AU726082B2

AU726082B2 - Machine mobility apparatus

Info

Publication number: AU726082B2
Application number: AU75424/96A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Daniel Geoffrey Attwood
Original assignee: BRIAN DESMOND ATTWOOD; CATHERINE ANN ATTWOOD; HARLAND JAMES ATTWOOD; LILIAN PAULA ATTWOOD
Current assignee: ATTWOOD CATHERINE ANN; ATTWOOD LILIAN PAULA
Priority date: 1995-12-18
Filing date: 1996-12-17
Publication date: 2000-11-02
Anticipated expiration: 2016-12-17
Also published as: AU7542496A

Description

1 P/00/011 Regulation 3.2 COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA Patents Act 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION FOR A STANDARD PATENT Name of Applicant: Actual Inventor(s): Address for Service: Invention Title: GEOFFREY MERVYN ATTWOOD, HEATHER JOY ATTWOOD, HARLAND JAMES ATTWOOD, CATHERINE ANN ATTWOOD, DANIEL GEOFFREY ATTWOOD, LILIAN PAULA ATTWOOD, and BRIAN DESMOND ATTWOOD DANIEL GEOFFREY ATTWOOD

AHEARNS

Patent Trade Mark Attorneys, GPO Box 185, Brisbane, 4001 "MACHINE MOBILITY APPARATUS" 0* The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to us: -2- THIS INVENTION relates to machine mobility apparatus, and it has more particular reference to apparatus for attachment to or incorporation in machines such as concrete trowelling machines to enable them to be wheeled about and/or elevated for loading on to transport vehicles or for other purposes.

The invention will be described herein with reference to its application to concrete trowelling machines, but it will become apparent that it may be applied with suitable modifications to other machinery, particularly for the building industry.

Concrete trowelling machines are awkwardly shaped, relatively heavy and not able to be handled carelessly without likelihood of damage to the machine. In consequence, such machines must be moved around a site or placed on or taken off a vehicle by two persons with resultant additional labour and time expenditure. Currently, to transport a concrete trowelling machine from point to point, two persons carrying same will take up diagonally opposite positions and will exert twisting actions likely to cause spinal or muscular damage, especially when elevating the machine for transportation on a vehicle. However, lifting the machine to and from a wet concrete slab is equally tedious and dangerous, usually involving two persons simultaneously lifting while their legs are widely spaced yet still having one foot treading in wet concrete, causing damage to the slab. The machines are also difficult to handle for cleaning thereof.

The present invention has been devised with a view to overcoming or at least ameliorating the current difficulties encountered with trowelling machines, and it has for its principal object the provision of novel apparatus which may be 3 attached to or incorporated in the construction of a concrete trowelling machine whereby it may be easily and efficiently rendered movable by a single operator. A further object of the invention is to provide such apparatus which will incorporate wheels which can be inoperative for normal trowelling functions but may be moved to operative dispositions to facilitate the machine being wheeled about and/or tilted for lifting on to a vehicle, platform or the like.

Other objects of the invention are to provide apparatus as aforedescribed which will facilitate cleaning of the machine and may be made without undue expense and be relatively light in weight. Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description.

With the foregoing and other objects in view, the invention in one aspect resides broadly in mobility apparatus 15 adapted to be mounted to a man operated machine such as a .trowelling machine for supporting said machine thereon for mobility, said apparatus including: mounting means adapted for securement to the machine to be mobilised; spacer means which is elongate in form; a wheel assembly including a pair of spaced apart wheels secured to one end of said spacer means, said spacer means at its other end being pivotally connected to said mounting means whereby said spacer means may be moved from one or more operative supporting positions in which the machine is supported by said wheel assembly and can be wheeled to a Sdesired location by an operator to a stowed position in which Lthe machine is not supported by said wheel assembly and can /c9601028, wpd Amd 17/07/00 4 perform its normal function such as trowelling, and locking means for selectively locking said spacer means in said stowed position or any selected one of said one or more operative supporting positions, characterised in that said mounting means is elongate in form and said spacer means is substantially the same length as said mounting means and is pivotally mounted thereto at one end, the other end of said mounting means being adapted for securement to the machine to be mobilised whereby said spacer means may be pivoted to a position substantially parallel to said mounting means.

Advantageously, said mounting means can be secured at said other end to the underside of the handle of a trowelling machine near to its lower end and at said one end to the skirt or hoop surrounding the trowels, thus not impinging on any operator area or limiting the operator's or the machines 15 functionality. It is also preferred that the mounting means make an obtuse angle in profile with the handle of the machine whereby the spacer means can be pivoted rearwardly towards the operator position from the supporting position to the stowed position, so that the length of the spacer means is limited only by the length of the mounting means. Furthermore, the spacer means can be pivotally mounted adjacent the skirt thus S providing a pivot axis near to the lowest part of the machine such that almost the full length of the spacer means is available to raise the height of the machine, the length of the spacer means being limited only by the length of the mounting means.

Preferably, the mounting means is formed by a solid sgtion such as a piece of steel channel which is attached at Anid 17/07/00 one end to an axle extending between the spaced apart wheels, whilst the mounting means is a frame assembly having spaced apart side frame members between which the spacer means can be fitted in the stowed position.

In another aspect the invention resides in a trowelling machine including apparatus as previously described.

Preferably, the apparatus is mounted to the an operators handle of said machine. Other features of the invention will be hereinafter apparent.

In order that the invention may be more readily understood and put into practical effect, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings, wherein:- Fig. 1 shows in perspective view and in exploded arrangement the componentry making up one embodiment of machine mobility apparatus according to the invention, given by way of example only; Figs. 2 and 3 are more detailed perspective views of the main parts of the apparatus of Fig. 1; Fig. 4 shows in perspective view the apparatus mounted on a concrete trowelling machine, when the latter is in its readyfor-use disposition and the mobility apparatus being folded up to be inoperative; Fig. 5 shows the apparatus of Fig. 4 but with the mobility apparatus brought down to wheeling-around mode; and Fig. 6 shows the machine and mobility apparatus being tilted to load same on to a truck tray.

The apparatus 10 according to the invention and as illustrated in the drawings includes a fixed frame assembly 11 having side frame members la and lb spaced apart by a gusset having side frame members lla and lib spaced apart by a gusset -6lc, and mounted at its upper end to the underside of the handle 12 of a concrete trowelling machine 13 by bolt 14 which extends through an a bush 14c which in turn extends through aperture 14a provided in a lug 15 welded to the handle 12 and aligned apertures 14b in the side frame members near to said upper end. A pivoting frame member 16 formed from channel section steel is hingedly connected at one end to the fixed frame about a horizontal axis 12, by a pivot pin or bolt 17 which passes through aligned apertures 17a provided in the side frame members Ila and llb near to its lower end and corresponding aligned apertures 17b provided in flange portions of the pivoting frame member. An axle 18 extends laterally of the pivoting frame member and is welded to its lower end, there being wheels 19 rotatably mounted to respective ends of the axle.

An indexing quadrant 21 is welded to the lower end of side frame member Ila and provides a guide for setting the selected degree of pivot so that the pivot frame 11 may be elevated and oinoperative as shown in Fig. 4 or may be held in locked down position as shown in Figs. 5 and 6, there being a spring-loaded oo.* locking pin assembly 22 mounted to a lug 23 which extends from and is welded to the pivoting member 16, the pin being arranged to selectively engage in apertures 24 and 26 provided in the quadrant for locking the pivoting member in the down or elevated positions respectively. The pivoting frame 11 is also attached to the skirt 27 of the trowelling machine via a q bracket 28 and bolt 29.

The detailed componentry construction will be clear from the drawings, particularly Figs. 1 to 3 and a clearer -7understanding of the operation of the apparatus should be gained from the views showing the stages of operation. The disposition of the apparatus shown in Fig. 4 is the normal usage arrangement for the machine, either ready to be placed on a concrete slab for trowelling or ready to be rendered mobile by means of the attachment provided by the invention. Fig. shows the pivoting frame brought down and locked automatically so that the total machine may be wheeled about or brought to and loaded on to a truck tray as in Fig. 6, whereafter the wheels are moved upwards to permit the total machine to be moved further inwards on the tray for transportation purposes.

It will be apparent that the attachment (which could be "built-in" if desired) provides for safe and efficient handling at all times of a concrete trowelling machine, requiring only a single operator and permitting easy wheeling about, or simple loading or unloading relative to a platform typically about 1.2 metres above the ground. The single operator can transport the machine over many surfaces, even up and down stairs, the oo :apparatus enabling easy placing of the machine on or off a concrete slab by a single person, the slab suitably being at the same level as the wheels or at a height up to approximately 450mm above the wheel level. When lifting the machine off the slab there will be less damage and thus less requirement for hand trowelling. All movements by the operator can be made easily and with acceptable strain on the human body muscle system.

The attachment enables the machine to be easily cleaned since it can be tilted with the wheels down in order to raise the one side off the ground, or a support box or the like -8can be placed under the side opposite the wheels in order to keep the machine level for easier cleaning. It will be apparent that the attachment saves time and labour through needing one operator only, not only at a particular site but also at other places where the machine needs to be relocated or lifted, such as wholesale warehouses, retail outlets, servicing depots and hire companies. The apparatus prolongs the useful life of the machine since the machine is always stable and the risk of its being dropped and damage is substantially eliminated.

While apparatus as described and illustrated will therefore be found very effective in achieving the objects for which the invention has been devised, it will be appreciated that the desired embodiments are given by way of example only and may be subject to many modifications of constructional detail and design, as well as alternative applications when suitably modified. All such variations will be readily apparent to persons skilled in the art and are deemed to reside within the scope and ambit of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

*o .:oooo o

Claims

2. Mobility apparatus according to claim i, wherein said mounting means is adapted to be secured at said other end to the underside of the handle of a trowelling machine near to its 7 ),wer end and at said one end to the skirt surrounding the Amd 17/07/00 trowels of the trowelling machine.
3. Mobility apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said mounting means is adapted to make an obtuse angle in profile with the handle of the trowelling machine whereby the spacer means can be pivoted rearwardly towards the operator position from the supporting position to the stowed position.
4. Mobility apparatus according to claim 2 or claim 3, wherein said spacer means is pivotally mounted to said mounting means adjacent the skirt thus providing a pivot axis near to the lowest part of the machine. Mobility apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims wherein said mounting means is formed of a solid section such as a piece of steel channel.
6. Mobility apparatus according to claim 5, wherein said wheel assembly includes an axle extending between the spaced apart wheels, and said mounting means is welded to said axle.
7. Mobility apparatus according to claim 6, wherein said o mounting means includes a pair of spaced apart side frame S members between which the spacer means can be fitted when in the stowed position.
8. Mobility apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said locking means includes an indexing quadrant operatively connected to said one end of said mounting means and having a plurality of apertures provided therein and a locking pin slidably mounted to said spacing means and adapted for selective engagement in any one of said plurality of apertures so as to lock said spacer means in said stowed sition or any selected operative supporting position. SMobility apparatus as hereinbefore described with -11- reference to the accompanying drawings. A trowelling machine including mobility apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims.
11. A trowelling machine including mobility apparatus as hereinbefore described with reference to the drawings. Dated this 19th day of June, 2000. GEOFFREY MERVYN ATTWOOD, HEATHER JOY ATTWOOD. HARLAND JAMES ATTWOOD, CATHERINE ANN ATTWOOD. DANIEL GEOFFREY ATTWOOD, LILIAN PAULA ATTWOOD and BRIAN DESMOND ATTWOOD By their Patent Attorneys AHEARNS Daniel P. Fox .9 e (amd 19/06/00)