BRIDGE LAYING DEVICE FOR LAYING A BRIDGE, IN PARTICULAR A SINGLE-PIECE BRIDGE

Abstract

A bridge laying device (2) for laying a bridge (3), in particular a single-piece bridge, includes a main part (5) for arranging on a load transport vehicle (7), in particular a hook-lift vehicle, a laying arm (12) for setting down the bridge (3), and an extending device (6) for moving the laying arm (12) from a transport position into an extended placing position. In certain embodiments, a bridge laying system (1) includes a load transport vehicle (7), in particular a hook-lift vehicle, and a bridge laying device, (2) which can be arranged on the load transport vehicle (7). A method for laying a bridge (3), in particular a single-piece bridge, using a bridge laying device (2) includes moving an extending device (6) for moving the laying arm (12) from a transport position into an extended placing position.

Claims

1. A bridge laying device for laying a bridge, in particular a single-piece bridge (3) with a main part (5) for arranging on a load transport vehicle (7), in particular a hook lift vehicle, and a laying arm (12) for setting down the bridge (3), the bridge laying device comprising: an extending device (6) for moving the laying arm (12) from a transport position into an extended placing position.

2. The bridge laying device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the extending device (6) is arranged on the main part (5) and is capable of displacement, in particular in the horizontal direction, in relation to the main part (5).

3. The bridge laying device of claim 1, wherein the laying arm (12) is arranged on the extending device (6) and is movable together with the extending device (6).

4. The bridge laying device of claim 1, wherein the laying arm (12) pivots via a laying drive (16) arranged on the extending device (6), in particular via a length-adjustable hydraulic cylinder.

5. The bridge laying device as claimed in claim 4, wherein the laying drive (16) in the transport position engages on an elevated point of the laying arm (12) in relation to the pivot axis (S).

6. The bridge laying device as claimed in claim 1, wherein an extension drive (17) for moving the extending device (6) is arranged on the main part (5).

7. The bridge laying device as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a control device (18) arranged in particular on the main part (5) for the control of the laying arm (12) and/or the extending device (6).

8. The bridge laying device as claimed in claim 4, wherein one or more of the laying drive (16), the extension drive (17), and the control device (18) are capable of being supplied with energy via an autonomous energy source and/or via an electrical interface arranged on the main part (5).

9. The bridge laying device as claimed in claim 1, further comprising support devices (13) that support the main part (5) and/or the extending device (6) in relation to the supporting surface.

10. The bridge laying device as claimed in claim 9, wherein the support devices include at least four support devices (13) for setting down the bridge laying device (2) on the supporting surface, wherein in particular at least two of the support devices (13.2) are arranged on the main part (5) and at least two of the support devices (13.1) are arranged on the extending device (6).

11. The bridge laying device as claimed in claim 1, further comprising means for attachment (8) provided on the main part (5) that attach the main part (5) to a load transport vehicle (7), the means for attachment in particular including an engagement device for receiving a hook (9) arranged on a load transport vehicle (7).

12. The bridge laying device as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a carrier arm (19) for carrying and retaining the bridge (3) in the transport position.

13. A bridge laying system, the system comprising a load transport vehicle (7), in particular a hook lift vehicle, and a bridge laying device (2) that is arranged on the load transport vehicle (7), the bridge laying device being the bridge laying device as claimed in claim 1, for laying a bridge, in particular a single-piece bridge (3) with a main part (5) and a laying arm (12) for setting down the bridge (3).

14. The bridge laying system as claimed in claim 13, wherein the bridge laying device (2) is capable of being loaded together with the bridge (3).

15. The bridge laying system as claimed in claim 13, wherein the bridge laying device (2), and in particular the main part (5) of the bridge laying device (2), is capable of being picked up by a lifting device (4) of the load transport vehicle (7) and is capable of being secured in place on the load transport vehicle (7).

16. The bridge laying system as claimed in claim 13, wherein the bridge (3) is capable of being laid by means of the bridge laying device (2) that has been picked up and secured in place.

17. A method for laying a bridge, in particular a single-piece bridge (3), with a bridge laying device (2) with a main part (5) for arranging on a load transport vehicle (7), in particular a hook lift vehicle, and with a laying arm (12) for setting down the bridge (3), the method comprising: moving an extending device (6) for moving the laying arm (12) from a transport position into an extended placing position.

Description

[0037] Further details and advantages of the invention are explained in more detail below on the basis of the illustrative embodiments represented in the drawings, in which:

[0038] FIG. 1 depicts in a lateral view various positions of the loading or unloading process of an inventive bridge laying device with a load transport vehicle;

[0039] FIG. 2 depicts a schematic representation of an inventive bridge laying device without the bridge being picked up;

[0040] FIG. 3 depicts various positions of the bridge laying device for the illustration of a laying process.

[0041] Depicted in FIG. 1 is a bridge laying system 1 with a load transport vehicle 7 and a bridge laying device 2 with the bridge 3 picked up. Suchlike bridge laying systems 1 are used in particular in the military sector, in order to be able to bridge obstacles 21 temporarily by means of a transportable bridge 3. This is necessary in particular if, for example, ditches or the like are present, which must be bridged in order to permit passage. In this case, the load transport vehicle 7 can be driven up to the obstacle 21, the bridge 3 can be laid there temporarily, and the bridge 3 can subsequently be picked up once more.

[0042] As can be appreciated, the load transport vehicle 7 is a readily available standard truck, for example a hook lift truck, which can be used for the transport of the bridge laying device 2. A suchlike vehicle 7 can have a lifting device 4 in the manner of a hook arm with a hook 9, for example. In addition to bridge laying devices 2, transport containers such as ISO containers or tank containers, for example, can also be transported with these vehicles 7. It is not necessary in this respect to provide a special bridge laying vehicle, for example in the form of a battle tank. The vehicle 7 possesses a load area, on which corresponding modules can be accommodated.

[0043] A bridge laying device 2, which is described here in more detail, can be picked up from the vehicle 7 by means of the lifting device 4 for the transport of a bridge 3 and can then be transported to the installation site. The bridge 3 can then be laid there with the help of the bridge laying device 2. The bridge 3 can be picked up once more and transported away after it has been used. The procedure for loading an inventive bridge laying device 2 on a vehicle 7 is represented by way of example in FIGS. 1a to 1c and will be explained in more detail on the basis of this representation.

[0044] The particular advantage of the inventive bridge laying system 1 is that the use of a single-piece bridge 3 permits higher loads to be carried by this bridge than is the case, for example, with connected two-piece bridges. For example, tanks or the like are therefore also able to travel over the bridge 3. The bridge 3 to be laid is already configured to be ready for use in the transport position, so that it is no longer necessary to assemble the bridge 3 ahead of the laying process, to unfold it or to install roadway elements or the like. Weak points, which prevent use with heavy vehicles, can be reduced in this way. In particular, the bridge 3 is a rigid bridge 3 and is not, for example, a foldable or collapsible bridge.

[0045] In FIG. 1a the bridge laying device 2 is still in an unloaded state on a normal supporting surface. In order to load the bridge laying device 2, the lifting device 4 arranged on the load transport vehicle 7 can engage in attachment means 8 arranged on the bridge laying device 2. The attachment means 8 can be configured for this purpose, for example as an engagement device roughly in the manner of an eye. As further depicted in FIG. 1a, the attachment means 8 are situated in an elevated position, in particular on a carrier arm 19, so that picking up of the bridge laying device 2 can be simplified.

[0046] As further depicted in FIG. 1b, the bridge laying device 2 can then be raised with the help of the lifting device 4 and drawn onto the load area of the load transport vehicle 7. A sliding surface 10 can be provided for this purpose on the underside of the bridge laying device 2 and, in particular, on the main part 5, which can come into engagement, for example, with rollers 11 arranged on the transport vehicle 7. The most frictionless possible picking up of the bridge laying device 2 can take place in this way. In addition, roller elements that are not represented in more detail here can also be provided in the region of the sliding surface 10, which further simplify the picking up.

[0047] The representation in FIG. 1c finally depicts the load transport vehicle 7 with the bridge laying device 2 after having been picked up. The bridge laying device 2 can be secured in place on the vehicle 7 in this position. Movements of the bridge laying device 2 can be prevented in this way, for example as the vehicle 7 is being driven. The vehicle 7 can then drive to the installation site in this position, and the bridge 3 can be laid in situ. The vehicle 7 represented in FIG. 1c is in its transport position, in which the in particular single-piece bridge 3 has been picked up onto the bridge laying device 2 and can thus be transported to an installation site. The bridge 3 can already be laid in this state by means of the bridge laying device 2 that has been picked up and secured in place.

[0048] The bridge laying device 2 in this case, as depicted by the representations in FIG. 1, is capable of being loaded together with the bridge 3. There is accordingly no requirement initially to pick up the bridge laying device 2 with the help of the lifting device 4 of the vehicle 7 in a first step and then to pick up the bridge 3 in a subsequent step. Instead, picking up of the bridge 3 and the bridge laying device 2 can take place in a single step, whereby the operating sequences can be simplified and the loading times can be shortened.

[0049] Now that the loading of the bridge laying device 2 onto a vehicle 7 has been examined above, details of the bridge laying device 2 itself will now be examined in more detail below on the basis of the representation in FIG. 2.

[0050] The bridge laying device 2 is on the whole of modular configuration. The bridge laying device 2 on the one hand has a main part 5, which is capable of being arranged on the load transport vehicle 7. On the other hand, an extending device 6 is arranged on the main part 5, with which a laying arm 12 for setting down and picking up a single-piece bridge 3 can be moved from a transport position into an extended placing position.

[0051] The extending device 6 in this case is capable of displacement, in particular in the horizontal direction in relation to the main part 5. In this way, the extending device 6 can be extended in the laying direction V of the bridge 3, in order, by so doing, to change the bridge laying device 2 in terms of its length. Larger distances behind the vehicle 7 can also be bridged in this way. The stability when laying the bridge 3 can be increased in addition by lengthening the bridge laying device 2. The extending device 6 can be moved in any desired manner in the process. The expressions moving or extension are also commonly referred to as pivoting outwards or pushing outwards in this context. Represented in FIG. 2 is a mechanism, in which the extending device 6 is pushed out in the laying direction V, for example via rail elements.

[0052] The laying arm 12 for laying the bridge 3 is arranged on the extending device 6 in the inventive bridge laying device 2 and is thus capable of movement together with the extending device 6. The laying arm 12 in this case is arranged in particular on the front end of the extending device 6 in the laying direction V. The movements of the extending device 6, in particular its extension in the horizontal direction, and of the laying arm 12, in particular its pivoting, can take place independently of one another. In particular, the movements of the extending device 6 and of the laying arm 12 can be disconnected from one another. The extending device 6 and/or the laying arm 12 can accordingly be actuated selectively. In this context, however, there is nothing to prevent both of the actuation processes from taking place at the same time. The laying arm 12 is of an overall triangular form and is supported with respect to the extending device 6 at a pivot point SP about a pivot axis S with a pivoting motion. The upper part of the laying arm 12 is constituted by an upper carrier 12.1, which extends in the transport position substantially horizontally to the extending device 6. A drive element 14 and roller guides 15 are arranged on the upper carrier 12.1 of the laying arm 12. These can be used in particular for laying and/or picking up the bridge 3. Provided underneath the carrier 12.1 are further carriers, which constitute a type of supporting structure 12.2 for the upper carrier 12.1 and converge on one another in the direction of the pivot axis S. The pivot axis S and thus the bearing point of the laying arm 2 is arranged in the region of the lower corner of the triangle, resulting in a comparatively low-level arrangement of the pivot axis S.

[0053] As can be further appreciated from FIG. 2, the laying arm 12 is pivotable via a laying drive 16 arranged on the extending device 6, in particular via a length-adjustable hydraulic cylinder. The laying drive 16 in this case is arranged on the corner of the triangle facing towards the vehicle 7. The laying drive 16 in this case, in particular in the transport position, engages on an elevated point of the laying arm 12 in relation to the pivot axis S. The laying drive 16 is a hydraulic cylinder, which on the one hand is connected to the laying arm 12 with a pivoting motion and on the other hand is connected to the bridge laying device 2 with a pivoting motion via a mounting point arranged on the extending device 6. The front end of the triangle in this case constitutes the free end of the laying arm 12, which can be pivoted downwards or upwards by actuation of the length-adjustable laying drive 16 when laying and/or picking up the bridge 3, so that picking up and setting down of the bridge 3 is possible. In the represented transport position, the laying drive 16 is approximately in alignment with the carrier 12.1 of the laying arm 12 for picking up the bridge 3. Upon actuation of the laying drive 16, this pivots about the mounting point above the contour of the extending device 6.

[0054] In addition to the laying drive 16, other drives for individual devices of the bridge laying device 2 be provided. For example, an extension drive 17 for moving the extending device 6 can be arranged on the main part 5. In addition, a control device 18, which can serve for the control of the laying arm 12 and/or the extending device 6, can be arranged on the main part 5. Both the extension drive 17 and the control device 18 can be arranged in a housing, which, as represented in FIG. 2, is arranged on the end of the main part 5 of the bridge laying device 2 opposite the laying arm 12. The laying drive 16 and/or the extension drive 17 and/or the control device 18 can be supplied with energy in this case via an autonomous energy source, not described in detail here, or also via an electrical interface arranged on the main part 5. The energy source can be configured for this purpose, for example as a battery or the like, and can supply the individual units 16, 17, 18 with power. As an alternative or in addition, the individual drives 16, 17 or the control device 18 can be supplied with energy via an electrical interface, for example by means of a cable. A bridge laying device 2, which acts completely independently of the vehicle 7 and is capable of laying a bridge 3, is made available in this way. It is thus not necessary to have recourse, for example, to control components or the like of the vehicle 7.

[0055] The length of the main part and the length of the bridge 3 in this case are substantially in a ratio of 1:5, preferably in a ratio of 1:3 and most preferably in a ratio of 1:2. The bridge 3 can have a length in the region of 10 m to 20 m, preferably in the region of 12 m to 17 m, although preferably substantially of 14 m. The main part 5 can have a length in the region of 2.5 m to 13 m, preferably in the region of 5 m to 10 m, although preferably substantially of 7 m.

[0056] The bridge laying device 2 can be used in different positions. On the one hand, the use of the bridge laying device 2 without a vehicle 7 and the use of a bridge laying device 2 from a vehicle 7 is possible as a result. In the former case, the bridge laying device 2 can be set down on the supporting surface, and the bridge 3 can be laid from there. In the second case, the bridge laying device 2 remains on the vehicle 7 and lays the bridge 3 from there.

[0057] In order to facilitate setting down of the bridge laying device 2 on the supporting surface, and in order to increase the stability of the vehicle 7 with the bridge laying device 2 loaded thereon, the bridge laying device 2 has at least four support devices 13, via which the bridge laying device 2 is able to support itself in relation to the supporting surface. In particular, two of the support devices 13.2 can be arranged on the main part 5, and two support devices 13.1 can be arranged on the extending device 6. The support devices 13.1, which are arranged on the extending device 6, are of vertically adjustable configuration, unlike the support devices 13.2 of the main part 5. The stability of the vehicle 7 in a laying process, in which the bridge laying device 2 is arranged on the vehicle 7 and is secured in place there, can be increased in this way. In this case, the extending device 6 can be moved in the laying direction V and is then able to support itself via the support devices 13.1 in relation to the supporting surface. What is more, the support point of the support devices 13.1 can be displaced as required by the extension of the extending device 6. In the case in which the bridge laying device 2 is standing autonomously on the supporting surface, the support devices 13.1 are in a retracted position, wherein the length of the vertically adjustable support devices 13.1 corresponds to the length of the support devices 13.2.

[0058] A further element, which is arranged on the bridge laying device 2, is the carrier arm 19. This is arranged on the front end of the main part 5, wherein the engagement device 8 in particular can also be arranged on an elevated position of the carrier arm 19. The carrier arm 19 can be configured in particular to carry the bridge 3 in the transport position together with the laying arm 12 and to fix the bridge 3 on the bridge laying device 2. Fixing devices 20 can also be provided for this purpose, for example cylinders or bolts, which can be retracted and extended as required. Fixing of the bridge 3 in the transport position is possible in this way. In the placing position, the fixing device 20 can be released and the bridge 3 can be laid.

[0059] The process sequence of a laying procedure of a bridge, in particular a single-piece bridge 3 with an inventive bridge laying device 2, is now represented in FIG. 3. As can be appreciated, the bridge laying device 2 is present on a load area of the load transport vehicle 7, wherein the bridge 3 is secured in place on the bridge laying device 2 between the laying arm 12 and the carrier arm 19. The vehicle 7 in this position is able to travel backwards in the direction of the obstacle 21, in order to bring the bridge laying device 2 into a position in which the bridge 3 can be laid. A suchlike representation is depicted in FIG. 3a.

[0060] In conjunction herewith, the extending device 6 can then be displaced in relation to the main part 5, in particular in the laying direction V, in order to bridge the distance between the vehicle 7 and the obstacle 21 in this way and, in addition, to increase the stability. In order to support the extending device 6, the support devices 13.1 can then be extended in a subsequent step, so that they come into contact with the supporting surface. The extending device 6 and, in particular, also the laying arm 12 can thus be supported additionally in relation to the supporting surface. Once the bridge 3 has been brought into the position represented in FIG. 3c, the bridge 3 can be brought into the position marked in FIG. 3d, driven via the drive element 14 of the laying arm 12. The bridge 3 is then set down by actuation of the laying drive 16 in the manner depicted in FIGS. 3e to 3h. The laying arm 12 can then be brought back into its original position, in which the upper carrier 12.1 is oriented substantially horizontally to the extending device 6. The same procedure can then be repeated in the reverse sequence in order to pick up the bridge 3.

[0061] In particular, a single-piece bridge 3 can be transported in a simple manner with any load transport vehicle 7 and can be laid at an installation site with the help of the bridge laying device 2 described above and with the help of the associated bridge laying system 1. There is thus no requirement to provide a special bridge laying vehicle. Larger distances, in particular between the vehicle 7 and an obstacle 21, can also be bridged by the extending device 6, while at the same time maintaining stability during the laying process.

REFERENCE DESIGNATIONS

[0062] 1 bridge laying system [0063] 2 bridge laying device [0064] 3 bridge [0065] 4 lifting device [0066] 5 main part [0067] 6 extending device [0068] 7 load transport vehicle [0069] 8 attachment means [0070] 9 hook [0071] 10 sliding surface [0072] 11 rollers [0073] 12 laying arm [0074] 12.1 upper carrier [0075] 12.2 supporting structure [0076] 13 support devices [0077] 13.1 height-adjustable support devices [0078] 13.2 rigid support devices [0079] 14 drive element [0080] 15 roller guides [0081] 16 laying drive [0082] 17 extension drive [0083] 18 control device [0084] 19 carrier arm [0085] 20 fixing device [0086] 21 obstacle [0087] V the laying direction [0088] S pivot axis [0089] SP pivot point