Agitating – Mortar mixer type – Movable charge hopper or chute
Reexamination Certificate
2000-03-10
2001-07-31
Drodge, Joseph W. (Department: 1723)
Agitating
Mortar mixer type
Movable charge hopper or chute
C366S068000, C141S094000, C116S02800A, C116S200000, C116S303000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06267494
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The subject invention relates generally to a warning system for a charge hopper, and, more particularly, to a warning system for use on mobile-type concrete mixers to signal the operators thereof when the concrete mixers' charge hoppers are in a raised position.
2. Background of the Related Art
Mobile-type concrete mixers are the workhorse in the building industry. There are tens-of-thousands of such concrete mixers in operation today throughout the world. Their basic function is to mix and deliver tons of concrete to a variety of settings including residential and industrial construction sites. Mobile-type concrete mixers can be classified into two groups—tractor-carried concrete mixers and tractor-drawn concrete mixers.
The tractor-carried concrete mixers have two basic configurations. They include a conventional configuration which is loaded and delivers concrete from the rear of the vehicle and a front-loader configuration which, as the name implies, is loaded and delivers concrete from the front of the vehicle. Although configured differently, they share similar characteristics. That is, they each include a cab for the operator to drive the vehicle, an air supply system, a mixing drum, frames to support the mixing drum, a charge hopper, and controls for operating the mixing drum and charge hopper.
Tractor-drawn concrete mixers basically comprise a trailer-mounted concrete mixer that is pulled by a tractor. They tend to have a larger capacity then tractor-carried concrete mixers and are often used for large pours such as found in highway and dam construction. Although configured somewhat differently then the tractor-carried concrete mixers, tractor-drawn concrete mixers share similar characteristics. That is, they include a cab in the tractor for the operator to drive the vehicle, an air supply system, a mixing drum, frames to support the mixing drum, a charge hopper, and controls for operating the mixing drum and charge hopper.
Both tractor-carried concrete mixers and tractor-drawn concrete mixers may alternatively be referred to simply as concrete mixers. To simplify the description of the present invention, reference will be made only to tractor-carried cement mixers. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the present invention will benefit any and all types of mobile-type concrete mixers.
Referring to
FIGS. 1 and 2
, a perspective view of a conventional tractor-carried concrete mixer designated by reference numeral
10
and an elevational view of a rear portion of the concrete mixer
10
are illustrated, respectively. In the descriptions provided herein below, like reference numerals identify similar structural elements.
As noted above, a tractor-carried concrete mixer
10
includes a cab
12
that provides a protective enclosure in which the operator drives the truck and controls various functions of the concrete mixer. Concrete mixer
10
also includes an air supply system that provides compressed air for actuating a breaking system, for actuating pneumatic cylinders, and for general-purpose usage. The air supply system includes a compressor that is driven by the tractor's engine and charges a volume tank
14
to store compressed air for the above-described purposes.
Concrete mixer
10
further includes a mixing drum
16
for mixing and storing cement, aggregate, and water, i.e., concrete. The mixing drum
16
has a closed end and an open end. The open end is an access port
18
through which cement, aggregate, and water are poured into the interior of the mixing drum
16
and out of which concrete is poured.
The controls
19
are typically located within eyeshot of the access port
18
to enable an operator to manipulate the controls
19
while observing delivery of concrete from the mixing drum
16
. The type and number of controls
19
vary from concrete mixer to concrete mixer. However, all concrete mixers include a control to operate the mixing drum
16
, and to raise and lower the charge hopper as described in more detail herein below.
The mixing drum
16
is rotationally supported by a set of frames including a cab-side frame
20
and a hopper-side frame
22
. The cab-side frame
20
supports the closed end of the mixing drum
16
through a tapered roller bearing (not shown). The hopper-side frame
22
supports the open end of the mixing drum
16
through a pair of rollers (not shown) that ride against a support ring
24
attached to the mixing drum
16
. Extending from the upper portion of the hopper-side frame
22
is a near-side vertical support
26
and a complementary far-side vertical support (not shown).
The charge hopper
28
is funnel-shaped and is utilized in a lowered position to guide cement, aggregate, and water from storage containers at a concrete plant, through the access port
18
, and into the mixing drum
16
. The charge hopper
28
, when moved to a raised position, allows concrete to pour unobstructed from the mixing drum
16
, out through the access port
18
, down a chute attachment
30
(shown in its stored position), and into, for example a pour frame.
The near-side vertical support
26
and far-side vertical support provide mounting points for the charge hopper
28
. More specifically, the charge hopper
28
is pivotally mounted by a near-side pivot pin
32
to a near-side attachment arm
34
which is attached to the near-side vertical support
26
, and a complementary far-side pivot pin to a far-side attachment arm (not shown) which is attached to the far-side vertical support.
A first end
38
of a pneumatic lift cylinder
36
is mounted to the near-side vertical support
26
and a second end
40
is mounted to the charge hopper
28
for pivoting the charge hopper
28
between the lowered position and the raised position. That is, the charge hopper
28
is pivoted from the lowered position to the raised position by extending the pneumatic lift cylinder
36
, thereby pivoting the charge hopper
28
in the counter-clockwise direction about the pivot pins as indicated by the “Y” arrow (FIGS.
1
and
3
). The charge hopper
28
is pivoted from the raised position to the lowered position by retracting the pneumatic lift cylinder
36
, thereby pivoting the charge hopper
28
in the clockwise direction about the pivot pins as indicated by the “X” arrow (FIGS.
1
and
2
). The charge hopper
28
, illustrated in
FIGS. 1 and 3
. is shown in the raised position while the charge hopper
28
illustrated in
FIG. 2
is shown in the lowered position. Although the lift cylinder
36
is described herein as a “pneumatic” lift cylinder, such lift cylinders might also be hydraulically operated.
Those skilled in the art will appreciate that when the charge hopper
28
is in the raised position it increases the overall height of the tractor-carried concrete mixer
10
by approximately one to two feet. Therefore, proper operation of the concrete mixer
10
dictates that the charge hopper
28
should be located in the lowered position any time the vehicle is traveling over roadways; thereby preventing it from accidentally hitting low overpasses, power cables, light poles, etc., and causing severe property damage and personal injury. However, due to a wide variety of distractions found at construction sites, it is relatively easy for an operator to forget that the charge hopper is in the raised position.
It would be beneficial to provide a system to warn an operator of a tractor-carried concrete mixer or tractor-drawn concrete mixer that the charge hopper is in the raised position. Such a system should be relatively inexpensive, easy to install, operate and maintain.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The subject invention is directed to a warning system for use on a concrete mixer that includes an air supply, a mixing drum having an access port, and a charge hopper pivotally supported adjacent the access port, wherein the charge hopper is mounted for movement between a raised position and a lowered position.
An embodiment of the warning system includes an indicator device operatively associat
Cecil Terry K.
Cummings & Lockwood
Drodge Joseph W.
LandOfFree
Warning system for a charge hopper does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Warning system for a charge hopper, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Warning system for a charge hopper will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-2488169