Classifications

• • E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
  • E01—CONSTRUCTION OF ROADS, RAILWAYS, OR BRIDGES
  • E01D—CONSTRUCTION OF BRIDGES, ELEVATED ROADWAYS OR VIADUCTS; ASSEMBLY OF BRIDGES
  • E01D19/00—Structural or constructional details of bridges
  • E01D19/10—Railings; Protectors against smoke or gases, e.g. of locomotives; Maintenance travellers; Fastening of pipes or cables to bridges
  • E01D19/106—Movable inspection or maintenance platforms, e.g. travelling scaffolding or vehicles specially designed to provide access to the undersides of bridges

Definitions

• the present invention relates to equipment for the inspection of the metallic girders of railway bridges and in particular of truss bridges for railway lines and a procedure for installing this equipment on bridges.
• the present invention relates to a system of three items of equipment the first of which is permanently mounted on a rail truck (or bi-modal motor vehicle) and is designed to receive the second item of equipment (and then the mobile scaffolding) and then push it independently and without the use of auxiliary lifting means towards the outside of the bridge (supporting it and allowing a limited amount of traversing movement) until the second item of equipment is attached independently to the bridge and can therefore be detached from the truck.
• the first item of equipment can retract all its parts and the truck carrying it can be moved away and free the track thereby no longer interrupting the rail traffic travelling on the bridge.
• the operations to install the guides of the second item of equipment, the work and inspection activities (for which the mobile scaffolding is used) and the manoeuvre necessary to pass the mobile scaffolding over the bridge piers can all be performed in the presence of traffic on the bridge.
• the present invention relates to the field of equipment designed for the inspection and work on metallic girder bridges and generally on truss bridges and in particular in the sector for bridges for railway lines .
• This type occupies the rail track for all the time needed to complete works and therefore prevents regular rail traffic. The situation can be improved by performing works during service pauses (the time between one train and the next) and during the longer breaks in service at night time.
• the purpose of the present invention is to provide equipment which occupies the rail track for the shortest time possible, limiting the time to that required for the installation and dismantling of the scaffolding. This leaves the line free during the execution of works and also thus eliminates or at least reduces the shortcomings described above .
• the invention also provides a system for performing inspections and works which comprises various items of equipment using scaffolding for the maintenance of bridges along railway lines and whose purpose it to limit the occupation of the track to the times necessary for the first launch stage which thanks to a special system will require less than an hour. This permits the passage of rail traffic during the time required to complete the launch, the inspections and the works.
• the device according to the present invention substantially comprises a "first unit of equipment” comprising a bi -modal motor vehicle, that is, a vehicle designed to travel on both road and rail as required, or a special rail truck fitted with the base unit for transporting and rapidly launching the work equipment.
• a bi -modal motor vehicle that is, a vehicle designed to travel on both road and rail as required, or a special rail truck fitted with the base unit for transporting and rapidly launching the work equipment.
• the "second unit of equipment” comprises a platform which is launched longitudinally alongside the bridge and which enables the guides to be fed forward alongside the bridge. This equipment travels forward running on guide elements applied previously.
• the "third unit of equipment” comprises a work platform which is of the self-launching type and will automatically complete the launching operations up to the operational position.
• the special feature of the work platform is that it can be customised to meet the needs of the operations to be performed. It can therefore be fitted with a lifting, rotary, horizontal platform for work on the intrados of the bridge or with a telescopic slewing arm, which can also slew downwards.
• the arm is fitted with a cradle for operations on the intrados and also work on the piers and abutments of the bridge .
• the special feature of the system according to the present invention consists primarily of the possibility of transferring the "third unit of equipment” from the "first unit of equipment” (motor vehicle or rail truck) onto the guides mounted previously along one side of the bridge using the "second unit of equipment”.
• the advantage of the system according to the present invention is the speed with which the entire launching operation is performed. Launching is usually completed in a time window, that is, the period of time which elapses between one train and the next. Launching is therefore completed without causing any interruption to rail traffic .
• the system is not influenced by environmental conditions such as the presence of water in the river bed, steep river banks, impenetrable terrain and the great distance between the river bed and a high bridge;
• FIG. 1 is a drawing showing the equipment according to the present invention, in the first installation step where it is mounted on a bi-modal motor vehicle during positioning on the track close to the bridge;
• FIG. 2 is a drawing showing the equipment in the first stage of transfer from the bi-modal truck to the guide located on the bridge;
• Figure 3 shows a view of the equipment in the second stage of the transfer from the bi-modal truck to the guides located on the bridge;
• Figures 4 to 6 are drawings showing respectively the traversing on the guides mounted on the bridge, the vertical positioning of the equipment installed on the guides and the withdrawal of the bi-modal vehicle which has unloaded the equipment;
• FIGS 7 to 10 are drawings showing the equipment in its closed configuration and still packed on the bi-modal truck, truck or equipped train;
• Figures 11 to 14 respectively show the successive stages of the first sliding outwards of the equipment in the assembly stage, the second sliding outwards and the mounting of the equipment on the guides, the rotation of the tower and the lowering of the work platform;
• FIGS 15 to 17 are drawings showing the equipment mounted on the truck in the first, second and third stages of assembly
• FIGS 18 and 19 are drawings showing the equipment mounted on the truck in the first and second stages of extraction
• Figure 20 is a side view showing the vehicle and the equipment mounted on the bi-modal vehicle during positioning on the track;
• Figures 21 and 22 are drawings showing the launching equipment according to the present invention and also a detail view of the tower rotation rack;
• Figures 23 and 24 are drawings showing the assembly equipment of the guides on the bridge . DESCRIPTION OF ONE EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION
• the equipment to be applied to a metallic girder bridge preferably but not necessarily of the truss type railway bridge, indicated in its entirety by the numeral 10, is an item of equipment which must be transferred and attached to the fixed horizontal guides 11 mounted on the girders 12 of the bridge and in particular on the outer side of the bridge.
• a rail vehicle or a bi- modal motor vehicle 13 is used to enable the installation of, firstly, the guides 11 on the bridge girders and then the equipment 31 on the fixed guides 11 previously positioned on the bridge in the fastest manner possible.
• the bi-modal motor vehicle 13 moves along the tracks 14 and is fitted with the basic devices for transferring the equipment 31 from the vehicle 13, where it is carried in the closed position, to the guides 11 where it can be opened ready for use.
• the equipment 31 Once the equipment 31 is installed on the guides 11 it can be opened ready for use in bridge maintenance operations and the vehicle used to transport and transfer the equipment can drive away thus freeing the railway line .
• the vehicle 13 can return and load the equipment 31 in a short time by performing the assembly procedure in reverse order and then drive away to the storage sites with the disassembled equipment loaded in the closed position.
• the units of equipment 30 and 31 are transferred from the vehicle 13 to the guides 11 using a mobile mechanism 15 shown in Figure 21 which is fitted to the vehicle and comprises a "first unit of equipment", which enables traversing of the two types of equipment 30 and 31 as follows:
• the basic mechanism 15 for launching the units of equipment 30 and 31 substantially comprises double-extending cross beams 16 and 16' which in turn are fixed to the longitudinal members 17 forming part of the bi-modal motor vehicle 13.
• the mobile extension 16' of the cross beams 16 supports a first sliding carriage 24 running on a rack on the guides 16' and has a horizontal guide 18 whose size and shape match the guide 11 installed on the bridge; the horizontal guide 18 supports a second carriage 19 of which there are two versions:
• the carriage 19 can be equipped with or without the rack 22.
• the version without the rack 30 is designed for mounting the guides 11 on the bridge girders 12, as shown in Figures 23 and 24.
• the version with the rack is the equipment 31 designed to launch the tower 20 and the platform 21 which pass from the guide 18 to the guide 11.
• the carriage 19 supports a further frame or storage magazine 25 which contains a plurality of guides 11 to be installed alongside the bridge and where these guides are picked up and installed using a crane 26.
• the carriage 19 can traverse and advance progressively as the guides 11 are fixed to the bridge structure with the aid of the jib crane 26 which picks up the guides from the storage magazine 25.
• the equipment returns to the start of the bridge to pick up, with the jib crane, other guide elements which may be stacked on the ground, on a rail truck or on the bi-modal vehicle which in the meantime has returned with another set of guides.
• the bi-modal vehicle can leave the bridge and free the track.
• the equipment 10 comprises a first tower component 20 which moves into the vertical position and is connected to a second work platform component 21 which moves into a horizontal position under the bridge.
• the first tower component 20 is connected to the carriage 19 by the rack 22 which moves the tower 20 into the vertical position. Between the tower and the rack there is a frame with rollers which enables vertical travel (raising) of the tower.
• Figures 13 and 14 show the second work platform component 21 which in turn is mounted on a another rack 23 present on the lower part of the tower 20 and where this rack 23 enables rotation of the work platform 21 from one to the other of the two positions of the equipment as shown in the figure; rotation is through 90° .
• the work platform 21 can be fitted with a special vertical telescopic lift platform, not shown here, comprising a telescopic column which carries a cradle, so that the platform can enable access to both vertical sides of the girder bridge.
• the system according to the present invention comprises various units of equipment designed for specific operations.
• the motor vehicle 13 or alternatively the rail truck, is equipped with base devices for transporting and rapidly launching the equipment 10.
• these devices comprise cross beams 16 and 16' which support the carriage 24 which in turn can perform two progressive traversing movements towards the outside carrying the equipment 30 or the equipment 31.
• the bi-modal vehicle 13 can leave the bridge and free the track.
• the equipment 30 is launched lengthways to the bridge so as to enable the operations necessary to mount a series of guides 11 alongside the girder bridge in a forwards direction.
• the equipment returns to the start of the bridge to pick up, with the jib crane, other guide elements which are stacked on the ground, present on a railway truck or on the bi-modal vehicle which in the meantime has returned to the bridge.
• the work equipment 31 is of the "self-launching" type, that is, alone it can complete the launching operations up to the operating position; this work equipment can be customised to meet the needs of the operation to be completed and can also be fitted with a horizontal platform 21, which lifts and rotates for operations on the intrados of the bridge, or can also be fitted with a telescopic slewing arm which can also traverse downwards and which carries a cradle for operations on the intrados, on the piers and on the abutments of the bridge.
• the primary characteristic of the system according to the present invention is the fact that the bi-modal motor vehicle 13, or the railway truck, travels temporarily along the line, enabling the transfer of the equipment 31 to the guides 11 which have been mounted previously along one side of the bridge.
• the primary characteristic of this system is that it enables all the launching operations to be performed rapidly and usually to be completed during the time window between one train and another without causing any interruption to rail services.
• This launching operation can be performed by a bi- modal motor vehicle or a rail truck 13 with the on-board units necessary for rapidly mounting the equipment 31 on the guides 11 without the need for a crane or a truck- mounted crane; this feature enables a major improvement in installation times.
• the system offers considerable flexibility in use of the equipment which enables work and inspection of all parts of the bridge thanks to fitting of a special vertical telescopic lift platform with a cradle mounted on the end of the platform 21 which enables access to both vertical sides of the girder bridge.
• the main stages of the system according to the invention are, firstly, mounting of the guides 11 on the bridge performed using the equipment 30 fitted with the storage magazine 25 and the jib crane 26 and then transfer of the equipment 31 onto the guides 11 installed previously.
• the bi-modal vehicle 13 drives to the end of the bridge where there are two support points for the stabilisers.
• the devices on the vehicle push the equipment 30 outwards and the carriage 19 travels to the end of the guide module 18.
• the first guide element 11 When the first guide element 11 is fixed to the bridge structure and the carriage 19 has travelled forward, the first guide element 11 can be detached from the guide frame 18 so that the motor vehicle (or rail truck) can return to its starting point thus rapidly freeing the track and returning it to rail services in a very short time .
• the equipment 30 When mounting of the longitudinal guides 11 has been completed, the equipment 30 returns to the start of the bridge in order to load other guides or to wait to be picked up by the equipped motor vehicle (or rail truck) .
• the work equipment 31 with the tower 20 and the work platform 21 suitably customised as described previously is loaded onto the motor vehicle (or rail truck) and transported to the start of the bridge which has already been fitted with guides.
• the devices on the vehicle push the equipment 31 outwards on the double extending cross beams 16 until the guide module 18 is temporarily connected to the first guide 11 already fixed to the bridge.
• the equipment 31 which is still ⁇ packed' to enable transport, can run forward using its own means beyond the bridge abutment, completing the launch and reaching the final operating position without outside assistance; this process takes a few minutes including operation of the lift.
• the first element of the customised version fitted with the telescopic arm and the cradle can be fitted with a service gangway for passing from the cradle to the tower and then from the tower to the bridge .
• the work platform 21 For inspections and works on the sides where the guides are fixed, the work platform 21 must be rotated through 90° .
• the platform (or telescopic arm) must be rotated through 90°, so that it is parallel to the bridge and the top part of the equipment must be raised to its maximum height. This will make it possible to pass over a pier even in those cases where the pier projects considerably from the bridge girder.
• the work equipment can be left on the first unit of equipment (or motor vehicle) and once suitably stabilised can be used for inspections and works on bridges with full core girders or for any other type of maintenance work necessary.
• the equipment system according to the present invention definitively resolves all the shortcomings of the known solutions as described above .
• the advantages of the system are as follows:
• the system is not influenced by environmental conditions such as the presence of water in the river bed, steep river banks, impenetrable terrain and the great distance between the river bed and a high bridge;

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• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Architecture (AREA)
• Civil Engineering (AREA)
• Structural Engineering (AREA)
• Bridges Or Land Bridges (AREA)

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• 2011
  • 2011-12-29 WO PCT/IB2011/056016 patent/WO2013098590A1/en active Application Filing
  • 2011-12-29 EP EP11813571.4A patent/EP2812490A1/de not_active Withdrawn

Non-Patent Citations (2)

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