Road finisher

• US 5,556,227 A
• Filed: 04/20/1995
• Issued: 09/17/1996
• Est. Priority Date: 04/21/1994
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Joseph Vã¶Gele AG (Deere & Company)
• Original Assignee: Joseph Vã¶Gele AG (Deere & Company)
• Inventors: Ulrich, Alfred
• Primary Examiner(s): Buiz, Michael Powell
• Assistant Examiner(s): O'Connor, Pamela A.
• Application Number:
  US08/426,126
• Time in Patent Office: 516 Days
• Field of Search: 404/72, 404/84, 404/96, 404/101, 404/108, 404/118, 37/234, 37/235, 37/236
• US Class Current: 404/101
• 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: F16F 7/1028 the inertia-producing means being a constituent part of the system which is to be damped

Abstract

A road finisher comprising a chassis is described, the chassis being movable on a travelling gear and carrying a front stock hopper, a primary drive unit an incorporated secondary drive units. The road finisher is provided with a paving screed which is dragged at the rear and which is articulated on the chassis via laterial outriggers, as well as with a lifting device which is provided between the chassis and the outrigger and by means of which the paving screed can be moved to a transport position raised from the ground. The troublesome influence of the paving screed when the road finisher travels for the purpose of transportation is reduced or eliminated to a large extent in the case of such a road finisher. For this purpose, the road finisher is provided with a dynamic absorber system comprising an actuable support for the paving screed occupying the transport position, the support being elastic relative to the chassis and effective in the lowering direction, as well as an absorber mass defined by the paving screed.

Claims

1. In a road finisher having a chassis, which is movable on a travelling gear and which carries a front stock hopper, a primary drive unit, a paving screed which is dragged at the rear and which is articulated on said chassis via lateral outriggers, and a lifting device which is provided between said chassis and said outriggers and by means of which the paving screed can be moved to a transport position raised from the ground, the improvement comprising a dynamic absorber system comprising an (i) actuable support for supporting the paving screed while the screed occupies the transport position, wherein the screed is attached via the outriggers to the actuable support and to the chassis, the actuable support being elastic relative to the chassis in the vertical direction, and (ii) an absorber mass defined by the paving screed.

2. A road finisher according to claim 1, the support further including damping means.

3. A road finisher according to one of the claims 1 or 2, wherein the lifting device comprises hydraulic lift cylinders suspended from the chassis and connected to the outriggers, which are incorporated in a hydraulic control circuit, at least one accumulator connected to said control circuit provided as the elastic support, and at least one adjustable damping restrictor is inserted between said accumulator and each lift cylinder.

4. A road finisher according to claim 3, wherein each of the lift cylinders has a piston lifting side and a piston lowering side and is connected to a multi-way valve via hydraulic lines, said multi-way valve being adapted to be changed over between a (i) raised position at which the piston lifting side is connected to a pressure source and the piston lowering side is connected to a pressure medium tank, (ii) a lowered position at which the piston lifting and lowering sides are connected to the tank and (iii) a transport/supported position at which the piston lifting side is separated from the tank and from the pressure source, the piston lowering side is connected to the tank, and a hydraulic line leading from the piston lifting side to the multi-way valve is adapted to be connected to the accumulator via an auxiliary line and a control valve adapted to be switched through at the transport/supported position of the multi-way valve.

5. A road finisher according to one of the claims 1 or 2, wherein the lifting device comprises hydraulic lift cylinders, which are incorporated in a hydraulic control circuit, and the elastic support comprises a mechanical stop member for each outrigger, said stop member being adapted to be displaced to a transport position and to be moved up and down relative to a stationary bearing of the chassis, and a hydraulic, mechanical, pneumatic or combined spring means with hydraulic, pneumatic, mechanical or friction damping is arranged between said stop member and said bearing or between said stop member and said outrigger.

6. A road finisher according to claim 5, wherein a stationary limit stop is provided in the path of movement followed by the stop member under the load applied by the outrigger.

7. A road finisher according to claim 5, wherein the stop member is a locking member, which is adapted to be pivotably moved or linearly pushed to a position below the raised outrigger, said locking member resting on the spring means at least at a transport position at which it extends below the outrigger.

8. A road finisher according to claim 7, wherein the locking member is adapted to be moved to the position below the raised outrigger through a side wall of the chassis.

9. A road finisher according to claim 7, further including a mechanical, hydraulic, pneumatic or electrical adjusting device for the moving locking member.

10. A road finisher according to claim 5, wherein the stop member is a housing, which is adapted to be changed over at the back wall of the chassis between a first position associated with the operative condition of the road finisher and located outside of the range of movement of the outrigger and a second position associated with the transport condition of the road finisher and located in the path of movement of the outrigger, said changing over being effected by removing the housing and by reattaching it at the respective other position, the spring means are accommodated in the housing, and, at the transport position of the housing, the outrigger is adapted to be placed on said spring means by an intermediate piston which is supported by said spring means.

11. A road finisher according to claim 10, wherein the stationary limit stop is arranged between the piston and the housing.

12. A road finisher according to claim 5, wherein the spring means is adapted to be adjusted with respect to its preload or damping properties.

13. A road finisher according to claim 1, wherein the elastic support is provided with a non-self-locking frictional damper for the outrigger.