axle. The teeth have sufficient depth that they do not become disengaged when the axle pivots with respect to the vehicle. This particular arrangement has the disadvantage of being extremely complex and hence expensive to produce.

[0005] One aim of the present invention is to provide a vehicle wheel axle guard, suitable for use with a pivotable axle, for protecting the axle against accumulation of material such as waste or earth.

[0006] The present invention provides a vehicle wheel axle guard having a part cylindrical surface which overlaps an edge region of the wheel in use and a vertical upstanding member extending outwardly from the cylindrical surface to protect the portion of the axle between the wheel and the vehicle chassis. The cylindrical surface is positioned in use as close to the wheel surface as possible to minimize any material travelling between this surface and the wheel itself. The upstanding member serves to deflect debris which might otherwise fall onto the vehicle axle between the wheel and the vehicle chassis. In practice, the height of the upstanding member will be limited by the degree of pivotal movement allowed between the vehicle axle and the vehicle chassis.

[0007] The upstanding member may simply be in the form of a flat plate. Typically, this plate would be part circular. Preferably, an annular flange extends from the upstanding member or flat plate to form the part cylindrical surface.

[0008] The axle guard may further include support means extending inwardly from the cylindrical surface for attachment to the vehicle wheel axle assembly. The inwardly extending support means may be integral with the outstanding member and thus the support means and the upstanding member may comprise a single flat metal plate.

[0009] The axle guard may further comprise means for attachment to the axle housing. The attachment means may be designed to be secured around a square section axle housing. Preferably, the support means are detachable from the attachment means to facilitate removal of the axle guard on the less frequent occasions when the vehicle wheel axle requires attention.

[0010] The invention also provides a compactor vehicle having at least one wheel provided with an axle guard as described above. Preferably the axle guard is mounted between the wheel and the chassis. As noted above, the axle guard would typically be mounted on an axle assembly which is pivotable with respect to the vehicle chassis.

[0011] Preferably, the clearance between the cylindrical surface of the axle guard and the vehicle wheel is no more than 25 mm, preferably no more than 5 mm and ideally no more than 1.5 mm.

[0012] An embodiment of the invention will now be described by way of example only and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a schematic side elevation of a compactor vehicle according to the invention;

Figure 2 is a rear elevation of the rear wheels and axle assembly of the compactor vehicle of Figure 1 showing an axle guard according to the invention provided for each wheel;

Figure 3 is an enlarged front view of the axle guard;

Figure 4 is an enlarged side elevation of the axle guard; and

Figures 5 to 9 are detailed views of the component parts of the axle guard of Figures 3 and 4.

[0013] Figure 1 illustrates a compactor vehicle 10 having a chassis 11, cab 12 and four wheels, namely front wheels 14 and rear wheels 13. The vehicle has a front blade assembly 15 of the usual type which will not be discussed further herein. The wheels have teeth 20 which are illustrated more clearly in Figure 2. The teeth are positioned around the cylindrical surfaces of the wheels. The front wheels 14 each have an axle guard 21 which is described in more detail in our copending patent application. The rear wheels 13 each have an axle guard 22 which is described in more detail below.

[0014] Figures 3 and 4 show one axle guard 22 in more detail. The guard comprises a flat metal plate 30 having an annular flange 31 extending perpendicularly from its surface. The inner surface of the flange 31 provides a part cylindrical surface which overlaps a wheel 13 in use. Depending on the type of compactor vehicle, it may be necessary for the innermost row of teeth 20 to be moved outwardly to allow a reasonable overlap. A suitable overlap is about 40 mm. The flange 31 effectively divides the plate 30 into two portions. namely outer portion 32 which acts in use as an upstanding member for deflecting sideways approaching material from the vehicle axle. and inner portion 33 extending inwardly from the cylindrical surface of the flange for attachment to the vehicle wheel assembly.

[0015] The axle guard 22 includes means for attachment to a square section axle housing. The rear axle 35 (see Figure 2) of a compactor vehicle is rotatable about its own axis and is typically surrounded by a housing which is pivotable but not rotatable with respect to the vehicle chassis about the axis X indicated in Figure 2. The axle housing is typically square in section.

[0016] The means for attaching the axle guard 22 to the square section axle housing comprises a series of plates 40, 41, 42, 43 and 44. Figure 5 is a plan view of plate 40, Figure 6 is a plan view of plate 44, Figure 7 is a plan view of plate 43, Figures 8(a) and (b) are end and plan views of plate 41 and Figures 9(a) and (b) are end and plan views of plate 42. Plates 42, 43 and 44 are welded together to form a U-shaped channel which fits over the axle housing. The axle housing occupies the space 50 indicated in Figure 4. The plate 40 has a rectangular cutaway section 40a and is welded to the assembly of plates 42, 43 and 44. As shown most clearly in Figure 3, the edges of the plates 42, 43 and 44 are substantially coplanar. The plate 40 is welded to the assembly of plates 42, 43, 44 at a slight spacing from this plane. The plate 30 is bolted to the plate 40 such that its inner portion 33 is substantially coplanar with the flat edges of the plates 42, 43, 44. Thus, if it is desired to remove the plate 30, it can simply be unbolted.

[0017] Plate 41 closes off the U-shaped channel formed by plates 42, 43 and 44. Plate 41 has upturned edges 41a, 41b to which additional metal strips 46, 47 are bolted. The strips 46 and 47 serve to capture the edges of plates 43 and 44 to complete the assembly. Thus, plate 41 can readily be removed to enable the whole axle guard assembly to be removed from the axle housing. It should be noted that the attachment of the axle guard to the wheel axle housing is non-invasive. In other words, no modifications to the axle housing are necessary.

[0018] Plate 43 is provided with two holes. visible in Figure 7, which are used for mounting the vehicle brake pipe cover guard to the plate 43. It will be noted from Figures 6 and 7 that plates 43 and 44 both have tongues which extend towards the vehicle chassis in use. These are not essential to the invention, but in the present example of the invention they serve to cooperate with parts on the axle housing to improve the overall strength of the assembly. As can be seen from Figure 3, the assembly of plates 41, 42, 43, 44 form a channel which increases in area toward the vehicle chassis. to follow the shape of the axle housing.

[0019] The upstanding portion 32 of plate 30 preferably has an angular extent of more than 90°, in this example about 120° and most importantly extends over the uppermost portion of the wheel. The plate has a cutaway portion towards the rear to accommodate parts of the vehicle chassis. The depth of the portion 32 is defined by the maximum amount of pivotal movement of the axle housing with respect to the vehicle chassis. The plate 30 should not dig into the vehicle chassis when one end of the axle is in its uppermost position.

[0020] As noted above, the flange 31 should be as close as possible to the vehicle wheel, i.e. no more than 25 mm away from the wheel surface, preferably not more than 5 mm and ideally not more than 1.5 mm.

Claims

1. A vehicle wheel axle guard having a part cylindrical surface which overlaps an edge region of the wheel in use and a vertical upstanding member extending outwardly from the cylindrical surface to protect the portion of the axle between the wheel and the vehicle chassis.

2. A vehicle wheel axle guard as claimed in claim 1 in which the upstanding member is a flat plate.

3. A vehicle wheel axle guard as claimed in claim 1 or 2 in which an annular flange extends from the upstanding member to form the part cylindrical surface.

4. A vehicle wheel axle guard as claimed in any preceding claim including support means extending inwardly from the cylindrical surface for attachment to the vehicle wheel axle assembly.

5. A vehicle wheel axle guard as claimed in claim 4 in which the inwardly extending support means are integral with the upstanding member.

6. A vehicle wheel axle guard as claimed in any preceding claim including means for attachment to the axle housing.

7. A vehicle wheel axle guard as claimed in claim 6 in which the support means are detachable from the attachment means.

8. A vehicle wheel axle guard as claimed in claim 6 or 7 in which said means are designed to be secured around a square section axle housing.

9. A compactor vehicle having at least one wheel provided with an axle guard as claimed in any preceding claim.

10. A compactor vehicle as claimed in claim 9 in which the wheel has protrusions and the axle guard extends over an edge region of the wheel which is free of protrusions.

11. A compactor vehicle as claimed in claim 9 in which the axle guard is mounted between the wheel and the vehicle chassis.

12. A compactor vehicle as claimed in claim 9, 10, or 11 having an axle assembly which is pivotable with respect to the vehicle chassis and in which the axle guard is mounted on the axle assembly.

13. A compactor vehicle as claimed in any of claims 9 to 12 in which the clearance between the cylindrical surface and the wheel is no more than 25 mm.

14. A compactor vehicle as claimed in any of claims 9 to 13 in which the clearance between the cylindrical surface and the wheel is no more than 5 mm.

15. A compactor vehicle as claimed in any of claims 9 to 14 in which the clearance between the cylindrical surface and the wheel is no more than 1.5 mm.

16. A vehicle wheel axle guard substantially as herein before described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

17. A compactor vehicle substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Drawing