Abstract:
A cured-concrete-cutting saw which is sufficiently mobile as facilitates its transport to a work site located within a building, and between work sites within a building, for example, and which is useful in cutting block-out grooves for expansion joints between adjacent sides of adjacent concrete slabs and/or troughs in the surface of such slabs. The saw includes a housing, a blade assembly comprising a plurality of circular blades disposed in spaced apart parallel relationship to one another on the outboard end of a driven shaft that is mounted on the bottom of the housing. A motor provides power for rotation of the shaft and its blade assembly. Optionally, the motor provides power for propelling the saw over the top surface of a concrete slab. A mechanism is provided for operator adjustment of the depth of cut of the blades of the blade assembly from a position adjacent the aft end of the saw. Through the means of selecting different diameter blades for the blade assembly, the saw may be employed to cut a variety of block-outs or troughs of different cross-sectional geometries, in the top surface of a concrete slab. A method is disclosed for the formation of an elongated block-out or trough in the top surface of a cured concrete slab for the preparation of adjacent side margins of adjacent sides of adjacent concrete slabs and for the installation of an expansion strip in the space between these adjacent sides.

Description:
FIELD OF INVENTION 
     This invention relates to saws for cutting grooves or the like in the surface of concrete slabs, particularly cured concrete slabs, such as in the top surface of the concrete floor of a building or the like. 
     BACKGROUND OF INVENTION 
     Concrete floors, commercial-sized vehicle garage floor surfaces, for example, and the like are commonly poured in slabs, a slab being a substantially planar expanse of concrete of a given thickness, commonly less than eight inches, whose side dimensions are commonly defined through the use of rigid forms that are removed after the concrete has cured sufficiently. In certain concrete slab pouring operations, the concrete is sufficiently self-supporting as poured so that a “moving” form may be employed, thereby speeding up the overall process. 
     Expansion joints are commonly deployed between adjacent sides of adjacent slabs to accommodate expansion of the concrete in response to climatic conditions and other external influences. These expansion joints are not to be confused with the stress-relieving relatively narrow slits which are cut in uncured concrete employing a single-bladed implement, and which are materially less demanding of the implement than the demands placed on implements employing in cutting cured concrete. 
     Expansion joints between the adjacent sides of adjacent slabs of concrete, on the other hand, are robust and commonly require the insertion of a resilient strip of polymeric material into the space between the adjacent sides of the slabs. In a common form, the compressible strip takes the form of a generally T-shaped cross-section strip in which the leg of the “T” resides within a space between the adjacent sides of the slabs and each of the side wings of the “T” lays in a groove of generally rectangular cross-section that is cut along the respective side margin of each of the adjacent slabs. Such groves are referred to as “block-outs”. The wings are thereafter anchored in place employing a polymeric material that bonds the wings in their respective grooves. Proper installation and functioning of such expansion joints requires that the groove along the side of a slab be of a precise depth, commonly ¾ inch. To accommodate a wing of the expansion joint, each groove commonly must be between about 4 and about 8 inches in width. 
     When employing either rigid forms or a “moving” form in the pouring of a concrete slab, it is impractical, or even impossible to form the required groove along the side edges of a slab for receipt of the wings of the expansion joint. Thus, the grooves must be cut into the slab after the concrete has cured. 
     Heretofore, it has been common practice to employ a single-bladed self-propelled concrete saw or a multi-bladed hand-held saw for cutting the aforesaid side margin grooves in cured concrete slabs. The blades of these saws are limited to cutting a kerf which is relatively small in width, usually between about ⅛ and about ⅜ inch in width, due to the cost of manufacture of wider blades. Thus, it is common practice in the art to perform a plurality of parallel spaced-apart cuts along the desired length of the groove, employing a single circular rotating blade, such cuts being spaced apart by about one inch, and thereafter breaking away the uncut concrete between the parallel cuts, as by means of a hammer, or other like instrument or device. Use of a single bladed saw for cutting wide grooves is inordinately time-consuming in that multiple passes of the saw blade along the length of the groove must be employed to achieve the desired width of the groove. Moreover maintaining parallelism of the several cuts requires some form of guidance of the saw with reference to the side edge of the slab, for example. Known multi-bladed concrete saws are limited to hand-held devices which are restricted in their maximum depth of cut, speed of cutting, and overall efficiency. These devices are suitable for cutting grooves of limited length, such as grooves in stair steps and the like. However, due to their relative fragile construction, which is required to permit them to be hand-held, these devices are not suitable for cutting grooves of extended length such as in concrete slabs or the like. All known self-propelled concrete saws, aside from the massive highway surface groove-cutting machines which are unsuitable in size and mobility for use in cutting block-outs or troughs in concrete slabs, employ only a single blade. 
     It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a mobile cured-concrete-cutting saw suitable for performing block-outs and troughs in the top surface of a concrete slab. 
     It is another object of the present invention to provide a mobile cured-concrete-cutting saw which is portable for ready transport to and from work sites within buildings. 
     It is another object of the present invention to provide a self-propelled cured-concrete-cutting saw equipped with a plurality of circular cutting blades mounted for simultaneous operation thereof. 
     It is another object of the present invention to provide a cured-concrete-cutting saw having a blade assembly including a plurality of cutting blades and wherein the blade assembly is selectively adjustable to different cutting depths. 
     It is another object of the present invention to provide a cured-concrete-cutting saw which is suitable for the cutting of a block-out or trough of non-rectangular cross-section in a concrete slab. 
     Other objects and advantages of the present invention will be recognized from the description contained herein, including the claims and the drawings. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a concrete-cutting saw embodying various of the features of the present invention; 
     FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the bottom of the saw depicted in FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 3 is a representation of a block-out groove which has been initially cut employing the saw depicted in FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 4 is a representation depicting a frontal plane view of a saw assembly of the type depicted in FIG. 1, having an assembly of blades which incrementally decrease in diameter from a central blade of maximum diameter to laterally outward blades of minimum diameter; 
     FIG. 5 is a representation of a saw of the type depicted in FIG. 1, but employing an assembly of blades which incrementally decrease in diameter from an outboard blade of a maximum diameter to an inboard blade of minimum diameter; 
     FIG. 6 is a representation of a trough of generally semi-circular cross-section and which has been initially cut employing the blade assembly depicted in FIG. 4; 
     FIG. 7 is a representation of a further know-out groove having a sloping bottom and which has been initially cut employing the blade assembly depicted in FIG. 5; 
     FIG. 8 is a schematic representation of one embodiment of a mechanism for adjusting the depth of cut of the blades of a saw of the type depicted in FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 9 is a side elevational representation of the mechanism depicted in FIG. 6; and, 
     FIG. 10 depicts a typical expansion strip installation between adjacent sides of adjacent concrete slabs. 
     FIG. 11 is a schematic side view of the present invention and depicting, partly in phantom, one embodiment of a drive train for rendering the saw self-propelled. 
    
    
     SUMMARY OF INVENTION 
     In accordance with one aspect of the present invention there is provided a cured-concrete-cutting saw which is sufficiently mobile as facilitates its transport to a work site located within a building, for example, and which is useful in cutting block-out grooves for expansion joints between adjacent sides of adjacent concrete slabs and/or troughs in the surface of such slabs. The saw includes a housing, a blade assembly comprising a plurality of circular blades disposed in spaced apart parallel relation to one another on the outboard end of a shaft that is mounted on the bottom of the housing. A motor provides power for rotation of the shaft and its blade assembly and, optionally, power for propelling the saw over the top surface of a concrete slab. A mechanism is provided at a position adjacent the aft end of the saw for operator adjustment of the depth of cut of the blades of the blade assembly. Through the means of selecting different diameter blades for the make-up of a blade assembly, the saw may be employed to cut block-outs or troughs of different cross-sectional geometries, in the top surface of a concrete slab. 
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF INVENTION 
     As used herein, a “mobile” saw refers to a saw which is of a size and design which causes the saw to be readily transported between work sets, manipulated, normally by an operator walking behind the saw, between work locations at a work site including passage through door openings of less then about 40 inches in opening width, and in the course of cutting kerfs in the top surface of a cured concrete slab. 
     Referring to the several Figures, and initially FIGS. 1 and 2, one embodiment of a mobile saw  10  including various of the features of the present invention includes a multi-compartmental housing indicated generally at  12  having opposite sides  14 , 16  aft and front ends  15 , 17 , respectively and a bottom  18 . A portable engine  20 , such as a gas-powered small implement engine of about five horsepower, is mounted to the housing and includes an output shaft, having a pulley mounted thereon. A driven shaft  26  is journalled  28 , 30  on the bottom of the housing adjacent the forward end  17  of the housing and includes a first end  32  having a pulley  34  secured thereon. Driving interconnection between the motor shaft pulley and the pulley  34  mounted on the first end of the drive shaft  26  is provided by a belt  36  or other suitable flexible element. As desired, the output shaft of the motor may be mechanically connected in driving connection with the drive shaft  26  by appropriate gears or the like. Operator handholders  23 , 25  are provided adjacent the aft end of the saw. 
     Referring specifically to FIG. 2, the housing  12  of the present saw is provided with first and second sets of wheels,  44 , 46  and  48 , 50 , respectively, each set of wheels being rotatably mounted on respective axles  52 , 54 , which, in turn, are mounted on the bottom of the housing. In the depicted embodiment, the first set of wheels  44 , 46  are freely rotatable on their axle  52 , with the axle  52  being fixedly mounted to the bottom of the housing in position to cause the first set of wheels to support the aft end  15  of the housing above the top surface  56  of a concrete slab  58  (See FIG.  8  and  9 ). Notably this first set of wheels  44 , 46  is located adjacent the aft end of the saw and are fixed with respect to their vertical relationship to the housing, i.e., they and not adjustable vertically. (See FIGS. 8 and 9, also) 
     The axle  54  associated with the second set of wheels  48 , 50  is non-rotatably mounted on the outboard ends  60 , 62  of first and second elongated support members  64 , 66  which, in turn, have their inboard ends  68 , 70  non-rotatably mounted on an axle  69  which, in turn is rotatably mounted to the bottom  18  as by brackets  72 , 74  that project from the bottom of the housing. The axle  54  is further provided with a set of elongated lever arms  76 , 78 , the outboard ends  80 , 82  of which are fixedly secured to the axle  69  and extend from the axle  69  to receive on their outboard ends a lead nut  88  (See FIG.  8  and  9 ). A lead screw  90  rotatably mounted in the housing  12  at a location adjacent the aft end  15  of the saw and extending generally vertically downwardly from its mounting in the housing, is threadably received within the lead nut. Its opposite end  89  is fitted with a handle  92  by means of which the screw  90  may be rotated by the operator. It will be recognized that rotation of the lead screw  90 , the vertical level of the lead nut  88  on the screw is changed. This generally vertical movement of the lead nut  88  produces pivotal movement of the lever arms  76 , 78  and resultant rotational movement of the axle  69  which, in turn, positions the axle and its wheels  48 , 50  nearer to or further from the bottom  18  of the housing, hence raises or lowers the forward end  17  of the housing relative to the top surface  56  of the concrete slab  58 . 
     An assembly  100  of individual circular concrete-cutting blades  102 - 107  are mounted on the outboard end  110  of the drive shaft  26  which is journalled as at  112 , 114  to the bottom of the housing adjacent the forward end  17  of the housing. Thus, as seen in FIGS. 8 and 9, when the positional relationship of the forward end of the housing and the top surface of the concrete slab is adjusted, the positional relationship of the blade assembly to the concrete slab is likewise adjusted, thereby adjusting the permissible cutting depth of the blades into the concrete slab. It will be recognized that lowering the housing toward the top surface of the concrete slab positions the blades for greater cutting penetration into the slab and raising the housing away from the top surface of the concrete slab reduces the permissible cutting depth of the blades. The weight of the motor, housing and ancillary components of, the present saw, which are by design located adjacent the forward end  17  of the saw, bias the blades toward their cutting positions relative to the concrete slab. 
     Importantly in the present invention the second set of wheels  48 , 50  are mounted to the bottom of the housing at a location which is intermediate the aft location of the first set of wheels  44 , 46  and the forward location of the mounting of the driven shaft  26 . As depicted in FIGS. 8 and 9, this relative mounting of these components of the saw and the action effected through the lead screw and the components associated therewith, effectively rotates the housing about the axle  52  and raises or lowers the front end  17  of the housing relative to the top surface of a concrete slab, resulting in the desired engagement or disengagement of the blades of a blade assembly  100  which is mounted forward of the mounting location of the axle  69  and forward of the position of the wheels. 
     The blade assembly  100  of the present invention includes a plurality, e.g. 2 to 10, circular concrete-cutting blades  102 - 107  which are secured on the outboard end  110  of the driven shaft  26 . The blades are arranged in side-by-side relationship to one another and are oriented substantially parallel to one another and in respective planes which are substantially normal to the longitudinal rotational axis  116  of the drive shaft  26 . Ring spacers  118  (typical) are fitted onto the drive shaft  26  between adjacent ones of the blades, the thickness of the spacers determining the extent of spatial separation between adjacent blades. Notably, the blade assembly and its plurality of blades are disposed outboard of the housing of the saw in cantilevered fashion. This structural feature permits rigid mounting of the shaft close to the bottom of the housing while employing blades which are of a diameter that is greater than twice the separation distance between the rotational axis of the driven shaft  26  and the bottom surface of the housing bottom. Moreover, this blade mounting feature permits the employment of a plurality of blades, the number of permissible blades being only a function of the stiffness and rigidity of the shaft  26 . Still further, cantilevered mounting of the blades laterally of the housing provides for ready directing of debris away from the uncut portion of the top surface of the concrete slab such that forward or lateral-guiding movements of the saw are not impeded. 
     In the embodiment depicted in FIG. 2, the blades are all of like diameter hence all these blades engage the concrete slab at the same time and to the same extent. This embodiment of the blade assembly provides for the simultaneous cutting of a plurality of parallel kerfs  120 - 126  which are spaced apart by substantially the same distance as the spatial separation of the individual blades of the blade assembly. When cutting a block-out  130  (see FIGS.  3  and  10 ), as for installation of expansion joints between adjacent side edges  132 , 134  of adjacent concrete slabs  136 , 138  as depicted in FIGS. 3 and 10, the spatial separation of the blades is chosen to permit ready break-away of the uncut ridges  140  (typical) concrete disposed between the kerfs. In a typical block-out, these uncut ridges of concrete must each be of a thickness of about ⅜ inch and are readily broken away using a hammer or other implement as is known in the art. Greater thickness of the uncut thicknesses may produce a block-out having a rougher bottom surface as opposed to the bottom surface of a block-out formed from thinner uncut ridges. 
     Referring to FIGS. 4 and 5, further embodiments of the blade assembly of the present invention are designed to cut block-outs or troughs of non-rectangular cross-sections. In FIG. 6 there is depicted a trough  117  having a generally semi-circular cross-section. This trough is cut using the present invention and a blade assembly  135  (See FIG. 4) in which the plurality of blades incrementally decrease in diameter from a maximum diameter of the most central  137  of the blades of the assembly to a minimum diameter blades  139 , 141  at each of the opposites sides of the blade assembly. 
     In FIG. 7, there is depicted a block-out  143  having a bottom  145  which slopes from the inner wall  147  of the block-out in a direction toward the open side  149  of the block-out, thereby providing for drainage from the block-out of any liquid which might tend to otherwise accumulate in the block-out. This cross-sectional geometry of the depicted block-out is achieved with the present saw and employing a blade assembly  157  (See FIG. 5) in which the most distal blade  153  of the assembly is of a selected minimum diameter and the remaining blades are of incrementally decreasing diameter in the inboard direction of the blade assembly. 
     Given the depicted embodiments of the blade assembly of the present invention, one skilled in the art will recognize other blade configurations which will yield a block-out or trough of any of a variety of geometrical cross-sections, thereby allowing the present saw to make a large variety of cuts by merely altering the relative diameters and positions of the blades of the blade assembly. 
     With reference to FIG. 11, in one embodiment, the present saw may be self-propelled as by means of a pulley  132  mounted on the motor shaft  134  which, in turn is drivingly connected to a pulley  138  affixed to the axle  52  of the first set of wheels  44 , 46 . Actuation of this drive train may be via a clutch or the like (not shown) which is actuatable by means of a lever  126  mounted in the housing adjacent the aft end of the housing, this lever  126  being operably connected to the clutch as means of a connecting rod  130  having one of its ends  129  pivotally connected to the lever  126  and its opposite end  131  operably associated with the clutch. Other apparatus for effecting driven relationship between the motor shaft  134  and the axle  52  will be recognized by one skilled in the art. 
     With reference to FIGS.  2 , 8  and  9 , it is noted that the axle  54  includes a rigid stop  190  which is fixedly secured to the axle  54  and projects therefrom toward the bottom surface  18  of the bottom of the housing. It will be recognized that when the axle  54  and its set of wheels  48 , 50  are rotated about its mounting axle  69  by the action of the operator transmitted through the lead screw  90 , lead nut  88  and the arms  76 , 78 , the axle  54  and its wheels  48 , 50  move either toward or away from the bottom surface of the housing bottom. Movement of the axle  54  toward the bottom surface of the housing bottom is halted when the outboard end  192  of the stop engages the bottom surface  18  of the bottom of the housing. 
     Notably, rotation of the axle  54  in a direction toward the bottom surface of the bottom of the housing moves the stop  190  toward engagement with the bottom surface of the bottom of the housing. This action effects transfer of at least a portion, and preferably a major portion, of the overall weight of the saw from the set of wheels to the cutting blades and biases the cutting blades toward cutting engagement with the top surface of the concrete slab. As the blades cut into the concrete, the overall weight of the saw shifts back to the set of wheels  48 , 50  (at all times, the set of wheels  48 , 50  assume a portion of the overall weight of the saw) so that the cutting depth of the blades reaches a depth at which there is a type of equilibrium between the ongoing transfer of a portion of the overall weight of the saw between the cutting blades and the set of wheels  48 , 50 . That is, as the saw is moved forward, the blades engage the uncut end of the kerf and their rotation against the uncut concrete tends to lift the blades out of their respective kerfs. This action tends to raise at least a portion of the overall weight of the saw off the set of wheels  48 , 50 , thereby transferring such portion of the overall weight of the saw to the blades and biasing them toward cutting engagement with the concrete slab. It will be visualized that this transfer of at least a portion of the overall weight of the saw between the wheels  48 , 50  and the blades continues substantially over the length of a kerf. This action of weight transfer has been found to enhance the cutting life of the blades while simultaneously maximizing the rate of cutting of the kerfs. No deleterious effect has been noted on the desired stability of the saw relative to the top surface of the concrete slab by this weight transfer action. Rather, it has been noted that steering of the saw is enhanced by reason of the automatic adjustment of that portion of the overall weight of the saw which is experienced by the aft wheels  44 , 46 . In this embodiment of the present invention, the absolute maximum cutting depth of the blades is limited by the stop  190  when it engages the bottom surface of the bottom of the housing and shifts all of the weight of the saw away from the blades, thereby, among other things, protecting the blades from inadvertently cutting to a depth where the spacers between the blades engage the uncut portions of concrete between adjacent kerfs and are damaged thereby. Moreover, this self-adjustment of the cutting depth of the blades has been found to produce uniformly deep kerfs, hence a relatively uniform depth over the bottom area of a block-out. Further, inasmuch as the overall weight of the saw is a constant value, the aforedescribed transfer of a portion of this overall weight provides for application of a relatively constant biasing force against the blades in a direction toward their cutting engagement with the concrete slab, as opposed to hand-held saws or mobile saws wherein the operator applies the force which biases a cutting blade into cutting engagement with the concrete slab. 
     Referring specifically to FIG. 10, in accordance with one aspect of the present invention there is provided a method for the preparation of adjacent side edges of adjacent concrete slabs and the installation of an expansion joint between the prepared adjacent sides of the slabs. This method of the present invention comprises the steps of simultaneously cutting a first plurality of parallel spaced-apart kerfs  120 , 126  along and parallel with a side edge  132  of a first concrete slab  136 , simultaneously cutting a second plurality of parallel spaced-apart kerfs along an adjacent side edge  134  of an adjacent second concrete slab  138 , thereafter breaking away uncut portions  140  of the concrete intermediate each of the kerfs of the first and second plurality of kerfs to develop first and second block-outs  130 , 131 , introducing into the space  152  between the adjacent side edges of the adjacent slabs the body portion  154  of a “T”-shaped polymeric expansion strip  156  with the side wings  158 , 160  of the expansion strip disposed within respective ones of the first and second block-outs, and substantially filling any portion of each block-out not occupied by a side wing of the expansion strip with further polymeric material  162  suitable to bond the side wings within their respective block-outs. 
     In accordance with another aspect of the present invention there is provided a method for the formation of an elongated block-out or trough in the top surface of a cured concrete slab comprising the steps of simultaneously engaging a plurality of rotating circular concrete cutting blades of a blade assembly with the top surface of the concrete slab, biasing the blade assembly toward cutting engagement with the concrete slab to a selected depth of cut while continuing rotation of the blades of the assembly for a time sufficient to cut a plurality of substantially parallel kerfs in the slab, and thereafter breaking away uncut concrete disposed between adjacent ones of the kerfs. This method may further include the step of selecting the relative diameters and positional relationships of the plurality of blades of the blade assembly to obtain a desired cross-sectional geometry of the resulting block-out or trough. 
     In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, the inventors further provide a method for controlling the cutting depth of the cutting blades of the mobile saw for simultaneously cutting a plurality of substantially parallel kerfs in the top surface of the cured concrete slab comprising the steps of mounting the saw on at least aft and formal means adapted to support the saw for movement along the top surface of the concrete slab, adjusting the spatial relationship of the forward means adapted to support the saw and the top surface of the concrete slab, thereby transferring at least a portion of the overall weight of the saw to the plurality of cutting blades for a time sufficient to cut a plurality of kerfs in the concrete slab to a predetermined cutting depth, and thereafter transferring the at least a portion of the overall weight of the saw from the cutting blades to the first means adapted to support the saw. 
     In one embodiment of the transfer of the at least a portion of the overall weight of the saw from the cutting blades to the first means adapted to support the saw is substantially continuously repeated over the length of the kerfs. 
     In a preferred embodiment, all of the blades are rotating at the same rotational speed. Moreover, preferably, the direction of rotation of the blades of the present blade assembly develops “down-cutting” of the concrete by each blade with the debris from the kerfs being discharged toward the aft end of the saw. Down-cutting of the blades aids in controlling the forward movement of the saw in that the operator is not “fighting” any tendency of the rotating blade to cut into the uncut concrete and adversely affect the desired smooth and continuous forward movement of the saw and resultant uniform depth of all the kerfs. If desired, this direction of rotation of the blades may be reversed to effect “up-cutting” by the blades, but with the need to shield against debris from the kerfs being discharged into the saw or the forward path of the saw and to accommodate any tendency of the saw to move itself erratically forward. 
     In one embodiment of the present invention, debris discharged from the kerfs by the down-cutting blades of the saw is deflected outwardly from the saw by means of a deflector  172  shield which is mounted to the blade housing at the aft end thereof and which is contoured to ensure the desired deflection of the debris. 
     Whereas specific embodiments of the various features of the present invention have been depicted and described herein, one shield in the art will recognize equivalent embodiments and is in intended that the invention be limited only as set forth in the claims appended hereto.