Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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The present invention relates to a mounting support yet
claims limited to combination for climbing elements or the like,
the free ends of which are tube-shaped and capable of being an-
chored in a wall by means of sleeves which are insertable into
bores in the wall.
The term "climbing elements" is intended to include U-
shaped stirrups of steel, light metal or other suitable materials,
ladders made of one piece or assembled from individual components,
associated aids to climbing such as handholds, guard railings and
the like.
Such climbing elements are appropriately clad in a plas-
tic material or with aluminium, are used in sewer manholes, water
reservoirs, sewage treatment plants which are subjected to various
chemicals, moisture and vapors, and similar objects, and serve for
moving about on such objects.
Traditionally, the fastening of the climbing elements
has been accomplished by cementing them in or embedding them in
concrete. This necessitates quite large cutouts in the wall which
weaken it, so that cracks often results through which water can
penetrate into the passages. The mounting and fastening of the
climbing elements involves a great deal of wasted material and is
expensive. Further, there is a serious danger of oxidation and
rusting-through in cases where the ends of the climbing elements
are cemented in, so that it is not uncommon for a climbing element
to break unexpectedly. The replacement of climbing elements an-
chored in this manner is both time-consuming and costly.
The object of the present invention is to provide a moun-
ting support for such a climbing element which overcomes the above-
mentioned disadvantages. The climbing element can be fastened into
the wall easily and quickly and the fastening is not subject to
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any danger of corrosion.
In accordance with the present invention, a mounting
support is provided for climbing elements, the free ends of which
are tube-shaped and capable of being anchored in a wall by means
of sleeves which are insertable into internal bores in the wall.
The invention is characterized by the fact that at least the ex-
terior surface of each sleeve is provided with peripheral fins
which are sub-divided into sector-shaped segments in fish-scale
fashion, and which are so arranged that they slope counter to the
insertion direction of the sleeve, the gaps between adjacent fins
being staggered with respect to each other peripherally, so that
these gaps form a labyrinth seal. It is also advantageous to pro-
vide the interior surface of each sleeve with peripheral fins
which are sub-divided into sector-shaped segments ln fish-scale
fashion and which are arranged to slope in the insertion direction
of the sleeve.
The preferred embodiments of the invention will be
better understood from the following description and accompanying
drawings, in which:
Fig. 1 is a general illustration of a passage with
climbing elements;
Fig. 2 shows a mounting support in axial section;
Fig. 3 shows a developed projection of the exterior
surface of a sleeve;
Fig. 4 is an alternative embodiment of Fig. 3, and
Fig. 5 is a perspective view of a sleeve.
Fig. 1 illustrates a partly installed set of climbing
equipment for a sewer manhole. The equipment consists of a number
of pieces of pipe bent in U-shape and provided with a covering,
the pieces being fastened vertically one above the other in the
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wall 1 of the sewer manhole. For this purpose, bores 2 are drilled
into the manhole wall, the diameter of the bores being somewhat
smaller than the largest diameter of the sleeves 3 to be inserted
into the bores, thereby providing a force fit. Such a sleeve 3
is shown in axial section in Fig. 2.
The sleeve consists of a hard, strong, yielding plastic
material and its inner wall is in the form of a cylindrical or
square interior bore 4, the inner surfaces of the bore being pro-
vided with serrations 5 in the form of ring-shaped fins which are
interrupted peripherally so that sector-shaped segments are formed
in fish-scale fashion with gaps between them. The plastic mater-
ials useful for manufacturing the sleeve elements are well known
and such materials as the trademark "Delrin", polyethylene tere-
phthalate, polycarbonate resin and nylon may be used.
The exterior surface of the sleeve 3 is similarly pro-
vided with ring-shaped fins 6 which are also interrupted to form
sector-shaped, fish-scale segments 7 having intermediate gaps
(see Fig. 5). These segments 7 of the ring-fins 6 are of unequal
size and have surfaces of varying dimensions and areas. The ob-
lique slopes of these segments 7 run counter to the insertiondirection P of the sleeve 3. In contrast, the surfaces of the
interior fins 5 are sloped in the insertion direction P. The
gaps 8 between the individual scale-shaped segments 7 lie clamped
against the bore wall to lock the sleeve in the bore 2 so that
the sleeve is prevented from being pulled out of the bore 2. Even
if the bore wall is of a non-uniform nature or is out-of-round, the
scale-shaped segments 7 adjust themselves to the adjoining wall
surface of the bore because of the yielding character of the plas-
tic material and because of the spacing between the scale-shaped
segments.
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According to the alternative embodiment shown in Fig. 4,
the exterior fins are arranged in helical fashion and are again
sub-divided into individual scale-shaped segments 9. As in the
embodiment of Fig. 3, the gaps 10 of adjacent helical "threads"
do not lie directly one behind the other but are staggered peri-
pherally so that a labyrinth seal is formed. The slope of the
surfaces of the helically-arranged fins is counter to the insertion
direction P of the sleeve.
The shape and arrangement of the interior fins 5 are
exactly the same as those of the exterior fins with the exception
of the slope of the fine surface, which is in the same direction
as the insertion direction P.
After the sleeves 3 have been forcibly inserted into the
bores 2, each of the shanks 11 of a climbing element 19 is anchored
in one of the sleeves 3. Preferably, the open end 12 of the tube-
shaped shank end is closed off by means of a closure piece 13
which is made of plastic material such as nylon or the like. The
closure piece consists of a plug 14 having an outer diameter cor-
responding to the interior bore 4 o~ the sleeve 3 and having on
its outer surface interrupted ring-fins 15 which are sloped in the
same direction as the interior fins S of the sleeve 3. Further-
more, the closure piece is provided with a tube extension 16 of
smaller diameter and projecting axially, the outer diameter of
which corresponds to the inner diameter of the climbing element 19.
This tube also has interrupted ring- or helically-arranged fins 17,
which are directed counter to the fins 15, so that the tube can
easily be inserted into the bore of the climbing element 19 but
cannot be withdrawn from it.
After the ends 12 of the climbing element 19 have been
closed off with closure pieces 13, the shanks 11 of the climbing
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element together with closure pieces 13 are inserted, one each,
onto the sleeves 3, which were previously anchored in the wall 1
of the manhole wall. The ring-fins 15 interlock with the fins 5
of the sleeve 3, which also press against the inserted shank end
11 of the climbing element l9, so that the climbing element 19 is
held immovably fast. The longitudinal fins 18 prevent any turning
of the sleeve in the bore.
As mentioned above, Fig. 1 shows a partially installed
set of climbing equipment with three fully-anchored climbing ele-
ments 19 for ascending and descending the illustrated sewer man-
hole. In exactly the same manner, climbing aids of different
shapes can be fastened to the wall, such as the rod-shaped climbing
aid 21 equipped with sockets, also shown in ~ig. 1. The rod-shaped
climbing aid 21 is supported adjustably in the sockets and can be
shifted from the illustrated working position into the rest posi-
tion, shown in dotted lines, by pushing it in the axial direction.
If, for any reason, a climbing element must be removed
from its anchorage, this can be done by using a hydraulic jack
set in between the cross-support portion of the climbing element
19, which is parallel to the wall, and the wall.
3~
