Ride-On Roadway Maintenance Machine
AssigneeG2 Routers, LLC
InventorsGary Kempken, Gary Schildt, Michael Schildt
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A self-propelled roadway crack routing machine has an operator's station located on a front portion of the machine's chassis and including a forward-facing operator's seat. A driven crack routing cutter drum for routing cracks in a roadway surface is mounted on the front portion of the chassis in a location that can be monitored by a forward-facing operator while controlling machine steering and propulsion. The machine includes a steered rear wheel and unsteered front wheels. Machine steering and propulsion and implement operation may all be effected hydraulically.
Claims15
A roadway maintenance machine comprising:
- a chassis having front and rear portions disposed fore and aft of a lateral centerline, respectively;
- wheels that support the chassis on a roadway, the wheels including first and second laterally spaced non-steerable front wheels that each rotates about a horizontal axis that extends laterally of the machine and a rear wheel disposed laterally between the front wheels, the rear wheel being turnable about a vertical axis to steer the machine;
- an engine mounted on the chassis;
- an operator's station located on the chassis and including a forward-facing operator's seat;
- and
- a routing cutter drum, mounted on the front portion of the chassis, for performing roadway crack routing operations as the machine is propelled forwardly along the roadway, the cutter drum including a rotating cutter assembly that rotates about a horizontal cutter assembly axis that extends laterally of the machine.
A roadway maintenance machine comprising:
- a chassis having front and rear portions disposed fore and aft of a lateral centerline, respectively;
- wheels that support the chassis on a roadway and that include at least one wheel that can be driven and/or steered;
- an engine mounted on the chassis;
- an operator's station located on the front portion of the chassis and including a forward-facing operator's seat;
- a crack router cutter drum, mounted on the front portion of the chassis at a location positioned at least in part behind a front end of the operator's seat, for performing a roadway crack routing operation, wherein the location at which the cutter drum is positioned provides an unobstructed line of sight from an operator to the cutter drum when the operator is sitting on the operator's seat and facing forwardly;
- controls, accessible by a seated operator, that are configured to steer and propel the machine and to control operation of the cutter drum including cutter drum rotation and raising and lowering of the cutter drum.
A roadway maintenance machine comprising:
- a chassis having front and rear portions disposed fore and aft of a lateral centerline, respectively;
- wheels that support the chassis on a roadway and that include at least one wheel that can be driven and/or steered;
- an engine mounted on the chassis;
- an operator's station located on the front portion of the chassis and including a forward-facing operator's seat;
- a crack router cutter drum, mounted on the front portion of the chassis;
- and
- first and second footrests that flank the cutter drum, wherein each of the footrests has a front end, and wherein a portion of the cutter drum is behind the front ends of the footrests.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.