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US 8,998,531 B2Granted
Auto pitch control power trowel
AssigneeMultiquip, Inc.
InventorsSteven K. Hanson, Brian L. Hammond, David Lillanthal, Benjamin A. Wiese, Bruce R. Gillespie, Robert Dane Davis, Cole R. Baird
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An automatic pitch control system for riding power trowels enables a user to control and automatically adjust trowel blade pitch and height for concrete finishing. The disclosed system provides for blade pitch of separate rotor assemblies to be adjusted independently of one another or synchronously. The disclosed system also provides for a mode of operation that allows the user to completely flatten trowel blades for panning.
Claims18
A self-propelled power trowel, for finishing a concrete surface, which comprises:
- a rigid frame means adapted to be disposed over a surface, the rigid frame having a front and a rear and defining a centerline from front to rear;
- an engine assembly for powering the power trowel supported by the rigid frame;
- a pair of rotor assemblies for frictionally contacting the surface and supporting the rigid frame on the surface, tiltably connected to the rigid frame and operably connected to the engine, with each of the rotor assemblies having a plurality of individual troweling blades forming a troweling blade assembly with each individual troweling blade configured for adjustable pitch;
- one or more steering actuators or mechanical linkages operably interconnected between the rigid frame and each of the rotor assemblies for tilting the rotor assembly fore and aft and left and right;
- a first pitch actuator operably connected to a first rotor assembly, with the first pitch actuator configured to controllably change a pitch position of the individual troweling blades of the first rotor assembly;
- a second pitch actuator operably connected to a second rotor assembly, with the second pitch actuator configured to controllably change a pitch position of the individual troweling blades of the second rotor assembly;
- a first troweling blade pitch position sensor for detecting and reporting a pitch position of at least one of the troweling blades of the first rotor assembly;
- a second troweling blade pitch-position sensor for detecting and reporting a pitch position of at least one of the troweling blades of the second rotor assembly;
- and
- a control unit for receiving a pitch position signal from each of the first and second troweling blade pitch position sensors, and controlling, via the first and second pitch actuators, the pitch position of the first and second troweling blades of the first and second rotor assemblies with control logic that provides for either a synchronous pitch mode or a manual pitch mode and the ability for a trowel operator selectively switch from one to other the pitch modes.
7 more elements
A self-propelled power trowel, for finishing a concrete surface, which comprises:
- a rigid frame means adapted to be disposed over the concrete surface, the rigid frame having a front and a rear and defining a centerline from front to rear;
- an engine means for powering the power trowel supported by the rigid frame;
- a pair of rotor assemblies for frictionally contacting the concrete surface and supporting the rigid frame on the concrete surface, tiltably connected to the rigid frame and operably connected to the engine, with each of the rotor assemblies having a plurality of individual troweling blade forming a troweling blade assembly with each individual troweling blade configured for adjustable pitch;
- one or more steering actuators or mechanical linkages operably interconnected between the rigid frame and each of said rotor assemblies for tilting said rotor assembly fore and aft and left and right;
- a first pitch actuator operably connected to a first rotor assembly, with the first pitch actuator configured to controllably change a pitch position of the individual troweling blades of the first rotor assembly;
- a second pitch actuator operably connected to a second rotor assembly, with the second pitch actuator configured to controllably change a pitch of the individual troweling blades of the second rotor assembly;
- a first troweling blade pitch-position sensor for detecting and reporting a pitch position of at least one of the troweling blades of the first rotor assembly;
- a second troweling blade pitch position sensor for detecting and reporting a pitch position of at least one of the troweling blades of the second rotor assembly;
- and
- a control unit for receiving reporting from troweling blade pitch position sensors and for communicating with and controlling the pitch actuators.
7 more elements
A self-propelled power trowel, for finishing a concrete surface, which comprises:
- a rigid frame means adapted to be disposed over a surface, the rigid frame having a front and a rear and defining a centerline from front to rear;
- an engine assembly for powering the power trowel supported by the rigid frame;
- a pair of rotor assemblies for frictionally contacting the surface and supporting the rigid frame on the surface, tiltably connected to the rigid frame and operably connected to the engine, with each of the rotor assemblies having a plurality of individual troweling blades forming a troweling blade assembly with each individual troweling blade configured for adjustable pitch;
- one or more actuators or mechanical linkages operably interconnected between the rigid frame and each of the rotor assemblies for tilting the rotor assembly fore and aft and left and right;
- a first pitch actuator operably connected to a first rotor assembly, with the first pitch actuator configured to controllably change a pitch of the individual troweling blades of the first rotor assembly;
- a second pitch actuator operably connected to a second rotor assembly, with the second pitch actuator configured to controllably change a pitch of the individual troweling blades of the second rotor assembly;
- a single pitch control switch for adjusting the first rotor assembly pitch position independently from the second rotor assembly pitch position;
- a twin pitch control switch for adjusting the troweling blade pitch position of both the first and second rotor assemblies simultaneously;
- a manual pitch mode and synchronous pitch mode with control logic that provides for manual or synchronous-twin-pitch control of the first and second rotor assemblies;
- and
- a pitch disengage switch for disengaging the rotor assemblies from the respective pitch actuators for allowing the blades of each rotor assembly to float at zero pitch.
8 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.