Method and apparatus for cutting wet concrete

• US 5,429,109 A
• Filed: 02/12/1993
• Issued: 07/04/1995
• Est. Priority Date: 02/14/1992
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Husqvarna AB (HUSQVARNA)
• Original Assignee: Alan R. Chiuminatta, Edward Chiuminatta
• Inventors: Chiuminatta, Edward R., Chiuminatta, Alan R.
• Primary Examiner(s): Rachuba, Maurina T.
• Application Number:
  US08/017,140
• Time in Patent Office: 872 Days
• Field of Search: 451/442, 451/451, 451/452-457, 125/13, 125/13.01
• US Class Current: 125/13.01
• CPC Class Codes: B23D 59/001 Measuring or control devices, e.g. for automatic control of work feed pressure on band saw blade measuring in general G01; controlling in general G05
• CPC Class Codes: B24B 19/02 for grinding grooves, e.g. on shafts, in casings, in tubes, homokinetic joint elements
• CPC Class Codes: B24B 23/02 with rotating grinding tools; Accessories therefor
• CPC Class Codes: B24B 27/08 being portable
• CPC Class Codes: B28D 1/045 Sawing grooves in walls; sawing stones from rocks; sawing machines movable on the stones to be cut

Abstract

A concrete cutting saw is provided for the cutting of grooves in the surface of wet concrete. The concrete saw generally comprises a motor driven rotating cutting blade mounted on a support structure. The concrete saw is supported during cutting by wheels, and has a skid plate with a slot through which the rotating cutting blade passes to cut the concrete. The cutting blade is mounted with a sound deadening blade housing and a number of shields and guards located about the skid plate. The skid plate is movably attached to the concrete saw and resiliently urged against the concrete during cutting so that it remains in contact with the surface of the concrete surrounding the cutting blade during cutting. The skid plate is constrained into a bowed configuration so that it is substantially flat during cutting. A variable speed transmission is drivingly connected to the wheels to propel the saw across the concrete during cutting. A sensor detects the relative position of the skid plate and the cutting blade to generate an electric signal which cooperates with the variable speed transmission to slow down the saw as it encounters hard aggregate, and to speed up the saw as it encounters soft concrete. A distance counter measures and displays the distance which the saw travels during cutting.

Claims

1. A sound deadening assembly for use with a concrete saw used in cutting grooves in concrete, the saw having a rotating cutting blade and a skid plate having sides and two ends, comprising:

a cutting blade housing having an area within which the cutting blade is allowed to rotate;

means for resiliently urging said skid plate against the surface of the concrete, while allowing movement of said skid plate relative to said housing, said means connected to said blade housing and the skid plate;

a pair of side guards locate on opposing sides of said blade housing and movably depending therefrom; and

a pair of end guards located on opposite ends of said skid plate, said end guards being of a width equal to the distance between said side guards and of a length sufficient to enclose the space between the ends of the skid plate and the housing.

2. The assembly of claim 1, further including a top shield located on one of said housing or side guards, said top shield configured to seal off any openings between said housing and said side guards.

3. The assembly of claim 1, further including a bottom shield located on said housing or side guards, said bottom shield configured to seal off any openings between said housing and said side guards.

4. An assembly for use with a concrete saw used in cutting grooves in concrete, the saw having a rotating concrete cutting blade, comprising:

a housing adapted to be fastened to a concrete cutting saw and having an area within which the concrete cutting blade is allowed to rotate during cutting;

a skid plate contacting the surface of the concrete during cutting and being movably mounted relative to the housing during cutting; and

means for substantially enclosing a non-engaged portion of said concrete cutting blade during cutting of said concrete, while allowing for relative movement between said skid plate and said housing.

5. The assembly of claim 4, wherein said means comprises in part, guard plates located on either side of the housing, moveable relative to the housing, with one portion resting on the concrete surface during cutting.

6. An apparatus for use with a concrete cutting saw having a concrete cutting blade which has an engaging portion below a concrete surface during cutting and which has a non-engaged portion above the concrete surface during cutting of said concrete;

comprising;

a first structure at least partially enclosing a first portion of said non-engaged portion of said concrete cutting blade during cutting of said concrete;

a second structure at least partially enclosing a second portion of said non-engaged portion of said concrete cutting blade during cutting of said concrete, said first and second portions being sized relative to one another and cooperating with one another and with said concrete cutting saw so as to enclose substantially all of said non-engaged portion of said cutting blade to deaden the sound made by said cutting blade during cutting, said first and second enclosing structures being moveable relative to one another during cutting so as to cooperate with said concrete surface to substantially enclose said non-engaged and engaged portions of said cutting blade as said cutting blade moves relative to the concrete surface during cutting.

7. An apparatus as defined in claim 6, wherein said second structure comprises two sheets on opposite sides of, but substantially parallel to, sides of said concrete cutting blade, and wherein at least one of said sheets has a first edge movably mounted to said first structure and an opposing second edge to contact said concrete surface during cutting.

8. An apparatus as defined in claim 6, wherein a sufficient portion of said cutting blade is enclosed by structure sufficient to reduce the noise received by an operator of said saw by at least 10 decibels.

9. An apparatus for use with a saw having a rotating cutting blade which in turn has an engaging portion below a surface being cut and which has a non-engaged portion above the surface during cutting of said surface;

comprising;

a housing at least partially enclosing an upper portion of said cutting blade during cutting of said surface;

a skid plate movably mounted to said housing so as to move relative to said housing during cutting of said surface, said skid plate having a slot through which said cutting blade extends during cutting, said skid plate being mounted so that at least the portion of said skid plate adjacent a leading edge of said skid plate is in contact with said concrete during cutting; and

a movable enclosure to enclose the non-engaging portions of said cutting blade during cutting of said surface, the enclosure comprising;

end shields mounted to opposing ends of said skid plate and configured to enclose the end portion between said skid plate and said housing;

side shields mounted to said housing and configured to enclose the side portion between said skid plate and said housing;

guards between the portions of said end shields and said side shields which move relative to said housing during cutting of said concrete, said guards sized and configured to close the openings between the moving portions of said movable enclosure during cutting of said concrete so as to substantially enclose said non-engaged portion of said concrete cutting blade during cutting of said concrete to reduce the noise from the cutting of the concrete.

10. A method for cutting concrete with a saw having a concrete cutting blade which has an engaging portion below a concrete surface during cutting and which has a non-engaged portion above the concrete surface during cutting of said concrete, comprising the steps of:

at least partially enclosing a first portion of said non-engaged portion of said concrete cutting blade in a first structure during cutting of said concrete;

enclosing the remainder of said non-engaged portion of said concrete cutting blade in a second structure so as to substantially enclose the non-engaged portion of said cutting blade during cutting of said concrete to deaden the sound made by said cutting blade during cutting;

mounting one of said structures so that it can move relative to the cutting blade to maintain said substantial enclosure of the non-engaged portion during cutting of said concrete when said cutting blade moves relative to said concrete surface.

11. A method as defined in claim 10, wherein said enclosing steps reduce the noise received by an operator of the saw by at least 10 decibels.

12. An enclosure for use with a concrete cutting saw having a rotating concrete cutting blade, comprising:

a first enclosure connected to the saw and configured to enclose a first portion of the cutting blade;

a second enclosure configured to enclose a second portion of the cutting blade, the first and second enclosures configured to substantially enclose the cutting blade during cutting so as to substantially eliminate the direct pathways for the sound to escape the enclosures during cutting, the second enclosure having at least one portion movably mounted relative to the saw to maintain said portion in contact with the concrete surface during cutting to accommodate movement of the saw blade during cutting while maintaining said enclosure.

13. An enclosure as defined in claim 12, wherein a portion of said second enclosure is made of a material sufficiently clear that the enclosed cutting blade may be seen.

14. A concrete cutting saw having a rotating concrete cutting blade, comprising:

wheels connected to the saw and configured to support the saw on a concrete surface during cutting;

a first enclosure connected to the saw and configured to enclose a first portion of the concrete cutting blade;

a second enclosure configured to enclose a second portion of the cutting blade and movably mounted relative to the first enclosure, the second enclosure having an opening through which the concrete cutting blade cuts the concrete, the first and second enclosures configured to substantially enclose the cutting blade during cutting so as to substantially eliminate the direct pathways for the sound to escape the enclosures during cutting while accommodating movement of the cutting blade out of the concrete during cutting of the concrete.

15. A concrete cutting saw as defined in claim 14, further comprising:

a support connected to the saw and in contact with the concrete surface adjacent the cutting blade so as to support the concrete during cutting

16. A saw as defined in claim 14, wherein the support comprises a skid plate.

17. A method of reducing noise when cutting concrete using a saw having a rotating concrete cutting blade, comprising:

supporting the saw on the concrete surface with wheels during cutting;

substantially enclosing the cutting blade during cutting so as to substantially eliminate the direct pathways by which the sound generated by the cutting blade may escape the

enclosure during cutting to reduce the noise transmitted from the saw.

18. A method as defined in claim 17, comprising the further steps of:

movably supporting at least a portion of the enclosing structure relative to the saw to allow the substantial enclosure of the cutting blade to be maintained as the cutting blade moves relative to the concrete surface during cutting, within predetermined limits.

19. A method as defined in claim 17, comprising the further steps of:

movably supporting the concrete surface adjacent the cutting blade during cutting.

20. A method as defined in claim 18, comprising the further steps of:

movably supporting the concrete surface adjacent the cutting blade during cutting.

21. A method as defined in claim 17, wherein the supporting step comprises supporting the cutting blade along at least a substantial portion of the cutting blade with a skid plate.

22. A method as defined in claim 17, wherein the cutting step occurs before the concrete has achieved a hardness of about 1200 psi.

23. A method as defined in claim 20, wherein the cutting step occurs before the concrete has achieved a hardness of about 1200 psi.