BRIDGING DEVICE FOR A CONSTRUCTION JOINT WITH A HYDRAULIC CONTROL DEVICE

Abstract

A bridging device is provided in lamellar construction for a construction joint between a first construction part and a second construction part with several lamellae and at least one hydraulic control device for controlling the gap width between the lamellae. The hydraulic control device has double-acting hydraulic cylinders each with a movable piston and a piston rod arranged on the piston, each hydraulic cylinder being arranged on a lamella. Each piston rod is connected to a different lamella, wherein the piston defines a first working volume and a second working volume of the corresponding hydraulic cylinder. The invention is wherein the hydraulic control device comprises at least three double-acting hydraulic cylinders connected to each other by a hydraulic connection whereby the first working volume of each hydraulic cylinder is hydraulically connected to the second working volume of another hydraulic cylinder so as to form a hydraulic loop between the at least three hydraulic cylinders.

Claims

1. A bridging device of lamellar construction for a construction joint between a first construction part and a second construction part, having a plurality of lamellae and at least one hydraulic control device for controlling the gap width between the lamellae, the hydraulic control device having double-acting hydraulic cylinders each having one movable piston and one piston rod arranged on the piston, wherein each hydraulic cylinder is arranged on one lamella, and each piston rod is connected to another lamella, and wherein the piston defines a first working volume and a second working volume of the corresponding hydraulic cylinder, wherein the hydraulic control device has at least three double-acting hydraulic cylinders which are connected to one another via a hydraulic connection in that the first working volume of each hydraulic cylinder is hydraulically connected to the second working volume of another hydraulic cylinder, so that a hydraulic loop is formed between the at least three hydraulic cylinders.

2. The bridging device according to claim 1, wherein the hydraulic control device is adapted to allow defined compensating movements.

3. The bridging device according to claim 1, wherein the hydraulic connection has at least one flow resistor.

4. The bridging device according to claim 3, wherein the at least one flow resistor is arranged between the first working volume of a hydraulic cylinder and the second working volume of another hydraulic cylinder.

5. The bridging device according to claim 1, wherein the hydraulic control device is hydraulically preloaded.

6. The bridging device according to claim 1, wherein the bridging device has at least one hydraulic accumulator.

7. The bridging device according to claim 6, wherein the at least one hydraulic accumulator has a gas charging device and is in particular a bladder, piston or diaphragm accumulator.

8. The bridging device according to claim 6, wherein the at least one hydraulic accumulator is connected to the hydraulic control device via a check valve.

9. The bridging device according to claim 8, wherein the check valve is a orifice plate check valve.

10. The bridging device according to claim 1, wherein the hydraulic control device comprises hoses for connecting the working volumes of the hydraulic cylinders.

11. The bridging device according to claim 10, wherein the hoses are connected to the hydraulic cylinders via plug-in couplings.

12. The bridging device according to claim 1, wherein at least one piston rod is hingingly connected to the lamella.

13. The bridging device according to claim 1, wherein the hydraulic control device has at least one connection port for a pump.

14. The bridging device according to claim 1, wherein the bridging device has a monitoring device for detecting pressure changes.

15. The bridging device according to claim 1, wherein the bridging device has at least one mechanical or elastic steering device, in particular a pivoting crossbeam.

16. The bridging device according to claim 15, wherein at least one hydraulic cylinder is a first hydraulic cylinder having a first cross-section and another hydraulic cylinder is a second hydraulic cylinder having a second cross-section, wherein the first cross-section is different from the second cross-section.

17. The bridging device according to claim 16, wherein the sum of the first working volume and the second working volume of the first hydraulic cylinder is equal to the sum of the first working volume and the second working volume of the second hydraulic cylinder.

Description

[0028] In the following, the invention is explained in more detail using the embodiments shown in the figures. Here:

[0029] FIG. 1 shows schematically a perspective view of a part of an inventive bridging device according to a first embodiment

[0030] FIG. 2 shows schematically the partial area shown in FIG. 1 in the retracted state;

[0031] FIG. 3 shows schematically a bottom view of an inventive bridging device according to a second embodiment;

[0032] FIG. 4 shows schematically the bridging device shown in FIG. 3 in the retracted state;

[0033] FIG. 5 shows schematically a bottom view of an inventive bridging device according to a third embodiment;

[0034] FIG. 6 shows schematically a bottom view of an inventive bridging device according to a fourth embodiment;

[0035] FIG. 7 shows schematically a bottom view of an inventive bridging device according to a fifth embodiment;

[0036] FIG. 8 shows schematically a bottom view on a hydraulic control device according to a sixth embodiment with different cross-sections of the hydraulic cylinders, and

[0037] FIG. 9 shows schematically a bottom view of a hydraulic control device with hydraulic accumulator.

[0038] In the figures the same parts are provided with the same reference signs. Furthermore, in the case of redundant parts, some reference signs are not displayed due to an improved overview.

[0039] FIG. 1 shows a section of a bridging device 1 of lamellar construction. The bridging device 1 bridges a construction joint between two (not shown) construction parts. For this purpose the bridging device 1 has several lamellae 2 which are movable relative to each other. In addition, the bridging device 1 has a hydraulic control device 3. The hydraulic control device 3 is intended for controlling the gap widths S between the lamellae 2. In this embodiment shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the hydraulic control device 3 consists of three double-acting hydraulic cylinders 4. The hydraulic cylinders 4 are all of the same design so that the design of one hydraulic cylinder 4 is described hereafter.

[0040] The hydraulic cylinder 4 has a piston 5 and a piston rod 6, which is connected to the piston 5 in a push-proof way. The piston 5 defines a first (changing) working volume 7a and a second (changing) working volume 7b in the hydraulic cylinder 4. Each hydraulic cylinder 4 is connected to a lamella 2 (or a not shown edge girder on the construction part). In this embodiment, the hydraulic cylinder 4 is fixed to the lamella 2 via a clamp 8. The clamp 8 is designed so that the hydraulic cylinder 4 is beared rotatable about its vertical axis and its cross axis. As shown, the hydraulic cylinder 4 is a co-moving cylinder in which the piston rod 6 extends on both sides of the piston 5.

[0041] The piston rod 6 is hinged at one end 9 to a second lamella 2. In this embodiment, the end 9 of the piston rod 6 is hinged to the lamella 2, which is directly adjacent to the lamella 2, on which the hydraulic cylinder 4 with the piston rod 6 is arranged.

[0042] The hydraulic cylinders 4 are connected to each other via a hydraulic connection 10. The hydraulic connection 10 consists of three hoses 11, the ends of which are each hydraulically connected via a coupling 12 to a working volume 7a, 7b of a hydraulic cylinder 4. In particular, a first working volume 7a of a hydraulic cylinder 4 is always hydraulically connected to the second working volume 7b of another hydraulic cylinder 4 via a hose 11. This creates a hydraulic loop between the hydraulic cylinders 4.

[0043] The hydraulic loop of the hydraulic cylinders 4 requires an even gap width S between adjacent lamellae 2 or between a lamella 2 and the edge girder (not shown) of a construction or bridge part. Since the total volume of a hydraulic cylinder 4 always consists of the first working volume 7a and the second working volume 7b, the total volume remains constant when the piston 5and therefore also the piston rod 6moves. Furthermore, the total volume also corresponds to the sum of the volume of the first working volume 7a of a hydraulic cylinder 4 and the volume of the second working volume 7b of the other hydraulic cylinder 4 connected to it via the hose 11.

[0044] When the construction parts move, the movement is transferred to the lamellae 2. The lamellae 2 move the respective pistons 4 in the hydraulic cylinders 4 via the hinged piston rods 6. This changes the ratio of the first working volume 7a to the second working volume 7b in each hydraulic cylinder 4. Due to the hydraulic connection 10 between the working volumes 7a, 7b of the three hydraulic cylinders 4, a change in the first working volume 7a of a hydraulic cylinder 4 is transferred directly and loss-free to the second working volume 7b of the hydraulic cylinder 4 hydraulically connected to it. As a result, the gap widths S between the lamellae 2 or between a lamella 2 and an edge girder are evenly distributed. In other words, all gap widths S are practically identical, so that there are no miscontrols.

[0045] In practice, this means that when the construction parts move towards each other and the lamellae 2 are thereby pushed together, the piston rods 6 increase the second working volume 7b and reduce the first working volume 7a via the piston 5. The piston 5 moves to the right as shown in FIG. 2. This change in volume of the working volumes 7a, 7b is transferred evenly to all three hydraulic cylinders 4 due to the hydraulic connection 10 designed as a loop connection. This can also be seen clearly from a combined view of FIG. 1 (extended state) and FIG. 2 (retracted state). The gap widths S are identical and the pistons 5 are at identical positions within the hydraulic cylinders 4.

[0046] In FIGS. 3 and 4 a second embodiment is shown as a plan view. This embodiment essentially corresponds to the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, whereby the hydraulic control device 3 has six hydraulic cylinders 4 in total. A total of seven lamellae 2 or five lamellae 2 and two edge girders are controlled via these six hydraulic cylinders 4. Even if it is basically irrelevant whether or not the first working volume 7a of a hydraulic cylinder 4 (e.g. the hydraulic cylinder 4 shown as the lowest in FIG. 3 and FIG. 4) is hydraulically connected to the second working volume 7b of the directly adjacent hydraulic cylinder 4 via the hose 11, this is recommended for practical reasons. On the one hand, this improves visibility and allows an improved response, as the volumes in the hoses can be kept low.

[0047] From a combined view of FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 it is also easy to recognize that the gap width S is identical both in the extended state of the bridging device 1 (see FIG. 3) and in the retracted state of the bridging device 1 (see FIG. 4) between the lamellae 2 or between a lamella 2 and an edge girder.

[0048] The second embodiment of the bridging device 1 according to the invention differs from the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 in that the hydraulic cylinder 4 shown as the lowest has a further connection 13 for an external pump (not shown) in the area of the coupling 12 of the first working volume 7a. Via this connection 13, adjacent lamellae 2 of the bridging device 1 can be selectively moved apart or together by changing the operating pressure of the hydraulic control device 3 at the corresponding point via the pump. This may be necessary, for example, for functional tests or maintenance work.

[0049] A third embodiment of a bridging device 1 according to the invention in plan view is shown in FIG. 5. The bridging device 1 largely corresponds to the bridging device 1 shown in FIG. 3, whereby the hydraulic control device 3 has a total of twelve hydraulic cylinders 4. As in the embodiment shown in FIG. 3, seven lamellae 2 or five lamellae 2 and two edge girders are controlled via the hydraulic control device 3. The twelve hydraulic cylinders 4 are also connected via a hydraulic connection 10 by means of hoses 11 to form a hydraulic loop. The first working volume 7a of a hydraulic cylinder 4 is connected to the second working volume 7b of another hydraulic cylinder 4.

[0050] In contrast to the embodiment shown in FIG. 3, here a lamella 2 is controlled by two hydraulic cylinders 4. In other words, two piston rods 6 are hinged to each of the five middle lamellae 2 (i.e. not to the edge girders, which in this embodiment are formed by the two outer lamellae 2) with their ends 9. Such a double control of the lamellae 2 by the hydraulic control device 3 is advantageous for relatively large bridging devices 1, for example to prevent the lamellae 2 from tilting in wide construction joints to be bridged.

[0051] FIG. 6 shows a fourth embodiment of a bridging device 1 according to the invention. In this embodiment, the bridging device 1 has a total of four separate hydraulic control devices 3, each of which has three double-acting hydraulic cylinders 4. The three hydraulic cylinders 4 of each hydraulic control device 3 are connected via a hydraulic connection 10 by means of hoses 11 to form a hydraulic loop. In this respect, several hydraulic control devices 3 with hydraulic loop closure are provided in this embodiment.

[0052] This sixth embodiment also includes a monitoring device 14. This monitoring device 14 monitors the operating pressure of the hydraulic control devices 3. The hydraulic connection 10 is monitored via corresponding sensors 15. If a drop in pressure within the hydraulic connection 10 is detected, the monitoring device 14 indicates this. As an example, this is indicated by dotted lines for the uppermost shown hydraulic control device 3. Of course the monitoring device 14 monitors all hydraulic control devices 3 of the bridging device 1.

[0053] Furthermore, the monitoring device 14 is configured to detect short-term pressure fluctuations due to the movement of the construction parts as such. The monitoring device 14 indicates no leakage at these short-term pressure changes. For example, the monitoring device 14 can indicate a leakage once the operating pressure does not correspond to the target pressure fora certain period of time. In this way, even a creeping drop in operating pressure can be detected at an early stage.

[0054] In this embodiment, the lowest hydraulic control device 3 is provided with flow resistors 16 in the hydraulic connection 10. In particular, the flow resistors 16 are arranged as orifices in the hoses 11. The flow resistors can make the hydraulic control device 3 specifically sluggish so that short-term loads do not lead to any movement in the bridging device 1. This is relevant if the hydraulic control device 3 does not require hydraulic preload as shown (cf. also FIG. 9). Of course, several flow resistors 16 can be provided as shown. It is also conceivable that only one flow resistor 16 is provided. It is also conceivable that the flow resistor 16 is designed as a valve unit on the coupling 12.

[0055] A fifth embodiment of a bridging device 1 according to the invention is shown in FIG. 7. In this embodiment, the hydraulic control device 3 is used in support for a mechanical control device 17 in the form of a pivoting cross beam. The pivoting cross beam 17 primarily controls the gap widths S between the lamellae 2 in a conventional and familiar way. In this embodiment, the hydraulic control device 3 consists of three hydraulic cylinders 4 and is essentially constructed analogously to the hydraulic control device 3 shown in the first embodiment according to FIG. 1. The difference can be seen in the fact that, according to the fifth embodiment, the hydraulic control device 3 only controls every second lamella 2. Therefore, the hydraulic control device 3 is designed to support the pivoting cross beam 17 and minimizes the possibility of miscontrolling. This fifth embodiment is particularly suitable as a retrofit solution for existing bridging devices 1, as the actual control of the gap widths S is carried out mechanically via the pivoting cross beam 17. Nevertheless, miscontrols can be largely avoided in this way.

[0056] FIG. 8 shows a sixth embodiment of a bridging device 1 according to the invention. In this desi embodiment, the bridging device 1 has a mechanical control device 17 in the form of a pivoting cross beam, analogous to the embodiment shown in FIG. 7. The hydraulic control device 3 is employed as a support. The difference to the bridging device 1 shown in FIG. 7 is that the hydraulic control device has two first hydraulic cylinders 4a with a first cross-section and two second hydraulic cylinders 4b with a second cross-section. As illustrated, the first hydraulic cylinders 4a control the directly adjacent lamella 2, whereas the second hydraulic cylinders 4b control the second lamella 2. The shorter control stroke required for this with a correspondingly shorter piston rod 6 of the first hydraulic cylinder 4a is achieved by a larger cross-section compared to the second hydraulic cylinder 4b. The hydraulic loop of hydraulic cylinders 4a, 4b results from the constant product of cross-sectional area and piston stroke, which is identical for the first hydraulic cylinders 4a and for the second hydraulic cylinders 4b. This largely prevents miscontrols, especially in the region of the first hydraulic cylinder 4a. Such a hydraulic control device 3 designed to support a mechanical control device 17 or elastic control device is particularly suitable for bridging devices 1 with longitudinal gradient.

[0057] The first to sixth embodiment according to FIGS. 1 to 8 has in common that they work without hydraulic preload. Alternatively, FIG. 9 shows a seventh embodiment of a bridging device 1 according to the invention, in which the hydraulic control device 3 is hydraulically preloaded, i.e. has an increased operating pressure. Due to the hydraulic preload, the hydraulic control device 3 responds particularly quickly and precisely. The hydraulic control device 3 essentially corresponds to the hydraulic control device 3 shown in FIG. 1, whereby the hydraulic control device 3 has a hydraulic accumulator 18 with a gas charging device. The hydraulic accumulator 18 can, for example, be a diaphragm, bladder or piston accumulator. The hydraulic accumulator 18 is connected via a spring-loaded orifice plate check valve 19 to the hydraulic control device 3 via corresponding connecting lines 20, which can be connected to a hose 11 as shown. This creates a compensating volume, which can be used, for example, to compensate for a temperature-induced change in the volume of the hydraulic fluid. An unacceptable increase or decrease in operating pressure is therefore prevented.

LIST OF REFERENCE SIGNS

[0058] 1 Bridging device

[0059] 2 Lamella

[0060] 3 Hydraulic control device

[0061] 4 Hydraulic cylinder

[0062] 4a First hydraulic cylinder

[0063] 4b Second hydraulic cylinder

[0064] 5 Piston

[0065] 6 Piston rod

[0066] 7a First working volume

[0067] 7b Second working volume

[0068] 8 Clamp

[0069] 9 End of piston rod

[0070] 10 Hydraulic connection

[0071] 11 Hose

[0072] 12 Coupling

[0073] 13 Connection

[0074] 14 Monitoring device

[0075] 15 Sensor

[0076] 16 Flow resistor

[0077] 17 Mechanical control device

[0078] 18 Hydraulic accumulators

[0079] 19 Orifice plate check valve

[0080] 20 Connection line

[0081] S Gap width