FR2752428A1 - Metalling spreader for road surfaces - Google Patents

Abstract

The spreader has a vehicle supporting a hopper (13) with its lower part having an opening (13c) opening onto a diffuser (23) to guide the material onto the ground. A second diffuser (24) is also provided to spread the material and guides (27,23a,24a) selectively deflect the flow of material to the outlet of the hopper or towards the first or second diffusers. The second diffuser can be mounted symmetrically to the first diffuser with respect to a vertical plane. The vehicle can also have a ramp (26) to divert the material onto the ground.

Description

 The present invention relates to a machine for spreading on a pavement a material, such as gravel, sand, filaria, mixed gravel based on cement or lime. Such a material can also be coated with a binder such as hot bitumen or 1 water.

 Such machines are already known and they are generally intended to be mounted on a vehicle. They generally include a bucket or hopper, the lower part of which is provided with an opening which opens onto a diffuser intended to guide said material towards the ground.

 Several gravel sizes can be spread on the ground, depending on the characteristics of the coating to be made.

In order for the homogeneity of the material on the ground to be the best possible, two types of diffusers are generally provided, one intended for fine particle size, the other for coarser particle size. The main problem with this technique is that, when you change the particle size, it is necessary to interchange the diffusers, which forces you to return to the workshop, which is sometimes remote.

This results in a relatively large loss of time.

 The object of the invention is to propose a solution to this problem.

 To do this, a spreading machine according to the invention further comprises a second diffuser provided for guiding said material towards the ground and means provided so as to selectively deflect the flow of material at the outlet of said bucket or hopper, either towards said first diffuser, or towards said second diffuser. Advantageously, said second diffuser is mounted symmetrically to said first diffuser with respect to a vertical plane.

 There are other spreading machines which, like the machine already mentioned, have different spreading conditions and to which the inventive concept of the invention could apply.

We can in fact cite a machine for spreading on a pavement, on the one hand, a binder and on the other hand, a material, such as gravel, sand, wireframe, gravels mixed with cement or lime . Such a material can also be coated with a binder such as hot bitumen or water. Such a machine is generally intended to be used for repairing or making roadways, sports grounds, etc.

 Such machines are, for example, described in patent documents FR-A-2 576 336 and FR-A-2 671 567. It will be noted that these machines are generally called in the field of the technique of "mixed diffusers".

 These machines consist of a panel intended to be mounted at the rear of a tilting skip of a carrier vehicle, a device for spreading said material and, a transverse ramp for distributing a connected binder. to a binder tank via a positive displacement pump.

 The spreading device generally consists of an extractor, for example a transverse roller, arranged partly under the outlet of the bucket for storing said material to be spread and a diffuser directed towards the ground. Thus, the material, such as gravel, sand, filaria, mixed gravel based on cement or lime, etc. which is contained in the bucket pours on the extractor where it is driven towards the diffuser before being spread on the ground. A set of contiguous valves between the bucket and the extractor is provided to allow selection of the spreading area and width.

 As for the ramp, it carries a series of downward-facing diffusion heads. Said heads are in number equal to or multiple of the number of said valves, each head being controlled at the same time as the valve with the same order number as in the series of valves.

 In document FR-A-2 576 336, the vehicle necessarily operates in reverse. The machine is provided for this purpose and therefore to first pour on the ground said binder then said material from said bucket. A platform is provided to allow the user to control the spreading operation.

 In document FR-A-2 671 567, the machine described actually comprises two diffusers which are mounted symmetrically in front of and behind said extractor. Thus, the vehicle can operate both in forward and reverse. To do this, however, it is necessary that the drive direction of the extractor, which corresponds in the case of an extractor roller to the direction of rotation of the roller, is in a first direction when the vehicle is in forward gear and in a second direction when it is in reverse, this in order to entrain the material from the bucket towards one or the other diffuser corresponding to the direction of advance of the vehicle.

 In this machine, the diffusion heads have their outlets which are located under the extractor between the two diffusers so that the binder is first poured on the ground then, with the vehicle moving forwards or backwards, the material falls on the area of the soil where the binder is located.

 The fact that this machine can perform spreading work both in forward and reverse has the advantage of facilitating coating or repair operations. This is particularly so when coating a two-layer path or a road not presenting, for the carrier vehicle, possibilities for making a U-turn. With a machine according to the invention, a first layer is produced in a first direction and the second in the other direction.

 The machine which is described in document FR-A-2 671 567 gives complete satisfaction but in reality poses problems of implementing the extraction of the material from the bucket. Indeed, since the extractor must be designed to be able to rotate in both directions of rotation, it is necessary to provide for the exit of the bucket just above the extractor, to somehow respect a symmetry of operation for both directions of rotation.

This poses layout problems and leads to a relative complexity and therefore a relatively high cost of such a machine.

 It will be noted that a spreading machine is also known which, instead of a single binder spreading ramp, comprises two, one at the front of a single material diffuser, the other at the 'back.

Thus, it is possible to carry out the operations described above both in forward and in reverse. However, the use of two spreading booms increases the cost of the machine prohibitively.

 The object of the invention is also to provide a machine which can work in a forward direction and in a reverse direction of the vehicle but which has the advantage of a simplified and therefore inexpensive embodiment.

 To this end, a machine according to the invention is of the type which comprises a ramp provided for pouring said binder onto the ground, a bucket or hopper, the lower part of which is provided with an opening leading to an extractor designed to be able to drive said material contained in said bucket or hopper on a diffuser mounted at the rear of said extractor and intended to guide said material towards the ground, said diffuser being mounted relative to said ramp so as to be able, when the vehicle is moving forward, pouring said material after the binder.

 It is characterized in that it further comprises a second diffuser mounted relative to said ramp so as to be able, when the vehicle is in reverse, to pour said material after the binder, means being provided downstream of said extractor so as to selectively deflecting the flow of material at its exit, either towards said first diffuser, or towards said second diffuser.

 According to a first embodiment of the invention, said means for deflecting said material flow consist of a flap provided for being able to pivot around a substantially horizontal axis so as to be able to take a first position in which it deflects the material conveyed by the extractor to the first diffuser and a second position in which it deflects the material conveyed by the extractor to the second diffuser. For example, said pivoting flap is housed in the space which is formed between the upper edges of said first and second diffusers.

 According to another characteristic of the invention, said first diffuser and said second diffuser respectively comprise flaps inclined towards the ground, a first face of the flap being, when said flap is in its first position, substantially in the same plane as the flap of the first diffuser while the opposite face of said flap is, when said flap is in its second position, substantially in the same plane as the flap of the second diffuser.

 According to another characteristic of the invention, in said first position, the edge of the flap is flush, apart from play, the peripheral wall of the extractor.

 According to another characteristic of the invention, said flap pivots under the action of a manual control or under the action of a jack. Thus, said cylinder is controlled automatically as a function of the direction of advance of said vehicle so that said flap takes the first position when said vehicle is in forward gear and said second position when said vehicle is in reverse gear.

 According to another embodiment of the invention, said means for deflecting said material consist of flaps of said diffusers which are sliding in their own plane, the upper edge of the flap of said first diffuser being able to be positioned so as to be flush with the extractor , the material then being directed towards said flap, and the upper face of the flap of said second diffuser can be positioned so as to be at the outlet of the extractor on the normal path of the material conveyed by the extractor in order to deflect it on said flap of said second diffuser.

 According to another characteristic of the invention, the flaps of said diffusers are sliding under the action of jacks. For example, said jacks are controlled automatically as a function of the direction of advance of said vehicle.

The characteristics of the invention mentioned above, as well as others, will appear more clearly on reading the following description of an exemplary embodiment, said description being made in relation to the accompanying drawings, among which:
Fig. 1 is a plan view of a vehicle equipped with a machine according to the invention,
Figs. 2a to 2e are general plan views of machines according to the invention in a first embodiment, said machines differing by their system for extracting material from the bucket or hopper,
Figs. 3a and 3b are plan views respectively showing a shutter of a machine according to a first embodiment of the invention, on the one hand, in a first position and, on the other hand, in a second position,
Fig. 4 is a general plan view respectively showing a machine according to a second embodiment of the invention,
Figs. 5a and 5b are plan views respectively showing the upper part of the flaps of the machine according to a second embodiment of the invention, respectively in different positions,
In Fig. 1, there is shown a vehicle such as a truck 10 comprising a chassis 11 on which are mounted, in addition to the elements necessary for normal truck operation, a tank 12 intended to contain a binder such as hot bitumen or water and, at the rear of said tank 12, a tilting skip 13 intended to contain a material such as gravel, sand, wire lines, mixed bass based on cement or lime, etc.

 At the rear of the tilting skip 13, the machine 20 (shown diagrammatically in FIG. 1) is mounted which is the subject of the present invention. A pump 14, advantageously volumetric, is also provided for distributing the binder contained in the tank 12 to the machine 20. It will be noted that the machine 20 is generally provided with a platform 30. This is not shown in Figs. following for readability.

 The machine 20 is shown in detail in Figs. 2a to 2c and the following description will be made in relation to these Figs. 2a to 2c.

 In Fig. 2a, we can see the rear of the tilting skip 13 and in particular, its bottom 13a and its rear wall 13b. The rear wall 13b has an opening in the form of a transverse slot 13c over the entire width of the bucket 13 thus allowing the material contained in said bucket 13 to be extracted therefrom, when the latter is tilted, for example with an inclination about forty degrees.

 The machine 20 shown therefore includes an extractor 21 which, in the embodiment shown, is formed by a transverse roller extending over the entire width of the bucket 13.

The extractor 21 is provided behind the slot 13c so that the latter opens onto the upper part of the roller. The material in the bucket 13 can therefore flow through the slot 13c and fall on the upper part of the roller 21.

 The extractor 21 is provided for extracting the material from the bucket 13, via its opening 13c, and for driving it towards diffusers 23 or 24.

 If the extractor 21 consists of a roller, this is provided to rotate along its longitudinal axis and is provided for this purpose with a motor, for example hydraulic. Its direction of rotation (arrow a) is such that a point on its upper part moves away from the outlet 13c of the bucket 13.

 It will be noted that the extractor 21 could also be in the form of a belt therefore comprising two parallel rollers mounted one behind the other, an endless belt being driven between the two rollers. The upper part of the belt, substantially horizontal in normal operation of the machine, moves from front to rear and can therefore entrain the material from the bucket 13 backwards.

 We can see in Fig. 2a a valve 22 which is designed to be able to pivot, under the control of a jack 22a, about a transverse axis. The valve 22 is provided for more or less closing the slot 13c so as to more or less limit the quantity of material extracted by the extractor 21. The lower end of the valve 22 is placed above the extractor 21 of so that you can also dose the quantity of material extracted. In reality, it is a set of contiguous valves which can thus allow the passage of material in one zone rather than another.

 Downstream of the extractor 21, two diffusers 23 and 24 are mounted, respectively comprising flaps 23a and 24a and double flaps 23b and 24b. The flaps 23a and 24a are respectively inclined towards the rear and the ground and towards the front and the ground. The counter flaps 23b and 24b are respectively mounted downstream of the lower ends of the diffusers 23 and 24 and are respectively inclined towards the front and the ground and towards the rear and the ground.

 The flaps 23a and 24a are provided with diffusion channels, of which only the side walls 23aa and 24aa can be seen, which make it possible to have a diffusion of the material and therefore its distribution on the ground in a substantially homogeneous manner and also to widen the diffusion zone relative to the width of the extractor 21.

 At the lower end of a column 25 is mounted a ramp of nozzles 26 intended to pour onto the ground the binder which is contained in the tank 12 and which is for example pumped, by the pump 14, from this tank 12 or , in another embodiment, extracted from the tank 12 by pressurizing the tank 12 by means of a pump. The column 25 is placed between the two diffusers 23 and 24.

Thus, the diffuser 23 is mounted relative to the ramp 26 so as to be able, when the vehicle is in forward gear, to pour said material after the binder and the diffuser 24 is mounted relative to said ramp 26 so as to be able, when the vehicle is in reverse, pouring said material after the binder. It will be noted that the column 25 can be mounted on a system which allows its vertical and possibly lateral positioning.

 The machine which is shown in FIG. 2b differs essentially from that shown in FIG. 2a in that the valve 22 is replaced by an assembly consisting of a valve 22 'and a metering blade 22 ". The valve 22' allows the passage or not of the material from the bucket or hopper 13 while the metering blade 22 "ensures the metering of the material that the valve 22 'has allowed to pass.

 As for the machine which is shown in FIG. 2c, it differs from those which are the subject of Figs. 2a and 2b in that it does not include an extractor. In this case, the extraction from the bucket or hopper 13 is carried out by gravity. We then speak of gravity extraction.

 Finally, the machine which is the subject of FIG. 2d is a machine for spreading material such as gravel, sand, wireframe, mixed bass based on cement or lime. It differs from previous machines in that it does not have a binder ramp 26. Although in FIG. 2d, it includes an extractor 21, it might not have any, as shown in FIG. 2nd.

 The object of the invention also applies to the five embodiments shown in Figs. 2a and 2e. In general, it applies to any type of spreading machine which comprises two modes of spreading a material. The examples mentioned in Figs. 2a to 2e have been described only for the purpose of clarifying this point.

 According to the invention, means are provided downstream of said extractor 21 so as to deflect the flow of material at its exit towards a diffuser 23 or towards the other diffuser 24. Two embodiments of such means are proposed. The first mode is shown in Figs. 2, 3a and 3b.

 Over the entire width of the extractor 21, the diffusers 23 and 24 have their upper edges which are separated from each other by a space in which is provided a flap 27. The flap 27 is provided to be able to pivot around a 'a transverse horizontal axis so as to be able to assume a first position, marked I in FIG. 3a, where the flap 27 prevents, on the one hand, the material conveyed by the extractor 21 from going towards the diffuser 24 and deflects it, on the other hand, towards the flap 23a of the diffuser 23 (arrows A) and a second position, marked II in FIG. 3b, where it prevents said material from moving towards the diffuser 23 and deflects it towards the flap 24a of the diffuser 24 (arrows B).

 Advantageously, the face 27a of the flap 27 which is normally turned towards the rear is, when said flap 27 is in its first position I, substantially in the same plane as the flap 23a while the face 27b which is normally turned towards the 'before is, when said flap is in its second position II, substantially in the same plane as the flap 24a.

 It will be noted that the flap 27 has a section of substantially triangular equilateral shape, the faces 27a and 27b forming the lateral sides of said triangle. In the position marked I, the edge 27c of the flap 27 is flush, to the nearest one or two centimeters, the peripheral wall of the roller 21 while in the position marked II, the face 27b is practically parallel to a tangent to the roller 21.

 It will be noted that the flap 27 can be moved from its position I to its position II and vice versa, either manually using, for example, a lever, or by means of a hydraulic, pneumatic, electric actuator, etc. In the latter case, it can be automatically put in one or the other position depending, for example, on the direction of advance of said vehicle.

 The second embodiment of the deflection means is shown in Figs. 4, 5a and 5b.

In this second embodiment, the flaps 23a and 24a of the diffusers 23 and 24 are sliding in their own plane, as shown schematically in FIG. 4 by arrows b and c. More particularly, the flap 23a is sliding so that its upper edge 23ab can be flush, at a clearance which may be one or two centimeters, the extractor 21 (position shown in the
FIg. 5a), or to be relatively distant from it. As for the flap 24a, it is sliding so that the upper face 24ab of its upper part can be either at the outlet of the extractor 21 on the normal path of the material conveyed by the extractor 21 (Fig. 5b ), or on the contrary leaving this path free (Fig. 5a).

 In Fig. 5a, we see the flap 23a which is slid so that its upper edge 23ab is flush with the surface of the roller of the extractor 21 and the flap 24a, the upper part of which is retracted so as to allow free passage of the material from the roller 21 to the flap 23a (arrows C). The material leaving the extractor 21 has no choice but to follow the arrows C.

 In Fig. 5b, we see the flap 24a which is slid so that the upper face 24ab of its upper end is at the outlet of the extractor 21 and the flap 23a which is retracted so as to allow free passage of the material of the roller 21 towards the flap 24a (arrows D). The material leaving the extractor 21 has no choice but to follow the arrows D.

 The sliding of each of the flaps 23a and 24a is advantageously controlled by one or more suitable jacks (not shown). It can be operated automatically. For example, the two flaps can automatically switch from the positions shown in FIG. 5a to those shown in FIG. 5b. It can also be automatic in the sense that it is linked to the direction of travel of the vehicle.

 Note in Figs. 2, 3a, 3b, 4, 5a and 5b the presence of a casing 28 at a distance from the extractor 21 so as to avoid projections of the material out of the diffusers 23 and 24.

 The advantage of the invention compared to that described in document FR-A-2 671 567 results from the fact that the extractor 21 only rotates in one direction of rotation. This results in efficient extraction which is independent of the direction of travel of the vehicle.

 Furthermore, by providing existing machines with two diffusers, such as diffusers 23 and 24 and by providing a flap 27 or means for sliding the flaps 23 and 24 as explained above, it is possible to transform a existing machine designed for a single direction of travel into a machine with two directions of travel with the resulting advantages.

 It will be noted that the invention allows the use of a single spreading ramp instead of two as is sometimes the case in machines of the prior art.

 Furthermore, the central position of the binder ramp 26 between the two diffusers 23 and 24 makes it possible to reduce the distance which separates the downstream end of the flaps 23b and 24b. Thus, the period of time between the removal of the binder by the ramp 26 and that of the material by one or the other of the flaps is reduced. As a result, it is possible to use fast-breaking binders.

 This consideration leads to a reduction or even a virtual elimination of the lateral offset effect when spreading curved material. In fact, in the machines of the prior art, the lines for spreading the material and those for spreading the binder are not then superimposed insofar as the distance mentioned above had to be relatively large. This is not the case, according to the invention.

 It will also be noted that the invention also allows so-called nailing operations which consist in spreading gravel, generally of large diameter followed by spreading the binder.

 It will also be noted that the description which has just been given considers that the machine or machines according to the invention comprise a bucket or hopper. It will be understood that the invention also encompasses the embodiments for which the said machine or machines are mounted on a bucket of a vehicle.

Claims (14)

 1) Machine for spreading on a roadway a material, such as gravel, sand, filaria, mixed gravel based on cement or lime, said machine being intended to be mounted on a vehicle and being of the type which comprises a bucket or hopper (13), the lower part of which is provided with an opening (13c) leading to a diffuser (23) intended to guide said material towards the ground, characterized in that it also comprises a second diffuser (24) intended to guide said material towards the ground and means (27, 23a, 24a) provided so as to selectively deflect the flow of material at the outlet of said bucket or hopper (13), either towards said first diffuser (23), or towards said second diffuser (24).  2) Machine according to claim 1, characterized in that said second diffuser (24) is mounted symmetrically to said first diffuser (23) relative to a vertical plane.  3) Machine for spreading on a roadway a material, such as gravel, sand, wire, mixed gravels based on cement or lime, said machine being designed to be mounted on the body of a vehicle and comprising a diffuser (23) designed to receive said material from said bucket and to guide it towards the ground, characterized in that it further comprises a second diffuser (24) provided to be able to guide said material towards the ground and means (27 , 23a, 24a) provided so as to selectively deflect the flow of material at the outlet of said bucket, either towards said first diffuser (23) or towards said second diffuser (24).  4) Machine according to claim 1, 2 or 3, provided for spreading in addition to said material a binder and being provided to do this with a ramp (26) provided for pouring said binder on the ground, said first diffuser (23) being mounted relative to said ramp (26) so as to be able, when the vehicle is moving forward, to pour said material after the binder, characterized in that said second diffuser (24) is mounted relative to said ramp (26) so as to be able, when the vehicle is in reverse, to pour said material after the binder.  5) Machine according to claim 1, 2, 3 or 4, characterized in that said means for deflecting said material flow consist of a flap (27) provided to be able to pivot around a substantially horizontal axis so as to be able take a first position in which it deflects the material from said bucket or hopper (13) towards the first diffuser (23) and a second position in which it deflects the material towards the second diffuser (24).  6) Machine according to claim 5, characterized in that said first and second diffusers (23 and 24) have their upper edges which are separated from each other by a space in which is housed said pivoting flap (27).  7) Machine according to claim 5 or 6, characterized in that said first diffuser (23) and said second diffuser (24) respectively comprise flaps (23a and 24a) inclined towards the ground, a first face (27a) of the flap ( 27) being, when said flap (27) is in its first position (I), substantially in the same plane as the flap (23a) of the first diffuser (23) while the opposite face (27b) of said flap (27) is, when said flap (27) is in its second position (II), substantially in the same plane as the flap (24a) of the second diffuser (24).  8) Machine according to one of claims 5 to 7, characterized in that said flap (27) pivots under the action of a manual control.  9) Machine according to one of claims 5 to 7, characterized in that said flap (27) pivots under the action of a jack.  10) Machine according to claim 9, characterized in that said cylinder (27) is controlled automatically according to the direction of advance of said vehicle so that said flap (27) takes the first position when said vehicle is in forward motion and said second position when said vehicle is in reverse.  11) Machine according to one of claims 5 to 10, of the type comprising an extractor (21) provided to be able to drive said material contained towards said bucket or hopper (13), characterized in that, in said first position, the edge (27c ) of the flap (27) is flush with the clearance, the peripheral wall of the extractor (21).  12) Machine according to claim 1, 2, 3 or 4, characterized in that said means for deflecting said material consist of flaps (23a and 24a) of said diffusers (23 and 24) which are sliding in their own plane, the edge upper (23ab) of the flap (23a) of said first diffuser (23) being able to be positioned so as to be able to receive the material coming from the bucket or hopper (13), said material then being directed on said flap (23a), and the upper face (24ab) of the flap (24) of said second diffuser (24) able to be positioned so as to be on the normal path of said material from the bucket or hopper (13) in order to deflect it on said flap (24a) said second diffuser (24).  13) Machine according to claim 12, characterized in that the flaps (23a and 24a) of said diffusers (23 and 24) are sliding under the action of jacks.  14) Machine according to claim 13, characterized in that said jacks are controlled automatically according to the direction of advance of said vehicle.