Asphalt finishing screed having rotary compactor

An asphalt finishing screed adapted for use with a self propelled tractor having a pair of rearwardly extending tow arms pivoted at forward ends thereof to opposite sides of the tractor and with the finishing screed being attachable transversely between rear ends of the tow arms, said finishing screed comprising

• a strike off bar extending transversely across the width of the screed for spreading the mix delivered in front thereof to a predetermined thickness,
• rotary compaction means positioned behind said strike off bar and extending transversely across the width of the screed for compacting the mix which has been spread by said strike off bar, and comprising a rotor mounted for rotation about a transverse axis, said rotor including a plurality of transversely extending protrusions on the peripheral surface thereof and which are arcuately curved outwardly when viewed in a direction parallel to said transverse axis and which are circumferentially spaced apart, and drive means for rotating said rotor about said transverse axis, and
• a screed plate positioned behind said rotary compaction means and extending transversely across the width of the screed and having a horizontal bottom surface for engaging the compacted mix,
• wherein said arcuate protrusions each comprise a roller which is mounted for free rotation about an axis parallel to said transverse axis, and
• wherein said rotary compaction means further comprises a housing surrounding the upper portion of said rotor, and resilient means mounted to said housing for engaging said rollers during rotation of said rotor and imparting rotation to said rollers.

A roadway paving apparatus comprising

• a self propelled tractor comprising a hopper for receiving asphalt mix, conveyor means for conveying the asphalt mix from the hopper to a discharge location rearwardly of the tractor, auger means for transversely distributing the asphalt mix after being discharged at said discharge location, and a pair of rearwardly extending tow arms pivoted at their forward ends to respective opposite sides of said tractor so as to be freely floatable with respect to said tractor, and
• a finishing screed mounted transversely between the rearward ends of said tow arms so as to be free floating with said tow arms, said screed comprising
• (a) a vertically adjustable strike off bar extending transversely across the width of the screed for spreading the mix delivered from said discharge location to a predetermined thickness,
• (b) rotary compaction means positioned behind said strike off bar and extending transversely across the width of the screed for compacting the mix which has been spread by said strike off bar, and comprising a rotor mounted for rotation about a transverse axis, said rotor including a plurality of transversely extending protrusions on the peripheral surface thereof and which are arcuately curved outwardly when viewed in a direction parallel to said transverse axis and which are circumferentially spaced apart, and drive means for rotating said rotor about said transverse axis, and
• (c) a screed plate positioned behind said rotary compaction means and extending transversely across the width of the screed and having a horizontal bottom surface for engaging the compacted mix.

A method of compacting and smoothing an asphalt mix into a mat with a vehicle drawn assembly, comprising:

• mounting a screed assembly on said vehicle so as to be freely floatable as a unit with respect to said vehicle, said screed assembly including a strike-off bar, a rotary compactor, and a screed plate, said rotary compactor being located behind said strike-off bar and said screed plate being located behind said rotary compactor,
• depositing the mix on the ground in front of said screed assembly,
• leveling the mix to a designated depth with said strike-off bar, then
• compacting the leveled mix with said rotary compactor, and then
• smoothing the compacted mix into said mat with said screed plate, and
• changing the depth of said mat by altering the position of said screed assembly with respect to said vehicle and by altering the height of said strike-off bar with respect to the remainder of said screed assembly, said screed assembly floating as a unit at a new height upon altering said position of said screed assembly and the height of said strike-off bar, thereby permitting said depth change.