SELF-SUPPORTING COMPACTOR

• US 3,673,931 A
• Filed: 08/10/1970
• Issued: 07/04/1972
• Est. Priority Date: 08/10/1970
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Leslie H. Garlinghouse, Robert D. Dening
• Original Assignee: Leslie H. Garlinghouse, Robert D. Dening
• Inventors: Dening, Robert D., Garlinghouse, Leslie H.
• Primary Examiner(s): Nackenoff, Jacob L.
• Application Number:
  US05/062,261
• Time in Patent Office: 694 Days
• Field of Search: 94/45,45A
• US Class Current: 404/133.1
• CPC Class Codes: E02D 3/046 by tamping or vibrating, e.g. with auxiliary watering of the soil E02D3/026, E02D3/08 take precedence; generating or transmitting mechanical vibrations for performing mechanical work in general B06B; tamping or vibrating apparatus for working ballast or railways E01B27/00, for consolidating paving materials E01C19/30, for consolidating concrete in general E04G21/06

Abstract

A self-supporting compactor consisting of frame, a motor on the frame, and a compactor plate at the lower end of the frame driven by the motor. The compactor plate has a central shaft tiltably mounted in a thrust head with respect to the motor drive shaft and freely rotatable so that as rotated there is one area on the edge of the compactor plate which shifts progressively around the circumference as the plate is driven with a wobble motion, thereby to provide a compacting force on a surface to be compacted. A pair of long parallel shoes on diametrically opposite sides of the frame are pivotally mounted on the frame and temporarily locked in nonpivoting position while the compactor is at rest and when the operation is being started. Once compacting commences, the shoes are released and automatically pivot from a supporting position, but return automatically and momentarily to supporting position during the compacting operation thereby to prevent the compactor from bouncing out of control.

Claims

1. A self-supporting compactor comprising a frame, a motor on said frame, a shaft driven by the motor, an operating handhold on said frame, and a thrust housing attached to the shaft, said thrust housing having a substantially centrally located cylindrical bearing recess with the axis thereof tilted at an oblique angle relative to the axis of the shaft, a wobble member comprising a central final shaft rotatably mounted in said bearing recess and a wobble compaction plate concentric with said final shaft and having a downwardly facing compaction face for engagement with a surface to be compacted, and a brace for holding said compactor in erect position, said brace being movable between bracing and nonbracing positions, said brace comprising a ground engaging means adapted to engage said surface and a pivotal linkage connection between the ground engaging means and the frame enabling said ground engaging means to swing into engagement with said surface to a position adapted to brace said frame in erect position on said surface, said ground engaging means having a swinging movement to a position out of engagement with said surface to a nonbracing position when the compactor plate is in operation and a manually actuated lock acting between said brace and said frame adapted when locked to block relative movement between the brace and the frame.

2. A self-supporting compactor as in Claim 1 wherein the ground engaging means comprises separate shoes at spaced locations around the frame.

3. A self-supporting compactor as in claim 2 wherein each shoe member of said brace comprises an elongated element having a substantially flat edge for engagement with said surface and said pivotal linkage connection comprises a link at each end of each shoe element, one end of each link having a pivotal attachment to the shoe element and the other end of each link having a pivotal attachment to the frame.

4. A self-supporting compactor as in claim 1 wherein the manually actuated lock comprises a segment having a notch therein rotatably attached at the pivot connection to one of the links and a lever arm with pivotal connection to the carriage, one end of said lever arm having a detent engageable with said notch in said segment, the other end of said lever arm comprising an operating handle.

5. A self-supporting compactor as in claim 1 wherein there is a protective skirt extending around said compactor plate, a free perimeter of said skirt having a location substantially in alignment with the perimeter of said compactor plate and a closed perimeter anchored to said frame at a location adjacent said thrust housing.

6. A self-supporting compactor as in claim 1 wherein said thrust housing comprises an intermediate drive shaft in operative engagement with said power take-off shaft, a bearing member having a rotatable position surrounding said intermediate drive shaft, a portion of said frame having a bore therein in rotatable engagement with said bearing member, there being a rotatable connection between said power take-off shaft and said bearing member eccentric with respect to the axis of said power take-off shaft, Said intermediate drive shaft being nonrotatably connected to said thrust housing.