GB2164377A

GB2164377A - Laying system for bridge elements

Info

Publication number: GB2164377A
Application number: GB08521885A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Friedhelm Soffge; Jurgen Mahncke
Original assignee: Dr Ing HCF Porsche AG
Current assignee: Dr Ing HCF Porsche AG
Priority date: 1984-09-10
Filing date: 1985-09-03
Publication date: 1986-03-19
Also published as: FR2575499A1; GB2164377B; GB8521885D0; FR2575499B1; DE3517724A1

Abstract

A laying system for bridge elements (2, 3) arranged one above the other on a vehicle (1) comprises a front main arm which has spaced supporting rollers (5, 6) and is pivotable about a horizontal axis, an advancing drive (14, 15) for the bridge elements (2, 3) and with auxiliary (8a) arms articulated on the arm. At the rear of the vehicle a further pivotable arm (8) is disposed which is used with the main arm (4) for lowering the bridge elements (2, 3). The two bridge elements are in the form of short bridges with ascent ramps (11, 11a) at their ends. Each short bridge can be lowered individually by way of the laying arrangement (4, 5, 6, 8, 8a, 14, 15) from a conveying position (A) into an operating position (3) on the ground. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Laying system for bridge elements The invention relates to a laying system for bridge elements arranged once above the other on a vehicle.

A bridge-laying tank is known (the journal "Soldat und Technik" (Soldier and Technology) 2/1976, pages 62 to 68), which comprises arrangements for laying a bridge which consists of two bridge elements and is longer than the vehicle. The two bridge elements are arranged one above the other on the vehicle for conveying purposes and are assembled on the vehicle for laying purposes so as to form a single continuous bridge which is ready for use and which can be lowered on to the ground by a main arm on the side of the vehicle and a further rear arm.

The device for laying, such as a main arm for example, an advancing device and supporting rollers on the main arm, auxiliary arms and the like cooperate with corresponding devices on the bridge during the operation of connecting the bridge elements and during the actual laying procedure. In the case of this design of bridge-laying tank only one bridge is arranged on the tank in each case and thus only one bridge can be laid, so that when crossing another river or the like either the bridge-laying tank must be given a new bridge or another bridge-laying tank with a bridge must be available. Although a bridge-laying tank with two bridges arranged one upon the another is known (German Offenlegungsschrift [Laid-Open Specification] 32 05 563), the bridges can only be laid together. The upper bridge must subsequently be taken up again forfurther use, which is relatively time-consuming.

The object of the invention is to provide a laying system for a bridge-laying tank of the type described above, by means of which bridges ready for use can be laid.

This present invention consists in a laying system for bridge elements arranged one above the other on a vehicle with an arrangement comprising a front main arm which has spaced supporting rollers and is pivotable about a horizontal axis and is provided with an advancing drive for the bridge elements and auxiliary arms articulated on the arm, and a further pivotable arm at the rear of the vehicle which is used with the main arm for lowering the bridge elements, wherein the two bridge elements are in the form of short bridges with ramps at their ends and each short bridge is lowerable individually by the laying arrangement from a conveying position into an operating position.

The advantages primarily achieved by the present invention are that two short bridges which are ready for use and approximately of the length of a known bridge half are laid individually and in succession from a position arranged one above the other. The laying device of the "Biber" bridge-laying tank as described in the journal "Soldat und Technik" can be used with few modifications for lowering the short bridges with appropriate structural adaptations to the short bridge[s]. The laying of the "Biber" bridge remains unrestricted. In this way the range of application of the known bridge-laying tank is extended in an advantageous manner.

In the accompanying drawings Figure lisa side view of a bridge-laying vehicle with saddle-mounted individual bridges in the conveying position; Figure 2 is an enlarged side view, in sectio showing a front ramp end of a short bridge with entry openings and the arrangement of supporting rollers of a main arm; Figure 3 is an enlarged view of a locking device on the arm at the rear; Figure 3a is a diagrammatic view of the articulation diagram of the fastening cap; Figure 4 is an end view of a transversely displaceable pinion of an advancing arrangement; Figure 4a is an enlarged view of a portion of Figure 4, showing an overhung piston-cylinder arrangement acting as an adjustment member; Figures 5to 12 show sequentially the laying procedure of the two short bridges; Figure 13 is a view of the short bridges with rollers;; Figure 14 a side view, similrto Figure 13, showing an arrangement of the bridges in the conveying position with a roller disposed in the opening, and Figure 15 is a diagrammatic view of a crosssection of the bridges arranged in the conveying position shown in Figure 14.

Two short bridges 2 and 3 are mounted one above the other on a tracked vehicle 1 in a position ready for laying. Atthe front of the vehicle 1 a pivotable main arm 4 is provided to support one end of the lower bridge 3 with roller carriages which comprise supporting rollers 5,6 and which are disposed in guide rails 7 on the bridge 3. A further arm 8, which supports the other end of the bridge 3, is pivotally mounted at the rear of the vehicle 1. The upper bridge 2 is supported with its front region a on the lower bridge 3 and the rear end thereof is supported of the arm 8 on the rear end. In addition, an auxiliary arm 8a is pivotally mounted on the main arm 4.

The bridges 2 and 3 are arranged one upon the other in such a way that the upper bridge 2 rests with its plane undersurface 10 on front ascent ramp 11 of the lower bridge 3 held on the vehicle 1. The bridge 3 can also rest on the bridge 2 by virtue of a similar design. The rear end of the upper bridge 2 is connected by way of a holding device 12 to the arm 8 at the rear.

For lowering purposes the bridges cooperate with an advancing device comprising pinions 14 which are arranged on both sides of the main arm 4 and engage with ladder rack teeth 15 on the bridge (Figures 2 and 4).

As shown in greater detail in Figure 4a, an operating cylinder 22 overhangs from one wall of the main arm 4 and the piston rod 22a of the cylinder is connected to a holding ring 22b of the pinion 14, so that when the piston-and-cylinder arrangement is actuated the pinion is displaced.

In orderto move the bridge 3 from a conveying position A into an operating position B it is moved forward on the supporting rollers 5, 6 in the direction of travel F by way of an advancing drive provided by the pinions 14 and 15 and ladder rack teeth 15 as shown in Figure 6. In this connection the tip of the ramp of the upper bridge rolls over a roller 30 on the outside kerb 31 of the lower bridge, as shown in Figure 13. After being released towards the vehicle 1 the bridge 3 is lowered to the ground in an arrangement held in a cantilevered manner on the main arm 4 (Figure 8). After lowering by reversing the vehicle or by pivoting the main arm 4, the supporting rollers 5, 6 move out of the guide rails 7 byway of so-called entry openings 16, as a result of which the bridge is released.

The upper bridge 2 is raised into a free position with respect to the other bridge 3 by means of the auxiliary arm 8a and is pivoted opposite to the direction of travel F by the arm 8. This is necessary in order to permit a forward entry of the supporting roller 6 into the entry opening 16 and thus into the guide rail 7 (Figure 2). For this purpose the arm 8 at the rear swings in the direction of travel F. It has a pivoting angle a such that the supporting rollers 5 come to rest in the guide rails on the side of the bridge. In order to support the end of the bridge 2 towards the rear with respect to the direction of travel F, a holder 17, which cooperates with a roller 18 on the arm 8, is provided on the bridge, i.e. the bridge 2 is supported on the roller 18 by way of the holder 17.In order to prevent a loosening of the connection in the case of vibrations etc. a fastening cap 19 or the like is provided which engages over the holder 17 during the laying operation and in the conveying position. As shown in greater detail in Figure 3a, the fastening cap 19 is connected by way of a rod system 36 to an actuating element 37 which is in the form of a two-armed lever. The element 37 is held in an upper dead centre position by a tension spring 38, as shown by the arrow 39 in Figure 3a.

This position is adopted when the bridge is being conveyed.

The actuating element 37 is connected to a movement-transmitting setting element 40, which leads to a bell-crank lever 41 mounted on the rear arm 8 and which is supported at one end 43 on the vehicle. When the rear arm 8 moves in the direction of the arrow 42 (in the direction of travel F) the bell-crank lever 41 is moved in such a way that the setting element 40 is pulled and the actuating element is swung from its upper dead centre position and the cap 19 moves in the direction of the arrow 44 and releases the roller 18.

Instead of a mechanical movement transmission an electrical actuation of the cap is also possible. In this case the cap 19 is connected for example to a setting motor or similar means which receives its control signals as a function of the angle of inclination of the rear arm 8. In addition, it is possible to pivot the cap 19 by hydraulic operating elements, a setting cylinder for example being actuated byway of electrical signals which are emitted in accordance with the angle of inclination of the arm and actuate the setting cylinder accordingly.

Figures 9 and 10 show the procedure of the longitudinal insertion of the upper bridge into the arm, the short bridge 2 on the main arm 4 in the position shown being moved by the pinions 14 in engagement with the teeth 15 on the bridge. For this purpose the pinions 14 are moved in the transversely from a retracted position 20, as indicated in dash-dot lines, into the extended position 21 (Figure 4). This displacement is carried out by way of a setting cylinder 22, which is connected to the pinions 14 or acts upon them accordingly, so that displacement in the directions of the arrows 28 is possible.

The bridge 2 is moved by the advancing drive 14,15 into a freely projecting position which permits lowering in front of the vehicle 1.

Lifting of the bridges 2 and 3 is carried out in such a way that first the upper bridge 2 is taken up, followed by the lower bridge 3, it being possible for the bridges to be connected to the main arm 4 from each side, as the supporting rollers 5, 6 are inserted so far into the entry openings 16 as to permit the bridge to be raised in a cantilevered manner As shown in greater detail in Figures 13 to 15, the bridges 2,3 have rollers 30 in the region of their ramps. As the bridges are moved the rollers 30 roll on the kerb 31. In the conveying position A (Figure 13) the rollers 30 are held in an opening 34 in the kerb 31, a lower flange 33 of the bridge engaging under a web 32 of the kerb, so that the upper bridge 2 cannot rise from the lower bridge 3 in this position A.

Claims

1. A laying system for bridge elements arranged one above the other on a vehicle with an arrangement comprising a front main arm which has spaced supporting rollers and is pivotable about a horizontal axis and is provided with an advancing driveforthe bridge elements and auxiliary arms articulated on the arm, and a further pivotable arm at the rear of the vehicle which is used with the main arm for lowering the bridge elements, wherein the two bridge elements are in the form of short bridges with ramps at their ends and each short bridge is lowerable individually by the laying arrangement from a conveying position into an operating position.

2. A laying system according to Claim 1, wherein the lower bridge is pushed out by the advancing drive in the direction of travel in an approximately horizontal plane beneath the upper bridge and is lowered in a cantilevered position.

3. A laying system according to Claim 1 or 2, wherein the upper bridge is supported by an area on its plane lower surface on the front ramp of the other bridge held on the vehicle (1).

4. A laying system according to Claim 1,2 or 3, wherein the two free ends of the bridges have entry openings into guide rails for inserting the supporting rollers.

5. A laying system according to claim 4, wherein the rear arm has a pivoting range for displacing the upper bridge in the direction of travel such that the supporting rollers ofthe main arm are disposed in the guide rails on the side of the bridge.

6. A laying system according to any of the preceding claims, wherein during a displacement procedure in the direction of travel, the free end of the rear arm is connected to a shell-shaped holder disposed on the upper bridge and the holder has engaging over it a fastening cap held on the rear arm which is pivotably mounted so as to release the bridge.

7. A laying system according to Claim 6, wherein the fastening cap is connected by a rod system on the rear arm to an actuating element which is held underthe action of a tension spring, in an upper dead centre position while the bridge is being conveyed.

8. A laying system according to Claim 7, wherein the actuating element is connected to a movementtransmitting setting member which comprises a bell-crank lever (41) supported on the vehicle and on the arm and connected through a transmission rod arrangement to the actuating element.

9. A laying system according to Claim 8, wherein the actuating element performs a displacement movement on to the rod arrangement in such a way that as the arm pivots the cap of the roller is pivoted in a releasing manner.

10. A laying system according to any of Claims 6 to 9, wherein the cap is connected to an electric motor as a setting member which is controlled as a function of the pivoting angle of the arm.

11. A laying system according to any of claims 6 to 9, wherein the cap is connected to a piston-andcylinder arrangement as a setting member.

12. A laying system according to any of the preceding Claims, wherein a the pinion of the advancing drive on the main arm is transversely movable by way of an adjusting member, and an unrestricted insertion of the bridge on to the supporting rollers and engagement of the advancing drive is effected.

13. A laying system according to Claim 12, wherein the adjusting member is in the form of a controllable piston-and-cylinder arrangement which is supported overhung on a wall of the main arm, the piston rod of the arrangement being connected to a retaining ring of the advancing drive.

14. A laying system according to any of the preceding Claims, wherein in the front region of their ramps the short bridges each have a guide roller, the guide rollers running on kerbs of the corresponding bridge in order to displace the bridges.

15. A laying system according to claim 14 in the front region the kerb of the bridges comprises a strip) which engages over a lower flange of the bridge in the conveying position and holds it in position, the guide roller being held in an opening.

16. A laying system for bridge elements substantially as described with reference to, and as illustrated in, the accompanying drawings.