AU691542B2 - A kerbing or edging laying machine - Google Patents

Description

WO 95/16078 PCT/AU94/00760 1 "A KERBING OR EDGING LAYING MACHINE" TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION THIS INVENTION relates to kerbing or edging machines of the type used to progressively shape and lay edging on-site and in particular but not limited to a garden edging machine.

BACKGROUND ART Present portable edging machines suffer from a number of disadvantages, do not shape and lay edging to optimise compaction of the layed edging and the machines tend too be far to light for optimum performance.

OUTLINE OF THE INVENTION In one aspect, the present invention comprises an edging machine including a wheel assembly, a chamber holding a mixture of moist edging material and a reciprocating plunger communicating with and downstream of the chamber and the machine being used to progressively shape and lay edging onsite, the machine having a plunger drie means coupled to the plunger by a parallelogram linkage assembly operatively disposed so the plunger is constrained to reciprocate in a generally horizontal plane when the machine is operating on a horizontal surface to push the mixture through means for shaping the mixture by application of a uniform force over a major portion of the mixture as it is extruded from the machine.

In another aspect the invention resides in an edging machine including a wheel assembly, a chamber holding a mixture of moist edging material and a reciprocating plunger communicating with and downstream of the chamber and the machine being used to progressively shape and lay edging on-site, the machine having a plunger drive means and an agitator assembly pivotally mounted within said chamber.

In a further aspect the invention resides in an edging machine including a wheel assembly, a chamber holding a mixture of moist edging material and a reciprocating plunger communicating with and downstream of the chamber and the machine being used to progressively shape and lay edging on-site, the machine having a plunger drive means including a clutch and an endless belt drive assembly comprising a first drive pulley, an idler pulley and a moveable belt WO 95/16078 PCT/AU94100760 2 tensioning pulley, the belt tensioning pulley being moveable between belt tensioning and belt release positions, said assembly having belt engaging means operatively disposed to impinge upon the belt as the belt tensioning pulley is moved to the release position to reduce friction between the belt and the drive pulley and thereby control reciprocation of the plunger.

In a still further aspect there is provided an edging machine including a wheel assembly, a chamber holding a mixture of moist edging material and a reciprocating plunger communicating with and downstream of the chamber and the machine being used to progressively shape and lay edging on-site, the wheel assembly having a pair of steerable wheels adapted to move in concert and there being provided manual steering means operable to steer the wheels from a generally parallel relationship to a generally non-parallel relationship while turning to provide a tighter turning action.

In still another aspect there is provided an edging machine including a wheel assembly, a chamber holding a mixture of moist edging material and a reciprocating plunger communicating with and downstream of the chamber and the machine having means for shaping the mixture and being used to progressively shape and lay edging on-site, using the plunger to force mixture through the means for shaping the mixture, the means for shaping the mixture being releasably coupled in place by a hand operable means having a quick action operation.

The machine preferably includes a removable agitator assembly located in the chamber to agitate the mixture therein. Preferably, the plunger extends downstream of the chamber to extrude the mixture through the means for shaping the extruded mixture and the agitator reciprocates in response to reciprocation of the plunger drive means.

The plunger preferably has a free end and a generally vertical plunger plate section coupled or otherwise secured to the free end of the plunger, and an upper rearwardly angled plunger plate section so that in the event of the vertical plate section being jammed, the rearwardly angled plate section allows release of mixture backwardly and away from the vertical plate section.

Preferably the machine includes a machine body having a generally planar WO 95/16078 PCT/AU94/00760 3 upright side so that the machine can be used to lay garden edging relatively close to obstacles such as walls or the like.

Preferably the machine includes means for generating a surface pattern in the mixture after initial shaping.

Preferably the machine includes means delivering a second mixture of edging material onto the shaped edging material after initial shaping.

Preferably the machine includes height adjustment means having a vertically extending threaded shaft disposed between relatively moveable support members so that as the threaded shaft rotates, part of the machine can be adjusted to maintain horizontal delivery of the mixture as it leaves the machine, the threaded shaft being replaceably fitted to the support members.

Preferably the machine includes means for locking the steerable wheels at preselected locations when laying curved edging.

Preferably the means for shaping the extruded mixture is releasably coupled to the machine using a hand operable release means, the hand operable release means having a quick action operation.

Preferably the wheel assembly includes a friction brake assembly comprising a rotatable member translating rotational force from the wheels, a moveable brake shoe disposed adjacent and biased away from the rotatable member and brake application means adjacent said brake shoe for applying said brake shoe against said rotatable member.

The machine preferably includes a wide-mouthed tapered delivery chute above the chamber to assist delivery of pre-mixed edging material into the chamber. Preferably, the garden edging machine includes a drive means adjacent the delivery chute and a drive means guard overlaying the drive means and being coupled to the delivery chute.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In order that the present invention can be more readily understood and be put into practical effect, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings which describe application of the present innovaticns to a garden edging machine and wherein:- WO 95/16078 PCTIAU94/00760 4 Figure 1 is a right hand pictorial view of a garden edging machine embodying preferred forms of the present innovations; Figure 2 is a left hand pictorial view of the garden edging machine of Figure 1; Figure 2A is a pictorial view illustrating a preferred means for generating a surface pattern in an edging mixture after it has been laid by the machine of Figures 1 and 2; Figure 2B is a pictorial view illustrating a typical means for delivering a second mixture of edging material after initial shaping; Figure 3 is a pictorial view from above illustrating a quick release means for removably exchanging means for shaping the mixture; Figures 4, 5 and 6 are side views depicting a preferred plunger; Figure 7 is a part view of a typical edging machine illustrating part of a typical clutch assembly; Figures 8 and 9 are schematic diagrams illustrating operation of the clutch assembly of Figure 7; and Figures 10 and 11 are part views illustrating a typical wheel assembly embodying the present innovations and illustrating an alternative steering means.

METHOD OF PERFORMANCE Referring to the drawings and initially to Figures 1 and 2, there is illustrated a garden edging machine 10 of the type having a wheel assembly 11, a chamber 12 for holding a mixture of moist edging material and the machine being used to progressively shape and lay garden edging on-site.

The machine 10 includes an entry chute in the form of a funnel 13 having a guard extension 14 to protect the motor 15 as material is delivered directly into the funnel 13. The side wall 16 of the funnel is substantially vertical and coextensive with side wall 17 so that the edging machine can be used close to walls or other obstacles. An adjustable L-shaped guide rod 18 is employed and this can be adjusted so that its pointer end 19 can be used along a stringline, chalkline, or the like, so that an operator steering the machine using handle 20 can keep the machine on track.

The wheel assembly 11 is adjustably secured to a plate 21 which is

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WO 95/16078 PCTAU94/00760 slidably adjusted within a bracket 22 so the wheel assembly can be moved sideways. The wheel assembly 11 comprises two wheels 23 and 24 which are height adjustable using handles 25 and 26 respectively.

As the machine is self-propelled as edging is extruded from the machine, the machine is equipped with brakes 27 and 28 which can be set to provide a predetermined resistance to travel thereby determining the force applied to the extrusion process as the garden edging is laid down.

The wheels are linked together via a steering rod 29 so the wheels move in concert as the machine is steered.

The chamber 12 is equipped with a reciprocating agitator 30 which hangs freely within the agitator having respective ends of a shaft 31 journalled in end supports 32 and 33 so that the agitator can be simply lifted out of the chamber 12. A lower end 34 of the agitator is coupled to a reciprocating drive means to be described below which causes the agitator to reciprocate within the chamber as the machine operates.

Garden edging is extruded from the machine through an outlet 35 of a shaped extrusion unit 36. The extrusion unit 36 is detachably secured to a main outlet passage 37 using a quick release bolt 38 to be described in more detail below.

The extrusion unit 36 can be interchanged with extrusion units of different shape so that different shaped edging can be laid. Extrusion units are also reversible so that where the edging is not symmetrical, right hand or left hand edging can be laid.

An example of a different form of extrusion unit is shown in Figure 28 where an extrusion unit 36 employs a small hopper 39 which can hold a fine slurry. The hopper 39 has a transverse delivery slot so that as edging is extruded, the fine slurry overlays the edging as a second mixture in order to provide a more refined finish to the edging.

Figure 2A illustrates another innovation where a pattern wheel 40 is employed to follow after the outlet 35, the pattern wheel including projections 41, the wheel being biased by biasing springs 42 so that the projections 41 apply a surface pattern to edging extruded from the machine. In the illustrated WO 95/16078 PCT/AU94/00760 6 embodiment of Figure 2A, the edging extruded from the machine is through an extrusion unit 43 adapted to extrude flat edging.

Referring now to Figure 3, the extrusion unit 36 is housed between projecting wall portions 44 and 45 (cut-away and shown in phantom) and is placed hard up against bridging portion 46 and it will be appreciated that due to the geometry shown, the extrusion unit 36 is held in place by the quick release bolt 38. The quick release bolt 38 includes a hand operable lever 47 disposed between angled flanges 48 and 49 so that when it is moved to the position shown in phantom at 50, the extrusion unit will be automatically released. The extrusion unit 36 includes flanges 50 and 51 so that it can be reversibly connected between the wall portions 44 and Referring now to Figures 4 to 6, there is illustrated a typical plunger assembly 52 and where appropriate, like numerals have been used to illustrate like features. A plunger 53 is suspended at the end of a parallelogram linkage assembly 54 which has a plate 55 eccentrically coupled to a driven wheel 56 so that as the wheel 56 rotates, the plunger 53 reciprocates back and forwards and is constrained to reciprocate at a substantially horizontal plane. The end 34 of the agitator 30 is coupled to the plunger via a flange 57 and can be simply lifted out for cleaning. The plunger 53 includes a generally vertical plate section 58 and a rearwardly angled plate section 59 so that in case rocks or other material becomes jammed in front of the plunger, material can be pushed by the plate section 59 back up into the chamber 12.

Reinforcing wire 59 is dispensed into the edging 60 through holes in the plunger plate section 58. This is illustrated in more detail in Figure 7.

Referring now to Figures 7, 8 and 9, operation of a typical clutch assembly will now be described. As can be seen, the clutch assembly employs a drive pulley 61, a belt tensioning pulley 62 and a driven pulley 63 and an endless belt 64. A manually operable clutch lever 65 is employed to engage or disengage the clutch, the clutch is shown engaged in Figures 7 and 8 while in Figure 9, the clutch is released.

Projecting bars 66 and 67 move to the position illustrated in Figure 9 and engage the belt 64 to squeeze the belt in the region 68 away from the drive WO 95/16078 PCT/AU94/00760 7 pulley 61 and thereby reduce friction between the drive pulleys 61 and the belt 68.

Referring now to Figure 10, a typical wheel assembly for a wheel 23 or 24 is illustrated and as can be seen, the wheel assembly includes a lower portion 69, an upper portion 70, the handle 26 and a threaded rod 71 disposed so that the portion 69 and 70 can move within one another to adjust the height of the rest of the machine relative to the wheels 23 and 24. The arrangement illustrated is particularly preferred because the threaded rod 71 can be easily removed for replacement purposes. The wheel 24 includes a projection 72 over which the .handle 20 of Figure 1 can be located. A similar projection is provided on the other wheel 23 (see Figure 1) so that the handle position can be changed or two handles can be employed.

The brake 28 is illustrated in more detail in Figure 11 and as can be seen, a brake shoe 73 made from say spring steel is secured adjacent a bar 74. A threaded handle element 75 protrudes through the bar 74 so that turning the handle 75 forces the brake shoe 73 against the wheel 24.

Thus, the operator can select a typical braking force to regulate the extrusion process simply by operating the brakes 27 and 28.

Unlike the embodiment of Figure 1 the steering rod 76 in this case is mounted at each end 77 and 78 outboard of the wheels 23 and 24. This means that the wheels do not remain parallel when turned so the machine can turn through tighter turns than the embodiment of Figure 1. Each end 77 and 78 are mounted on a ball joint. The wheels can be locked at any position using locking bolts 79 and 80 so that a smooth curve of edging can be layed.

It will therefore be appreciated that whilst the above has been given by way of illustrative example of the present invention, many variations and modifications thereto will be apparentto those skilled in the art without departing from the broad ambit and scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.

For example, it will be appreciated that the size of the plunger plates 58 and 59 will vary according to the thickness of edging being laid.

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Claims (16)

1. An edging machine including a wheel assembly, a chamber holding a mixture of moist edging material and a reciprocating plunger communicating with and downstream of the chamber and the machine being used to progressively shape and lay edging on- site, the machine having a plunger drive means coupled to the plunger by a parallelogram linkage assembly operatively disposed so the plunger is constrained to reciprocate in a generally horizontal plane when the machine is operating on a horizontal surface to push the mixture through means for shaping the mixture by application of a uniform force over a major portion of the mixture as it is extruded from the machine.

2. An edging machine according to claim 1 including an agitator assembly pivotally mounted within said chamber.

3. An edging machine according to any one of claims 1 or 2, wherein the plunger drive means includes a clutch and an endless belt drive assembly comprising a first drive pulley, an idler pulley and a moveable belt tensioning pulley, the belt tensioning pulley being moveable between belt tensioning and belt release positions, said assembly having belt engaging means operatively disposed to impinge upon the belt as the belt tensioning S* pulley is moved to the release position to reduce friction between the belt and the drive pulley and thereby control reciprocation of the plunger. o V.o

4. An edging machine according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the wheel assembly includes a pair of steerable wheels adapted to move in concert and there being provided manual steering means operable to steer the wheels from a generally parallel relationship to a generally non-parallel relationship while turning to provide a tighter turning action. An edging machine according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the means for shaping the mixture is releasably coupled to the machine by a hand operable means having a quick action operation.

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6. The edging machine according to claim 2, wherein the agitator is driven by the reciprocation of the plunger.

7. The edging machine according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the plunger has a free end and a generally vertical plunger plate section coupled or otherwise secured to the free end of the plunger, and an upper rearwardly angled plunger plate section so that in the event of the vertical plate section being jammed, the rearwardly angled plate section allows release of mixture backwardly and away from the vertical plate section.

8. The edging machine according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the machine includes a machine body having a generally planar upright side so that the machine can be used to lay garden edging relatively close to obstacles such as walls or the like.

9. The edging machine according to any one of claims 1 to 5 including means for generating a surface pattern in the mixture after initial shaping.

10. The edging machine according to any one of claims 1 to 5 including means delivering a second mixture of edging material into the shaped edging material after S initial shaping. S'

11. The edging machine according to any one of claims 1 to 5 including height adjustment means having a vertically extending threaded shaft disposed between S relatively moveable support members so that as the threaded shaft rotates, part of the machine can be adjusted to maintain horizontal delivery of the machine can be adjusted o- to maintain horizontal delivery of the mixture as it leaves the machine, the threaded shaft being replaceably fitted to the support members.

12. The edging machine according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein wheel assembly includes a friction brake assembly comprising a rotatable member translating rotational force from the wheels, a moveable brake shoe disposed adjacent and biased away from the rotatable member and brake application means adjacent said brake shoe for applying said brake shoe against said rotatable member.

13. The edging machine according to any one of claims 1 to 5 including a wide mouth tapered delivery chute above the chamber to assist delivery of premixed edging material into the chamber, the drive means being adjacent the delivery chute and there being provided a drive means guard overlaying the drive means and coupled to the delivery chute.

14. The edging machine according to claim 4, wherein the steering means comprises a vertical shaft supporting each wheel for rotation about a vertical axis and a steering linkage extending between the wheels and being pivotally mounted at each end thereof outboard of the wheels.

An edging machine according to any one of claims 1 to 5 including wheel assembly locking means to enable selective locking of the wheel assembly so the machine can lay curved edging of set curvature. eeees

16. An edging machine according to any one of claims 1 to 5 including wheel S assembly mounting means enabling selective sideways displacement of the wheel assembly. e* e