Patent ID: 11898320
Assignee: CATERPILLAR INC.
Field: Civil engineering (Other fields)
Classification: CPC E | IPC E

Claim 17:
18. A blade positioning system for a grading machine, comprising:
a circle coupled to a grading blade, wherein the circle is rotatable around a circle axis; and
a circle drive system, including:
a circle drive motor including a motor shaft and having a motor axis;
a gear coupling coupled to the circle drive motor and including a worm and a worm gear,
wherein the worm includes a worm axis parallel to the motor axis;

a gear box driven by the circle drive motor and the gear coupling, wherein the gear box includes a gear axis parallel to the circle axis, and wherein the gear box is configured to engage with and drive a rotation of the circle; and
a braking mechanism configured to selectively lock the motor shaft from rotating,
wherein the braking mechanism and the motor shaft are positioned between a portion of the circle drive motor and the worm,
wherein the braking mechanism includes one or more locking elements that are configured to engage with one or more portions of the motor shaft to lock the motor shaft from rotating, and
wherein the one or more locking elements include one or more of ratcheted fingers, springs, or teeth.