Concrete trowel

Abstract

A concrete trowel is disclosed and includes a frame, a drive assembly including a motor mounted on the frame and a drive hub configured to receive torque from the motor and a rotor rotatable about a rotational axis. The rotor includes a rotor hub coupled for co-rotation with the drive hub, a plurality of rotor arms radially extending from the rotor hub, and a plurality of blades selectively attached on respective rotor arms by a quick-connect mounting system.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A concrete trowel comprising:
 a frame;   a drive assembly including a motor mounted on the frame and a drive hub configured to receive torque from the motor;   a rotor rotatable about a rotational axis, the rotor including
 a rotor hub coupled for co-rotation with the drive hub, 
 a plurality of rotor arms radially extending from the rotor hub, and 
 a plurality of blades selectively attached on respective rotor arms by a quick-connect mounting system. 
   
     
     
         2 . The concrete trowel of  claim 1 , wherein the quick-connect mounting system comprises a plurality of mounting portions. 
     
     
         3 . The concrete trowel of  claim 2 , wherein the plurality of mounting portions are over-center cam locks. 
     
     
         4 . The concrete trowel of  claim 1 , wherein each of the plurality of blades is a multi-piece blade. 
     
     
         5 . The concrete trowel of  claim 4 , wherein each multi-piece blade includes a blade body having a curved leading edge portion and a removable trailing edge portion connected to the blade body. 
     
     
         6 . The concrete trowel of  claim 5 , wherein each multi-piece blade further includes a quick-connect coupling for removably connecting the removable trailing edge portion to the blade body. 
     
     
         7 . The concrete trowel of  claim 6 , wherein each multi-piece blade further includes an alignment feature for aligning the removable trailing edge portion on the blade body. 
     
     
         8 . The concrete trowel of  claim 1 , wherein the motor is an electric motor, and wherein the concrete trowel further comprises a battery pack supported on the frame for supplying electrical power to the motor. 
     
     
         9 . A concrete trowel comprising:
 a frame;   a drive assembly including a motor mounted on the frame and a drive hub configured to receive torque from the motor;   a rotor rotatable about a rotational axis, the rotor including
 a rotor hub coupled for co-rotation with the drive hub, 
 a plurality of rotor arms radially extending from the rotor hub, and 
 a plurality of blades mounted on the plurality of rotor arms, each blade including a blade body and a removable trailing edge portion. 
   
     
     
         10 . The concrete trowel of  claim 9 , further comprising a quick-connect coupling for selectively attaching the removable trailing edge portion and the blade body. 
     
     
         11 . The concrete trowel of  claim 9 , wherein the blade body of each of the blades further comprises:
 a curved leading edge including a front longitudinal edge coincident with a leading edge of the blade;   a rear longitudinal edge opposite the front longitudinal edge to which the removable trailing edge portion is connectable; and   an alignment feature for aligning the removable trailing edge portion along the rear longitudinal edge of the blade body.   
     
     
         12 . The concrete trowel of  claim 11 , wherein the alignment feature includes a tongue and groove or locating dowels. 
     
     
         13 . The concrete trowel of  claim 10 , wherein the quick-connect coupling includes an over-center cam lock, ball detents, or magnets. 
     
     
         14 . The concrete trowel of  claim 9 , wherein the blade body and the removable trailing edge portion of each of the blades are made from steel, a ceramic material, or a combination thereof. 
     
     
         15 . The concrete trowel of  claim 10 , wherein the motor is an electric motor, and wherein the concrete trowel further comprises a battery pack supported on the frame for supplying electrical power to the motor. 
     
     
         16 . A concrete trowel comprising:
 a frame;   a drive assembly including a motor mounted on the frame and a drive hub configured to receive torque from the motor;   a rotor rotatable about a rotational axis, the rotor including
 a rotor hub coupled for co-rotation with the drive hub, 
 a plurality of rotor arms radially extending from the rotor hub, and 
 a multi-piece blade selectively attached to each of the rotor arms by a quick-connect mounting system, each multi-piece blade including a blade body and a removable trailing edge portion selectively attached to the blade body. 
   
     
     
         17 . The concrete trowel of  claim 16 , wherein the quick-connect mounting system comprises a plurality of mounting portions affixed to the blade body of each multi-piece blade. 
     
     
         18 . The concrete trowel of  claim 17 , wherein the plurality of mounting portions are over-center cam locks. 
     
     
         19 . The concrete trowel of  claim 16 , wherein each multi-piece blade further includes a plurality of quick-connect couplings for removably connecting the removable trailing edge portion to the blade body. 
     
     
         20 . The concrete trowel of  claim 16 , wherein the blade body of each of the blades further comprises:
 a curved leading edge including a front longitudinal edge coincident with a leading edge of the blade;   a rear longitudinal edge opposite the front longitudinal edge to which the removable trailing edge portion is connectable; and   an alignment feature for aligning the removable trailing edge portion along the rear longitudinal edge of the blade body.   
     
     
         21 . The concrete trowel of  claim 20 , wherein the alignment feature includes a tongue and groove, locating dowels, or a combination thereof. 
     
     
         22 . The concrete trowel of  claim 16 , wherein the blade body and the removable trailing edge portion of each of the blades are made from steel, a ceramic material, or a combination thereof. 
     
     
         23 . The concrete trowel of  claim 16 , wherein the motor is an electric motor, and wherein the concrete trowel further comprises a battery pack supported on the frame for supplying electrical power to the motor.