JP7747709B2 - Slope construction system and slope construction method - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a slope construction system and a slope construction method for constructing slopes.

When constructing slopes such as automobile test courses, as described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 11-148107 (Patent Document 1), a work machine is placed on the slope, a support carriage (roller supporter) is placed on a flat area formed at the top of the slope, and the work machine and support carriage are connected with a wire rope to prevent the work machine from sliding down and ensure work safety.

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 11-148107

However, with the safety technology described in Patent Document 1, a work machine placed on a slope and a support cart are connected by a single wire rope. If the wire rope were to break for any reason, there was a risk that the work machine would slide down the slope, making safety unattainable. Currently, wire rope breakage can be avoided by setting a high safety factor, but there is a need to reliably prevent such an incident from occurring.

The present invention aims to provide a slope construction system and method that ensures the safety of the work machine even if the wire rope connecting the work machine and the support cart breaks.

The slope construction system includes a work machine that is placed on a slope to construct the slope, a support carriage that is placed on a flat area formed at the top or bottom of the slope, a wire rope that connects the boom of the support carriage to the work machine above the slope of the work machine, and an extendable auxiliary rope that connects the boom of the support carriage to the work machine above the slope of the work machine. Here, the auxiliary rope is an extendable traction rope.

The slope construction method uses the above-mentioned slope construction system, and constructs the road surface using a work machine installed on the slope and a support cart placed on a flat area formed at the top or bottom of the slope, while traveling in the direction of the slope.

The present invention relates to a slope construction system and method that ensures the safety of the work machine even if the wire rope connecting the work machine and the support cart used to construct the slope breaks.

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing an example of a road surface cutting device. FIG. 2 is a side view showing an example of a road surface milling device. FIG. 2 is a partial enlarged view showing an example of a cutting unit. FIG. 10 is a partially enlarged view showing the state of the cutting unit when cutting a curved slope. FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of the trajectory of the cutter bit of the cutting bit. FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of the state in which cutting work on a curved slope is started. FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of a state in which cutting work is being performed on a curved slope. FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of a configuration that ensures further safety of the road surface cutting device. FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of an example of an expandable traction rope. FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of a state in which the wire rope has broken.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
1 and 2 show a road surface milling device 100, which is an example of a work machine to which this embodiment can be applied. Note that the road surface milling device 100 described below is merely an example to which this embodiment can be applied, and should not be construed as being limited to this configuration. Therefore, it goes without saying that a person skilled in the art can make any changes and modifications within the technical scope of this embodiment.

The road surface milling device 100 includes a self-propelled vehicle 200, a milling unit 300 mounted on the underside of the body of the self-propelled vehicle 200, and a screw conveyor 400 that discharges waste material from the road surface milled by the milling unit 300.

The self-propelled vehicle 200 has a pair of left and right front wheels 210 and a pair of left and right rear wheels 220 driven by, for example, a diesel engine or an electric motor. The pair of left and right front wheels 210 and the pair of left and right rear wheels 220 are attached to the vehicle body 230 via telescopic cylinders 240 that can extend and retract in the vertical direction of the vehicle body 230. Here, the telescopic cylinders 240 can be, for example, hydraulic cylinders powered by hydraulic oil supplied from a hydraulic pump driven by a diesel engine or an electric motor (same applies below). Therefore, by appropriately controlling the supply and discharge of hydraulic oil to the telescopic cylinders 240, the vertical positions of the front wheels 210 and rear wheels 220 relative to the vehicle body 230 can be changed, and the ground clearance of the self-propelled vehicle 200 can be freely adjusted.

Furthermore, a pair of guide rails 250 extending parallel to the vehicle width direction are attached to the bottom surface of the vehicle body 230, specifically the bottom surface located between the pair of left and right front wheels 210 and the pair of left and right rear wheels 220. A base member 260, for example, a roughly rectangular parallelepiped shape with an open bottom, is slidably attached between the pair of guide rails 250 as a member for suspending and supporting the cutting unit 300. The base member 260 slides in the vehicle width direction along the guide rails 250, for example, by a telescopic cylinder (not shown) that can extend and contract in the vehicle width direction. Note that the base member 260 is not limited to a roughly rectangular parallelepiped shape with an open bottom, and can have any shape that ensures the required strength, such as a roughly rectangular shape in plan view.

As shown in Figures 2 and 3, a pair of support members 270 are attached to the underside of the base member 260 at a predetermined distance. Each support member 270 has a generally trapezoidal shape whose width gradually decreases toward its tip, so that its plate surface is positioned on a plane perpendicular to the fore-and-aft direction of the vehicle body 230. The support members 270 are located approximately in the center of the base member 260 in the vehicle width direction, and can also be integrated with the base member 260.

The cutting unit 300 has a cutting drum 320 whose rotation axis extends in the width direction of the vehicle body 230. The cutting drum 320 is divided into two sections, each of which can be displaced vertically relative to the center in the axial direction. The divided sections of the cutting drum 320 have a concave-convex shape that allows them to fit together at a predetermined distance. This predetermined distance can be determined so that the two sections of the cutting drum 320 do not interfere with each other even when the two sections are displaced maximum vertically relative to the center in the axial direction (hereinafter referred to as the "maximum displacement state"). Furthermore, the axial dimension (length) of the concave-convex shape of the cutting drum 320 is determined so that the tips of the cutter bits of each of the two sections do not separate when in the maximum displacement state. Therefore, when in the maximum displacement state, the cutter bits of one cutting drum 320 overlap with the cutter bits of the other cutting drum 320 within a predetermined axial range, including the division point.

The cutting unit 300 will be described in detail below.
The cutting drum 320 has a pair of divided drums 340 arranged in series along the vehicle width direction of the vehicle body 230, and a joint 360 connecting opposing ends of the pair of divided drums 340.

One of the split drums 340 has a generally cylindrical cutter drum 342 and multiple cutter bits 344 removably attached to the outer circumferential surface of the cutter drum 342. In the pair of split drums 340, the opposing ends of each cutter drum 342 are formed with a concave-convex shape 342A that can fit together at a predetermined distance. In the illustrated example, the end of the cutter drum 342 is formed in a rectangular wave (square wave) shape with two periods, in other words, a shape with two convex portions and two concave portions. The convex portions and concave portions of one cutter drum 342 fit into the concave portions and convex portions of the other cutter drum 342 at a predetermined distance. The concave-convex shape 342A of the cutter drum 342 is not limited to the rectangular wave shape shown in the example, but can also be any well-known shape such as a triangular wave shape, a sawtooth wave shape, or a sine wave shape. Furthermore, the uneven shape 342A of the cutter drum 342 is not limited to two cycles, but can also be three or more cycles. Here, the terms "square wave," "triangular wave," "sawtooth wave," and "sine wave" do not necessarily refer to exact waveforms, but rather to waveforms that can be visually recognized as such.

The joint 360 consists of two universal joints connected in series so that the pair of split drums 340 can tilt in at least a V-shape while synchronizing their rotation. Therefore, the pair of split drums 340 can tilt in a V-shape around a rotation axis extending in the fore-and-aft direction of the vehicle body 230, with the two connecting portions of the universal joints in the joint 360 serving as the rotation center. Here, by shortening the length of the component located in the center of the universal joint, the rotation centers of each split drum 340 can be brought closer together.

The ends of the pair of split drums 340 located on the outer side of the vehicle width are attached to a pair of left and right brackets 370 fixed to the support member 270. Here, the pair of left and right brackets 370 are able to swing around two rotation shafts 380 extending in the fore-and-aft direction of the vehicle body 230.

In other words, the pair of left and right brackets 370 have a generally rectangular parallelepiped shape with openings on the bottom and the side facing inward in the vehicle width, and the upper parts of the ends facing inward in the vehicle width are inclined so that they widen outward in the vehicle width as they extend upward, allowing them to tilt in a V-shape in side view. The lower parts of the ends facing inward in the vehicle width of the pair of left and right brackets 370 are attached to the tip (lower end) of the support member 270 so that they can each swing around two rotation shafts 380 extending in the fore-and-aft direction of the vehicle body 230. Therefore, the pair of left and right brackets 370 can tilt in a V-shape around the two rotation shafts 380. Here, "V-shape" does not necessarily mean a perfect V-shape, but may simply mean a shape that is recognizable as a V-shape at first sight (same below).

Motors MTR, such as hydraulic motors or electric motors, are fixed to the portions of the pair of left and right brackets 370 located on the outer side of the vehicle width, and support and rotate both ends of the pair of split drums 340. Therefore, each split drum 340 is supported in a cantilevered manner by the brackets 370 via the motors MTR.

Here, it is desirable that the two rotation shafts 380 be concentric with the two connecting portions of the universal joint in the joint 360. In this way, the split drum 340 and the bracket 370 swing together, allowing the pair of split drums 340 to tilt smoothly.

The tips of a pair of telescopic cylinders 390 are fixed to the outer surfaces of the pair of left and right brackets 370, located outboard of the vehicle width, so that they can rotate around a rotation axis extending in the fore-and-aft direction of the vehicle body 230. The middle parts of the pair of telescopic cylinders 390 are fixed so that they can swing relative to the base member 260. Therefore, when the telescopic cylinders 390 are retracted, as shown in Figure 4, the pair of brackets 370 tilt in a V shape, and the pair of split drums 340 fixed in a cantilevered manner to these brackets also tilt in a V shape.

If the pair of split drums 340 were simply cylindrical, tilting them in a V-shape would cause the tips of the cutter bits 344 of each cutter drum 342 to separate on their undersides, resulting in areas where the road surface could not be cut. However, the concave and convex shapes 342A of each cutter drum 342 fit together at a predetermined distance, to which the cutter bits 344 are attached. Therefore, in the axial center of the pair of split drums 340, the cutting range of the cutter bits 344 of one cutter drum 342 overlaps with the cutting range of the cutter bits 344 of the other cutter drum 342. Therefore, even when the pair of split drums 340 are tilted in a V-shape, as shown in Figure 5, the tips of the cutter bits 344 of each cutter drum 342 do not separate on their undersides, preventing areas from being left uncut.

The screw conveyor 400 is driven by a motor 410, such as a hydraulic motor or an electric motor, and is positioned between the front wheels 210 of the self-propelled vehicle 200 and the cutting unit 300, with the conveying direction extending in the vehicle width direction of the vehicle body 230. A waste material receiver 420 is attached between the cutting drum 320 of the cutting unit 300 and the screw conveyor 400. This receiver receives waste material from the road surface cut by the cutting drum 320 and sends it out to the screw conveyor 400. Therefore, the waste material cut by the cutting drum 320 is received by the waste material receiver 420 and sent to the screw conveyor 400, and is transported and discharged outward across the vehicle width as the screw conveyor 400 operates.

Here, the screw conveyor 400 may be movable up and down, for example, by a telescopic cylinder (not shown), so that its relative position with respect to the cutting drum 320 of the cutting unit 300 can be changed. Furthermore, one end of the screw conveyor 400 may be rotatably connected to a rotating shaft extending in the fore-and-aft direction of the vehicle body 230, while the other end may be connected to the base member 260 via a telescopic cylinder, so that the inclination angle of the screw conveyor 400 can be changed as desired.

For example, a sprinkler device that sprays water in a mist may be attached near the cutting drum 320 to reduce dust generated during road cutting work. Furthermore, the pair of split drums 340 of the cutting drum 320 may be tilted into a V-shape (inverted V-shape) when viewed from the front to back of the mobile vehicle 200 by extending the telescopic cylinder 390. In this way, it is possible to cut not only concave curved slopes, but also convex curved slopes. Here, "V-shape" does not have to be a perfect V-shape, but may be one that can be recognized as such visually.

Next, the procedure for using the road surface milling device 100 to repair curved slopes such as those on automobile test courses will be described with reference to Figures 6 and 7. Here, the road surface is milled by running the road surface milling device 100 in the direction in which the curved slope 500 extends, at intervals of a predetermined width along a direction perpendicular to the direction in which the curved slope 500 extends. The curved slope 500 is one example of a slope.

[Step 1]
When work to repair the curved slope 500 begins, as shown in Figure 6, the road surface milling device 100 is placed at the bottom of the curved slope 500, and a support cart (roller supporter) 600 is placed on a flat section 510 formed at the top of the curved slope 500. Then, above the slope of the road surface milling device 100, the road surface milling device 100 and a boom 610 of the support cart 600 are connected by, for example, a wire rope 700.

[Step 2]
The road surface milling device 100 and the support cart 600 are run to a position where milling of the road surface begins, as shown in Figure 7. At this time, the road surface milling device 100 is connected to the support cart 600 via the wire rope 700, so that normally, work can be carried out safely even if the inclination angle of the curved slope 500 is large.

[Step 3]
The telescopic cylinder 240 of the self-propelled vehicle 200 is extended and retracted to move the vehicle body 230 up and down, and the height of the cutting drum 320 of the cutting unit 300 from the road surface is set to a predetermined height. Then, the telescopic cylinder 390 of the cutting unit 300 is extended and retracted as appropriate, and the cutting drum 320 is tilted into a V-shape that follows the curved slope 500, as shown in Figure 4.

[Step 4]
While the cutting drum 320 of the cutting unit 300 is driven to rotate, the telescopic cylinder 240 of the mobile vehicle 200 is retracted, causing the cutting drum 320 to move downward. The existing road surface is then cut to a predetermined depth. The cutting depth of the road surface can be set by extending and retracting the telescopic cylinder 240, improving accuracy. The road surface waste material cut by the cutting drum 320 is thrown up onto the screw conveyor 400 located in front of the cutting drum 320 and is then discharged to the side of the mobile vehicle 200 by the screw conveyor 400.

[Step 5]
The road surface milling device 100 and the support carriage 600 are made to travel along the direction in which the curved slope 500 extends, and the road surface is milled in a strip shape of a predetermined width. At this time, the road surface milling device 100 is connected to the support carriage 600 via the wire rope 700, so it does not slide down the curved slope 500, and the road surface can be milled continuously with high precision.

[Step 6]
When cutting is completed up to the cutting end position of the road surface, the telescopic cylinder 240 of the mobile vehicle 200 is extended to move the cutting drum 320 of the cutting unit 300 away from the road surface. Then, the rotation of the cutting drum 320 is stopped.

[Step 7]
The road surface cutting device 100 and the support carriage 600 are moved to the next cutting start position, and steps 3 to 6 are repeated.

[Step 8]
Once cutting of the road surface by the road surface cutting device 100 is completed, waste materials remaining on the curved slope 500 are collected and cleaned using a road surface sweeper or the like.

[Step 9]
After the cleaning is completed, asphalt emulsion is spread on the road surface, and then an asphalt mixture is spread evenly on top of it using an asphalt finisher for slopes.At this time, the asphalt mixture is supplied to the hopper of the asphalt finisher for slopes, for example, using a stacker and a belt conveyor.

[Step 10]
The spread asphalt mixture is then compacted using a slope roller with steel wheels or a slope tire roller.

In this way, when cutting the road surface of the curved slope 500, the cutting drum 320 tilts in a V-shape, following the shape of the curved slope 500. This allows the curved slope 500 to be cut in a shape that follows its cross-sectional shape, eliminating the need to cut deeper than designed. This eliminates or reduces the need for leveling work to pave the asphalt mixture, preventing longer construction periods and increased costs. Furthermore, if the cross-sectional shape of the road surface continuously changes from flat to three-dimensional curves, the cutting drum 320 can be adjusted to accommodate this by continuously changing its posture.

The road milling device 100 may be equipped with a control device with a built-in computer, which controls the telescopic cylinder 390 of the cutting drum 320 according to cutting depth data that has been input in advance. In this case, the road milling device 100 may determine its current position using, for example, a Global Positioning System (GPS), and control the telescopic cylinder 390 according to data associated with this current position. This allows the road milling device 100 to easily adapt to situations where the cross-sectional shape of the road cutting surface continuously changes, from flat to three-dimensional curves. The control device of the road milling device 100 may also control the telescopic cylinder 240, which moves the front wheels 210 and rear wheels 220 up and down, according to cutting depth data.

When cutting the curved slope 500, the road surface cutting device 100 is supported by a wire rope 700 extending from the boom 610 of the support cart 600, which travels on the flat section formed at the top of the curved slope 500. An appropriate safety factor is set for the wire rope 700, taking into account, for example, the weight of the road surface cutting device 100 and the gradient of the curved slope 500. For this reason, there have been no cases to date where the wire rope 700 has broken and the road surface cutting device 100 has slid down the curved slope 500, for example. However, further safety measures are needed to ensure work safety.

In addition to the above configuration, the slope construction system proposed in this embodiment includes, as shown in FIG. 8, a bracket 620 attached near the tip of the boom 610 of the support cart 600 above the slope of the road milling device 100, and this bracket 620 is connected to the road milling device 100 by an extendable towing rope 800. Because the support cart 600 and the road milling device 100 are connected by a wire rope 700, it is desirable that the towing rope 800 connecting the support cart 600 and the road milling device 100 be long enough so that it does not exert its towing function, so that the towing rope 800 does not affect the supporting force of the wire rope 700. The towing rope 800 can be secured to the boom 610 of the support cart 600 without using the bracket 620. The extendable towing rope 800 is an example of an extendable auxiliary rope.

As shown in Figure 9, the tow rope 800 comprises an expandable tow rope portion 810 made of fibers similar to those used in fire hoses, a pair of rope eyes 820 fixed to both ends of the tow rope portion 810, and an expandable rubber rope portion 830 connecting the pair of rope eyes 820 inside the tow rope portion 810. Therefore, as shown in the figure, the tow rope 800 is expandable between a natural length state (the state shown in the upper figure) in which no external force is acting on the rubber rope portion 830, and a towing state (the state shown in the lower figure) in which the tow rope portion 810 is fully extended and ready for towing.

One end of the towing rope 800 connected to the support carriage 600 is detachably connected, for example, via a shackle (not shown), to a hook (not shown) fixed to the bracket 620 of the boom 610 of the support carriage 600. The other end of the towing rope 800 connected to the road milling device 100 is detachably connected, for example, via a shackle (not shown), to a hook (not shown) fixed to a predetermined location on the road milling device 100. Therefore, the towing rope 800 connecting the support carriage 600 and the road milling device 100 can be easily replaced by releasing the shackle, and a rope appropriate for the distance between the support carriage 600 and the road milling device 100 can be used.

Now, with reference to Figure 10, we will explain how the traction rope 800 ensures the safety of the road milling device 100 when the wire rope 700 connecting the support carriage 600 and the road milling device 100 breaks for some reason.

If the wire rope 700 connecting the support carriage 600 and the road milling device 100 breaks, the wire rope 700 will lose its support function for the road milling device 100, causing the road milling device 100 to slide down the curved slope 500, as indicated by the white arrow in Figure 10 . At this time, the tow rope 800 gradually extends from its natural length to a towed state, absorbing the force that causes the road milling device 100 to slide down the curved slope 500. Therefore, even if the wire rope 700 breaks, the road milling device 100 will not suddenly slide down, reducing anxiety for the operator operating the road milling device 100, for example. When the tow rope 800 is extended to the towed state, the road milling device 100 can be safely supported by the support carriage 600 via its tow rope portion 810.

Therefore, even if the wire rope 700 connecting the road milling device 100 cutting the curved slope 500 to the support carriage 600 breaks, the safety of the road milling device 100 can be ensured by the towing rope 800. Here, it is desirable that the connection position of the towing rope 800 to the road milling device 100 be near the center of gravity of the road milling device 100 when viewed from the support carriage 600. In this way, even when the road milling device 100 is supported by the towing rope 800, the moment acting around the center of gravity of the road milling device 100 is zero or small, significantly reducing the possibility of the road milling device 100 tipping over.

When constructing a slope using this slope construction system, the road surface milling device 100, which is placed on the curved slope 500, and the support cart 600, which is placed on the flat section 510 formed at the top of the curved slope 500, are run in the direction of the curved slope 500, and the road surface is milled by the road surface milling device 100. Even if the distance between the road surface milling device 100 and the support cart 600 changes slightly, the towing rope 800 expands and contracts accordingly, so that its towing function does not affect the supporting force of the wire rope 700.

In the above embodiment, the road surface milling device 100 was described as an example of a work machine, but the work machine is not limited to the road surface milling device 100 and may be, for example, a rolling machine such as a road roller or tire roller, or an asphalt finisher, or other well-known machine. Furthermore, the road surface milling device 100 is not limited to a configuration in which the milling drum 320 can be tilted in a V-shape to match the shape of the curved slope 500, but may also be a general configuration in which the milling drum 320 does not tilt. Furthermore, the slope is not limited to a curved slope 500 with a variable inclination angle, but may also be a slope with a constant inclination angle.

In addition, the support carriage 600 is not limited to being positioned on a flat section 510 formed at the top of the curved slope 500, but may also be positioned on a flat section formed at the bottom of the curved slope 500, and the road surface milling device 100 may be supported by a boom 610 that extends beyond the road surface milling device 100 and above the curved slope 500. Therefore, the wire rope 700 and towing rope 800 only need to connect the boom 610 of the support carriage 600 to the road surface milling device 100 above the slope of the road surface milling device 100.

A person skilled in the art will readily understand that new embodiments can be created by omitting parts of the technical ideas of the above embodiments, combining parts as appropriate, or replacing parts with well-known technology.

100...Road surface cutting device (work machine)
500...curved slope (slope)
510... Flat portion 600... Supporting carriage 610... Boom 700... Wire rope 800... Towing rope (extendable auxiliary rope)

Claims (4)

a work machine that is placed on a slope and performs construction on the slope;
A support carriage disposed on a flat portion formed on the upper or lower portion of the slope;
a wire rope connecting the boom of the support carriage to the work machine above the slope of the work machine;
an extendable auxiliary rope connecting the boom of the support carriage and the work machine above the slope of the work machine;
and
The auxiliary rope is an elastic towing rope.
Slope construction system. The auxiliary rope is connected near the center of gravity of the work machine.
The slope construction system according to claim 1 . The auxiliary rope is connected to the boom of the support carriage and the work machine via shackles,
The slope construction system according to claim 1 . A road surface construction method using a slope construction system according to any one of claims 1 to 3 , in which a work machine installed on the slope and a support cart placed on a flat area formed on the upper or lower part of the slope are made to travel in the direction in which the slope extends, while the work machine constructs a road surface.