Claims:We Claim:

1) A free-standingtesting system(100) for performing functional testing of a transit-mixer drum assembly, said free-standing testing system (100) comprising:
• a support frame (20);
• a fuel tank (30) disposed on said support frame (20);
• a power unit (40) disposed on said support frame (20);
• an engine (50) disposed on said support frame (20) and operated by input of said power unit (40) and said fuel tank (30) to achieve an output rotary motion; and
• a cardan shaft (60) in rotary connection with saidengine (50) through a bearing housing (70);
wherein said support frame (20) ported in vicinity of a support stand (80),at an assembly line,defined to perform thereon the transit-mixer drumassemblysuch that the drum(10) rotatable on said support stand (80) and rotated by a gear box (81) operated by a drive unit (82) functional by a pump unit (83), said pump unit (83) operated by said cardan shaft (60) and defined with a control valve, wherein said pump unit (83) is engaged and disengaged with said cardan shaft(60) and in engaged state said pump unit (83) operated by said cardan shaft (60);

wherein, saidengine (50) accelerated from an idle state to a full capacity state by an accelerator arrangement to rotate said drum(10) at variable speeds and record corresponding rotations per minutes;

wherein, said drum(10) pumped withwater, by a water pump (90), in variable quantitiesand rotated to determine leakage.

2) The free-standing testing system (100) for performing functional testing of atransit-mixer drum assemblyas claimed in claim 1, wherein said engine (50) having an oil seal (51)on which said bearing housing(70) is mounted.

3) The free-standing testing system (100) for performing functional testing of aatransit-mixerdrum assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein said bearing housing (70) connects an elastic coupling (71) and said cardan shaft (60), wherein said elastic coupling (71)connects an engine flywheel (72) to said bearing housing (70).

4) A method for performing functional testing ofa transit-mixer drum assembly comprising:

• defining a free-standing testing system (100) having a support frame (20), a fuel tank (30), a power unit (40), an engine (50) and a cardan shaft (60);

• pumping water, by a water pump (90), in variable quantities in the drum (10);

• connecting said cardan shaft (60) to a drum (10) of the transit-mixer drum assembly, wherein said support frame (20) ported in vicinity of a support stand (80), disposed at an assembly line, defined to perform thereon the transit-mixer drum assemblysuch that the drum(10) rotatable on said support stand (80) and rotated by a gear box (81) operated by a drive unit (82) functional by said pump unit (83) operated by said cardan shaft (60),said pump unit (83) having a control valve, wherein said pump unit (83) is engaged and disengaged with thecardan shaft (60) and in engaged state said pump unit (83) operated by said cardan shaft (60);

• actuating said engine (50) to allow rotation of said cardan shaft (60) and thereby the drum(10) to determine leakage; and

• determining rotations per minutes of said drum (10), and filled with variable quantities of water, by rotating at variable speeds from an idle state to a full capacity state of an accelerator arrangement in connection with said engine (50).

, Description:FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[1] The present disclosure relates toa free-standing testing system and method for performing functional testing of a transit mixer drum assembly, located at a drum manufacturing unit, in which the transit mixer drumassembly undergoes functional testing without the need of a chassis of a vehicle and the power supply from the battery of the vehicle which eliminates the need to physically purchase and bring the vehicle from a vehicle manufacturing unit to the drum manufacturing unit.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[2] A typical transit mixer drum assembly has a drum assemblyrotatably mounted on the chassis of a vehicle. The transit mixerdrum assemblyis manufactured at a drum manufacturing unit and the chassis along with the vehicle are manufactured at a vehicle manufacturing unit which can be far away from the drum manufacturing unit.It is well known that the transit mixerdrumassembly after being manufactured needs to be tested as per industry-standard guidelines. For performing the test of the transit mixerdrum assembly, the transit mixer drum assembly needs to be mounted on the chassis of the vehicle and then tested. In operations, the vehicle arrives from the vehicle manufacturing unit to the drum manufacturing unit and the transit mixer drum assembly needs to be installed on the chassis of the vehicle and then initiate the testing of the transit mixer drum assembly. In event if there is any defect in the transit mixer drum assembly, the transit mixer drum assembly needs to be uninstalled from the vehicle to perform repair work and after repair work reinstall the transit mixer drum assembly on the chassis of the vehicle. Therefore, the testing process can be time-consuming and difficult in handling. Also, in event of defects in the transit mixer drum assembly, the testing process cannot be performed and completed in stipulated time-period after the arrival of the customer-owned vehicle chassis which is dispatched to the customer. Hence, the drum manufacturing unit needs to purchase a vehicle only for testing purpose, referred as a test-vehicle, which is capital intensive aspurchasing of test-vehicle is required by the drum manufacturing unit from the vehicle manufacturing unit as the two are different entities. Different vehicles are required to be purchased from different vehicle manufacturing units.Conventionally, the testing process is then performed on the test-vehicle and any defectsare repaired before the arrival of the actual customer-owned vehicle chassis from the vehicle manufacturing unit so that the testing process is completed within stipulated time after the arrival of the actual customer-owned vehicle chassis.The process of arranging the test-vehicle, actual water and installation of transit mixer drum assembly on the chassis is inconvenient, time consuming and cost intensive. Further, a lot of execution planning and coordination needsto be done. The process of to-and-fro positioning of the transit mixer drum assembly on the different chassis and the support stand for positioning the transit mixer drum assembly at repairs is repeated till the defect-free transit mixer drum assembly is achieved. It is well understandable that owing to large sizes of drums of transit mixer drum assemblies, a material handling equipment is required for positioning transit mixer drum assembly from the support stand to the chassis and vice-versa. Usage of material handling equipment involves time, labor and cost.

[3] Some of the known prior arts are patent documents CN111721537A, and US2781186. CN111721537A discloses ananalogue simulation PTO bench test system and test method which is used for testing an engine but has a test bench with incomparable test equipment such as use of the dynamometer, the hydraulic pump and the hydraulic motor. US2781186 discloses a drum control means for transit concrete mixers which has incomparable feature of the drum engagement and disengagement with the shaft.

[4] None of the prior-arts disclose testing of a transit mixer drum assembly at the drum manufacturing unit such that any defect in drum can be repaired. Also, none of the prior-arts discloses testing of the transit mixer drumasembly without mounting on the chassis of the vehicle. Hence, there is a need for a free-standing testing system and method for performing functional testing of a transit-mixer drum assembly.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION

[5] Some of the objects of the arrangement of the present disclosure are aimed to ameliorate one or more problems of the prior art or to at least provide a useful alternative and are listed herein below.

A principle object of the present disclosure is to provideafree-standing testing system for performing functional testing of a transit-mixer drum assembly that is brought in vicinity of the transit-mixer drum assembly assembled on a support stand at an assembly line, easily assemblingforperforming tests without the need for a chassis of a vehicle.

Another object of the present disclosure is to providea free-standing testing system for performing functional testing of a transit-mixer drum assembly that provides functional testing to measure the rotations per minute and leakages at varying speed and varying level of water filled in the drum in accordance with industry standards and without the need to procure a vehicle.

Still another object of the present disclosure is to provide a free-standing testing system for performing functional testing of a transit-mixer drum assemblythat is a free-standing unit that performs testing independent of the battery and the chassis of a vehicle.

Yet another object of the present disclosure is to provide amethod for performing functional testing of a transit-mixer drum assembly by using a free-standing testing system easily connectable to the drum supported on a support stand.

Other objects and advantages of the present disclosure will be more apparent from the following description when read in conjunction with the accompanying figures, which are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[6] Thefree-standing testing systemof the present invention has the advantage of performing functional testing of a transit-mixer drum assembly without the need of mounting the transit -mixer drum on the chassis of a vehicle. The free-standing testing system for performing functional testing of a transit mixer drum assembly includes a support frame, a fuel tank disposed on the support frame, a power unit, an engine and a cardan shaft. The fuel tank and the power unit are disposed on the support frame. The engine is disposed on the support frame and is operated by the input of the power unit and the fuel tank to achieve an output rotary motion. The cardan shaft is in rotary connection with theengine through a bearing housing. The support frame is ported in vicinity of the support stand, at an assembly line, and is defined to perform thereon the transit-mixer drum assembly such that the drum of the transit-mixer drum assembly rotatable on the support stand and rotated by a gear box operated by a drive unit functional by a pump unit in selective connection with thecardan shaft.The pump unit has a control valve, wherein the pump unit is engaged and disengaged with the cardan shaft and in engaged state the pump unit is operated by the cardan shaft. The engine is accelerated from an idle state to a full capacity state by an accelerator arrangement to rotate the drum at variable speeds and record corresponding rotations per minutes. The drum is pumped with water by a water pump in variable quantities and rotated to determine leakage.

In additional embodiment, theengine has an oil seal on which the bearing housing is mounted.

In one embodiment, the bearing housing connects an elastic coupling and the cardan shaft, wherein the elastic coupling connects an engine flywheel to the bearing housing.

[7] The present disclosure also discloses a method forperforming functional testing of a transit-mixer drum assembly.The method includes:
• defining a free-standing testing system (100) having a support frame, a fuel tank, a power unit, an engine and a cardan shaft;
• pumping water, by a water pump, in variable quantities in the drum;
• connecting the cardan shaft to the transit-mixer drum assembly, wherein the support frame ported in vicinity of a support stand, disposed at an assembly line, defined to perform thereon the transit-mixer drum assembly such that the drum rotatable on the support stand and rotated by a gear box operated by a drive unit functional by a pump unit, wherein thepump unit is engaged and disengaged with thecardan shaft and in engaged state thepump unit is operated by thecardan shaft;
• actuating the engine to allow rotation of thecardan shaft and thereby the drum to determine leakage; and
• determining rotations per minutes of the drum, and filled with variable quantities of water, by rotating at variable speeds from an idle state to a full capacity state of an accelerator arrangement in connection with the engine.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF ACCOMPANYING DRAWINGS
[8] The present disclosure will now be described with the help of the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 illustrates aschematicassembly of a free-standingsystem (100)for testing atransit-mixer drum assembly mounted on a support stand (80);

Figure 2 illustrates schematic exploded view of the free-standing system (100) and the transit-mixer drum assembly; and

Figure 3illustrates a schematicrepresentation of the free-standing system (100).

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[9] In general, as will be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art of known systems and method for performing functional testing of a transit-mixer drum assembly, instead of positioning the transit-mixer drum assembly on the chassis of a vehicle or purchasing a test-vehicle which requires handling of the transit-mixer drum assembly from a support stand to the vehicle/test-vehicle which are labor, time, and cost intensive, or system and method for performing functional testing of a transit-mixer drum assembly, which requires handling of the transit-mixer drum assembly from the chassis of the vehicle/test-vehicle to the support stand for repair, the systemand method claimed herein eliminates the need of the vehicle/test-vehicle and handling required and perform function testing of a transit-mixer drum assembly, as described herein. There is facility of conducting test at the assembly line of the transit-mixer drum assembly for which functional testing is required by porting the free-standing testing system near the support stand on which the transit-mixer drum assembly is assembled.

[10] Referring now to the drawings, Figures 1 to 3, where the present invention is generally referred to with numeral (100), it can be observed that a free-standing testing system for performing functional testing of a transit-mixer drum assembly, in accordance with an embodiment, is provided and the free-standing testing system (100) whichincludesasupport frame (20), a fuel tank (30), a power unit (40), an engine (50) and a cardan shaft (60).

[11] The support frame (20) supports various components of the free-standing testing system (100). The support frame (20) can be portable from one place to another.

[12] The fuel tank (30) is disposed on the support frame (20) and contains fuel. Typically, the fuel used is diesel to drive the engine (50).

[13] The power unit (40) is also disposed on the support frame (20). The power unit (40) is a power storage battery that provides energy to ignite the engine (50).

[14] The engine (50) is disposed on the support frame (20). In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the engine (50) is a diesel engine. The engine (50) is operated by inputs of energy received from the power unit (40) and the fuel received from the fuel tank (30) to achieve an output rotary motion.In one embodiment, the engine (50) has an oil seal (51). The oil seal (51) supports a bearing housing (70). The engine (50) is controlled by an accelerator arrangement (not illustrated in Figures) that control the volumetric flow of fuel in the engine (50). The engine (50) is also provided with an engine muffler (52).

[15] The cardan shaft (60) is in rotary connection with the engine (50) through the bearing housing (70). More specifically, the bearing housing (70) connects an elastic coupling (71), in connection with the engine (50), and the cardan shaft (60). The elastic coupling (71) connects an engine flywheel (72) to the bearing housing (70).

[16] The support frame (20) is ported in vicinity of a support stand (80) on which the drum (10) of the transit-mixer drum assembly is supported. More specifically, the support stand (80) is disposed at an assembly line on which the drum (10) of thetransit-mixer drum assembly is assembled with components like a gear box (81), the drive unit (82) and the pump unit (83) which formsthe transit-mixer drum assembly. The drum (10) is supported by the support stand (80) such that the drum (10) is rotatable on the support stand (80). The drum (10) is in connectionwith the gear box (81) and is rotated by the gear box (81). The gear box (81) is operated by the drive unit (82) which is functional by thepump unit (83). The pump unit (83) has a control valve (not shown).Thepump unit (83) is engaged and disengaged with thecardan shaft (60) and in engaged state thepump unit (83) is operated by thecardan shaft (60).

[17] The engine (50) is accelerated from an idle state to a full capacity state by the accelerator arrangement to rotate the drum (10) at variable speeds and record corresponding rotations per minutes. The drum (10) is pumped, by a water pump (90),with water in variable quantities and rotated to determine leakage. The tests performed are in accordance with standards set by the industrial practices.

[18] The present disclosure also discloses a method for performing functional testing of a transit-mixer drum assembly, in accordance with one embodiment of the present disclosure.Initially, the free-standing testing system (100) is defined by providing the support frame (20), the fuel tank (30), the power unit (40), the engine (50) and the cardan shaft (60).

[19] The support frame (20) of the free-standing testing system (100) can be ported to the support stand (80) on which the transit-mixer drum assembly is mounted or vice-versa. It is appreciable that owing to be free-standing, the free-standing testing system (100) is always available at the assembly line of the transit-mixer drum assembly. The support stand (80) enables performing the transit-mixer drum assemblythereon such that the drum (10) is rotatable on the support stand (80) and rotated by the gear box (81) which is operated by the drive unit (82) and the drive unit (82) is functional by the pump unit (83). The pump unit (83) has a control valve to control the speed of rotation of the drive unit (82). The pump unit (83) is engaged and disengaged with the cardan shaft (60) and in engaged state the pump unit (83) operated by the cardan shaft (60)rotates the drive unit (82) and the gear box (81) which rotates the drum (10).

[20] Initially, in one embodiment, the drum (10) is filled 50% with water by the water pump (90).The engine (50) is actuated to allow rotation of the drum (10) at the idle state. More specifically, the engine (50) is operated at zero engine acceleration. As the drum (10) rotates, the rotations per minute (rpm) are recorded and checked with the range mentioned in the industry standards. The accelerator arrangement is operated to achieve the full capacity state of the engine (50) and corresponding rotations per minute (rpm) are recorded for the rotation of the drum (10) at full speed. The recorded rotations per minute (rpm) are checked with the range described in the industry standards.Thus, the drum (10) can be rotated at any variable speeds from the idle state to the full capacity state of the engine (50) by operating the accelerator arrangement.

[21] When the drum (10) is rotated, the drum (10) is inspected for any water leakages. If there are water leakages observed, then the transit-mixer drum assembly is sent for repair and if there are no leakages observed and the recorded rotations per minute (rpm) are within the range of industry standards, then the transit-mixer drum assembly is sent for mounting on the customer-owned vehicle chassis. The amount of water filled in the drum (10) can be variable and as set by the industry standards, for example the drum (10) can be filled with 50% or 100 % water for performing testing.

[22] Thus, the method described above does not require the chassis of a vehicle, which is conventionally required, and also does not need the battery of the vehicle for operation which saves battery power that can be utilized for powering other components of the vehicle. The free-standing testing system (100) is thus free from a vehicle.Further, the testing of the transit-mixer drum assembly need not require the cost-intensive test vehicle which is required to be purchased by the drum manufacturing unit from the vehicle manufacturing unit. Also, for testing, the drum manufacturing unit need not wait for the arrival of the customer-owned vehicle chassis on which the transit-mixer drum assembly is required to be assembled and dispatched to the customer and is capable to deliver the transit-mixer drum assembly to the customer in stipulated time after the arrival of the transit-mixer drum assembly at the drum manufacturing unit.

[23] The foregoing description conveys the best understanding of the objectives and advantages of the present invention. Different embodiments,steps or alternatives may be made of the inventive concept of this invention. It is to be understood that all matter disclosed herein is to be interpreted merely as illustrative, and not in a limiting sense.