Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
8t~3
sack~round of the Invention
This invention relates generally to improvements in
structure and apparatus roadway resurfacing machinery, and
more particularly to a new and improved scarifying assembly
which forms one of the work stations of the roadway re-
surfacing machine.
This invention deals with substantial useful improve-
ments in my earlier filed patent application, entitled "Road
Surfacing Apparatus" and which has issued as United States
Patent No. 3,361,042. This patent discloses means for quickly
and inexpensively resurfacing roadways which are made of as-
phalt concrete material and the like. The apparatus may be in
the order of about 8 to 12 feet wide and 40 to 50 feet long
and move along the roadway at a relatively slow rate so that
during a single continuous pass the old road surface in front
of the machine is heated and ultimately excavated as the
machine moves thereover and a refinished road surface is
formed at the rear of the machine. All of the old road sur-
face material is recycled into the new road surface thus
formed. A distinct advantage of repaving apparatus of the
type disclosed in my earlier patent is that the finished re-
paved road surface is substantially immediately available for
traffic within a matter of minutes after the completion of
the road surface. ;~
Heating apparatus as disclosed in my Canadian appli-
cation, Serial No. 209,160, filed September 13, 1974, substan-
tially increases the efficiency of heating the road surface
as the machine moves thereacross. Therefore, scarifying
equipment can excavate the heated asphalt to a greater depth so
that more complete mixing of filler asphalt is obtained.
'~.~ "
' ' ~ ... ~ '
104S868
Heretofore, asphalt concrete roadway repaving machines
have been relatively long because of the necessity of the plural-
ity of successive work stations along the machine. Furthermore,
to effect adequate scarifying of the old road surface, several
scarifying stations had to be used.
.
Summary of the Invention
The present invention pertains to a scarifier assembly
for engagement with a road surface to excavate the road surface.
- The scarifier assembly comprises a support frame movable over
the road surface in a given direction. A plurality of scarifying
blade units are mounted on the support frame for separate selec-
tive upward and downward movement. The blade units are positioned
to have blade unit cutting tips engageable with the road surface
when in the down position during a scarifying operation. A
plurality of discrete, yieldable, fluid operated pressure-applying
means are positioned beneath the support frame and directly over
the plurality of scarifying blade units to apply a downward pres-
sure upon the units during the scarifying operation.
~
,, .,,:
. :' '.
.
,~
- - . . . -. - . .. . .. . .
.. . . ~, , . . :. . .
- : -. :
104S868
brief Description of the Drawin~s
Fig. 1 is a side elevational view of a road repaving
machine wherein the scarifing assembly of this invention is
utilized;
Fig. 2 is a fragmentary detailed showing of the scari-
fing assembly of this invention;
Fig. 3 is a fragmentary perspective view of the
scarifing assembly of this invention;
Fig. 4 is a fragmentary side view showing the pivotal
shear arrangement for the scarifing blades of the scarifing
assembly of this invention;
Fig. 5 is a front view of the scarifing blades of
Fig. 4;
Fig. 6 is a top view showing the staggered row
arrangement o the scarifing blades of the scarifing assembly
of this invention;
Fig. 7 is a diagrammatic representation showing the
control valve manifold arrangement for controlling a plurality
of air bags to urge the scarifing blades into contact with the
road surface in accordance with the principles of this
invention; and
Fig. 8 is a top view illustrating the transverse
arrangement of a plurality of support arm members, each having
a group of scarifing blades associated therewith to be urged -
into contact with the road surface being repaved.
Detailed Description of the Illustrated Embodiment
Referring now to Fig. 1, th,ere is seen an elevational
--4--
,
~, . . . .
1~4S868
~ ~w of a road resurfacing machine designated generally by
reference numeral 10, and wherein the scarifing assembly of
this invention is utilized. The road resurfacing machine 10
has a plurality of large pneumatic tires 13 having sufficient
contact area with the road surface so that the weight of the
large machine is distributed uniformly over the road surface
so as not to deform the newly paved roadway passing therebeneath.
As the road resurfacing machine 10 moves forward over a damaged~
road surface, the front end of the machine will heat up the road
surface to a depth of approximately one to two inches or more
and an intermediate stage of the machine, where at the scarifing
assembly of this invention is located, will dig up the road
surface. The quantity of old road surface now forming loose
pavement has a quantity of new asphalt material added therewith
to build up the road surface to the previous height or to a
height greater than the old road surface, if desired. Generally,
the quantity of new asphalt material added to the old road
surface is just enough to replace those quantities which have
been depleted as a result of pot holes or the like. The rate
of travel of the machine may be on the order of eight to twenty
feet per minute thereby providing a completely recons~ructed ~-
road surface upon which traffic can travel substantially im-
mediately after the road surface has been formed.
A quantity of new asphalt material 14 is delivered
via a truck or other suitable transport means 16 into a hopper
or receptacle 17 located at the front of the road resurfacing
machine 10. A conveyor assembly 18 along the top portion of the
104586~
Lrame support of the machine transports the new asphalt material
from the hopper to one or more various work stations along the
machine. A control station designated generally by reference
numeral 19 is located intermediate the machine, and an operator
is stationed at this point to control the direction of travel
of the machine, as well as the rate of travel thereof. The
operator also controls the various functions to be accomplished
during the travel of the machine. For example, the operator will
control the amount of heat applied to the road surface by various
heating units and may control the amount of pressure applied to
the scarifing assembly to dig up the old road surface to the
~
desired depth. One or more diesel engines 20 are mounted at
the rear portion of ~he machine and include various control
panel arrangements 20a which may be used to operate hydraulic
pumps or compressors or the like. The wheels 13 are motorized -
preferably by independent hydraulic motors operated by hydro-
static hydraulic supply pumps controlled by the diesel engines
and control panel 20a. However, it will be understood that
other drive means than those described here may be incorporated.
A plurality of fuel tanks 21 are mounted on top of
the support frame and designated generally by reference numeral
22 and are used to carry fuel supplies for both the diesel
engine and the radiant heating apparatus 24 which is located
at the forward end of the machine. While a single radiant
heating apparatus 24 is disclosed herein, previous disclosures
of this machine in related patent applications disclosed two
radiant heating apparatus. Therefore, it will be understood
. . . :
-` 1045868
L..at one, two or more heating ~mits may be utilized without
departing from the spirit and scope oE this invention. One
or more of the fuel tanks 21 may be filled with diesel fuel
while one or more of the other fuel tanks may be filled with
pentane fuel for operating the radiant heating burners within
the heater 24. The manner in which the road resurfacing machine
10 operates is more fully disclosed in my related patent no.
3,361,042; and no further details of description of operation
is deemed necessary herein. However, the details necessary for
a complete understanding of this invention are understood to
be incorporated herein from the above-mentioned patent.
The heating apparatus 24 includes a heating chamber
28 facing downwardly to be positioned immediately over the road
surface to be repaved so that the road surface can be heated to
a depth of approximately two inches more or less so that the
asphalt of the concrete pavement can be adequately softened to
be excavated by the scarifing apparatus of this invention. After ~-
the heating of the road surface is accomplished, a scarifing
assembly 25, positioned behind the heating apparatus, will ex-
cavate the road surface to a desired depth. The scarifingapparatus 25 is of new and novel design and is substantially
more efficient than scarifing apparatus heretofore utilized. -~ `
Fig. 2 illustrates a side elevational view of the
scarifing apparatus 25 and shows only a portion of a support
.....
frame 30 adapted to be moved over the road surface in a given
direction as indicated by the arrow 31. Positioned beneath
the support frame 30 are a plurality of scarifing blades 32
-7-
104S868w~lich are formed in a plurality of sub-groups extending trans-
versely across the direction of motion of the machine. Each
of the sub-groups of scarifing blades 32 are secured to the
free end of an arm member 33 tentatively secured by pin means
34 to a depending pull bar assembly 36 that raises and lowers
by a motor driven drive screw mechanism designated generally
by reference numeral 37. The drive screw mechanism 37 therefore
is used to adjust the relative position of the pull bar assembly
36 so that the arms 33 are maintained substantially in a parallel
position over the road surface, thereby eliminating the possibil-
ity of bending of the arms under the forces of the scarifing
operation.
Most advantageously, pressure applying means designated -
generally by reference numeral 38 are positioned beneath the
support frame 30and are in direct engagement with the free ends
of the arms 33 so that downward pressure ~.~ applied directly
to the scarifing blades during the scarifing operation. The
pressure applying means 38 is secured to a pressure bar member
39 which also holds a plurality of air bags 40, each air bag
engaging the free end of the associated arm member 33, as be5t
seen in Figure 8. While the number of arms and associated air
bags is here illustrated as being twelve, designated generally
by reference numerals 33a, 33b, 33c, 33d, 33e, 33f, 33g, 33h,
33i, 33j, 33k and 331 and the air bags designated by 40a, 40b,
40c, 40d, 40e, 40f, 40g, 40h, 40i, 40j, 40k, and 401, a
detailed description of only a single support arm and air bag
configuration will be given herein, it being understood that the
same description applies to all other arms and air bags.
--8--
-, . : . . . . . . . .
... . . . . . .
1045868 : ~ -
The pressure bar 38 is secured to the frame member
30 by pivot means 41, located at each end thereof so that the
pressure bar can be aligned with the inclination of the road
surface, if desired. The pressure bar structure 38 is moved
upwardly and downwardly relative to the support frame 30 by
a drive motor mechanism 42 drivingly connected to a threaded
shaft 43 which, in turn, moves the pressure bar upwardly and
downwardly relative to the support frame. Once the scarifing -
blades are in contact with the road surface, high pressure for
effecting excavation of the road surface is obtained from the
air bag 40 which has an air line 44 connected thereto. The air
line 44 applies pressure to the bag from a regulated air supply
within a manifold, to be described in more detail herein below.
Positioned immediately behind the scarifing blades 32
and slightly to the outside thereof are a pair of joint cutting
blades which remove the excess mix of asphalt concrete from the
seam formed along the side of the machine. There is one of
these joint cutting blades 46 on each side of the machine and
is adjustable by a pair of link members 47 and 48 connected to
a boss 49 and to a support arm 50. The adjustment is made by
a threaded shaft 51. Preferably the lower edge surface 46a of
the joint cutting blade is supplied with a weld bead of hard
surfacing metal.
The excavated asphalt concrete is here designated
generally by reference numeral 52 and is made level by a
leveling blade 53 which rotates about a central axis 54 by
suitable side border means, not shown. The leveling blade 53 -
is adjustable upwardly and downwardly by suitable means indicated
_9_
~ .
.
.. - . .. ..
1045868 ~
b~nerally by reference num ~al 56. Therefore, the level of
loose asphalt concrete is maintained uni~orm across the width
of the machine prior to compressing the same into a compact
road surface.
When pressure from within the air bag 40 is removed
each of the arm members 33 is biased upwardly by a leaf spring
member 57 which has one end thereof secured thereto the pull
bar 36 and the other end thereof placed beneath the pad element
58 welded to the underside of the arm 53. Fig. 3 clearly il-
lustrates the type of construction of each of the arm members33, they being all substantially the same across the machine.
The arm member 33 is formed by a pair of spaced apart steel
channel members 59 and 60 with the tab member 58 welded there-
between and the leaf spring 57 passes through the space between
the channel members to engage the pad, as seen in Fig. 3.
This feature of construction is àlso seen in Fig. 8
The free end of the arm members 33 are provided with
upper and lower plates 60 and 61, respectively, to form a
substantially rigid box type construction to support the group
scarifing blades secured thereto. The scarifing blade con-
figuration is best illustrated in Fig. 6 which shows them
arranged in rows 63, 64 and 65 which are staggered relative to
one another, as seen in the drawing, so that the average spacing
between scarifing blades is relatively small when considering
the closest adjacent blade of a next row but which allows ~-
sufficient space between the blades of a given row so that
excavated asphalt concrete material can easily flow through the -
'-10-`
, . , -
1 ~45868
scarifing apparatus to the leveling wheel 53. This arrangement
eliminates the usual build-up of asphalt material in front of
the scarifing blades and provides for a more uniform admixture
to be produced.
Figs. 4 and 5 illustrate the details of construction
of the scarifing blades secured to the free end of the support
arms 33. Each of the scarifing blades are here designated by
reference numeral 70 and are secured between a pair of parallel
spaced apart support plates 71 and 72. The scarifing blades 70
are held in position between the support plates 71 and 72 by a
pair of bolt members 73 and 74, the bolt member 73 being of a
larger diameter than the bolt,imember 74. Also the bolt member
74 is of a material that will shear under a predetermined amount
of force so that should the scarifing blades 70 inadvertently
engage an immovable structure in the road surface, such as a
manhole, the smaller diameter bolt member 74 will shear and the
scarifing blade will pivot about the larger diameter bolt member
73, as illustrated in phantom lines in Fig. 4. The repair and
maintenance of this type of structure is relatively simple in
that it only requires a new shear bolt to be inserted through
the plate members 71 and 72 and the scarifing blade 70. The
plate members are secured to the bottom of the plate 61 by suitable
welding techniques and are held by welds 74. The lowermost lead-
ing edge of each of the scarifing blades 70 is provided with a
hard material insert 76, such as t~ngsten carbide or the like.
Fig. 8 clearly illustrates the arrangement of the
support arms 33 together with their groups of scarifing blades 32
- 11- '
1045868
and associated air bags positioned between the ends of the arm
and the pressure bar 38. In this Figure, it will be noted
that the endmost arm members 33a and 331 together with their
associated s~riEing blades 32a and 321 receive a different
amount of pressure than do the scarifing blades and arms 33b
through 33k. One reason for the additional force is the use of
the joint cutting blades 46 at these locations. This is achieved
by connecting the air bags 40a and 401 together and to one flow
control manifold and connecting the air bags 40b through 40k
to another flow control manifold.
The manifold arrangement to achieve proper control of
` air pressure to the air bags and 401 is illustrated in Fig. 7.
Here a manifold unit 80 is divided into two manifold sections,
81 and 82, which are each individually controlled by separate
pressure regulator units 83 and 84, respectively. The pressure
regulators 83 and 84 are fed from a common pressure line 86.
It is sometimes desirable to apply more pressure to the endmost
air bags 40a and 401 so as to effect a deeper penetration of
scarifing of the road surfacing by the associated scarifing
blades 32a and 321. Therefore, the manifold chamber 81 is
maintained at a higher pressure than is the manifold chamber 82.
The flow control valves associated with the manifold unit 80
are of the on/off or open/close type, each being designated
generally by reference numeral 86. The output line 87 associated
with each of the valves is connected directly to its associated
air bag and will inflate the air bag to a pressure determined
by the associated regulator 83`or 84. If it is desired to raise
-12-
1045868
selected ones of the arm members 33a-331, so as to bypass a
manhole cover or the like, the air flow control valves 86
associated with the appropriate air bags 40 will be opened so that
no pressure will be applied to the air bag, and the chamber
within the air bag is opened to atmospheric pressure. Once the
repaving apparatus has passed over the manhole cover the ap-
propriate air bags are again inflated to the pressure desired
by operating the flow control valve 86.
What has been described is a simple and efficient scar-
ifing assembly to use in conjunction with road paving apparatus
which substantially improves the scarifing operation so that
only a single scarifing unit is now required on the apparatus.
While a single specific embodiment of this invention has been
illustrated herein, it will be understood that variations and
modifications of the invention may be effected without departing
from the spirit and scope of the novel concepts as set forth
in the specification and claims.
.'. ~.
-13-
, . .. - .. - - . .. . . . .
