Patent Application
20240368848
The present disclosure relates generally to the field of cold planing or milling, and more particularly to an anti-slabbing system for a cold planer having a plurality of segments.
Road planing or milling is the practice of removing an upper layer of paving material from a traffic bearing substrate forming a road. Paving material used in road construction tends to deteriorate over time as a result of weathering, traffic wear, fatigue, biological processes and still other factors. It is common practice for new “lifts” of paving material to be paved upon older, worn layers. Eventually, however, it becomes impractical to build the road any higher, and some or all of the road needs to be rebuilt. Milling machines (e.g., cold planers) are commonly used to cut old paving material from the traffic bearing substrate to enable the placement of new paving material on top.
A typical cold planer is a self-propelled machine or attachment to a self-propelled machine that includes a cutting mechanism (e.g., milling rotor) configured to remove paving material to some specified depth, rendering a more or less planar surface to serve as a grade upon which a new mat of paving material is to be placed. The process of cold planing tends to be fairly demanding, as substantial energy may be required to cut the relatively hard and dense substrate, then elevate the cut material to a conveyor for off-loading from the cold planer. It will thus be readily understood that the operating environment of cold planers tends to be harsh, and the components of such machines subjected to quite demanding conditions.
Among other challenges, in certain instances the cutting mechanism of a cold planer may break off relatively large slabs of to-be-milled material (e.g., old laid pavement) which the conveyor and other sub-systems have difficulty in handling. Anti-slabbing moldboards may be included on cold planers in front of the milling chamber to provide a counteracting force on the top portion of roadways. Some old roadways may have uneven surfaces such that a solid anti-slabbing moldboard may not be able to apply the counteracting force evenly at all points across the width being milled. Hence, it would be advantageous to provide a system that could adapt to different surface profiles.
The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate various exemplary embodiments and together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the disclosure.
The milling machine 100 may further include a cutting mechanism (e.g., rotor) 114 coupled to the frame 102 and having a housing 116 defining a cutting chamber 120. A set of actuators 118 are provided to raise and lower the housing 116, typically in conjunction with adjustments to a cutting depth of the cutting mechanism 114 in a manner that will be familiar to those skilled in the art. The cutting mechanism 114 includes a rotatable cutter 122 which may rotate in a direction counter to a forward travel direction of the milling machine 100. The cutting mechanism 114 is positioned within the housing 116 and configured to cut material of a substrate (e.g., asphalt, pavement) 190 underlying the milling machine 100. An anti-slabbing system 150 comprising an anti-slabbing mechanism may be coupled to the frame 102 and may include an upwardly oriented base plate 152 extending across a front side 128 of the cutting chamber 120, a forwardly projecting plow 154 for plowing loose material lying upon the substrate 190, and a plurality of skids 156. A primary conveyor 160 is positioned forward of the base plate 152. The primary conveyor 160 may be coupled to and supported upon the base plate 152 for feeding material cut from the substrate 190 via the rotatable cutter 122 to a secondary conveyor 162 projecting forward from the frame 102. A positioning mechanism may be coupled with the secondary conveyor 162, to enable left, right, and potentially up and down position control of the secondary conveyor 162. As will be further apparent from the following description, various design features of the milling machine 100 are contemplated to enable improvements in cutting quality, production efficiency, and other desirable advancements over the state of the art.
In some embodiments, a controller may be in communication with one or more features of milling machine 100. The controller may receive inputs from and send outputs to, for example, user interfaces in the operator control station 112 and/or an interface remote from the milling machine 100. For example, the milling machine 100 may include electrohydraulic and/or hydro mechanical hydraulic systems, and the controller may control electrical switches and/or valves to operate hydraulic cylinders, motors, actuators, and/or electrical elements. The controller may include one or more controllers each associated with one or more components or systems of the milling machine 100. For example, the controller may be in communication with a pump and/or directional control valves, as described in further detail herein.
The milling machine 100 may include a prime mover (e.g., engine, motor) for supplying driving power for driven components (e.g., propulsion elements 108 and 110, rotatable cutter 122, primary conveyor 160, secondary conveyor 162) of the milling machine 100. Further, the prime mover may be coupled to a pump or generator for providing hydraulic, pneumatic, or electrical power to the milling machine 100.
In some embodiments, a first and a second actuator mount 158 may also be coupled to the base plate 152 and configured to couple with actuators for adjusting a height of the anti-slabbing mechanism of the anti-slabbing system 150 for transport of and/or while operating the milling machine 100. The anti-slabbing mechanism of the anti-slabbing system 150 may include a first and a second guide rail 159 attached to the base plate 152 adjacent the outboard peripheral edges.
The plow 154 of the anti-slabbing mechanism of the anti-slabbing system 150 may project forward from the base plate 152, as mentioned above, and may include a blade and support arms extending between the base plate 152 and the blade. Elongate ribs may also extend between the base plate 152 and the blade. Transverse plates may extend between the support arms. Additional structural plates may be provided which attach to the transverse plates as well as to the blade. In some embodiments, the plow 154 may extend vertically upwardly a distance which may be equal to or greater than about one-fifth of a height of the base plate 152 as measured from the lower peripheral edge to the vertically uppermost part of the upper peripheral edge. In this way, the blade may push loose material lying upon the substrate 190 downward and to the side, to prevent the material from spilling over the top of the blade and thus contacting an underside of the primary conveyor 160 while operating. The transverse plates may assist in protecting the primary conveyor 160 from material that spills over the blade.
The skids 156 may be arranged in a subsets positioned on outboard sides of the plow 154. Each of the skids 156 may be positioned underneath the base plate 152 and include a downwardly facing lower surface, which together define a common horizontal plane. In some embodiments, the skids 156 may downwardly depend from the base plate 152 and define a substrate contacting footprint of the anti-slabbing mechanism of the anti-slabbing system 150. In this way the anti-slabbing system 150 may apply a slabbing opposition force on uncut material of the substrate 190. Positioning the skids 156 in the manner described herein (e.g., downwardly depending from the lower peripheral edge of the anti-slabbing mechanism) makes the lower surfaces of each of the skids 156 the lowest point in space of the anti-slabbing system 150 when installed for operation on the milling machine 100. In some embodiments, the plow 154 may be positioned within the anti-slabbing system 150 such that a vertical clearance extends between the plow 154 and the substrate 190 when the anti-slabbing mechanism of the anti-slabbing system 150 rests on a flat surface.
In some embodiments, the milling machine 100 may include a plurality of hydraulic lines to control hydraulic cylinders and/or hydraulic motors. The milling machine 100 may include a hydraulic pump for supplying high pressure hydraulic fluid through one or more hydraulic lines to one or more hydraulic cylinders and/or hydraulic motors. Additionally, each hydraulic cylinder and/or motor may include an electrical solenoid and one or more hydraulic valves. The solenoid may receive one or more signals from the controller to control and position/rotation each hydraulic cylinder/motor by configuring the flow of hydraulic fluid through the valves.
The delivery of the hydraulic fluid may be controlled by the controller. In some embodiments, the controller may control the delivery of hydraulic fluid through the hydraulic lines to hydraulic cylinders within the anti-slabbing system 150 to control the amount of slabbing opposition force applied to the uncut material of the substrate 190.
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Each of the anti-slab segments 255 of the anti-slabbing system 250 may be connected to the frame of the milling machine via segment biasing mechanisms 257 (e.g., springs, hydraulic cylinders). Each segment biasing mechanism 257 may bias the connected anti-slab segment 255 downward toward the underlying substrate. The downward biasing force applied to the anti-slab segments 255 by the segment biasing mechanisms 257 may be individually and/or collectively adjustable.
In some embodiments, one or more of the plurality of anti-slab segments 255 may include a plow projecting forward from the front face of the anti-slab segment 255. In some embodiments, one or more of the anti-slab segments 255 may include a skid, as described above with respect to the anti-slabbing system 150 of
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As in the anti-slabbing system 250 of
In some embodiments, one or more of the independent anti-slab segments 355 may be positioned in front of the base plate 352 of the anti-slabbing mechanism 351. In some embodiments, one or more of the anti-slab segments 355 may be positioned to the side of the plow 354 of the anti-slabbing mechanism 351.
The various aspects of the anti-slabbing systems of the present disclosure may be used in any milling machine or other machine to assist in conforming to a transverse profile (e.g., cross-slope) of a substrate to thereby better distribute down pressures for aiding in prevention of the substrate slabbing. In this way, uneven substrate (e.g., road) surfaces may not reduce the effectiveness of the anti-slabbing systems (e.g., moldboards) since direct contact with lower surfaces of the substrate—rather than just the highest surface—is facilitated.
Any number of anti-slab segments are possible within the anti-slabbing systems disclosed herein. A higher number of anti-slab segments may enable more closely conforming to the transverse profile of the underlying substrate.
In some embodiments, a controller of the milling machine may remotely and/or automatically control the downward biasing force of the segment biasing mechanisms on the anti-slab segments. In this way, the slabbing opposition force applied to uncut material of a substrate underlying the milling machine may be manually and/or automatically adjusted to optimize slabbing control. For example, feedback from conveyor systems on a milling machine may indicate the presence and/or absence of slabbing via various sensors (e.g., weight, optical), and in response, the downward biasing force could be increased and/or decreased.
In some embodiments, the downward biasing force of the anti-slabbing system may automatically vary with the speed and/or load of the rotatable cutter of the milling machine. In some embodiments, the downward biasing force of the anti-slabbing system may be automatically set based on the type of substrate input, calculated, and/or sensed.
In some embodiments, although not shown, the anti-slabbing system may include anti-slab segments and an anti-slabbing mechanism, which may further be divided into independently vertically movable sections. In some embodiments, the anti-slabbing system may include multiple rows of independently vertically movable anti-slab segments. Other patterns and/or configurations of the anti-slab segments are possible.
In some embodiments, the anti-slab segments may be added on and/or retrofit onto a milling machine already equipped with a anti-slabbing mechanism.
In some embodiments, the anti-slab segments, segment biasing mechanisms, and/or wear skids may be easily removed and replaced in accordance with wear.
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 anti-slabbing systems for milling machines 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.
