Abstract:
A hydraulic swivel assembly includes a hydraulic swivel having a plurality of ports on a base and a plurality of ports on a rotatable extension. A manifold block is secured to the base, and has a corresponding plurality of ports matingly aligning with the plurality of ports of the base, whereby the plurality of ports of the manifold block are adapted to couple to a first set of hydraulic lines from a non-rotating member and the plurality of ports on the rotatable extension are adapted to couple to a second set of hydraulic lines which rotate with the rotatable member.

Description:
BACKGROUND 
       [0001]    Hydraulic swivels are used to communicating hydraulic fluid between a non-rotatable member and a rotatable member. Hydraulic swivels are commonly used in material handling attachments, such as demolition shear attachments, concrete crusher attachments, grapple attachments, and the like, which are adapted to attach to the boom or stick of an excavator. A swivel attachment is often mounted to the rearward end of the material handling attachment and is pinned to the boom or stick of the excavator to permit more manipulation of the material handling attachment such that it can be both pivoted with respect to the excavator boom as well as longitudinally rotated for positioning the hydraulically actuated jaws, or other elements at the forward end of the material handling attachment, over the work piece to be sheared, crushed, lifted, gathered or otherwise processed. 
         [0002]    Currently, hydraulic swivel assemblies for material handling attachments are very labor intensive to install because of the number of parts or components utilized. Due to these number of parts, there are more parts that require maintenance or repair and there are many potential leak points that may requiring maintenance or repair. Accordingly, there is a need for an improved hydraulic swivel assembly which minimizes the number of components to reduce manufacturing, installation, maintenance and repair costs, and which minimizes the number of potential leak points that may require repair and maintenance. 
     
    
     
       DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0003]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of an embodiment of a demolition shear attachment with an embodiment of a swivel attachment mounted to the rearward end of the main body of the shear attachment. 
           [0004]      FIG. 2  shows the shear attachment and swivel attachment of  FIG. 1  mounted to the boom of an excavator. 
           [0005]      FIG. 3  is an enlarged view of a portion of the swivel attachment of  FIG. 1 . 
           [0006]      FIG. 4  is a partial cut-away, front perspective view of the swivel attachment of  FIG. 1  showing an embodiment of an improved hydraulic swivel assembly. 
           [0007]      FIG. 5  is a partial cut-away, rear perspective view of the swivel attachment of  FIG. 1  showing the embodiment of the improved hydraulic swivel assembly of  FIG. 4  from the rear. 
           [0008]      FIG. 6  is a partial cross-sectional view of an embodiment of the manifold for the improved hydraulic swivel assembly. 
           [0009]      FIG. 7  is an exploded perspective view of a prior art hydraulic swivel assembly. 
       
    
    
     DESCRIPTION 
       [0010]    Referring to the drawings wherein like reference numerals designate the same or corresponding parts throughout the several views,  FIG. 1  is a perspective view of an embodiment of a material handling attachment  10  having a main body  12  with a forward end  14  and a rearward end  16 . The forward end  14  of the main body  12  operably supports material handling jaws or other material handling elements. 
         [0011]    Although a demolition shear attachment is illustrated in the drawing figures and is referenced in this specification, it should be understood that the term “material handling attachment” as used herein and in the claims, refers to and includes any type of material handling attachment, including, but not limited to, demolition shear attachments, concrete crusher attachments, grapple attachments, and the like. 
         [0012]    A swivel attachment  20  is shown mounted to the rearward end  16  of the main body  12 . The swivel attachment  20  includes a swivel house  22  which supports a boom mount bracket  24  at its lower rearward end and a gear tooth bearing or slewing ring  50  at its forward end. As illustrated in  FIGS. 2A and 2B , the excavator boom or stick  30  and the excavator&#39;s hydraulic cylinder  36  are pivotally attached to the boom mount  24  by a boom pin  32  and a cylinder pin  38 , permitting the material handling attachment  10  to pivoted about the axis of the boom pin  32  as indicated by arrow  42  ( FIG. 1 ), when the hydraulic cylinder  36  is extended and retracted. 
         [0013]      FIGS. 3-5  illustrate an embodiment of a typical swivel attachment  20  and slewing ring  50 . The slewing ring  50  includes a stationary outer race  52  and an inner race  54  which is rotatable within the stationary outer race  52 . The stationary outer race  52  is secured by threaded connectors  56  to a bulkhead  58  at the forward end of the swivel house  22 . The inner race  54  is secured to a mounting plate  60  ( FIG. 3 ) at the rear end of the main body  12  of the material handling attachment by threaded connectors  62  ( FIG. 5 ). The inner race  54  has internal gear teeth  64  (designated by the phantom line in  FIG. 4 ). The internal gear teeth  64  of the inner race  54  are engaged by external gear teeth  66  of the gear  68  projecting through the bulkhead  58 . The gear  68  is rotated by the hydraulic gear drive  70  secured within the swivel house  22 . Thus, it should be appreciated that as the hydraulic gear drive  70  rotates the gear  68 , the external gear teeth  66  engage the internal gear teeth  64  of the inner race  54  causing the main body  12  of the material handling attachment to rotate or swivel about the central axis of the slewing ring  50  as indicated by arrow  72  in  FIG. 1 . 
         [0014]      FIGS. 4-6  illustrate an embodiment of an improved hydraulic swivel assembly  100  which includes a hydraulic swivel  102  and a pair of manifold blocks  104 ,  106 . The hydraulic swivel  102  includes a base  108  and a rotatable extension  110 . The base  108  mounts to the forward bulkhead  58  of the swivel house and thus remains stationary. The rotatable extension  110  projects through the bulkhead  58  and is rotatable with the main body  12  of the material handling attachment  10 . A post  111  extends from the rotatable extension and is loosely received by a U-shaped bracket (not shown) at the rearward end  16  of the main body  12  of the material handling attachment  10  to ensure that the rotatable extension  110  rotates with the main body  12 . 
         [0015]    Hydraulic lines (not shown) of the material handing attachment  10  are coupled to the ports  112  of the rotatable extension  110  of the hydraulic swivel  102 . The stationary base  108  of the hydraulic swivel  102  includes multiple ports  114  (preferably at least two, or more if needed) ( FIG. 6 ) on the sides  116 ,  118  of the base  108 . 
         [0016]    As best viewed in  FIG. 6 , the manifold blocks  104 ,  106  are made of material suitable for the hydraulic pressures of the excavator&#39;s hydraulic system and include ports  120  which mateably align with the ports  114  of the base  108 . The manifold blocks  104 ,  106  are attached to the base  108  by threaded connectors  122  which extend through holes  124  in the manifold blocks  104 ,  106  and are threadably received by tapped holes  126  in the base  108 . A gasket (not shown) may be disposed between the mating faces of the manifold blocks  104 ,  106  and the base  108 . The hydraulic lines (not shown) of the excavator are coupled to the ports  120  of the manifold blocks  104 ,  106  using conventional split-flanges  128  which are secured to the manifold blocks by threaded connectors. 
         [0017]    In comparison to the embodiment of the improved hydraulic swivel assembly  100 , a typical prior hydraulic swivel assembly  200  is shown in  FIG. 7  as an exploded perspective view to illustrate the multiple components needed for the prior art hydraulic swivel assembly  200 . The prior art hydraulic swivel assembly  200  includes a hydraulic swivel  202  with a base  208  and a rotatable extension  210 . The base  208  is mounted to the forward bulkhead (not shown) of the swivel house as previously described and thus remains stationary. The rotatable extension  210  extends through the bulkhead as previously described and is rotatable with the main body  12  of the material handling attachment  10 . As previously described in connection with the improved hydraulic swivel assembly  100 , a post (not shown) is attached to the rotatable extension and is loosely received by a U-shaped bracket (not shown) at the rearward end  16  of the main body  12  of the material handling attachment  10  to ensure that the rotatable extension  110  rotates with the main body  12 . 
         [0018]    Port tubes  220 ,  222  couple to single ports  214  on the sides  216 ,  218  of the hydraulic swivel  202  by a split flanges  224 ,  226  secured by threaded connectors to the stationary base  208 . Gaskets  228 ,  230  are provided at each end of the port tubes  220 ,  222 . The outer ends of each of the port tubes  220 ,  222  are coupled by a split flanges  232 ,  234  over single inner ports  236  on inner sides of respective port blocks  238 ,  240 . The outer sides of the port blocks  238 ,  240  include two outer ports  242 ,  244  for coupling the hydraulic lines (not shown) of the excavator using split flanges  246 ,  248 ,  250 ,  252  secured by threaded connectors. It should be appreciated that the port blocks  238 ,  240  include internal passages which connect the two outer ports  242 ,  244  to the single inner ports  236 . Two pairs of support brackets  254 ,  256 ,  258 ,  260  attach to the respective port blocks  238 ,  240  for supporting and securing the port blocks  238 ,  240  to the swivel house (not shown). 
         [0019]    It should be appreciated that unlike the prior art hydraulic swivel assembly  200 , the embodiment of the improved hydraulic swivel assembly  100  does not require separate mounting or support brackets as part of the assembly because the manifold blocks  104 ,  106  are directly mounted to and supported by the base  108  of the hydraulic swivel  102  which is rigidly mounted to the bulkhead  58 . 
         [0020]    It should also be appreciated that the improved hydraulic swivel assembly  100  has only seven components; namely the hydraulic swivel  102 , the two manifold blocks  104 ,  106  and the four split flanges  128 . The prior art hydraulic swivel assembly  200 , on the other hand, has no less than  17  components, not including the threaded connectors and gaskets; namely, the hydraulic swivel  202 , the split flanges  224 ,  226  attached to the base  208 , the port tubes  220 ,  222 , the split flanges  232 ,  234  connecting the port tubes  220 ,  222  to the inner ports  236 , the two port blocks  238 ,  240 , the four slit flanges  246 ,  248 ,  250 ,  252  connecting the excavator lines to the two outer ports  242 ,  244  on the outside of the port blocks  238 ,  240 , and the two pairs of support brackets  254 ,  256 ,  258 ,  260 . The prior art hydraulic swivel assembly  200  also requires 48 threaded connectors to attach the various components to one another and to mount the support brackets to the swivel house whereas the improved hydraulic swivel assembly  100  requires only 28 threaded connectors. 
         [0021]    It should also be appreciated that the improved hydraulic swivel assembly  100  has only six potential leak points (three on each side of the hydraulic swivel  102 ); namely, the interface of the two hydraulic lines from the excavator to the outer sides of the manifold blocks  104 ,  106  at the split flanges  128  and the interface of the manifold blocks  104 ,  106  to the base  108  of the hydraulic swivel  102 . The prior art hydraulic swivel assembly  200 , on the other hand, has eight potential leak points (four on each side of the hydraulic swivel  202 ); namely, the interface of the two hydraulic lines from the excavator to the two outer ports  242 ,  244  at the split flanges  246 ,  248 ,  250 ,  252 , the interface of the port tubes  220 ,  222  over the single inner ports  236  at the split flanges  232 ,  234 , and the interface of the port tubes  220 ,  222  over the single ports  214  on the sides of the hydraulic swivel  202  at the split flanges  224 ,  226 . 
         [0022]    Accordingly, the improved hydraulic swivel assembly  100  has less than half the parts and substantially fewer potential leak points compared to the prior art hydraulic swivel assembly  200  and requires twenty fewer threaded connectors to install, thereby resulting in substantial labor savings in installation as well as substantial labor savings in maintenance and repair costs. 
         [0023]    It should also be appreciated that although the improved hydraulic swivel assembly  100  is described as being particularly adapted to a swivel attachment for a material handling attachment mounted to an excavator, the improved hydraulic swivel assembly  100  is equally suitable for any application which utilizes a hydraulic swivel for communicating hydraulic fluid from a non-rotatable member to a rotatable member. 
         [0024]    The foregoing description is presented to enable one of ordinary skill in the art to make and use the invention and is provided in the context of a patent application and its requirements. Various modifications to the embodiments described herein, and the general principles and features of the embodiments described herein will be readily apparent to those of skill in the art. Thus, the present invention is not to be limited to the embodiments described herein and illustrated in the drawing figures, but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the spirit and scope of the appended claims.