Abstract:
A transporter for lifting and transporting a ride-on trowel. The transporter is equipped with vehicle drive means for maneuvering along a ground surface and a hydraulic lift system for raising and lowering a lifting means, which may be hooks and cables that attach to eye bolts or lifting studs that insert into lifting points on the ride-on trowel. The ride-on trowel is raised above ground by the hydraulic lift system and then transported within the frame of the transporter to a new location.

Description:
BACKGROUND INFORMATION  
       [0001]     1. Field of the Invention  
         [0002]     The invention relates to the field of transporters. More particularly, the invention relates to a transporter for industrial ride-on power trowels used for surface treatment of concrete floors.  
         [0003]     2. Description of the Prior Art  
         [0004]     Many large facilities, such as buildings for expositions or trade-shows, “big-box” retail stores, warehouses, etc. have concrete floors. After the concrete has been poured and set, the floor is troweled to achieve a smooth surface. The trowel was initially a powered trowel that the operator walked beside as it moved across the concrete surface, similar to the operation of a lawnmower. The size of the pours has increased greatly in recent years and ride-on trowels have been developed to make it easier to trowel such large areas. These ride-on trowels are large, extremely heavy power machines. Not only does the trowel have very heavy gear for grinding the concrete surface to a smooth finish, but it also is equipped with the drive means and a seat for the operator, who rides on the trowel and guides it across the floor. One example of such ride-on trowels is the HYDROSTATIC STX-55J-6 by Whiteman, which has a footprint of 125×65 inches, is 57 inches high, and weighs 2,270 lbs. Even the smallest of the ride-on power trowels has a footprint of 71×39 inches and weighs 440 lbs.  
         [0005]     It is very difficult to move these ride-on trowels from one location to another. Lifting units, such as hydraulically, mechanically, or electrically powered hand trucks, are typically used to lift the ride-on trowel above the ground surface. For example, two lifting units are coupled with lifting points provided on the ride-on trowel, are then actuated to lift the ride-on trowel several inches above ground. Once lifted above ground, two to six persons, depending on the size of the ride-on trowel, now push the ride-on trowel along the ground or up or down a loading ramp. The process is time-consuming and potentially very hazardous, as the risks are great of losing control over the ride-on trowel and, as a result, suffering injury to personnel and/or economic loss due to damage to the trowel or other equipment. The task of pushing a ride-on trowel across a soft ground surface, such as sand, with the lifting units is almost impossible. In that case, a powered hoist means must be employed to lift the ride-on trowel above ground.  
         [0006]     What is needed therefore is a transportation means for quickly and safely transporting a ride-on trowel. What is further needed is such a means that lifts the ride-on trowel above the ground surface and moves it to another location.  
       BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0007]     The problem of maneuvering and transporting the ride-on trowel is solved by providing a trowel transporter that lifts and transports the ride-on trowel, safely, and without danger of injuring personnel or damaging the ride-on trowel itself. The trowel transporter is a wheeled vehicle comprising a hydraulic lift system for lifting and lowering the ride-on trowel, a frame for securing the ride-on trowel above ground, and drive means for moving the trowel transporter across a ground surface.  
         [0008]     The frame is a rugged steel vehicle frame that forms a receiving bay for receiving the ride-on trowel. A drive system with wheels and a brake provides the trowel transporter with mobility and maneuverability. The hydraulic lift system and the drive system are powered by a hydraulic power plant that includes conventional hydraulic components, such as a fluid reservoir, hydraulic fluid lines, valves and controls, a hydraulic pump unit, and an engine for driving the pump unit.  
         [0009]     The hydraulic lift system includes a hydraulic piston-and-cylinder unit that is assembled on the frame. Attachment means are provided on the frame for coupling the frame with lifting points on the ride-on trowel. The attachment means may include lifting pins or studs mounted on a movable or slidable bracket. The lifting studs are insertable into lifting points that are bores provided on the lower portion of the ride-on trowel. Once attached, the ride-on trowel is lifted above the ground surface by the piston-and-cylinder unit. This is done, for example, by hydraulically lifting the bracket or portion of the frame to which the lifting studs are attached. It is also possible to provide hooks and cables as an attachment means. The cables are suspended from an upper portion of the frame. The hooks are attachable to lifting points that are eye bolts provided on readily accessible areas of the ride-on trowel. The hook ends of the cables are lifted or lowered by the hydraulic lift system.  
         [0010]     To move a ride-on trowel, the trowel transporter is driven into an operating position, in which the ride-on trowel is received into the receiving bay. The attachment means are attached to the lifting points on the ride-on trowel. It may be desirable to provide buffers or other securing means between the ride-on trowel and the frame to prevent damage to the ride-on trowel or the trowel transporter during transportation. Once lifted and secured within the trowel transporter, the trowel transporter with ride-on trowel may be driven to a new location or over a loading ramp of a flatbed trailer.  
         [0011]     The scope of the invention includes various configurations of the drive system. Often, the trowel transporter will be used to transport the ride-on trowel a short distance, from one area of a construction site to another, or onto or off of a loading ramp. For such purposes, a three-wheeled drive system provides the necessary stability and mobility, and is economical. A drive wheel is provided at a first end of the frame and two follower wheels at a second end of the frame. The drive wheel is provided with steering linkage and a brake. It is, of course, within the scope of the invention to provide a four-wheeled trowel transporter. It is also within the scope of the invention to provide various ways of providing operator control of the trowel transporter. For example, in a simple configuration, a steering bar with a brake control is linked to the drive wheel. To operate the trowel transporter, the operator starts the drive motor, grasps the steering bar and walks alongside the trowel transporter, steering the drive wheel by moving the steering bar to the right or left. It is, however, within the scope of the invention to incorporate an operator seat and control panel within the vehicle frame, to enable the operator to be seated while driving the trowel transporter. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0012]     The present invention is described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the drawings, like reference numbers indicate identical or functionally similar elements. The drawings are not to scale.  
         [0013]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of the trowel transporter according to the invention, showing the ride-on trowel lifted above ground with a first embodiment of the lifting means, and secured within the frame of the trowel transporter.  
         [0014]      FIG. 2  is an elevational view of the open end of the trowel transporter of  FIG. 1 .  
         [0015]      FIG. 3  is a plane view of the top of the vehicle frame, showing the hydraulic lifting means.  
         [0016]      FIG. 4  is side view of the hydraulic lifting means.  
         [0017]      FIG. 5A  is an illustration of a second embodiment of the lifting means, showing a lifting bracket and a piston-and-cylinder unit to slidably shifting the lifting bracket upward.  
         [0018]      FIG. 5B  is a side view of the lifting means of  FIG. 5A , showing the lifting stud bar for insertion into a lifting point on a ride-on trowel.  
         [0019]      FIG. 6  is a schematic illustration of the trowel transporter according to the invention. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0020]     The present invention will now be described more fully in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which preferred embodiments of the invention are shown. This invention should not, however, be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, they are provided so that this disclosure will be complete and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art.  
         [0021]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of the trowel transporter  1000  according to the invention for transporting a ride-on trowel RT. The trowel transporter  1000  has a vehicle frame  100  with a receiving bay  109 , a power plant  200 , a hydraulic lift system  400  (shown with greater detail in  FIGS. 3 and 4 ), wheel drive means  300 , and a steering unit  600 . As shown here, the ride-on trowel RT is supported in the bay  109  on lifting means  110  and attachment means  120  that depend from the vehicle frame  100 . The ride-on trowel RT is a commercially available machine that comes in various sizes. The power plant  200  includes a hydraulic system  230  with a reservoir of hydraulic fluid, valves, and controls, a hydraulic pump  220 , and an engine  210  that powers the hydraulic pump  220 . The hydraulic lift system  400  includes a piston-and-cylinder unit  420  that is mounted in the vehicle frame  100  and is actuated by the hydraulic pump  220  to raise and lower the lifting means  110 . The wheel drive means  300  includes a drive motor  320  and wheels  310 , at least one of which is a drive wheel  310 A. Each drive wheel  310 A, if there is more than one, is driven by its own drive motor  320 . In the preferred embodiment of the trowel transporter  1000 , the drive motor  320  drives a chain and sprocket mechanism  330 , which, in turn, drives the drive wheel  310 A. A hydraulic brake  340  is provided on at least one drive wheel  310 A. The steering unit  600  for steering the trowel transporter  1000  is provided at one end of the frame  100  and includes a steering bar  610  with steering linkage linked to one of the drive wheels  310 A.  
         [0022]     The engine  210 , the hydraulic pump  220 , the drive motor  320 , the chain-and-sprocket mechanism  330 , the steering unit  600 , and the brake  340  are conventional assemblies, well-known in the art, and are not described in greater detail herein. The following examples of suitable assemblies are provided for illustration purposes only and it is understood that the scope of the invention is not limited to any particular make, model or size of these assemblies. The drive motor  320  is a hydraulic general purpose Char-Lynn® Orbit® motor from the Eaton Corp. In this embodiment, the engine  210  is a GX 240-390 series gasoline engine from the Honda Motor Co., Ltd. The pump  220  is a hydraulic GC Series pump from Haldex, rated at 8 GPM at 3600 RPM. The chain-and-sprocket mechanism  330  is available from any automotive parts store, and the brake  340  is a hydraulic MICO disc brake. The drive motor  320  and the brake  340  is provided by the hydraulic power means  200 .  
         [0023]      FIG. 2  is an elevational view of the trowel transporter  1000 , showing the ride-on trowel RT captured within the trowel transporter  1000 . The vehicle frame  100  comprises an upper frame  102 , a lower frame  106 , and vertical supports  104 . As seen in  FIG. 2 , the lower frame  106  does not extend across the rear end of the vehicle frame  100 , leaving the receiving bay  109  open for receiving the ride-on trowel RT. The trowel transporter  1000  is thus maneuverable into an operational position, in which the upper frame  102  is positioned above the ride-on trowel RT and the lower frame  106  surrounds it on three sides. Securing means  108  are attached to the ride-on trowel RT to keep it from swinging and hitting the trowel transporter  1000  during transportatation. The securing means  108  may be tug straps or buffer members or other suitable securing devices that will prevent the ride-on trowel RT from swinging and hitting the trowel transporter.  
         [0024]      FIGS. 3 and 4  illustrate a first embodiment of the lifting means  110  and the piston-and-cylinder unit  420 . In this embodiment, the lifting means  110  is a cable with a hook as an attachment means  120 . The piston-and-cylinder unit  420  is mounted in an auxiliary frame  410 , which-is attached to the vehicle frame  100 . In the embodiment shown, a bracket or track  412  is fixedly and rigidly attached to the vehicle frame  100  and the auxiliary frame  410  mounted therein. A first piston end  424 A is fixedly attached to a sliding bracket  414  that slides along the track  412 . A second piston end  424 B is captured within the cylinder  422 . A first end of the lifting means  110  is securely attached to the sliding bracket  414  at point  114 . In the embodiment shown, the lifting means  110  includes at least two cables  110 A,  110 B that are attached at points  114 A and  114 B, respectively. The piston  424  moves into or out of the cylinder  422  when the hydraulic lift system  400  is actuated. This causes the sliding bracket  414  to translate along the track  412  as indicated by arrow A. As the sliding bracket  414  is pulled in toward the cylinder  422 , the lifting means  110 A and  110 B are lowered or raised, depending on the direction of travel of the sliding bracket  414 . A guide  112 , such as a pulley wheel, may be provided to guide the lifting means  110  from a horizontal to a vertical orientation downward toward the bay. The power means  200  for driving the piston-and-cylinder unit  420  are mounted elsewhere on the vehicle frame  100 . The power means  200  includes the first engine  210  for driving the hydraulic pump  220 . It is well-known in the field how to connect hydraulic power means to a piston-and-cylinder unit and these connections are not shown in detail herein.  
         [0025]     The conventional ride-on trowel RT is typically provided with attachment points, such as eye bolts E or other suitable means for attaching two cables  110 A and  110 B with their corresponding attachment means  120 A and  120 B, as shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 . If such attachment means are not provided, they can easily be added to the ride-on trowel RT.  
         [0026]      FIGS. 5A and 5B  illustrate a second embodiment of lifting means  510  of the trowel transporter  1000  according to the invention. The lifting means  510  includes two lifting studs  510 A,  510 B that are movably assembled in a lifting bracket  520 . The lifting studs  510 A,  510 B are insertable into lifting points LP typically provided on the chassis of the ride-on trowel RT. In the embodiment shown, the lifting studs  510 A,  510 B are manually moved from a retracted position to a lifting position, as indicated by arrow B. The lifting bracket  520  is slidably mounted on the frame  100 . The piston-and-cylinder unit  420  is also mounted on the frame  100 , with the operating end  424 A of the piston attached to the lifting bracket  520 . The trowel transporter  1000  is maneuvered into position around the ride-on trowel RT and the lifting studs  510 A,  510 B inserted into the lifting points LP on the ride-on trowel. In the embodiment shown, cotter pins are used to secure the lifting studs  510 A,  510 B and the ride-on trowel RT in position. Once the ride-on trowel RT is securely seated on the lifting studs  510 A,  510 B, the piston-and-cylinder unit  420  is actuated and the lifting bracket  520  moved upward, as indicated by arrow C, lifting the ride-on trowel above the ground surface.  
         [0027]      FIG. 6  is a schematic diagram of the systems that power the trowel transporter  1000 . As shown, the hydraulic power means  200  operates the piston-and-cylinder unit  420 , the drive motors  320 , and the brake  320 . The schematic shows two drive motors  320  and one brake  340 . This is for purposes of illustration only and in now way limits the invention to the use of two driven wheels and one brake.  
         [0028]     It is understood that the embodiments described herein are merely illustrative of the present invention. Variations in the construction of the trowel transporter may be contemplated by one skilled in the art without limiting the intended scope of the invention herein disclosed and as defined by the following claims.