US3251281A - Machine for forming and finishing concrete surfaces - Google Patents

Description

May i7 1966 E. D. IANNETTI ETAL 3,251,281

MACHINE FOR FORMING AND FINISHING CONCRETE SURFACES 7 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed April 20, 1961 May 17, 1966 E, D. IANNETTI ETAL 3,251,281

MACHINE FOR FORMING AND FINISHING CONCRETE SURFACES Filed April 2O '7 Sheets-Sheet 2 ATTOR NE YS 7 Sheets-Sheet 5 E. D. IANNETTI ETAL MACHINE FOR FORMING AND FINISHING CONCRETE SURFACES Filed April 20, 1961 S N U I l l lVul I I i I l II l l I l l l l I mnl I I OE n R llllll Illllll. I I I l I l l I I HJ I l l I I I I I |I| N UG RTA qu @mmm Y U mm o M Mr m unmwiwllum WDM A J\ l I l lltrrrhb c.. ||||||LL|TVJI l I I I I l I I Ill TC .m S/P NQ uw@ EQ um Mm R A o 5J M V.. B

May i711 1966 E. D. IANNETTI ETAL 3,251,281

MACHINE FOR FORMING AND FINISHING CONCRETE SURFACES '7 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed April 20, 1961 INVENTORY EKA/EX D.

ATTORNEYS 15E. EE

MACHINE FOR FORMING AND FINISHING CONCRETE SURFACES 7 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed April 20, 1961 bmN l N VEN TORS ATTORNEYS l'7, 1966 E. D. IANNETTI ETAL MACHINE FOR FORMING AND FINISHING CONCRETE SURFACES 7 Sheets-Sheet 6 Filed April 20, 1961 INVENTORS 5K/VEST D, Imm/77 MA1/gne E. ,fag/Soy BY Josef# /u X03/mm ATTORNEYS May l7, 1956 E. D. IANNETTI ETAL 3,251,281

MACHINE FOR FORMING AND FINISHING CONCRETE SURFACES Filed April 20, 1961 7 Sheets-Sheet '7 ATTORNEYS United States Patent O 3,251,281 MACHINE FOR FORMING AND FINISHING. CONCRETE SURFACES Ernest D. Iannetti, Westlake, and Maurice E. Robinson and Joseph N. Robinson, Lakewood, Ohio, assignors to The Cleveland Formgrader Company, Avon, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Filed Apr. 20, 1961, Ser. No. 159,196 (Filed under Rule 47(a) and 35 U.S.C. 116) 2 Claims. (Cl. 94--45) This invention relates to concrete working apparatus, and more particularly to a novel and improved machine for forming and finishing concrete surfaces, as roadway surfaces and the like.

Heretofore, fthe prior art concrete finishing machines were made very heavy since it was believed that the finish of the concrete was la function ofthe weighitof the screed or concrete finishing machine. Such heavy prior art ma-` chines are costly to make, expensive to operate because of the excessive weight, diiiicult to transport and costly to use because they require heavy forming rails to support the same. Accordingly, it is an important object of the present invention to provide a novel and improved concrete forming and finishing machine which is light in weight and more portable than the prior art devices Iand consequently much easier to operate. The concrete finishing machine of the present invention is provided with a lightweight screed which is interconnected with a lightweight movable supporting frame by means of a plurality of hydraulic cylinders which function to apply a downwardly directed pressure on the screed, whereby the need for a heavy cumbersome machine is eliminated and the finish of the concrete is a function of the pressure that can be applied by the hydraulic cylinders.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a novel and improved machine for forming and iinishing concrete surfaces which is lighter than the prior art heavier type of screed machine, yet which will provide a better finish on the concrete than can be achieved with said prior art machines.

It is a further object of the present invention toprovide a novel and improved machine for forming and finishing concrete surfaces which is more portable than the prior art similar machines because it is lighter. The lightweight concrete nishing machine of the present invention may be handled by a fewer number of men than it takes to handle a corresponding heavy prior art type machine. The concrete finishing machine of the present invention may also be transported by means of smaller equipment than was possible to use heretofore in transporting the heavier prior art machines.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide a screed machine for finishing concrete roadways which is constructed and adapted to permit the userA to throw the machine off center when the center of the desired parabolic crown is off center. The machine of the present invention may accomplish the function of throwing the machine off center by employing different length frame end sections on the machine, and these frame ends may be interchanged quickly and eiciently to carry out this function. The prior art concrete Ifinishing machines cannot quickly and efficiently provide an off center parabolic crown concrete finish since they are constructed and arranged so that it 'is necessary to go through an elaborate and time consuming `set-up to change their structure to provide this result.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide a novel and improved concrete finishing machine which is provided with a novel wheel supporting means that permits the wheels to float laterally outwardly or inwardly, thereby allowing for any misadjustment in the setting of the road forming rails. The supporting wheels of the present machine are operatively mounted on adjustable end sections which are detachably secured to the main frame of the machine so that the machine of the present invention provides an infinite adjustment to permit the machine to be adjusted lengthwise to any desired width of roadway, as desired.

It i-s still another object of the present invention to provide a novel rand improved `concrete vfinishing machine which is more economical to produce than the prior art machines, more iiexible :and adaptable for various uses than the similar prior art machines, and which has a wide range of length adjustability.

It is still a further object of the present invention to provide a novel and improved concrete finishing machine which is compact and rugged in construction, light in weight, efficient in operation and which may be easily and quickly manipulated by a minimum number of persons.

Other objects, features and advantages of this invention will be apparent from the following detailed description and appended claims, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming a part of the specification wh-erein like reference numerals designate corresponding parts of the several views.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of a machine for forming and finishing concrete surfaces and which is constructed in accordance with the principles of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of an illustrative main truss for the carriage of the machine illustrated in FIG. l;

FIG. 3 is an end elevational view of the structure illustrated in FIG. 2, taken from the right side thereof;

FIG. 4 is a side elevational view of a frame end channel and truss extension employed in the machine illustrated in FIG. 1;

FIG.` 5 is an end elevational view of the structure illustrated in FIG. 4, taken from the right side thereof;

FIG. 6 is a side elevational View of =a short frame end channel and truss extension which may be employed in the machine illustrated in FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is a top` plan view of the main frame and frame end extensions of the carriage of the present machine, and showing the same with the power unit elements removed and the truss sections removed;

FIG. 8 is a front elevational view of the structure shown in FIG. 7, and with the truss structure mounted thereon;

FIG. 9 is an enlarged front elevational view of a screed hanger mechanism employed in the invention, and showing a fragmentary portion of the screed;

FIG. 10 is an elevational sectional view of thestructure illustrated in FIG. 9, taken lalong the line 10-10 thereof and looking in the direction of the arrows;

FIG. 1l is an enlarged fragmentary top plan view of the structure illustrated in FIG. 7, taken within the circle marked 11;

FIG. 12 is an enlarged top plan view of the power section of the machine of the present invention, and this power section is located substantially centrally `on the machine carriage;

FIG. 13 is an enlarged top plan view of a 'frame end posed screed hanger guide structure which is xedly mounted on the front of the machine carriage;

FIG. 16 is an enlarged horizontal sectional view of the structure illustrated in FIG. 15, taken along the line 16-16 thereof and looking in the direction of the arrows;

FIG. 17 is a fragmentary, broken side elevational view of the center or main portion of the screed employed in the machine of the present invention;

FIG. 18 is an enlarged fragmentary, broken elevational end view of the structure illustrated in FIG. 17, taken in the direction of the arrow 18 of FIG. 17;

FIG. 19 is a fragmentary front elevational view of the carriage frame and truss structure, and showing one of the screed hanger slides :and guide means;

FIG. 20 is a side elevational view of a screed end portion employed inthe screed of the present invention;

FIG. 21 is an enlarged elevational sectional view of the structure illustrated in FIG. 20, taken along the line 21-21 thereof and looking in the direction of the arrows;

FIG. 22 is an enlarged, fragmentary and elevational view 'of the structure illustrated in FIG. 20, taken in the direction of the arrow marked 22; and,

FIG. 23 is a schematic diagram of the hydraulic system for operating the screed hydraulic cylinders.

The principles of this invention may be incorporated into various types of actual machines, and carried out with variations in operating techniques, but fundamentally the machine comprises the power driven cariage generally indicated by the numeral and the longitudinally extended screed generally indicated by the numeral 11, which is operatively mounted Ialong one side of the carriage 10k for upward and downward movement and longitudinal movement on the carriage 10 by means of the screed supporting means generally indicated by the numerals 12, 13 and 14. As shown in FIG. 1, the carriage 10 comprises a light-Weight construction which is fabricated from channel iron and which is adapted to straddle the usual road forming rails or forms and ride along the top thereof, and to be power driven as more fully described hereinafter.

As best seen in FIGS. 1, 7, 8 and 13, the carriage 10 includes a supporting frame structure which `comprises an intermediate frame portion generally indicated by the numeral 15, and the left land right hand adjustably mounted end frame sections generally indicated by the numerals 16 and 17. The intermediate carriage frame section comprises the laterally spaced apart longitudinally extended channels 18 `and 19 which are xedly interconnected by the cross braces or channels 20, 21, 22 and 23. 18 and 19 may be interconnected by the aforementioned cross braces at as many places as is desired, and the cross braces may be xed to the longitudinally extended channels 18 and 19 by any suitable means, as by welding or by rivets. The main frame 10 further includes the horizontally disposed cross bracing channels 21 and 22 which are xedly connected to the longitudinal channels 18 and 19 by any suitable means, as by welding or by rivets.

The end frame Vsections 16 and 17 are identically constructed and the right end section 17 will be described in detail and similar reference numerals will be applied to the left end section 16, followed by the small letter LL As shown in FIGS. 7, 8, 13 and 19, the right end frame section comprises the longitudinally extended laterally spaced apart channel members 23 and 24 which are adapted to be slidably engaged against the inner surfaces of the main frame rails 18 and 19 and be secured thereto by any suitable means, as by the bolt and nut assemblies generally indicated by the numeral 25. As shown lin FIGS. 13 and 14, a transversely disposed channel 27 is xedly secured to the outer `ends of the longitudinally extended channels 23 and 24, as by welding, and the channel 27 extends forwardly and rearwardly of the main frame channels 18 and 19. The channels 23 and 24 `are provided with a plurality of spaced holes as 26 which The intermediate or main frame channels A are preferably about three inches apart, whereby the end sections may be adjusted quickly and easily to permit the carriage to straddle roadway forms spaced apart at various distances on various jobs. The channel 27 is further interconnected with the channels 23 and 24 by the angle or diagonal braces 28 and 29, respectively. The right end frame section 17 further includes the outwardly disposed channel 30 which is the Same length as the channel 27 and is laterally spaced outwardly therefrom. The channels 27 and 30 are interconnected at the ends thereof Iby the cross channels 31 and 32. As best seen in FIGS. 13 and 14, the channels 27 and 30 are further interconnected with the channel 23 by means of the vertical plate 33 which is welded across the channels 30 and 27 and extended inwardly and over the channel 23 to which it is further connected by welding. A similar vertical bracing plate 34 also connects the channels 27, 30 and 24.

The end lframe section 17 also functions .as a carrier frame for the supporting rollers of the carriage with each end frame having operatively mounted thereon two rollers. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 13, a front roller or wheel 35 is rotatably mounted on the transversely disposed shaft 36 which has the ends thereof extended through the channels 27 and 30 and operatively journaled in the bearing members 37 and 38. The wheel 35 is 'adapted to ride on the concrete rail or form normally used in making roadways, and it is permitted to slide or float sidewise in each direction in case of misadjustment of the road rails, so as to provide .a floating wheel of about three inches floating travel. As shown in FIG. 13, a sprocket 243 is suitably xedly connected to the wheel 35 for propelling the same, and this sprocket is driven by la suitable chain 42 which is in turn driven by the sprocket 39 which is operatively mounted on a longitudinally extended power shaft 40. The outer end of the shaft 40 is operatively mounted in the bearing member 41 which is fixedly mounted on the outer side of the channel 30. The drive shaft 40 is driven by a suitable power means as described hereinafter in detail. The right end frame section 17 is provided with a rear roller or wheel 43 which is similar to the wheel 35 and which is operatively mounted on the shaft 44 for sliding or oating sidewise movement in the same manner as the wheel 35. The `shaft 44 extends through the channels 27 Iand 30 and has the ends thereof yoperatively journaled in the bearing members 45 and 46. A drive sprocket 47 is suitably fixedly connected to the wheel 43 for driving the same, and this sprocket is driven by the chain 48 which is in turn driven by the sprocket 231 on the shaft 40. As shown in FIGS. 13 and 14, the angle irons 49 and 50 are welded along the top of the channels 27 and 30 between the vertical plates 33 and 34. Fixedly mounted between the angles 49 and 50 is a suitable grill as 51 which serves as a platform for the operators of the machine, and which is xedly secured to the angles 49 and 50 by any suitable means, as by the -bolts 52.

As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the machine is provided with a power section which is generally designated by the numeral 53. The power section 53 comprises a supportmg frame .made from suitable channel iron and other metal members, and this frame is adapted to be xedly connected to the main frame of the carriage at a central longitudinal position as shown in FIG. 7. The power section frame comprises the transversely disposed channels 54 and 55 which are longitudinally spaced apart and xedly interconnected by the longitudinally extended channels 56, 57, 58 and 59. The channels 58 and 59 are further interconnected by the transverse channels 60, 61 and 62. Fixedly mounted between the transverse power section frame channels 55 and 62 is the longitudinally extended plate 63 on which is xedly mounted, by any suitable means, the engine 64 which may be of any suitable internal combustion engine make and of any suitable horsepower, as for example, a nine horsepower, twelve horsepower or eighteen horsepower air-cooled engine, according to t-he size of the machine. As shown in FIG. 12, the output shaft of the engine 64 is provided with a drive pulley 65 which drives the driven pulley 66 by means of the V-belt 67. The member 68 is a conventional belt tightener. The driven pulley 66 is ixedly mounted on the input shaft 69 of a conventional right angle gear reduction drive unit 70 which is tixedly mounted on the plate 71 |between the channels 56 and 57. The gear reduction unit 70 has a first output shaft 72 which is operatively connected by the conventional coupling 73 to a conventional four speed transmission having a forward and reverse unit and generally indicated byv the numeral 74.

The transmission 74 is provided with an output shaft 75 which is operatively connected by a conventional coupling 76 to the stub shaft 77. The shaft 77 is rotatably mounted in suitable bearing members 78 and 79 which are longitudinally spaced apart and iixedly mounted on the spaced apart'plates 80 and 81, respectively, which are disposed between the channels 56 and 57. Fixedly mounted on the stulb shaft 77 by any suitable means is the drive sprocket 82 which is connected by means of the drive chain 83 with the driven sprocket 84. The drive chain 83 may be tightened by means of the conventional chain take-up means 85. As shown in FIG. 12, the inner end of the drive shaft 40a is operatively journaled in the bearing member 86 which is fixedly mounted on the plate 87 which is connected to the channel 54.A The inner end of the drive shaft 40a is operatively connected to a suitable steering clutch generally indicated by the numeral 91, and on the inner end thereof on which is operatively mounted the sprocket 84. As shown in FIG. 12, the other drive shaft 40 also has its inner end operatively journaled in a bearing member 88 which is mounted on the plate 89 that is tixedly connected to the transverse frame channel 62. The inner end of the drive shaft 40 is also operatively connected to a steering clutch generally indicated by the numeral 90, and which is identically the same as the clutch 91. The clutch 90 is also operatively connected to the driven sprocket 84 by means of the shaft 92 which has one end thereof operatively connected to the sprocket 84 and the other end thereof operatively connected to the clutch 90. As shown `in FIG. 12, the shaft 92 is rotatably mounted in suitable bearing members as 93 and 94 which are mounted on the plates 95 and 96 which are in turn fixed to the channels 60 and 61, respectively. It will be seen that the aforedescribed power drive structure permits the operator of the machine to guide the same in the forward or rearward directions, as desired. As shown in FIG. 12, the power section further includes a conventional battery generally indicated by the numeral 97 which is carried on the plate 98 that is supported by the channels 59 and 99. The numeral 100 indicates the usual battery cable.

As shown in FIG. 7, the longitudinally extended frame channels 18 and 19 are each comprised of three parts. That is, the channel 1S comprises Vthe small or short end sections indicated by the numerals 101 and 102, and a long intermediate section, and the channel 19 is also similarly constructed with the end sections 103 and 104.

. These end sections of the channels 18 and '19 are more fully described hereinafter. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 8, the carriage main frame further includes the laterally disposed longitudinally extended main trusses 105 and 106. These main trusses extend over the entire length of the long central parts of the frame channels 18 and 19 between the points indicated by the numerals 107 and 108 in FIG. 8. As shown in FIGS. 2 `and 3, each of the main trusses comprises a pair of angle bars 109 and 110 along the upper end thereof and the angle bars 111 and 112 along the lower end thereof. These upper and lower disposed angle irons are interconnected by a plurality of angularly disposed flat Ibars as 113 which have the ends thereof tixedly mounted, as by welding, between the upper and lower sets of angle bars. As shown in FIG. 2, the Vends of the main truss sections are formed by vertical plates 114 and 115 which are provided with suitable bolt holes as 116. The main trusses and. 106 are fixedly secured to the tops of the channels 118 and 119 by any suitable means, as by welding.

As shown in FIGS. 1 through 8 and 19, the main frame channel extensions 101, 102, 103 and 104 are integrally formed with truss extensions as 117, 113, 119 and 120. It will be understood that these main frame end extensions, including both the extensions of the channels and `the trusses, may be of any desired length. As, for example, the main frame assembly extensions shown in FIG. l are of a first length and the end frame and truss extension assembly 121, shown in FIG. 4, is of a second and longer length. The end frame extension 122 of FIG. 6 is of a still shorter length, and the end frame extensions 123 and 124, shown in FIG. 8, are of a still shorter length. It will be seen that the machine may be provided with various length extensions. as desired, in accordance with the distance between the roadway forms on which the machine is to be used.

The various end frame and truss extensions for the main frame are all similarly constructed, and the extension 124 shown in FIGS. 8 and 19 will be described in detail and it will be understood that the other similar extensions are made in the same manner. The main frame extension 124 comprises a pair of channel irons as 125 between which is ixedly secured the upper end of the diagonal brace plates or bars 126 and to which is secured the upper end of the plate 127. The lower end of the extension member 124 is comprised of a pair of angles as 12S and between which are fixedlyheld the lower ends of the cross braces 126. The inner end of the extension member 124 is formed by the vertical plate 129. The extension channel 104 is tixedly secured to the lower side of the angle irons 1,28 by any .suitable means, as by welding. The channel members 104 and the main portion of the channel 19 is interconnected by the metal plate 131 which is ixedly welded to either the end extension channel 104 or to the channel 19 and bolted to the opposite or unwelded channel. As shown in FIG. 19, the connector plate 131 is welded to the channel 19 and secured to the channel 104 by the bolt and nut assembly 130. It will be seen that the channel 23 and 24 of the end wheel frames 16 and 17 are in actuality detachably connected to the extension portions 101, 102, 103 and 104 of the main channels 18 and 19. The plates 115 and 129 of the main trusses and end section trusses are suitably connected by any means, as by the bolt and nut assembly 132. The aforedescribed wheel oating structure which permits the wheels on the carriage to freely move inwardly and outwardly approximately three inches and the three inch adjustment for spacing of the bolt holes in the interconnecting frame channels of the end truck frames and the main frame section provides an infinite adjustment in the length of the carriage, to provide for any misadjustment in the setting of the roadway rails or forms.

The structure of the screed unit 11, shown in FIG. 1, is clearly illustrated in FIGS. 9, 10, 17, 18, 20, 21 and 22. The screed unit 11 is preferably construted in the form of a lightweight box girder or beam. It is preferably constructed in three parts, namely, the intermediate or center section 133, and the releasably attached end sections 134 and 135 which are constructed identically. As shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, the intermediate screed unit comprises a vertically disposed front plate 136 and a vertically disposed rear plate 137 which extend. the full length of the intermediate section and which are disposed in spaced relationship. Disposed between the plates 136 and 137, at the lower edges thereof, is the surfacing plate 138 which extends substantially the full length of the plates 136 and 137. The surfacing plate 138 is provided with a short upturned flange 139 along the forward edge thereof and a short upturned flange along the rear edge thereof. As shown in FIG. 10, the lower edges of the side plates 136 and 137 are bent inwardly slightly so as to always overlap the flanges 139 and 140, respectively. The upper edge of each of the side plates 136 and 137 is turned inwardly and then downwardly as indicated by the numerals 141 and 142 for reinforcement of the side plates. The plates 136 and 137 are secured together at their upper edges by means of a plurality of cross bars which are spaced longitudinally thereof and which extend transversely thereof. The cross bars 145 are xedly secured to the side walls 136 and 137 by any suitable means, as by welding. Cover plates 144 may also be provided for `the full length of the plates 136 and 137, and these plates fit between the bars 145 and are provided with bolts for retaining the same in place.

The side plates 136 and 137 are xedly interconnected at longitudinally spaced apart positions by the cross channels 145 which are secured to these plates by any suitable means, as by welding. The surfacing plate 138 carries the transversely disposed longitudinally spaced apart plurality of shoes 146 and each of these shoes has a pair of bolts 147 pivotally mounted thereon as at 148. The shoes are xedly secured to the surfacing plate 138 as by welding. The upper end of each of these bolts 147 is threaded as at 149 and receives an internally threaded nut member 150. Each of the nut members 150 `has integrally formed therewith an upper flanged collar 151, whereby when the member 151 is rotated, a pushing or pulling force will be exerted on the rods 147 and on the plate 138, depending upon the direction of rotation of the members 151.

The end screed unit 134 and the end screed unit 135 are constructed similarly to the aforedescribed central screed unit 133, and they have been marked with similar reference numerals followed by the small letters c and d. As shown in FIG. 20, the outer end of the screed extension 134 is closed by means of a plate 152 which has a flange on the upper end as 153 that extends over the top of the screed unit. A short piece of angle iron 154 is welded along the lower edge of `the end of the extension screed unit 134. The end closure. plate 152 may be bolted to the screed unit as by means of bolts 155 and 156 which are threadably mounted in suitable holes in the vertical angle members 157 and 158, as shown in FIG. 21. As shown in FIGS. 17 and 18, the intermediate screed unit 133 is open at each end thereof and is provided with connector bars as 159 and 160 which are welded to the side plates 136 and 137. These plates are also provided with holes therethrough and nuts as 161 mounted in alignment with these holes on the inside of the plates 136 and 137, whereby bolts may be threaded through the aforementioned holes and into operative engagement with the nuts 161. The connector plates 159 and 160 are adapted to overlap the open inner ends of the end units as 134 and 135 and be connected by means of bolts passing through the bolt holes 231 in the plate 159 and bolt holes 162 in the plates of the screed end sections. As shown in FIG. 22, the screed end sections are open on the inner ends and are provided with bolts as 163 welded to the insde thereof and in alignment with bolt holes for bolting the connector plates 159 and 160 to the screed unit end sections.

As shown in FIG. 1, the screed unit 133 is provided with an inwardly extendedv horizontal arm unit 164, and on the inner end of this arm is pivotally mounted the screed oscillating arm 165. As shown in FIG. 12, the arm 165 is connected by means of the shaft 166 to the eccentric arm 167 which is xedly connected to the output shaft 168 of the right angle drive unit 169. The shaft 168 is rotatably supported by the means of the bearing member 170 which is secured to the plate 171 which is welded to the frame channel 19. The input shaft 172 of the right angle drive unit 169 is connected by a conventional coupling 173 to the four speed transmission generally indicated by the numeral 174. The transimission 174 8 vis connected by the conventional clutch and gear shifting unit 175 to the right angle drive unit 70. It will be seen that the last mentioned power drive train will move the screed unit sidewardly, that is, backwardly and forwardly in a longitudinal direction relative to the carriage, in an oscillatory manner.

As shown in FIGS. l and 8, the screed unit 11 is supported for upward and downward movement on the carriage by means of the supporting units 12, 13 and 14. Since all of these units are constructed similarly only one will be described in detail.

Each of the screed supporting units comprises a slide member generally indicated by the numeral 176 in FIG. 10 and in FIG. 19. As shown in FIG. 16, the slide 176 comprises a vertically disposed channel 177 which faces inwardly toward the carriage, and on the outer sides of which is welded the angles 178 and 179. Welded to the bottom of the slide member 176 is an outwardly extended arm 180 to which is xedly secured the bearing member 181 which rotatably receives the lower end of the vertical shaft 182. The upper end of the shaft 182 is operatively journaled in the bearing member 183 which is xedly secured to the angle member 184 which is in turn-secured to the slide and the bottom of the outwardly extended channel 185. Rotatably mounted on the vertical shaft 182 is the rotor 186 which is adapted to bear against the bearing plate 187 welded along the outside of the screed unit plate 137. There are three of the bearing plates 187 mounted on the screed unit at the three positions of the screed supporting units. The outwardly extended channel is supported by the two brace plates 188 and 189 which are tixedly connected at the inner ends thereof to the slide 178 and at the outer ends thereof to the outer end of the channel 185. Welded to the bottom of the channel 185 in spaced relationship are the two plates 190 and 191 and connected to these plates in downwardly spaced relationship are the plates 192 and 193, so as to form a pair of spaced apart roller tracks. As shown in FIG. 9, the outer bars 191 and 193 are interconnected by the vertical spacer members 194 and 195 so as to form the roller track 196 in which is rollably received the roller 197. The roller 197 is operatively mounted on the shaft 198 which is journaled in the bearing member 199 carried on the plate 200 which is bolted to the top of the screed unit by means of the bolts 201 and 202. The shaft 198 extends through the bearing member 199 and is provided with the second roller 203 which rolls in the roller slot 204 formed between the depending plates 190 and 192. The last mentioned structure comprises a screed hanger unit, and this unit may be further reinforced by the longitudinally extended plates 205 and 206 which are interconnected by the inverted angle bar 207. It will be seen that when the slide 176 is raised or lowered, by the following described means, the screed unit 11 will be moved upwardly and downwardly and at the same time the screed unit may be moved longitudinally of the carriage.

The slide 176 is provided with the threaded shaft 208 at the upper end thereof, and this shaft is xed to the slide by any suitable means, as by welding. As shown in FIG. 19, the upper end of the shaft is mounted through a suitable hole in the bracket 209 and the downward movement of the slide 176 is limited by the stop nut 210. The slide 176 is moved upwardly and downwardly until the stop nut 210 hits the bracket 209 by means of a suitable hydraulic cylinder generally indicated by the numeral 211 in FIG. 15. The hydraulic cylinder has one end thereof connected to the depending arm 212 on the bracket 209 and to the upwardly extended bracket 213 on the slide 176. The hydraulic cylinders 211 are connected by suitable hydraulic conduits to the hydraulic pump generally indicated by the numeral 214 in FlG. l2. The pump 214 is driven by means of the pulley 215 and the drive belt 232 which is mounted on the drive pulley 65.

As shown in FIGS. l1, 15, and 19, the slide 176 is slidably mounted in a track or guide member which comprises a first channel 216i, which is welded to the frame channel 19 by means of the plate 217 and the angle 218. The channel 216 is reinforced with the downwardly sloping channel 219, as shown in FIG. 11. The inner end of the channel 219 is connected by means of the bolt and nut assembly 220 to the frame cross channel 22, and at the upper end thereof it is connected by means of the bolt assembly 221 to the downwardly sloping plate 222 which is welded to the channel 216. The screed slide track structure further includes the outer channel 223 which is secured to the inner channel 216 by means of a plurality of angle straps as 224 being connected by the bolt and nut assemblies 225 to similar angle straps 226 on the rear channel 216. It will be seen that the outer channel may be adjusted relative to the inner channel by means of the securing pads 224 and 226 and the bolt and nut assemblies 225. As shown in FIG. 16, the outer channel 223 is provided with the spaced apart vertically disposed lixedly mounted bars 227 and 228 which are mounted on the web of the channel. The track structure also includes the vertically disposed bars 229 and 230 which are welded to the feet of the channel along the outer edge thereof to form a track in which the slide 176 is slidably mounted, as clearly shown in FIG. 16.

It will be seen that the machine of the present invention provides a concrete finishing machine which is light in Weight, economical to manufacture, portable and easy to handle by a minimum number of men. The machine of `the present invention can be used on roadway forms which are lighter since the machine is lighter than the prior art machines and therefore the cost of setting the rails will be cut down by using the present machine.

It will be seen that the bracket 209 is fixedly secured to the upper end of the channel 223 by any suitable means as by welding. The screed unit hanger structure and slide structure was described for the position shown in FIG. 1 by the numeral 14 which generally indicated the screed supporting means at that point in the machine. The corresponding parts of the screed supporting means 12 and 13 have been marked with similar numerals followed by the small letters e and L respectively. The numerals 232 and 233 indicate the control levers for the clutches 90 and 91, respectively.

A schematic diagram of the hydraulic control system for the three hydraulic cylinders 211 for operating the screed 11 upwardly and downwardly is illustrated in FIG. 23. The cylinder 211 would be the cylinder for the screed supporting means l14. The hydraulic cylinders for the screed supporting means 13 and 12 are indicated by the numerals 211e and 2111, respectively. As shown in FIG. 23, the three hydraulic cylinders are operatively connected for simultaneous operation by means of the hydraulic conduits 234 and 235. The fiuid supply lines 234 and 235 are adapted to supply the cylinders 211, and exhaust the same, with hydraulic fluid under pressure at predetermined times and by the after described control system. The numeral 236 indicates a conventional hydraulic reservoir which is connected to the hydraulic pump 214 by means of the conduit 237. The pump 214 discharges fluid under pressure into the conduit 238 which is connected to the check valve, or relief valve 239. The valve 239 is connnected by means of the conduits 240 and 241 with the reservoir 236 so as to bypass the rest of the following described circuit when the pressure in the valve 239 exceeds the predetermined pressure. Fluid under pressure is fed from the valve 239 by means of the conduit 242 to the four-way control valve 243 which may be of any suitable type. The control valve 243 is connected by means of the conduit 244 and the conduit 241 to the uid reservoir 236. The valve 243 is adapted to be connected by means of the conduits 245 and 246 to the hydraulic cylinder supply lines 234 and 235, respectively. lt will be seen that when the conventional four-way valve 243 is operated in one direction, it will function to supply pressure fluid to one of the lines 234 and 235 while at the same time exhausting the other. This action will operate the cylinders 211 in the desired direction and by reversnig valve 243, the cylinders would be operated in the other directionin the well known manner.

While it will be apparent that the preferred embodiments of the invention herein disclosed are well calculated to fulfill the objects above stated, it will be appreciated that the invention is susceptible to modification, variation and change without departing from the proper scope or fair meaning of the subjoined claims.

The numeral 249 generally indicates a dust box or housing which is preferably mounted around the roller structures 197 at each screed mounting means.

What we claim is:

1. In a concrete forming and finishing machine having an elongate carriage adapted to be supported at its opposite ends for movement along spaced road forms defining the. sides of a roadbed, and an elongated screed mounted upon said carriage for finishing the surface of concrete between the road forms; the improvement wherein said screed mounting comprises means defining a plurality of vertically extending trackways fixedly mounted upon said carriage at longitudinally spaced locations thereon, a plurality of individual slide members, each of said slide members being mounted in a trackway for sliding vertical movement relative to said carriage guided by the trackway, a horizontal roller-track assembly fixedly secured to each of said slide members for vertical movement therewith, roller means supported for horizontal rolling movement in each of said roller-tracks, a screed hanger supported upon each of said roller means and depending downwardly therefrom, an elongate screed coupled to said hangers and cooperatively supported thereby, a plurality of fiuid motors, each motor being coupled between one of said slide members and said carriage for vertically adjusting the slide member relative to said carriage, and means coupled between said screed and said carriage for driving said screed in longitudinal reciprocation relative to said carriage.

2. In a concrete forming and finishing machine as defined in claim 1, the further improvement wherein each of said roller track assemblies includes a rotor member supported upon said assembly for rotation about said vertical axis, said rotor members being engageable with a side surface of said screed in rolling engagement therewith to guide said screed in longitudinal reciprocation relative to said carriage.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,102,435 7/1914- Powers 94-45 X 1,619,083 3/1927 Maxon 94-45 1,801,622 4/ 1931 Blass 94-45 2,866,394 12/1958 Smith 94-45 3,005,387 10/1961 Heltzel 94-45 3,015,257 1/1962 Apel et al 94-45 3,043,201 7/ 1962 Maxon 94-46 3,051,062 8/1962 Apel et al. 94-45 3,057,274 10/1962 Ianowitz 94-45 3,110,234 11/1963 Oster 94-45 3,113,494 12/1963 Barnes 94-45 3,118,353 1/1964 Neil 94-48 X CHARLES n. ocoNNELL, Primary Examiner, JACOB L. NACKENOFF, Examiner.

Claims (1)

1. IN A CONCRETE FORMING AND FINISHING MACHINE HAVING AN ELONGATE CARRIAGE ADAPTED TO BE SUPPORTED AT ITS OPPOSITE ENDS FOR MOVEMENT ALONG SPACED ROAD FORMS DEFINING THE SIDES OF A ROADBED, AND AN ELONGATGED SCREED MOUNTED UPON SAID CARRIAGE FOR FINISHING THE SURFACE OF CONCRETE BETWEEN THE ROAD FORMS; THE IMPROVEMENT WHEREIN SAID SCREED MOUNTING COMPRISING MEANS DEFINING A PLURALITY OF VERTICALLY EXTENDING TRACKWAYS FIXEDLY MOUNTED UPON SAID CARRIED AT LONGITUDIANALLY SPACED LOCATIONS THEREON, A PLURALITY OF INDIVIDUAL SLIDE MEMBERS, EACH OF SAID SLIDE MEMBERS BEING MOUNTED IN A TRACKWAY FOR SLIDING VERTICAL MOVEMENT RELATIVE TO SAID CARRIAGE GUIDED BY THE TRACKWAY, A HORIZONTAL ROLLER-TRACK ASSEMBLY FIXEDLY SECURED TO EACH OF SAID SLIDE MEMBERS FOR VERTICAL MOVE-

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