Road pothole fixer
A pothole-repairing apparatus includes a frame, first and second continuous track assemblies connected to opposite sides of the frame, a brush assembly connected to the frame, an asphalt pouring assembly disposed on the frame, at least one ultrasonic sensor disposed on the frame, a grader blade connected to the frame, a power source disposed on the frame, a controlling circuit disposed on the frame, a transceiver disposed on the frame, and a plurality of motors for controlling the operations of the first and second continuous track assemblies, the brush assembly and asphalt pouring assembly. The brush assembly can be used to clean a pothole free of debris. The asphalt pouring assembly can be used to fill the pothole with an asphalt mix. The asphalt mix can be compacted in the pothole by driving over the asphalt mix with the first and second continuous track assemblies.
1. An apparatus configured to repair potholes, comprising:
a frame including a plurality of sidewalls, the plurality of sidewalls including a first sidewall and a second sidewall, the first and second sidewalls being opposite to one another;
a first continuous track assembly connected to the first sidewall;
a second continuous track assembly connected to the second sidewall;
at least one motor connected to the first and second continuous track assemblies;
a brush assembly connected to at least one of the plurality of sidewalls of the frame;
at least one motor connected to the brush assembly;
an asphalt pouring assembly connected to at least one of the plurality of sidewalls of the frame;
a fifth motor connected to the asphalt pouring assembly;
at least one ultrasonic sensor connected to at least one of the plurality of sidewalls of the frame, the at least one ultrasonic sensor being configured to emit an ultrasonic sound wave to determine a depth of a pothole located under the apparatus;
a grader blade connected to at least one of the plurality of sidewalls of the frame;
a power source;
a transceiver; and
a controller circuit electrically connected to the power source, the at least one motor connected to the first and second continuous track assemblies, the at least one motor connected to the brush assembly, the fifth motor, the at least one ultrasonic sensor and the transceiver,
the controller circuit being configured to operate the at least one motor connected to the first and second continuous track assemblies, the at least one motor connected to the brush assembly, the fifth motor, and the at least one ultrasonic sensor based on control signals received via the transceiver,
the controller circuit further being configured to determine the depth of the pothole by using the at least one ultrasonic sensor and to transmit the determined depth of the pothole to a remote device communicatively coupled to the controller circuit via the transceiver.
2. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the at least one ultrasonic sensor includes first and second ultrasonic sensors.
3. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein, when the apparatus is aligned horizontally, a bottom surface of the grader is located at a higher elevation than an elevation of a bottom surface of the first track assembly.
4. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the brush assembly includes:
a first shaft connected to a third sidewall of the plurality of sidewalls, the third sidewall extending between the first and second sidewalls and connecting the first and second sidewalls to one another, the first shaft extending along a first imaginary axis;
a supporting arm connected to the first shaft and configured to be moved along a length of the first shaft in a first direction, along the first imaginary axis, and in a second direction, opposite to the first direction, along the first imaginary axis, the supporting arm extending along a second imaginary axis, the first and second imaginary axes crossing one another;
a second shaft rotatably connected to the supporting arm, the second shaft extending along a third imaginary axis, the third imaginary axis crossing the second imaginary axis; and
a brush head connected to the second shaft,
wherein, when the apparatus is aligned horizontally, the movement of the supporting arm in the first direction is configured to place a bottom of the brush head below an elevation of a bottom of the first continuous track assembly, and the movement of the supporting arm in the second direction is configured to place a bottom of the brush at or above the elevation of the bottom of the first continuous track assembly.
5. The apparatus of claim 4 , wherein the first shaft is threaded along its length, and wherein the supporting arm includes a ring gear threadably connected to the first shaft.
6. The apparatus of claim 5 , wherein the first shaft is rotatably connected to the third sidewall, wherein the ring gear is fixed to the supporting arm, and
wherein the at least one motor connected to the brush assembly includes a third motor connected to the first shaft and a fourth motor connected to the second shaft.
7. The apparatus of claim 5 , wherein the first shaft is fixedly connected to the third sidewall, wherein the ring gear is rotatably coupled to the supporting arm, and
wherein the at least one motor connected to the brush assembly includes a third motor connected to the ring gear and a fourth motor connected to the second shaft.
8. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the asphalt pouring assembly includes:
a hopper,
a conduit connected to the hopper, the conduit having a first end, a second open end and a hollow body extending between the first and second ends thereof, the hollow body of the conduit including an opening at a bottom of the hopper, the opening fluidly connecting an interior of the hopper with an interior of the hollow body of the conduit, enabling an asphalt mix or other fluid substance contained in the interior of the hopper to flow in the hollow body of the conduit; and
a conveyor mechanism disposed in the hollow body of the conduit, the conveyor mechanism configured to be in fluid communication with the asphalt mix or other fluid in the body of the conduit, and to pump the asphalt mix or other fluid toward the second open end of the hollow body of the conduit such that the asphalt mix or other fluid can be discharged outwardly from the conduit via the second open end thereof.
9. The apparatus of claim 8 , wherein the conveyor mechanism is a screw conveyor.
10. The apparatus of claim 9 , wherein the screw conveyor includes a central shaft and a first flighting extending along a first portion of a length of the central shaft.
11. The apparatus of claim 10 , wherein the central shaft extends in a length direction of the hollow body of the conduit.
12. The apparatus of claim 10 , wherein the fifth motor is connected to the central shaft.
13. The apparatus of claim 10 , wherein the screw conveyor further includes a second flighting extending along a second portion of the length of central shaft, different from the first portion of the length thereof.
14. The apparatus of claim 13 , wherein the first and second flightings are separated from one another along the length of the central shaft.
15. A method of operating an apparatus configured to repair potholes, the method comprising:
filling a hopper of the apparatus configured to repair potholes with a flowable asphalt mix; and
using a remote control or a smart device communicatively coupled to said apparatus to:
drive said apparatus to a location of a pothole;
emit an ultrasonic wave into the pothole by using an ultrasonic sensor of said apparatus;
determine a depth of the pothole by considering an amount of time that an echo of the ultrasonic wave takes to travel back to the ultrasonic sensor;
pouring a quantity of the flowable asphalt mix into the pothole by using the apparatus;
spreading the poured quantity of the flowable asphalt with a grader blade of the apparatus; and
compacting the spread flowable asphalt by driving the apparatus over the spread flowable asphalt.
16. The method of claim 15 , further comprising a step of comparing the determined depth of the pothole with a predefined threshold value, and determining that the depth of the pothole is less than the predefined threshold value.
17. The method of claim 15 , wherein the pouring step includes using a motor of the apparatus to rotate a screw conveyor of the apparatus, the screw conveyor being in fluid communication with the flowable asphalt mix in the hopper.
18. The method of claim 15 , wherein the flowable asphalt mix is cold mix asphalt.
19. The method of claim 15 , wherein the using of the remote control or the smart device communicatively coupled to said apparatus further comprises a step of cleaning the pothole by using a brush assembly of the apparatus prior to the pouring step.
20. The method of claim 19 , wherein the cleaning step includes using the apparatus to lower a brush head of the brush assembly into the pothole and rotating the brush head inside of the pothole.