Single roller concrete finishing machine

• US 6,474,906 B1
• Filed: 12/10/1999
• Issued: 11/05/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 12/10/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: TerraQuip Construction Products, Inc.
• Original Assignee: The Terramite Corporation
• Inventors: Cunningham, John, Redman, Larry, Phillips, Jay, Sargent, Virgil, McCormick, Carl
• Primary Examiner(s): Pezzuto, Robert E.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Pechhold, Alexandra K.
• Application Number:
  US09/457,760
• Time in Patent Office: 1,061 Days
• Field of Search: 404/75, 404/103, 404/117, 404/118, 404/131, 404/112, 404/132, 404/114, 404/85
• US Class Current: 404/103
• CPC Class Codes: E01C 19/29 Rolling apparatus adapted to apply a rolling pressure less than its weight, e.g. roller finishers travelling on formrail combined with spread-out, strike-off or smoothing means; Rolling elements with controlled penetration or a controlled path of movement in a vertical plane, e.g. controlled by the formrails, by guides ensuring a desired configuration of the rolled surface

Abstract

A single roller concrete finishing machine for finishing a concrete surface includes a primary motorized unit and a secondary unmotorized unit disposed on each side of a surface to be paved, with a single roller disposed on the unfinished surface which connects the primary unit and the secondary unit. The primary unit includes a first base having an elongated first handle having two ends, one end of the first handle being connected to the first base, and the other end of the first handle being connected to handlebars, below which an engaging lever is disposed. The secondary unit includes a second base with an elongated second handle similar to the first handle, but without the engaging lever. The handles of each of the primary unit and the secondary unit are swingably adjustable in a horizontal plane to aid in the leveling of the concrete surface to be finished. The primary unit has an engine mounted on the first base, and a mechanism to rotate the roller. When the engine is turned on, the roller does not rotate. Only when the engaging lever is pressed, does the roller tube rotate, in order to drive the primary unit forward, bringing the secondary unit with it, so that the forward motion of the concrete finishing machine, coupled with the pulling backward motion of the operator and helper, can level the concrete.

Claims

1. A concrete finishing machine comprising:

a roller having a first end and a second end;

a primary motorized unit coupled to said first end of said roller via a drive shaft, said primary motorized unit being individually operable, said primary motorized unit including a first base on which an engine is mounted, said first base having (1) wheels, and (2) a first handle having two ends, one end of said first handle being pivotally connected to said first base via a pin so that said first handle is swingable relative to said first base in a horizontal plane about said pin, said other end of said first handle including a first pair of handlebars;

an engaging lever rotatably mounted on said first handle and coupled to a cable that is connected to a motor mounted on said first base, said engaging lever movable to a first position in which said cable causes said motor to rotate said drive shaft and a second position in which said cable disengages an operative connection between said motor and said drive shaft;

a secondary unmotorized unit coupled to said second end of said roller, said secondary unmotorized unit being individually operable, said secondary unmotorized unit including a second base having (1) wheels, and (2) a second handle having two ends, one end of said second handle being pivotally connected to said second base, said other end of said second handle including a second pair of handlebars, said second handle being swingably adjustable in the horizontal plane; and

an adjustable foot respectively projecting from each of said first and said second handles;

wherein each of said primary motorized unit and said secondary unmotorized unit is positionable between (1) a transport position in which said wheels are engaged with the ground, and (2) a finishing position in which entire circumferences of said wheels are elevated above a lower most portion of said roller, such that said wheels do not support said primary motorized unit and said secondary unmotorized unit during a finishing operation; and

wherein a relative position between (1) said drive shaft, and (2) said wheels of said primary motorized unit remains constant in said transport and said finishing positions.