Rolling device, in particular for placing bulk materials on the ground

• US 10,597,831 B2
• Filed: 05/04/2017
• Issued: 03/24/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 05/10/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: RKM Co.
• Original Assignee: RKM Co.
• Inventors: Menard, Kevin, Menard, Romain, Menard, Medhi
• Primary Examiner(s): Addie, Raymond W
• Application Number:
  US16/300,112
• Publication Number:
  US 20190145064A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,055 Days
• Field of Search: 404 85, 404101, 404105, 404108, 404110, 404111, 404118
• CPC Class Codes: E01C 19/2005 without driven loosening, discharging or spreading E01C19/205 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: E01C 19/48 for laying-down the materials and consolidating them, or finishing the surface , e.g. slip forms therefor, forming kerbs or gutters in a continuous operation in situ E01C19/002, E01C23/065 take precedence; devices for guiding or controlling the machines along a predetermined path E01C19/004
• CPC Class Codes: E01C 19/4873 Apparatus designed for railless operation
• CPC Class Codes: E01C 2019/206 Hand operated spreading devices
• CPC Class Codes: E01C 2301/00 Machine characteristics, parts or accessories not otherwise provided for

Abstract

A rolling device includes a chassis equipped with a reservoir for holding bulk materials and a smoothing table, the smoothing table having a leading edge arranged transversely to the direction of movement of the device, and the bottom of the reservoir being provided with a discharge opening arranged between the leading edge of the smoothing table and the wheels of the rolling chassis of the device, the wheels of the rolling chassis being driven and the rolling chassis being mounted so as to be able to tip about the axis of rotation of the wheels, the reservoir and the smoothing table forming a movable assembly, and the position of the movable assembly can be adjusted by an adjustment unit so as to be able to adjust the height of the smoothing table and the discharge opening, and the inclination of the smoothing table.

Claims

1. A rolling device for depositing bulk materials onto the ground, the rolling device comprising:

a rolling chassis, equipped with wheels by which the rolling chassis rests on the ground, and a reservoir for storing and distributing the bulk materials; and

a smoothing table, the smoothing table having a leading edge arranged along a width of the rolling device and transverse to a direction of movement of the rolling device,

the reservoir being provided with, in a lower part forming a bottom of the reservoir, a discharge opening, the discharge opening arranged between the leading edge of the smoothing table and the wheels of the rolling chassis, and configured so as to deposit a bed of the bulk materials with a controlled thickness,

wherein the rolling chassis is mounted so as to be tiltable about a rotation axis of the wheels in order for the rolling device to be configurable between a working configuration in which the smoothing table is in contact with the ground and a transport configuration in which the smoothing table is spaced from the ground,

wherein the wheels of the rolling chassis are driving wheels, and

wherein the reservoir and the smoothing table form a movable assembly, a position of the movable assembly being adjustable via adjusting means configured to allow, at least in a configuration in which the wheels rest on a horizontal flat ground and the smoothing table extends parallel to and spaced from the ground, i) an adjustment of a height of the smoothing table and the discharge opening so as to alternately raise and lower the movable assembly and thereby alternately move the movable assembly further and closer to the ground, and ii) an adjustment of an incline of the smoothing table so as to form a non-zero angle between a plane of the smoothing table and the rotation axis of the wheels.

2. The rolling device according to claim 1, wherein the adjusting means configured for the adjustment of the height and the adjustment of the incline of the smoothing table are at least partially shared.

3. The rolling device according to claim 1, wherein the adjusting means include first and second actuators actuated independently, each one of said first and second actuators being arranged between the chassis and the movable assembly.

4. The rolling device according to claim 3, wherein each one of the first and second actuators is a jack, a rod of the jack being fastened to the chassis, and a body of the jack being fastened via an arm to the movable assembly.

5. The rolling device according to claim 4, wherein a longitudinal axis of the jack extends orthogonally to the rotation axis of the wheels.

6. The rolling device according to claim 4, wherein the movable assembly and the arm of the first of the jacks are coupled to one another via a pivot link with an axis transverse to the rotation axis of the wheels and parallel to the plane of the smoothing table, and said movable assembly and the arm of the second of the jacks are coupled to one another by a link with pivoting and sliding, the sliding being along a direction parallel to the leading edge of the smoothing table.

7. The rolling device according to claim 4, further comprising:

a U-shaped handlebar, branches of the U of the U-shaped handlebar coupling the U-shaped handlebar to the jacks,

wherein one of the branches of the U of the U-shaped handlebar is coupled to one of the jacks so as to be movable by sliding along said one of the jacks.

8. The rolling device according to claim 1,

wherein a top of the reservoir is open, and the reservoir is delimited by a front transverse wall, a rear transverse wall, and two side longitudinal walls,

wherein the leading edge of the table extends at the base of the rear wall of the reservoir, and

wherein the discharge opening is a closable opening.

9. The rolling device according to claim 8,

wherein the reservoir is compartmentalized by partitions extending parallel to a longitudinal axis of the device running along the direction movement,

wherein the closable opening is closable by closing means for closing the discharge opening that includes a series of hatches arranged side by side along a direction of the width of the rolling device, the hatches being mounted movably between a closed position that closes the discharge opening in which the hatches are separated from one another by a partition, and an open position that opens the discharge opening in which the hatches at least partially protrude from the reservoir, at least one of the hatches being movable between the closed position and the open position independently of the other hatches, and

wherein the rolling device is equipped with an end-of-travel stop for the hatches in the open position, a position of the end-of-travel stop being adjustable.

10. The rolling device according to claim 8, wherein the reservoir includes two flaps for adjusting a width of the bed of bulk materials, each flap of the two flaps extending below the closing means in the closed position, an upper edge of each flap being coupled to a side wall of the reservoir by a pivot link with a pivot axis parallel to the plane of the smoothing table for passage of the flap from a position pressed against the side wall to a position separated from the side wall.