U.S. patent application number 10/155388 was filed with the patent office on 2003-12-18 for traverse carriage.
Invention is credited to Swain, Jon M..
Application Number | 20030232585 10/155388 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 29731815 |
Filed Date | 2003-12-18 |
United States Patent
Application |
20030232585 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Swain, Jon M. |
December 18, 2003 |
Traverse carriage
Abstract
A traverse carriage and operator arrangement for transversely
adjusting the abrader unit or units of a mobile surface abrading
apparatus to facilitate more precise abrading of the underlying
road or other surface. In a preferred embodiment the traverse
carriage is mounted on a cross-member by means of rollers and is
operated by a specially designed, fluid-operated cylinder
horizontally oriented in the mobile surface abrading apparatus and
attached to the traverse carriage and the apparatus frame for
moving the traverse carriage along the cross-member and positioning
the abrader unit a selected distance along the cross-member
transverse to the longitudinal movement of the mobile surface
abrading apparatus.
Inventors: |
Swain, Jon M.; (Ruston,
LA) |
Correspondence
Address: |
John M. Harrison
2139 E. Bert Kouns
Shreveport
LA
71105
US
|
Family ID: |
29731815 |
Appl. No.: |
10/155388 |
Filed: |
May 28, 2002 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
451/360 ;
451/340 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B24B 41/02 20130101;
E01H 1/08 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
451/360 ;
451/340 |
International
Class: |
B24B 041/00 |
Claims
Having described my invention with the particularity set forth
above, what is claimed is:
1. A traverse carriage in a mobile surface abrading apparatus for
locating an abrader unit in a selected location over a surface,
said traverse carriage comprising a carriage support provided in
the mobile surface abrading apparatus, said carriage support
oriented substantially transverse to the direction of motion of the
mobile surface abrading apparatus; a carriage movably mounted on
said carriage support, said carriage carrying the abrader unit; and
a positioning mechanism connected to the mobile surface abrading
apparatus and said carriage for selectively moving said carriage on
said carriage support.
2. The traverse carriage of claim 1 wherein said carriage support
comprises a cross-member and further comprising rollers carried by
said carriage for engaging said cross-member and stabilizing said
carriage on said cross-member responsive to operation of said
operating mechanism.
3. The traverse carriage of claim 1 wherein said operating
mechanism comprises a fluid-operated cylinder.
4. The traverse carriage of claim 3 wherein said carriage support
comprises a cross-member and comprising rollers carried by said
carriage for engaging said cross-member and stabilizing said
carriage on said cross-member responsive to operation of said
fluid-operated cylinder.
5. The traverse carriage of claim 1 wherein said operating
mechanism comprises an actuator.
6. The traverse carriage of claim 5 wherein said carriage support
comprises a cross-member and comprising rollers carried by said
carriage for engaging said cross-member and stabilizing said
carriage on said cross-member responsive to operation of said
actuator.
7. The traverse carriage of claim 2 wherein said rollers comprise a
first pair of spaced-apart, horizontally-oriented rollers engaging
the top of said cross-member; a second pair of spaced-apart,
vertically-oriented rollers engaging the top of said cross-member;
and a third pair of spaced-apart, horizontally-oriented rollers
engaging the bottom of said cross-member for stabilizing said
carriage on said cross-member.
8. The traverse carriage of claim 7 wherein said operating
mechanism comprises a fluid-operated cylinder.
9. The traverse carriage of claim 7 wherein said operating
mechanism comprises an actuator.
10. A traverse carriage in a mobile surface abrading apparatus for
locating an abrader unit in a selected location over a road, said
traverse carriage comprising a carriage support fixedly mounted in
the mobile surface abrading apparatus, said carriage support
oriented substantially transverse to the direction of motion of the
mobile surface abrading apparatus; a carriage positioned adjacent
to said support, said carriage carrying the abrader unit; rollers
mounted on said carriage, said rollers engaging said carriage
support for stabilizing said carriage on said carriage support; and
a positioning mechanism connected to the mobile surface abrading
apparatus and said carriage for selectively moving said carriage
with respect to said carriage support on said rollers, responsive
to traversal of said carriage support by said rollers.
11. The traverse carriage of claim 10 wherein said carriage support
comprises an cross-member and said rollers comprise three sets of
rollers carried by said carriage for engaging said cross-member and
stabilizing said carriage on said cross-member responsive to
operation of said operating mechanism.
12. The traverse carriage of claim 10 wherein said positioning
mechanism comprises a fluid-operated cylinder.
13. The traverse carriage of claim 10 wherein said positioning
mechanism comprises an actuator.
14. The traverse carriage of claim 10 wherein said carriage support
comprises a cross-member and said rollers comprise a first pair of
spaced-apart, horizontally-oriented rollers engaging the top of
said cross-member; a second pair of spaced-apart,
vertically-oriented rollers engaging the top of said cross-member;
and a third pair of spaced-apart, horizontally-oriented rollers
engaging the bottom of said cross-member for stabilizing said
carriage on said cross-member.
15. The traverse carriage of claim 14 wherein said operating
mechanism comprises a fluid-operated cylinder.
16. The traverse carriage of claim 14 wherein said operating
mechanism comprises an actuator.
17. A traverse carriage in a mobile surface abrading apparatus for
locating an abrader unit in a selected location over a road, said
traverse carriage comprising a cross-member fixedly mounted in the
mobile surface abrading apparatus, said cross-member oriented
substantially transverse to the direction of motion of the mobile
surface abrading apparatus; a carriage positioned adjacent to said
support, said carriage carrying the abrader unit; a first pair of
spaced-apart, horizontally-oriented rollers engaging the top of
said cross-member; a second pair of spaced-apart,
vertically-oriented rollers engaging the top of said cross-member;
and a third pair of spaced-apart, horizontally-oriented rollers
engaging the bottom of said cross-member for stabilizing said
carriage on said cross-member; and an operating mechanism connected
to the mobile surface abrading apparatus and said carriage for
selectively moving said carriage with respect to said carriage
support responsive to traversal of said carriage support by said
rollers.
18. The traverse carriage of claim 17 wherein said operating
mechanism comprises a fluid-operated cylinder.
19. The traverse carriage of claim 17 wherein said operating
mechanism comprises an actuator.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] 1. Field of the Invention
[0002] Various types of mobile surface abrading apparatus are known
in the art. These apparatus are typically characterized by vehicles
of specific design carrying one or more abrader units designed to
impinge an abrasive material against the surface as the vehicles
move over the surface to modify the surface for cleaning, surface
preparation, or to provide better traction for rubber tire vehicle
traffic. One of the functions of these devices is the requirement
for making multiple passes over the surface in order to treat the
surface in one or more overlapping passes, which must join each
other precisely to provide an evenly abraded surface.
[0003] The traverse carriage and operator or positioning device of
this invention are designed to precisely adjust one or more abrader
units transversely to the longitudinal axis of a mobile surface
abrading apparatus to facilitate a more accurate overlap and a
broader multiple pass operation and accompanying increased
operating efficiency, which translates into reduced operating
expense. The traverse carriage and operator include a traverse
carriage or weldment movably mounted by means of a sliding device
or rollers transversely on a cross-member such as an I-beam, fixed
to the vehicle chassis and positioned by a cylinder or actuator
device attached between the vehicle and the carriage for moving the
carriage from side-to-side in selected increments to achieve
optimum efficiency in swath overlap and width enhancement of the
underlying surface to be treated.
[0004] 2. Description of the Prior Art
[0005] Several U.S. patents describe typical mobile surface
abrading apparatus having adjustable abrader units. Most of the
units described in these patents have the abrader unit (or blast
head) rigidly mounted to the vehicle chassis and do not allow
vertical movement of the abrader unit or horizontal or transverse
abrader movement. These devices use resilient, (typically rubber)
seals between the blast head and the surface to prevent the escape
of abrasive. These seals are supposed to correct surface
unevenness.
[0006] It is an object of this invention to provide a new and
improved traverse carriage and positioning operator for moving a
carriage or weldment transversely to the longitudinal movement (or
travel) of a mobile surface abrading carrying vehicle, to position
one or more abrader units attached to the carriage in a selected
path of abrasion over a surface to be treated.
[0007] Another object of this invention is to provide a traverse
carriage and operator or positioning device for suspending one or
more abrader units in a precise location over a surface to be
textured or treated and transversely operating the abrader unit to
cover a desired swath or treatment path relatively parallel to, but
not necessarily centered with, the path of the host vehicle.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0008] These and other objects of the invention are provided in a
traverse carriage and operator for suspending one or more abrader
units in a mobile surface abrading vehicle or apparatus over a
surface to be treated, which traverse carriage includes a weldment
movably mounted by means of a friction-reducing sliding device or
rollers on a cross-member (typically an I-beam) fixed to the
carrying vehicle or apparatus and designed to transversely traverse
the cross-member in selected increments responsive to operation of
a positioning device or operator to precisely position the abrader
unit or units carried by the weldment over a selected area of the
surface during operation of the mobile surface abrading unit or
apparatus.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0009] The invention will be better understood by reference to the
accompanying drawings, wherein:
[0010] FIG. 1 is a side view of a preferred embodiment of a
preferred traverse carriage and operator cylinder of this
invention, carrying an abrader unit;
[0011] FIG. 2 is a top view of the traverse carriage and operator
cylinder;
[0012] FIG. 3 is an end view taken along line A-A in FIG. 2 of the
traverse carriage and operator cylinder illustrated in FIGS. 1 and
2;
[0013] FIG. 4 is a top view of a typical double-action fluid
operator cylinder designed for attachment to the traverse carriage
and the mobile surface abrading apparatus frame and transversely
operating and adjusting the traverse carriage with respect to the
longitudinal axis of the mobile surface abrading apparatus;
[0014] FIG. 5s a front view of a typical actuator which may be
substituted for the fluid cylinder operator illustrated in FIGS. 1
and 2;
[0015] FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along line C-C of the
traverse carriage and operator cylinder illustrated in FIG. 1;
[0016] FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken along line D-D of the
traverse carriage and operator cylinder illustrated in FIG. 1;
and
[0017] FIG. 8 is a longitudinal sectional view of the traverse
carriage double-action fluid operator cylinder for operating the
traverse carriage of this invention in a preferred embodiment.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0018] Referring now to FIGS. 1-3 of the drawings, a traverse
carriage for mounting on a typical mobile surface abrading
apparatus (not illustrated), is indicated by reference numeral 1.
The traverse carriage 1 is typically characterized by a weldment 2,
fitted with a pair of spaced-apart, upper horizontal rollers 3,
each rotatably mounted on an upper horizontal roller flange 4 by
means of corresponding upper horizontal roller mount shafts 5,
which are each seated and tightened by a shaft nut 6. Two
spaced-apart top vertical rollers 8 are vertically oriented in
spaced-apart relationship on respective top vehicle roller mount
shafts 9, attached to top vehicle roller mount plates 10, that are
secured to the top of the weldment 2. A pair of spaced-apart lower
horizontal rollers 11 are horizontally mounted on corresponding
lower roller mount pins 11a, also mounted on the weldment 2. The
weldment body 12 includes a weldment foot 13 on each end thereof,
to which are attached a stay plate 14 and a pair of spaced-apart
lower connecting arms 42, pivoted in place by means of foot pins
43. The opposite ends of the pivotally-mounted lower connecting
arms 42 are each pivotally attached to a corresponding lower
abrader unit bracket 30 of an abrader unit 33, (illustrated in
phantom) by means of a mount pin 26, as further illustrated in FIG.
1. The weldment 2 is pivotally connected to the abrader unit 33 by
means of a pair of spaced-apart upper connecting arms 22, each of
which is attached to the upper segment of the weldment 2 by means
of corresponding upper forward connecting brackets 21 and upper
forward arm mount pins 23. The opposite ends of each of the upper
connecting arms 22 are also pivotally secured to the abrader unit
33 by means of mount pins 26, extending through corresponding upper
abrader unit brackets 25. Accordingly, it will be appreciated from
a consideration of FIG. 1 that the abrader unit 33 is allowed to
articulate vertically with respect to the transversely-operated
weldment 2 by operation of the upper connecting arms 22 and the
lower connecting arms 42.
[0019] As further illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, this vertical
articulation of the abrader unit 33 is facilitated by operation of
a lift cylinder 28, secured at one end thereof to an upper lift
cylinder bracket 31. The lift cylinder piston rod 29 of the lift
cylinder 28 is attached at the free end to a corresponding bracket
(not illustrated) mounted on the abrader unit 33, to facilitate
raising and lowering the abrader unit 33 by extension and
retraction of the lift cylinder piston rod 29 and articulation of
the upper connecting arms 22 and the lower connecting arms 42.
[0020] Referring again to FIGS. 1 and 2 of the drawings, a
cross-member 16 is fixed between opposite sides of the vehicle
frame 34, illustrated in FIG. 2, and includes a web 17 with a top
flange 18 and a bottom flange 19 terminating the top and bottom of
the web 17, as illustrated. The upper horizontal rollers 3 are
designed to traverse the front edge of the top flange 18 of the
cross-member 16, while the top vertical rollers 8 simultaneously
traverse the flat top of the top flange 18 of the cross-member 16,
as further illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2. Furthermore, at the same
time, the lower horizontal rollers 11 engage and traverse the rear
edge of the bottom flange 19 of the cross-member 16. Accordingly,
the upper horizontal rollers 3, top vertical rollers 8 and lower
horizontal rollers 11 serve to stabilize the weldment 2 as the
weldment 2 traverses the cross-member 16 in a controlled manner, as
hereinafter described.
[0021] Controlled traversal of the weldment 2 on the cross-member
16 is typically effected by means of a carriage travel cylinder 35
mounted in a carriage travel cylinder bracket 36, typically welded
to, and extending from the weldment body 12, as further illustrated
in FIG. 1. Referring to FIGS. 1, 2, 4, 6 and 8 of the drawings, the
carriage travel cylinder 35 is preferably characterized by an
in-line carriage travel cylinder rod 37, that extends from each end
of the carriage travel cylinder 35, respectively, and is joined
internally of the carriage travel cylinder 35 to a piston disc 40,
defining a pair of cylinder chambers 39, as illustrated in FIG. 8.
One end of the carriage travel cylinder piston 37 is attached to
one side of the vehicle frame 34, typically by means of a bracket
38, while the opposite end of the carriage travel cylinder rod 37
is unattached. Consequently, fluid pressure applied in sequence to
the carriage travel cylinder 35 in the cylinder chambers 39 on
either side of the piston 40, causes the piston 40 to traverse the
cylinder chambers 39 of the carriage travel cylinder 35 and thus
move the weldment 2 equally in either direction on the cross-member
16, within the length of operation or "stroke", of the carriage
travel cylinder 35.
[0022] Alternatively, referring to FIG. 5 of the drawings, an
actuator 45 can be substituted for the carriage travel cylinder 35,
typically with the actuator base 46 secured to the vehicle frame 34
by means of a cylinder bracket 38, for example, and the jacking rod
47 of the actuator 45 mounted on the bracket 36, as illustrated
with respect to the carriage travel cylinder 35 in FIG. 8.
[0023] It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art from a
consideration of the drawings that both the carriage travel
cylinder 35 and an actuator 45 may be used interchangeably in order
to move the weldment 2 from side-to-side transversely between the
respective vehicle frame elements 34, to control the swath or area
of treatment of the abrader unit 33. Appropriate fluid such as air
and hydraulic fluid can be used to operate the carriage travel
cylinder 35 and electric current can be used to operate the
actuator 45 and various controls, fluid cylinder hoses, valves,
wires and switches and other apparatus necessary for controlling
the carriage travel cylinder 35 and the actuator 45 can be
implemented to selectively move the weldment 2 on the cross-member
16, according to the knowledge of those skilled in the art.
Furthermore, the size and speed of the carriage travel cylinder 35
or the actuator 45 may be chosen to accord with the weight and
operating requirements of the weldment 2 and the accompanying
abrader unit 33 and facilitate movement of the weldment 2 in a
transverse direction along the cross-member 16 with the necessary
speed and incremental accuracy to achieve the desired adjoining
abraded surface overlap beneath the abrader unit 33.
[0024] While the preferred embodiments of the invention have been
described above, it will be recognized and understood that all
modifications may be made in the invention and the appended claims
are intended to cover all such modifications that may fall within
the spirit and scope of the invention.
* * * * *