FRAME RAISING MULTI-USE PAVING TRACTOR WITH BLIND MATEABLE QUICK CONNECTING TOOL ATTACHMENTS
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A road paving tractor comprising:
- a chassis having a front end and a rear end;
a hopper disposed on said chassis at said front end;
a driver station comprising a driver location and a steering member;
an engine and drive train coupled to said hopper and configured to provide propulsion of said hoppers said chassis and said driver station when said hopper is filled with road paving material and said driver station is occupied by a driver;
means for moving paving material from said hopper toward said rear end, such that said paving material is not dribbled below said tractor as a material conveyor loops underneath said tractor;
said tractor having a frame raise capability so that the rear end of the tractor can be adjustable raised above the ground;
a vertically adjustable attachment coupler coupled to said chassis and configured to be at least vertically displaced, with respect to the ground, when the fame raise capability of the tractor is used to raise the rear end, said attachment coupler configured to temporarily receive one of a plurality of detachable road paving tool attachments; and
, said chassis, said hopper, said engine, said driver station, and said means for moving paving material being free from attachment to any paving screed, road widening strike-off blade, and radially and vertically adjustable material mover, of a type configured to move paving material at an upward angle away from said rear end, when said attachment coupler is not coupled to any of said plurality of detachable road paving tool attachments.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A multi-use asphalt paving tractor with frame raise capability and a blind-mateable connector to facilitate quick connection with interchangeable attachments for performing the functions of a paver, a mix transfer conveyor and road widener.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A road paving tractor comprising:
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a chassis having a front end and a rear end;
a hopper disposed on said chassis at said front end;
a driver station comprising a driver location and a steering member;
an engine and drive train coupled to said hopper and configured to provide propulsion of said hoppers said chassis and said driver station when said hopper is filled with road paving material and said driver station is occupied by a driver;
means for moving paving material from said hopper toward said rear end, such that said paving material is not dribbled below said tractor as a material conveyor loops underneath said tractor;
said tractor having a frame raise capability so that the rear end of the tractor can be adjustable raised above the ground;
a vertically adjustable attachment coupler coupled to said chassis and configured to be at least vertically displaced, with respect to the ground, when the fame raise capability of the tractor is used to raise the rear end, said attachment coupler configured to temporarily receive one of a plurality of detachable road paving tool attachments; and
,said chassis, said hopper, said engine, said driver station, and said means for moving paving material being free from attachment to any paving screed, road widening strike-off blade, and radially and vertically adjustable material mover, of a type configured to move paving material at an upward angle away from said rear end, when said attachment coupler is not coupled to any of said plurality of detachable road paving tool attachments. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A method of deploying multi-use road-paving equipment comprising the steps of:
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providing a paving tractor with a first detachable road-paving tool attachment operatively coupled thereto at a first connection point, where said first connection point is at an adjustable rear location on said paving tractor, where adjustment of the adjustable rear location is accomplished by manipulating a frame raise capability of the paving tractor;
replacing said first detachable road-paving tool attachment with a second detachable road-paving tool attachment without welding or cutting metal at said first connection point;
where said first detachable road-paving tool attachment is configured to perform a substantially different task than said second detachable road-paving tool attachment; and
,wherein said paving tractor is a self-propelled vehicle configured to be driven by a driver located on and at a rear end of said paving tractor, said paving tractor further comprising a hopper disposed forward of said rear end, and means for conveying paving material from said hopper to said rear end. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14)
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15. A multi-use road-paving system comprising:
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a road-paving tractor comprising;
a chassis, having a front and a rear end;
a hopper for receiving and containing road-paving material, disposed at and coupled to said front end;
a plurality of paving material moving augers disposed, at least in part, in said hopper, for moving paving material from said hopper toward said rear end;
an engine, coupled to said chassis, for providing motive force to propel said road-paving tractor;
a frame raise capability on the road-paving tractor, configured to raise the rear end of the road-paving tractor;
a plurality of detachable road-paving tool attachments, each configured to mate with a connection point, rigidly fixed with respect to the rear end, such that a manipulation of the rear end of said road-paving tractor using the frame raise capability, results in at least a vertical displacement of any detachable road-paving tool attachment coupled thereto;
said plurality of detachable paving tool attachments each further configured, when coupled to said connection point, to cause road-paving material, in contact therewith, to be relocated in a predetermined manner; and
,said plurality of detachable paving tool attachments each further configured so as to be operatively attachable to and detachable from said connection point without either of welding and cutting, any structural metal components of at least one of said road-paving tractor and a detachable paving tool attachment.
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16. A multi-use road-paving system comprising
a road-paving tractor comprising: -
a chassis, having a front and a rear end;
a container for receiving and containing road hot mix asphalt paving material, disposed at and coupled to said front end;
means for moving said hot mix asphalt paving material from said container to said rear end;
an engine, coupled to said chassis, for providing motive force to propel said road-paving tractor;
said chassis comprising a connection point;
a detachable road-paving tool attachment configured to mate with said connection point, such that a movement of said road-paving tractor results in at least a horizontal displacement of said detachable road-paving tool attachment coupled thereto;
said detachable paving tool attachment further configured, when coupled to said connection point and moved along with said road-paving tractor, to cause said hot mix asphalt road-paving material in contact therewith, to have a top surface with an increased smoothness characteristic; and
said detachable paving tool attachment further configured so as to be blind mateable to and detachable from said connection point without either of welding and cutting any structural metal components of at least one of said road-paving tractor and said detachable paving tool attachment. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification