Auxiliary bearing and drive mechanism for a concrete mixer

Abstract

A drive and bearing arrangement for a rotatable member such as a concrete mixing drum has a first drive mechanism for providing a rotational drive force to the drum, a primary bearing coupled to the primary drive mechanism and the drum for supporting an end of the drum, an auxiliary bearing for selectively and alternatively supporting the end of the drum in the event of failure of the primary bearing, and an auxiliary drive mechanism for providing a drive force to the drum when the end of the drum is supported by the auxiliary bearing. In one embodiment, the arrangement includes a drive flange coupled to the output of a transmission which includes the primary bearing, and a driven flange which is coupled to the rotatable drum. Auxiliary bearings are provided between the first and second flanges. A removable locking element is provided to rigidly lock the drive and driven flanges together when the primary bearing is rotatably supporting the end of the drum. In the event of failure of the primary bearing, the locking element may be removed to allow the drive and driven flanges to rotate, with the aid of the auxiliary bearings, relative to one another. The locking element may include removable bolts or pins which extend through openings in the drive and driven flange, or a locking ring which interacts with notches formed in the peripheries of the flanges to secure the flanges together.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.