Method of Installing a Cutting Wheel of a Slurry Wall Cutter

Abstract

The invention relates to a method of installing a cutting wheel at a cutting wheel transmission of a slurry wall cutter, wherein the cutting wheel transmission and the cutting wheel each have fastening means for fastening the cutting wheel to the cutting wheel transmission and wherein at least two spacer elements are arranged at the cutting wheel transmission. The method in accordance with the invention comprises the steps (i) guiding the cutting wheel to the cutting wheel transmission, (ii) roughly aligning the cutting wheel relative to the cutting wheel transmission so that the fastening means of the cutting wheel and the cutting wheel transmission are opposite one another, without contacting one another in so doing, (iii) connecting a respective one centering element to the spacer elements, (iv) finely aligning the cutting wheel relative to the spacer elements by means of the centering elements, with the fastening means still not contacting one another, and (v) displacing the cutting wheel relative to the spacer elements by means of the centering elements so that the fastening means come into engagement with one another. The invention further relates to a kit for a slurry wall cutter and to a slurry wall cutter for the carrying out of the method in accordance with the invention.

Claims

1. A method of installing a cutting wheel (12) at a cutting wheel transmission (14) of a slurry wall cutter (10), wherein the cutting wheel transmission (14) and the cutting wheel (12) have fastening means (20, 22) for fastening the cutting wheel (12), and at least two spacer elements (24) are arranged at the cutting wheel transmission (14), said method having the steps:: guiding the cutting wheel (12) to the cutting wheel transmission (14); roughly aligning the cutting wheel (12) relative to the cutting wheel transmission (14) so that the fastening means (20, 22) are opposite one another, without contacting one another in so doing; connecting one respective centering element (30) to the spacer elements (24); finely aligning the cutting wheel (12) relative to the spacer elements (24) by means of the centering elements (30), with the fastening means (20, 22) not contacting one another; and displacing the cutting wheel (12) to the spacer elements (24) by the centering elements (30) so that the fastening means (20, 22) come into engagement with one another.

2. A method in accordance with claim 1, wherein the spacer elements (24) and/or the fastening means (20) arranged at the cutting wheel transmission (14) project perpendicular from the outer side of the cutting wheel transmission (14) facing the cutting wheel (12) and preferably distributed over the periphery.

3. A method in accordance with claim 1, wherein the spacer elements (24) come into contact with the cutting wheel (12) on the displacement of the cutting wheel (12) earlier than the fastening means (20), with the spacer elements (24) preferably having a greater length than the fastening means (20) arranged at the cutting wheel transmission (14).

4. A method in accordance with claim 1, wherein the fastening means (20) arranged at the cutting wheel transmission (14) are pins, in particular threaded pins, and the fastening means (22) arranged at the cutting wheel (12) are bores, with the pins (20) being pushed through the bores (22) on the displacement of the cutting wheel (12) relative to the spacer elements (24) and preferably subsequently being secured by securing elements (28), in particular nuts.

5. A method in accordance with claim 1, wherein the centering elements (30) are connected, in particular, screwed to the spacer elements (24) from the side of the cutting wheel (12) remote from the cutting wheel transmission (14) and preferably removed from the spacer elements (24) after the installation of the cutting wheel (12) has taken place.

6. A method in accordance with claim 1, wherein one cutout (25) per spacer element (24) is formed at a fastening flange (18) of the cutting wheel (12), with the spacer elements (24) traveling into the cutouts (25) on the displacement of the cutting wheel (12) relative to them and with the spacer elements (34) preferably remaining at the cutting wheel transmission (14) after installation of the cutting wheel (12) has taken place.

7. A method in accordance with claim 6, wherein the centering elements (30) are connected to the spacer elements (24) through the cutouts (25), preferable via threaded pins (26), with the centering elements (30) being moved, in particular screwed, in the direction of the cutting wheel transmission (14) for the fine alignment and/or the displacement of the cutting wheel (12).

8. A method in accordance with claim 7, wherein the centering elements (30) have a conical section (32) that preferably cooperates with the cutout (25) on the movement in the direction of the cutting wheel transmission (14) and finely aligns the cutting wheel (12) such that the spacer elements (24) are aligned with the associated cutout (25).

9. A method in accordance with claim 8, wherein the centering elements (30) have a preferably peripheral first abutment (34) in the region of the conical section (32), said first abutment (34) contacting the cutting wheel (12) after the fine alignment.

10. A method in accordance with claim 9, wherein the first abutments (34) likewise urge the cutting wheel (12) in the direction of the cutting wheel transmission (14) on the continued movement, in particular screwing, of the centering elements (30) in the direction of the cutting wheel transmission (14) so that the spacer elements (24) travel into the respective cutouts (25).

11. A method in accordance with claim 8, wherein the centering elements (30) are connected to the spacer elements (24) via threaded pins (26) and are movable in the direction of the spacer elements (24) by screwing and have a continuous threaded bore (36) for receiving the threaded pins (26), with the centering elements (30) preferably having a second abutment (35) at their ends remote from the conical sections (32) and being unscrewed from the threaded pins (26) after the displacement of the cutting wheel (12) by a first distance relative to the spacer elements (24) and being screwed to the threaded pins (26) at the other end again until the second abutments (35) abut the cutting wheel (12) so that the cutting wheel (12) is pushed further in the direction of the cutting wheel transmission (14) on a continued screwing.

12. A method in accordance with claim 11, wherein the centering elements (30) have recesses (38) opening into the threaded bores (36) at their ends remote from the conical sections (32), with the spacer elements (24) traveling into the recesses (38) until the fastening means (20, 22) of the cutting wheel (12) and the cutting wheel transmission (14) are completely in engagement with one another after the repeat screwing onto the threaded pins (26) and the continued displacement of the cutting wheel (12) in the direction of the cutting wheel transmission (14).

13. A method in accordance with claim 1, having at least two precentering elements (40) that are arranged at the side of the cutting wheel (12) facing the cutting wheel transmission (14) and each have a chamfered surface, with the cutting wheel (12) first being pushed onto the cutting wheel transmission (14) via the precentering elements (40) on the guiding toward the cutting wheel transmission (14) and being precentered relative to the cutting wheel transmission (14) via the chamfered surfaces of the precentering elements (40).

14. A kit for carrying out the method in accordance claim 13 and comprising at least two centering elements (40), at least two spacer elements (24), and preferably at least two threaded pins (26) for connecting the centering elements (30) to the spacer elements (24) and/or at least two precentering elements (40).

15. A slurry wall cutter (10) having at least one cutting wheel transmission (14) and a cutting wheel (12) that can be installed thereat by the method in accordance with claim 1.

16. A slurry wall cutter (10) having at least one cutting wheel transmission (14) and a cutting wheel (12), wherein the slurry wall cutter (10) comprises a kit in accordance with claim 14.

17. A method in accordance with claim 2, wherein the spacer elements (24) come into contact with the cutting wheel (12) on the displacement of the cutting wheel (12) earlier than the fastening means (20), with the spacer elements (24) preferably having a greater length than the fastening means (20) arranged at the cutting wheel transmission (14).

18. A method in accordance with claim 17, wherein the fastening means (20) arranged at the cutting wheel transmission (14) are pins, in particular threaded pins, and the fastening means (22) arranged at the cutting wheel (12) are bores, with the pins (20) being pushed through the bores (22) on the displacement of the cutting wheel (12) relative to the spacer elements (24) and preferably subsequently being secured by securing elements (28), in particular nuts.

19. A method in accordance with claim 3, wherein the fastening means (20) arranged at the cutting wheel transmission (14) are pins, in particular threaded pins, and the fastening means (22) arranged at the cutting wheel (12) are bores, with the pins (20) being pushed through the bores (22) on the displacement of the cutting wheel (12) relative to the spacer elements (24) and preferably subsequently being secured by securing elements (28), in particular nuts.

20. A method in accordance with claim 2, wherein the fastening means (20) arranged at the cutting wheel transmission (14) are pins, in particular threaded pins, and the fastening means (22) arranged at the cutting wheel (12) are bores, with the pins (20) being pushed through the bores (22) on the displacement of the cutting wheel (12) relative to the spacer elements (24) and preferably subsequently being secured by securing elements (28), in particular nuts.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0044] Further features, details, and advantages of the invention result from the embodiments explained in the following with reference to the Figures. There are shown:

[0045] FIG. 1: a carrier machine having a slurry wall cutter in a side view;

[0046] FIG. 2: a perspective view of an embodiment of the slurry wall cutter in accordance with the invention in the region of the cutting wheels, with one of the cutting wheels being shown in an exploded illustration;

[0047] FIG. 3: a centering element, a spacer element, and a threaded pin in accordance with an embodiment in accordance with the invention in a side view in each case;

[0048] FIGS. 4-9: schematic sectional views of different steps of the method in accordance with the invention in accordance with an embodiment, with the parts shown in FIG. 3 being used; and

[0049] FIG. 10: a perspective view of an embodiment of the slurry wall cutter in accordance with the invention in the region of the cutting wheel transmission, with further details being shown in comparison with FIG. 2.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0050] FIG. 1 shows a carrying machine 1 having a slurry wall cutter 10 suspended at a boom of the carrying machine 1 in a side view. The slurry wall cutter 10 comprises a housing 16 at whose lower end a plurality of cutting wheels 12 are located that are installed on rotationally drivable cutting wheel transmissions 14. A total of four cutting wheels 12 are typically present, with embodiments having two or more than four cutting wheels 12 also being conceivable.

[0051] FIG. 2 shows a detail of an embodiment of the slurry wall cutter 10 in accordance with the invention in the region of the cutting wheels 12, with here only two cutting wheels 12 being shown. One of the two cutting wheels 12 is shown in an exploded view. Sight of the cutting wheel transmission 14 is thereby revealed that can also be called a cutting wheel hub or transmission hub onto which the cutting wheel 12 can be pushed for installation. At the front side, the cutting wheel transmission 14 has a transmission cover 15 that has a plurality of fastening means 20 that are distributed over the periphery for the fastening of the cutting wheel 12 and that project perpendicularly from the transmission cover 15.

[0052] The cutting wheel 12 has a plurality of cutting teeth 13 at the outer periphery and a peripheral fastening flange 18 inwardly. A plurality of bores 22 are provided in the latter that are configured and arranged to match the fastening means 20 of the cutting wheel transmission 14 and that form the fastening means 22 of the cutting wheel 12. For the installation, the cutting wheel 12 is pushed onto the cutting wheel transmission 14 and the fastening means 20 of the cutting wheel transmission 14 are pushed through the associated bores 22. The fastening means 30, that are in particular configured as threaded pins or as bolts having threaded sections at the end sides, are subsequently secured by securing elements or nuts 28.

[0053] In addition to the fastening means, three spacer elements 24 are arranged at the transmission cover 15 that are each screwed via a threaded section in corresponding bores 23 of the transmission cover 15 (cf. FIG. 4). The part of the spacer element 24 projecting from the transmission cover 15 is of bolt or cylinder shape and forms a spacer bolt that has a greater length than the fastening means 20.

[0054] The spacer elements 24 have a central threaded bore 27 at the ends projecting from the transmission cover 15 (cf. FIG. 3) into which the threaded pins 26 are screwed. Three of the bores of the fastening flange 18 of the cutting wheel form cutouts 25 through which the spacer elements 24 are pushed on the installation of the cutting wheel 12.

[0055] Three centering elements 30 whose function will be described further below and that form parts separate from the cutting wheel 12 or from the slurry wall cutter 10 are provided for the fine alignment of the cutting wheel 12 before the fastening means 20, 22 come into engagement with one another and for the controlled pushing of the cutting wheel 12 onto the cutting wheel transmission 14.

[0056] The cutting wheel 12 furthermore has three precentering elements 40 fastened to the side facing the cutting wheel transmission 14 via screws and configured as centering blocks 40. The centering blocks 40 follow the inner periphery of the cutting wheel 12 at their inner side facing the axis of rotation of the cutting wheel 12 and thus form extended contact surfaces of the cutting wheel 12 on the cutting wheel transmission 14 that come into contact with the transmission hub first on the installation. The centering blocks 14 are chamfered in the direction of the cutting wheel transmission 14 at the inner sides and so facilitate the pushing or the “threading” onto or into the cutting wheel transmission 14. They furthermore thereby provide a precentering of the cutting wheel 12 relative to the cutting wheel transmission 14 on the pushing on so that the inner diameter of the cutting wheel 12 is subsequently aligned with the outer diameter of the transmission hub or of the cutting wheel transmission 14 or so that the respective axes of rotation are substantially collinear.

[0057] FIG. 3 shows embodiments of the centering element 30, of the threaded pin 26, and of the spacer element 24 of the slurry wall cutter 10 in accordance with the invention, with lateral sectional views along their longitudinal axes being shown. The threaded sections of the three parts are not separately drawn here.

[0058] The spacer element 24 has already been described further above. The threaded pin 26 has a greater length than the threaded bore 27 of the spacer element 34 and has a recess for a tool at the end remote from the spacer element 24, whereby it can be simply and fixedly screwed in.

[0059] The centering element 30 has a continuous threaded bore 37 (or a bore 36 that respectively has an inner thread at at least the two end sections) that extends along the longitudinal axis. Alternatively, however, two blind hole threaded bores could also be provided from both ends.

[0060] The end of the centering element 30 facing the spacer element 24 is conically shaped and tapers toward the end. This conical section 32 serves the fine alignment of the cutting wheel 12 prior to the final connection. A peripheral first abutment 34 whose abutment surface is perpendicular on the longitudinal axis of the centering element 30 adjoins the conical section 32. The centering element 30, that can also be called a centering cone, is formed in one piece in this embodiment, but can also consist of a plurality of installed parts.

[0061] An embodiment of the method in accordance with the invention for installing the cutting wheel 12 at the cutting wheel transmission 14 will be described in the following with reference to FIGS. 4-9.

[0062] In the first step, the cutting wheel 12 is prepositioned roughly toward the transmission hub or the cutting wheel transmission 14. It is ensured by the centering blocks 40 on the rear side of the cutting wheel 12 that the inner diameter of the cutting wheel 12 is in alignment with the transmission hub 14. It is thereby possible to push the cutting wheel 12 on so far until the spacer elements 24 arranged at the front side of the cutting wheel transmission 14 contact the fastening flange 18 of the cutting wheel 12 if they are not already aligned with the cutouts 25 in the flange ring 18.

[0063] Since the spacer bolts of the spacer elements 24 (that is the parts projecting from the transmission cover 15) are longer than the fastening elements 20, the cutting wheel 12 first contacts them on the pushing on and cannot come into contact with the fastening means 20. The spacer elements 24 thus protect the fastening means 20 from damage. The spacer elements 24 can optionally comprise damping elements and/or can consist of a shockproof material.

[0064] The rough alignment of the cutting wheel 12 takes place in the direction of rotation in this state. In this respect, the spacer elements 24 align with the cutouts 25 in the fastening flange 18 by so much that the threaded pins 26 can be used for pulling the cutting wheel 12 into the spacer elements 24. The threaded pins 26 extend through the cutouts 25 in the screwed in state (cf. FIG. 4).

[0065] Once this has been done, the centering elements 40 are screwed onto the threaded pins 26 from the side remote from the cutting wheel transmission 14. If they are displaced by a certain distance by the screw movement, the conical sections 32 abut the edges of the cutouts 25 and automatically effect the exact alignment of the cutouts 25 with the spacer elements 24 and thereby a fine alignment of the cutting wheel 12 relative to the cutting wheel transmission 14. This fine alignment can effect a rotation (cf. arrow b1 in FIG. 5) and/or displacement of the cutting wheel 12 relative to the cutting wheel transmission 14. After the fine alignment, the fastening means 20 are aligned with the associated bores 22.

[0066] FIG. 5 shows the situation directly subsequent to the completely performed fine alignment of the cutting wheel 12. The conical section 32 has here completely penetrated into the cutout 25 and the first abutment 34 of the centering element 30 abuts the side of the fastening flange 18 remote from the cutting wheel transmission 14. The spacer element 24 is still located outside the cutout 25.

[0067] The cutting wheel 12 can now be pushed onto the cutting wheel transmission 14 in that the centering elements 30 are turned further or are screwed onto the threaded pins 36. In this respect, the centering elements 30 push the fastening flange 18 via the first abutments 34 and thus the whole cutting wheel 12 for so long in the direction of the cutting wheel transmission 14 (cf. arrow b1 in FIG. 6) until the tip of the centering element 30 abuts the front side of the spacer element 24 (cf. FIG. 6). In this respect, the spacer elements 34 have still not been completely pushed into the cutouts 25.

[0068] The centering elements 30 are now turned over and are again screwed onto the threaded pins 26 from the other end. At the ends remote from the conical sections 32, the centering elements 30 have a central recess 38 whose inner diameter is greater than the outer diameter of the spacer elements 24. The front sides of these ends form second abutments 35 running circularly around the recesses 38.

[0069] The centering elements 30 are now screwed onto the threaded pins 25 with the second abutments 35 facing the front until the second abutments 35 abut the fastening flange 18 (cf. FIG. 7). This additionally provides the advantage of a local frictional connection between the cutting wheel 12 and the cutting wheel transmission 14 so that no counterhold or no securing device is required at the slurry wall cutter 10 itself. There is no risk of the slurry wall cutter 10 evading during the pushing procedure or of the cutting wheel 12 slipping off the cutting wheel transmission 14.

[0070] By a continued turning around or screwing on, the centering elements 30 urge the cutting wheel 12 further in the direction of the cutting wheel transmission 14 and push the cutting wheel 12 completely thereon until the fastening flange 18 abuts the transmission cover 16 (or at least adopts a minimal distance therefrom). The spacer elements 24 in this respect travel into the recesses 38 of the centering elements 30. This end position is shown in FIG. 8. The pushing on without canting is ensured by a uniform tightening of all three centering elements 30. In this respect, the spacer elements 24 travel completely into the cutouts 25 and the fastening means 20 travel completely into the associated bores 22.

[0071] The nuts 28 can subsequently be comfortably placed onto the fastening means 20 projecting through the bores 22 and tightened for the fastening of the cutting wheel 12 on the cutting wheel transmission 14. Once this has been done, the centering elements 30 and the associated threaded pins 26 are removed. The spacer elements 24 remain in the cutting wheel transmission 14, with their threaded bores 27 being protected by cover elements 44 configured as closure screws as is shown in FIG. 9. The centering blocks 40 can likewise remain at the cutting wheel 12 or can be removed after the installation and e.g. used for the installation of other cutting wheels 12.

[0072] A further embodiment of the slurry wall cutter 10 in accordance with the invention is shown in FIG. 10 in the region of the cutting wheel transmission 14 without cutting wheels 12, with further details being shown here. A drive unit 17 can thus e.g. be recognized here that drives the two cutting wheel transmissions 14 shown. In this respect, it can be a hydraulic motor. A toothed arrangement 44 is furthermore provided at the transmission cover 15 in the regions of the fastening means 20 arranged pair-wise, said toothed arrangement 44 cooperating with a corresponding toothed arrangement at the cutting wheel 12 or at the fastening flange 18 and serving an effective torque transmission from the cutting wheel transmission 14 to the cutting wheel 12.

[0073] The bores 23 into which the spacer elements 24 can be screwed are furthermore closed by closure screws and the spacer elements 24 are removed from the cutting wheel transmission 14. Alternatively, the spacer elements 24 can be fixedly arranged at the transmission cover 15.

[0074] In principle, the centering elements 30 can effect the fine alignment and/or the pushing on of the cutting wheel 12 via a different kind of movement, e.g. a linear placing onto the threaded pins 26 or spacer elements 24. The cutting wheel 12 is, however, advantageously secured again sliding off by a screwing on and a smaller force effect is required. The movement can moreover be controlled better or can be divided among the three centering elements 30.

REFERENCE NUMERAL LIST

[0075] 1 carrier machine

[0076] 10 slurry wall cutter

[0077] 12 cutting wheel

[0078] 13 cutting tooth

[0079] 14 cutting wheel transmission/transmission hub

[0080] 15 transmission cover

[0081] 16 housing

[0082] 17 drive unit

[0083] 18 fastening flange

[0084] 20 fastening means (pin)

[0085] 22 fastening means (bore)

[0086] 23 bore

[0087] 24 spacer element (spacer pin)

[0088] 25 cutout (bore)

[0089] 26 threaded pin

[0090] 27 threaded bore

[0091] 28 securing element (nut)

[0092] 30 centering element (centering cone)

[0093] 32 conical section

[0094] 34 first abutment

[0095] 35 second abutment

[0096] 36 threaded bore

[0097] 38 recess

[0098] 40 precentering element (centering block)

[0099] 42 cover element (closure screw)

[0100] 44 toothed arrangement

[0101] b1 direction of movement during the fine alignment

[0102] b2 direction of movement during the first pushing on by means of the centering elements

[0103] b3 direction of movement during the second pushing on by means of the centering elements