U.S. patent application number 13/640609 was filed with the patent office on 2013-02-28 for feeder.
This patent application is currently assigned to JOSEPH VOGELE AG. The applicant listed for this patent is Martin Buschmann, Michael Diesner, Steffen Fickeisen. Invention is credited to Martin Buschmann, Michael Diesner, Steffen Fickeisen.
Application Number | 20130051914 13/640609 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 42732056 |
Filed Date | 2013-02-28 |
United States Patent
Application |
20130051914 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Buschmann; Martin ; et
al. |
February 28, 2013 |
FEEDER
Abstract
The invention relates to a feeder (B) for conveying paving
mixture to a road paver, whereby the feeder has a plurality of
working assemblies (M, Q, 5, 10) and a control area (12). According
to the invention an automatic mode can be set in the control area
(12) for at least one of the working assemblies, and a conveyor
main switch (15) is provided upon operation of which all assemblies
set to automatic mode are activated with predetermined operating
parameters.
Inventors: |
Buschmann; Martin;
(Neustadt, DE) ; Fickeisen; Steffen; (Bad
Durkheim, DE) ; Diesner; Michael; (Wilhelmsfeld,
DE) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Buschmann; Martin
Fickeisen; Steffen
Diesner; Michael |
Neustadt
Bad Durkheim
Wilhelmsfeld |
|
DE
DE
DE |
|
|
Assignee: |
JOSEPH VOGELE AG
Ludwigshafen/Rhein
DE
|
Family ID: |
42732056 |
Appl. No.: |
13/640609 |
Filed: |
April 13, 2011 |
PCT Filed: |
April 13, 2011 |
PCT NO: |
PCT/EP2011/001877 |
371 Date: |
November 9, 2012 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
404/108 |
Current CPC
Class: |
E01C 19/48 20130101;
E01C 2301/04 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
404/108 |
International
Class: |
E01C 19/12 20060101
E01C019/12 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Apr 16, 2010 |
EP |
10004063.3 |
Claims
1. Feeder for conveying a paving mixture to a road paver, wherein
the feeder has a plurality of working assemblies and a control area
apparatus on the control area for setting an automatic operation
mode for at least one of the working assemblies, and a conveyor
main switch that operates to activate all assemblies set to
automatic mode, each of said assemblies being activated with
predetermined operating parameters.
2. Feeder according to claim 1, wherein the automatic mode can be
set individually for a working assembly or for each of a plurality
of working assemblies.
3. Feeder according to claim 1 wherein the working assemblies
comprise one or more conveying assemblies, a stripper, a cleaning
brush, a spaying system, a vibrator and/or a heater or the
like.
4. Feeder according to claim 1 wherein, the operating parameters
for operating the working assemblies can be set and/or changed.
5. Feeder according to claim 1 wherein, the relationship between
individual operating parameters of one or of various working
assemblies can be set.
6. Feeder according to claim 1 wherein, the controller has memory
for storing the operating parameters for operating the working
assemblies.
7. Feeder according to claim 6, wherein a group of operating
parameters of one or more working assemblies is stored in and can
be retrieved from memory as a common operating program.
8. Feeder according to claim 1 wherein a display field provided in
the control area.
9. Feeder according to claim 1 comprising, an override switch
located in the control area.
10. Feeder according to claim 1 which comprises a control element
on the control field for by means of which the conveying capacity
of the feeder can be changed proportionally is provided on the
control field.
Description
[0001] The invention relates to a feeder in accordance with the
introductory portion of claim 1.
[0002] A feeder of this category follows from EP 2 110 341 A1.
Similar feeders are also known from DE 299 19 242 U1, DE 299 02 419
U1, DE 298 11 212 U1, DE 298 12 115 U1, DE 297 15 467 U1, DE 295 17
342 U1 or DE 200 20 945 U1.
[0003] Road pavers are used to lay a coating made of a paving
mixture, for example, made of concrete, bituminous paving mixture
or asphalt, onto a square, a path or a street. Such a road paver
normally has a material hopper in order to store a certain quantity
of paving mixture. If the storage capacity is to be increased, a
feeder is placed in front of the road paver as seen in the working
direction. This feeder comprises a further material hopper, as well
as a conveyor device in order to transport the paving mixture from
the feeder material hopper into the material hopper of the road
paver. In addition to the conveyor device, strippers, vibrators or
a heater can be provided as additional work assemblies, in order to
improve the conveying process and prevent the normally hot paving
mixture from cooling and solidifying too soon.
[0004] Detrimental is that the operation of a conventional feeder
is complicated, because the operator must adjust and switch on or
switch off each working assembly separately and manually. The
operation of the feeder is consequently very dependent on the
experience and skill of the individual operator. Moreover, a quick
change in the conveying capacity is scarcely possible, because a
plurality of work units would have to be adjusted for this
purpose.
[0005] The object of the invention is to improve significantly the
usability of a feeder using means that are as simple as possible as
far as the design is concerned.
[0006] This object is solved by a feeder with the features of claim
1. Advantageous further developments of the invention are given in
the dependent claims.
[0007] According to the invention, it is provided that an automatic
mode can be set in the control area (which can be a control
console) for at least one of the working assemblies. Moreover, a
conveyor main switch is provided, upon operation of which all
assemblies set to automatic mode are activated with defined
operating parameters. One advantage of the invention lies in the
fact that the operator of each working assembly whose operation is
desired must only activate it, without, however, having to set the
special operating parameters of this working assembly. Rather, this
working assembly is then operated automatically with previously
defined operating parameters. A further advantage consists of the
fact that all assemblies set to automatic mode are activated
simultaneously when the conveyor main switch is operated. In this
way, it is avoided that individual working assemblies have to start
up idling or working against a force until all necessary working
assemblies have been activated.
[0008] The automatic mode can preferably be set individually for a
working assembly or individually for each of a plurality of working
assemblies (or even of all working assemblies). It would be
conceivable that only the following three operating modes can be
set for a working assembly: [0009] 1. OFF: The assembly in question
is not activated. [0010] 2. ON: The assembly always runs with
previously defined parameters, for example, parameters
predetermined at the factory. [0011] 3. AUTOMATIC: The assembly in
question runs with previously defined parameters when the conveyor
main switch is operated.
[0012] Because only three operating states have to be set for each
assembly, the operation of the feeder is greatly simplified.
Conceivable would be an additional simplification in which a group
of working assemblies together can be set into a particular
operating mode by means of a single control element.
[0013] The working assemblies preferably comprise one or more
conveyor assemblies, a stripper, a cleaning brush, a spaying
system, a vibrator and/or a heater. Conveyor belts, conveying
screws or other linear conveyors can be provided as conveyor
assemblies. All of these working assemblies support the conveying
capacity of the feeder.
[0014] It is expedient if the operating parameters for operating
one or more working assemblies can be set and/or changed. It is
particularly advantageous if the operating parameters can be set
before the start of the working assembly, for example, before the
start brought about by the operation of the conveyor main switch.
In this case, the working assembly can be activated immediately
with the selected operating parameters. An adjustability or
changeability of the operating parameters allows an adjustment to
changing working conditions.
[0015] The operating convenience of the feeder can be further
increased if instead of it being possible to set only individual
operating parameters, it is possible to set directly the
relationship between individual operating parameters of one or of
various working assemblies. For example, the throughput of a
spraying system could be changed in relationship to the conveying
capacity of the feeder in order to spray in more or less additives
per unit of the conveyed paving mixture.
[0016] The controller of the feeder preferably has memory for
storing the operating parameters for operating the working
assemblies. The operating parameters can be read out of this memory
before or when the working assembly in question is activated.
Moreover, the values of the operating parameters can be changed in
the memory.
[0017] Preferably a group of operating parameters of one or more
working assemblies is stored in and can be retrieved from memory as
a common operating program. For example, programs for a low, a
medium and a high or maximum conveying capacity of the feeder can
be stored by means of storing the group of operating parameters
suitable for this and linking them to one another.
[0018] It is advantageous if a display field is provided in the
control area. On this display field, the operator could be shown
information regarding the activity and the operating parameters of
the individual working assemblies. For example, menu navigation
could be provided by means of which the operator can retrieve the
corresponding information. The display field could also convey
warning messages to the operator.
[0019] In an advantageous design variant of the invention, an
override switch is provided. When or for as long as this override
switch is operated, the conveying capacity of the feeder is set to
a maximum value that can be set up ahead of time. In particular,
the conveying capacity can be set to 100% of the possible conveying
capacity. Appropriate programming of the controller ensures that
all assemblies involved in the conveying capacity are involved in
this short-term increase in the conveying capacity.
[0020] It is furthermore expedient if a control element, for
example, a control dial or slide control, is provided on the
control field, by means of which the conveying capacity of the
feeder can be changed proportionally. For example, the conveying
capacity could be changed by a particular factor by means of this
control element. The controller of the feeder ensures that all
assemblies involved in the conveying capacity automatically
contribute to the desired change in the conveying capacity.
[0021] In the following, an advantageous embodiment of the
invention is described in more detail on the basis of a drawing. In
detail, shown are:
[0022] FIG. 1 a side-view of a feeder according to the invention
and
[0023] FIG. 2 a view of the control field of the feeder.
[0024] FIG. 1 shows a feeder B for supplying e.g. road pavers with
conveyed material that has good adhesion and/or that tends to
solidify, particularly with hot bituminous asphalt mixture or
paving material, concrete paving material or also gravel, sand or
the like. The feeder B is self-propelled, has an undercarriage 1 on
a chassis 2 and a hopper 3 on the front, as seen in the paving
direction, that can be filled from the front or from the top or
from the side. In the chassis 2, a conveyor belt M extends,
starting at the material hopper 3, backwards or backwards and
upwards, whereby the conveyor belt M is oriented essentially in the
longitudinal direction of the feeder B and optionally can be raised
or lowered or also pivoted to the side. The conveyor belt M
comprises an endless conveyor substrate 4 that is supported and
guided in the reversal areas on reversing wheels 5, 7 and also in
between the same in drive and support systems. The upper reversing
wheels 5 can function as a drive and are, for example, acted upon
by a clamping device 6. The conveyor belt M and the clamping device
6 are working assemblies of the feeder B.
[0025] Transverse conveyors Q can be arranged in the material
hopper 3, whereby these transverse conveyors bring conveyed
material onto the conveyor belt M close to the lower reversing
wheels 7. The transverse conveyors Q can be supported by conveying
screws with underlying troughs and having drive shafts 8 that are
supported in bearings 9. The transverse conveyors Q are a further
working assembly. Heaters 10, strippers, a cleaning brush, a
spraying system and/or a vibrator (not shown) can be provided as
further working assemblies in the material hopper 3 or along the
conveyor belt M.
[0026] A control area 12, for example, as a surface of a control
console, is located on a control stand 11. This control area 12 is
shown in FIG. 2. The control area 12 comprises a display field 13,
for example, an LCD display. Display buttons 14 are arranged around
the display 13. Using the display buttons 14, the operator can
navigate through a menu on the display 13, in order to retrieve
certain information there, and also to select and set operating
states and operating parameters of different working assemblies M,
Q, 5, 10.
[0027] Further control elements are provided on the control area,
particularly a conveyor main switch 15, an override button 16 and a
control dial 17.
[0028] In the following, the operating sequence of the feeder B
according to the invention is described. Before switching on the
conveying process, the operator first activates the control area
12. Using the display buttons 14, the operator sets the operating
state of the individual working assemblies M, Q, 5, 10. The
operator can thereby select one of the three settings
OFF/ON/AUTOMATIC for each assembly. In the OFF operating state, the
working assembly in question remains inactivated. In the ON
operating state, the working assembly always runs with previously
defined parameters, which can, for example, be preset at the
factory. In the AUTOMATIC operating state, the assembly runs with
previously set parameters when or as long as the conveyor main
switch 15 is operated.
[0029] To store the operating parameters of the working assemblies
M, Q, 5, 10, memory (not shown) is provided on the feeder B. The
operating parameters are stored in this memory. The operating
parameters can be changed by the operator making appropriate
entries using the display buttons 14. It is conceivable that
complete conveyor profiles that consist of a group of particular
operating parameters of one or more working assemblies have already
been stored. Such a conveyor profile can, for example, be adapted
to the characteristics of a particular paving mixture.
[0030] The operator subsequently operates the conveyor main switch
15. As a result, each working assembly M, Q, 5, 10 that has
previously been placed into automatic mode is activated
simultaneously. The operation of the working assembly begins with
the previously set operating parameters. By means of an appropriate
operation of the conveyor main switch 15, the operation of all
working assemblies in automatic mode can also be ended again
simultaneously.
[0031] The buttons +/-18 make it possible to increase or decrease
the conveying capacity proportionally during the operation of the
feeder B. In the event of an appropriate operation of the buttons
+/-18, all operating parameters of the involved and operating
working assemblies relevant for the conveying capacity are adapted
to the changed conveying capacity.
[0032] The override button 16 makes it possible for the operator to
override the conveying process for a short time or to go to a
maximum conveying capacity of the feeder B in order to bridge any
possible material shortages. The maximum conveying capacity
achieved in this way does not, however, have to correspond to the
technically achievable maximum conveying capacity of the feeder B.
It is rather the case that a percentage of the technically feasible
conveying capacity can be set and taken up when the override button
16 is operated. As soon as the operator releases the override
button 16, the conveying capacity of the feeder B returns to the
previously set value.
[0033] Based on the depicted embodiment, the invention can be
modified in many ways. For example, further working assemblies can
be present, for example, a setting for the slant of the conveyor
belt M. The undercarriage or the drive of the entire feeder B can
also be controlled as a working assembly.
* * * * *