The present disclosure relates generally to a road construction machines, and more particularly, to milling machines, systems, and related methods.
The present invention relates to milling machines that are used in road surface repairs. Milling machines are typically utilized to mill and, optionally, remove a layer or layers of old or defective road surface in preparation for resurfacing or other road treatment. Machines, such as cold planers, rotary mixers, and other milling machines, are used for scarifying, removing, mixing, or reclaiming material from ground surfaces, such as, grounds, roadbeds, and the like. Such machines include a rotor enclosed within a rotor chamber. Some machines, including cold planers, include a conveyor assembly, which conveys fragments from the rotor chamber away from the road surface, for example, to a truck. The rotor includes a cylindrical drum or shell member and a number of cutting assemblies mounted on the shell member. When the machine is performing a cutting operation, cutting bits of the cutting assemblies impact the surface and break it apart. Thus, the cutting assemblies are arranged to cut the surface and to leave a milled surface that meets a known texture or surface finish requirement. Another function of the cutting assemblies is to form an auger that moves material within the rotor chamber, for example, to a central area of the rotor chamber from where it can be moved by the conveyor assembly to the truck. In these aspects, the arrangement and/or pitch of the cutting assemblies may affect the cutting operation, including, for example, the resulting texture, surface finish, and/or roughness of the resulting milled surface.
French Patent No. 2789415, issued to Medinger on August 11, 200 (“the '415 patent”), describes a milling machine with two rotors. The rotors are positioned between four wheels under a frame of the machine, and the two rotors are transversely spaced apart. The rotors scour and crush the soil traversed by the machine. The two rotors may increase the traction of the machine. Additionally, the second rotor is positioned lower than the first rotor, so that the first rotor may work a first portion of the ground surface, and the second rotor may work a second portion of the ground surface. However, the rotors of the '415 patent may not provide sufficient adjustment and/or control of the characteristics of the resulting surface finish formed by the milling machine. The machines, systems, and related methods of the present disclosure may solve one or more of the problems set forth above and/or other problems in the art. The scope of the current disclosure, however, is defined by the attached claims, and not by the ability to solve any specific problem.
In one aspect, a milling machine may include a frame, a plurality of wheels or track members coupled to the frame, a moldboard movably coupled to the frame, a first rotor, and a second rotor. The first rotor may be rotatably coupled to the frame. The second rotor may be positioned to the rear of the first rotor and rotatably coupled to the moldboard.
In another aspect, a milling system may include a first rotor and a second rotor. The first rotor may include a plurality of cutting assemblies spaced apart by a first pitch. The second rotor may be positioned to the rear of the first rotor. The second rotor may include a plurality of cutting assemblies. The plurality of cutting assemblies positioned on the second rotor may be spaced apart by a second pitch that is smaller than the first pitch.
In yet another aspect, a milling machine may include a frame, a plurality of wheels or track members, one or more side doors forming a milling chamber, a first rotor positioned within the milling chamber, and a second rotor positioned to the rear of the first rotor. The first rotor may be rotatably coupled to the frame. The second rotor may be rotatably positioned within the milling chamber. The second rotor may be laterally movable within the milling chamber via a supporting hydraulic cylinder.
Both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory only and are not restrictive of the features, as claimed. As used herein, the terms “comprises,” “comprising,” “having,” “including,” or other variations thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion such that a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements does not include only those elements, but may include other elements not expressly listed or inherent to such a process, method, article, or apparatus.
For the purpose of this disclosure, the term “ground surface” is broadly used to refer to all types of surfaces that form typical roadways (e.g., asphalt, cement, clay, sand, dirt, etc.) or can be milled in the removal or formation of roadways. In this disclosure, relative terms, such as, for example, “about,” “substantially,” and “approximately” are used to indicate a possible variation of ±10% in a stated value. Although the current disclosure is described with reference to a milling machine, this is only exemplary. In general, the current disclosure can be applied as to any machine, such as, for example, a cold planer, reclaimer, or another milling-type machine.
First rotor 26 and second rotor 28 may rotate in the same direction, for example, counter-clockwise in
It is noted that milling assembly 14 may include side doors 30 on each side portion of milling assembly 14. However,
In some aspects, moldboard 22 may help milling assembly 14 to remove the ground surface by removing any loose aggregate or debris that has not been captured by the milling drum assembly. Moldboard 22 may help to push the loose aggregate back toward the milling drum assembly, which may then urge the aggregate to conveyor assembly 16. Removing the loose aggregate may help yield a clean and smooth milled surface behind machine 10, which may then be more easily resurfaced. In order to help urge any loose aggregate toward the milling drum assembly, although not shown, moldboard 22 may also include an angled interior surface and/or nozzles to dispense fluid. As discussed in greater detail below, moldboard support structure 24 connecting moldboard 22 to machine 10 may help increase the range and/or degree of freedom of motion of moldboard 22 to accurately traverse the ground surface.
Moldboard 22 may be mounted to a rear portion of machine 10 via moldboard support structure 24. As shown in
In one or more aspects, second rotor 28 may be mounted to moldboard 22, for example, to a bottom portion 22B of moldboard 22. As shown in
In these aspects, second rotor 28 may include a second rotor pitch, for example, formed by cutting assemblies 28A mounted on a second rotor drum 28B. The second rotor pitch may be the same as or similar to a first rotor pitch, for example, formed by cutting assemblies 26A on a first rotor drum 26B. The pitch of second rotor 28 may be the same as the pitch of first rotor 26, such that first rotor 26 and second rotor 28 have the same spacings of respective cutting assemblies. However, lateral movement of second rotor 28, for example, via supporting hydraulic cylinder 42, may adjust the position of the cutting elements on second rotor 28 relative to the cutting elements on first rotor 26, for example, to a shifted position shown as second rotor 28′ in
In one or more aspects, controller 102 and/or user interface(s) 104 may help to control a position of second rotor 28, for example, relative to frame 12 and/or first rotor 26. Controller 102 and/or user interface(s) 104 may also help to control a position of first rotor 26, for example, by controlling one or more of hydraulic cylinders 20 that couple frame 12 to track members 18. Additionally, controller 102 and user interface 104 may help to control one or more additional aspects of machine 10, for example, a speed of conveyor assembly 16, a speed of machine 10 (e.g., via speed(s) of track members 18), a height of frame 12 and/or milling assembly 14 (e.g., via hydraulic cylinders 20), etc. In these aspects, controller 102 and user interface 104 may be coupled (e.g., wired or wirelessly). Additionally, although not shown, controller 102 may be coupled to (e.g., through a wired or wireless connection) one or more sensors, one or more controllers, and/or one or more actuators on machine 10. For example, controller 102 may be coupled to one or more sensors, one or more controllers, and/or one or more actuators for track members 18, hydraulic cylinders 20, first rotor 26, second rotor 28, side hydraulic cylinder 32, rear hydraulic cylinder 34, supporting hydraulic cylinder 42, etc.
As mentioned above, second rotor 28 may be separately controllable from first rotor 26. For example, first rotor 26 may be coupled to a first rotor drive (not shown) in order to drive the rotation of first rotor drum 26B, and second rotor 28 may be coupled to a second rotor drive (not shown) in order to drive the rotation of second rotor drum 28B. In these aspects, first rotor 26 and second rotor 28 may rotate at different rates. Additionally, one or more of first rotor 26 or second rotor 28 may rotate to mill the ground surface, while the other of first rotor 26 or second rotor 28 may be stationary. Alternatively or additionally, first rotor 26 and second rotor 28 may rotate at different rotational speeds, with different powers or torques, other otherwise with different characteristics. For example, second rotor 28 may rotate at a greater speed than first rotor 26, but with less power or torque.
As mentioned above, second rotor 28 may be mounted to or otherwise coupled to moldboard 22. For example, as shown in
In these aspects, first rotor 26 may cut the ground surface to a first depth, and then second rotor 28 may follow behind first rotor 26 and cut the ground surface to a second depth, for example, with the second depth being deeper than the first depth by height H. Furthermore, the cut in the ground surface formed by first rotor 26 may be greater than height H, such that first rotor 26 cuts a greater depth or amount of ground surface material than second rotor 28. In these aspects, second rotor 28 may be a finishing rotor, for example, forming a smoother surface finish than first rotor 26. Additionally, the position of first rotor 26 (i.e., via frame 12 and hydraulic cylinders 20) and/or the position of second rotor 28 (i.e., via moldboard 22 and rear hydraulic cylinder 34) may be controlled by one or more of controller 102 and/or user interface 104. Alternatively, in one aspect, second rotor 28 may be positioned at a fixed position relative to first rotor 26, for example, at height H below the cutting plane formed by first rotor 26.
As shown in
As mentioned, moldboard 22 is coupled to frame 12 via moldboard support structure 24. In these aspects, moldboard 22 may be lifted, for example, away from the ground surface, by retracting piston rod 36 relative to piston barrel 38. Lifting moldboard 22 may provide for access to second rotor 28, for example, to repair, replace, or otherwise inspect various portions of second rotor 28. For example, an operator may clean second rotor 28, repair one or more cutting assemblies 28A, replace one or more cutting assemblies 28A, replaced second rotor 28 (e.g., by uncoupling second rotor 28 from coupling element 40 and/or supporting hydraulic cylinder 42), or otherwise access second rotor 28. In one aspect, the operator may adjust the configuration of one or more cutting assemblies 28A, for example, by adjusting an orientation of one or more cutting bits, to modify the pitch of second rotor 28, which may modify the surface finish on the ground surface milled by machine 10. In another aspect, the operator may replace second rotor 28 with another second rotor. The another second rotor may be the same as second rotor 28, for example, if second rotor 28 was in need of significant repairs, cleaning, and/or replacement. Alternatively, the another second rotor may have a different size (i.e., a larger drum), a different pitch of cutting assemblies, a different size of cutting assemblies, or one or other different characteristics. In these aspects, machine 10 and milling assembly 14 may form a different surface finish on the ground surface with the another second rotor.
The disclosed aspects of machine 10 may be used in any milling machine to assist in removal of the milled material, while allowing for variations in milling depth, variations in the surface finish produced by machine, access to the milling chamber, etc. As mentioned above, second rotor 28 may be positioned to the rear of first rotor 26, so that first rotor 26 may perform a bulk of the milling procedure performed by milling assembly 14. Second rotor 28 may be smaller, have a different pitch of cutting assemblies 28A, move laterally within the milling chamber, rotate faster, or otherwise operate to perform secondary milling and to form a smoother surface finish than first rotor 26. Additionally or alternatively, second rotor 28 may be selectively activated. In this aspect, second rotor 28 may be selectively driven to rotate such that second rotor 28 engages and mills the ground surface, for example, to leave a surface finish that is smoother than the surface finish formed by first rotor 26, to mill the ground surface to a greater depth than first rotor 26 (e.g., by height H), etc. Moreover, second rotor 28 may be selectively activated, moved, driven, or otherwise adjusted between a left-most position and a right-most position (e.g., side-shifted or oscillated). Furthermore, some milling procedures may not require a smoother surface finish. In such instances, second rotor 28 may be positioned above the cutting plane of first rotor 26, such that second rotor 28 is not actively engaged in milling the ground surface, preserving and/or extending the working life of second rotor 28 and its cutting assemblies 28A for other milling procedures. As mentioned, the position(s) of second rotor 28 (and thus the resulting surface finish on the ground surface) may be controlled by controller 102 and/or one or more user interfaces 104. In these aspects, second rotor 28 may allow an operator to adjust a surface finish produced by machine 10 without adjusting first rotor 26, improving the efficiency, efficacy, and/or production of milling assembly 14 and machine 10.
Second cutting assemblies 28A may be formed of a harder material (i.e., a cutting bit) than first cutting assemblies 26A. As second rotor 28 is milling an already milled surface and/or a smaller depth of material, second cutting assemblies 28A may wear at a lower rate than first cutting assemblies 26A. Additionally, second rotor 28 may be coupled to moldboard 22, for example, via coupling element 40, or otherwise positioned adjacent to or near moldboard 22 (
Additionally, second rotor 28 may be smaller and/or lighter than first rotor 26, for example, allowing for second rotor 28 to be more easily manipulated and/or replaced than first rotor 26. In this aspect second rotor 28 may be replaced when damaged. Alternatively or additionally, second rotor 28 may be exchanged for a different second rotor 28, for example, with a different pitch, hardness, or one or more other characteristics of second cutting assemblies 28A, which may provide a different surface finish on the ground surface. In another aspect, the operator may access second rotor 28 to adjust one or more characteristics of second rotor 28, for example, adjusting an arrangement of cutting bits on cutting assemblies 28A, replacing the cutting bits with different (i.e., harder, wider, etc.) cutting bits, etc. For example, a method may include performing a first milling procedure with a first second rotor 28 to form a first surface finish on the milled ground surface. The method may then include accessing the milling chamber and removing the first second rotor 28. The method may then include coupling another second rotor 28 to milling assembly 14 (e.g., to moldboard 22), with the another second rotor 28 having one or more different milling properties than the first second rotor 28. Alternatively, the method may include modifying one or more characteristics of the first second rotor 28 to change the milling properties. Then, the method may include performing another milling procedure, with the changed milling properties forming a second surface finish on the milled ground surface. Furthermore, in some aspects, second rotor 28 may help to protect moldboard 22, for example, from larger pieces of milled material impacting or otherwise damaging moldboard 22.
It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made to the disclosed machine without departing from the scope of the disclosure. Other embodiments of the machine will be apparent to those skilled in the art from consideration of the specification and practice of the milling devices, systems, and methods disclosed herein. It is intended that the specification and examples be considered as exemplary only, with a true scope of the disclosure being indicated by the following claims and their equivalents.