Material placer and high volume supply hopper
AssigneeGuntert & Zimmerman Const. Div., Inc.
InventorsRonald M. Guntert, Jr., Iovtcho Delev
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A material placer having an augmented hopper, which can receive and convey concrete or other material. The augmented hopper has a relatively large volume, a bumper structure, a hinged flop gate, and a sliding gate plate mounted on the hinged flop gate for receiving concrete or other discharged material from delivery trucks. The hinged flop gate and/or the sliding plate can optionally be vibrated to aid in moving concrete or other material into the trough of the augmented hopper. The material placer is further configured to have ease of access for cleaning and maintenance.
Claims20
A material placer unit, configured to provide concrete or other materials to another machine or a location on a ground surface for further paving, the material placer unit comprising:
- a central module, comprising:
- a frame;
- a transfer conveyor;
- and
- one or more jacking columns configured to adjust a height of the frame;
- a hopper mechanically coupled to the central module, the hopper comprising:
- an auger positioned within an auger trough;
- a passageway located within a back wall of the hopper, wherein the transfer conveyor is configured to receive material from the hopper through the passageway;
- a gate configured to pivot relative to the auger trough about a pivot axis and configured to receive concrete or other material discharged from a delivery truck;
- and
- a sliding plate, wherein the sliding plate is slidably coupled to the gate so that the sliding plate pivots relative to the auger trough with the gate and so that the sliding plate is translatable relative to the gate in a sliding direction perpendicular to the pivot axis, and wherein the sliding plate is mechanically coupled to an actuation system configured to reciprocate the sliding plate back and forth in the sliding direction in order to move concrete or other materials received onto the sliding plate in the auger trough;
- a pivot yoke mechanically coupled to the central module;
- and
- a distribution conveyor mechanically coupled to the pivot yoke, the distribution conveyor having a conveyor belt, and the conveyor belt being arranged receive material from the transfer conveyor.
An augmented hopper, configured to receive concrete or other materials, comprising:
- an auger positioned within an auger trough, wherein the auger trough is defined in part by a back wall of the augmented hopper;
- a passageway located within the back wall;
- a gate configured to pivot relative to the auger trough about a pivot axis;
- and
- a sliding plate, wherein the sliding plate is slidably coupled to the gate so that the sliding plate pivots relative to the auger trough with the gate and so that the sliding plate is translatable relative to the gate in a sliding direction perpendicular to the pivot axis, and wherein the sliding plate is mechanically coupled to an actuation system configured to reciprocate the sliding plate back and forth in the sliding direction in order to move concrete or other materials received onto the sliding plate into the auger trough.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.