EP2432726B1 - Device for automatically coupling and uncoupling heavy structures - Google Patents

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to an element and a device for handling a heavy structure for the construction, such as bridge segments. The US 2005/224773 A1 discloses an element according to the preamble of claim 1.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Prefabrication of voussoirs plays a major role in the construction of large structures. The transport and storage of these parts - the height of which can exceed 8 meters and whose mass can be greater than 100 tons - pose real constraints in terms of both design and security.

Indeed, prefabricated segments are first stored, for example near their place of manufacture, then routed to the site where they will be assembled, and finally set up with the appropriate inclinations (slope and slope). This therefore requires many handling and transport operations.

With regard to storage, because of the large size of the segments, it is generally preferable to stack them to minimize the footprint.

To handle them, it is known to provide, during the casting of the concrete, metal inserts, such as foot anchors, on their upper part. These inserts are means for gripping the lifting beam of a lifting device such as a telescopic crane, a gantry crane or a traveling crane (also called launcher).

However, in this case, human intervention is necessary to hook the insert to the rudder.

In addition to its tedious appearance, this intervention at a high height is not without risk for the operator. Indeed, it is difficult to put in place collective protections for this very short phase of intervention.

Moreover, after the establishment of the voussoir in its final location, it is necessary to remove the metal inserts, or walnut in the concrete, because their corrosion is likely to weaken the voussoir. This therefore requires an additional penalizing operation in terms of duration of intervention and cost, the inserts being lost.

To remedy this, it is known to use a threaded rod through the voussoir from top to bottom, and held by a nut. However, this solution is unsatisfactory because it also requires human intervention and takes time.

A first object of the invention is therefore to design a device for lifting heavy structures, not requiring the presence of an operator near the lifting gear. This device must, however, be compatible with conventional handling means to allow the lifting of the voussoir by a subcontractor or other stakeholder of the site that does not have this device.

Another object of the invention is to overcome the operation of withdrawal or treatment of metal inserts. The device must be removable and reusable.

Finally, the device must allow the establishment of the voussoir at given inclinations, depending on its position on the book.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

• une tige,
• un élément mobile articulé sur la tige, apte à être escamoté le long de la tige pour l'insertion et le retrait de ladite structure et à être déployé selon une inclinaison déterminée par rapport à la tige pour le levage de ladite structure,
• des moyens pour escamoter ou déployer l'élément mobile,

dans lequel l'élément mobile comporte une portion hémisphérique et la tige comporte un siège présentant un logement hémisphérique, de telle sorte que, lorsque l'élément mobile est en position déployée, sa portion hémisphérique est en appui dans ledit logement hémisphérique du siège.According to the invention, there is provided an element for handling a heavy structure for the construction, comprising:

• a rod,
• a movable member articulated on the rod, able to be retracted along the rod for the insertion and withdrawal of said structure and to be deployed at a given inclination relative to the rod for lifting said structure,
• means for retracting or deploying the movable element,

wherein the movable member has a hemispherical portion and the shank includes a seat having a hemispherical housing, such that when the member mobile is in the deployed position, the hemispherical portion is supported in said hemispherical seat of the seat.

The cooperation of this portion and this hemispherical housing allows to refocus the load and transfer it to the lines of the rod, but also to change the orientation of the lines under load.

By "heavy structure" is meant in the present text a structure with a mass greater than 1 ton, preferably of the order of a few tens, or even hundreds of tons. Said structure can be manipulated by means of one or more lifting elements according to the invention, each lifting element being dimensioned for a load of 1 to about 50 tons or more.

Particularly advantageously, the means for retracting or deploying the movable element comprise a groove for guiding an axis of the movable element along the walls of the rod, between an upper position in which the movable element is retracted. in the rod and a lower position where the hemispherical portion of the movable element bears in the hemispherical seat of the seat.

• un appareil de levage, tel qu'un palonnier,
• au moins un élément de manutention tel que décrit plus haut, solidaire dudit appareil de levage.

Another object of the invention relates to a device for handling a heavy structure for the construction, said structure being pierced right through by vertical reservations, said device being characterized in that it comprises:

• a hoisting apparatus, such as a spreader,
• at least one handling element as described above, integral with said lifting apparatus.

Advantageously, said device further comprises means for positioning the lifting apparatus so that each handling element is above the corresponding reservation of the structure.

Thus, for example, said positioning means comprise optical sensors and the structure has markings detectable by said sensors.

According to a preferred variant, said positioning means comprise at least one steerable webcam to, at least, three reservations of the structure.

1. (a) positionnement du dispositif de manutention tel que décrit plus haut, de manière à placer chaque élément de manutention au-dessus de la réservation correspondante,
2. (b) passage de la tige de chaque élément de manutention dans la réservation correspondante,
3. (c) déploiement de l'élément mobile de chaque élément de manutention sous la face inférieure de la structure.

Finally, the invention also relates to a method of handling a heavy structure for the construction, said structure being pierced right through by vertical reservations, said method being characterized in that it comprises the following steps:

1. (a) positioning the handling device as described above, so as to place each handling element above the corresponding reservation,
2. (b) passage of the rod of each handling element in the corresponding reservation,
3. (c) deploying the movable member of each handling element under the underside of the structure.

Advantageously, in step (a) the positioning is performed by an optical sensor system or by at least one webcam.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

• la figure 1 est une vue d'ensemble du dispositif de manutention conforme à l'invention,
• les figures 2A et 2B représentent deux vues en perspective de l'élément de manutention conforme à l'invention, respectivement avant l'installation sur la structure lourde, et en position de levage,
• les figures 3A et 3B sont respectivement une vue en coupe et une vue de face de l'élément conforme à l'invention ;
• les figures 4A et 4B représentent l'état de l'élément respectivement lors de son insertion dans le voussoir et en position de levage.

Other characteristics and advantages of the invention will emerge from the detailed description which follows, with reference to the appended drawings in which:

• the figure 1 is an overview of the handling device according to the invention,
• the Figures 2A and 2B represent two perspective views of the handling element according to the invention, respectively before installation on the heavy structure, and in the lifting position,
• the Figures 3A and 3B are respectively a sectional view and a front view of the element according to the invention;
• the Figures 4A and 4B represent the state of the element respectively when it is inserted into the voussoir and in the lifting position.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

In this non-limiting example, an attachment device and automatic stall of a voussoir will be described.

With reference to the figure 1 , the device 3 comprises a lifting device such as a spreader 30, which supports a plurality of elements 2 - here four in number - for the handling of the voussoir 1.

The voussoir 1 comprises through vertical reservations 10 through which pass the elements 2 which will now be described in detail.

Reservations 10 have for example a rectangular shape of 150 by 200 mm side.

With reference to Figures 2A, 2B , the element 2 comprises a rod 20, which, in use, is in a vertical position.

The rod 20 has in its upper part fixing means on the rudder. In the illustrated example, the upper part of the rod comprises two parallel vertical walls 21a and 21b pierced by a horizontal bore 22 which allows the passage of an axis supporting a fastening element to the rudder 30, for example a ring.

The rod further has, in the upper part of the two vertical walls, two outer shoulders 26a and 26b which constitute an abutment against the upper part of the voussoir when the element 2 is inserted into the voussoir.

Furthermore, the element 2 comprises a movable element, also called in the following description, hammer 24, articulated on the two vertical walls of the rod 20 by an axis 25, so as to occupy a retracted position along the the rod (as shown in Figure 2B ), or a position substantially perpendicular to the rod (as shown in FIG. Figure 2A ).

The hammer 24 has a substantially parallelepiped shape.

On its underside, that is to say the face opposite to the face in contact with the voussoir, it has a hemispherical central portion 242.

When the hammer is in the deployed position, this hemispherical portion rests in a hemispherical housing 260 arranged in a seat 26 housed in the lower part of the rod 20.

This cooperation between the hemispherical surfaces 242 and 260 constitutes a ball joint which gives the hammer the necessary degrees of freedom (typically of the order of ± 5 °) to be able to orient it in the appropriate position to incline the voussoir according to the desired slope and slope.

With reference to Figures 3A and 3B actuating and locking means, in particular comprising a jack 27, make it possible to move the hammer 24 from one position to the other, and to keep it there.

For this purpose, the hammer has an axis 25 guided in sliding along the rod 20, inside a groove 23. The groove 23 is not rectilinear but follows a path adapted to allow the positioning of the part hemispherical 242 in the housing 260 of the seat 26.

The dimensions of the element 2 are such that the height of the rod 20 is greater than or equal to the height of the reservations 10, the external size of the rod 20 (and the hammer 24 retracted along it) is less than 10. In contrast, the length of the hammer 24 in the deployed position is greater than the dimensions of the reservations 10.

The hammer 24 further comprises, on its face intended to come into contact with the voussoir, two flats 240 and 241 for the support on the concrete.

Moreover, the clearance between the rod 20 and the reservations 10 is adapted to allow the voussoir to be oriented according to the desired angles of inclination and slope.

The various components of the element 2 are made of steel or any other suitable material.

The skilled person is able to size the various components of the lifting element according to the structure to handle.

For example, for a voussoir 160 tons, there are four lifting elements whose rod has a height of 1200 mm, a width of 175 mm and a thickness of 120 mm. The hammer has a length of 340 mm, a width of 100 mm and a thickness of 100 mm. The diameter of the peripheral portion 242 of the hammer is of the order of 75 mm.

• Etape 1 : équipement d'un palonnier 30 avec quatre éléments 2 décrits plus haut, pour constituer le dispositif de manutention 3.
• Etape 2 : positionnement du palonnier 30 au-dessus du voussoir 1, de manière à amener chaque élément 2 au-dessus de la réservation 10 dans laquelle il doit être introduit. Le positionnement du palonnier peut être effectué grâce à un guidage manuel par un opérateur mais, de préférence, par un système optique opérable à distance (décrit plus bas). Le marteau 24 est alors escamoté le long de la tige 20, comme illustré aux figures 2B et 4A.
• Etape 3 : descente du palonnier, insertion de la tige 20 de chaque élément 2 dans la réservation 10 correspondante jusqu'à ce que les épaulements 26a et 26b viennent en butée sur la face supérieure du voussoir.
• Etape 4 : lorsque la partie inférieure de chaque élément 2 atteint la surface inférieure 12 du voussoir 1, déploiement et verrouillage du marteau 24 (configuration de la figure 2A). Le dispositif d'actionnement du marteau permet d'incliner celui-ci en fonction du dévers et de la pente selon lesquels le voussoir devra être positionné sur le chantier.
• Etape 5 : levage (l'élément 2 présente alors la configuration de la figure 4B), transport du voussoir 1 et mise en place du voussoir 1 à l'emplacement souhaité.
• Etape 6 : déverrouillage et escamotage du marteau 24 le long de la tige 20 de chaque élément 2 (comme sur la figure 2B).
• Etape 7 : relevage du palonnier.

The method of handling the voussoir 10 comprises the following successive steps:

• Step 1: Equipment of a spreader 30 with four elements 2 described above, to constitute the handling device 3.
• Step 2: Position the rudder 30 above the voussoir 1, so as to bring each element 2 above the reservation 10 in which it must be introduced. The rudder can be positioned by manual guidance by an operator but preferably by a remotely operable optical system (described below). The hammer 24 is then retracted along the rod 20, as illustrated in FIGS. Figures 2B and 4A .
• Step 3: lowering the rudder, insertion of the rod 20 of each element 2 in the corresponding reservation 10 until the shoulders 26a and 26b abut on the upper face of the voussoir.
• Step 4: when the lower part of each element 2 reaches the lower surface 12 of the voussoir 1, deployment and locking of the hammer 24 (configuration of the Figure 2A ). The actuating device of the hammer can tilt it depending on the slope and the slope according to which the voussoir must be positioned on the site.
• Step 5: lifting (element 2 then presents the configuration of the Figure 4B ), transport the voussoir 1 and set up the voussoir 1 to the desired location.
• Step 6: Unlocking and retracting the hammer 24 along the rod 20 of each element 2 (as on the Figure 2B ).
• Step 7: Raise the rudder.

It will be noted that the traversing reservations 10 allow the manipulation of the voussoir by a site worker, such as a subcontractor, who does not have the lifting elements according to the invention. In this case, the speaker can use conventional means, such as a threaded rod passing through the reservation and maintained at its lower end by a bolt.

Particularly advantageously, the positioning of the device is achieved remotely by means of an optical guidance system.

An appropriate system is for example the Spica system developed by Arck Sensor.

A Spica sensor gives, according to its operating modes, the position of an edge of a large object; this position is given by an angle made by the edge of this object with the central optical axis of the sensor.

A centralizing computer allows the use of several Spica sensors to obtain a position X, Y and according to a given rotation of the object positioned below the sensors.

These sensors are designed for the detection of containers or steel coils below the gripping tool of a gantry unloading, they are robust, shockproof and waterproof.

For identification before positioning the rudder above the voussoir, three sensors 32, shown in FIG. figure 1 , are enough. The voussoir will present for this purpose for example 11 markings detectable by the sensors, such as reflective paint strips. The sensor beam 32 is schematized by a hatched triangle.

A man-machine interface allows the operator of the rudder to visualize the position of the rudder relative to the markings, which allows him to move it to a correct position.

Of course, any other suitable means, such as a CCD camera, can be used.

According to a variant (not illustrated), one or more webcams are used arranged on the device so as to target the reservations associated with the lifting rods and connected to the man-machine interface by any appropriate means, thus allowing the insertion of each stem in the corresponding reservation.

The device may also include an ultrasonic distance sensor.

The communication between the centralizing computer and the man-machine interface is preferably carried out by means of radio modems.

Thus, the device according to the invention has the advantage of avoiding the use of metal inserts, while remaining compatible with standard lifting means. Moreover, the cinematic attachment of the voussoir is particularly simple and free from human intervention.

In addition, the handling elements are reusable from one voussoir to another and it is sufficient, on a site, a limited number of elements. Thus, in the example described, four elements are sufficient to ensure the handling of all the voussoirs of the site, while with the conventional device including metal inserts, four inserts by voussoirs were necessary.

Finally, it goes without saying that the examples that we have just given are only particular illustrations in no way limiting as to the fields of application of the invention.

Thus, besides voussoirs, can be lifted by means of a device according to the invention any other type of heavy structure for the construction, such as Accropode ™ blocks, which are concrete structures arranged at the seaside for protect the banks of the waves.

Claims (8)

1. An element (2) for handling a heavy construction structure, comprising:

   - a rod (20),

   - a mobile element (24) pivotably connected to the rod (20), capable of being retracted along the rod (20) for inserting and removing said structure and of being extended along a determined inclination relatively to the rod (20) for lifting said structure,

   - means for retracting or extending the mobile element (24),

   characterized in that the mobile element (24) includes a hemispheric portion (242) and in that the rod includes a seat (26) having a hemispheric housing (260), so that, when the mobile element (24) is in the extended position, its hemispheric portion (242) is supported in said hemispheric housing (260) of the seat (26).
2. The element according to claim 1, characterized in that the means for retracting or extending the mobile element (24) comprise a groove (23) for guiding an axle (25) of the mobile element along the walls of the rod (20), between an upper position in which the mobile element (24) is retracted in the rod (20) and a lower position where the hemispheric portion (242) of the mobile element (24) is supported in the hemispheric housing (260) of the seat (26).
3. A device (3) for handling a heavy construction structure (1), said structure (1) being pierced right through with vertical openings (10), characterized in that it comprises:

   - a lifting apparatus, such as a lifting beam (30),

   - at least one element (2) according to one of claims 1 or 2, secured to said lifting apparatus.
4. The device according to claim 3, characterized in that it further comprises means for positioning the lifting apparatus so that each element (2) is above the corresponding opening (10) of the structure (1).
5. The device according to claim 4, characterized in that said positioning means comprise optical sensors (32) and in that the structure (1) has markings (11) which may be detected by said sensors.
6. The device according to claim 4, characterized in that said positioning means comprise at least one webcam which may be oriented towards at least three openings (10) of the structure.
7. A method for handling a heavy construction structure (1), said structure (1) being pierced right through with vertical openings (10) said method being characterized in that it comprises the following steps:

   (a) positioning of the device (3) according to one of claims 3 to 6 so as to place each element (2) above the corresponding opening (10),

   (b) having the rod (20) of each element (2) pass into the corresponding opening (10),

   (c) extending the mobile element (24) of each element (2) under the lower face (12) of the structure (1).
8. The method according to claim 7, characterized in that in step (a), positioning is achieved by a' system of optical sensors (32) or by at least one webcam.

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