Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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Title: System Eor making concrete ~loors
- Placin~ concrete floors that may or may not be reinforced
in halls of large ~imensions, such as factory halls and sport
halls, comprises three consecutive steps:
1- supplying concrete using a concrete pump from a mixer
arranged outside the hall ~o a pouring place within the
hall
2- roughly distributing the concrete supplied, from this
pouring place over the subfloor or the reinforcement
fabric already provided
3- leveling and smooth-finishing the roughly distributed
concrete.
In operational steps 2 and 3 a number of problems arise
which make the placing of concrete floors an extremely labour-
intensive, laborious and time-consuming job. These problems
are the following:
- the concrete pumps known at present are all of the pulsating
type. Accordingly, the transport hose connected to the
concrete pump delivers a given charge of concrete by
intermittent thrusts. At the end of the transport hose, the
pulsating pump generates a back and forth, thrusting motion
which makes it extremely cumbersome, when the concrete pump
is in operation, to move this hose end in such a way that a
more or less uniform, be it rough, distribution of concrete
over a part of the hall surface is obtained. This
distribution from the pouring place over the adjacent floor
surface must therefore be done wlth a spade or other
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auxiliary means. When the subfloor consists of a
reinforcement fabric of concrete steel, there is a g~eat
chance that both the fabric and the transport hose are
damaged by the back and forth, thrusting motion.
- once in some manner or other a rough concrete dis-tribution
over the floor surface has been effected, the floor must be
leveled. Here~ofore, such leveling has been effected by
means of a series of rules arranged on the subfloor in
spaced relationship, the top surface of these rules having
been positioned at the desired height of the concrete floor
to be placed. After the concrete has been poured between the
rules, the concrete is distributed by means of manually
operated vibrating beams in such a way that the level of the
concrete floor lies in the plane containing the top surfaces
of the rules arranged beforehand. These rules are then
removed and the slots thus formed are filled with concrete,
usually by sight and by hand, so that a continuous,
substantially level floor is formed. The plane of the floor
may be truly horizontal (level), or slope, if so desired.
Leveling concrete floors in this manner is a very laborious
process and, moreover, is not very accurate.
It is an object of this invention to provide apparatus in
which the drawbacks outlined above have been overcome and
which makes it possible to place concrete floors much more
easily, more rapidly and, moreover, more accurately. To that
effect, the invention provides
- a floor leveling apparatus as well as
- an apparatus for uniformly supplying and distributing
concrete over a large surface.
The floor leveling apparatus according to the invention
comprises a supporting frame, at leas~ two cylindrical cage
S wheels having a coarse-meshed ci.rcumferential surface,
supported by said supporting frame, at least one of said cage
wheels being adapted to be driven in two directions, a control
apparatus acting on said cage wheels, two leveling cylinders
constructed as screw jacks and adapted to be driven in
rotational direction, said cylinders being mounted, as viewed
in the direction of travel, respectively, before and behind
said cage wheels, the terminal ends of each leveling cylinder
being mounted in supporting bars which are continuously
adjustable in vertical direction, relative to said supporting
frame.
By constructing the carrying wheels of the apparatus as
cage wheels with a coarse-meshed circumferential surface,
these wheels are capable of sinking through the newly poured
concrete until they abut a support surface which, for example,
is formed by the top surface of the concrete floor
reinforcement. The leveling cylinders are controlled
independently of the vertical position of the cage wheels, in
such a way that the top surface of the concrete floor
invariably forms the horizontal tangential plane of the
leveling cylinders. This means that the supporting function
and the leveling function of the apparatus have been
separated. The coarse-meshed circumferential surface of the
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cage wheels makes it possible for the impressions made by them
in the as yet soft concrete to fill up again with concrete
from the surroundings upon displacement of the wheels. By
reversing the drive of the cage wheels, the apparatus can be
moved in two directions, namely forwards and backwards.
To enable the apparatus, after a given strip has been
treated, to be moved to an adjacent strip, the apparatus must
be controllable. Controllability is obtained by mounting a
cage wheel in a wheel support bracket which is connected to
the supporting frame for hinge movement about a vertical as
well as a horizontal axis, the control apparatus consisting of
a hydraulic control cylinder mounted between the wheel support
bracket and the supporting frame.
To enable forward and lateral displacement of excess
concrete which is disposed before the apparatus, the direction
of rotation of the leveling cylinder mounted, as viewed in the
direction of travel, before the cage wheels, is preferably
opposite to that of the cage wheels, while the direction of
rotation of the leveling cylinder mounted behind the cage
wheels is the same as that of the cage wheels.
In this manner the leading leveling cylinder is enabled
to move the excess concrete forwardly and laterally to a strip
of the concrete floor that is yet to be leveled, while the
trailing leveling cylinder more or less functions as a
sweeping cylinder. ~hen the direction of travel of the floor
leveling apparatus is reversed, the directions of rotation of
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the leveling cylinde~s can be maintained while their functions
are changed round.
For adjusting the leveling cylinders in vertical
direction, preferably use is made of a known per se laser unit
used for controlling a pick-up mounted on the free end of each
supporting bar, which pick-up in the case of deviation from
the desired height of said pick-up above the floor surface to
be leveled, is capable of generating a signal to an adjustment
apparatus for adjusting the set height of said supporting bar
relative to the supporting frame. In this way a height-
reference plane has been obtained which is independent of the
configuration of the support surface for the cage wheels.
The apparatus for uniformly supplying concrete and
distributing same over a surface comprises a transport hose
connectable to the concrete pump of a concrete mixer and,
according to the invention, comprises a concrete distributing
vehicle, provided with a two-part distributing tube which is
connected to the distributing vehicle for hinge movement and
the two members of which are pivotally interconnected, which
distributing tube is connectable to the transport hose, in
which a pulsation damper is mounted.
By using the pulsation damper, the pulsating concrete
supply has been converted into a uniform concrete flow, which
makes it possible to connect the transport hose to a
distributing apparatus. The distributing apparatus is a light
vehicle which substantially corresponds to the above described
floor leveling apparatus, comprising a distributing tube which
can be manoeuvred when the vehicle is stationary and can be
used for spreading over a large surface a uniformly
distributed concrete layer over the subfloor or the
reinforcement.
The system according to the invention as well as the main
parts thereof will now be further explained with reference to
the accompanying drawings, in which:
Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic side elevational and partly top
plan view of the complete system for placing concrete floors;
Fig. 2 is a side elevational view of t^he floor leveling
apparatus in a diagrammatic form;
Fig. 3 is an elevational/sectional view taken on the line
III-III of Fig. 2;
Fig. 4 is an elevational/sectional view taken on the line
IV-IV of Fig. 2;
Fig. 5 is a side-elevational and top plan vi~w of the
concrete distributing vehicle; and
Fig. 6 shows the pulsation damper for the transport duct.
Fig. 1 schematically shows the main parts of the system:
- a concrete mixer A with pulsating concrete pump, which, as
shown, may be mounted on a vehicle but may also consist of a
fixed plant. Such plants are known per se and need not be
further explained.
- a transport hose having mounted therein by means of tube
couplings a pulsation damper ~, which is capable of
converting the pulsating concrete flow supplied by the
concrete pump into a uniform flow.
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- a concrete distributing vehicle C coupled to the transport
hose, the vehicle comprising a two-part distributing tube D.
By manoeuvring the distributing tube D, when the vehicle C
is stationary, concrete can be poured over a surface
indicated by dotted lines in the top plan view of Fig. 1. It
will be clear that the magnitude of this surface depends on
the length of the distributing tube.
- a floor leveling vehicle E for leveling the concrete poured
by distributing vehicle C.
The floor leveling vehicle E is shown in Figs. 2-4 and
comprises a supporting frame 1 mounting a cylindrical cage
wheel 2 adapted to be driven. The cage wheel 2 consists of a
series of spokes 3 used for supporting a coarse-meshed
circumferential surface 4. This circumferential surface 4
consists of helical, thin bars with a diameter of 10 mm, for
instance, spaced at mutual center-to center distances of
approx. 6 cm. On the left and the right of the longitudinal
median plane M (Fig. 3) the respective helical directions of
the bars are opposite. By virtue of these thin bars, the cage
wheel 2 can sink through an as yet unhardened concrete layer
down to the top surface 5 of a reinforcement or a support
floor, with the largest grains of gravel being capable of
peretrating between the circumferential bars into the interior
of the cage wheel 2. The top surface of the concrete floor is
designated by reference numeral 6 in Fig. 2. The drive of the
cage wheel 2 is effected by means of a hydraulic motor 7,
which is arranged concentrically within the cage wheel 2.
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A second cage wheel 8 is rotatably mounted in a wheel
support bracket 9 which is connected to the supporting frame 1
by means of a double pivot 10, 26, the pivot 10 being capable
of hinging about the vertical line S, so that the axes of the
cage wheels 2, 8 may intersect under the action of a control
cylinder 12 (Fig. 3), one end of this cylinder 12 being
connected to the wheel support bracket 9 and the other to the
supporting frame 1. The pivot 26 enables pivotal movement of
the wheel support arm 9 about the horizontal line M, whereby a
better adjustment of the apparatus to an uneven support
surface 5 is obtained. The cage wheel 8 is identical to the
cage wheel 2 and is preferably also driven by means of a
hydraulic motor 7.
Intermediate between the cage wheels 2, 8, a vibrating
lS beam 11 is mounted, which is flexibly connected to the
supporting frame 1 and is dragged along with it. This
vibrating beam ll takes care of a smooth finishing of the top
surface 6 of the concrete floor.
According to a variant, the cage wheel 2 may consist of
two separate cage wheels 2, 2', each provided with a hydraulic
driving motor 7. By driving the two cage wheels 2, 2' at
different speeds, the apparatus can be controlled in the
manner of a crawler vehicle. In that case, the second cage
wheel 8, too, will consist of two separate cage wheels 8, 8'
and the wheel support bracket 9 can be connected to the
supporting frame 1 by means of a single pivot 2~.
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Viewed in the direction of travel A ~Fig. 2), there is
provided be~ore the cage wheel 8 a leveling cylinder 13, which
is constructed as a screw jack. The leveling cylinder 13 can
be driven in the circumferential direction G by means of a
hydraulic motor 17. The direction of rotation G is opposite to
the direction of rotation F of the cage wheel 8 when the
apparatus is displaced in the direction of travel A. At the
rear end of the apparatus, a second leveling cylinder 14 is
provided, likewise adapted to be driven by means of a
hydraulic drive 17, with the direction or rotation H of the
second leveling cylinder 1~ corresponding to the direction of
rotation F of the cage wheels 2, 8. The construction of the
second leveling cylinder 14 is identical to that of the first
leveling cylinder 13. Both leveling cylinders 13, 14 are
connected at their terminal ends to supporting bars 15, which
are slidably mounted in guide bushings 16 of the supporting
frame 1 and are each pivotable about a pivot 25. The
supporting bar 15 is slidable in vertical direction relative
to the supporting frame 1 by means of the height ad~ustment
apparatus 18, the lower end of which is connected to the
supporting frame 1 at 19 and the upper end is connected at 20
with a sleeve 21 fixedly mounted on the suppor~ing bar 15.
Provided on top of each supporting bar 15 is a pick-up 23
capable of receiving a signal O coming from a laser unit 22
which is arranged separately from the apparatus in the space
where a concrete floor is to be leveled. The laser unit 22
generates a height-reference signal which represents a fixed
height above the top surface 6 of the concre~e floor to be
leveled. The signal O emitted ~y the laser unit 22 is
successively received by the four pick-ups 23 mounted on the
ends of the supporting bars 15. When, for example due to the
cage wheels 2, 8 sinking deeper into the as yet unhardened
concrete, the leveling cylinders 13, 14 are entrained in
downward direction, a pick-up 23 can generate an electric
height-correction signal to the control unit 24 from which the
height-adjustment apparatus 18 for the supporting bar 15,
associated with said pick-up, can be controlled in a manner
direction such that the deviation in vertical direction
detected by the pick~up 23 is compensated for. By differently
correcting the height-adjustment apparatuses 18, associated
with the supporting bars 15 shown in Fig. 3, the leveling
cylinder 13 can assume an inclined position relative to, for
example, the axis of the cage wheels 2, 8.
Leveling a placed concrete floor, for example in a large
factory building, is effected as follows:
In a manner to be described her~inafter, a concrete layer
~0 is poured on the reinforcement already provided, which layer
is in any case thicker than the desired eventual concre~e
layer above the top surface 5 of the reinforcement and which
has a width which is greater than the working width of the
floor leveling apparatus. The floor leveling apparatus is then
arranged on this roughly poured strip and ~riven, for lnstance
in the direction of travel A, with the cage wheels 2, 8
sinking into the newly poured concrete layer down to the top
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surface S of the reinforcement. The leveling cyllnder 13 is
arranged at the appropriate level by means of the laser unit
22 and the same applies to the leveling cylinder 14. The
cylinders 13, 14 are driven in the direction of rotation
indicated in Fig. 2 and the floor leveling apparatus is set in
motion in the direction of travel A, with the leveling
cylinder 13 moving the excess concrete above the set top
surface 6 in forward and lateral direction. At the same time,
a new strip of concrete can be poured adjacent the strip that
has already been poured. The surface pretreated by the
leveling cylinder 13 is finally smoothed by the v~brating beam
11 .
As soon as the leveling cylinder 13 has reached the wall
of the building, the floor leveling apparatus is laterally
displaced by means of the control cylinder 12 and arranged on
the adjacent strip that has already been poured, with some
overlap relative to the newly leveled strip. The apparatus is
now driven in opposite direction, the direction of rotation of
the leveling cylinders 13, 14 being maintained. The leveling
cylinder 14 now takes care of the forward and lateral
displacement of the excess concrete and the leveling cylinder
13 functions as a sweeping cylinder when the direction of
travel is opposite. In this manner, the entire floor is
leveled strip by strip.
As observed hereinabove, the height adjustment of the
leveling cylinders 13, 14 is effected independently of the
support of the apparatus by the cage wheels. Accordingly, when
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-the top suxface 5 of the reinforcetnent has a slightly wavy
configuration, the top surface 6 of the concrete floor will
nevertheless be level and no~ follow the wavy configuration of
the top surface 5 of the reinforcement. The thickness of the
concrete floor above the reinforcement may therefore vary.
Of course, the floor leveling apparatus may well be used
for leveling surfaces of beds built up from other pouring
materials, such as a bed of sand for roads, sports grounds
etc.
~he concrete distributing vehicle C-D shown in Fig. 5
corresponds to a great extent with the leveling vehicle E
shown in Figs. 2-4. The concrete distributing vehicle C-D also
comprises cage wheels 52, 58, whose circumferential surfaces
54 consist of helical, thin bars forming a coarse-meshed
circumferential surface. The cage wheels 52, 58 are mounted in
supporting frames 51, 59, which are pivotally interconnected
at 60 to enable control of the concrete distributing vehicle
(see top plan view - Fig. S). The cage wheels 52, 58 can be
driven hydraulically in the same manner as cage wheels 2, 8 of
Figs. ?-4-
At the front, the supporting frame 59 comprises two props
61, 62 for securing the distributing vehicle on the su~floor
or the concrete reinforcement SS. The props 61, 62 are
pivotally connected to the supporting frame 59 at 63, 64.
A concrete transport tube 65 is fixedly connected to the
front supporting frame 59 and is supported by the rear
supporting frame S1 in such a way that said supporting frame
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51 is slidable in late~al direction relative to the transport
tube 65. The free rear end of the transport tube 65 is
provided with a tube coupling 66 for connecting thereto the
concrete transport hose B coming from the concrete mixer A. At
the front, the transport tube 65 terminates via an elbow 67 in
the stationary part of a ring gear 68, the rotatable part of
which consists of a supporting platform 69 mounting an
operator's seat 70 and a motor compartment 71, and a control
block 72. The supporting platform 69 is fixedly connected to
one end of a two-part distributing tube 73, 74 which are
connected to the control block 72 by span wires 75. The
supporting platform 69 is rotatable about the stationary part
of the ring gear 68 by means of a hydromotor 76. Upon
excitation of the hydromotor 76, the supporting platform 69 is
rotated about the axis of the ring gear 68, whereby the
distributing tube 73, 74 rotates along through the same angle
of rotation.
Mounted likewise between the parts 73, 74 of the
distributing tube is a ring gear 78 controllable by a
hydromotor 77, which ring gear makes it possible to swivel the
tube members 73, 74 relative to each other, as shown in the
top plan view of Fig. 5. By appropriate operation of the
motors 76, 77, concrete can be distributed over a surface as
indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 1. With a total length of
the distributing tube 73, 74 of 6 m, in this way concrete can
be poured over a surface of 1/2 x ~ x 36 = approx. 60m2 when
the distributing vehicle is stationary.
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After uncoupling the concrete transport hose, moving the
distributing vehicle 6 m and reconnecting the transport hose,
concrete can be poured over an adjacent surface and
subsequently leveled by means of the vehicle according to
Figs. 2-4.
For the distributing vehicle to be employed, a non-
pulsating, uniform concrete supply is required. Such uniform
supply in the case of a pulsating concrete pump, is obtained
by mounting a pulsation damper in the concrete transport tube
as shown in Fig. 6.
The pulsation damper consists of a cylindrical tube 100
which by means of a quick-action coupling 101 is connectable
to a tee 103 mounted in the transport hose 102, which tee can
be coupled to the transport hose by means of quick-action
couplings 101. The diameter of the tube 100 is preferably
equal to the diameter of the transport hose 102. At the top of
the tube 100 a gas pressure chamber 104 is provided and at the
bottom a concrete buffer chamber 105. Between the gas chamber
104 and the buffer chamber 105 a double piston 106 is mounted,
which separates the two chambers 104, 105 from each other. The
space 107 between the two piston heads is filled with oil for
lubrication and for improvement of the gas sealing. Mounted at
the bottom of the buffer chamber 105 is a piston stop 108
which is adapted to support the piston 106 in a lowermost
position, so that this piston 106 is prevented from jamming in
the transport hose 102 or the tee 103.
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At the top, the gas chamber 104 i5 closed off by means of
a cover 109 in which a gas supply valve 110 is mounted, as
well as a manometer 111. To the valve 110 a high-pressure gas
cylinder can be connected for creating an appropriate gas
pressure within the gas chamber 104. The pressure in the gas
chamber 104 will be selected below the maximum pump pressure
of the concrete pump, such that a maximum damping and maximum
uniformity of the concrete flow are obtained.
The capacity of the pulsation damper can be enlarged
without difficulties by adding one or more identical pulsation
dampers which are connected in parallel to the transport hose,
as shown in Fig. 6. When two or more pulsation dampers are
used, in the gas chambers 104 thereof different prepressures
can be allowed. Especially when great transport distances are
involved, this may be useful to increase the constancy of the
concrete flow supplied.
