GB2273912A - Road surfacing vehicle. - Google Patents

Abstract

Tipping vehicles for carrying hot road surfacing material which discharge through a rear aperture are provided with heating means which concentrate heating to the rear of the body to enhance the efficiency of application and be economical on heat usage. The heating means may be hot insert 34 which is removably inserted in the rear of the body, comprising a hollow metal frame which houses a gas burner 50. Alternatively (figure 3) the burner may be incorporated in the upper body. <IMAGE>

Description

Improvements Relating to Apparatus for Discharging Building Materials This invention relates to apparatus for discharging road building materials, and in particular concerns an apparatus adapted to dispense road surfacing material such as hot bituminous material for the re-surfacing and/or patching of road surfaces.

Apparatus for the discharging of building materials to which the invention relates comprises one or more compartments for the holding of the material, and includes some heating means in order to keep the bituminous material in hot condition so that it can be used whilst still hot and when required. It is a disadvantage if the bituminous material is allowed to cool while held in the apparatus, as subsequent discharging of same for road re-surfacing and patching can lead to difficulties in the functioning of the material.

It is known to provide bodies for holding hot road surfacing material wherein the bodies embody heating means for keeping the material hot. Such heating means may comprise for example hot inserts which are in the form of metallic elongated casings through which exhaust gas is circulated to keep same warm. In alternative arrangements, burners are used to produce hot exhaust gases, and the exhaust gases are then either passed over the material whilst held by the apparatus, or are passed through hollow walls of a hopper in which the material is contained.

In a specific arrangement, the apparatus comprises a body which is permanently fixed to or is demountably arranged on a vehicle or trailer, the body having a discharge end preferably provided with a funneling arrangement so that when the body, which is tippable, is tipped for discharge of the material, the material funnels to a discharge outlet which is controlled by a door, the door being open to the extent of discharge required, and the discharge door leads to a discharge chute by which the discharge material can be accurately placed on the road surface. These arrangements are set forth in our co-pending Patent Applications Nos.

9220012.0 and 9223015.3.

Typically in such an arrangement, hot inserts are used in the body, and these are positioned on opposite sides of the body and extend for the length of the body. They serve to heat the material which is stored in the body and keep it in best condition for use.

Whilst the arrangement of our previous applications works extremely satisfactorily, as the body is tipped and the load is discharged, so the front end of the body empties, and the heating of that front end is no longer necessary, but nevertheless because the heating arrangement continues to operate, this again leads to inefficiency.

The present invention, in its broadest aspect, seeks to overcome this problem and provides that the heating means for the body is arranged to concentrate the heating at the rear of the body and may comprise simply a single gas burner.

The exhaust gases can then be used for the heating of the contained material by being passed through body walls or ducts in the body walls, before being infused into the material. In an alternative or additional arrangement, the exhaust gases are passed to the front of the body and then over the top of the material. As the heating means is arranged to concentrate the heat at the rear of the body, so the rear of the body will naturally be kept warm, and this proves to be of considerable advantage in that as the body is tipped, and the material slides to rear of same, and as the body empties, so the heat will be concentrated on the remaining material in the body. Maximum heat is retained in the material until it is fully discharged and this is achieved by the use of a heating arrangement costing a fraction of the heating arrangement of the prior art.

Although a burner is preferably used, in an alternative method the exhaust gases from the engine of the carrying vehicle could be directed into an appropriate manifold at the rear of the body so that heat from the hot exhaust gases from the vehicle could be used as the heating means by virtue of a heat exchange arrangement.

In yet a further arrangement the heating means may be an insert which can be mounted on and disconnected from the rear of the body. The insert may comprise manifold means comprising a burner chamber and heat exchange legs and walls through which the hot gases of combustion can pass to heat the held material.

This invention can be utilised in bodies with single discharge or double discharge doors, and can be used with bodies for storing a single hot bituminous material or the like, or where the body is compartmentalised to store different grades of said material.

The body in question may be a vehicle trailer body or may be mounted on such a body. The hopper may have inwardly tapering sides, and a base which tapers downwardly from front to rear.

It is preferred that there should be no moving parts in the body such as augers or conveyors, although the funneling of the rear end is preferred as the material will be directed to a discharge door or discharge doors.

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying diagrammatic drawings, wherein: Fig. 1 is a side view of a hot insert for a tippable vehicle; Fig. 2 is a side view of a vehicle with a tippable body in which the insert of Fig. 1 has been inserted; and Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2, but showing a modified arrangement with which the present invention can be used.

Referring to the drawings, and firstly to Fig. 2, a conventional tipper vehicle is indicated generally by reference numeral 10 and will be seen to comprise a driver's cabin 12 and a chassis 14. The vehicle stands on wheels 16 and 18, and it is provided with a tipper body 20 which is adapted to be tipped by means of a tipping ram 22 about a rear tipping pivot point 24.

The body 20 is provided with a centre dividing door 26 to define a front compartment 28 and a rear compartment 30.

The dividing door can be moved between an operating position as shown or an inoperative position in which the compartments 28 and 30 are joined as one. When the door 26 is in the operative position, the compartments 28 and 30 are adapted to contain different materials if desired.

To the rear of the body 20 is a discharge aperture 32 by which material in compartment 30, or in the joint compartments 28 and 30 can be discharged by tipping the body 20 as shown in Fig. 2.

This invention has particular application to those materials which require to be heated to perform their function. Such materials include hot bituminous materials such as tarmacadam and asphalt. The rear of the body 20 may be provided with a linkage mechanism and a discharge chute constructed and adapted to operate as described in our co-pending Patent Application No. 9220012.0 (now Application No.

but the present invention is concerned with the heating of the material which is contained in the compartment 30.

In the embodiment of the present invention shown in Fig. 1, a hot insert frame 34 is made up of frame members so as to define a cage comprising side plates 36, 38, a base plate 40, central legs 42 and cross pieces 44 and 46.

The base plate 40 is hollow and it connects with a burner manifold 48 at the rear lower edge of the frame. Manifold 48 includes a gas burner 50 arranged so that the products of combustion of the burner pass into the hollow base floor 40, and then the gases pass through apertures 52 at the sides of the base plate 40 and up through the holes 36 and 38 which are hollow. The gases also pass up through the leg 42.

By providing the hot floor 40 and the hot side walls, so the material which passes through the frame to the discharge aperture is heated. Additionally, the hot gases emerge from outlet apertures 54 at the top edges of the plates 36, 38 and flow over the top of the road surfacing material.

The leg 42 is located centrally between the plates 36 and 38, and will be of narrow aerofoil cross section so that the material will slip past both sides of the leg 42.

A rear frame member 56 which extends upwardly from an end of the manifold 48 is provided with burner controls 58 by which the on/off and burning conditions of the burner 50 may be controlled.

The frame 34 shown in Fig. 1 is designed to be removably fitted into the rear of the body 20 as shown in Fig. 2, and the upper cross bar 46 is designed to accommodate and hold gas cylinders 58 which supply the combustion fuel for the burner 50.

By this embodiment of the invention, a conventional tippable body can be converted for use in connection with the holding and discharging of hot bituminous material, the heat being supplied by the insert at the end of the body by serving as a means for ensuring that the discharge material will be discharged in best condition for application to the road surface.

In the arrangement shown in Fig. 3, a modified form of body is shown insofar as the body 20 which is similar in construction to that shown in Fig. 2 is provided piggy-back with a body hopper 60 which can be tipped independently of the body 20 about a tipping pivot 62, by means of a ram 64.

The hopper 60 serves to receive the hot bituminous material, and the hopper 60 is provided with an integral rear lower edge burner bar 66 which extends transversely of the hopper, and serves to heat the material at the rear end of the hopper. The hopper body 60 also has passages 68 through which the hot gases of combustion can flow in order to heat the base of the hopper but again the heating is concentrated at the rear end close to a discharge aperture 70 of the hopper.

The double decker hopper arrangement of Fig. 3 forms the subject of our co-pending application No. and the discharge arrangement 70 for the hopper 60 is set forth in detail in our co-pending application No.

The body 20 is also shown as being provided with a side loading bucket 72 by which material can be loaded into the body 20, and such side loading bucket is the subject of our co-pending patent application No.

As illustrated by the embodiments described, the heating arrangements can be provided by various methods. In the case of Fig. 1, the heating means is embodied in an insert which is adapted to be removably located at the rear of a tipper body, whilst Fig. 3 shows that the burner can be embodied in the tipper body.

Instead of using a burner, it may be possible to use heat exchange by directing the vehicle engine exhaust gases into an appropriately located manifold in an insert or as part of the rear of the vehicle body, but in each case a significant feature of the present invention is that the heating is concentrated at the rear of the body where the material is discharged to ensure most effective heat utilisation.

Although it is preferred that the body be a tipper body, this is not strictly necessary as discharge may be obtained manually, or it may be obtained by providing that the floor of the body containing the material slopes towards the discharge end.

Claims (9)

1. In or for a vehicle body which is for holding a road surfacing material which requires to be heated for effective road surfacing and which body has a rear discharge aperture through which the material is discharged for application to the road surface, a heating means which is arranged to concentrate the heating at the rear of the body.

2. In a vehicle body according to Claim 1, wherein the vehicle body is tippable.

3. In or for a vehicle body as claimed in Claim 1 or 2, wherein the heating means comprises a removable insert adapted to be removably inserted in the rear of the body.

4. In or for a vehicle body according to Claim 3, wherein the insert comprises a heatable metallic frame through which the material discharges, said frame comprising hollow side walls and a burner manifold containing a gas burner, arranged so that exhaust gases from the gas burner pass through said hollow walls.

5. In or for a vehicle body according to Claim 4, wherein the frame includes a hollow division leg or legs through which said exhaust gases also pass.

6. In or for a vehicle body according to Claim 4 or 5, wherein said frame has a top and a bottom, and the burner is at the bottom, and at the top are exhaust gas outlets from which exhaust gases can emerge to flow over the top of material which lies inside the frame.

7. In a vehicle body according to Claim 1 or 2, wherein the heating means comprises a burner in a manifold at the rear of the body.

8. In a vehicle body according to claim 7, wherein the body base and sides include gas passages leading from said manifold so that exhaust gases from the manifold can flow therealong to heat material in said body.

9. In or for a vehicle body, heating means substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.