EP1607548B1

EP1607548B1 - Reinforced column

Info

Publication number: EP1607548B1
Application number: EP05105230A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Sebastiaan Johannes Matheus Van Boxtel; Thierry Patrice Van Den Muijsenberg
Original assignee: Sapa Profiles NL BV
Current assignee: Hydro Extrusion Drunen BV
Priority date: 2004-06-14
Filing date: 2005-06-14
Publication date: 2009-04-29
Anticipated expiration: 2025-06-14
Also published as: EP1607548A1; NL1026416C2; DE602005014168D1; ATE430238T1

Abstract

A column (1), such as a lighting column, comprising a hollow upright (2) in the wall (8) of which there is an opening (7) that can be closed off by means of a cover (11), as well as reinforcing means (3) in the interior of the hollow upright that have at least one annular portion (9,10) and a break (6) that is coincident with the opening in the wall. The reinforcing means (3) comprise at least two parts (4,5) that abut one another in the peripheral direction. The parts can be fixed to one another by one or more welds.

Description

The invention is related to a column, such as a lighting column, comprising a hollow upright in the wall of which there is an opening that can be closed off by means of a cover, as well as reinforcing means in the interior of the hollow upright that have at least one annular portion and a break that is coincident with the opening in the wall, the reinforcing means comprising at least two parts that abut one another in the peripheral direction.
Such a column is disclosed in FR-A-1.430.393 . This document contains the features of the preamble of claim 1. Said prior art column comprises reinforcement means having two parts which are expanded within the hollow upright by means of a screw expansion member provided with nuts.
Upon expanding the two parts, a widening slot is forming there between. At the location of this slot, the facing edges of the two parts are not adequately supported with respect to each other. As a result, the reinforcing effect of said prior art reinforcement means are limited.
The object of the invention is to provide a column of the type described before which has an adequate reinforcement. That object is achieved in that, the break is in one of the parts and the other part is opposite the break, in that the part in which the break is located extends around the periphery over more than 180 degrees in the peripheral direction and the other part extends over the remainder of the periphery and in that the reinforcing means are braced against the wall of the upright with pretensioning.
Claim 1 solves the above described problem.
The construction of the reinforcing means in two parts has various advantages. First of all, as a result the reinforcing means can be fitted in the upright without plastic expansion and the associated tool being needed for this. Furthermore it is still possible to make at least one of the parts standard for different column diameters. This standard part, on which all machining has preferably already been carried out, such as making the break, can be adapted to the different diameters of the upright by elastic flexure. The other part has a size that is matched to the diameter of the column, such that the two parts cover the complete internal periphery of the upright.
The parts can be fixed to one another in various ways, preferably by welding.
The part located opposite the break can have a fixing rail facing the interior of the upright.
The reinforcing part is pressed against the internal surface of the wall of the upright with pretensioning. In this context the part in which the break is located can have stops on which spreader means can engage.
The invention also relates to a method for the production of a column as described above, comprising the following steps:

provision of a hollow upright in the wall of which there is an opening,
provision of two parts for reinforcing means that have a break, which parts abutting one another define a common external periphery that corresponds to the internal periphery of the hollow upright,
placing the two parts of the reinforcing means in the hollow upright such that the break is coincident with the cut-out in the hollow upright,
pressing the parts of the reinforcing means against the wall of the hollow upright with pretensioning,
fixing the parts of the reinforcing means relative to one another with retention of pretensioning between the reinforcing means and the hollow upright.

In particular the method can be used for the production of the embodiment where the part provided with the break has at least two stops. In this case the method comprises the steps for provision of spreading means with two jaws, making the jaws engage on a respective stop via the cut-out in the hollow upright and the break coincident therewith, as well as spreading the jaws for pressing said part against the wall of the hollow upright.
The reinforcing means are preferably braced against the wall of the upright with pretensioning, such that the reinforcing means are able, by means of friction, to participate in the transmission of forces and moments in the column. In this embodiment that part of the reinforcing means in which the break is located can, in particular, be braced against the wall of the upright with pretensioning. The other part can also be braced against the wall of the column, but this is not actually necessary. In order to obtain uniform reinforcement around the opening in the column the axial dimension of the parts is preferably approximately the same.
The invention will be explained in more detail below with reference to the figures.

Figure 1 shows a front view of the column according to the invention, with tensioning tool,
Figure 2 shows the section II-II from Figure 1.
Figure 3 shows a section corresponding to Figure 2 with an alternative tensioning tool.
Figure 4 shows a front view of the column corresponding to that in Figure 1 when fixing the reinforcing means in place.
Figure 5 shows the section along V-V in Figure 4.

The column 1 according to the invention shown in Figures 1 and 2 comprises an upright 2 as well as the reinforcing means indicated in their entirety by 3. Said reinforcing means comprise two parts 4, 5. The part 4 is provided with a break 6. As shown in Figure 1, this break 6 is coincident with the opening 7 in the upright 2 of the column 1.
The reinforcing part 4 is annular at the location of the portions 9, 10 that are below and above the opening 7, respectively. In these locations the reinforcing part 4 runs completely round the internal surface of the wall 8 of the upright 2. Such an annular portion 9 is shown in Figure 3.
As shown in Figure 2, the break 6 is somewhat less wide than the opening 7 in the upright 2, such that supporting rims for a cover 11 are formed in a known manner.
The part 4 extends over more than 180° around the periphery of the internal wall of the upright 2, as can be seen in Figures 2 and 3. The other portion of the internal periphery of the wall 8 is filled by the part 5, as can likewise be seen in Figures 2 and 3.
After the parts 4 and 5 have been fitted in the correct position in the upright 2, the part 4 is braced with pretensioning against the internal surface of the wall 8 of the upright 2 by means of the tools 12. In the illustrative embodiment shown in Figure 2, stops 13, 14, on which the eccentric of the tools 12 can engage, have been made on the part 4 for this purpose. This eccentric 15 is joined to the lever 17 by means of a torsion rod 16. After the eccentric 15 has been placed between the stops 13, 14, spreading of the part 4 is obtained by turning the lever 12.
The parts 4 and 5 are then fixed to one another in this position. As shown in Figure 6, this can be obtained by means of welding equipment 18. This welding equipment 18 makes welds 19, 20 between the pair of edges of the parts 4, 5 facing one another, spreading of the part 4 being maintained by means of the tools 12, as shown in Figure 5. After the welds have been made, the tools 12 can be removed and the reinforcing part is firmly braced in the upright 2 with pretensioning.
It is important that in any event the part 4, in which there is the opening 6, is firmly braced against the internal surface of the wall 8 of the upright 2. This portion then contributes to the transfer of forces and transfer of torque in the column 1 by means of friction. The other part 5 can also be braced against the internal surface of the upright 2, but this is not actually necessary.
In the illustrative embodiment shown the part 5 is constructed as a slider rail with rail pieces 21 to which, for example, switching equipment for a lighting column can be fixed.
In the variant in Figure 4 an alternative tool 22 is shown that is constructed as scissors. The two jaws 23 of the scissors can be moved apart by operating the piston/cylinder device 24, for bracing the part 4 against the upright 2 with pretensioning.

Claims

Column (1) such as a lighting column, comprising a hollow upright (2) in the wall (8) of which there is an opening (7) that can be closed off by means of a cover (11), as well as reinforcing means (3) in the interior of the hollow upright (2) that have at least one annular portion (9, 10) and a break (6) that is coincident with the opening (7) in the wall (8), the reinforcing means (3) comprising at least two parts (4, 5) that abut one another in the peripheral direction, characterised in that the break (6) is in one (4) of the parts and the other part (5) is opposite the break (6), in that the part (4) in which the break (6) is located extends around the periphery over more than 180 degrees in the peripheral direction and the other part (5) extends over the remainder of the periphery and in that the reinforcing means (3) are braced against the wall (8) of the upright (2) with pretensioning.
Column (1) according to Claim 1, wherein the parts (4, 5) are fixed to one another by one or more welds (19,20).
Column (1) according to Claim 1 or 2, wherein the part (5) located opposite the break (6) has a fixing rail (21) facing the interior of the upright (2).
Column (1) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the part (4) in which the break (6) is located has stops (13, 14) on which spreader means (12, 22) can engage.
Column (1) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the part (4) in which the break (6) is located is braced against the wall (8) of the upright (2) with pretensioning.
Column (1) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the axial dimension of the parts (4, 5) is approximately the same.
Method for the production of a column (1) according to one of the preceding claims, comprising the following steps:
- provision of a hollow upright (2) in the wall (8) of which there is an opening (7),

- provision of two parts (4, 5) for reinforcing means (3) that have a break (6), which parts (4, 5) abutting one another define a common external periphery that corresponds to the internal periphery of the hollow upright (2),

- placing the two parts (4, 5) of the reinforcing means (3) in the hollow upright (2) such that the break (6) is coincident with the cut-out (7) in the hollow upright (2),

- pressing the parts (4, 5) of the reinforcing means (3) against the wall (8) of the hollow upright (2) with pretensioning,

- fixing the parts (4, 5) of the reinforcing means (3) relative to one another with retention of pretensioning between the reinforcing means (3) and the hollow upright (2).
Method according to Claim 7, wherein the part (4) provided with the break (6) has at least two stops (13, 14), comprising provision of spreader means (12, 22), making the spreader means (12, 22) engage on stops (13, 14) via the cut-out (7) in the hollow upright (2) and the break (6) coincident therewith, as well as spreading of the spreader means (12, 22) for pressing said part (4) against the wall (8) of the hollow upright (2).