WO2008119357A1

WO2008119357A1 - Apparatus for manufacturing reinforcement meshes and corresponding method

Info

Publication number: WO2008119357A1
Application number: PCT/DK2008/050076
Authority: WO
Inventors: Kurt Nørgaard OFFERSEN; Claus Bukdahl Brask
Original assignee: Spinmaster Aps
Priority date: 2007-03-29
Filing date: 2008-03-28
Publication date: 2008-10-09

Abstract

An apparatus (100) for manufacturing reinforcement meshes for reinforced concrete structures, said mesh comprising reinforcement rods (22) fixed in the mesh by perpendicularly oriented wire binders (30), each wire binder (30) comprising two wires (15, 16) spun to fix the reinforcement rods (22) in said mesh, said apparatus (100) comprising -spools (2, 11) for unwinding wire (15, 16) to said wire binders; and -spinning means (10) for spinning sections of wires (15, 16) unwound from said spools (2, 11) with respect to each other such to form a wire binder (30) along a first direction perpendicular to said reinforcement rods (22), wherein said apparatus (100) comprises feeding means (5) for introducing a reinforcement rod (22) between said wires (15, 16) in said first direction. The invention also relates to a method of manufacturing reinforcement meshes.

Description

APPARATUS FOR MANUFACTURING REINFORCEMENT MESHES AND CORRESPONDING METHOD

The present invention relates to an apparatus for manufacturing reinforcement meshes. The present invention further relates to a method for manufacturing reinforcement meshes. In particular the invention relates to an apparatus and a method for manufacturing reinforcement meshes of the type where substantially parallel reinforcement rods are connected and set by wire binders typically applied from thread being rolled off from a spool.

Background of the invention In attempts to reduce production costs in connection with reinforcement for civil works, particularly reinforcement for larger areas of concrete such as decks, slabs or other elements, it is known in the art to manufacture reinforcement nets or meshes, typically defining a mesh of reinforcement rods and wires. Such nets or meshes are easy to store and transport because they may be rolled up on a reel.

WO 2006/097100 discloses a method and an apparatus for manufacturing such reinforcement nets or meshes wherein the wires are contained on coils/spools mounted diametrically opposite each other on a rotatable shaft, the spools and shaft forming a spinner head rotatable about the axis of the shaft, this axis being parallel to the wire binder formed by the spinning of the wires.

However, the disclosed method and apparatus requires a considerable amount of space at least at one side of the apparatus since the reinforcement rods to be joined with the wire must be supplied by advancing means from the side of the apparatus, in order to introduce the reinforcement rods between the spinner head and the point where the two wires from each spool of the spinner head meets to be spun. As the nets or meshes may be manufactured in entities having very large dimensions, the space needed for the transversely entering reinforcement rods is substantial.

Object of the invention

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a remediation of the drawbacks of the prior art. Particularly, it is an object to provide an apparatus and a method for manufacturing reinforcing meshes in which the need for a substantial production area outside the working limits of the apparatus itself while at the same time not compromising precision and quality of the meshes and still at a high production speed.

Other objects and aspects of the present invention will become apparent from the following description. Summary of the invention

The object of the invention is obtained by an apparatus for manufacturing reinforcement meshes for reinforced concrete structures, said mesh comprising reinforcement rods fixed in the mesh by perpendicularly oriented wire binders, each wire binder comprising two wires spun to fix the reinforcement rods in said mesh, said apparatus comprising spools for unwinding wire to said wire binders; and spinning means for spinning sections of wires unwound from said spools with respect to each other such to form a wire binder along a first direction perpendicular to said reinforcement rods, wherein said apparatus comprises feeding means for introducing a reinforcement rod between said wires in said first direction.

The invention further relates to an apparatus comprising a spinner head having a first wire spool being rotatable with said spinner head about axis parallel to said first direction for unwinding a first wire to the wire binder, and an upper wire spool for unwinding wire to said wire binder, said wire spool being fixed with respect to rotation about said first axis.

The invention further relates to a method of manufacturing reinforcement meshes for reinforced concrete structures, said mesh comprising reinforcement rods fixed in the mesh by perpendicularly oriented wire binders, each wire binder comprising two wires spun to fix the reinforcement rods in said mesh along a first direction perpendicular to said reinforcement rods, wherein reinforcement rods are fed to a spinning site between said wires in said first direction.

Brief description of the figures In the following the invention will be described in further detail with reference to the drawings in which

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of at least a section of an apparatus for manufacturing a reinforcement mesh, showing six spinning stations arranged in side-by-side relationship;

Fig. 2 is a side view, partly in section, of a spinning station and a reinforcement rod rack;

Fig.3 is a perspective view seen from above of a spinning station;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged side view showing a spinning mechanism of the spinning station and further showing a feeding arm for moving reinforcement rods from the rack to the spinning position; Fig. 5 shows a side view of an alternative embodiment of a spinning station of an apparatus for manufacturing a reinforcement mesh, and further showing a feeding arm for moving reinforcement rods from a rack to the spinning position;

Fig. 6 is a side view showing the embodiment shown in Fig. 5 with an alternative reinforcement rod rack and further showing a feeding arm for moving reinforcement rods from the rack to the spinning position; and

Fig. 7 is a side view showing another embodiment of a spinning station of an apparatus for manufacturing a reinforcement mesh having an alternative mechanism for feeding the reinforcement rods from the rack to the spinning position.

Embodiments of the invention

Figure 1 is a perspective view of at least a section of an apparatus 100 for manufacturing a reinforcement mesh, in particular showing six spinning stations 101, 102, 103,104, 105, 106 arranged in side-by-side relationship which may be fed with reinforcement rods 22 from a reinforcement rod rack 3 placed behind the spinning stations 101, 102, 103,104, 105, 106.

Each spinning station 101, 102, 103,104, 105, 106 is adapted to spin a wire binder 30 from at least two wires 15, 16 in which a number of reinforcement rods 22 one at a time may be set, i.e. fixed by spinning between the wires 15, 16 of each wire binder 30. The apparatus 100 for manufacturing a reinforcement mesh comprises at least two spinning station 101, 102, 103,104, 105, 106 for forming essentially parallel wire binders in order to form a mesh having the rods being arranged at a desired mutual distance where the wire binders are formed by two wires which extend respectively above and below each individual reinforcement rod, and which, when being twisted, are clamped around the individual rods.

In Fig. 2 a spinning station 101 is shown in a side view, partly in section, with a reinforcement rod rack 3, said reinforcement rod rack 3 providing storage for reinforcement rods 22 to be introduced into the apparatus 100 for manufacturing reinforcement meshes. The shown rack 3 comprises shelves, e.g. for storing reinforcement rods 22 having different properties with respect to length, thickness or material properties. Thus reinforcement rods 22 may be chosen in order to provide reinforcement meshes having varying properties adapted for their end use. From Fig. 2 and 4 it may be appreciated that the rods 22 are brought or fed from the rack

3 into the apparatus 100 from a direction parallel to wire binder 30 and perpendicularly to the longitudinal axis of the reinforcement rods 22.

5 In the Fig. 1-4 embodiment the apparatus 100 for manufacturing a reinforcement mesh comprises a set of spinning stations 101, 102, 103,104, 105, 106, an overhead beam 1 for holding a set of wire storages 111, 112, 113, 114, 115, 116 in the form of wire spools 2, said beam 1 being arranged in a direction perpendicular to a spinning direction, i.e. the direction of movement of wire binder 30, see later, of the spinning stations. The apparatus

10 100 further comprises a feeding section 120 for holding individual reinforcement rods prior to being fed into apparatus 100. The storage rack 3 may be a part of the apparatus 100 or it may be a separate part adapted to being to an from the apparatus for providing a new supply of reinforcement rods. Further, the apparatus 100 may be combined with reinforcement rod separator and feeding devices known in the art.

15

The reinforcement meshes may be rolled up around itself at mesh rolling means 150 at a lower part of the spinning stations such that the rods 22 are kept essentially parallel, and such that the wire binders 30 of the meshes form spiralling paths. The mesh rolling means 150 may preferably be formed by a roll up chain system 7 as shown in Fig. 3.

20

Returning now to Fig. 2 the spinning station comprises a basic module 6 on which a number of parts are mounted. The basic module 6 comprises a spinner head 10 for spinning said wire binder 30. The spinner head 10 comprises a lower wire spool 11 for providing a first wire 16 (see Fig. 4). The spinner head further 10 comprises a wire guide

25 18, provide on the lower wire spool 11 for guiding a wire 15 provided from an upper wire spool 2, provided on the overhead beam 1. The basic module 6 further comprises feeding means 5 for feeding reinforcement rods 22 from a feeding channel 4. The feeding channel in the figure is provided on the rack 3 however the feeding channel 4 may in other embodiments be provide on the basic module 6, or posts holding the upper beam 1, or be

30 fixed to the floor (via a rack) of the building structure in which the apparatus may function. The feeding means 5 are adapted to feed reinforcement rods 22 from the feeding channel

4 to the site at the spinner head 10 where the lower and upper wires 16, 15 are spun to form a wire binder 30. The feeding means 5 is in this embodiment (Fig. 1-4) an arm 5 rotatably mounted on the basic module 6 and having at its opposite end (with respect to

35 its mounting at the basic module) means to pick up a reinforcement rod 22 at the feeding channel, grab or hold the reinforcement rod 22 through a path (indicated by dotted line in Fig. 4) and release the reinforcement rod 22 at the spinning site. At the spinning site the reinforcement rod 22 is placed by the feeding means/arm 5 in a pick up gripper 9 provided on the basic module 6. Pick up gripper 9 is adapted to move down the basic module 6 from an upper position A to a lower position B as the spinner head 10 spins the rod into the wire binders 30 of the mesh. When a rod 22 has been fixed to the wire binder 30 by spinning (see further below) a set of transport grippers 8 holds the individual rods 22 spun into the mesh as they are moved down the basic part 6 from the spinner head 10 towards the mesh rolling means 150. The basic module further comprises driving means for driving spinner head 10, pick up gripper 9 and transport grippers 8.

The reinforcement mesh manufacturing apparatus 100 described above may preferably, but not exclusively, perform an operation cycle as outlined below.

A reinforcement rod 22 is placed in the feeding channel 4 of the apparatus. The placement may simply be performed by manually placing a reinforcement rod 22 from a rod storage rack 50. However, reinforcement rods 22 may alternatively be placed in the feeding channel 4 by an automatic feeding device (not shown) adapted for the purpose.

The position of the reinforcement rod 22 in the feeding channel 4 may be corrected, such that the position of the reinforcement rod 22 (as seen in the rod's longitudinal direction) is aligned with the mesh's side edges. This operational step may be performed by a position correction unit or pushing unit 14 associated with the feeding channel 4. Alternatively, the positioning may be performed manually.

The reinforcement rod 22 in the feeding channel 4 is then collected by a feeding arm 5 whereby the feeding arm 5 lifts the reinforcement rod 22 in cross direction over the lower wire spool 11 and the spinner head 10, however below the upper wire 15. The reinforcement rod 22 passes between the upper wire 15 and an upper spur gear 20. Thereby, the upper wire 15 is clear of each of the wire guide 18, the upper spur gear 20 and a slot for the wire guide 19.

A spring box 17, attached to overhead beam 1, arm 12 and wire brake 13 ensures that the upper wire 15 is tightened and rests against the wire guide 18 and the slot 19 for the wire guide, subsequent to the reinforcement rod 22 having passed over the lower wire spool 11 and the upper spur gear 20, and received in pick-up gripper 8.

The pick-up gripper 8 receives the reinforcement rod 22 and moves it to the position where the upper wire 15 and the lower wire 16 meet. Then, spinning is started by turning the spinner head 10 by means of the lower spur gear 21. The pick-up gripper 8 and the transport gripper 9 move away synchronously with the rounds of the turning spinner head 10 in the same direction as the wires 15,16 are pulled off from the spools 2,11.

The upper wire 15 (upper referring to the fact that it comes from the upper wire spool T) as can be appreciated from Fig. 4 is rotated around the wire spool 11, by the slot for wire guider 19 and kept clear from the wire 15 on the lower wire spool 11 by the wire guide 18 on the lower wire spool 11.

After a predetermined movement the grippers 8, 9 are stopped. Then, the transport gripper 9 is moved to a position parallel to the pick-up gripper 8 and takes over the reinforcement rod 22. The transport gripper 9 ensures that the upper wire 15 and the lower wire 16 are tightened. Then, the pick-up gripper 8, now free of the "spun" reinforcement rod 22, returns to the initial pick-up gripper position to receive a new reinforcement rod 22 from the feeding arm 5 and the manufacturing cycle can continue.

In an alternative embodiment of the apparatus 100, and as shown in Figs. 5 and 6 the wire 15 from the upper wire spool 2 may be lifted by a wire position arm between two positions indicated by arrow 35 in order to allow passage of a reinforcement rod from feeding channel 4 to the site of spinning.

Alternatively, and as shown in Fig. 7 the reinforcement rods 22 may be collected from the rod storage rack by one or more chain transporters 30 arranged next to the spinner head 10 in such a manner that the wires will not interfere with the spinner head 10 or other equipment. The chain transporter 30 may preferably comprise an endless belt 31 to which at least one rod gripper 32 is connected. The rod gripper 32 grips the reinforcement bar 22 from the rack and moves the rod 22 to the position where the upper and lower wire meet and spinning may subsequently be started. In this alternative, as shown by way of example only in figure 7, the upper and lower wires may be supplied from upper and lower spools arranged above respectively below the moving path of the reinforcement rod 22. As shown, the spools may be arranged at an inclined angle in respect to vertical.

1 Over head beam 2 Upper wire spool

3 rack for reinforcement rod bundles

4 feeding channel

5 feeding arm

6 basic module 7 chain system for roll up

8 pick up gripper

9 transport gripper

10 spinner head/turning spinner head 5 11 lower wire spool

12 arm

13 wire brake

14 pushing unit

15 upper wire 10 17 spring box

18 wire guide

19 slot for wire guider

20 upper spur gear

21 lower spur gear 15 22 reinforcement rod

30 wire binder 35 wire positioning arm

100 Apparatus for manufacturing reinforcement meshes 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106 spinning station 20 150 mesh rolling means

Claims

1. An apparatus (100) for manufacturing reinforcement meshes for reinforced concrete structures, said mesh comprising reinforcement rods (22) fixed in the mesh by perpendicularly oriented wire binders (30), each wire binder (30) comprising two wires (15, 16) spun to fix the reinforcement rods (22) in said mesh, said apparatus (100) comprising

- spools (2, 11) for unwinding wire (15, 16) to said wire binders; and

- spinning means (10) for spinning sections of wires (15, 16) unwound from said spools (2, 11) with respect to each other such to form a wire binder (30) along a first direction perpendicular to said reinforcement rods (22), wherein said apparatus (100) comprises feeding means (5) for introducing a reinforcement rod (22) between said wires (15, 16) in said first direction.

2. An apparatus according to claim 1 comprising a spinner head (10) having a first wire spool (11) being rotatable with said spinner head about axis parallel to said first direction for unwinding a first wire 16 to said wire binder 30, and an upper wire spool (2) for unwinding wire (15) to said wire binder (30) said wire spool being fixed with respect to rotation about said first axis.

3. A method of manufacturing reinforcement meshes for reinforced concrete structures, said mesh comprising reinforcement rods (22) fixed in the mesh by perpendicularly oriented wire binders (30), each wire binder (30) comprising two wires (15, 16) spun to fix the reinforcement rods (22) in said mesh along a first direction perpendicular to said reinforcement rods (22), wherein reinforcement rods (22) are fed to a spinning site between said wires (15, 16) in said first direction.

4. Use of an apparatus according to claim 1 or 2 in a method according to claim 3.