US 12,460,392 B2
Front access for bit retention
David Bruno Parzynski, Jr., Peoria, IL (US); Thomas Marshall Congdon, Dunlap, IL (US); and Corey Michael Wells, East Peoria, IL (US)
Assigned to Caterpillar Inc., Peoria, IL (US)
Filed by Caterpillar Inc., Peoria, IL (US)
Filed on Apr. 26, 2022, as Appl. No. 17/729,360.
Prior Publication US 2023/0340762 A1, Oct. 26, 2023
Int. Cl. E02F 9/28 (2006.01); E02F 3/815 (2006.01)
CPC E02F 9/2841 (2013.01) [E02F 3/8152 (2013.01)] 20 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A blade assembly comprising:
an adapter board having
an upper moldboard interfacing portion defining a retaining spring clip receiving aperture defining an axis of movement, and an aperture depth measured along the axis of movement, and
a lower tool bit attachment portion; and
a retaining spring clip including:
a first end along the axis of movement,
a second end along the axis of movement,
a spring arm terminating in a dual action cam surface and defining a cantilever catch length measured from a flex point of the spring arm to the dual action cam surface along the axis of movement, and
a tool bit engaging portion disposed at the second end, the tool bit engaging portion defining a U-shaped slot,
wherein:
the dual shaped cam surface is disposed adjacent the U-shaped slot along a direction that is perpendicular to the axis of movement, and
a ratio of the cantilever catch length to the aperture depth ranges from 1.0 to 1.25.