Patent ID: 8496401

Claim:
A paving machine, comprising: a frame; a hopper supported on a front portion of the frame and configured to channel paving material toward a feeder; a screed coupled with the paving machine at a rear portion of the frame; the feeder including a feeder floor and extending from the hopper to the screed; a conveyor having a conveyor portion positioned above the feeder floor for conveying the paving material through the feeder; and a feeder floor protection system including at least a first pair of wear plates covering a majority of the feeder floor, wherein each wear plate has at least two frame abutment features and at least two plate abutment features, wherein each plate abutment feature includes at least two non-contiguous lateral movement restriction surfaces offset from a centerline of the paving machine and at least one fore and aft movement restriction surface in a plane perpendicular to the centerline, wherein the lateral movement restriction surfaces of a first plate of the pair of wear plates abut the lateral movement restriction surfaces of a second plate of the pair of wear plates, and the fore and aft movement restriction surface of the first plate abuts the fore and aft movement restriction surface of the second plate; wherein the lateral movement restriction surfaces restrict movement of the wear plates perpendicular to the centerline, and the fore and aft movement restriction surfaces restrict movement of the wear plates parallel to the centerline.