US 5,026,205 A · Apparatus and method for continuously removing existing reinforced pavement and simultaneously replacing the same by a new pavement

Abstract

A mobile pavement replacement system (MPRS) is provided for forcibly drawing a flexibly-supported, acute-angled wedge under an existing stretch of a predetermined width of reinforced pavement to initiate removal thereof from the ground below. Gravity-assisted impact hammers apply downward blows of a controlled magnitude and at a predetermined rate onto an upper surface of the reinforced pavement, to crack the same across the entire width thereof over the wedge being driven therebelow. The wedge is flexibly supported, with a predetermined amount of elasticity in the up-and-down direction, so that it essentially "floats" and facilitates absorption of the impact forces by the reinforced pavement to be cracked thereby. Cracked reinforced pavement is subjected to further blows by a hammer coacting with a set of bars transverse thereto, to forcibly render a bulk component of the reinforced pavement into small pieces separated from reinforcement material contained therein. The reinforcement material, is now separated from the bulk component, chopped up and delivered in a flow separate from that of the rendered bulk component. The rendered materials are selectively combined with other suitable materials and integrated into a replacement pavement continuously laid in the wake of the moving MPRS.

Claims17

Dependent claims

A mobile pavement replacement system for advancing at a user-controlled rate on an existing layer of reinforced pavement to continuously remove the same to separate a bulk component thereof from a reinforcement component present therein and to deliver the same separately in rendered form, comprising:

driving means for providing a forward drive to the system;
movable lifting means driven forwardly by the drive means for thereby lifting a predetermined width of approaching reinforced pavement;
movable impact means for applying a plurality of gravity-assisted controlled impact forces to the lifted reinforced pavement to generate successive cracks therein substantially across said width thereof;
movable first means for rendering into pieces within a first size range a bulk component of the cracked reinforced pavement, separating the bulk component pieces from a reinforcement component and delivering the separated bulk component pieces in a first flow;
movable second means for rendering the separated reinforcement component into pieces within a second size range and delivering the same in a second flow, both the bulk component rendering means and the reinforcement component rendering means being adapted to move in concert with the lifting means and the impact means;
movable third means for receiving said first flow of said bulk component pieces, further rendering at least a first portion of the first flow into smaller pieces within a third size range and for delivering the same in a third flow for subsequent mixing thereof with a selected binding material to form a layer of replacement pavement.

3 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Apparatus and method for continuously removing existing reinforced pavement and simultaneously replacing the same by a new pavement

Life of this patent

Apparatus and method for continuously removing existing reinforced pavement and simultaneously replacing the same by a new pavement

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims17