JP2021134564A - Tunnel excavator articulate mechanism - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a tunnel excavator articulate mechanism that reduces a differential pressure borne by a front-stage articulate seal.SOLUTION: An articulate mechanism 12 according to one embodiment comprises three or more articulate seals 5 arranged between a rear end 31 of a front body 3 and a front end 41 of a rear body 4, and a grease supply device 7 that supplies grease to a plurality of seal chambers 61 to 63 formed between three or more articulate seals 5. The grease supply device 7 is controlled by a control device 8 such that a pressure P1 of the rearmost seal chamber 61 detected by a second pressure sensor 83 is higher than a pressure P0 around the articulate mechanism 12 detected by a first pressure sensor 80, and a pressure P3 of the frontmost seal chamber 63 detected by a third pressure sensor 83 becomes equal to or less than the pressure P1 of the rearmost seal chamber 61 detected by the second pressure sensor 81.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

The present invention relates to a center bending mechanism of a tunnel excavator.

The tunnel excavator includes a cutter head that excavates the ground and an excavator body that rotatably supports the cutter head. There is a break-action type excavator body, and in this break-action type excavator body, a tubular outer shell is divided into a front body and a rear body, and a break-action mechanism is provided between them.

Specifically, in the center folding mechanism, the front end of the rear torso is located inside the rear end of the front torso, and the rear end of the front torso and the front end of the rear torso overlap. Further, a plurality of annular center-folding seals are arranged between the rear end portion of the front fuselage and the front end portion of the rear fuselage.

For example, in Patent Document 1, two center-folded seals are arranged between the rear end of the front body and the front end of the rear body, and a sealant is applied to a seal chamber formed between the center-folded seals. It is described to be filled.

JP-A-2007-303134

By the way, when a tunnel excavator excavates a high water pressure section, in order to prevent the inflow of earth and sand water into the machine through the center fold mechanism, three or more center fold seals are formed and between the center fold seals. It is desirable to fill a plurality of sealing chambers with grease or the like.

Generally, when a plurality of seal chambers are filled with grease, the amount of grease supplied to the seal chambers is adjusted so that the pressure in the seal chambers gradually increases from the outside to the inside of the machine. However, in such a configuration, the pressure difference between the pressure in the seal chamber located at the frontmost position (that is, near the inside of the machine) and the atmospheric pressure becomes large, so that the front-stage center-folded seal that bears the pressure difference is reversed. There is a risk.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a middle-breaking mechanism of a tunnel excavator capable of reducing the differential pressure borne by the middle-breaking seal in the front stage.

In order to solve the above problems, the center folding mechanism of the tunnel excavator from one side of the present invention is a center folding mechanism between the front body and the rear body of the tunnel excavator, and is the rear end of the front body. Three or more center-folded seals arranged between the portion and the front end of the rear body located inside the rear end portion, and a plurality of seals formed between the three or more center-folded seals. A grease supply device that supplies grease to the chamber, a first pressure sensor that detects the pressure around the center bending mechanism, and a pressure in the rearmost sealing chamber located at the rearmost of the plurality of sealing chambers are detected. The control includes a second pressure sensor, a third pressure sensor that detects the pressure of the frontmost seal chamber located at the frontmost of the plurality of seal chambers, and a control device that controls the grease supply device. In the device, the pressure detected by the second pressure sensor becomes higher than the pressure detected by the first pressure sensor, and the pressure detected by the third pressure sensor is detected by the second pressure sensor. It is characterized in that the grease supply device is controlled so as to be below the pressure.

According to the above configuration, since the pressure in the frontmost seal chamber is maintained below the pressure in the rearmost seal chamber, the differential pressure borne by the middle-folded seal in the frontmost stage can be reduced. As a result, it is possible to prevent the middle-folded seal in the front stage from being inverted.

The center folding mechanism of the tunnel excavator from another side of the present invention is a center folding mechanism between the front body and the rear body of the tunnel excavator, and is the inside of the rear end portion of the front body and the rear end portion thereof. Located on the front side of a plurality of sealing chambers formed between three or more center-folded seals arranged between the front end of the rear body and the three or more center-folded seals. An oil supply device that forms a closed loop between at least one seal chamber and an oil tank to supply oil to the at least one seal chamber, and supplies grease to the remaining seal chambers of the plurality of seal chambers. A grease supply device, a first pressure sensor that detects the pressure around the center bending mechanism, and a second pressure sensor that detects the pressure in the rearmost sealing chamber located at the rearmost of the plurality of sealing chambers. A control device for controlling the grease supply device is provided, and the control device includes the grease supply device so that the pressure detected by the second pressure sensor is higher than the pressure detected by the first pressure sensor. The oil supply device keeps the pressure of the frontmost seal chamber located at the front of the plurality of seal chambers at a set value lower than the pressure detected by the first pressure sensor. It is characterized by being configured in.

According to the above configuration, since the pressure in the frontmost seal chamber is kept lower than the pressure around the center-folding mechanism, the differential pressure borne by the front-stage center-folding seal can be reduced. As a result, it is possible to prevent the middle-folded seal in the front stage from being inverted.

According to the present invention, it is possible to reduce the differential pressure borne by the middle-folded seal in the front stage.

It is a side view of the tunnel excavator including the center folding mechanism which concerns on 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is sectional drawing of a part of the tunnel excavator which shows the center bending mechanism of 1st Embodiment. It is sectional drawing of a part of the tunnel excavator which shows the center folding mechanism which concerns on 2nd Embodiment of this invention.

(First Embodiment)
FIG. 2 shows a center-folding mechanism 12 according to the first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 1 shows a tunnel excavator 1 including the center-folding mechanism 12. For example, the tunnel excavator 1 is a shield excavator that assembles segments internally. However, the present invention is also applicable to tunnel excavators other than shield excavators.

As shown in FIG. 1, the tunnel excavator 1 includes a cutter head 2 for excavating a ground and an excavator main body 10 for rotatably supporting the cutter head 2. The excavator main body 10 is a break-action type, and includes a tubular outer shell 11 divided into a front body 3 and a rear body 4. A center folding mechanism 12 is provided between the front body 3 and the rear body 4.

Although not shown, the front opening of the front body 3 is closed by a partition wall, and a cutter chamber is formed between the partition wall and the cutter head 2.

In the center folding mechanism 12, as shown in FIG. 2, the front end 41 of the rear torso 4 is located inside the rear end 31 of the front torso 3, and the rear end 31 of the front torso 3 and the front end of the rear torso 4 are located. It overlaps with 41. The inner surface of the rear end portion 31 of the front body 3 and the outer surface of the front end portion 41 of the rear body 4 have a cylindrical shape with a straight cross section in the present embodiment, but the cross section may be a curved spherical shape.

Between the rear end portion 31 of the front cylinder 3 and the front end portion 41 of the rear cylinder 4, three or more annular center-folding seals 5 are arranged so as to line up in the front-rear direction. In the present embodiment, the number of the center-folded seals 5 is four.

In this embodiment, a single lip seal is used as each center-folded seal 5. However, multi-stage lip seals may be used in place of some or all single lip seals. When a multi-stage lip seal is used, each lip portion is a center-folded seal 5.

In the present embodiment, the center-folding seal 5 is attached to the rear end portion 31 of the front body 3 by the seal retainer 51, and is pressed against the front end portion 41 of the rear body 4 by the elastic force of the center-folding seal 5. However, contrary to the present embodiment, the center-folding seal 5 is attached to the front end portion 41 of the rear body 4 by the seal retainer 51, and the elastic force of the center-folding seal 5 is applied to the rear end portion 31 of the front body 3. It may be pressed.

Three seal chambers are formed between the four center-folded seals 5. The three sealing chambers are the rearmost sealing chamber 61 located at the rearmost position, the frontmost sealing chamber 63 located at the frontmost position, and the intermediate sealing chamber 62 located at the middle.

In the present embodiment, the rearmost seal chamber 61, the intermediate seal chamber 62, and the frontmost seal chamber 63 are filled with semi-solid grease. The grease is supplied to the rearmost seal chamber 61, the intermediate seal chamber 62, and the frontmost seal chamber 63 by the grease supply device 7.

The grease supply device 7 is configured so that the amount of grease supplied to each of the rearmost seal chamber 61, the intermediate seal chamber 62, and the frontmost seal chamber 63 can be adjusted. In this embodiment, the grease supply device 7 includes a pump 73. However, the configuration of the grease supply device 7 is not limited to this, and can be changed as appropriate.

Specifically, the pump 73 is connected to the grease tank 71 by a suction path 72. Further, the pump 73 is connected to the rearmost seal chamber 61 by the supply path 74, is connected to the intermediate seal chamber 62 by the supply path 75, and is connected to the frontmost seal chamber 63 by the supply path 76. The upstream portions of the supply paths 74 to 76 merge with each other to form a common flow path.

On-off valves 77 to 79 are provided in the supply paths 74 to 76, respectively. These on-off valves 77 to 79 and the pump 73 described above are controlled by the control device 8. However, in FIG. 2, only some signal lines are drawn for the sake of simplification of the drawing.

For example, the control device 8 is a computer having a memory such as a ROM or a RAM, a storage such as an HDD, and a CPU, and a program stored in the ROM or the HDD is executed by the CPU.

The control device 8 is electrically connected to a pressure sensor 80 (corresponding to the first pressure sensor of the present invention) that detects the pressure P0 around the center bending mechanism 12. The pressure of the cutter chamber described above is substantially equal to the pressure P0 around the center bending mechanism 12. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the pressure sensor 80 is provided on the partition wall that closes the front opening of the front body 3 described above, and the pressure Pc of the cutter chamber is detected as the pressure P0 around the center bending mechanism 12. However, the pressure sensor 80 may be provided at the rear end 31 of the front body 3 or the front end 41 of the rear body 4 in order to directly detect the pressure P0 around the center bending mechanism 12.

Further, the control device 8 includes a pressure sensor 81 (corresponding to the second pressure sensor of the present invention) that detects the pressure P1 of the rearmost seal chamber 61, a pressure sensor 82 that detects the pressure P2 of the intermediate seal chamber 62, and the frontmost. It is also electrically connected to a pressure sensor 83 (corresponding to the third pressure sensor of the present invention) that detects the pressure P3 of the seal chamber 63.

In this embodiment, the pressure sensor 81 is provided in the supply path 74 on the downstream side of the on-off valve 77. However, the pressure sensor 81 may be provided, for example, in a portion of the front end portion 41 of the rear body 4 facing the rearmost seal chamber 61.

Similarly, the pressure sensor 82 is provided in the supply path 75 on the downstream side of the on-off valve 78, and the pressure sensor 83 is provided in the supply path 76 on the downstream side of the on-off valve 79. However, the pressure sensor 82 may be provided, for example, in a portion of the front end portion 41 of the rear body 4 facing the intermediate seal chamber 62. Similarly, the pressure sensor 83 may be provided, for example, in a portion of the front end portion 41 of the rear body 4 facing the frontmost seal chamber 63.

The control device 8 controls the grease supply device 7 so that the following relationship is established based on the pressures Pc (P0), P1, P2, and P3 detected by the pressure sensors 80 to 83. The following Pa is atmospheric pressure (pressure inside the aircraft).
Pa <P3 ≤ P2 ≤ P1> Pc

That is, with respect to the rearmost seal chamber 61, the control device 8 intermittently inserts the pump 73 so that the pressure P1 of the rearmost seal chamber 61 is higher than the pressure Pc of the cutter chamber (pressure P0 around the center bending mechanism 12). The on-off valve 77 is opened according to the operation of the pump 73.

Regarding the intermittent operation of the pump 73, the control device 8 operates the pump 73 as much as the pump 73 discharges a predetermined amount of grease when the pressure detected by the pressure sensor 81 falls below the lower limit (> Pc). You may. Alternatively, the control device 8 may operate the pump 73 until the pressure detected by the pressure sensor 81 reaches the upper limit when the pressure detected by the pressure sensor 81 falls below the lower limit.

Regarding the intermediate seal chamber 62, the control device 8 intermittently operates the pump 73 so that the pressure P2 of the intermediate seal chamber 62 becomes equal to or less than the pressure P1 of the rearmost seal chamber 61, and opens and closes according to the operation of the pump 73. Open valve 78.

Regarding the intermittent operation of the pump 73, the control device 8 may operate the pump 73 as much as the pump 73 discharges a predetermined amount of grease when the pressure detected by the pressure sensor 82 falls below the lower limit. Alternatively, the control device 8 may operate the pump 73 until the pressure detected by the pressure sensor 82 reaches the upper limit when the pressure detected by the pressure sensor 82 falls below the lower limit.

Regarding the frontmost seal chamber 63, the control device 8 intermittently operates the pump 73 so that the pressure P3 of the frontmost seal chamber 63 is higher than the atmospheric pressure Pa and is equal to or less than the pressure P2 of the intermediate seal chamber 52. Then, the on-off valve 79 is opened according to the operation of the pump 73. Needless to say, when the pressure P2 of the intermediate seal chamber 52 is equal to the pressure P1 of the rearmost seal chamber 61, the pressure P3 of the frontmost seal chamber 63 is equal to or less than the pressure P1 of the rearmost seal chamber 61.

Regarding the intermittent operation of the pump 73, the control device 8 operates the pump 73 as much as the pump 73 discharges a predetermined amount of grease when the pressure detected by the pressure sensor 83 falls below the lower limit (> Pa). You may. Alternatively, the control device 8 may operate the pump 73 until the pressure detected by the pressure sensor 83 reaches the upper limit when the pressure detected by the pressure sensor 83 falls below the lower limit.

It is desirable that the pressure P3 of the frontmost sealing chamber 63 is a gauge pressure, which is at least half of the pressure Pc of the cutter chamber (pressure P0 around the center bending mechanism 12).

As described above, in the center-folding mechanism 12 of the present embodiment, the pressure P3 of the frontmost seal chamber 63 is maintained below the pressure P1 of the rearmost seal chamber 61, so that the center-folding seal 5 in the frontmost stage bears the burden. The differential pressure can be reduced. As a result, it is possible to prevent the middle-folded seal 5 in the front stage from being inverted.

(Second Embodiment)
FIG. 3 shows the center folding mechanism 13 according to the second embodiment of the present invention. In the present embodiment, the same components as those in the first embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals, and duplicate description will be omitted.

In the present embodiment, the frontmost seal chamber 63 is filled with liquid oil, and the intermediate seal chamber 62 and the rearmost seal chamber 61 are filled with grease. Then, oil is supplied from the oil supply device 9 to the frontmost seal chamber 63, and grease is supplied from the grease supply device 7 to the intermediate seal chamber 62 and the frontmost seal chamber 63.

However, the intermediate seal chamber 62 may be filled with oil instead of grease. In this case, the oil supply device 9 supplies oil to the frontmost seal chamber 63 and the intermediate seal chamber 62 (two seal chambers located on the front side), and the grease supply device 7 supplies the rearmost seal chamber 61 (the remaining seal chamber). Supply hegris.

The oil supply device 9 forms a closed loop between the frontmost seal chamber 63 and the oil tank 91. Specifically, the oil supply device 9 includes a pump 93 connected to the oil tank 91 by a suction path 92, and the pump 93 is connected to the frontmost seal chamber 63 by a supply path 94.

In the present embodiment, the discharge path 95 branches from the supply path 94, and this discharge path 95 is connected to the oil tank 91. The discharge passage 95 is provided with a pressure regulating valve 96 whose opening degree can be electrically changed. However, the discharge path 95 does not necessarily have to branch from the supply path 94, and may directly communicate with the frontmost seal chamber 63.

In the control device 8, similarly to the first embodiment, the pressure P1 of the rearmost seal chamber 61 detected by the pressure sensor 81 is the pressure Pc of the cutter chamber detected by the pressure sensor 80 (the pressure around the center bending mechanism 13). The grease supply device 7 is controlled so as to be higher than P0) (P1> Pc). In the present embodiment, the pressure P2 of the intermediate seal chamber 62 may be equal to or less than the pressure P1 of the rearmost seal chamber 61 (P2 ≦ P1), or may be equal to or higher than the pressure P1 of the rearmost seal chamber 61. Good (P2 ≧ P1).

The oil supply device 9 is configured such that the pressure P3 of the frontmost seal chamber 63 is maintained at a set value Ps lower than the pressure Pc of the cutter chamber (pressure P0 around the center bending mechanism 13) by the pressure sensor 80. There is. In the present embodiment, the control device 8 controls the pressure adjusting valve 96 so that the pressure P3 of the frontmost seal chamber 63 detected by the pressure sensor 83 is maintained at the set value Ps (P3 = Ps <Pc).

The set value Ps may be calculated by multiplying the pressure Pc of the cutter chamber by a predetermined ratio (for example, 40 to 60%) with a gauge pressure so as to change according to the pressure Pc of the cutter chamber. Alternatively, the set value Ps may be a fixed value smaller than the assumed minimum pressure of the cutter chamber.

In the present embodiment, the pressure P3 of the frontmost seal chamber 63 is kept lower than the pressure pc of the cutter chamber (pressure P0 around the center folding mechanism 13), so that the differential pressure borne by the frontmost bending seal 5 is borne. Can be reduced. As a result, it is possible to prevent the middle-folded seal 5 in the front stage from being inverted.

An electromagnetic relief valve is used instead of the pressure adjusting valve 96, and the relief pressure of the electromagnetic relief valve may be adjusted by the control device 8 so as to be lower than the pressure Pc of the cutter chamber. In this case, the pressure sensor 83 is unnecessary.

(Other embodiments)
The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention.

For example, the number of the center-folded seals 5 may be three or five or more.

1 Tunnel excavator 12, 13 Center bending mechanism 3 Front body 31 Rear end 4 Rear body 41 Front end 5 Center folding seal 61 Rearmost sealing room 63 Frontmost sealing room 7 Griss supply device 8 Control device 80 Pressure sensor (1st Pressure sensor)
81 Pressure sensor (second pressure sensor)
83 Pressure sensor (3rd pressure sensor)
9 Oil supply device 91 Oil tank

Claims (2)

It is a folding mechanism between the front and rear fuselage of the tunnel excavator.
Three or more center-folded seals arranged between the rear end of the front torso and the front end of the rear torso located inside the rear end.
A grease supply device that supplies grease to a plurality of seal chambers formed between the three or more middle-folded seals, and a grease supply device.
A first pressure sensor that detects the pressure around the center bending mechanism, and
A second pressure sensor that detects the pressure of the rearmost sealing chamber located at the rearmost of the plurality of sealing chambers, and
A third pressure sensor that detects the pressure of the frontmost seal chamber located at the frontmost of the plurality of seal chambers, and
A control device for controlling the grease supply device is provided.
In the control device, the pressure detected by the second pressure sensor becomes higher than the pressure detected by the first pressure sensor, and the pressure detected by the third pressure sensor is detected by the second pressure sensor. A center-breaking mechanism of a tunnel excavator that controls the grease supply device so that the pressure becomes less than or equal to the pressure to be applied. It is a folding mechanism between the front and rear fuselage of the tunnel excavator.
Three or more center-folded seals arranged between the rear end of the front torso and the front end of the rear torso located inside the rear end.
A closed loop is formed between the oil tank and at least one seal chamber located on the front side of the plurality of seal chambers formed between the three or more center-folded seals, and oil is supplied to the at least one seal chamber. Oil supply device and
A grease supply device that supplies grease to the remaining seal chambers of the plurality of seal chambers, and
A first pressure sensor that detects the pressure around the center bending mechanism, and
A second pressure sensor that detects the pressure of the rearmost sealing chamber located at the rearmost of the plurality of sealing chambers, and
A control device for controlling the grease supply device is provided.
The control device controls the grease supply device so that the pressure detected by the second pressure sensor becomes higher than the pressure detected by the first pressure sensor.
The oil supply device is configured so that the pressure of the frontmost seal chamber located at the front of the plurality of seal chambers is maintained at a set value lower than the pressure detected by the first pressure sensor. There is a folding mechanism of the tunnel excavator.

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