Adjustable bolster swing legs for mounting and aligning and reorienting crawlers for slipform paving machines

摘要

A paving machine for spreading, leveling and finishing concrete having a main frame, center module, bolsters laterally movably, and a crawler track associated with respective aft and forward ends of the bolsters. A bolster swing leg for each crawler track supports an upright jacking column. A worm gear drive permits rotational movements of the crawler track and the jacking column. A hinge bracket is interposed between each swing leg and a surface of the bolsters to enable pivotal movements of the swing leg. A length-adjustable holder engages the pivot pin on the hinge bracket and pivotally engages the swing leg. The holder permits pivotal motions of the swing leg in its length-adjustable configuration and prevents substantially any motion of the swing leg in its fixed-length configuration. A feedback loop cooperates with transducers keeping the crawler tracks position. The paving machine can be reconfigured into a narrowed transport configuration.

主权项

1. A paving machine kit configured to move in a paving direction for spreading, leveling and finishing concrete into a form having a generally upwardly exposed, finished concrete surface and terminating in lateral concrete sides, the paving machine kit comprising:
a paver tractor frame; at least one forward crawler subassembly connected to the paver tractor frame, comprising:
a forward crawler track;a forward swing leg connected to the forward crawler track;a forward upright jacking column secured to the forward swing leg proximate a free end thereof, and a first rotary connection between the jacking column and the forward crawler track permitting relative rotational movements of the forward crawler track and the forward jacking column about an upright axis;a forward hinge bracket interposed between the forward swing leg and an associated surface of a forward bolster, including a first upright pivot shaft that engages the forward swing leg and permits pivotal movements of the forward swing leg relative to the forward hinge bracket about an upright axis in a substantially horizontal plane, the forward hinge bracket including a first pivot connection point that is laterally spaced from and fixed in relation to the first pivot shaft; and at least one aft crawler subassembly connected to the paver tractor frame, comprising:
an aft crawler track;an aft swing leg connected to the aft crawler track;an aft upright jacking column secured to the aft swing leg proximate a free end thereof, and a second rotary connection between the jacking column and the aft crawler track permitting relative rotational movements of the aft crawler track and the aft jacking column about an upright axis;an aft hinge bracket interposed between the aft swing leg and an associated surface of an aft bolster, including a second upright pivot shaft that engages the aft swing leg and permits pivotal movements of the aft swing leg relative to the aft hinge bracket about an upright axis in a substantially horizontal plane, the aft hinge bracket including a second pivot connection point that is laterally spaced from and fixed in relation to the second pivot shaft;a rearwardly extending bolster mount coupled to the aft bolster, configured to couple with a bolt-in short bolster extension of a dowel bar inserter module; the paver tractor frame being adapted to connect with the at least one forward crawler subassembly and adapted to connect with the at least one aft crawler subassembly.