Expansion joint cleaning apparatus and method

Claim 2

In an apparatus for the cleaning of expansion joints between adjacent slabs of concrete including the removal of fillers and joint sealant compositions positioned in said joints, said apparatus including a vehicle, a tool carrying arm, means mounting said arm to said vehicle for manipulation of said arm and application of a substantial downward force to said arm, the improvement comprising: a. a cleaning tool having a cutting face formed from material capable of cutting concrete, said cutting face being formed for insertion of a lower portion thereof into said joint; and b. tool mounting means mounting said tool on said arm with said cutting face inclined toward the direction of advancement of said vehicle during cleaning in an amount sufficient to apply a forwardly and downwardly oriented cutting force which will effect cutting of the concrete adjacent said joint substantially without spalling the same.

Claim 3

An expansion joint cleaning apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein, said upper and lower portions of said cutting face are defined by spaced apart convergently tapering side cutting edges being spaced at a width at the distal end of said tool for insertion into said joint and spaced at a width mediate the heighth of said face causing an overlap of said cutting edges with opposed side walls defining said joint whereby both side walls of said joint may be simultaneously cut by said tool.

Claim 4

An expansion joint cleaning apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein, said face is formed by tungsten carbide steel and includes substantially right angle cutting edges on opposite sides thereof.

Claim 5

An expansion joint cleaning apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein, said tool mounting means is formed to mount said face at an angle of at least about 15* from a plane normal to the top surfaces of said slabs.

Claim 6

An expansion joint cleaning apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein, said tool mounting means is formed for selective adjustment of the angle at which said face is inclined toward the direction of advancement of said vehicle.

Claim 7

An expansion joint cleaning apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein, said arm and said means mounting said arm to said vehicle are formed as a pantograph linkage to allow said arm to move laterally with respect to said joint as said vehicle advances down said joint while maintaining said tool aligned parallel to the direction of travel of said vehicle.

Claim 8

An expansion joint cleaning apparatus as defined in claim 6 wherein, said means for raising and lowering said arm includes an element transverse to said pantograph linkage and said element is formed to apply a downward force to said pantograph linkage while guiding said linkage for transverse movement.

Claim 9

An expansion joint cleaning apparatus as defined in claim 7, wherein, said pantograph linkage and raising and lowering means are comprised of: a. a frame pivotally mounted to said vehicle for articulation about a horizontal axis; b. a first pair of vertically spaced parallel elements pivotally mounted adjacent a first end thereof to said frame for articulation about a vertical axis; c. a second pair of vertically spaced parallel elements pivotally mounted adjacent a first end thereof to said frame at a spaced distance from said first pair of elements for articulation about a vertical axis; d. a connecting member pivotally connected to said first and said second pairs of elements adjacent the distal ends thereof at an equal distance from said frame and a distance apart causing said first and second pairs of elements to be substantially parallel; and e. said element transverse to said pantograph linkage is mounted to said frame and extends between said first and second vertically spaced pairs of elements mediately of said frame and said connecting member, said element transverse to said pantograph linkage being dimensioned for sliding lateral movement of said first and second pairs of elements thereover.

Claim 12

The method of cleaning expansion joints as defined in claim 9 wherein, said cutting face is inclined from a plane normal to said slabs toward the direction of travel of said vehicle during cleaning at least about 15* and not more than about 60*.

Claim 13

The method of cleaning expansion joints as defined in claim 10, and positioning said cutting face at a forward inclination of about 15*; advancing said tool down a length of said joint; repositioning said cutting face at a forward inclination of about 60*; and advancing said tool a second time down said length of said joint.