Cold planer rear door and sliding plates sealing design

A method for adjusting a position of a rotor housing side plate relative to a rotor housing partially enclosing a rotor of a cold planer that moves in a machine travel direction over a work surface as the rotor is engaged to grind material from the work surface, the method for adjusting comprising:

• engaging a rotor drive mechanism to drive the rotor;
• setting a rotor height of the rotor to a grinding height where the rotor will grind material from the work surface;
• engaging a cold planer drive mechanism to propel the cold planer in the machine travel direction;
• sensing a distance to an upstream portion of the work surface upstream of the rotor housing side plate in the machine travel direction;
• determining, based on the distance to the upstream portion, a vertical position of the rotor housing side plate relative to the rotor housing and a rotational orientation of the rotor housing side plate about a horizontal axis perpendicular to the machine travel direction relative to the rotor housing to dispose a bottom edge of the rotor housing side plate proximate the upstream portion of the work surface when the rotor housing passes over the upstream portion of the work surface;
• and
• actuating rotor housing side plate actuators to dispose the rotor housing side plate at the vertical position and the rotational orientation when the rotor housing passes over the upstream portion of the work surface.

A cold planer comprising:

• a rotor that grinds material from a work surface as the cold planer moves in a machine travel direction over the work surface;
• a rotor housing partially enclosing the rotor housing and having a rotor housing side wall;
• a first side plate retention plate mounted on the rotor housing side wall and defining a rotor housing side plate space there between;
• a rotor housing side plate disposed within the rotor housing side plate space so that the rotor housing side plate can move vertically relative to the rotor housing and rotate about a horizontal axis that is perpendicular to the machine travel direction;
• a first rotor housing side plate lift cylinder having a first rotor housing side plate lift cylinder actuator, a first cylinder first end fixed relative to one of the rotor housing and a frame of the cold planer and a first cylinder second end connected to the rotor housing side plate;
• a second rotor housing side plate lift cylinder having a second rotor housing side plate lift cylinder actuator, a second cylinder first end fixed relative to the one of the rotor housing and the frame and a second cylinder second end connected to the rotor housing side plate;
• a first distance sensor mounted on one of the rotor housing and the frame of the cold planer upstream of the rotor housing side plate;
• and
• a controller operatively connected to the first rotor housing side plate lift cylinder actuator, the second rotor housing side plate lift cylinder actuator and the first distance sensor, the controller being configured to:
• receive first distance sensor signals from the first distance sensor indicating a distance to an upstream portion of the work surface upstream of the rotor housing side plate in the machine travel direction as the cold planer moves in the machine travel direction over the work surface,
• determine from the first distance sensor signals a vertical position of the rotor housing side plate relative to the rotor housing and a rotational orientation of the rotor housing side plate about the horizontal axis perpendicular to the machine travel direction relative to the rotor housing to dispose a bottom edge of the rotor housing side plate proximate the upstream portion of the work surface when the rotor housing passes over the upstream portion of the work surface, and
• transmit lift cylinder actuator control signals to the first rotor housing side plate lift cylinder actuator and the second rotor housing side plate lift cylinder actuator to cause the first rotor housing side plate lift cylinder and the second rotor housing side plate lift cylinder to position the rotor housing side plate at the vertical position and the rotational orientation when the rotor housing passes over the upstream portion of the work surface.