This invention relates to protection systems for earthmoving, mining, conveying, crushing and processing equipment and the like . In particular, the invention relates to protection systems for protecting faces of machinery which would otherwise be contacted by abrasive material moving relative thereto .

The invention has particular application to face shovel buckets , excavator buckets and dragline buckets especially the outside corners where the sidewalls j oin the bottom wall ( or floor ) of the bucket . Such protection systems typically include wear parts which protect the outer face of the side walls and a portion of the outer face of the bottom wall . They are sometimes referred to as "heel shrouds" . However, the invention is not limited to the various faces of buckets and may have application to other equipment or machinery which is subj ect to abrasive wear or wear by other component contact .

Some known protection systems typically incorporate two main components , the first component being a mount which rests on a face of the item to be protected and is retained by welding it onto the item, and the second being a wear part which is removably mounted, secured, or locked to the mount .

In the case of a face shovel or excavator bucket , the bottom face of the bucket normally engages the work face from which overburden, coal , iron ore or some other material is being taken ( referred to generally herein as spoil ) and consequently it needs to be protected from abrasive wear while the outside corners where the bottom face meets the side wall faces also need to be protected . In the case of the corners of an excavator bucket where the side walls meet the bottom of the bucket ( or the floor) the wear parts typically cover or shroud an edge portion of the floor and an edge portion of the side wall . The wear part or shroud typically includes two portions substantially at right angles to each other which are arranged so that one portion covers the edge portion of the floor and the other portion covers the edge portion of the s ide wall or rear wall as the case may be . In cases where the side walls are not at right angles to the floor but perhaps diverge away from the floor, the heel shrouds would likewise have diverging portions to accommodate such a di f ferent inclination . Typically such heel shrouds are welded directly to the bucket floor and/or the bucket side wall .

The term "wear panel" used herein is intended to encompass panels of equipment or machinery such as side walls and bottom walls ( or floors ) of face shovels , excavator buckets , dragline buckets and similar equipment unless the context clearly requires a di f ferent meaning . The term may also extend to other components such as rigging components which might be subj ect to abrasive wear .

One of the di fficulties faced by protection systems which involve a mount rather than being welded directly onto a floor or lip or side wall is that the wear parts can loosen on their respective mounts which results in an increased wear rate of both the wear parts and their respective mounts . Such loosening can be the result of wear between the wear part and the mount or loosening of the locking or securing mechanism due to abrasive wear of the locking mechanism itsel f or in the case of buckets , continual changing of movement of the bucket in various directions such as changing from the forward direction to the backward direction and vice versa and also because of side forces on a bucket in cases where it is being slewed . Various attempts have been made to overcome or ameliorate problems associated with wear protection systems but problems still remain .

The present invention is aimed at providing a protection system which is relatively simple and ef fective and ameliorates some of the problems associated with wear .

In this speci fication, unless the context clearly requires a di f ferent meaning, the term " forward" and its derivatives are to be understood as being in the direction of movement of the bucket , blade or other working part when digging, filling or trans ferring spoil . Terms such as upper, lower, side , front , rear, and the li ke are to be understood in the context of the bucket , blade or other working part so that the leading-edge of the bucket is the edge of the bucket at the front where spoil enters the bucket or the leading edge of the blade where contact is initially made with the spoil . In the case of equipment such as stationary processing equipment , the entry point of the spoil would be the leading edge or end although terms like entry point or exit may be used .

With the foregoing in view, the invention in one aspect resides broadly in a protection system including : a mount adapted to be fixed to a wear panel of equipment or machinery, said mount including a first portion having a face adapted to rest against or engage a face of the wear panel to be protected and a second portion extending from said first portion and adapted to engage an adj acent face to be protected, said second portion having at least one passage therethrough configured to allow entry of a bolt and sliding movement of the bolt therealong to a predetermined position along said passage ; a wear part adapted to be releasably mounted to said mount , said wear part having a first portion adapted to slidingly engage said first portion of said mount and a second portion adapted to engage said second portion of said mount , said second portion of said wear part having one or more passages or recesses therein and arranged to at least partial ly align with respective ones of said one or more passages through said second portion of said mount when said wear part and said mount are in the engaged position; and one or more bolts adapted to extend through said at least one passage respectively in said mount and said at least one passage in said second portion of said wear part to secure said wear part to said mount .

In another aspect , the invention resides broadly in a mount for a protection system, said mount including : a first portion having a face adapted to rest against or engage a face of the wear panel to be protected and a second portion extending from said first portion and adapted to engage an adj acent face inclined to the face to be protected, said second portion having at least one passage therethrough and adapted to receive a bolt therein, the at least one passage being configured to allow entry of at least one bolt and subsequent sliding movement of the at least one bolt therealong to a selected predetermined position along said passage ; and whereby one more bolts may enter one or more of the at least one passage and slide along the passage to a selected predetermined position . The term " inclined" used herein is intended to include portions or faces which are orthogonal to each other, that is , at right angles to each other as well as those which are inclined at great or lesser angles , unless the context clearly requires a di f ferent meaning .

In another aspect , the invention resides broadly in a wear part for a protection system, the wear part including : a first wear portion and a second wear portion extending from said first wear portion, said first wear portion having a mounting face adapted to engage a first face of a mount secured to a wear panel to be protected, and said second wear portion including a mounting face inclined to the mounting face of said first wear portion and adapted to engage a second face of said mount inclined to said first face of said mount ; said first wear portion having two spaced apart side portions defining a space therebetween and one or more protuberances extending from each of said side portions towards the opposite side portion and spaced from said mounting face , said protuberances being adapted to engage complementary protuberances or recesses of the mount to which the wear part is to be fixed and configured such that the wear part can slide onto said mount from a disengaged position to an engaged position to locate the wear part on the mount ; and said second wear portion having one or more passages extending therethrough, the one or more passages being adapted to receive respective bolts for locking the wear part to the mount .

Preferably, said first portion of said mount includes one or more protuberances adapted to slidably engage complementary protuberances of a wear part . Preferably, said second wear portion includes a recess adapted to receive therein at least part of the second portion of the mount to which the wear part is to be fixed when in the engaged position .

In another aspect , the invention res ides broadly in a mount including a first portion with a first face and a second face spaced from said first face and an elongate pa ssage extending through said first portion from said first face to said second face , said elongate passage being configured to s lidingly receive a preselected bolt therein , the preselected bolt having a shank and a head, and at least one of said first and second faces being configured to engage the head of the selected bolt , said elongate pas sage being configured to allow entry of the preselected bolt and sliding movement of the bolt therealong to a preselected position along the passage .

In yet another aspect , the invention res ides broadly in a mounting system including a mount and a bolt , the mount having a portion with a first face and a second face spaced from said first face and an elongate pas sage extending through said portion from said first face to said second f ace ; said bolt having a head and a shank, said elongate passage being configured to allow entry of the bolt to said elongate passage and sliding movement therealong to a predetermined position along the passage ; and one of said first and second faces being configured to engage the head of said bolt to prevent the head pass ing through said elongate passage and said pas sage being configured to prevent rotation of said bolt about its longitudinal axis when in the predetermined position .

Preferably, in the mounting system des cribed earlier one of said first and second faces is configured to engage the head of said bolt to prevent the head pass ing through said elongate passage and at least one of said faces and/or said passage is configured to prevent rotation of the bolt about its longitudinal axis at least when the bolt is in the predetermined position .

In still yet another aspect , the invention res ides broadly in a method of fixing a wear part to a mount including : providing a mount , a bolt and nut , and a wear part ; said mount having a portion with a first face and a second face spaced from said first face and an elongate passage extending through said portion from said first face to said second face ; said bolt having a head and a shank extending from said head and said wear part having a hole therein adapted to receive the shank of said bolt ; said wear part having a first face adapted to engage the first face of said mount and a second face adapted to bear against ore or spoil and a bolt hole or recess extending from said first face to said second face and adapted to receive the shank of the bolt therethrough ; said elongate passage opening at one end to allow entry of the shank of said bolt to said elongate passage and being configured to allow sliding movement of said shank therealong in a substantially perpendicular orientation relative to said elongate pas sage ; and sliding said bolt along said elongate pas sage to a predetermined pos ition, fitting said wear part to said mount with the shank of said bolt extending through said bolt hole in said wear part and s crewing a nut onto the shank of said bolt to secure the wear part to the mount .

In yet another aspect , the invention resides broadly in a spacer adapted to be f itted to a slot to retain a plow bolt in a predetermined position in the slot , the plow bolt having a head with a conical face and a plural ity of flat faces and a shank extending from the head, the spacer having two spaced apart side faces and one or more end faces , at least one of said one or more end faces being shaped to engage with a flat face and a portion of the conical face of the bolt head .

Preferably, the at least one of the one or more end faces of the spacer is shaped to also engage with a portion of the shank of the bolt . Preferably, the spacer also includes an outer face adapted to be engaged by a machine component such as a wear part .

In yet another aspect , the invention resides broadly in a device for fitting a heel shroud to earthmoving machinery, for example , an excavator bucket , the device including : attachment means for releasably attaching a wear part such as a heel shroud thereto; and connecting means for connecting lifting means thereto, for example, a chain or cable for lifting the device with a wear part such as a heel shroud attached thereto in any one of a plurality of desired orientations about a horizontal axis.

In order that the invention may be more readily understood and put into practical effect, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings wherein:

Fig.l is a pictorial representation a face shovel bucket from underneath with heel shrouds according to the invention secured to the outer face of the bottom and side walls of the bucket;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged view of a corner portion of the bucket shown in Fig. 1 showing the heel shrouds fitted on their respective mounts according to the invention;

Fig.3 is an enlarged view of the portion shown in Fig. 2 with the heel shrouds removed from their respective mounts;

Fig.4a is a pictorial representation of a weld-on mount for mounting a heel shroud according to the invention looking at the outer face;

Fig.4b is a pictorial representation of the weld-on mount of Fig.4a looking at the inner face;

Fig.4c is a an end view of the weld-on mount of Fig.4a looking at the outer face;

Fig.4d is a an end view of the weld-on mount of Fig.4a looking at the inner face;

Fig.4e is a side view of the weld-on mount of Fig.4a from the trailing edge;

Fig.4f shows a cross-sectional side view of the weld-on mount of Fig.4a from one side along line 4A - 4A; Fig.5a is a pictorial representation of a wear part being a heel shroud according to the present inventionadapted to be mounted on the mount shown in Fig.4a looking at the wear face (outer face) from the trailing end;

Fig.5b is a pictorial representation of the heel shroud of Fig.5a looking at the inner face (the face which engages the weld on mount) ;

Fig.5c is a side view of the heel shroud of Fig.5a from the trailing side;

Fig.5d is a sectional side elevation along line 5D-5D of the heel shroud of Fig.5a;

Fig.5e is a plan view of the inner face of the heel shroud of Fig .5a;

Fig.5f is a sectional end view of the heel shroud of Fig.5a along line 5D-5D;

Fig.5g is a sectional view of part of the heel shroud of Fig.5a along line 5G-5G;

Fig.5h is a pictorial representation of the weld-on mount of Fig. 4a and heel shroud of Fig. 5a with other components in line for ass e mb 1 y ;

Fig.6a is a pictorial representation of a bolt retainer component for locking the heel shroud of Fig.5a to the mount of Fig.4a as seen in the assembly of Fig. 5h;

Fig.6b is a plan view of the bolt retainer component of Fig.6a; Fig. 7 is a pictorial representation of a device for assisting the installation and removal of heel shrouds according to the present invention; and

Fig. 8 is a pictorial representation of the device of Fig. 7 with the heel shroud of Fig.5a secured thereto and ready to be lifted into position on a mount affixed to a bucket. The face shovel bucket 410 illustrated in Fig . l has a bottom panel 411 which extends rearward from a front cutting lip 412 and is contiguous with a rear wall (not visible ) and two spaced apart opposing side walls 413 and 414 .

A row of heel shrouds 460 are secured to the outer face 417 of the bottom panel 411 and the side wall 413 via mounts 415 as seen in Fig . 3 , to form an almost continuous external liner protecting the corner portions where the bottom panel and the side wall panels meet . Advantageously, the heel shrouds are secured to the mounts 415 by plow bolts 418 and can be removed and replaced upon reaching a predetermined amount of wear by releasing the plow bolts and sliding the heel shrouds 460 sideways of f the mounts as will be described in more detail later .

The heel mounts 400 illustrated in Figs . 4a to 4 f are each manufactured as one piece of cast steel . Each heel mount has a first portion 402 of generally rectangular form and a second portion 403 contiguous with the first portion and extending therefrom at right angles whereby the first portion can rest against the outer face of the bottom ( or floor ) 411 of the bucket 410 and the second portion can rest against the outer face of the side wall 413 or 414 of the bucket as can be seen in Fig . 3 where the heel shrouds have been removed . Suitably, in other embodiments of the invention, the second portion extends from the first portion at a slight acute angle or an obtuse angle to suit the angle which the side wall of the bucket makes with the floor . The first portion of the heel mount has an upwardly tapered leading edge portion 422 and upwardly tapered opposite trailing edge portion 423 having respective outer edges 422a and 423a which in use are spaced from the outer face of the bucket floor to allow the heel shroud to slide thereon . Suitably, the edge portions extend away from the second portion and terminate at a free inner end 424 which in use will abut or almost abut wear pads of the type shown in our earlier application No . PCT/AU2020/ 050722 which are mounted to the outer face 417 of the bucket floor 411 .

Although each of the edge portions 422 and 423 is of a continuous form from the second portion to the free inner end 424 , in other embodiments of the invention, they are comprised of two separated edge forms which allow the wear parts to be pushed on perpendicularly and then slid along the mount through a shorter distance to a locked position, the heel shrouds having complementary separated edge forms .

Suitably, the first portion of the mount may have a slightly curved inner face 433 as can be seen in Fig . 4d which is adapted to rest on the curved wear face of the panel to which the mounts are to be secured by welding . However, in buckets where the panel to be protected is flat no curvature is required . In some embodiments of the invention, both the inner face and the outer face may be curved to suit the curvature of the bucket .

Two pairs of spaced apart passages 446 and 447 ( the welding passages ) extend fully through the first portion 402 , one pair adj acent the leading edge and one pair adj acent the trailing edge , the passages being of suf ficient width to allow a MIG welding noz zle to fully weld the mount to the panel to which it is to be af fixed by way of a fillet weld all around the internal perimeter of the passages .

The second portion 403 of the mount has similar spaced apart welding passages 448 located centrally thereof for welding the mount to the side panel of the bucket .

The second portion 403 is substantially rectangular in form extending away from the first portion and is generally defined by two parallel spaced apart side edges 405 and 406 which terminate in a free end edge 404 distal from the first portion .

Two spaced apart parallel slots 407a and 408a are provided in the second portion adj acent the respective side edges and parallel thereto for supporting a bolt head therein . The two slots 407a and 408a open to a centrally located passage 409 which has a diameter substantially larger than the width of each passage via entry slots 407b and 408b . In another version, the two slots 407a and 407b open to the respective side edges 405 and 406 via respective entry slots which extend generally at right angles to their respective support slots in which case the access passage 409 is not required .

Advantageously, each slot is configured to house the head of a number of plow bolts and for that purpose has a wider tapered portion configured to engage the conical portion of the plow bolt head contiguous with a narrower rectangular portion (when viewed in cross section) to engage the square part of the plow bolt head . At the inner side the conical ( or tapered) face j oins another flat face configured to house the cylindrical part of the plow bolt head . The slot is suitably configured such that the plow bolts can be fitted after the mount has been welded to the bucket side wall and the bolt is retained in the slot by engagement of the end of the head against the outer face of the bucket wall . That is to say, the face of each slot has two opposed parallel generally rectangular faces which are shaped and si zed to slidingly receive and engage the opposite side faces of the square part of the head of a selected plow bolt to prevent rotation of the plow bolt about its longitudinal axis .

It will be appreciated that a selected number of plow bolts can be fitted to each slot via the entry slot and sl idingly moved into the support slots and therealong to a predetermined position . Typically, the predetermined positions will be at the blind end of the support slot which will be described in more detail later . In this particular embodiment each slot accommodates two bolts which are fitted to the opposite end portions of the respective slots .

The wear part 460 illustrated in Figs . 5a to 5g is manufactured as one piece of cast steel with a first portion 461 and a second portion 462 extending from an end portion of the first portion and contiguous therewith substantially at a right angle . The first portion is of generally rectangular form with a leading edge portion 463 and an opposite trailing edge portion 464 . Similarly the second portion has a leading edge portion 465 and a trailing edge portion 466 which are contiguous with the leading and trailing edge portions of the first portion . The outer faces of the contiguous edge portions ef fectively form a generally "L" shaped face .

The leading and trailing edge portions include opposed protuberances extending inwards towards each other to define lip portions 463a and 464a which are configured to engage the respective leading and trailing edge portions 422 and 423 of the first portions of the mount to hold the first portion of the heel shroud onto the first portion of the mount when in the engaged position .

The first portion 461 has an outer face 467 adapted to bear against ore or spoil to be moved and an inner face 468 which extends between the leading and trailing edge portions 463 and 464 and is adapted to rest on or adj acent the mount 400 when the mount is secured to a wear panel to be protected .

The second portion 462 has a recess 469 extending between the leading and trailing edge portions 465 and 466 which is configured to receive therein more or less the whole of the second portion 403 of the mount 400 . Suitably, the recess is defined in part by an inner face 469a which is configured to abut the outer face 403a of the second portion of the mount .

Four bolt holes or passages 471 to 474 are provided in the second portion 462 of the heel shroud and are arranged to align substantially with the end portions of the bolt support slots 407a and 407b in the second portion of the mount 400 whereby when fitted the bolts 491 to 494 respectively will extend from the slots , and through the second portion of the heel shroud whereupon nuts 496 can be screwed onto the respective bolts thereby locking the heel shroud to the mount . Threaded j acking holes 488 and 489 are also provided in the second portion 462 to assist with removal of the heel shroud from the mount when required for replacement . Li fting lugs 498 and 499 are provided on the respective first and second portions to assist with installation of the heel shrouds on the mounts , As can be seen in Fig . 5h, before the heel shroud is fitted to the mount , bolt retainer 481 is fitted between the two bolts in slot 407a and bolt retainer 482 is fitted between the two bolts in slot 408a to locate the respective bolts at their predetermined positions at the ends of the respective slots .

Advantageously, the bolt retainers are shaped to fill the slots between the respective bolts so that the outer face of each retainer is level with the face 403 of the second portion of the mount whereby the inner face 469a of the heel shroud will engage with the bolt retainers and hold them in place . It will also be appreciated that the ends of the retainers are shaped to engage the opposed flat faces of the square portion of the bolt heads and the adj acent conical portions . Consequently, the bolt heads will be ef fectively fully engaged on all flat sides of the square portion and fully around the conical portion . Ef fectively, the arrangement of the slots and the bolt retainers creates an arti ficial bore shaped to fully engage the bolt head and engagement of the bolt retainer by the inner face of the wear part holds the bolt retainer securely in place .

It will be appreciated that the heel shroud is fixed in position by several mechanisms . Firstly, the lips or protuberances 422 and 423 of the mount engage with the lips 463a and 464a of the heel shroud to fix the shroud against movement perpendicular to the bucket floor, secondly, the second portion of the mount engages in the recess 469 of the heel shroud thereby inhibiting movement of the second portion of the heel shroud in a leading or trailing direction, and thirdly, the bolts lock the heel shroud to the mount and inhibit sideways movement of the heel shroud . The bolt retainers 481 and 482 are identical so only one will be described . They are substantially rectangular prisms with identical end portions suitably shaped to partially engage with the heads of each pair of plow bolts 491 and 493 or 492 and 494 ( as the case may be ) . As can be seen in Fig 15 , the end portion is cast or machine with a cylindrical segment 481a corresponding to a corresponding segment of the cylindrical head portion of a plow bolt and a contiguous conical segment 481b corresponding to the adj acent conical portion of the plow bolt which in turn is contiguous with a flat face 481c corresponding to one of the flat faces of the plow bolt head . A passage 483 extends through the bolt retainer to form a li fting point .

Suitably, when a plow bolt is fitted to slot 407a or slot 408a, one flat face of the head will engage the flat face defining the end of the slot , two opposite flat faces of the head will engage the flat side faces defining the slot and the remaining flat face of the head will engage the flat end face 481c of the bolt retainer . Similarly, the conical face will engage the corresponding conical face about the slot and the conical face of the bolt retainer while the cylindrical face of the bolt head will engage the cylindrical face about the slot and the segment of cylindrical face of the bolt retainer . Advantageously, the bolt head will be fully supported and the bolt retainer will be held in position in the slot by the wear part in one direction and by the plow bolt at the opposite end of the slot .

The fitting device 510 illustrated in Fig 7 includes a front round plate 511 and a similar rear round plate 512 spaced from the front plate . The front plate has a ring of holes 513 therein adj acent its periphery and rear plate 514 therein has a corresponding ring of holes 515 therein . The holes in the two plates are axially aligned and suitably si zed to mount a shackle thereto for connection to a hoist or crane by a chain or other suitable rigging . The two round plates are fixed to each other by two diametrically opposite elongate rectangular members 516 and 517 extending between the plates and beyond the rear plate and is welded thereto . Another plate 218 is mounted to the rectangular members and spaced behind the rear plate and parallel thereto . That plate is has opposite hand holes 519 and a rearwardly extending handle to provide for manually adj usting the position of the device .

Two spaced apart elongate li fting members 521 and 522 extend from the front plate perpendicular thereto and a removable pin 523 extends through aligned holes extending through the outer end portions of the two li fting members and is secured thereto by an "R" pin 524 . Additionally a stabilising member or pin 525 extends forward from the front plate diametrically opposite the two li fting members .

As can be seen in Fig . 8 , a heel shroud 460 is secured to the front plate in three locations , firstly by way of pin 523 extending through upper li fting lug 498 and secondly by pin 525 extending through lower li fting lug 499 and been secured by R pins 523 and 526 respectively . Thirdly, the heel shroud is secured by one or two bolts passing through holes 527 or 528 in the front plate of the device depending on the si ze of the heel shroud and screwing into the j acking holes 488 and 489 .

In order to fit a heel shroud to a bucket , the heel shroud is mounted to the front plate as shown in Fig . 8 and the device together with the mounted heel shroud is li fted by fitting a D- shackle to one of the holes 513 in the front plate . The hole selected for the D-shackle depends on the position of the heel shroud being fitted, that is , the angle which the shroud makes to the heel of the bucket . In that respect, the hole is selected so that when the device is li fted, the heel shroud will rotate about the longitudinal axis 530 of the device through an arc depending on the hole selected .

In order to remove the device from the newly fitted heel shroud, the D-shackle is moved to a selected hole in the rear plate instead of the front plate because the device without the heel shroud will be much lighter and consequently the li fting point should be further from the bucket . Once the D-shackle has been moved the bolt/ s are removed from the j acking holes to fully release the device .

While the foregoing description has been given by way of illustrative example of the invention, it will be understood that the invention may be embodied in many other forms and all such forms are deemed to fall within the broad scope and ambit of the invention as defined by the appended claims .