The present disclosure relates to an asphalt compactor, and more particularly, to a pneumatic tire compactor with a self-refilling water ballast system.
Compactors or road rollers are construction vehicles used to compact soil or asphalt in the construction of roads. As they use the weight of the vehicle to compress the surface being rolled, the working parts for compacting are mostly steel drums. However, these steel drums can be replaced by pneumatic tires in certain designs. In road construction, pneumatic tire compactors are used to follow normal steel drum compactors to even the surface more smoothly and densely.
In case of a pneumatic tire compactor, the surface of the ground that tires made of rubber touch is very large, and the weight of pneumatic tires is much smaller than the steel drum. Therefore, installation of a ballast tank is generally needed in order to supplement the lacking weight. The ballast tank is generally installed under the operator platform of the body frame.
The ballast tank can be filled with various kinds of heavy materials, such as water, sand, and steel scraps. Among them, water ballast is becoming more common as it is cheaper and environmentally friendly. Also, users can occasionally empty the ballast since a lighter machine is easier to transport between work sites. Water ballast is also much easier to be emptied and refilled comparing with wet sand or steel scraps.
However, as a liquid in a road machine, water is very susceptible to spillage, evaporation, and other environmental concerns that result in loss of ballast. In order to maintain a constant and smooth finish, the ballast weight should also remain constant. Therefore, the ballast must be periodically refilled over the course of a day/week/month/season or whenever necessary.
According to one aspect of the present disclosure, there provides a compactor which has a water ballast tank. An upper portion of the compactor's body frame is open. The ballast tank is installed inside the body frame, and the opened upper portion of the body frame is covered by a cover plate.
Through the holes of the cover plate, rainwater falling onto the cover plate drains into the ballast tank. Additionally, the edges around the cover plate are slightly angled upwards in order to prevent water from draining out of the cover plate. The raised edges of the cover plate are solid such that water can be collected inwards.
Also, the water ballast tank has a ballast drain port on the compactor's body frame. The ballast drain port is connected with the ballast tank by a ballast drain hose, and that is used to drain out some water from the ballast tank.
The ballast tank of the present disclosure is refilled with water falling onto the cover plate through the holes on the cover plate. Therefore, the refilling method of the present disclosure is completely environmentally friendly, economical and time saving.
Reference will now be made in detail to embodiments of the present disclosure, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. While the present disclosure will be described in conjunction with the following embodiments, it will be understood that they are not intended to limit the present disclosure to these embodiments alone. On the contrary, the present disclosure is intended to cover alternatives, modifications, and equivalents which may be included within the spirit and scope of the present disclosure as defined by the appended claims. Furthermore, in the following detailed description of the present disclosure, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present disclosure. However, embodiments of the present disclosure may be practiced without these specific details.
Accordingly, ballast tank 206 is installed under cover plate 204. Cover plate 204 is disposed alongside a cabin plate 210 above the body frame. Cabin plate 210 is the plate on which a cabin 202 is mounted. Ballast tank 206 is filled with water.
A drain hole 212 is formed on the side of ballast tank 206. Drain hole 212 is connected with a drain hose 214 and the other end of drain hose 214 is connected with a ballast drain port 208. Ballast drain port 208 is on the side of compactor 200's body frame. Drain hole 212 can be formed on any appropriate position of ballast tank 206 based on needs. Likewise, ballast drain port 208 can also be formed on any appropriate position of the body frame. It is preferable that ballast drain port 208 is on the lower side of compactor 200. Users can drain out ballast tank 206 by controlling ballast drain port 208.
Ballast tank 206 is filled with water on site while working to achieve the desired weight. However, the lighter machine is easier to transport between work sites. Therefore, when transporting the machine to another site, users can drain water through ballast drain port 208 to empty ballast tank 206.
The number of holes 300-n can be increased at the center location of cover plate 204, or holes 300-n can be only formed at the center location of cover plate 204. This is efficient since the natural vibration and the turns of the machine should allow any collected water to drain into ballast tank 206. Holes 300-n can also be used for drainage of any water used to clean the platform surface of the machine.
It is preferable that cover plate 204 is made of a single plate. However, based on needs, cover plate 204 can be made of more than two panels. For example,
As shown in part “B” of
Accordingly, by preventing the need to transport water to the job location and by using any water falling on the cover plate, the method of the present disclosure is good for the environment and natural. Also, there is no need to provide additional devices for manual refilling such as, hinges, water supply hoses, and storage tanks.
The inside periphery of the frame's upper rim has a protrusion running along itself. As a preferred embodiment, the protrusion can be formed into a slope-like structure inclined from opposite ending sides to middle side and the middle portion is flat. The edges of cover plate 402 are mounted on the protrusion. For example,
Panels 404a and 404b inclines towards the middle portion which is the lowest part of cover plate 402. Holes 408a-n are intensively formed on the middle panel 404c. Water falling on cover plate 402 flows down from the ending sides to the middle panel 404c along the slopes of panels 404a, 404b. Then, water collected at the middle panel 404c drains into ballast tank 406 through holes 408a-n.
As mentioned above, the natural vibration and the turns of the compactor allow water to be collected on the middle of cover plate 402. Therefore, center intensively formed holes 408a-n are helpful to collect water more efficiently. In this embodiment, other holes 408b-n are subsidiary to center intensively formed holes 408a-n.
In this embodiment, it is not necessary that the edges of cover plate 402 are angled upwards and raised since water falling onto cover plate 402 cannot drain out over the edges.
The position of water level sensor 502 can be appropriately decided based on needs. For example, if the machine is used to work on the inclined ground, it is easy for the machine to be inclined. If that happens, the water on ballast tank 500 leans to one side so that water can overflow and spill out naturally. Therefore, the water volume of ballast tank 500 has to be under a set volume that is smaller than full volume of ballast tank 500. Accordingly, it is preferred that water level sensor 502 is installed in the position that it can be activated before ballast tank 500 is fully filled.
It should be noted that the self-refilled water ballast, according to the present disclosure, is not limited to the pneumatic tire compactors as shown in the embodiments, but can be widely used for various construction machinery equipped with a ballast system.
Although the invention has been described with reference to the preferred embodiments in the attached figures, it is noted that equivalents may be employed and substitutions made herein without departing from the scope of the invention as recited in the claims.
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
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PCT/US2014/016706 | 2/17/2014 | WO | 00 |