FR2671567A1 - Machine for simultaneously spreading at least one solid material and a binder - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a machine for simultaneously spreading at least one solid material such as grit, sand, filamentary material, cement- or lime-based gravel mixes etc. and a binder, such as hot bitumen or water. The said machine is mounted on the chassis (1) and includes a storage device (2) containing the said solid material, a device (3) for spreading the said solid material, and a transverse boom (41) for distributing (dispensing) the said binder, connected to a binder tank (42) via a positive displacement pump. Means (29, 34 and 27, 33), for guiding the material extracted from the storage device (2) to the ground, and driven by the extractor (12), are respectively provided at the front and at the rear of the said extractor (12), and the said extractor (12) can drive the material at the exit of the storage device (2) selectively towards the rear guide means (27 and 33) when the vehicle advances, and towards the front guide means (29 and 34) when it reverses, the spray heads (43) having their outlets situated below the extractor (12).

Description

 The present invention relates to a machine for the simultaneous spreading of at least one solid material such as gravel, sand, filaria, mixed bass based on cement or lime etc. and a binder such as hot bitumen or water in order to carry out the coating or repair of a roadway, a path, a sports field, etc.

Such machines are known and we can cite, by way of example, the machine described in the patent document.
FR-A-2 576 336. They are mounted on the chassis of a vehicle and generally comprise a storage device containing said solid material, a device for spreading said material, and a transverse ramp for distributing said connected binder. to a binder tank via a positive displacement pump. The spreading device consists, for example, of an extractor partly arranged under the outlet of the storage device, of means for guiding the material extracted from the storage device to the ground. storage and driven by the extractor, of a set of contiguous valves over a width at least equal to that of the storage device and which can individually or not block a corresponding width of the outlet of the storage device and thus prevent the material stored in the storage device reaching, over this width, the extractor. Means for metering the material on the extractor are also provided for metering the amount of material to be spread according to its particle size. The ramp carries a series of diffusion heads turned downward and in a number equal to the number of valves, each head being ordered at the same time as the valve with the same order number as in the valve series.

 The object of the invention is to provide such a machine which can function correctly while the vehicle carrying it is moving either in forward or in reverse. Such a machine allows spreading work both in forward and reverse, which, in certain situations, facilitates coating or repair operations. I1 this is so, for example, during the coating with two layers of a path or a road not presenting, for the carrier vehicle, possibilities for making a U-turn.

With a machine according to the invention, a first layer is produced in the first direction and the second in the other direction.

 To achieve this goal, means for guiding the solid material extracted from the storage device and driven by the extractor to the ground are respectively provided at the front and at the rear of said extractor and said extractor can drive the material to the exit from the storage device selectively towards the rear guide means when, said machine operating, the vehicle is in forward gear and towards the front guide means when, said machine operating, it is in reverse gear. In addition, the diffusion heads have their outputs which are located under the extractor between the front guide means and the rear guide means so that the binder is first cast on the ground then, the vehicle moving forward or backward, the material falls, respectively from the rear or front guide means, on the ground area where the binder is located.

 In order, on the one hand, to simplify the mechanical production of this machine and, on the other hand, to facilitate its use, the storage device consists of a hopper. In addition, the latter, the device for spreading said solid material and the binder distribution ramp are fixedly mounted on the chassis of said vehicle.

 The machine of the invention is then directly operational, unlike the machines known up to now where the storage device is a tilting skip and which firstly need to tilt the skip and then to adjust, by mechanical pivoting means. relatively horizontal and costly to implement, the horizontality of the spreading device and of the platform which supports the machine operator.

 To increase the capacity of solid material transported, a tilting bucket can be provided which can discharge the material it contains into the hopper.

 According to one embodiment of the invention, each means for guiding the material extracted from the storage device and driven by the extractor to the ground consists of an inclined diffuser directed towards the main face of a counter-diffuser. opposite inclination, each diffuser and each counter-diffuser having a length at least equal to the width of the extractor.

 According to a characteristic of the invention, the metering means consist of metering blades respectively placed at the front and the rear of the outlet of the storage device, each blade being substantially in a plane orthogonal to the drive surface of the extractor and being able to move, for adjustment of its height relative to said drive surface, substantially in this plane, the material on the extractor downstream of each of the blades being in the form of a sheet of which the thickness is determined by the height of said blade above the extractor drive surface.

 So that the flow characteristics towards the extractor of the solid material contained in the hopper are independent of the quantity of material in the hopper, the outlet of the storage device is in the form of a substantially vertical chute whose outlet gives on a part of the extractor drive surface.

 According to a first embodiment, the extractor consists of an endless belt conveyor comprising two transverse drums between which a mat horizontally passes at least at least equal to that of the outlet of the storage device, said mat being able to pass in one direction or the other to respectively drive the solid material on the carpet towards the front guide means or towards the rear guide means depending on whether, said machine being in operation, the vehicle is in forward or reverse direction .

 This particular embodiment has advantages in particular with regard to the technical results which it offers and also with regard to the simplification of its design and of the positioning of its various elements with respect to each other.

 According to another embodiment, the extractor consists of a transverse drum which can turn in one direction or the other depending on whether, said machine being in operation, the vehicle is in forward or reverse gear.

 According to another embodiment, the extractor consists of two drums transverse to the axes substantially in the same horizontal plane, one drum being in front of the other, the front drum rotating in one direction to drive the material out of the device. storage towards the front guide means, and the rear drum rotating in an opposite direction to drive the material out of the storage device towards the rear guide means, a horizontal plate being provided, along the entire length of the drums, to be flush each of the drums in its upper part.

 In order to be able to transport and spread more than one material at a time, provision has been made to compartmentalize the storage device by internal longitudinal walls.

 To ensure spreading of solid material and binder in layers of constant thickness whatever the speed of movement of the vehicle, the speed of travel of the extractor drive surface and the flow rate of the binder at the outlet of the positive displacement pump for distributing the binder to said ramp are slaved to the speed of movement of the vehicle which carries said machine when the latter is in operation.

 Thus, the higher this displacement speed, the greater the flow of material at the outlet of the extractor and therefore the flow of material spread on the ground as well as the flow of binder at the outlet of the diffusion heads.

The characteristics of the invention mentioned above, as well as others, will appear more clearly on reading the following description of an exemplary embodiment, said description being made in relation to the accompanying drawings, among which:
Fig. 1 is an overall and side view of a machine according to the invention mounted on a vehicle of which only the rear part is seen here,
Fig. 2 is a sectional view along a longitudinal vertical plane of a machine according to the invention,
Fig. 3 is a side view of another embodiment of a machine according to the invention,
Fig. 4 is a sectional view along a longitudinal vertical plane of another embodiment of the invention in which the extractor consists of two drums, and
Fig. 5 is a sectional view of another embodiment of the invention in which the extractor consists of a single drum.

 The machine for simultaneously spreading at least one solid material and one binder shown in FIG. 1 is mounted on the chassis 1 of a vehicle and comprises a storage device 2 containing said solid material, a device 3 for spreading said material. The vehicle can be a truck, trailer or semi-trailer.

 In the particularly advantageous embodiments described below, the storage device consists of a hopper.

However, it could also consist of a tilting skip, the machine being able to be mounted, in this case, at the rear of said skip.

In Fig. 1, the hopper 2 comprises a front wall 4 and a rear wall 5 both inclined in a "V" shape and resting on support beams 6. The front walls 4 and rear 5 have their lower ends which terminate respectively in walls vertical 7 and 8 to form a vertical chute 9 over the entire width of the hopper 2. It will be noted that the rear vertical wall 8 is higher than the front vertical wall 7, this in order to facilitate the flow of the material in the chute 9 The side faces of the hopper 2, of which only one, that of the background 10, is visible on the
Fig. 1, are mounted fixed on the chassis 1 and are extended downwards by the sides 11 of the spreading device 3.

 This is shown in more detail in FIG. 2. I1 comprises, under the outlet of the chute 9, an extractor 12 which occupies a width at least equal to that of the hopper 2. I1 advantageously consists of an endless belt conveyor comprising two transverse drums 13 and 14 between which runs substantially horizontally an endless belt 15, for example, of rubber. The belt 15 is driven by one of the drums 14 itself driven by a motor 16. As will be seen later, the endless belt 15 can scroll in one direction (arrow A) or in the other (arrow B) depending on whether, with the machine in operation, the vehicle carrying it moves forward or reverse.

 Note now that the extractor 12 could also consist of two transverse drums, one in front of the other, both placed under the chute 9 and driven inversely from one another. I1 could also consist of a single transverse drum placed under the outlet of the chute 9 and which can be selectively driven in one direction or the other.

 In the case of an endless belt extractor, the upper strand of the belt 15 constitutes a drive surface for the material which it carries.

 The spreading device also comprises a set of contiguous valves 17 over a width at least equal to that of the hopper 2.

Each valve 17 is provided to individually block or not block part of the width of the outlet of the chute 9 and thus prevent the material stored in the hopper 2 from reaching, over this width, the extractor 12. Each valve 17 is constituted a transverse hatch 18 fixed to the end of an arm 19 which can pivot about a transverse axis 20, the ends of which are respectively mounted on the sides 11 of the spreading device 3. The pivoting movement of each hatch 18 is controlled by a double-acting cylinder 21 so that it can take all the positions between an extreme opening position where the material contained in the hopper 2 can exit therefrom and an extreme closing position where it closes part of the outlet from the hopper 2. The doors 18 are, for example, fourteen in number. Between two adjacent doors 18, there are provided longitudinal walls 22, the lower edge 23 of which is slightly above on the extractor drive surface 12. The two walls 22 which surround a hatch 18 form a longitudinal channel for the material which leaves the chute 9 in the direction of the front or rear end of the extractor 12.

 Above each drum 13 and 14 of the extractor 12, there is provided a metering blade 24 having a profile in an arc, the cord of which is substantially orthogonal to the conveyor belt 12 and having a width equal to that of the belt 15. The valves 24 can pivot around a transverse axis 25, the ends of which are respectively mounted on the sides 11 of the spreading device 3. Under the effect of this pivoting movement controlled, for example, by a manual control member or automatic (not shown), each metering valve 24 has its wall in an arc which moves substantially orthogonally to the drive surface of the belt 15.

It can thus take all the positions between a first extreme position where its lower edge 26 is flush with the carpet 15 and partially blocks the passage of the material carried by the carpet 15 and a second extreme position where this edge 26 is found substantially at the height upper edges of the guide walls 22.

In practice, this pivoting is limited to a few degrees, which allows the material carried by the belt 15 to appear downstream of the metering blades 24 in the form of a layer of thickness determined by the height of the edge 26 of these blades 24 above the drive surface of the extractor 12.

 At the rear of the rear drum 14 and slightly below its longitudinal horizontal plane of symmetry, there is provided a diffuser 27 inclined towards the rear and having, at its upper end, a bevelled edge 28 which is located in the vicinity of the belt 15 of the extractor 12. Similarly, at the front of the front drum 13 and below the longitudinal plane of symmetry of the extractor 12, there is provided a diffuser 29 inclined towards the front and whose upper edge 30 is bevelled and is in the vicinity of the mat 15. The lower ends 31 and 32 of the diffusers 27 and 29 respectively give on the main faces of the counter-diffuser 33 and 34 of inclination opposite to that of the corresponding diffusers 27 and 29. The diffusers 27 and 29 are mounted transversely on the sides 11 of the spreading device 3. The counter-diffusers 33 and 34 are mounted on the sides 11 of the spreading device by means of supports 35 and 36. The diffusers 27 and 29 and counter-diffusers 33 and 34 have a length equal to the width of the extractor 12.

Made integral with the spreading device 3 by means of two lateral arms (only the one in the background 37 is visible on the
Fig. 2) respectively mounted on the sides 11 of the spreading device 3, a fixed horizontal platform 38 is provided supporting, on its rear and at the end of the uprights 39, a console 40 for controlling the starting or stopping of the engine 16 , its direction of rotation, the opening or closing of the valves 17.

 Under the extractor 12, substantially in a vertical plane of symmetry thereof, between the assemblies consisting of diffusers 27 and 29 and counter-diffusers. 33 and 34, there is provided a binder distribution ramp 41 arranged transversely. It is supplied with binder by a suitable pipe (not shown) connected to a tank 42 (Fig. 1) via a positive displacement pump (not shown) ensuring the flow of the binder. This ramp 41 carries a series of diffusion heads 43 facing downwards and in a number equal to the number of hatches 18. The set of heads sweeps an area of width substantially equal to the width of the belt 15 of the extractor 12.

The control of the opening of each diffusion head 43 is carried out, from the console 40, by an appropriate valve (not shown) controlled in synchronism with the opening of the hatch which has the same serial number as it in the series of hatches 18
The operation of a spreading machine according to the invention is now described.

 Note, for starters, that it does not require, for correct operation, as in the case of known machines mounted at the rear of a dump body of a truck, the adjustment of the platform as a function of the inclination of the bucket. It is directly operational thanks to the presence of the hopper channeling the material on the extractor 12 which is made integral with the chassis 1 of the vehicle carrying it. The hopper 2 being fixed, the platform which is mounted on it is also fixed. This arrangement allows mechanical simplification which results in a lower manufacturing cost.

 The vehicle carrying the machine of the invention can move on the road as it is.

 Prior to any operation, the height of the metering blades above the drive surface of the conveyor belt 15 of the extractor 12 must be adjusted, and this is done essentially as a function of the particle size of the material used.

 On a construction site, a machine according to the invention can be used to seal potholes in a roadway. This operation can be carried out while the vehicle carrying it is in forward or reverse direction at reduced speed.

To carry out such an operation in forward gear, the extractor 12 is started to drive the material leaving the chute 9 towards the rear dosing blade 24, then on the rear diffuser 27. It then scrolls in the direction shown by the arrow A of
Fig. 2. The hatch or hatches 18 corresponding to the position of the pothole relative to the machine are open. Similarly, the diffusion head or heads 43 corresponding to the open valve or valves 18 are open. The binder then flows into the pothole to be repaired, then, due to the advancement of the vehicle, the material, which may be gravel, guided on the diffuser 27 and the counter-diffuser 33, is spread over the binder in the pothole.

 In reverse, the extractor 12 is started so that it drives the material at the outlet of the chute 9 towards the front metering blade 24 and onto the front diffuser 29. The direction of travel of the belt 15 is then that shown by arrow B in Fig. 2. The doors 18 corresponding to the position of the repair relative to the machine are open, as are the corresponding diffusion heads 43. The binder flows first into the pothole to be repaired, then the gravel, guided on the front diffuser 29 and on the front counter-diffuser 34, spreads in the spread binder.

 Once the repair work has been carried out, the valves 17 are closed and the extractor 12 is possibly stopped. The vehicle can move until the next repair.

 For these repair operations, the operator controls the openings and closings of the valves 17 and of the diffusion heads 41 from the control station 40 on the platform 38.

 To carry out the coating of a roadway, all of the valves 17 are open and the material (generally gravel) pours over the entire width of the machine. This coating can be done in forward or reverse.

 To perform such an operation where the vehicle carrying the machine is in forward gear, the extractor 12 is started so that it pours the material at the outlet of the chute 9 onto the rear diffuser 27 (direction of travel of the carpet corresponding to arrow A). The binder flows on the ground through all of the diffusion heads 43 which are all open. Then the material falling from the diffuser 27 onto the counter-diffuser 33, agglutinates in the binder to form the coating.

 In reverse, the extractor 12 rotates in the opposite direction to the previous one (direction of travel of the mat corresponding to arrow B) so that the gravel can fall into the freshly poured binder.

 Note that in forward operation, the operation can only require an operator placed in the cabin of the vehicle carrying the machine if the console 40 controls have been provided in duplicate in this cabin.

 When a two-layer coating is applied, a first layer can be applied in forward and the second layer immediately after in reverse. Or vice versa. A machine according to the invention is particularly advantageous in certain situations where, once the first layer has been produced, the vehicle carrying it cannot turn around to produce the second layer.

 Note that the binder used can be water and, in this case, the material in the hopper 2 can be gravels mixed with cement or lime or products such as ash, etc.

 It should also be noted that the speed of rotation of the motor of the extractor 12 is determined according to various factors including the speed of movement of the vehicle carrying the spreading machine, the thickness of the layer of material to be spread, the nature of the material to be spread, etc.

 The speed of travel of the drive surface of the extractor 12, that is to say the speed of travel of the belt 14, is preferably controlled by the speed of movement of the vehicle carrying the machine, when it is in operation.

 Likewise, the flow rate of the binder at the outlet of the diffusion heads 43 is controlled by the speed of rotation of the positive displacement pump which feeds the ramp 41. This speed is also controlled by the speed of movement of the vehicle carrying the machine.

 Thus, the flow rate of solid material spread on the ground and the flow rate of binder also spread, are an increasing function of the speed of movement of the vehicle. If this speed is high, the flow rates are high and vice versa.

 This characteristic makes it possible to maintain a constant applied coating thickness, whatever the instantaneous speed of the vehicle.

 In Fig. 3, an alternative embodiment of a spreading machine according to the invention has been shown. It essentially comprises, like that already described in relation to FIG. 1, a hopper 2 and a spreading device 3 mainly consisting of an extractor 12, for example, of the endless belt conveyor type, of valves 17 for opening or closing the outlet of the hopper 2, of blades front and rear metering units 24 and diffusers 27 and 29 and counter-diffusers 33 and 34. I1 also includes a binder distribution ramp 41 supplied by a binder tank 42 mounted on the chassis 1 of the vehicle carrying said machine.

 The inclined front wall 4 of the hopper 2 is truncated in its upper part and receives, substantially on its upper edge, a transverse tilting axis 44 of a bucket 45. The tilting of the bucket 45 is, for example, controlled by a cylinder (not shown). In the lowered position, the bucket 45 rests on the chassis 1 of the vehicle carrying the machine and has its bottom 46 which is substantially horizontal.

In the raised position, its bottom 46 is inclined towards the inside of the hopper 2 so that the material which it contains can pour into the hopper 2.

 This particular means makes it possible to store a larger volume of solid material. By the presence of the hopper 2, the outlet of which ends in the form of a vertical chute 9 and which is fixed relative to the chassis 1 of the vehicle carrying the machine, the physical conditions for pouring the material onto the extractor 12 are not not modified by the tilting state of the bucket 45.

 Figs. 4 and 5 show alternative embodiments of the invention in which the extractors 12 respectively consist, on the one hand, of two drums 47 and 48 and, on the other hand, of a single drum 50.

In Fig. 4, the two drums 47 and 48 have transverse axes in the same horizontal plane. They are placed partly under the outlet of the chute 9 and symmetrically on either side with respect to a vertical plane of symmetry of the chute 9, so that when a hatch 18 is open, the material contained in the hopper 2 pours over one and the other of the drums 47 and 48. Between the two drums 47 and 48 is provided, over their entire length, a horizontal plate 51 which is flush with them in their upper part. Each of the drums 47 and 48 is designed to rotate in the direction shown by the arrows A and
B corresponding to arrows A and B in FIG. 2.The front drum 47 is designed to rotate (arrow B) so that its peripheral surface, called the driving surface, drives the material at the outlet of the chute 9 towards the dosing blade 24 before, then on the front diffuser 29 Similarly, the rear drum 48 is designed to rotate (arrow A) so that its peripheral surface drives the material at the outlet of the chute 9 towards the rear dosing blade 24 then on the rear diffuser 27. The rotation of the front drum 47 can be controlled by reversing the vehicle carrying the machine while the rotation of the rear drum is controlled by the forward movement of said vehicle.

 In Fig. 5, a single transverse drum 50 is provided. It can turn in one direction or the other (arrow A or B). I1 rotates (arrow A) so that its peripheral surface pulls the material backwards out of the chute 9 when the vehicle moves forward and turns in the other direction (arrow B) so as to drive towards before the material at the outlet of the chute 9 when the vehicle is reversing.

 Finally, note that it is possible to partition the hopper 2 by one or more internal longitudinal walls so as to be able to transport two or more different materials. They can, for example, be spread simultaneously which avoids, in some cases of use of the machine, making several passes.

Claims (11)

 1) Machine for simultaneous spreading of at least one solid material, such as gravel, sand, filaria, mixed gravel based on cement or lime etc. and a binder, such as hot bitumen or water, said machine being mounted on the chassis (1) of a vehicle and comprising a storage device (2) containing said solid material, a device (3) for spreading of said solid material, and a transverse ramp (41) for distributing said binder connected to a binder tank (42) via a positive displacement pump, the spreading device (3) consisting of an extractor (12) arranged in part under the outlet of the storage device (2), means for guiding the material extracted from the storage device (2) and driven by the extractor (12) to the ground, from a set of valves (17) contiguous on a width at least equal to that of the storage device (2) and which can individually block or not a corresponding width of the outlet of the storage device (2) and thus prevent the material stored in the storage device (2) from reaching , over this width, the extractor (12), and means (24) of d Osage of the material on the extractor (12), said ramp (41) carrying a series of diffusion heads (43) turned downwards and in a number equal to the number of valves (17), each head (43) being controlled by same time as the valve (17) with the same order number as in the valve assembly (17), characterized in that the means (29, 34 and 27,  33) for guiding the material extracted from the storage device (2) and driven by the extractor (12) to the ground are respectively provided at the front and at the rear of said extractor (12) and in that said extractor (12) can drive the material out of the storage device (2) selectively towards the rear guide means (27 and 33) when, said machine operating, the vehicle advances and towards the front guide means (29 and 34) when, said machine operating, it moves back, the diffusion heads 43 having their outlets which are located under the extractor (12) between the front guide means (29, 34) and the rear guide means (27 and 33).  2) spreading machine according to claim 1, characterized in that the storage device is a hopper (2), and in that said hopper (2), the device (3) for spreading said material and the ramp (41 ) binder distribution are fixedly mounted on the chassis (1) of the vehicle carrying said machine.  3) spreading machine according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that a tilting bucket (45) is provided for discharging, in the hopper (2), the material it contains.  4) Machine according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that each guide means Up to the ground of the material extracted from the storage device (2) and driven by the extractor (12) consists of a diffuser (27, 29 ) inclined and directed towards the main face of a counter-diffuser (33, 34) of opposite inclination, each diffuser (27, 29) and each counter-diffuser (33, 34) having a length at least equal to the width of the extractor (12).  5) Machine according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the metering means (24) consist of metering blades respectively placed at the front and the rear of the outlet of the storage device (2), each blade (24 ) being substantially in a plane orthogonal to the drive surface of the extractor (12) and being able to move, for adjustment of its height relative to said drive surface, substantially in this plane, the material on the extractor (12) downstream of each of the blades (24) in the form of a ply whose thickness is determined by the height of said blade (24) above said drive surface.  6) Machine according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the hopper (2) has its outlet which is in the form of a substantially vertical chute (9) whose outlet overlooks part of the drive surface of the extractor (12).  7) Machine according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the extractor (12) consists of an endless belt conveyor comprising two transverse drums (13 and 14) between which a belt (15) of width passes substantially horizontally at least equal to that of the outlet of the storage device (2), said belt (15) being able to scroll in one direction or the other to respectively drive the material on the belt (15) towards the front guide means (29 , 34) or towards the rear guide means (27 and 33) depending on whether, said machine being in operation, the vehicle is in forward or reverse gear.  8) Machine according to one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the extractor (12) consists of a single transverse drum (50) which can rotate in one direction or the other depending on whether said machine is in operation , the vehicle moves forwards or backwards  9) Machine according to one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the extractor (12) consists of two transverse drums (47 and 48) with axes substantially in the same horizontal plane, a drum (47) being in front of 1 ' other (48), the front drum (47) rotating in one direction to drive the material from the outlet of the storage device (2) to the front guide means (29), and the rear drum (48) rotating in one direction opposite to drive the material out of the storage device (2) towards the rear guide means (27, 33), a horizontal plate (51) being provided, along the entire length of the drums (47 and 48), to be flush each of the drums in its upper part.  10) Machine according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the hopper (2) is compartmentalized by internal longitudinal walls.  11) Machine according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the speed of travel of the drive surface of the extractor (12) and the flow of binder at the outlet of the volumetric pump for distributing the binder to said ramp ( 41) are controlled by the speed of movement of the vehicle which carries said machine when the latter is in operation.