US2969720A - Pouring bridge for concrete work - Google Patents

Description

1961 T. T. BURNHAM 2,959,720

POURING BRIDGE FOR CONCRETE WORK Filed July 9, 1957 s Shets-Sheet 1 FIG I INVENTOR. TROY T. BURNHAM Jan. 31, 1961 T. T. BURNHAM POURING BRIDGE FOR CONCRETE WORK 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed July 9, 1957 INVENTOR. TROY T. BURNHAM BY Jan. 31, 1961 T. T. BURNHAM Q 2,969,720

POURING BRIDGE FOR CONCRETE WORK Filed July 9, 1957 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 FIG INVENTOR. TROY T. BURNHAM BY POURING BRIDGE FOR CONCRETE WORK Troy T. Burnham, 18666 Beverly Road, Seattle, Wash.

Filed July 9, 1957, Ser. No. 670,690

1 Claim. (CI. 94-39 This present invention relates to the general art of concrete handling equipment and more particularly to a bridge like construction that is mounted on wheels for movement along a bridge as it is being built. The particular property of this equipment is that concrete can be poured into a bulk hopper which is on a traveling bridge element and then smaller loads of concrete can be drawn from the hopper for hand pouring across the width of the concrete face.

In the construction of concrete bridges and viaducts and similar constructions, which are at a considerable height above the surrounding terrain, the actual handling of the concrete aggregates or the ready mixed concrete poses a very difiicult problem. In a construction of a highway bridge or viaduct it is impractical to start at one end of the bridge and have the heavy trucks deliver either concrete aggregates or the ready mixed concrete because the concrete in the structure itself does not have sutiicient time to set firm enough to permit the imposing of heavy wheel traflic on it. Under such conditions it is normal then to hoist the materials up from the ground and this is usually best accomplished by means of track laying cranes and the like. Considerable time is lost if the crane is going to raise the concrete aggregate up and then have them mixed on the bridge surface so it has been usually customary to use ready mixed concrete and to raise the same up in relatively large buckets and then dump them directly on the work. Such an arrangement calls for a great deal of signaling because the crane operator cannot see where he is placing the load prior to dumping and must rely upon the signals of one or more persons and then too he must make adjustments in the boom arrangement employed in order that the concrete can be deposited where desired. This has proved to be a very expensive arrangement and it is to overcome this difliculty that this present invention has been provided.

in this present invention the crane accepts mixed concrete from a ready mixed truck for instance and raises it up and dumps it in a hopper that is readily visible to the crane operator at all times and thus no signaling and the attendant loss of time is required. The Whole operation is a time saving one in both expensive power equipment and in labor and further this present arrangement avoids the dumped pile of concrete that occurs when up to a yard or more is dumped on a bridge struc: ture at once. In this present arrangement rubber tired P ice A further object of this present invention is to provide a pouring bridge capable of being moved the full length of the bridge structure, as the work progresses, with a minimum of labor required in the moving of the tracks.

A further object of this invention is to provide improved means which will reduce, from 25 to 30 percent, the time required in the pouring of concrete on elevated structures.

A further object of this present invention is to provide a movable concrete pouring unit which is provided with a hopper for acceptance of bulk loads and then because the pouring bridge moves with the working face a very minimum of concrete buggies need be employed because the travel, for each buggy, is relatively short.

A further object of this present invention is to provide improved means for the pouring of walls and diaphragms of box girder type of bridges or girders of T beam section as the hand buggies are favorable to the dumping small loads of concrete directly into the Wall forms or into small side hoppers which move directly over the wall form, thereby funneling the concrete into place without spillage and in their proper amounts to facilitate the economical handling of the concrete with power vibrators and the like.

Further objects, advantages and capabilities will be apparent from the description and disclosure in the drawings, or may be comprehended or are inherent in the device.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a bracketed perspective view illustrating the construction of an elevated roadway and showing the employment of the concrete handling equipment of this present invention.

Figure 2 is a vertical cross sectional view through one of the supporting tracks and illustrating one of the wheels employed in supporting the concrete pouring bridge.

Figure 3 is a perspective view illustrating the general arrangement of the pouring bridge and illustrating how it may be adapted to various operational needs.

Figure 4 is a top plan view of the framing of the concrete pouring bridge in order to illustrate how the same is adapted to Work on curved structures.

Figure 5 is a top plan view of a concrete pouring bridge showing the general proportions of the same as it has been developed by experience in the field.

Figure 6 is end elevation of the pouring bridge and illustrating the two wheels supporting the unloaded end of the bridge and the plurality of wheels employed under the hopper end of the bridge in order to sustain the load- I ing when the hopper is filled with concrete.

buggies are employed to take relatively small loads of Figure 7 is a fragmentary perspective view showing the under surface of the decking and illustrating the decking clamp means.

Referring more particularly to the disclosure in the drawings, the numeral 10 designates generally the concrete pouring bridge assembly. This bridge is constructed of two spaced bridging girders 12 and 14 which are of a length to span the working width of the concrete Work. At their out- board ends girders 12 and 14 are each supported by a single grooved wheel as 32. At their opposite ends, or inboard ends, which are the ends of greatest loading in that it supports the concrete receiving and dispensing hopper 52, I beams, as 16 and 17 are secured respectively to the ends of girders 12 and 14 so that a plurality of grooved wheels may be employed. The minimum being two for each I beam but with the capacity of including additional ones as the loading may require to provide concrete receiving hopper supporting end of the girders of ample strength.

Girders 12 and 14 are secured in spaced relationship by means probably best illustrated in Figures 3 and 4. Here a plurality of deck planks 23 are disposed transversely of the girders and secured to them by clamp means as 22 illustrated in Figures 6 and 7. Only a limited number of the securing deck planks 23 need be employed and these are provided with clamping bolts as 24 so that the clamp members 22 may be engaged under the horizontal flanges of the girders 12 and 14 and secure planks 23 in clamping relationship thereto. Experience has indicated, it being desirable, however, to employ two of the standard clamping planks 23 at each point where it is desirable to employ auxiliary pouring hoppers or funnels 30. The clamping arrangement is desirable in that it makes it possible to quickly change the operational arrangement of the different members making up the deck so that auxiliary pouring or dispensing hoppers as 30 may be employed at various points to provide the pouring means for special features in the work or may further be used to go around certain curvilinear portions of the structure as it probably is best illustrated in Figure 4. The decking which is indicated generally be reference numeral 20, is preferably provided with a plurality of transverse members which have an unsecured covering of material such as plywood or the like in order to facilitate the movement of the concrete buggies.

A preferred form of construction for wheels 32 and their supporting means is illustrated in Figure 2 in which each of the wheels is provided with a V groove 34 which is preferably relieved at its center so that it will fully engage the outside corner of an inverted structural steel angle as 44. The wheels 32 are suitably journaled as on bolts 36 and these bolts are supported by depending arms 38 which in turn are secured to a bolting plate 40. Plate 40 has a plurality of bolt holes adapted to engage the bolt holes 42 which occur in the lower flange of bridging girders l2 and 14 and this makes it a relatively simple matter to quickly change the position of the wheels to meet unusual conditions of the work. Angles 44 are piaced upon thin sheet steel plates as 46.. Plates 46 and angles 44 are secured in their aligned positions by a plurality of nails as 48 which are driven through the light weight sheathings 46 into the supporting timbers 50.

Disposed on the principal load bearing end of the pouring bridge is the batch receiving hopper 52 forming the concrete delivery point. This hopper is made of suitable materials and it is raised above the upper surface of deck sufiiciently so the concrete buggies 56 can be passed under the pouring spout 57 where it can be charged with normally about 4 cubic feet of concrete. A small amount of concrete of this order is easily transported by an individual to the exact position where it is desired and there poured either directly onto the slab portion or into forms. In certain installations it is desirable to use auxiliary funnel-like hoppers 30 of which any number may be provided so as to insure the funneling of the material into such things as girder forms and items of that order.

In order to facilitate pouring of concrete at the hopper end of bridge 10, without making it excessively wide, there has been provided an opening 60 clear through the deck and this is further provided with side rails 62 so that the buggy will be guided into proper position and cannot normally run into opening 60.

Secured to the main hopper supporting frame 54 is a personal platform 58 which is at a convenient height so that a workman may inspect the contents of the hopper or make admixtures or clean the hopper as it may from time to time require.

Hopper 52, should have a capacity somewhat in excess of the capacity of the hoisting bucket 70 so that it can take an additional bucket of concrete even though there might be another buggy load or two still left in the hopper. Bucket 70 is most conveniently handled after the showing of Figure l in which a self propelled crane 72. is employed using a main boom member 76 and to which is pivotally secured the upper boom member 78. The operator of the crane has his bucket 70 in view at all times so that he can first of all place it in convenient position for charging from the concrete source 74 such as the transit mixer shown and then it can be elevated to a dumping position over hopper 52 and this normally achieved without the necessity for readjusting his boom members or the need of any additional signaling. This is a very appreciable time saver on the part of the power equipment and also it dispenses with the services of those who are normally employed in signaling. In the more conventional handling of concrete under the conditions such as illustrated in Figure 1 it is common to raise the bucket with the two boom members adjusted with respect to each other in accordance with the distance the bucket must be swung over the work. Considerable time is lost by the power equipment in making these adjustments and normally it will require one or two extra men just to convey the intelligence to the crane operator as to how to position the bucket, that he can no longer see, and to trip the same. This present equipment of course makes a very appreciable saving in this regard because no signaling men are required and the crane operators time is reduced to a minimum because of the substantially vertical lift of the bucket and the fact that he can himself position it accurately. Another marked advantage or this form of equipment is that there is no large mass of concrete that passes over the area of the work, where workmen are employed in the settling or tamping or in the vibration of the mix. Safety requirements, normally required of this personnel, is to move back clear of the path of the bucket and this involves a very substantial loss of time by this personnel.

The dumping of a large bucket of concrete on a bridge for instance, as shown in Figure 1, means that this mass of concrete must be hand moved largely in order to distribute it as required. This is an expensive time consuming operation. In distinction to this method of handling concrete this pouring bridge accepts the mixed concrete into the batch hopper 52 and from this a few workmen draw loads of concrete in the rubber tire buggies 56. These buggies normally carry six cubic feet which relatively is a small amount of concrete and this can be dumped, as required, any place throughout the length of bridge 10. As the normal travel of any loaded buggy rarely exceeds 30 feet it will be apparent it is believed that about one half of the usual number of buggies will be required and a large amount of concrete can be quickly placed substantially in its finai resting place with very little, if any, handling of the concrete. Normally, it has been found that the electric vibrators will be sufiicient to distribute the concrete when it is dumped in such small increments.

It is to be noted that this pouring bridge provides a convenient and traveling base for a motor generator set which in turn can supply energy for the operation of the electric power vibrators. This does away with the burdensome handling of long electric lines and is a distinct advantage in this type of equipment. To assist in the free movement of the manual buggies 56 particularly when they are loaded it is desirable to use sheathing as on top of the regular decking as 82. The planks 82 form a practical way of carrying the load but due to the fact that the various planks, even though they are of the same thickness, are not all of the same strength and there is a tendency for them to edge work with each other and this would require the operator in many instances to roll the loaded buggy up over the edge of a raised plank. This extra labor can be entirely overcome by the use of a sheet surfacing as plywood for instance.

In distinction to the six cubic feet normally dumped at one time from buggies 56 a conventional pouring bucket of the type used in this type of work will normally carry from 20 to 30 cubic feet and this of course leaves a very considerable pile of concrete on the slab which must be shoveled around by hand. This present equipment eliminates this labor expense.

Throughout the accompanying drawings there has been illustrated a typical concrete job on which this type of equipment can be most advantageously used. Referring to Figure 1, it will be noted that spaced piers as 90 are employed and it is desired to make a concrete roadway that will be self supporting between the adjacent piers. Economy in the use of materials and also in keeping the weight to a minimum normally indicates the desirability of having long box girder beams or T shaped beam members which in effect carry the bending moment of the roadway sections which in efliect produces self supporting concrete slabs. Conditions often vary considerably in a roadway of this order and the distance between adjacent abutments may vary through considerable distance. This is particularly true in passing over uneven ground or streams and the like. To this end it is desirable that whatever equipment is used in the placing of the concrete it must be of a form that can be easily rearranged to suit the conditions of the moment and this facility has been provided for in this present equipment where in effect two separate girder elements as 12 and 14 with their separate supporting wheels are secured together by the planking 82 and certain of the planks are clamped to the upper web or a flange of girders 12 and 14. This is a flexible arrangement and makes it possible to place the pouring spouts as 30 at any point desired to take care of the various structural features required and for the same reason the light trackage 44 provided for wheels 32 is arranged so that it can be shifted and beams 12 and 14 rearranged to take care of changing operational requirements. The whole unit can be lightly built as unit of the general proportions indicated in Figure 1 normally having a hopper 52 adapted to receive one yard of concrete will weigh, exclusive of the concrete, not to exceed 3500 pounds and with this weight no special shoring in the false work or the forms is required as the tracks 44 will carry the load safely on any normally well constructed forms with virtually no additional preparation.

Due to the ease of which the equipment can be broken down it is quite normal for two men to assemble a unit on the job in from four to six hours. And when the job is finished the entire unit can be easily disassembled into small units which are easily transportable to the next location. Because of its relatively light weight all complicated drive means for the bridge can be eliminated as the unit can actually be pushed along by two or three men or it can be very easily hand winched by a single man. If relatively long moves are required the smallest pick-up truck can easily move the bridge along its rails.

It is believed that it will be clearly apparent from the above description and the disclosure in the drawings that the invention comprehends a novel construction of pouring bridge for concrete work.

Having thus disclosed my invention, I claim:

A materials dispensing machine comprising a plurality of dispensing hoppers disposed at spaced intervals along a machine framework transverse to the direction of travel of said machine, said machine framework being particularly adapted to negotiate curved trackways, said framework comprising a pair of spaced girders disposed transverse relative to the said direction of travel, a flanged wheel mounted on one end of each girder to guide said one end along a first trackway, a separate beam rigidly secured to the other end of each of said girders and perpendicular thereto, two or more wheels each having axially spaced flanges and mounted in trailing relationship to one another on each of said beams at points spaced from the longitudinal axis of said girders to guide the other end of said girder along a second trackway extending substantially in the same direction as said first trackway, elongated deck planks disposed substantially transverse relative to the longitudinal axis of said girders and supported by said girders, spaced clamp means secured to the underside of some of said deck planks intermediate said girders, said clamp means being slideable relative to the girders to releasably engage an upper flange of each of said girders, a receiving and dispensing hopper sup ported above said deck planks by some of said deck planks on said other end of said girders, said deck planks permitting transport of materials from said receiving and dispensing hopper to said spaced dispensing hoppers, said spaced dispensing hoppers being supported by extended portions of some of said deck planks, the friction between said clamp means and said flanges and between said girders and said deck planks retaining said girders in spaced relationship and permitting an increase in the spacing between said girders so that the machine may readily conform to curvilinear portions of said trackway.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 345,652 ODonnell Dec. 21, 1886 1,609,407 Fry Dec. 7, 1926 2,872,283 Harm Aug. 16, 1932 1,985,220 Clark et al Dec. 18, 1934 2,251,095 Wood July 29, 1941 2,818,790 Canfield et al. Jan. 7, 1958 2,851,311 Gibbs Sept. 9, 1958

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