US2204021A

US2204021A - Concrete forming machine

Info

Publication number: US2204021A
Application number: US165864A
Authority: US
Inventors: Clarence M Leatherman
Original assignee: CARL H DERRICKSON
Current assignee: CARL H DERRICKSON
Priority date: 1937-09-27
Filing date: 1937-09-27
Publication date: 1940-06-11
Anticipated expiration: 1957-06-11

Description

June 1940- c. M. LEATHERMAN CONCRETE FORMING MACHINE Filed Sept. 27, 1937 3 Sheets-Sheet l I N VENT'OR.

TH E EM/q/Y June 11, 1940- c. M. LEATHERMAN CONCRETE FORMING MACHINE Filed Sept. 27, 1937 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. CLARE/I65 M Lax-7 THEFPMfi/Y BY 2 d/ AfioRNEYs Patented June 11,1940

UNITED smrss 'li Efl cries CONCRETE FORMING MACHINE Clarence M. Leatherman, Goldwater, Mich., as

Bronson, Mich signor of one-half to Carl H. Derrickson,

Application September 27, 1937, Serial N6. 165.8641

crete when placed in the usual curb and gutter:

f forms, to, substantiallyfthe correct contour of the in: highway constructions.

g the usual formybut which, in: addition thereto,

lbecome more apparent from the following del curb and! gutter desired,leavingronly such'quantitythereoversas is requiredtfo permit firm tampingof the concrete; 1 i

Another object of the nism, particularly adapted to the tamping of concrete for the formation of curbs Another object of the present invention is to provide amachine which will not only strike oh the concrete to the correct contour of a curb and gutter formation after such concrete is placed in will tamp the concrete to provide a solid, strong construction. r l l i Another object of the present invention is to provide a machine for formingconcrete curb and gutter constructions, which machine willprogress under its own power along; the forms provided therefor, striking off the wet concrete placed therein tosubstantiallythe contour required by i the curb and gutter formation, and thereafter tamp such concrete, trowel the entire surface to an accurate sectional contour and finish, and edge: both curb andgutter longitudinally, without interrupting the forward progress of the machine.

Other objects of the present invention Will scriptionireference beingrhad to the accompanying drawings in which Iil lustratea. preferred form of apparatus. The essential novel features 0f the invention-will be summarized in the claims.

Referring now to the drawings, Fig. l is a side elevation of my improved curb-forming. machine; Fig. 2 is aplan view thereof; Fig. 3' is a front elevation of the-machine; Fig. 4 is a, transverse section, taken substantially along the lines t .-4- of Fig. Land Fig. 5, is a fragmentary section indi-" cated by the lines 5--5 of Fig. 2; Fig. 6 is a diagram illustrating a dampening system for the f machine-.; a

Concrete curb and gutters are frequently formed along highways by excavating a suitable trench and extending longitudinally. therein steel forms, such as are indicated in the drawings at A,

as comprising elongated channel members. The

concrete is generally shoveled into the forms and present invention is to provide an improved concrete tamping mechaand gutters, by the provision of a machine whichtravelsalong forwardly in the direction ofthe arrow; Fig. l, b y

I "roiai s. (o1. 94 39) :Tfhis'invention relatestto' an apparatus for sufficient quantity in addition, to permit firm tamping and troweling; Thereafter, the concrete is manually tamped and then troweled, to

r the desired contour and finish. This entails considerable manual labor and is an expensive operaticn, when contrasted with present-day methods ofconstructing concrete highways. The present invention eliminates, to a great extent, the manual labor heretofore, required, thereby appre-. ciably decreasing the costinvolved in the construction of such highway. i This is accomplished the usual concrete forms underits own. power,

and while so traveling strikes oif the freshly poured cement, tamps the concrete to an approx imately true contour, trowels the entire surface to the desired contourand finish, and edges both the curb and gutter longitudinally while the machine progresses forwardly. l,

i In the drawings, the machine illustrated comprises a substantially horizontal; main, frame III, which carries the entire mechanism; This frame is-supported on therconcrete forms A by two pairsof flanged rollers H which are. carried by bearing brackets 12, secured to and depending doWn-, Wardly from the, frameui fi. This frame is drawn a cable-windingmechanism carried by the frame. As shown in the drawings, a motor, such as a gasoline motor I", is mounted on the frame H] adjacent the rear end thereof, and is connected by'a driving belt iii, to a drive pulley ll, carried by a transversely extending shaftlB, which is journalled in upstanding bracket members 19;, supported by the framelh, Drivingly secured to the shaft i8 is a worm 26,, which meshes with a Wormgear 2 carried by a jack shaft 32, .supported in suitable bearing brackets 23,.Whi0h, like the brackets Ii are carried by the frame iii. 1 The shaft 22 extends rearwardly relative to the. base iii and has secured thereto a Worm 24, whichengages a worm wheel 25, drivingly secured to a cross-shaft it.

The shaft 26 is journalled in bearing brackets 21,

3| in the face of such drum. A cable 33 has one end thereof secured to the'winding drum, while the other end carries a hook or other attaching I device 34.

The operation of the cable mechanism is as follows: When the machine is first started in operation, the plunger is withdrawn and the cable 33 pulled forward until substantially the entire length has been unwound from the winding drum, whereupon the hook 34 is attached to a cross member, not shown, but which joins the two forms A. The plunger is then moved into operative position-that is, into engagement with the winding drum. The mechanism is then ready 'for operation, and consequent upon the operation of the motor it will be drawn forwardly at the desired rate of speed.

The striking mechanisrm'wliich guides the corn crete into place between the forms and levels such concrete off substantially to the desired contour of the curb, is carried at the forward end of the frame i0. As shown, a bracket 46 is pivoted to the frame H], as at 4|, and extends forwardly thereof. The bracket supports adjacent its forward end the contour forming or striking off blade 42 which levels off the concrete. The

bracket also supports side plates, 54 and 45,

which serve to guide the concrete into place between the forms prior to the striking operation.

It is found that different materials, as well as different soil conditions, require varying amounts of concrete in excess of the finished contour, to permit or make allowance for firm tamping. I therefore support the striking mechanism at its forward end by a pair of rollers '46, which are carried by brackets 41 mounted on the frame 40, through the medium of bolts48, which engage slotted openings in the bracket 40, thus permitting the striker mechanism to be adjusted vertically to leave the desired surplus concrete, as is required, for firm tapping.

As the machine progresses forward, the concrete which has been roughly contoured by the striking mechanism just described, is firmly tamped to approximately the true contour. The tamping mechanism is best'illustrated in Fig; 4. As there shown, I provide three tampers, namely, a tamper 50, a tamper 5| and a tamper 52, which form upper surfaces of the gutter, the sidewalls of the curb, and the top wall of the curb, respectively. The

tampers

50 and 52 are mounted for vertical reciprocation in the frame I'U, whereas the tamper 5| is mounted for a substantially transverse movement in the frame ll).

As illustrated, the tamper 5!] is supported by a pair of plungers 55, which are slidably mounted in'vertically extending guideways 56, carried by the frame l0. At their upper ends, these plungers 55 have secured thereto yokes 51, carrying pins 58, to which connecting rods 59 are pivotally mounted in the usual manner. The upper end of these connecting rods are rotatably journalled oncrank formations 60, formed on the shaft l8, heretofore described. The tamper 52 is similarly mounted on a plunger 55a, mounted in a vertically extending guideway 56a, and is operated by a connecting red 5911, which likewise is operatedby a crank 69 on the shaft l8.

The tamper 5|, which tamps the side walls of the curb,,is secured to one arm of a bell crank 6|, pivoted to the main frame Ill as at 62, and extends through a slot 63 therein. The other arm of this bell crank is connected by a ball and socket joint,'generally indicated at 64, with a connecting'rod 65, which likewise is connected to a, crank formation 50 of the shaft l8. Both the

tampers

50 and 52 are threadingly secured to their

respective plungers

55 and 55a, and are locked into adjusted position thereon by lock nuts 66. tamper 5| is likewise adjustably positioned on the bell crank 62 by bolts 61. The arrangement of the cranks on the shaft I8 is such that the tamper 50 rises as the tampers 5| and 52 move toward the curb formation and vice versa. These tampers, of course, operate in timed relationship to the forward movement of the machine, inasmuch as the winding drum is likewise driven from the shaft l8, as heretofore described.

After the concrete has been tamped by the tampers 50, 5| and 52, it is troweled by a suitable trowel, which is arranged to trowel or smooth the entire surface of the tamped concrete to the desired contour and finish. Referring again to Fig. 1, directly to the rear of the tampers, I mount a shoe 10, which has, a surface contour which is complementary to the desired contour of the fin ished curb and gutter formation. The forward edge of this shoe is tapered as at I I, so that it will not bite into the tamped concrete, but will engage the same in a manner similar'to that of a trowel handled by a workman, thus giving the concrete the desired contour and finish.

The trowel 10 is likewise adjustably'securedto the frame Ill through the use of threaded studs 12, which are pivotally secured to the trowel as at T3, and are adjustably positioned for a raising and lowering movement in the frame I0 by nuts 14.

After the concrete has been troweled, both curb and gutter are engaged by fillet-like edgers The 80, shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 5, which serve to round dotted lines 82 on Fig. 1.

ets 83, by bolts 84. These brackets are pivotally mounted as at 85 to the frame I0, and are provided with forwardly extending arms through which adjusting studs 86 pass, suchstuds engag-'= ing brackets 81 which support' the pivots 85, thereby regulating the depth to which the edgers are forced into the concrete.

If desired, I may mount, forward of each of the wheels of the frame ID, a suitable bracket 90 to support strips or members 9| in the form of com-' paratively rigid fabric strips such as heavy duck 01' canvas.

The engine orpower plant l5, heretofore de'-' scribed, is mounted on a base plate 95, which is slidably mounted on a stationary guide 96 formed on the frame I 0, and is slid back and forth by the operation of a lever 91. This lever is's'ecured to a shaft 98, to which is also secured apinion 99. The pinion 99 engages a rack I00, formed on the' motor mounting plate '95. This construction is to eliminate the need of any other clutch between the motor and thedriving pulley 11. When the lever 91 is operated to move the motor forward, the belt l6 becomes loose on the'driving pulley |6a of the motor, and, when the lever is moved" to slide the motor in the rearward direction to tighten the belt, a friction clutch action is obtained, as I use a'V-shaped driving belt and cor-1 respondingly shaped pulleys.

In Fig. 6 I have illustrated a dampening system for supplying a'limited amountof water to the surface of the concrete and thereby enable.

the production of avery smooth surfaced curb and gutter formation. .As shown in, Figs. 1 and 6; I'mount a suitable water tank i'lll above the frame. A conduit HI leads from this tank to points ahead of the tamper 50 andtrowel 10. A

plurality of relatively small open-ended tubes I I2 projectdownward from these conduits toward the surface of the concrete. Each tube is provided with a valve I It to regulate the flow through such :tube independent of the flow through the other tubes, and a main valve I I4 is inserted in the conduit H I to enable the flow to be stopped without amount of curb and gutter which may be formed in a given length of time, and which will provide a uniform construction. Likewise, the use of this invention will eliminate the usual curb face rail or form, which is otherwise required to be positioned substantially in position of the tamper of Fig. 4. Likewise, by providing a mechanical tamping, a much dryer mix of concrete may be utilized, thus giving far greater strength to the resultant concrete construction, permitting the form to be removed more quicklyfrom the concrete than was heretofore possible, and I eliminate the necessity for waiting until the cement preliminarily cures before the troweling operation may be carried out. Thus, it will be seen that I have provided a machine which not only eliminates manual labor, but which also requires a much smaller quantity of forms than has been required in the past, and which will produce a i better and stronger concrete curb and gutter construction.

I claim:

1. In a machine of the character described, the

combination with a frame, of a power mechanism to advance theframe along a pair of longitudinally extending form rails, means pivotally mounted adjacent the forward edge of such frame ,adapted and arranged to guide concrete into position between the pair of form rails and to strike the surplus concrete therefrom to form the contour desired for a curb and gutter formation, a substantially vertically reciprocable tamper mechanism carried by said frame and operatively connected to said motor to tamp upper surfaces of the formed concrete, a substantially horizontally reciprocable tamper operatively connected to said motor to tamp a substantially ver tical surface of the concrete, and a trowel carried by said frame and adapted and arranged to simultaneously trowel both tramped surfaces of the concrete to the desired contour and finish, and an edging mechanism adapted to trowel off the corners of the concrete adjacent the form r rails.

2. In a machine of the character described, the combination with a frame, of a power mechanism to advance the frame along a pair of longitudinally extending spaced rails, means carried by said frame to guide concrete into position between the pair of rails, and to formthe exposed surface of the concrete to substantially the dedesired, a plurality of vertically reciprocable tamper mechanisms and a substantially horizontally reciprocable tamper mechanism, carried by i said frame, and operatively formed concrete, a

troweling mechanism adjustably carried bysaid frame and adapted to trowel the tamped concrete to the desired contour and finish.

3. In a curb and gutter-forming machine, in

combination with a frame, of a concrete guide and strike off mechanism horizontally pivoted to said frameand extending forwardly thereof, a pair of wheels supporting the forward end of such strike-off mechanism, said wheels being adjustable vertically relative to said mechanism, a pair of vertically reciprocable tampers slidably mounted for vertical movement in said frame, and a motor carried by said frame and operatively connected to said tampers to cause said tampers to engage and tamp the top surfaces of a curb andgutter concrete formation, a third tamper carried by said frame and movable in a substantially transverse direction thereto to tampa side wall of the. curb, and means connecting said lastnamed tamper with said motor for operation thereby, a trowel carried by said frame to trowel the tamped concrete, and means operated by said motor to cause the machine to be progressed in timed relation to the tamping operation.

l. In a curb and gutter forming machine, a

wheel supported frame, a motor mounted on said frame, a vertically movable tamper to tamp the horizontal surfaces of a concrete gutter formation and asecond tamper movable in a substantially horizontal direction to tamp the horizontal surface of a concrete curb formation, and means operated by said motor to drive said tampers.

5. In a curb and gutter forming machine, .a frame, wheels to support said frame, a motor mounted on said frame, a vertically movable tamper to tamp the horizontal surfaces of the gutter formation and a second tamper movable in a substantially horizontal direction to tamp the horizontal surface of the curb formation, and

means operated by said motor to. operate said tampers alternately,

6. In a curb and gutter forming machine, a

wheel supported frame, a motor mounted on said. frame, means operated by said motor to propel said frame, a vertically reciprocable tamper to tamp the horizontal surface of the gutter formation, a second vertically reciprocable tamper to tamp the vertical surface of the curb formation,

, a bell crank pivotally mounted on a horizontal axis extending lengthwise of said frame and having one arm thereof depending downward relative to said frame and another arm extending substantially horizontally, a third tamper secured to the depending arm of said bell crank and arranged and adapted to engage the vertical surface of the curb formation, a crank shaft carried by said frame and operatively connected to said motor, connecting rods interconnected between said crank shaft and said first mentioned tampers and between said crank shaft and the horizontal arm of said bell crank, said crank shaft being arranged and adapted to actuate the curb tampers in unison and the gutter tamper in an alternate relation to the curb tampers, and a trowel to act on all of the tamped surfaces simultaneously.

7. In a curb and gutter forming machine, a frame, a pair of supporting wheels at the forward end of said frame, a second pair of supporting wheels at the rearward end of said frame,

a motor slidably mounted on'said frame, means operated by said motor to propel said frame, vertically reciprocable tampers to tamp the horizontal surfaces of the curb gutter formation, a second tamper movable in a substantially horizontal direction and arranged and adapted to tamp the vertical surface of the curb formation, a crank shaft carried by said frame and operatively connected to said motor by a driving belt whereby when the motor is moved to its rearward position said crank shaft will be actuated and when the motor is moved to its forward position said crank shaft will be idle, and connecting rods interconnected between said crankshaft and the tamper's, said crank shaft being arranged and adapted to actuate the curb tampers in unison and the gutter tamper in an alternate relation to the curb tampers, and a trowel to act on all tamped surfaces simultaneously, a strike-off mechanism connected to said frame and extending forwardly thereof, and adapted to strike-oil the concrete prior to its engagement with said tampers, and means to adjust said strike-off mechanism vertically relative to said frame as desired. I

CLARENCE M. LEATHERMAN.