NZ563069A - Machine for spreading material on the ground with three independantly driven wheel assemblies one of which steers - Google Patents

Abstract

A machine for spreading materials on the floor is disclosed. The machine has a structural assembly arranged on three independent roller assemblies (2, 3, 4), at least one of which can be oriented to steer the machine. At the front part of the structural assembly a levelling head (10) is provided with an element (21) for distributing and levelling the application materials. The roller assemblies (2, 3, 4) on which the machine is supported are coupled to a hydraulic drive actuation system. The hydraulic fluid to each of the roller assembly can be individually and selectively cutting off to change the drive actuation force and speed conditions of the machine. The levelling head (10) is arranged in the assembly by means of a support (15) which allows the movement of the head. Shock absorbers (14) prevent the machine vibrations from being transmitted to the elements of the head (10). The roller assemblies (2, 3, 4) individually incorporate a clutch lock, linked to the drive actuation system, allowing selective coupling and uncoupling any of the groups (2, 3, 4) with respect to the drive transmission.

Description

563069 RECEIVED at IPONZ on 07 December 2009 1 (followed by page la) MACHINE FOR SPREADING MATERIALS ON THE GROUND Field of the Art The present invention relates to floor conditioning by means of applying flooring materials on such floors, providing a machine with reduced size and weight working in a self-propelled manner, whereby an effective operation can be carried out in small-sized places.

State of the Art The application of materials, such as sand, concrete, etc. in flooring is carried out by spreading said materials manually, or using machines that are especially designed and prepared for said function.

In said function, as in any other function, the use of machines involves time and labor savings, which entails an economic advantage in the production cost.

To that end, there are large-sized automotive machines, which can only operate in spaces with a large area, but which are not suitable for reduced spaces, such as basement floors, decks and construction platforms, etc.

Small-sized machines whereby the operation can be carried out in spaces with a small area are also known, but this type of conventional machines are manually handled, therefore they require an operator job that is difficult and also slow in order to use them.

Object of the Invention An aspect of the present invention provides a machine for spreading materials on the ground, of the type comprising a structural assembly arranged on three independent roller assemblies, at least one of which can be oriented to steer the machine, incorporating at the front part of the structural assembly a leveling head provided with an element for distributing and leveling the application materials, the roller assemblies on which the machine is supported being coupled to a hydraulic drive actuation system, with the 2270198 1.doc RECEIVED at IPONZ on 07 December 2009 563069 la (followed by page 2) possibility of individually and selectively cutting off the hydraulic fluid to each of said roller assemblies to adapt the drive actuation force and speed conditions of the machine, whereas the leveling head is arranged in the assembly by means of a support which allows the movement of said head towards the sides with respect to its position at the front of the machine, wherein the head is supported with respect to the support by means of vertical height-adjustment cylinders, which are joined to the mentioned head by means of shock absorbers preventing the machine vibrations from being transmitted to the elements of the mentioned head, and in that the roller assemblies individually incorporate a clutch lock linked to the drive actuation system, allowing to selectively couple and uncouple any of said groups with respect to the drive transmission.

The term "comprising" as used" in this specification means "consisting at least in part of". When interpreting each statement in this specification that includes the term "comprising", features other than that or those prefaced by the term may also be present. Related terms such as "comprise" and "comprises" are to be interpreted in the same manner.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, a machine is proposed operating in a self-propelled manner and which is formed according to a structural embodiment with reduced size and weight, being suitable for working in places with little space in very advantageous operating conditions.

This machine according to a preferred embodiment of the invention consists of frame incorporated on three roller assemblies provided with respective actuation drive units, one of said roller assemblies being able to actuated in orientation so as to 2270198 1.doc 563069 2 steer the machine, whereas a leveling head is incorporated at the end of the frame, which head is supported by means of active height-adjustment supports, the functional assembly being linked to a control equipment which can be commanded from a control post arranged on the machine itself, or by means of distant control with a remote control.

The motorization of the roller assemblies is hydraulic, each assembly having a hydraulic motor incorporated on the assembly itself, whereas the structural frame of the machine is formed as a container for the hydraulic system.

The roller assemblies are incorporated by means of a swiveling fastening, allowing the adaptation to the irregularities of the movement surface, without this affecting the result of the work of the machine.

Said roller assemblies further have, individually, respective clutch locks, whereby each of the assemblies can be coupled and uncoupled with respect to the drive actuation, allowing to adapt the machine so that it works with traction in one, two or the three roller assemblies, as appropriate depending on the application.

The hydraulic drive system of the roller assemblies also has respective switches, whereby each assembly can be individually connected or disconnected with respect to the hydraulic drive system on the roller assemblies depending on the desired force and speed conditions of the machine.

Each roller assembly is further arranged according to a swiveling assembly, being able to adopt a certain inclination to adapt to the conditions of the support surface in which the machine operates.

The leveling head is arranged linked to the structural frame of the machine by means of a fastening which allows the movement of said head towards the sides by means of an actuating cylinder, the position of the head thus being able to be adapted for the access of the working action with the machine to all the places. 563069 RECEIVED at IPONZ on 07 December 2009 3 The leveling head is supported by means of vertical hydraulic cylinders, whereby the height position of said head is set according to the leveling to be carried out, having an automatic adjustment of said position by means of laser detectors arranged at the lower part of the head and receivers of the signals from said detectors arranged in the supporting cylinders, such that the joining between the supporting cylinders and the head is formed by means of anti-vibration shock absorbers for the effectiveness of this control, which shock absorbers prevent the machine vibrations from being transmitted to the laser detectors at the lower part of the head.

The fastening between the supporting cylinders of the head and the shock absorbers is formed by means of a simple joining with pins, allowing the head to be easily disassembled for transport.

A hopper for supplying material can be incorporated on the structural frame of the machine, which hopper is connected by means of a worm screw conveyor with respect to an unloader on the head, so as to deposit through such head the flooring material on the application surface in which the machine operates.

Due to the above, said machine according to the preferred embodiment of the invention certainly has very advantageous features, acquiring its own identity and a preferred character for the function for which it is intended. Description of the Drawings Figure 1 shows a front perspective view of the machine object of the invention.

Figure 2 shows a perspective view of the machine from a higher observation.

Figure 3 shows a detail of the swiveling assembly arrangement of a roller assembly of the machine, with the wheels in a vertical position.

Figure 4 shows a detail like the previous one, with the 2270198 1.doc 563069 4 wheels in an inclined position.

Figure 5 shows a front view of the machine with the roller assemblies in an inclined position.

Figures 6 and 7 show a detail of the clutch lock of a roller assembly, in the free position and in the locked position, respectively.

Figure 8 shows a diagram of the hydraulic drive actuation system of the roller assemblies of the machine.

Figure 9 shows a detail of the fastening between a supporting cylinder and the leveling head of the machine.

Figure 10 shows a perspective view of the disassembly of the leveling head with respect to the coupling in the machine.

Figure 11 shows a perspective view of the machine of the invention provided with equipment for supplying materials. Detailed Description of the Invention The object of the machine relates to a machine intended to spread flooring materials, with an embodiment which allows operating in advantageous conditions compared to places with reduced space.

The proposed invention consists of a structural frame (1) arranged on a support of three roller assemblies (2, 3, 4), two of the roller assemblies (2, 3) having a fixed orientation, whereas the third roller assembly (4) can be orientated in a variable manner to steer the machine.

This results in a machine assembly which can operate in very little space, the roller assemblies (2, 3, 4) being formed by respective pairs of wheels arranged in tandem, such that the three assemblies together determine a machine weight load distribution which allows operating on relatively soft surfaces such as soil, sand, green concrete, etc, insofar as said roller assemblies (2, 3, 4) are individually arranged in a swiveling assembly, allowing the adaptation to the conditions of the support surface.

Said swiveling assembly of the roller assemblies (2, 3, 4] is formed in each of the cases by means of a respective 563069 hinge (5), which allows the corresponding wheel assembly to be placed vertically, as shown in Figure 3, or be positioned inclined, according to Figures 4 and 5, having side stops (6) limiting the rotation on the hinge (5) , restricting the inclination at a maximum angle towards each side.

The three roller assemblies (2, 3, 4) are connected to a hydraulic system, having corresponding hydraulic motors incorporated therein, whereby each of said roller assemblies (2, 3, 4) can be individually actuated. In the proposed machine, the structural frame (1) acts as a container for the hydraulic system fluid, thus simplifying the machine assembly.

The link of each roller assembly (2, 3, 4) with the corresponding distributor (7) of the hydraulic drive system includes a switch (8) for opening and closing the corresponding hydraulic conduit, as shown in Figure 8, such that the manual actuation can be selectively set with complete actuation traction in the three roller groups (2, 3, 4), or the hydraulic supply and therefore the drive actuation of any of the groups can be interrupted, which allows operating the machine at a lower speed but with greater force, because when the hydraulic supply is cut off from a roller assembly, the pressure is distributed over the actuation of the other two roller assemblies.

A clutch lock (9) is incorporated in the assembly of each roller assembly (2, 3, 4) with respect to the corresponding actuation transmission, by means of which clutch lock each assembly can be selectively arranged coupled to the actuation transmission, as shown in Figure 7, or uncoupled from the transmission, as shown in Figure 6, to adapt the machine with the suitable traction in each case.

A leveling head (10) is incorporated at the front part of the machine, which head includes at least one worm screw (11) and a straight edge (12), whereby it allows carrying out a uniformly leveled distribution of the flooring materials on the application surfaces. 563069 6 Said head (10) is supported on the structural frame (1) by means of vertical cylinders (13), which allow changing the height and inclination of the mentioned head (10) so as to place it at the height and in the position corresponding to the leveling which is to be carried out in each case.

To that end, laser detectors (not shown) are arranged at the lower part of the head (10), which detectors measure the proximity with respect to the work surface, receivers (24) being located in the supporting and height-adjustment cylinders (13) of the head (10), which receivers actuate the operation of the mentioned cylinders (13) depending on the signals of the laser detectors, to place the head (10) in the corresponding position for the leveling of the flooring materials on the application surface.

The joining of the cylinders (13) with respect to the head (10) is formed by means of anti-vibration shock absorbers (14), as shown in Figure 9, such that said shock absorbers (14) prevent the machine vibrations from being transmitted to the laser detectors, thus assuring that the measurement provided by said detectors is exact, so that the leveling carried out by the machine is perfect according to the expected leveling.

The head (10) is incorporated on the structural frame (1) by means of a support (15), in which the vertical cylinders (13) are held, said support (15) comprising a mobile assembly which can move towards the sides by means of an actuating cylinder (16), such that the head (10) can be moved sideways in the assembly on the front of the machine, facilitating that the machine can operatively reach all the places of the work surfaces.

The entire functional assembly of the machine is controlled by a control equipment which can be commanded from a control post (17) located on the machine itself, distant control also being possible by means of a communication control by radiofrequency or through wires. 563069 7 In these conditions, the machine can be placed by means of a crane in any place in which its intervention is required, such as construction platforms and decks in construction, for example, so as to allow leveling the flooring materials, the machine moving on the deposited materials themselves.

The joining of the vertical cylinders (13) with the shock absorbers (14) is formed, as shown in Figure 9, by means of fastening with transverse pins (18) which are easy to incorporate and remove, which allows easily and quickly disassembling the head (10) for transport, being able to be removed by means of any type of crane, such as for example a hoist (19) coupled in the machine itself, as shown in Figure 10.

Equipment for supplying the flooring material to be scattered on the application surfaces can be incorporated in the structural assembly of the machine, said equipment comprising a hopper (2 0) which is arranged on the structural frame (1) internally incorporating a worm screw (21) to unload the material from the inside of said hopper (20) to a worm screw conveyor (22) conveying the material to an unloader (23) on the head (10), as shown in Figure 11.

RECEIVED at IPONZ on 07 December 2009 563069

Claims (5)

WHAT WE CLAIM IS:

1. A machine for spreading materials on the ground, of the type comprising a structural assembly arranged on three independent roller assemblies, at least one of which can be oriented to steer the machine, incorporating at the front part of the structural assembly a leveling head provided with an element for distributing and leveling the application materials, the roller assemblies on which the machine is supported being coupled to a hydraulic drive actuation system, with the possibility of individually and selectively cutting off the hydraulic fluid to each of said roller assemblies to adapt the drive actuation force and speed conditions of the machine, whereas the leveling head is arranged in the assembly by means of a support which allows the movement of said head towards the sides with respect to its position at the front of the machine, wherein the head is supported with respect to the support by means of vertical height-adjustment cylinders, which are joined to the mentioned head by means of shock absorbers preventing the machine vibrations from being transmitted to the elements of the mentioned head, and in that the roller assemblies individually incorporate a clutch lock linked to the drive actuation system, allowing to selectively couple and uncouple any of said groups with respect to the drive transmission."

2. A machine for spreading materials on the ground according to claim 1, wherein the joining of the vertical cylinders with respect to the shock absorbers is formed by means of transverse pins which can be removed to disassemble the head from the assembly on the machine.

3. A machine for spreading materials on the ground according to claim 1, wherein the structural assembly supported on the roller assemblies comprises a frame acting as 2270198 l.doc RECEIVED at IPONZ on 07 December 2009 563069 a container for the hydraulic fluid of the actuation system of the functional assembly of the machine.

4. A machine for spreading materials on the ground according to claim 1, wherein equipment for scattering the application materials can be incorporated in the structural assembly, which equipment comprises a hopper for housing the materials, with a worm screw conveyor for conveying the materials from said hopper to an unloader on the head.

5. A machine for spreading materials on the ground substantially as herein described with reference to any embodiment shown in the accompanying drawings. BOMBFORM, S.L. By the authorised agents A J PARK 2270198 1.doc