Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
1085782
The invention relates to a vehicle for placing paving
elements, particularly slabs, stones or blocks, inter-engaging
stones or blocks, large paving slabs, and large paving slabs
adapted to be broken into smaller pieces in desired rupture
zones. With paving elements of this kind the subsoil can be
surfaced, for example for roads, paths, courtyards, squares,
watercourses, river beds, embankments, and the like.
Hitherto such paving elements have usually either been
placed by hand or handled by placing carts by which the paving
elements are taken to the respective placing sites one by one.
It is accordingly an object of the present invention
to provide a novel and advantageous vehicle which is constructed
in a particularly suitable manner for the placing of paving
elements.
The invention provides a vehicle for placing paving
elements into desired placing positions on the subsoil, com-
prising support means mounted on the vehicle supporting a store
of paving elements; a generally vertical mast mounted on the
vehicle; a jib; swivel means for mounting the jib, at a portion
thereof, to the mast to provide for an angular displaceability
of the iib about a vertical axis over a swivelling range; the jib
extending away from the mast and being located higher than the
support means; the vertical axis passing at least in the proxi-
mity of the support means whereby the portion of the jib is situ-
ated substantially vertically above the supportmeans irrespective
of the swivelled position of the jib; a trolley mounted on the
jib for travel therealong; a load carrier mounted on the trolley;
and elevator means for raising and lowering the load carrier for
picking up paving elements from the support means when the
trolley is in the zone of the portion of the jib and for placing
~h ~
1085782
the paving elem~nts on the subsoil in desired placing positions
determined by the selected swivelled position of the jib and the
selected location of the trolley on the jib.
For the purpose of picking up the paving elements from
the support means, the load carrier and/or the entire jib may be
raised and lowered. The load carrier may pick up one individual
paving element at a time, or simultaneously pick up a larger
number of paving elements lying side by side or else a number of
paving elements lying one on the other. In the last-mentioned
case only the paving element that is lowermost at the time is
laid down at one of the determined placing positions and the
load carrier is then moved to another placing position. When
all the paving elements in the stack have~been placed, the
trolley returns to the above-mentioned portion of th'e jib and
picks up one or more further paving elements. When a group of
paving elements lying side by side is to be picked up, this can
be done for example by means of a gripper which holds the in-
dividual paving elements together by lateral pressure, or else
it is possible for example to use a gripper which has suction
openings and which holds the individual paving elements by
SuGtiOn. The paving elements are preferably composed of
concrete.
As the above-mentioned portion of the jib is disposed
substantially vertically above the support means, the trolley
can be returned to a position which automatically is above the
support means irrespective of the position to which the jib is
swivelled at any moment, at least within a wide swivelling angle
range of the jib of for example 180 or 270. The swivelling
axis may bu~ need not be disposed above the centre of the sup-
port means; nevertheless the swivelling axis should be disposed
~,
-- 2 --
/
.... - :
- . '
:.- - ~ :. . -
~ 08578Z
in plan view so close to the support means that, irrespective
of the position to which the jib is swivelled at the moment in
question, within at least the above-described wide swivelling
angle range of the jib, paving elements can be picked up from
the support means by at most deflecting the load carrier laterally
to a certain extent.
In order to ensure that the trolley will automatically
return to the correct position in the longitudinal direction!of
the jib, i.e. to the above-mentioned jib portion, a suitable stop
may be provided
The vehicle preferably comprises a fork-lift truck.
The mast can in that case be moved in a simple manner to a dif-
ferent position when the area which can be covered by the jib
with the mast in its previous position has been completely sur-
... .
faced with pavlng elements. It is in addition advantageous forthe support means to comprise, for example the fork of the fork-
lift truck. The vehicle itself can then fetch a fresh supply of
paving elements from elsewhere, for example from a delivery truck
bringing the paving elements, when a previous stock of paving
elements has been placed.
;~ The jib may be mounted for tilting about a horizontal
axis so that it can be inclined upwards and downwards in a sub-
stantially vertical plane. In this way, when the trolley is
~ moving away from the mast the jib can be so inclined that the
- trolley runs downwards, while for the return movement of the
trolley the jib can be inclined in the opposite direction, so
that the trolley runs back downwards. It is advantageous to
- utilize only such small angles of inclination that the running
movement of the trolley can be controlled by hand. It is
however also possible to utilize for this purpose the bending of
~ 3
108578Z
the jib under the load of the trolley carrying a paving element.
The present vehicle, in one of its forms, may also be
used for simultaneously placing a group of individual paving
elements aligned side by side, in which case the load carrier
has at least one suction aperture per paving element, if an
aligning device is associated with the support means for ar-
ranging a number of roughly pre-aligned paving elements to form
- an accurately aligned group. If paving elements, particularly
paving stones or inter-engaging blocks, are for example de-
livered to the site in the form of a stack on a pallet, the
paving elements in the layers of the stack will already be lying
side by side in a roughly pre-aligned form. If it is now
desired to lift and place an entire layer of this kind, it is
necessary for more accurate alignment to be effected so that
the suction apertures of the load carrier will accurately line
up with the paving elements and not, for example, with the gaps
between the paving elements, so that the paving elements can be
placed with the desired accurate mutual alignment.
- It is particularly advantageous for the aligning
20 ~ device to comprise an aligning frame at least part of the walls
of which converge, and also a displacing device by which roughly
pre-aligned paving elements and the aligning frame can be dis-
placed relative to one another. The paving elements can thus
be automatically aligned in a particularly simple manner by dis- -
placing relative to one another the aligning frame and the
i~- roughly pre-aligned paving elements. If the paving elements
are delivered as layers of a stack, this aligning is preferably
effected one layer at a time. A particularly simple placing
embodiment is obtained if the aligning frame is fastened on a
fork-lift truck and the fork of the fork-lift truck serves as
- 4 -
' ' :
108578Z
the support means.
Two embodiments of the invention will now be described
by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings in
which:-
Figure 1 is a side view of one form of apparatus em-
bodying the invention;
Figure 2 shows the apparatus of Figure 1 in plan;
Figure 3 is a side view of a second form of apparatus
embodying the invention; and
Figure 4 is a side view, partly in section, of the
aligning frame of the apparatus of Fig. 3, drawn to a larger
scale.
In the apparatus of Figs. 1 and 2, the front part of
~ a fork-lift truck 2 is provided with a mast 4. A stack of paving
- elements 40, constituting a store 44, rests on a support means
formed by the fork or arms 42 of the fork lift truck.
; An intermediate member 6 is mounted for up and down
-~ movement on the mast 4 of the fork-lift truck. The intermediate
member 6 is guided on the fork-lift truck mast 4 by means of
- ..
suitable roller or slide guides. Two hydraulic piston and
cylinder assemblies 8 (of which one can be seen in Fig. 1) serve
to raise and lower the intermediate member relative to the mast
4. One end of each of the hydraulic cylinders is secured to the ,-
mast 4, while a piston adapted to slide in the cylinder is con-
~- nected to the intermediate member 6.
In the region of its free end the intermediate member
6 has a vertical bore 10. A rotatable pin 12 is received in the
bore 10 and held against axial movement by a bottom disc 14 and
an upper disc 16. Above the upper disc 16 an arm 18 projects
from the pin 12 in the direction away from the mast 4. At its
~ ~ - 5 -
,
1085782
bottom end the ~in 12is enlarged to enable a horizontal bore 20
of adequatelength to be provided.
In the horizontal bore 20 another pin 22 is mounted
for rotation. A jib 26 is suspended with the aid of suitable
reinforcing parts 24 from this additional pin 22. Between the
; free end of the arm 18 and the reinforcing part 24 a hydraulic
piston-cylinder unit 28 is disposed by which the entire jib 26
can be inclined in a vertical plane passing through the pin 12,
by turning about the additional pin 22 in the horizontal bore 20.
The jib 26 has a cross-section having two flanges, for
example a cross-section in the form of an inverted T. A trolley
32 can move along the jib 26 by way of rollers 34 rolling along
the flanges 30 of the jib 26. The trolley 32 has a winch (not
shown) enabling ropes 36 of a pulley block to wind up and unwind.
A load carrler or gripper 38 for paving elements 40 hangs from
the ropes 36. The gripper 38 may for example be a mechanical
scissors gripper. It may be a gripper having hydraulically or
pneumatically operated gripper jaws.
The end of the jib 26 nearer the mast 4 extends into
the space between the axis of the swivel pin 12 and the mast 4,
but is so short that the jib 26 can be swivelled over a wide
range of about 270.
The swivelling movement of the jib 26 and also the
operation of the hydraulic cylinders 8 and 28 can preferably be
controlled by remote control by the operator who remains near
the placing site or near the position where the trolley 32 is
situated at a given moment. The area which can be covered by
the jib 26 is designated 46 (Fig. 2). This area 46 is at least
so large that all the paving elements 40 of a delivered stack
can be laid without moving the fork-lift truck 2.
~ ~ - 6 -
1085782
The mast 4 of the fork-lift truck 2 carries conven-
tional fork-lift truck arms 42. An entire stack of paving
elements 40 rests on the fork-lift arms. The swivel axis formed
by the vertical bore 10 and the vertical pin 12 lies exactly
above the store 44 formed by the stack of paving elements; the
projection of the centre axis of the vertical pin 12 intersects
the square paving elements at their centre.
At the right-hand end of the jib 26 (Fig. 1) can be
seen a welded-on stop 48 for the right hand rollers 34 (as seen
in Fig. 1) of the trolley 32. The stop 48 is so disposed that
when the trolley 32 is positioned against the stop the gripper
38 is situated exactly above the uppermost paving element 40 of
the stack 44. At the outer end of the jib 26 (on the left as
seen in Fig. 1) there is also a stop 50 which prevents the
trolley 32 from rolling off the jib 26.
The intermediate member 6 is trapezoidal as seen in
plan, the longer base of the trapezoid nearest the mast 4.
In the embodiment as shown in Figs. 1 and 2 the swivel
axis formed by the bore 10 and the pin 12 is situated at some
distance from the mast 4 as seen in plan. The swivel axis may
however also be disposed closer to the mast. In this case the
center of the store 44 can no longer be situated directly under
the swivel axis, but a certain horizontal distance between the
swivel axis and the center of the paving elements 40 which faces
the swivel axis, for example a distance in the range from 0 to
40 cm, is tolerable, since when the jib 26 is in a swivelled
position in which it does not pass directly over the center of
the store the gripper 38 can, because of the flexibility of
the chaiDs or ropes 36, simply be pulled laterally above a paving
element 40 which is to be gripped.
~;; - 7 -
1085~82
The downward movement of the gripper 38 with the pav-
ing element 40 gripped by it, that is to say a movement relative
to the jib 26 which is secured in respect of its height, and/or
a movement together with the jib 26 relative to the mast 4, can
also be made against the action of a spring, a counterweight,
a pneumatic cylinder, or the like. When a paving element 40 has
then been laid, an apparatus of this kind, can, because of the
stored energy, lift the unloaded gripper 38 again without an
external supply of energy, so that it can grip the next paving
element 40. In this case, a suitable brake can conveniently be
provided for the downward movement of the gripper 38.
The fork-lift truck 2 shown in Fig. 3 is provided with
a substantially or accurately vertical mast 4. Fork-lift truck
arms 42 can be moved along the mast 4, usually by means of a
chain drive (not shown in Fig. 3). -
A pallet 60 is held by the fork-lift truck arms 42.
On the pallet rests a stack 62 of stones or blocks 64 which
form the store 44 and which are arranged in a number of layers
66 one above the other. Each layer 66 consists of a number of
blocks 64 which is for example sufficient to cover an area of
from 0.3 to 1.5 square metres.
An aligning frame 68 fastened to the mast 4 is best
shown in Fig. 4. It has a bottom portion 70 which widens down-
wards in inverted funnel shape. This portion is followed in the
upward direction by a central portion 72 having an internal
cross-sectional area which is constant over its entire height.
An upper portion 74 widens in the upward direction in funnel
shape. In plan view all three portions 70, 72 and 74 are rec-
tangular. The walls 76 of the bottom portion 70 form an angle
of from 5 to 45~ with the vertical. Instead of the flat walls
- 8 -
1085782
76 forming a constant angle to the vertical, as shown in the
drawing, it is also possible for example to use walls which at
the bottom end of the portion 70 form a comparatively small
angle with the vertical, followed by a comparatively larger
angle to the vertical, and then once again followed by a smaller
angle to the vertical.
While the layers of blocks 66 in the stack 62 as
delivered are only roughly pre-aligned, i.e. within a layer 66
there are unequal gaps 78 and in particular excessively large
gaps 78 between the blocks 64, as the layers of blocks 66 are
pushed upwards through the stationary aligning frame 68 they are
aligned to form a group in which the blocks 64 are in determined
positions relative to one another owing to the fact that the
blocks 64 are pushed close together from all sides by the side
walls 76 of the bottom portion 70 of the aligning frame 68. In
the result only small gaps remain between the blocks 64. Since
in particular large gaps 78 between the blocks 64 are made
smaller or completely eliminated, only relatively small equal
distances remain between the blocks 64 in the layer 66 which
is situated in the cen~ral portion 72 of the aligning frame 68.
These small, uniform gaps are desirable on the one
hand for the actual placing operation, that is to say the de-
positing of the blocks 64 on the ground, while experience has
shown that during the actual laying of the blocks 64 there is
a slight tendency for the gaps between the blocks to be enlarged,
so that it need not be feared that the blocks 64 will be pushed
too close to one another in the aligning frame 68. The accurate
aligning of the blocks 64 in the aligning frame 68 is on the
- other hand also advantageous for the placing of suction nozzles
80 from above on the group 82 of aligned blocks 64, since each
~ _ g _
. . -,
108578Z
suction nozzle 80 is positioned with adequate accuracy above
the centre of a block 64.
The suction nozzles 80 are carried by a suction nozzle
carrier 84. When a fresh uppermost layer 66 of the stack 62
of blocks has been completely aligned and is situated in the
central portion 72, the suction nozzles are lowered from above
onto the blocks 64 in that layer 66. The suction nozzle carrier
84 is for this purpose centered by means of centering attach-
ments 86 which slide along the walls of the upper portion 74 and
then along the walls of the central portion 72. When the suction
nozzles 80 have been placed on the blocks 64 of the aligned -~
group 82, suction is applied to them. The suction nozzle carrier
84 can then be lifted together with the entire group 82.
The suction nozzle carrier 84 is suspended on a
trolley 32 adapted to run along a jib 26. The suction nozzle
carrier 84 is adapted to be displaced vertically in relation to
the trolley 32 and to be turned about a vertical axis in its
guide by means of a drive (not shown). The suction nozzle
carrier 84 is first lifted until the group 82 held by it is
freed from the aligning frame 68, whereupon it is moved away
from the mast 4 by means of the trolley 32. Above the desired
placing site on the groundthe suction nozzle carrier 84 is
lowered until the group 82 lies on the ground or is a short
distance above it. The suction applied by the suction nozzle
; 80 is then relaxed and the group 82 placed in position.
The substantially horizontal jib 26 is secured to the
mast 4. It has a pivot 88 whose axis is vertical and which lies
above the centre of the aligning frame 68. By means of the
pivot 88 the free outer portion of the jib 26 can be swivelled
in a circle, so that from one standing position of the fork-lift
~ - 10 -
.: .
1085782
truck 2 an area of the ground in the form of a sector of a
circle can be mechanically paved with blocks 64. Since the
pivot 88 lies above the centre of the aligning frame 68, what-
ever the angular alignment of the jib 26 at the moment in
question, when the trolley 32 returns it is automatically in the
position from which the suction nozzle carrier 84 can be lowered
into the aligning frame 68. If this advantage is not deemed
that relevant, the pivot 88 can be at a distance from the centre
of the alignment frame, as seen in plan view, for example it
may coincide with the axis of the mast 4.
The aligning frame 68 is fastened to the mast 4. In
the embodiment illustrated the stack 62 of blocks is lifted
vertically relative to the stationary aligning frame 68. The
aligned group 82 is also lifted vertically by means of the
; suction nozzle carrier 84. The same applies to the lowering
movement of the suction nozzle carrier 84 for the purpose of
depositing the group 82 on the ground which is to be paved.
By suitably adjusting the height of the pallet 60
and/or suitably shaping the fork-lift truck arms 42 and/or by
means of an intermediate spacer layer between the lowermost
layer of blocks 66 and the pallet 60, it is ensured that the
fork-lift truck arms 42 can raise the stack of blocks 62 to
such a height that the lowermost layer of blocks 66 is also
aligned in the central portion 72 of the aligning frame 68.
For certain applications it may be advantageous for
~ the entire aligning frame 68 to be lightly shaken in order to
increase the aligning effect. Instead of an aligning frame
having an upwardly tapering bottom portion 70 it is also pos-
sible to prGvide displacing bars which are adapted to be dis-
placed mechanically, hydrualically, pneumatically, or elec-
. ~ -- 1 1 --
1085782
trically in the horizo~tal direction and which push together
the blocks 64 in each uppermost layer 66 after a new layer 66
has been brought between the displacing bars through the raising
of the fork-lift truck arms 42. Two pairs of displacing bars
of this kind are conveniently provided.
Before being pushed into the aligning frame 68 the
blocks 64 may be already in the form of the desired laying
pattern, for example a line bond pattern, parquet bond pattern,
herring-bone bond pattern and the like, and in the aligning
frame they can then be aligned to form an aligned bonding group.
There are laying patterns for blocks 64 in which it may be ad-
vantageous to provide recesses in the substantially rectangular
contour of each layer of blocks 66. As an example mention may
be made of the herring-bone bond pattern in which at those
places in the layer of blocks 66 where a substantially rectangu-
lar contour of the layer of blocks 66 would intersect individual
blocks 64 it is advantageous for these blocks 64 to be omitted
so as to form a recess in the èdge of the layer of blocks 66. By
means of appropriate vertical guide rails on the inside of the
walls of the aligning frame 68, such layers of blocks 66 can be
aligned in the aligning frame 68 with recesses on their periphery
to form a bonding group of aligned blocks 64.
If inter-engaging blocks having projections and
recesses on their periphery are to be aligned, the aligning frame
68 or the displacing bars may have internally a complementary
profile. The blocks 64 of a layer of blocks 66 may be of dif-
ferent sizes from one another.
In all the embodiments described above the load car-
rier 38 or 84 is rotatable about a vertical axis, for example
by turning the ropes 36, in order to enable the paving elements
40 or 64 to be laid correctly.
, j ;:
- 12 -
~ ..
