CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This application claims priority to co-pending U.S. Provisional Patent

Application No. 63/059,250 filed on July 31, 2020 and co-pending U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63/048,722 filed on July 7, 2020, the entire contents of both of which are incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0002] The present invention relates to plate compactors.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0003] Plate compactors include a plate that is caused to vibrate in order to compact soil or other loose material.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0004] The present invention provides, in one aspect, a compactor comprising a plate, an electric motor coupled to the plate, an exciter coupled to the plate and configured to vibrate the plate in response to receiving torque from the electric motor, a means for transferring torque from the electric motor to the exciter, a battery configured to provide power to the electric motor, and a vibration isolator coupling the battery to the plate.

[0005] The present invention provides, in another aspect, a compactor comprising a plate, an electric motor coupled to the plate, an exciter coupled to the plate without a vibration isolator therebetween, the exciter having an eccentric mass, and an endless drive member rotationally coupling the electric motor and the exciter. The endless driver member is configured to transfer torque from the electric motor to the exciter, causing the eccentric mass to rotate. The compactor also includes a battery configured to provide power to the electric motor.

[0006] The present invention provides, in yet another aspect, a compactor comprising a plate, an electric motor coupled to the plate, an exciter coupled to the plate and configured to vibrate the plate in response to receiving torque from the electric motor, a means for transferring torque from the electric motor to the exciter, control electronics configured to control operation of the electric motor, and a vibration isolator coupling the control electronics to the plate.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0007] FIG. 1 is a schematic plan side view of a plate compactor.

[0008] FIG. 2 is a schematic plan side view of a plate compactor according to an embodiment of the invention.

[0009] FIG. 2A is a perspective view of a plate compactor according to another embodiment of the invention.

[0010] FIG. 3 is a schematic top plan view of the plate compactor of FIG. 2.

[0011] FIG. 4 is a schematic top plan view of a plate compactor according to another embodiment of the invention.

[0012] Before any embodiments of the invention are explained in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and the arrangement of components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the following drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced or of being carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology used herein is for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0013] As shown in FIG. 1, a typical gas-powered plate compactor 10 includes a plate 14, an exciter 18 with an eccentric mass 22 to vibrate the plate 14, and a gas engine 26 to drive the exciter 18 via an output pulley 30 and a belt 34. The gas engine 26 is vibrationally isolated from the exciter 18, via vibration isolators 38 or dampers, to protect the gas engine 26 from excessive vibration. While minimizing vibration is good, this arrangement is not efficient. To maximize runtime in battery powered systems, efficiency is critical because battery energy density is currently significantly lower than gasoline.

[0014] FIGS. 2 and 3 illustrate an embodiment of a plate compactor 42 including a plate 46, an exciter 50 with an eccentric mass 54 to vibrate the plate 46, and an electric motor 58 to drive the exciter 50 via a torque transfer device 62 (e.g., a transmission, an endless drive member such as a roller chain or a belt, and/or a gear train). Although the plate 46 is schematically illustrated as a single body, the plate 46 may comprise a combination of rigidly connected components that facilitate sliding the compactor 42 across a work surface to be compacted. A battery 66 (e.g., a battery pack) powers the electric motor 58. The battery 66 is mounted on a platform 68 that is vibrationally isolated from the electric motor 58 by vibration isolators 70 or dampers between the platform 68 and the plate 46. Thus, the battery 66 is vibrationally isolated from the electric motor 58. Likewise, a handle 72 is coupled to and vibrationally isolated from the platform 68 via another vibration isolator 73.

Alternatively, the handle 72 may instead be coupled to the plate 46.

[0015] The electric motor 58 and the exciter 50 are directly coupled to the plate 46 so that there is no relative motion (i.e., axial displacement) between them. The torque transfer device 62 includes a gear train 74, for example, that transfers torque from a motor shaft 78 to an exciter shaft 82. Thus, the gear train 74 permits the exciter 50 to be driven faster or slower than the electric motor 58. In the embodiment of FIGS. 2 and 3, control electronics 86 for controlling operation of the electric motor 58 are coupled to the electric motor 58 for cooling purposes, but in other embodiments, the control electronics 86 can be mounted on a portion of the plate compactor 42 that is vibrationally isolated from the exciter 50, such as the platform 68 along with the battery 66. In an embodiment of the compactor 26 in which the platform 68 is configured as a housing 88 defining thereon a battery receptacle 89 to which the battery 66 is connectable (FIG. 2A), the control electronics 86 may be located within the housing 88. In some embodiments, the compactor 26 may include an intermediate frame 64 interconnecting the housing 88 and the plate 46 (e.g., via additional vibrational isolators 73). In operation of the plate compactor 42, the control electronics 86 control operation of the electric motor 58, which drives the exciter 50 via the gear train 74, thus rotating the eccentric mass 54 about the exciter shaft 82, imparting vibration to the plate 46.

[0016] FIG. 4 illustrates another embodiment of a plate compactor 90 that is similar to the embodiment of FIGS. 2 and 3, except that an electric motor 94, motor shaft 98, gearbox 102, exciter 110, and exciter shaft 114 are arranged on a rotational axis 118. The gearbox 102, gear train 106, exciter 110, exciter shaft 114, and an eccentric mass 138 are all on one side of the electric motor 94. As in the embodiment of FIGS. 2 and 3, the electric motor 94 and the exciter 110 are directly coupled to a plate 126 so that there is no relative motion (i.e., axial displacement) between them. In the embodiment of FIG.4, control electronics 130 could be mounted with the electric motor 94 or could be mounted with a battery 134, as shown in FIG. 4. In operation of the plate compactor 90, the control electronics 130 control operation of the electric motor 94, which drives the exciter 110 via the gear train 106, thus rotating the eccentric mass 138 about the exciter shaft 114, imparting vibration of the plate 126.

[0017] By utilizing a gear train 74, 106 to transfer torque from the electric motor 58, 94 to the exciter 50, 110, the plate compactors 42, 90 of FIGS. 2-4 achieve a longer runtime than an embodiment in which the electric motor is isolated from the exciter and provides torque to the exciter via a belt.

[0018] Although the invention has been described in detail with reference to certain preferred embodiments, variations and modifications exist within the scope and spirit of one or more independent aspects of the invention as described.

[0019] Various features of the invention are set forth in the following claims.