Flap for cement truck back

Cronquist, Jeff;

A rigid cover attached to the chute of a cement truck can prevent the accidental discharge of cement residue from the chute of the cement truck while the truck is moving. The use of a rigid cover prevents the bending of the cover under the weight of the cement residue. The rigid cover can be attached to an over-chute portion of the chute such that when the over-chute rests upon the main chute, the rigid cover can be positioned to prevent the accidental discharge of cement from the chute or can be flopped on top of the over-chute. The rigid cover is designed to hold back a substantial amount of cement residue.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to apparatus for use with cement trucks. More particularly, this invention relates to apparatus used to prevent accidental discharge of cement from cement trucks.

Cement trucks typically have chutes which are used to pour cement at a construction site. Cement residue may form on the chute after the cement is poured. This cement residue may accidentally fall out of the chute while the truck is returning from the construction site. This may be a hazard to drivers behind the truck and may form undesirable deposits on the roads.

In order to avoid the cement residue from falling out of the chute while returning from the construction site, the chute is often washed off at the construction site. A disadvantage of this method is that a cement patch is formed at the site. For this reason, many cities and towns have laws preventing this practice.

One device that attempts to avoid this problem is described in Lewis, U.S. Pat. No. 5,354,128, entitled "Concrete Mixture Chute Cap". This patent describes a flexible material, such as canvas, that is attached to the back of a cement truck's chute with elastic straps. This device has two main disadvantages. The first disadvantage is that since the cap is made of a flexible material, the weight of the cement residue in the chute may be so great that the flexible material of the cap will begin to sag and possibly fall off the end of the chute. The second disadvantage of the flexible chute cap is that since it is not securely attached to the chute, the flexible chute cap needs to be separately stored and may get lost.

It is desired to have an apparatus that avoids these disadvantages.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention uses a rigid cover or "flapper". The advantage of using a rigid cover is that it can better hold up to the weight of the cement residue. The rigid cover will not bend under the pressure of the cement residue like an elastic canvas chute cap. The rigid cover is designed to hold back a substantial amount of cement residue.

Additionally, the rigid cover is attached to the chute so that it can not get lost or require storage. The rigid cover can be hinged to the chute such that it can be positioned to prevent concrete residue from exiting the chute of the cement truck or can be positioned so that cement can be poured through the chute.

A preferred embodiment of the present invention is used with cement truck chutes which use an over-chute and a main chute portion. Many cement trucks use over-chutes which can be positioned on top of the main chute so that the cement can pour down this main chute or can be flipped down so that the over-chute and main chute form a longer chute.

In this preferred embodiment, the rigid cover is attached to the over-chute at a location so that when the over-chute is rested on the main chute, the rigid cover can be positioned to prevent the cement from accidentally discharging from the chute or the rigid cover can be flopped on top of the over-chute so that the cement can be poured through the main chute. When the over-chute is put down to form the longer chute, the rigid cover is automatically put underneath the chute and main chute.

The rigid cover can be attached with a hinge at a location near the curved edge of the over-chute which contacts a main chute when the longer chute is formed. This preferred location is best seen with the figures discussed below.

A latching device can be used to latch the rigid cover to the main chute. The rigid cover may have a flange positioned so that it will surround portions of the main chute when the cover is closed to help prevent cement from accidentally discharging from the chute. Additionally, a safety chain can be used to hold the rigid cover in position when the chute is used to pour concrete. The rigid cover also can have a handle which helps in its positioning.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other features and aspects of the present invention will become more apparent upon reading the following detailed description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the back of a cement truck with a rigid cover attached to a chute.

FIG. 2 is a partial perspective view showing a main chute, an over-chute and the rigid cover.

FIG. 3 is a partial perspective view showing the main chute, over-chute and rigid cover wherein the rigid cover is positioned on top of the over-chute.

FIG. 4 is a partial perspective view showing the main chute, over-chute and rigid cover wherein the over-chute is flopped down to form the longer chute and the rigid cover is positioned underneath the main chute and over-chute.

FIG. 5A is a front view of the rigid cover.

FIG. 5B is a side view of the rigid cover shown in FIG. 5A.

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DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a cement truck 10 which has a chute 12 and rigid cover 14. The rigid cover 14 is attached to the chute 12 with a hinge 16. By positioning the rigid cover 14 over the end of the chute 12, the cement residue in chute 12 is prevented from accidentally discharging from the truck 10.

FIG. 2 is a partial perspective view showing that over-chute 20 positioned on top of the main chute 22. The rigid cover 24 is connected to the over-chute 20 with a hinge 26. The apparatus includes a latch 30 on the rigid cover 24 that attaches to a lip on the bottom of the main chute 22. The latch can be used to secure the rigid cover against the chute. Alternately, the latch could be a two part latch including a first latch part attached to the main chute and second latch part on the rigid cover 24. The rigid cover 24 also includes a flange 32 which surrounds a portion of the main chute 22 when the rigid cover 24 is positioned next to the main chute 22. The flange 32 helps prevent the cement residue from accidentally discharging from the chute.

When the rigid cover 24 is closed, the top part of the chute can be partially washed off. In that case, the water and cement residue will collect at the bottom of the chute near the rigid cover 24. Flange 32 will prevent the water and cement residue from exiting the chute.

The rigid cover 24 optionally includes indentations 34 at locations to accommodate the hinges 36 that connect the over-chute to the main chute. Handles 38 are used to move the rigid cover 24 with respect to the hinge 26.

The rigid cover 24 can be attached to pre-existing cement truck chutes. As shown in FIG. 2, the chute only has to be modified to include the hinge 26 attached to the over-chute 20.

FIG. 3 is a partial perspective view showing the rigid cover 24 positioned on top of the over-chute 20. In this position the rigid cover 24 is out of the way of the main chute 22 so that cement can be poured through the main chute. The rigid cover 24 can be attached to the over-chute 20 with the safety chain 40. The safety chain 40 attaches to a hook 42 on the over-chute 20.

FIG. 4 is a partial perspective view showing the over-chute 20 and main shoot 22 positioned to form a longer chute. The rigid cover 24 automatically flops down to a position underneath the main chute 22 when the over-chute 20 is flopped down from its resting position on top of the main chute 22. The safety chain 40 can be attached to the hook 42. Another advantage of the embodiment shown in FIG. 4 is that the rigid cover in this position acts as a shield to protect the truck from splashing cement. When cement is poured into grout pumps, the cement has a tendency to splash back toward the truck. The rigid cover 24 in the position shown in FIG. 4 prevents the splashing cement from contacting the truck.

FIGS. 2-4 show the advantages of a rigid cover attached at the position of hinge 26. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the position of hinge 26 is such that when the over-chute 20 rests on the main chute 22, the rigid cover 24 can be positioned to prevent cement residue from discharging from the chute or can be flopped on top of the chute. As shown in FIG. 4, the hinge 26 does not prevent the over-chute 20 and main chute 22 from forming the longer chute. This is because the hinge 26 is positioned on the outside of chute 20 which is near the curved edge 42 of the over-chute 20 but placed in a manner such that the curved edge 42 of the over-chute 20 is not prevented from contacting the curved edge of the main chute 22.

FIG. 5A shows a front view of the rigid cover 24. This view shows the hinge 26, latch 30, handles 38, safety chain 40.

FIG. 5B is a side view of the rigid cover shown in FIG. 5A. This view shows a hinge 26, flange 32 and latch 30.

The rigid cover of the present invention can be constructed of a variety of materials. In a preferred embodiment, the rigid cover 24 is constructed of 12 gauge metal. Alternately, the cover 24 can be formed of a stiff rubber or plastic material, fiberglass, or any other rigid material. The rigid cover may also be formed out of a combination of such materials. Additionally, safety tape (not shown) or another type of reflective material can be put on the rigid cover to increase the cement truck's visibility.

As shown in FIG. 2-4, the rigid cover 24 is preferably attached with a hinge 26 at position so that the gravity is pulling straight down on hinge 26 rather than putting a twisting motion on the hinge 26. This twisting motion may occur if the hinge was positioned at a location such as location 27 shown in FIG. 2.

Various details of the implementation and method are merely illustrative of the present invention. It will be understood that various changes and such details may be within the scope of the invention, which is to be limited only by the appended claims.