SELF CONTAINED MOBILE ASPHALT MIXING AND APPLYING APPARATUS

• US 3,820,914 A
• Filed: 09/14/1972
• Issued: 06/28/1974
• Est. Priority Date: 09/14/1972
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Barber-Greene Company
• Original Assignee: Zimmerman H
• Inventors: ZIMMERMAN H
• Application Number:
  US05/288,987
• Time in Patent Office: 652 Days
• US Class Current: 404/110
• CPC Class Codes: E01C 19/002 Apparatus for preparing and placing the materials and for consolidating or finishing the paving
• CPC Class Codes: E01C 19/1031 the mixture being discharged continuously E01C19/1036 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: E01C 19/104 Mixing by means of movable members in a non-rotating mixing enclosure, e.g. stirrers E01C19/08 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: E01C 19/1068 Supplying or proportioning the ingredients
• CPC Class Codes: E01C 19/488 with rollers for consolidating or finishing combined with tamping, vibrating, pressing or smoothing consolidation or finishing means E01C19/4886 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: E01C 2019/109 Mixing containers having a counter flow drum, i.e. the flow of material is opposite to the gas flow

Abstract

A bituminous concrete mixing and applying apparatus is disclosed which is constructed in an entirely self-contained and mobile fashion whereby bituminous concrete can be mixed and applied at the job site. The apparatus comprises an elongated mobile frame, such as a truck frame, upon which storage compartments are disposed for separately storing aggregates such as sand, stone, gravel, and the like, as well as liquid bitumens, such as asphalt, tar, or the like. A conveyor means is provided beneath the storage compartments for the aggregates for conveying such aggregates out from the storage compartment through a metering device and into a heating and drying mechanism whereat the aggregates are heated, dried and agitated. The dry aggregates as well as the liquid bitumens which similarly have been heated are discharged into a discharge mechanism or hopper assembly disposed on the mobile frame whereat bituminous concrete is formed. This bituminous concrete is applied to an underlying road surface to provide a covering commonly termed macadam, blacktop, or asphalt, by means of a spreader mechanism which, in the preferred inventive embodiment, constitutes a heating chamber, a plurality of spreading auger conveyors, a vibrator, and a roller compactor. In essence, the instant invention constitutes a mobile bituminous concrete plant which can be sent directly to a job site to mix and apply the bituminous concrete.

Claims

1. A self-contained bituminous concrete mixing apparatus comprising, in combination:

an elongated mobile frame;

a plurality of storage compartments disposed on said frame for separately storing aggregate and liquid bitumen;

an elongated hollow rotatable drum and a burner therefor disposed on said frame and defining means for heating and drying the aggregates, said drum being provided with agitator means therein for moving aggregates through the drum from one end thereof to the other during rotation of said drum;

means for effecting rotation of said drum;

conveyor means disposed on said frame adjacent said aggregate storage compartment for transporting aggregates from said compartment into said one end of said hollow drum;

receiving means disposed on said frame adjacent said other end of said hollow drum for receiving the heated and dried aggregates from said hollow drum and for discharging same;

mixing means disposed on said frame beneath said receiving means into which is discharged the heated and dried aggregates; and

means coupled to said liquid bitumin storage compartment for discharging liquid bitumen into said mixing means;

said mixing means effecting a mixing of the aggregates with the liquid bitumen to therein form bituminous concrete.

2. An apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein a plurality of compartments are provided for separately storing a plurality of different aggregates, and wherein metering means are operatively associated with said compartments so as to discharge to said conveyor means predetermined amount and ratio of said different aggregates.

3. An apparatus as defined in claim 2, wherein the aggregates are coarse and fine, said apparatus further including an additional heater means for maintaining the bitumen within said storage compartment therefor at an elevated temperature.

4. An apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein said burner is disposed at an end of said drum, and wherein said drum is tilted from front to rear whereby the aggregates within the drum are more readily moved from the front of the drum to the rear thereof.

5. An apparatus as defined in claim 4, further including a spreader means for spreading and compacting the bituminous concrete on a road surface.

6. An apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein said storage compartments include a plurality of separate chambers for separately storing aggregates disposed substantially along the length of the frame in a location to either side of and substantially immediately below said hollow drum defining said heater means, said conveyor means including an elongated substantially horizontal section disposed immediately below said separate chambers for feeding the aggregates therein in a direction toward the front of said mobile frame, and controllable gate means in association with said horizontal section of said conveyor to metEr the amount of aggregates removed from each of said separate chambers.

7. An apparatus as defined in claim 6, wherein said conveyor means further includes a vertical section defined by a bucket conveyor for carrying aggregates discharged by said horizontal section upwardly and into said hollow drum.

8. An apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein said burner associated with said hollow drum defining said heater means is a forced air burner effecting a flow of heated air through said hollow drum and about the aggregates therein.

9. An apparatus as defined in claim 8, further including air channel means communicating between said hollow drum and each of said storage compartments for storing the aggregates for effecting flow of air from said drum into said storage compartments whereby the aggregates within said storage compartments are further dried and whereby dust within said storage compartments is settled.

10. An apparatus as defined in claim 9, further including an additional blower means disposed in said air channel means, said additional blower means aiding the air flow into said storage compartments for storing the aggregates.

11. An apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein said receiving means includes a hopper for receiving the heated aggregates from said drum, and a first dispensing means for controlling the amount of aggregates discharged from said hopper into said mixing means, wherein a second dispensing means is provided for controlling the amount of liquid bitumen discharged from said storage compartment therefor into said mixing means, and wherein means are provided to synchronize said first and second dispensing means.

12. An apparatus as defined in claim 11, wherein said mixing means comprises an auger conveyor.

13. An apparatus as defined in claim 11, wherein said first dispensing means comprises a conveyor disposed at the bottom of said hopper for carrying aggregates therein towards a discharge point whereat metering gates are provided, the speed of said conveyor, the closure of said gates, and the amount of liquid bitumen discharged by said second dispensing means being correlated.

14. An apparatus as defined in claim 13, wherein said synchronizing means includes means to sense the weight of the aggregates within said hopper to control operation of said rotary conveyor and said second dispensing means.

15. A mobile apparatus for applying bituminous concrete to an underlying road surface, said apparatus comprising, in combination:

heat chamber means disposed forwardly of said apparatus for heating the underlying road surface;

lateral conveyor means disposed rearwardly of said heat chamber means for receiving bituminous concrete and evenly distributing same over the heated underlying surface;

hopper means disposed over and in feeding relation to said lateral conveyor for receiving bituminous concrete from some external source;

vibrator means disposed rearwardly of said conveyor means for settling the distributed bituminous concrete;

compacting means disposed at the rear of said apparatus for compacting the settled bituminous concrete; and

mounting means disposed forwardly of said apparatus for attachment of said apparatus to a separate motorized vehicle.

16. An apparatus as defined in claim 15, further including means to heat said vibrator means.

17. An apparatus as defined in claim 16, wherein a heating duct is disposed from said heat chamber means to said vibrator means.

18. An apparatus as defined in claim 15, wherein said lateral conveyor means comprises two elongated augers disposed one above the other, one of said augers conveying the bituminous concrete outwardly toward either side of the apparatus toward the center thereof.

19. An apparatus as defined in claim 18, wherein said compacting means comprises a roller, said roller supporting said apparatus on the underlying surface.