ROAD CONSTRUCTION MACHINE, IN PARTICULAR ROAD PAVER OR FEEDER, AND METHOD FOR CONVERTING SUCH A ROAD CONSTRUCTION MACHINE

FIELD

The invention relates to a road construction machine, in particular a road paver or feeder, and to a method for converting such a road construction machine.

BACKGROUND

Generic road construction machines are, in particular, so-called road pavers or feeders. These machines are usually used in road or pathway construction, as well as for the construction of public squares. Their main function is to pick up a paving material, for example asphalt or concrete, from a delivery vehicle, such as a truck, and distribute it on the ground in a layer thickness so as to leave an even, ideally pre-compacted, layer of the paving material, or to assist in this process. Road pavers and feeders usually have a machine frame, an operator platform and a drive motor, which is, for example, a combustion engine, usually a diesel combustion engine. They are self-propelled machines comprising a travel mechanism with at least one left-hand travel unit and one right-hand travel unit. Road pavers and feeders with crawler tracks as well as with wheels are known and are equally covered by the present invention. Such a road paver is disclosed, for example, in DE 10 2018 000 576 A1. A feeder and a road paver are disclosed in DE 10 2016 006 187 A1. The road paver comprises a paving screed for smoothing and compacting the paving material laid on the ground surface. The feeder may have a practically identical design, but instead of the paving screed it has a transfer device with which paving material stored therein can be transferred to a road paver following the feeder. The feeder is therefore a kind of buffer vehicle to enable a continuous supply of paving material to the road paver with changing delivery vehicles.

To accommodate paving material, these road construction machines typically have a material hopper arranged at the front of the road construction machine in a paving direction. The material hopper therefore refers to a storage space in which the road construction machine can receive paving material, usually from a truck, and store it for the paving process. The material hopper has a hopper floor, hopper side walls and a hopper rear wall. The material hopper may comprise a left and a right swivel section. These swivel sections are sometimes also referred to as hopper halves. These swivel sections of the material hopper can be swiveled or swiveled up from a swiveled-down filling position to an emptying position in order to move paving material onto a longitudinal conveyor positioned below and at least partially between the two swivel sections. For this purpose, the hopper halves may each be configured to swivel or tilt upwards about a swivel axis, which essentially extends in the paving direction. By swiveling in this way, the hopper halves pour the paving material stored therein onto the longitudinal conveyor, which is usually arranged between the hopper halves for this purpose and then transports the paving material, as seen in the paving direction, backwards towards the paving screed of the road paver or towards he transfer device on the feeder. The longitudinal conveyor is usually arranged between the swivel sections and extends to the rear as seen in the paving direction. The hopper halves are therefore adjustable between a filling position, in which the material hopper's storage capacity is at a maximum, and an emptying position, in which the material hopper's storage capacity is reduced. Such a material hopper is disclosed, for example, in DE 10 2018 000 576 A1 mentioned above.

It is known that the left and right swivel sections each comprise several wall elements. In particular, the left and right swivel sections may each have a hopper floor element, an upright hopper side wall element and an upright hopper rear wall element. The hopper floor forms a floor area of the material hopper. Said floor area may in part be formed by one or more of the hopper floor elements of the swivel sections. The hopper side wall element delimits the storage space of the material hopper transversely to the longitudinal axis of the road construction machine on the right or left side. The hopper rear wall, on the other hand, is located at the end of the material hopper, seen against the paving direction of the road construction machine, and delimits it in a direction opposite the paving direction or opposite a front loading edge of the material hopper. This rear wall is formed, inter alia, by the hopper rear wall elements of the swivel sections. In addition to these wall elements of the swivel sections of the material hopper, further wall elements, in particular wall elements that are stationary in relation to the machine frame of the road construction machine, may be comprised by the material hopper, such as, for example, in particular a rear wall and/or one or more floor wall elements. Toward the front as seen in the paving direction, the material hopper is often lowered in relation to the vertically protruding side wall elements and/or rear wall elements and is delimited by a loading edge. In the region of the loading edge, comparatively small retaining elements, in particular flexible retaining elements, may be provided that protrude slightly from the hopper floor in the vertical direction to prevent paving material stored in the material hopper from falling out forwardly in the paving direction.

When the road construction machine is in operation, the paving material is delivered by trucks, for example, and poured directly into the material hopper of the road construction machine. For this, the swivel sections are swiveled down, i.e., are in their filling position. It is possible that the road construction machine causes a controlled collision with the truck ahead of it during the paving process and pushes the truck forward while the paving material is filled into the material hopper. The paving material is transported from the material hopper of the road construction machine via the longitudinal conveyor to the rear of the road construction machine, where it is picked up by a transfer device in the case of a feeder and transferred onto a subsequent road paver or is distributed across the paving width in the case of a road paver, for example by means of a suitable transverse spreading device, and smoothed and compacted by the paving screed, which usually floats on the paving material. The road paver may also be loaded directly from a transport vehicle, so that the use of a road paver alone is optional. In order to be able to transfer the paving material stored in the material hopper evenly and as quantitatively as possible onto the longitudinal conveyor during the paving process, the swivel sections can be swiveled into the emptying position separately or simultaneously when the material hopper has already been partially emptied. Through this, the two swivel sections create a kind of funnel and the paving material in the side edge region of the material hopper can also slide onto the longitudinal conveyor. This variant is referred to below as the “swivel variant”.

When the swivel sections are swiveled up, the paving material in the material hopper thus slides towards the center of the material hopper. In such situations, it can happen that paving material falls out of the material hopper over the front loading edge or accumulates on a front plate located in front of the longitudinal conveyor in the paving direction, which also forms part of the floor surface of the material hopper. Both processes can cause additional costs, whether due to the resulting loss of material or the increased deployment of personnel required for an ongoing paving operation.

In order to counteract this undesirable process, it is already known to provide a front flap instead of the front plate, which, in contrast to the front plate, is not stationary relative to the machine frame, but can be swiveled up about a swivel axis located inside relative to the loading edge and extending transverse to the working direction. A suitable actuator, for example a hydraulic cylinder, may be provided for this purpose, which is used to drive the adjustment movement of the front flap. Furthermore, it is also already known to additionally form the swivel sections in an overlapping region with the front flap with swiveling wing sections that are swivel-mounted to the respective swivel-section, in particular a floor wall element of the respective swivel section. The interaction of the front flap, the wing sections and the swivel sections makes it possible, on the one hand, to scrape the material on the front flap in the direction of the longitudinal conveyor when the swivel sections are swiveled up. These wing sections are therefore also known as scraper plates. On the other hand, the entire region of the front loading edge can erected to form a funnel-like structure so that paving material can be prevented from falling out of the material hopper via the front loading edge. Such an arrangement is disclosed, for example, in DE 20 2011 108 347 U1. This variant is also referred to below as “scraper variant”.

Both solutions have advantages and disadvantages. Although it is easier for material to fall out over the loading edge of the material hopper in the case of the front plate solution, this variant is comparatively inexpensive to manufacture and also very robust and low-maintenance due to the small number of adjustable components. On the other hand, a benefit of the front flap variant is the achieved optimization of the emptying process despite the significantly higher acquisition and maintenance costs.

Users of road construction machines of this type, i.e., road pavers and feeders, often have to choose one of the two variants when purchasing such a road construction machine or consider high modification costs later on, as the conversion from one variant to the other regularly involves a practically complete replacement of the material hopper.

Against this background, it is therefore the object of the present invention to provide a way of improving the convertibility of a road construction machine, in particular a road paver or feeder.

SUMMARY

The object is achieved with a road construction machine, in particular a road paver or a feeder, and a method according to the independent claims. Preferred embodiments are cited in the dependent claims.

A generic road construction machine for paving material in a paving direction, with regard to the features of which reference is also made to the details given at the beginning for road construction machines known per se, in particular road pavers and feeders, comprises a machine frame, an operator platform, a drive motor, a travel mechanism with at least one left-hand travel unit and one right-hand travel unit, a material hopper arranged in the paving direction at the front of the road construction machine for storing paving material. The machine frame designates the main support structure of the road construction machine. The operator platform designates an operating station from which the road construction machine can be operated during paving operation. The operator platform may be arranged on the machine frame or mounted to it in an adjustable manner. For road pavers in particular, in addition to a main operating station, which is usually part of a tractor of the road paver, one or more secondary operating stations may be provided, although these are usually arranged on the paving screed. Sub-functions of the road paver, in particular the current paving width, for example, can often be controlled via these secondary operating stations. The drive motor of the road construction machine refers to a prime mover that generates at least a substantial part of the drive energy required for the working and traveling operation of the road construction machine. The prime mover may, for example, be an internal combustion engine, in particular a diesel combustion engine, a hybrid drive unit or the like. The travel mechanism may comprise one or more crawler tracks and/or wheels. The indications “left” and “right” refer to the sides viewed in the paving direction or forward direction of the road construction machine. The road paver usually comprises a basic machine comprising the above-mentioned components, also known as a tractor. A screed can be mounted on this basic machine in such a way that it is pulled by the tractor over the paving material distributed on the paving surface during paving operation, thereby smoothing and compacting the paving material.

In order to enable the paving operation to be carried out as continuously as possible, whether for transferring the paving material or for spreading the paving material on the ground surface, the road construction machine has a material hopper which is provided for temporary storage of the paving material. The material hopper comprises a floor wall, a right and a left side wall as well as a rear wall delimiting the material hopper to the rear when viewed from the front of the road construction machine. In their entirety, these walls define a storage space in which paving material is received by the road construction machine and stored at least temporarily. The individual walls may be formed from multiple interacting wall elements, in particular also by multiple wall elements that can be adjusted relative to each other. Specifically, the material hopper comprises at least two swivel sections, which usually form a major part of the wall elements of the material hopper. Additionally, there may also be wall elements that are stationary relative to the machine frame.

The material hopper comprises a left-hand swivel section or left-hand hopper half and a right-hand swivel section or right-hand hopper half. The two swivel sections may be essentially mirror-symmetrical to each other. The left and right swivel sections may each have a rear wall element, a floor wall element forming a floor surface of the material hopper, a side wall element protruding upright from the floor wall element and, toward the front, a front loading edge extending transversely to the longitudinal direction of the machine.

The road construction machine also comprises a longitudinal conveyor extending along the longitudinal axis of the machine, which is configured to transport paving material from the material hopper against a paving direction, for example in the case of a road paver towards a paving screed arranged at the rear of the road paver, and in the case of a feeder towards a transfer device arranged at the rear of the feeder, for example a transfer conveyor belt. The right and left swivel sections may each have an inner edge facing the longitudinal conveyor, via which the paving material falls onto the longitudinal conveyor. For this purpose, the longitudinal conveyor may be arranged below the two swivel sections when viewed vertically. The two swivel sections may be spaced apart with their inner edges in the horizontal plane transverse to the paving direction, so that a shaft-like free space is obtained through which the paving material can fall from the material hopper onto the longitudinal conveyor.

The swivel sections may each be adjustable between a swiveled-down filling position and a swiveled-up emptying position in order to move paving material onto or in the direction of the longitudinal conveyor. They may be adjustable independently of each other. One or more actuators, for example hydraulic cylinders, may be provided to drive the adjusting device. The swivel axes of the swivel sections may run in the horizontal plane and parallel to the longitudinal axis of the machine, i.e., parallel to the straight-ahead direction of the road construction machine. The swivel sections may be connected to the machine frame of the road construction machine via suitable articulation devices. These may be hinge joints, for example.

According to the invention, the floor wall elements of the swivel sections each have a base section, in particular directly and firmly connected to the respective side wall element and the respective rear wall element, and a replacement section firmly connected to the base section via a detachable fastening device, in particular directly, the replacement section in each case forming a part of the inner edge and a part of the loading edge of the floor surface of the respective swivel section. A rigidly and firmly interconnected assembly consisting in each case of a side wall element, a rear wall element, a base section and a replacement section is thus preferably provided for each swivel section. In particular, the side wall element, the rear wall element and the base section may form an overall module or a coherent component that cannot be detached in a non-destructive manner. These individual parts may, for example, be fused to each other by means of welded joints and/or at least partially formed, for example folded, from a common preform, such as a sheet metal. When this part is used as intended, these components are therefore inseparably connected to each other. The situation is different with the replacement section. The latter is also firmly and preferably directly arranged on the base module, in particular on the floor wall element, and connected to it. The difference, however, is that the replacement element is attached to this base module via a detachable fastening device and thus, in this arrangement, acts as a part of the base module that is firmly connected to the base module. It is thus adjusted together with the base module in a uniform movement, for example swiveled about a common axis when the swivel section is moved from the filling position to the emptying position. This therefore corresponds to the overall design of the swivel section according to the “swivel variant” mentioned at the beginning. The special feature, however, is that due to the connection of the replacement section to the base module, in particular to the base section, via the detachable fastening device, this part of the swivel section can be easily removed and dismantled from the remaining swivel section and in particular from the base section by releasing the fastening device and can then be replaced, for example, by a wing element that can swivel relative to the base section for conversion to the “scraper variant”. This means that, to convert the swivel sections in particular, it is not necessary to remove and replace the entire swivel section but only a small part of the floor wall element. This makes it considerably easier to convert the road construction machine from the “swivel variant” to the “scraper variant” and vice versa. According to the invention, in summary, the swivel sections each have a base section and a replacement section firmly connected to the base section via a releasable fastening device, wherein the replacement section in each case forms a part of the inner edge and a part of the loading edge of the floor surface of the respective swivel section and wherein the floor wall element is formed jointly by the base section and the replacement section.

It is preferred if, in a horizontal projection plane or when the replacement section installed in the road construction machine as intended is projected into a horizontal projection plane, the replacement section is surrounded exclusively by at least a part of the loading edge, a part of the inner edge, in particular towards the longitudinal conveyor, and an abutting edge towards the base part. In other words, only these three edges form the outer edges of the replacement section in this projection plane. In addition or alternatively, the replacement section is configured such that in this horizontal projection plane, at least with regard to its surface as part of the floor wall surface, it essentially has the shape of a triangle, in particular a right-angled triangle.

The floor surface of the material hopper does not have to be completely flat and even. For example, elevations towards the operator platform may be provided at edges to improve visibility for the operator in certain situations. Elevations may also be provided for reasons of installation space, for example due to the presence of other components, such as the travel units arranged below the material hopper. With regard to the design of the floor surface of the material hopper in the contact region between the base section and the replacement section, however, it is preferred if the base section and the replacement section are configured relative to each other in such a way that the floor surface formed by the base section and the floor surface formed by the replacement section are configured such that, at least in the region in which they are adjacent to each other, they merge seamlessly into each other. This means that, at least in this region, the overall floor surface obtained by the base section and the replacement section is flat or the floor surface constituted by the base section and the replacement section is essentially formed as a flat overall surface.

It is possible that the replacement section in particular is configured such that the entire floor surface formed by it is flat and lies in the horizontal projection plane, in particular when the respective swivel section is in the filling position.

It is also possible for the material hopper of the road construction machine to have a front plate, in particular one that is stationary relative to the machine frame. In particular, the front plate may be arranged in a front region of the material hopper, especially in the region between the longitudinal conveyor and the front loading edge as seen in the paving direction. The front plate may thus form part of the floor surface of the material hopper in this region and bridge the distance between the transfer edges of the swivel sections and the longitudinal conveyor transversely to the paving direction in the front region of the material hopper. It is preferred if the replacement section is configured and arranged in the swivel section in such a way that it at least partially overlaps the front plate of the material hopper in the vertical direction. This means that preferably at least a part of the loading edge formed by the replacement section and/or a part of the inner edge, in particular towards the longitudinal conveyor, of the replacement section extends in an overlap region relative to the front plate. Additionally or alternatively, it is preferred if the replacement section and the base section are configured such that the abutting edge of the replacement section towards the base section does not overlap with the front plate.

The essential aspect of the specific configuration of the releasable fastening device is that it can be released from its fastening state when used as intended in order to enable detachment of the replacement section from the base section in a non-destructive manner. However, suitable aids such as one or more tools, including motor-driven tools, may be required to release the fastening device in the fastened state. What is essential is that neither the replacement section nor the base section need to be damaged. With regard to the specific configuration of the fastening device, a wide range of alternative and/or complementary embodiments may be used. For example, the releasable fastening device may partially comprise elements and/or devices that are formed by the base section or the replacement section itself, such as one or more form-fitting elements that are at least partially complementary to one another in the connection region between the replacement section and the base section, such as one or more contact and/or guide rails, locking rails and/or similar fitting elements. The base section and/or the replacement section may also comprise one or more passage openings to accommodate one or more fastening elements. In addition or as an alternative, the fastening device may also include elements in addition to the replacement section and the base section which are provided in particular to interact with parts of the fastening device which are formed by the base section or the replacement section. For example, one or more detachable threaded connections, such as via screw bolts secured by nuts, which are guided through opposing passage openings in the base section and the replacement section, may be provided for this purpose. The fastening device may comprise one or more releasable threaded connections whose thread axes run parallel to each other and/or extend essentially parallel to the plane of the floor surface.

It is preferred if the fastening device is arranged completely below the parts of the overall floor wall of the material hopper formed by the base section and the replacement section. Accordingly, it is advantageous if the fastening device is arranged at least partially on a lower side of the swivel section. This means that the fastening device is not only protected from the paving material during operation of the road construction machine. It is also comparatively easy to access from outside the road construction machine, at least when the swivel section is in the emptying position, which can make the conversion process even easier.

The road construction machine may have one or more adjusting actuators which are configured and arranged to drive an adjustment movement of a swivel section from the filling position to the emptying position. They may be hydraulic cylinders or similar, for example. It is now preferred if the actuator or these actuators are arranged, in particular exclusively, between the machine frame and the base section and/or the side wall element of the swivel section. In other words, it is preferred if none of the actuators is directly articulated to the replacement section. This has the advantage, for example, that when converting the road construction machine, no actuator has to be separated from the replacement section that may then have to be removed and, in addition, the drive system for adjusting the swivel sections from the filling position to the emptying position can be used for both the swivel variant and the scraper variant without the need for extensive conversions of the actuators used for adjusting the swivel sections.

The base section and the replacement section each have edges that face each other when the replacement section is connected to the base section in a stationary but detachable manner. These edges may also be referred to as abutting edges, especially if the base section and the replacement section abut directly and immediately against each other when mounted together. It is preferred if these abutting edges between the base section and the replacement section are not only complementary to each other, but also linear, in particular completely linear.

The fastening device may comprise a sealing means, for example a plastic and/or metal sealing means, which seals the contact region and/or at least the region between the base section and the replacement section, in particular when viewed vertically towards the storage space of the material hopper. This can prevent paving material from getting into the region between the base section and the replacement section and/or into the fastening device and thus, for example, from preventing an easy, in particular non-destructive, release of the fastening device and/or from making it more difficult to remove the replacement section from the base section.

In order to further reduce the conversion effort from the “swivel variant” to the “scraper variant”, in a road construction machine in the “swivel variant”, an accommodation space may be provided below the front plate and remains free, in which an actuator can be arranged for driving an adjustment movement of a front flap that can be adjusted between a swiveled-down loading position and a swiveled-up unloading position when converting to the “scraper variant”. Additionally or alternatively, the hydraulic system of this road construction machine may have one or more pre-installed connection points that are not used in the swivel variant, via which this actuator is connected to the hydraulic system of the road construction machine when the road construction machine is converted to the “scraper variant”. Additionally or alternatively, a sensor system and/or a machine control unit of the road construction machine may already include the components required to operate the “scraper variant” even in the “swivel variant” configuration. The preparatory measures for the “scraper variant” in the swivel variant may go so far that it is also possible to convert the road construction machine on site.

A further aspect of the invention relates to a method for converting a road construction machine according to the invention, in particular a road paver or a feeder. With regard to possible configuration alternatives of the road construction machine itself for carrying out the method, reference is made to the preceding discussions regarding the road construction machine according to the invention.

The method according to the invention initially comprises, in a step a), dismantling the replacement section from the base section. For this purpose, this step comprises at least releasing the fastening device which connected the replacement section to the base section such that these two elements formed a mutually stationary unit. This step is therefore preferably carried out on a road construction machine whose material hopper is configured according to the “swivel variant”. In order to be able to convert to the “scraper variant” in a subsequent step, a step b) comprises installing a scraper plate that can swivel relative to the base section via a swivel joint. The fastening device thus comprises at least one swivel joint, so that although a plate section is again connected to the base section via a fastening device, now it is no longer stationary, but can be adjusted relative to it, in particular swiveled about a swivel axis. The scraper plate is further preferably larger than the replacement section.

For installing in step b), it is ideal if this is done at least partially using parts of the fastening device at the base section that were used to fasten the replacement section to the base section. For example, passage openings and/or other elements may be provided, which ideally can also be used to attach the scraper plate and/or a joint device, for example parts of a swivel hinge, etc. In this way, the conversion effort can be reduced even further.

In addition to replacing the replacement plate with the scraper plate, it is also possible that a step c) comprises replacing a front plate that is stationary relative to the machine frame with a front flap that can be swiveled relative to the machine frame between a swiveled-down loading position and a swiveled-up unloading position in order to convert to the “scraper variant”. In cooperation with the wing elements formed by the scraper plates, this allows practically the entire front loading edge to be raised like a funnel when the swivel sections and the front plate are adjusted into the emptying and unloading position. In addition to replacing the front plate with the front flap, this also requires connecting an actuator to the front flap. For this purpose, this actuator may also be pre-installed ex works for a road construction machine manufactured in the “swivel variant” configuration. Alternatively, this actuator may also be installed in the road construction machine as part of the conversion described above, in which case at least suitable connection points may be pre-installed in the hydraulic system of the road construction machine ex works for connecting the actuator to the hydraulic system of the road construction machine.

Converting the road construction machine may additionally or alternatively comprise connecting one or more sensors to the actuator and/or to a machine control unit.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention will be explained in more detail below by reference to the embodiment examples shown in the figures. In the schematic figures:

FIG. 1 is an oblique perspective view of a road construction machine with swivel sections in the filling position from the front left;

FIG. 2 is a front view of the road construction machine of FIG. 1 with swivel sections in the emptying position;

FIG. 3 is a partial perspective view of a material hopper of the road construction machine type shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 in the swivel variant with swivel sections in the filling position;

FIG. 4 is a partial perspective view of the material hopper of FIG. 3 with swivel sections in the emptying position;

FIG. 5 is a partial perspective view of a material hopper in the scraper variant with swivel sections in the filling position;

FIG. 6 is a partial perspective view of the material hopper of FIG. 5 with swivel sections in the emptying position;

FIG. 7 is a top view of a swivel section of the swivel variant of FIGS. 3 and 4;

FIG. 8 is a perspective exploded view of the swivel section shown in FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is an oblique perspective view of a swivel section of the scraper variant of FIGS. 5 and 6;

FIG. 10 shows the swivel section of FIGS. 3, 4, 7 and 8 (“swivel variant”) with a front plate and in the emptying position;

FIG. 11 shows the swivel section of FIGS. 5, 6 and 9 (“scraper variant”) with a front plate in the filling position;

FIG. 12 shows the swivel section of FIGS. 5, 6 and 9 (“scraper variant”) with a front plate in the emptying position; and

FIG. 13 is a flow diagram of a method for converting a road construction machine.

Like components or components acting in a like manner are designated by like reference numerals in the figures. Recurring parts are not necessarily designated separately in each figure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 shows a road construction machine 1, specifically a road paver. The road construction machine 1 comprises an operator platform 2, a machine frame 3, a drive motor 4 (not shown in detail in FIG. 1), for example an electric motor or a combustion engine, and a material hopper 5 arranged at the front in the paving direction a. The paving direction a indicates the direction in which the road construction machine 1 moves over the underlying ground during operation. The road construction machine 1 extends with its longitudinal machine direction in a straight ahead paving direction a. The road construction machine 1 comprises a travel mechanism 6 for locomotion, for example comprising one or more crawler tracks and/or wheels as travel units. In the present exemplary embodiment, the travel mechanism 6 comprises a right and a left crawler track as travel units.

In FIG. 1, the road construction machine 1 is a road paver. Said road paver also includes a paving screed 7. The screed is usually pulled by the rest of the paver such that it floats on a material mat laid out at the rear, thereby smoothing and compacting the laid out paving material. During operation, the material hopper 5 of the road paver is filled with paving material by, for example, a truck driving ahead of the road paver. Alternatively, the material hopper 5 may be filled by a so-called feeder.

Such feeders are likewise road construction machines 1 and also have a basic structure similar to the road paver. The main difference between the feeder and the road paver is that instead of the paving screed 7, there is a loading conveyor belt via which paving material stored in the material hopper of the feeder can be transferred into the material hopper of the road paver, which usually travels behind the feeder during the paving process, in order to ultimately facilitate a continuous paving process of the road paver.

The paving material is transported from the material hopper 5 to the rear of the road construction machine 1 in the opposite direction to the paving direction a. For this purpose, a longitudinal conveyor 8 is provided, for example in the form of a scraper floor or similar, via which the paving material can be transported out of the material hopper 5 to the rear of the road construction machine 1 as seen in the paving direction a. The paving material reaching the rear region of the road construction machine 1 is then transferred onto a subsequent road paver with the aid of a conveyor in the case of a feeder or, in the case of a road paver, distributed across the entire paving width transverse to the paving direction a and smoothed and compacted by the paving screed 7. For this purpose, the road paver may have a transverse spreading device, for example in the form of screw conveyors.

The road construction machine 1 is operated from the operator platform 2. For this purpose, at least one operating device, for example in the form of an operating panel or console, is usually provided on the operator platform. During paving operation, the operator stands or sits in front of the operating device on the operator platform 2, as seen in the paving direction a.

The material hopper 5 thus serves to receive and store the paving material on the road construction machine 1. It is desirable for the material hopper 5 to provide a sufficiently large storage capacity for paving material. On the other hand, it is also advantageous if the material hopper 5 is configured such that the paving material stored therein can be emptied and fed to the paving process as quantitatively as possible. For this purpose, the material hopper 5 comprises swivel sections 91 and 9r, which are adjustable between a filling position, as shown for example in FIG. 1, and an emptying position, as shown for example in FIG. 2, and in particular can be swiveled about a swivel axis running horizontally and in the paving direction a.

In terms of its basic structure, the material hopper arranged in the paving direction a at the front of the road construction machine 1 comprises a right-hand swivel section 9r and a left-hand swivel section 91 as seen in the paving direction a. Between the swiveled-down filling position (for example as shown in FIG. 3), in which the storage capacity of the material hopper 5 is at its largest, these can each be swiveled up about a swivel axis S extending in the paving direction a into an emptying position, for example as shown in FIG. 4. By swiveling the two swivel sections 9r, 91 upwards, a kind of funnel-like shape of the material hopper 5 is achieved, so that the paving material held in the outer edge areas of the material hopper can also slide towards the center in the direction of the longitudinal conveyor 8 and from there be conveyed backwards out of the material hopper 5 against the paving direction a. The material hopper 5 comprises a rear wall 10, a floor wall 11 and side walls 12. These walls are at least partially formed by the two swivel sections 9r, 91, which have a rear wall element 11′, a floor wall element 12′ and a side wall element 13′ for this purpose. The rear wall element 11′, the floor wall element 12′ and the side wall element 13′ thus move together with the swivel section 9r, 91 about the respective swivel axis S when the two swivel sections 9r, 91 are swiveled. In particular, the rear wall 11 and also the floor wall 12 may additionally comprise portions that are stationary relative to the machine frame 3 and accordingly are not swiveled when the swivel sections 9r, 91 are adjusted and accordingly keep their relative position in relation to the machine frame 3. The material hopper 5 is also lowered in the paving direction a towards the front with respect to its upper edge and includes a loading edge 14 there. At the loading edge 14, retaining aprons 15, in particular elastic ones, for example made of a plastic or rubber material, may be provided which protrude to a comparatively small extent in the vertical direction and prevent, at least to a limited extent, the paving material from falling out forwardly in the paving direction a over the loading edge 14. The swivel sections 9r, 91 each have an inner edge 16 adjacent to the longitudinal conveyor 8, via which the paving material falls from the respective swivel section 9r, 91 onto the longitudinal conveyor 8, in particular when the swivel sections 9r, 91 are swiveled up individually or together about their respective swivel axis S from the filling position to their emptying position.

With regard to the functional scope of individual components of the material hopper 5, there are various possible augmentation stages, with an increased functional scope usually involving increased manufacturing and maintenance costs. FIGS. 3 and 4 show functionalities of the “swivel variant”. A comparison of FIGS. 3 and 4 illustrates that in this variant the swivel sections 9r and 91 swivel uniformly as a common unit about the respective swivel axis S when moving between the filling position (FIG. 3) and the emptying position (FIG. 4). This variant is comparatively inexpensive and ideally suited for many applications. One of the challenges for the operator of the road construction machine 1 in this variant, however, is to ensure during operation of the road construction machine 1 when swiveling up the swivel sections 9r, 91 that, as far as possible, no paving material from the material hopper is pushed in the paving direction a out of the material hopper 5 over the loading edge 14, in particular in the region of a front plate 17 arranged stationary relative to the machine frame 3 and running in extension of the longitudinal conveyor 8 in the paving direction a up to the loading edge 14, and is therefore no longer available for the further paving process in the desired manner.

For this reason, the “scraper variant” illustrated in more detail in FIGS. 5 and 6 exists as an alternative augmentation stage of the material hopper 5. This variant differs from the “swivel variant” in that it has an increased range of functions. Instead of the front plate 17, which is stationary relative to the machine frame 3, there is a front plate 18 that can be swiveled open about an axis running horizontally and transversely to the paving direction a, and which is swiveled down in the filling position and swiveled up in the emptying position such that the front loading edge 14 of the material hopper 5 is displaced upwards in the vertical direction. At the same time, the swivel sections 9r and 91 each comprise a scraper plate 20, which is mounted to the respectively remaining swivel section components so as to swivel relative to them about a swivel axis K, which in the filling position extends horizontally and at an angle to the swivel axis S of the respective swivel section 9r, 9l. The front flap 18 comprises an actuator 21, for example a hydraulic cylinder, for driving the adjustment movement of the front flap 18. Since the two scraper plates 20 overlap the front flap 18 arranged in the vertical direction below the scraper plates 20, the front flap 18 takes the two scraper plates 20 with it, so that, as a comparison of FIGS. 5 and 6 in particular makes clear, a completely funnel-like overall structure directed towards the longitudinal conveyor 8 is also achieved in the region of the loading edge 14. It is obvious that this arrangement significantly reduces the risk of paving material falling out from the material hopper 5 when the swivel sections 9r, 91 are adjusted to the emptying position compared to the swivel variant. However, the overall structure is also more complex and therefore more costly and maintenance-intensive.

In order to prevent the customer from having to commit to either the swivel variant or the scraper variant from the outset when purchasing such a road construction machine 1 and ideally even to enable conversion from one variant to the other variant on the construction site, according to the invention, the swivel sections 9r, 91 of the swivel variant now have a base section 22 and a replacement section 23. This is illustrated in more detail in FIGS. 7, 8 and 9. It should also be noted that the descriptions in the figures, some of which are based only on the one swivel section 9r, apply equally to the left-hand swivel section 91 (which in the present case can be configured to be mirror-symmetrical to the swivel section 9r).

The base section 22 and the replacement section 23 are firmly connected to each other via a fastening device 24 and form a rigid unit in this state. However, this firm connection via the fastening device 24 is configured to be releasable, in particular in a non-destructive manner. Specifically, for example, corresponding fastening openings may be provided in the base section 22 and in the replacement section 23, through which releasable fastening screws or the like can be passed to connect these two sections. When installed, the replacement section 23 forms at least substantially and in particular exclusively a part of the floor surface or floor wall 12′ of the respective swivel section 9r. When the replacement section 23 is projected in a virtual horizontal projection plane, as shown for example in FIG. 7, the replacement section 23 may include a part of the loading edge 14 and the inner edge 16 as well as an abutting edge 25, which is the edge of the replacement section 23 adjacent to the base section 22. In the assembled state, the abutting edge 25 thus extends within the floor surface of the material hopper 5. The replacement section may accordingly have a triangular contour in this projection plane, in particular in the form of a right-angled triangle. In the region of the abutting edge 25, a scaling means may further be arranged between the base section 22 and the replacement section 23 in order to facilitate subsequent releasing of the fastening device.

The swivel section 9r thus comprises the base section 22, which includes the side wall element 13′, in particular in its entirety, the rear wall element 11′, in particular in its entirety, but only a part of the floor wall element 12′. The remaining part of the floor wall element 12′ is formed by the replacement section 23, which preferably forms exclusively a part of the floor wall element 12′ of the swivel section 9r in relation to the wall elements 11′, 12′ and 13′. While remaining stationary in itself, this overall unit as a whole can also be swiveled relative to the front plate 17, as illustrated in FIG. 10. The front flap 17 is stationary relative to, for example, the machine frame 3 of the road construction machine 1. Relative to this overall structure, the swivel section 9r (and also 91), comprising the base section 22 and the replacement section 23, is swiveled up to the emptying position shown in FIG. 10. An actuator 26 (shown as an example in FIG. 2) may be provided to drive this adjustment movement. This actuator 26, for example a hydraulic cylinder, is preferably arranged between the machine frame 3 or at least a part of the road construction machine 1 that is stationary relative to the machine frame 3 and the base section 22 of the respective swivel section 9 and is therefore not articulated directly to the replacement section 23, although this is generally also possible.

The swivel section 9r, 91, in particular the replacement section 23, may be free of overlap with respect to the front plate 17, but may also overlap the latter at least partially.

The base section 22 and the replacement section 23 may be connected to each other in such a way that their floor surface areas lie in a common plane. They may both be flat in the region of their floor surface and configured such that they merge seamlessly into one another.

The division of the swivel section into the base section 22 and the replacement section 23 is therefore not actually required for the use of the swivel variant, as these two elements are always used as a fixed overall unit. However, the presence of this predetermined separation point between the base section 22 and the replacement section 23 makes it considerably easier to upgrade the road construction machine 1 from the swivel variant to the scraper variant. The main steps of the conversion method provided for this purpose are explained in the flow chart of FIG. 13 and are also illustrated in more detail in the other figures.

The method for converting a road construction machine 1 comprises, if the road construction machine 1 is converted from the swivel variant to the scraper variant, dismantling the replacement section 23 from the base section 22 in a step I. For this purpose, the fastening device 24 is released, for example by releasing a suitable threaded connection or a comparable releasable connection. This allows the replacement section 23 to be selectively removed from the respective swivel section 9r, 91, as shown in FIG. 8 as an example. The remaining swivel section 9r, 91 (or the respective base section 22) can remain on the road construction machine 1.

Instead of the replacement section 23, in a step II a scraper plate 20 swiveling relative to the base section 22 is mounted on the base section 22, wherein in step III installing is preferably carried out at least partially using parts of the fastening device 24 on the base section 22, via which the replacement section 23 was fastened to the base section 22. In contrast to the replacement section 23, however, the scraper plate 24 is not fastened to the base section 22 in a fixed or stationary manner, but is connected in an articulated manner, for example via a swivel joint, in particular via a swivel hinge. The scraper plate 20 may further differ in its contour from the replacement section 23. In fact, it is advantageous if the scraper plate 20 is a larger floor surface element 12′ or has a larger base surface compared to the replacement section 23 and, in particular, if its corner formed by the loading edge 14 and the abutting edge 24 is extended further towards the longitudinal center axis, i.e., in the direction of the longitudinal conveyor 8. As a result, the scraper plate 20 overlaps the area of the front plate 17 of the swivel variant or the front plate 18 of the scraper variant and can thus swivel in relative to the base section 22 when the respective swivel section 9r, 91 is adjusted by the swivel-up movement of the swivel section 9r, 91 per se and/or by an upward swivel of the front flap 18 towards the longitudinal conveyor 8, thereby effecting optimized material guidance towards the longitudinal conveyor 8.

Accordingly, in a step IV, the conversion method may comprise replacing the front plate 17, which is stationary relative to the machine frame 3, with the front flap 18, which can be swiveled relative to the machine frame 3 between a swiveled-down loading position and a swiveled-up unloading position. This additional conversion step may also comprise the installation of the actuator 21 or at least connecting the front flap 18 to the actuator 21, which may also be pre-installed. For this purpose, the road construction machine 1 may be equipped with a special accommodation space 27, in particular below the front plate 17, in which the actuator 21 is pre-installed or can be installed later.

The functionalities gained by the described conversion are illustrated in particular by a comparison of FIG. 10 concerning the swivel variant with FIGS. 11 and 12 concerning the scraper variant. In the swivel variant, the swivel section 9r swivels as a rigid unit about the swivel axis S from the filling position to the emptying position shown in FIG. 10. This movement takes place, for example, adjacent to the front plate 17 or with comparatively little overlap.

In comparison, in the scraper variant shown in FIGS. 11 and 12, the swivel section 9r, 91 is not only swiveled upwards, specifically from the filling position shown in FIG. 11 towards the emptying position shown in FIG. 12. Because the scraper plate 20 overlaps the front flap 18 (or also the front plate 17), it also swivels in relative to the swivel section 9r towards the interior of the material hopper 5, scrapes over the floor surface formed by the front flap 18 (or the front plate 17) and pushes any material located there towards the longitudinal conveyor 8. At the same time, this additionally narrows the free space between the two swivel sections 9r and 91 towards the loading edge 14, so that this increased configuration effort reduces the overall risk of paving material falling out from the material hopper 5 via the loading edge 14 when the swivel sections 9r, 91 are adjusted.

ROAD CONSTRUCTION MACHINE, IN PARTICULAR ROAD PAVER OR FEEDER, AND METHOD FOR CONVERTING SUCH A ROAD CONSTRUCTION MACHINE

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