AU646570B2

AU646570B2 - Vibrator

Info

Publication number: AU646570B2
Application number: AU17368/92A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Ian Frederick Burke
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1991-06-05
Filing date: 1992-06-03
Publication date: 1994-02-24
Anticipated expiration: 2012-06-03
Also published as: AU1736892A

Description

AUSTRALIA 646570 PATENTS ACT 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION FOR A STANDARD PATENT (Original) ir r r r Name of Applicant/Nominated Person: Ian Frederick Burke Actual Inventor(s): Address for Service: Ian Frederick Burke DAVIES COLLISON CAVE, Patent Attorneys, 1 Little Collins Street, Melbourne, 3000.

r r r Invention Title: "Vibrator" Details of Associated Provisional Application(s): No(s): The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to is: -1 920602,gjnspe.018,PK6500.COM,I -1 a-

'VIBRATOR"

This invention relates to a vibrator of the type generally used to compact soil and other surface materials.

Compactors such as those shown in U.S. patent 3,909,149 are extensively used in industry for compacting soil at the bottom of a trench in lieu of putting a man with a hand operable compactor down the trench. In this last respect, trench cave-ins are a common cause of death or injury to workmen.

A compactor typical of the one described in U.S. patent 3,909,149 comprises a vibration producing unit mounted on a compactor plate which is connected to a lifting and loading frame via resilient couplings. The vibration *...producing unit usually comprises an hydraulic motor which drives an out-ofbalance weight whereby to produce vibration. The lifting and loading frame enables the compactor to be lifted and to be moved from place to place.

However, the lifting and loading frame has another important function which is to apply load onto the compactor plate so that is may more effectively compact soil.

Thie resilient couplings used have generally been made of rubber or other elastomeric materials and are mounted with their iongitudinal axis in a horizontal plane as shown in U.S. patent specification number 3,909,149. In consequence, the couplings are put in shear when a load is applied to the lifting and loading frame as shownin Figs. 5 and 6 of that U.S. patent.

Compactors of this general type are usually mounted to a vehicle fitted with a boom which can firstly be used to precisely locate the compactor in position and secondly to apply a downward load through the lifting and loading frame to the compactor plate.

Unfortunately, operators of such vehicles are often more enthusiastic than skilled and will very often apply more load via the boom to the lifting and loading frame than they should. This can cause the lifting and loading frame to come into actual physical contact with the vibration unit and/or the 920602,gjnspe.018,PK650O.COM,1 -2compactor plate as well as causing damage to the resilient coupling themselves.

Reference is made to column 4, lines 25-30 of the aforementioned U.S. patent in this last regard.

The present invention seeks to at least alleviate some of the above mentioned problems.

According to a first aspect of the present invention there is provided a vibrator comprising a compactor plate, means for vibrating the compactor plate and a lifting and loading frame mounted to said compactor plate by biasing means, said biasing means being arranged such that when a substantially vertical first load is applied to the lifting and lh)ading frame the lifting and loading frame is forced against the biasing means and the biasing means is compressed.

Preferably, when a second substantially vertical load which is less than said first load is applied to the lifting and loading frame the biasing means is subject to a shear force.

0i Preferably, the compressive force is sufficient to prevent the lifting and loading frame contacting the compactor plate.

Preferably, the biasing means comprises at least one resilient elastomeric member which is mounted between the lifting and loading frame and the compactor plate such that it undergoes compression when the second substantially vertical load is applied to the lifting and loading frame.

0"600" Preferably, a first end of the at least one resilient elastomeric member 0 0is mounted on a mounting surface on the lifting and loading frame and a second end of the at least one resilient elastomeric member is mounted on a mounting surface on the compactor plate.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention each of the mounting surfaces are inclined at an angle between 15 and 45 to the vertical. The mounting surfaces on the compactor plate and the lifting and loading frame are preferably substantially parallel to one another.

An embodiment of the invention will now be described by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:- Figure 1 is a side perspective view of a compactor in accordance dith 920602,gjnspc.018,PK650O.COM,2 an embodiment of the inventiorn; Figure 2 is a perspective front view of the compactor shown in Figure 1 in an unloaded condition; and Figure 3 is a perspective view similar to Figure 2 but showing the compactor with a downward vertical load applied to the lifting and loading frame.

The compactor 10 comprises a compactor plate 12, a vibration unit 14 for vibrating the compactor plate 12 and a lifting and loading frame 16. The lifting and loading frame 16 is mounted to the compactor plate 12 by means of four elastomeric members 18. The connection of the elastomeric members 18 between the lifting and loading frame 16 and the compactor plate 12 will be described in detail subsequently.

The lifting and loading frame 16 comprises a top plate 20 to which the boom of a vehicle may be bolted, and opposed side plates 22, 24. Each 4 opposed side plate 22, 24 is shaped as an inverted U and has a pair of arms 25b. Each side plate 22, 24 is rigidly mounted, for example by welding, to the top plate 20. The free ends 26a, 26b of each of the arms 25a, 25b of the side plates 22, 24 are bent inwardly towards the respective opposed side plate 24, 22.

The compactor plate 12 comprises a flat central portion 30 and angled front and rear wall portions 32, 34. Mounted on the central portion 30 of the *f"e support plate 12 are four angled supports 36. Each angled support 36 comprises a rectangular plate which is welded along its bottom edge 36a to the central portion 30 and is braced at an angle to the vertical by a triangular brace 38.

As best shown in Figures 2 and 3, the four angled supports 36 are mounted on the central portion 30 of the compactor plate 12 such that a first pair of opposed angle supports are positioned adjacent the front wall portion 32 of the compactor plate 12 and a second pair of opposed angled supports 36 are positioned adjacent the rear wall portion 34. The spacing between the angled supports 36 form the front and rear pairs is sufficient to enable the side plates 22, 24 of the lifting and loading frame 16 to fit therebetween.

920602,jnspe.0 18,PK6SO.COCM,3 -4- As illustrated in Figure 1, the support surface 36a of each angled support 36 is arranged so as to be positioned adjacent one of the free ends 26a, 26b of each of the arms 25a, 25b of the side plates 22, 24. The angle of inclination of each of the angled supports 36 is preferably identical to the angle of inclination of the lower ends 26a, 26b of each of the opposed side plates 22, 24. The angle of inclination of the angled support 36 and the lower ends 26a, 26b of the opposed side plate is preferably between 15 to 45 to the vertical.

As stated above, the lifting and loading frame 16 is connected to the compactor plate 12 by four resilient members 18, Each resilient member 18, which is preferably made of rubber, comprises a generally cylindrical body 14 having a rectangular flange 42 formed at each end thereof. A resilient member 18 is mounted between each lower end 26a, 26b of the opposed side plates 22, 24 and the adjacent angled support 36 by bolting the flange 42 at one end of the resilient member 18 to an angled support 36, and by bolting the flange 42 at the opposite end of the resilient member 18 to the adjacent lower end 26a, 26b of the opposed side plates 22, 24. In this way, as best shown in Figure 3, when a substantially downward vertical load is applied to the top plate 20, the lifting and loading frame i6 moves downwardly effectively wedging each of the resilient members 18 between the lower end 26a, 26b of the side plates 22, 24 and the angled support 36 to which it is connected.

The resilient members 18 are sized and mounted such that when an initial downward substantially vertical load is applied to the top plate 20 of the lifting and loading frame 16, the resilient members 18 are subject to a shear force. However, as more load is applied to the top plate 20 each resilient member 18 is effectively wedged or squeezed between the lower end 26a, 26b of the side plate 22, 24 and the angled support 36 to which it is connected.

This action causes the resilient members 18 to be subject to a compressive force. This compressive force serves to push the lifting and loading frame 16 upwardly in a direction opposite to the load being applied to the top plate so as to prevent the lower ends 26a, 26b of the side plate 22, 24 from contacting the central portion 30 of compactor plate 12. This arrangement 9'z602,gjnspe.018,PK65COM,4 also prevents overloading and subsequent failure of the resilient members 18.

It can therefore be seen that the arrangement of the resilient member 18 is such as to enable a limited downward load to be applied to the compactor plate 12 while ensuring that the free ends 26a, 26b are not damaged by driving them into the top of the compactor plate 12.

The embodiment has been described by way of example only and modifications are possible within the scope of the invention.

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Claims

1. A vibrator comprising a compactor plate, means for vibrating the compactor plate and a lifting and loading frame mounted to said compactor plate by biasing means, said biasing means being arranged such that when a substantially vertical first load is applied to the lifting and loading frame the lifting and loading frame is forced against the biasing means and the biasing means is compressed.

A vibrator according to claim 1, wherein the compression of the biasing neans is sufficient to prevent the lifting and loading frame from contacting the compactor plate.

3. A vibrator according to claim 1 or claim 2, arranged such that when a substantially vertical second load which is less than said first load is applied to Sthe lifting and loading frame the biasing means is subject to a shear force.

4. A vibrator ccording to any one of the preceding claims wherein the biasing means comprises at least one resilient elastomeric member which is mounted between the lifting and loading frame and the compactor plate such that it undergoes compression when the second substantially vertical load is applied to the lifting and loading frame. *mot

5. A vibrator according to claim 4, wherein a first end of the at least one resilient elastomeric member is mounted on a mounting surface on the lifting and loading frame and a second end of the at least one resilient elastomeric member is mounted on a mounting surface on the compactor plate.

6. A vibrator according to claim 4 or claim 5 wherein the resilient elastomeric member comprises a generally cjindrical body and has a flange formed at each end of said body. 920602,gjnspc.018PK6500.COM,6 -7-

7. A vibrator according to claim 6, wherein the flange formed at each end of said body is substantially rectangular.

8. A vibrator according to any one of claims 5 to 7 wherein each said mounting surface is inclined to the vertical.

9. A vibrator according to claim 8, wherein each said mounting surface is inclined at an angle between 15 o to 45 to the vertical.

A vibrator according to claim 8 or claim 9, wherein said mounting surfaces are substantially parallel to one another.

11. A vibrator according to any one of claims 4 to 10, wherein four resilient elastomeric members are connected between the lifting and loading frame and the compactor plate.

12. A vibrator substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

13. i_'F-.ia&^ett^-d-scdhto DATED the 2nd day of June 1992 IAN FREDERICK BURKE By his Patent Attorneys DAVIES COLLISON CAVE 920602,jnpcm.018,PK65sO.OM.7 -8- ABSTRACT A vibrator (10) having a compactor plate a vibration unit (14) and a lifting and a loading framr'e The lifting and loading frame (16) of the vibrator (10) is mounted to the compactor plate (12) by a number of resilient members The resilient members (18) are arranged between the lifting and loading frame (16) and the compactor plate (12) such that when a substantially vertical load is applied to the lifting and loading frame (16) the lifting and loading frame (16) is forced against the resilient members (18) and the resilient members (18) are compressed. **0 S. S S. 912%062kydaLO3burkccp,8