Pavement patching vehicle

An improved pavement patching vehicle of the type including a supply hopper, mounted to the vehicle body, for holding a supply of paving material, the improvement comprising:

• a distribution hopper including a fill opening and a door for selectively creating a discharge opening for the passage of paving material therethrough;
• an articulated arm for supportably mounting the distribution hopper to the vehicle, the arm including arm segments and a plurality of joints coupling the arm segment, the joints each including a pivot shaft fixed to one, adjacent arm segment and rotatably secured to another, adjacent arm segment;
• piston and cylinder drives connected to the pivot shafts by flexible drive members so that actuation of the piston and cylinder drives cause relative pivotal movement between arm segments;
• a tamper, including a tamper head connected to a reciprocator, mounted to the distribution hopper for tamping the paving material deposited on a surface through the discharge opening formed by the door;
• means for positioning the tamper at raised and lowered positions, including a cylinder and piston, the piston connected to the tamper for support of the tamper, a portion of the cylinder above the piston containing a gas under pressure;
• a support bracket secured to the vehicle;
• a support latch, movable between latched and unlatched positions, mounted to the distribution hopper, the support latch configured to engage the support bracket when positioned adjacent thereto, the support latch biased to its unlatched position;
• an actuator bar secured to and extending from the tamper;
• a latch actuator coupled to the support latch so movement of the latch actuator moves the support latch between the latched and unlatched positions;
• and
• the actuator bar and latch actuator being configured to contact one another as the tamper is raised from its lowered position to its raised position thereby moving the support latch to its latched position to engage the support bracket.

An improved pavement patching vehicle of the type including a supply hopper for holding a supply of paving material, the improvement comprising:

• a distribution hopper including a fill opening and a discharge opening for the passage of paving material therethrough;
• an articulated arm for supportably mounting the distribution hopper to the vehicle;
• a tamper mounted to the distribution hopper for tamping the paving material deposited on a surface through the discharge opening;
• means for positioning the tamper at raised and lowered positions;
• a support bracket secured to the vehicle;
• a support latch, movable between latched and unlatched positions, mounted to the distribution hopper, the support latch configured to engage the support bracket when positioned adjacent thereto, the support latch biased to its unlatched position;
• and
• means for moving the support latch to its latched position in response to the tamper being positioned in its raised position.