US3239186A - Tubular concrete girder construction - Google Patents

Description

March 8, 1966 N; ESQUILLAN 3,239,186

TUBULAR CONCRETE GIRDER CONSTRUCTION Filed March 11, 1964 5 Sheets-Sheet l March 8, 1966 N. ESQUILLAN 3,239,186

TUBULAR CONCRETE GIRDER CONSTRUCTION Filed March 11, 1964 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 March 8, 1966 N ESQUILLAN 3,239,136

TUBULAR CONCRETE GIRDER CONSTRUCTION Filed March 11, 1964 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Fad 6 March 8, 1966 NQES UILLAN 3,239,186

TUBULAR CONCRETE GIRDER CONSTRUCTION Filed March 11, 1964 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR.

NICOLAS ESQUILLAN lTTORN EY March 8, 1966 Filed March 11, 1964 FIG. IO

N. ESQUILLAN 3,239,186

TUBULAR CONCRETE GIRDER CONSTRUCTION 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 FIG. u 0

56 z 1% INVENTOR.

56 50 NICOLAS ESQUILLAN ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,239,186 TUBULAR CONCRETE GIRDER CGNSTRUCTION Nicolas Esquillan, Paris, France, assiguor to Safege- Transport, Socit Anonyme, Paris, France Filed Mar. 11, 1964, Ser. No. 351,071 (Ilaims priority, application France, Mar. 12, 1963, 927,652, Patent 1,359,236 8 Claims. (Cl. 249-452) This invention relates to the casting of tubular concrete girders of rectilinear or curved shape, and particularly to such girders which are suitable for the support of the tracks of suspension railways of the type described in Patent No. 2,825,291 and in my prior application Ser. No. 303,531 for an Overhead Railway superstructure Construction, filed August 21, l963.

The girders constituting the tracks of the suspension railway are generally in the form of a tube with a square or rectangular section, and are provided with a central longitudinal bottom slot through which the suspension passes from the bogies to the cars.

In order to speed up the erection of the tracks, the girders are made in sections of great length which are placed on their supports and assembled-end to end. Generally, the distance between two supports will be about 30 m.

It is a primary object of the invention to provide a method and means for the economic manufacture of such concrete girders.

Another object of the invention is to provide casting equipment suitable for the forming of the curved as well as of the straight sections of the tubular girders.

Other objects and advantages will be apparent from a consideration of the specification and claims.

In accordance with the invention, the assembly for molding the tubular girders is constituted by successive articulated elements, each of which comprises a base which carries the inner and the outer molds, whereby the inner mold may be collapsible and the articulated elements can be arranged in any predetermined positions.

The articulations connecting the successive elements are guided in curved grooves in which their positions can be fixed. In this way, the string of successive articulated elements can be given, by pivotal movement of the elements with respect to each other, any polygonal form which approaches the desired curve, and the straight as well as the curved girder sections can be made by means of a single mold assembly.

The cast girder can be removed from the molds either longitudinally by means of hoisting gear associated with the articulated elements of the mold assembly, or a stationary hoisting gear may slide out the girder in trans verse direction.

The invention will be described more in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic plan view of the articulated sections constituting the mold assembly of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of one of the molding sections on an enlarged scale;

FIG. 3 is a side elevation of a section;

FIG. 4 is a transverse sectional view similar to FIG. 2, showing the stripping of the mold;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view showing the removal of the cast girder;

Patented Mar. 8, 1966 "ice FIG. 6 is a sectional view similar toFIG. 2 showing another embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 7 shows on an enlarged scale the section of FIG. 6 in the molding phase, and

FIG. 8 shows the cast girder of FIG. 7 with collapsed inner mold.

FIGURE 9 is an isometric view of a preferred form of the casting apparatus embodying the invention;

FIGURE 10 is a sectional view of the apparatus shown in FIGURES 1 and 9; and

FIGURE 11 is a sectional view taken on line 11-11 in FIGURE 10.

The operation of the mold assembly will now be described, by way of example, for the casting of a section of great length of a tubular girder of the type intended to receive the track of a suspended railway, whereby said section may be straight or curved, as desired.

For this purpose, the mold assembly of the girder comprises successive elements 11, 12, 20. For example, if the girder section should be m. long, I may use ten articulated elements of 3 in. length each. These figures are given, of course, only by way of example; the sections may be longer or shorter, and the mold assembly may comprise a greater or smaller number of articulated elements.

Each element 11 20 comprises a base which is movable in the working area whereby the position of said base is determined by gliding the linking means 21 29 in grooves 31 39 provided in the working area and fixing said linking means in the desired position.

In this way, a polygonal formwork is established along the curve to be realized, and said curve can be closely approached by a polygon having a sufficient number of sides. The grooves 31 39 are arcs of non-concentric circles the centers of which lie on the longitudinal axis of the base element 11 which is supposed to be stationary.

When the jointed formwork has thus been set up, the assembly of the polygonal elements constituting the girder is cast in a single operation. The assembly forming a section of a straight or curved girder is then removed as a unit, longitudinally or transversally.

For longitudinal removal, the stripped girder is sus pended at a hoisting device which permits its displacement in the direction of the curvilinear axis of the girder. In such embodiment of the invention, each platform of the base plate elements 11 to 20 carries secured thereto a frame supporting a longitudinally displaceable hoisting device. Each platform is associated with a section 41, 42 49 of the monorail whereby said sections are connected by links disposed vertically above the links 21 29.

The cast girder sections suspended from the jointed sections of the monorail are stripped from the mold by first giving them a slight vertical movement and then displacing them along the longitudinal axis. An element 12 of the mold assembly is shown in more detail in FIGS. 2 and 3. It comprises a platform 51) which can glide on the construction site 51. At its ends, the platform 51) is provided with couplings 21 and 22. Each of said couplings comprises a pivot 52 mounted in a support 53 equipped with rollers 54 rolling on a track 55 in the bottom of the groove 31 (or 32).

The molds proper for the tubular girder A are mounted as movable elements 56, 57 on the platform 50. Said elements are hollow for the admission of a heating fluid. In the illustrated example, a frame 59 carrying the rail 42 of the monorail is secured to the platform 50.

The inner mold assembly for the girder A comprises a core member 60 of trapezoidal cross section, as shown in FIGURES 2, 4 and 10, secured to the platform 50, and two slidable core pieces 61 are symmetrically attached by suitable means to the member 60. The bottom of the mold is formed by sections 62 disposed on either side of the core member 60. Said sections 62 may be arranged for being vibrated for compacting the concrete during the molding operation.

When the mold assembly has been placed in the position of FIG. 2, the reinforcements will be inserted and the concrete will be poured. After pouring, the concrete may be heated by passing a heating fluid, especially'steam, into the hollow elements 56, 57.

When the girder A has assumed suflicient consistency, it is withdrawn from the mold assembly. For this purpose, the mold elements 57 are turned down by turning them around hinge 58. The girder is attached to the monorail and slightly raised, which loosens it from the sections 62 and the mold 56, whereby the separation from the elements 56 is facilitated by a suitable window. At the same time, the core pieces 61, which rest on the trapezoidal core member 60, disengage the inner walls ,of the girder A by remaining in contact with member 60. The girder is then in the position shown in FIG. 4.

As shown in FIGURE 10, a suitable known type of device is provided for raising girder A. One device is provided for each member 11-20. Each device has a trolly 100 with wheels 102 which run on opposite sides of the lower flanges of rails 41-49. The trolly is coupled to its corresponding segment of the cast girder A by members 104 secured thereto and by a lazy-tongs system 106 operated by motor 108 to effect the desired raising motion of the lifting devices.

Subsequently, it is easy to withdraw the girder from the mold by a longitudinal movement of the monorail.

Outside the mold, the girder can be taken up by one or more dollies 63 (FIG. which roll on rollers 64 on a track 65. Lateral wheels 66 are provided to stabilize the truck 63.

FIGS. 6-8 disclose the withdrawal of the girder A by shifting it in the transverse direction. For this purpose, a hoist or fixed lift, e.g. a gantry 70 is used which is sufliciently wide to provide lateral spaces suitable to receive the cast girder A. Also in this modification, the mold assembly comprises a platform 50 and hollow elements 56, 57 for the admissions of a heating fluid. The inner mold assembly, however, is composed of umbrellalike collapsible elements.

In each unit of the molding assembly, the inner mold is composed of mobile plates, which are hinged one or more central rods 71. In the illustrated example, two suitably shaped elements 73, corresponding to the top of the girder are pivotally secured at 72 to a central rod 71. The elements 73 are attached at 74 to connecting rods 75 which are attached at 76 to the central rod 71 for vertical displacement therealong. Side mold sections 77 are linked at 78, 79 to connecting rods 80, 81 which in turn are mounted for pivotal movement on the central rod 71.

For casting a girder A, the outer mold assembly 56, 57 is placed in position and the inner mold assembly 73, 77 (FIG. 7) is unfolded. Then the mold is filled with concrete, and after the concrete has set, the inner mold assembly 73, '77 is folded by sliding the connecting rods 75, 80, 81 downwardly along rod 71. After the inner mold assembly has collapsed, it can pass through the slot of the girder A, and the latter can be immediately withdrawn, either longitudinally as described hereinabove, or transversally by raising it to the position A (FIG. 6) by means of the gantry 70 and shifting to position A on a suitable dolly 84. The latter kind of removal is particularly suitable for girders A which are made with inner ribs.

I claim:

1. A mold assembly for casting elongated tubular concrete girders comprising a string of complementary mold supporting members, means coupling said members for angular displacement with respect to each other in a horizontal plane into position for casting an elongated continuous girder, each of said members comprising a platform, outer molds, and inner retractable molds, and means mounting said members for selected movement from straight line arrangement wherein all of said molds are arranged for casting complementary segments to form an integral straight elongated tubular girder, or for positioning said members in said angular position wherein said members are arranged for casting the complementary segments of an integral elongated curved tubular girder.

2. A mold assembly for casting tubular concrete girders comprising a string of mold supporting members, means coupling said members for angular displacement with respect to each other in a horizontal plane, each of said members comprising a platform, outer molds, and inner retractable molds, and a foundation and curved concentric tracks on said foundation for guiding said coupling means in circles around the first member of said string of mold supporting members.

3. A girder molding apparatus comprising a plurality of mold supporting members, each of said members including a platform and a tubular mold unit carried thereby, each of said units having means for forming an integral part of a common elongated tubular girder, and means joining said members in closely positioned end to end relationship for selective movement from axially aligned straight line relationship into a desired curvilinear axially aligned relationship whereby an elongated tubular girder of desired shape and length can be cast in said units of said members.

4. The apparatus defined in claim 3 wherein said mold units comprising said apparatus are similar in construction, and wherein each unit comprises a plurality of relatively movable core pieces, a plurality of outer elements spaced from and coacting with said core pieces, and means supporting said core pieces and said elements of said units in coacting spaced positions on said platforms for molding said tubular girder of desired length and shape.

5. The invention defined in claim 4 wherein said outer elements of said mold units comprise lower and upper components having inner faces shaped to conform with the outer contours of the tubular girder formed in said mold units, and means pivotally mounting said upper component of each mold unit on said lower component thereof to provide clearance for the removal of a cast girder from said mold units.

6. The invention defined in claim 3, movable means for each of said platforms, a foundation, curved support surfaces on said foundation for said movable means for guiding said movable means in arcs of concentric circles relative to the first of said mold supporting members, whereby said plurality of mold units of said supporting members can be disposed in a selected aligned relationsgip for forming an elongated tubular girder of desired s ape.

7. The apparatus defined in claim 3 wherein each of said mold units comprises at least one inner movable core piece, and a plurality of outer forming elements, and means supporting said core pieces and said elements of said units in coacting operative relationship on said platfohrms for forming a tubular girder of desired length and s ape.

8. A molding apparatus comprising a plurality of mold supporting members, means coupling said members together to form an articulated system, each of said members including a platform and a mold unit carried thereby, each of said mold units comprising mold means for forming an integral section of the same tubular girder, means for disposing said members in a predetermined linear or curvilinear arrangement for casting of an elongated girder of predetermined shape, corresponding to the arrangement of said members, said mold means of each of said units comprising inner mold elements and outer mold elements spaced therefrom, said inner mold elements comprising a central stern and umbrella-like collapsible connecting rods carrying the mold portions defining the inner wall of said girder, means for maintaining said inner mold elements in operative relationship relative to said outer mold elements during the casting of a girder, and means for collapsing said inner mold elements for removal of a completed girder from between said inner and outer elements.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 987,319 3/1911 Potter 249159 1,700,889 2/1929 Heltzel 25l 18 1,721,514 7/ 1929 Henry 2512l 1,976,627 10/1934 ORourke 25-121 2,318,692 5/1943 Johnson 25131 2,602,210 7/ 1952 Rumble 25131 10 2,892,339 6/ 1959 Flowers et a1. 25121 J. SPENCER OVERHOLSER, Primary Examiner.

MICHAEL V. BRINDISI, WILLIAM J. STEPHENSON,

Examiners.

Claims (1)

1. 3. A GIRDER MOLDING APPARATUS COMPRISING A PLURALITY OF MOLD SUPPORTING MEMBERS, EACH OF SAID MEMBERS INCLUDING A PLATFORM AND A TUBULAR MOLD UNIT CARRIED THEREBY, EACH OF SAID UNITS HAVING MEANS FOR FORMING AN INTEGRAL PART OF A COMMON ELONGATED TUBULAR GIRDER, AND MEANS JOINING SAID MEMBERS IN CLOSELY POSITIONED END TO END RELATIONSHIP FOR SELECTIVE MOVEMENT FROM AXIALLY ALIGNED STRAIGHT LINE RELATIONSHIP INTO A DESIRED CURVILINEAR AXIALLY ALIGNED RELATIONSHIP WHEREBY AN ELONGATED TUBULAR GIRDER OF DESIRED SHAPE AND LENGTH CAN BE CAST IN SAID UNITS OF SAID MEMBERS.

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