The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Aug. 17, 1999
Filed:
Mar. 25, 1998
Michael L King, Durham, NC (US);
John T Eagan, Jr, Cary, NC (US);
Donald K McAlister, Apex, NC (US);
Troxler Electronic Laboratories, Inc., Research Triangle Park, NC (US);
Abstract
An apparatus for compacting a material sample, such as paving material, including a cylindrical compaction mold and a mold support arranged to support one end of the mold. The mold support includes a turntable mounted for rotation about a rotational axis and a pair of mold-engaging members, such as rollers, extending from the turntable to engage the mold along its periphery and impart a gyratory motion to the mold as the turntable rotates. A mold retainer is also provided that includes a plurality of mold restraints spaced apart from one another about a central axis and arranged to engage the mold about the mold periphery at the end of the mold opposite the mold support. One of the mold restraints is attached to a movable latch that moves the mold restraint between an open position and a closed position. The open position locates the mold restraint out of engagement with the mold to allow the mold to slide into position inside the compactor apparatus. The closed position moves the mold restraint into contact with the mold and pushes the mold into a tilting position such that the axis of the mold intersects with the axis of the compression at the top of the mold. A compaction ram is mounted for axial movement into the mold along a predetermined axis of compression. As the ram applies compressive force, the turntable is rotated and the attached mold-engaging members impart a gyratory motion to the mold during compression.