US3530776A - Oscillating tie bar inserts - Google Patents

Description

United States Patent 3,083,621 4/1963 Woolley 94/39 3,334,559 8/1967 Taylor 94/39 3,443,495 5/1969 Heltzel 94/39 3,463,061 8/1969 Dill 94/39 Primary Examiner-Nile C. Byers, Jr. Attorney-Sughrue, Rothwell, Mion, Zinn and Macpeak ABSTRACT: A tie bar insertion device is mounted on a slip form paver of the type which moves continuously forward relative to the pavement being formed, The tie bars are positioned on a guide rail and support table so as to properly align them with associated holes in a key strip which is being positioned in engagement with one edge of the pavement being formed. A pusher bar is mounted in an angled position relative to the key strip and moves in a continuous, orbital fashion by means of two eccentrically mounted sprocket wheels arranged on each end of the pusher and driven by a common motor. The pusher bar simultaneously pushes a plurality of tie bars into the plastic concrete in a step-by-step fashion as the slip form paver continuously moves along the roadway being formed.

Patented Sept. 29, 1970 Sheet INVENITOR MICHAEL l. HUDIS 2. u u a:

gyszyg wh iw ATTORNEYS Patented Sept. 29, 1970 Z of 3 Sheet MICHAEL I. HUDIS ATTORNEYS OSCILLATING TIE BAR INSERTS CROSS REFERENCE TO OTHER APPLICATION This application is a continuation-in-part of application Ser.No.736,623,filed.lune13,1968.

BACKGOUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention This invention relates to an apparatus designed to operate with or ahead of a continuously moving slip form paver and to insert at spaced intervals bent tie bars into the concrete pavement.

2. Description of the Prior Art In construction of roads and highways, concrete slabs are arranged in side-by-side relation wherein the slabs are connected along their abutting side edges through the use of keys and key slots at the abutting side edges of adjacent concrete slabs. Tie rods are often mounted in conjunction with the key slots to prevent separation of the slabs. Present highway construction practice provides for the forming of key slots by positioning a mold or key strip to the interface of the road form. The tie bars are then positioned such that half of the bar extends into the formed slabs and the other half of the bar is bent approximately 90 and hidden within the key slots on the inner face of the road form. When the cast slab has hardened, the key strips may be removed after the tie bars are straightened to provide the desired connection between adjacent abutting slabs. In these prior art methods, where the roads were formed section by section, the tie bars could be inserted individually in the proper location by manual means. Much present highway construction utilizes modern and faster continuous paving machines such as those known as slip form pavers. Through the use of a slip form paver, the concrete slab is formed in an automatic continuous fashion rather than by individual sections. Therefore, prior art methods of forming sectioned key joints and of placing the tie bars through the key joints into the pavement being formed are entirely inadequate in that the advantages of speed and simplicity in using a slip form paver are defeated.

, SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION This invention provides an apparatus for automatically and continuously positioning tie bars into unhardened concrete pavement, preferably through holes provided therefor in a continuously formed key joint which is positioned in engagement with an edge face of the concrete slab being formed by a slip form paver in a continuous fashion. The apparatus includes an orbital moving pusher bar which operates by means of eccentrically mounted sprocket wheels to simultaneously engage a plurality of tie bars a stroke at a time thereby pushing successive tie bars into the concrete pavement as the slip form paving machine moves continuously over the road bed relative to the formed concrete slab. The apparatus preferably cooperates with a continuously formed key joint by aligning the tie bars in holes which were formed in the key joint as it was being shaped and positioned relative to the continuously formed concrete slab. The tie bar insertion apparatus operates continuously at a speed which is synchronized with the forward movement of the slip form paver. The pusher bar is mounted at an angle relative to the direction of insertion of the tie bars such that the pusher bar simultaneously engages a plurality of the tie bars a stroke at a time where each of the tie bars being simultaneously stroked are arranged to a different depth in the pavement such that the last tie bar being stroked has been inserted within the pavement to its complete depth while the first tie bar being stroked is just entering the pavement. Consequently, the apparatus of the present invention provides for the rapid, efficient and continuous insertion of a plurality of tie bars at theirappropriate locations relative to the continuously formed key joints thereby overcoming the inadequacies of prior art means of tie bar insertion when used with a continuously moving slip form paver or like machine.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In the accompanying drawings:

FIG. 1 is a top plan view of the tie bar insertion apparatus mounted on a continuous key joint forming apparatus which is attached to the front end of a slip form paver;

FIG. 2 is a side elevation view of the tie bar insertion apparatus mounted on the key joint forming apparatus;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of the pusher bar and driving assembly;

FIG. 4 is a side view of the pusher bar and driving assembly as in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of the sprocket wheel and connecting assembly taken through line 5-5 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is a sectional view of the insertion device taken along line 6-6 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is another embodiment of the chain guard as shown in FIG. 6.

FIG. 8 is a top plan view of the pusher bar in relation to the tie bars being inserted, and

FIG. 9 is a section taken on line 9-9 of FIG. 1.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The right forward portion of the frame 10 of a slip form paver and the forward portion of the right slip form 11 of such paver appear in FIGS. 1 and 2. The hydraulic cylinder 12 is one of a series at each side of the slip form paver which connect the frame and the slip forms to adjust the position of the slip forms as is described in copending application Ser. No. 757,448 filed September 4, 1968 and entitled Slip Form Paver with Slip Form Release and Seal.

The tie bar insertion apparatus 13 of the present invention is carried by the frame 16 having a rear bracket 17 which is bolted directly to the forward end of slip form 11. Frame 16 is connected to bracket 17 so that the frame can pivot as at 18 whereby frame 16 is vertically adjustable by means of the screw 18a carried by bracket 17.

The brace 20 or frame 16 is provided with the adjustment screw 20a which abuts the right forward end of frame 10 of the paver. The screws 18a and 20a provide for alignment of frame 16 and slip form 11.

The vertical faceplate 21 of frame 16 forms an extension of slip form 11 except that plate 21 is provided with the horizontal offset 22 having the slot 23 which extends to the rear edge of plate 21. On the side of plate 21 opposite the concrete, this offset forms a groove. On the side of plate 21 facing the concrete, this offset forms a corresponding groove in the side face of the concrete.

The flat key strip stock 26 is delivered from a supply reel 28 which may be mounted on the frame 16 by means of an inclined reel disc or plate 30, as shown in FIG. 2. The supply reel 28 is mounted on disc 30 such that a new reel can be easily substituted when the old reel becomes exhausted. The corresponding ends of the new and old key strip stock 26 may be joined by welding or the like in order to provide a continuous key strip passing through the road bed. The key strip stock 26 passes from the supply reel 28 through a series of four guides 32, 34, 36 and 38 which are secured to and carried by frame 16 in an inclined position corresponding to the incline of reel 30. A key strip punch or piercing means 43 having a supporting frame 44 carried by frame 16 is disposed between guides 32 and 34 to punch holes 45 in key strip stock 26 on the fly." A second series of guides 48, 50 and 52 are arranged in spokelike fashion about central hub 54 so as to guide the key strip stock 26 in a helical fashion about the front end of the body frame 16. A pair of guide and support members 56 and a pair of forming roll arrangements 58 are all carried by frame 16 and bent stock 26 to form the channeled key strip 62 which tits and slides within the groove formed by the offset 22 of plate 21 of frame 16. A more detailed description of key strip former and punch is in parent application Ser. No. 736,623, filed June 13, 1968.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the tie bar insertion apparatus is rigidly mounted on the body frame 16 and includes a tie bar guide rail 66 which is in the form of an angle iron having a forward section and a rear section. The forward section is disposed with one side 67 disposed horizontally and the other side 67a disposed vertically. The intermediate section of the angle iron is twisted so that the corresponding sides 68 and 69 of the rear section of guide rail 66 are slightly inclined. The pusher bar 70 is designed to move in an orbital fashion as generally indicated at 71. Its associated driving means are mounted in proximity to the inclined section of guide rail 66 and closely adjacent to an adjustably mounted table 72 which helps support a plurality of tie bars 74 along with the guide rail 66. Each bar 74 has a portion 75 which is bent at 90 for purposes as will appear. The driving means, shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, for the pusher bar 70 include a single motor 76 having drive shaft 77 which carries a pair of sprockets 78. Sprockets 78 drive chains 79 which operate over sprocket wheels 80 and 81. The sprocket wheels 80 and 81 are attached to the ends of pusher bar 70 by means of connecting plates 82 and 84 which are, themselves, secured to the pusher bar by means of a plurality of bolts 85 extending through each of the connecting plates and the pusher bar 70. A support frame 86 mounts the two sprocket wheels in proper position to each other and further supports the motor 76 by means of a motor support bracket 88 having a base plate 89 which is attached to frame 86 by bolts 91. The bolts extend through elongated slots 93 in the base plate 89 thereby allowing adjustable positioning of the motor 76 relative to the frame 86. The frame 86, itself, is mounted on and above table 72 by means of support blocks 92 to the adjustable table 72.

FIG. shows a cross sectional view of the sprocket wheel 80. Both sprocket wheels are precisely the same and, consequently, only one will be described in detail. The sprocket wheel is secured on shaft 94 by nut 96 fitting the threaded end portion 98 of shaft 94. An annular spacer 100 separates sprocket wheel 80 from upper bearing 104 and spacer 108 locates bearing 104 above bearing 106 which is held against the flange 110 of shaft 94. Bearings 104 and 106 rotatably support shaft 94 in frame 86. A third ball bearing assembly 112 is mounted immediately below flange 110 on the eccentric portion 1 14 of shaft 94 and serves to rotatably attach connector plate 82 to the lower portion of shaft 94. A nut 115 fits the threaded portion 116 of eccentric portion 114 of shaft 94 to secure ball bearing assembly 112 thereon. The plate 82 is mounted on bearing 112 and thereby to the lower portion of shaft 94 by means of annular retaining rings 120 and 122 which are secured to plate 82 by a series of bolts 124. Retaining ring 120 has an annular cutaway shoulder 126 which partially overlaps and engages a portion of the bearing 112. Similarly, retaining ring 122 overlaps the lower portion of bearing 1 12, as shown in FIG. 5 such that the bearing and connecting plate 82 are sandwiched between bearing rings 120 and 122 and are thereby mounted to produce an orbital movement in the plate 82 and push bar 70 upon rotation of shaft 94.

The pusher bar 70 is in a general L-shaped having a lower flange 71 attached to the connector plate 82 by a plurality of bolts 85 as shown in FIGS. 3 and 5. The side of the L-shaped pusher bar 70 which faces outwardly from the sprocket wheels 80 and 81 is disposed to engage the bent portion 75 of the tie rod 74. In FIG. 6, protective means in the form of a cover 128 partially surrounds the sprocket wheels 30 and 81 and sprocket chains 78 as shown. The cover 128 also includes a flexible portion 130 attached to the pusher bar 70.

FIGS. 5 and 6 show that the pusher bar 70, connector plate 82 and threaded end portion 116 should be properly spaced by blocks 92 to provide a minimum clearance from table 72 so as to not engage table 72 while the pusher bar is in continuing orbital motion.

FIG. 7 shows an alternate cover comprising separate parts 132 and 134. Cover part 132 is secured to table 72 and part 134 is secured to and moves with pusher bar 70. The margins of parts 132 and 134 which are in overlapping relation as shown form a slip-type seal to accommodate the movement of pusher bar 70.

In operation, the leg of tie bar 74 to be inserted is supported on table 72, the end of the tie bar is inserted in hole 45 of key strip 62, and the end of bent portion 75 of the tie bar is allowed to rest on side 67 of the channel-shaped tie bar support guide rail 66. Both the support guide rail 66 and pusher bar 70 are arranged in substantially parallel relationship to each other and angularly positioned relative to the side of the pavement P. Therefore, it can be seen by FIGS. 1 and 8 that, as the key joint forming apparatus continuously moves forward relative to the road bed, the plurality of tie bars 74 will be placed by the guide rail 66 in the desired positions extending through holes 35 in the key strip 62.

An orbital oscillating motion is imparted to the pusher bar 70 by means of the eccentrically mounted sprocket wheels and 81 mounted at each end of the pusher bar 70. As shaft 77 of motor 76 rotates, this rotational force is communicated to each of the sprocket wheels 80 and 81 by means of sprocket chain 78. Due to the eccentric 114 of shaft 94, the rotational movement of sprocket wheels 80 and 81 imparts an oscillating or orbital movement to pusher bar 70 such that the pusher bar strokes the bent portion 75 of a plurality of successively arranged tie bars 74 which are manually positioned on the channel-shaped guide rail 66 and table 72, as shown in FIG. 6.

The orbital motion of the pusher rod is arranged so as to cooperate with the forward motion of the slip form paver and the key joint forming apparatus with which the insertion ao paratus is associated.

FIG. 8 shows the motion of the pusher bar 70 and the guide rail 66 relative to a plurality of tie bars 74. Due to the angular relationship of the pusher bar 70, a plurality of tie bars 74 may be simultaneously stroked in a step-by-step fashion into the concrete through holes 45 in the formed key strip 62. The broken lines 66 and 70 represent the guide rail 66 and pusher bar 70, respectively, as they are moved forward a given distance A due to the forward movement of the slip form paver. Similarly, the broken lines 74' represent the position of the tie bars 74 after they are stroked into the pavement a given distance A. As the slip form paver moves the insertion apparatus a given distance designed by A, the pusher rod 70 will continue to stroke the plurality of tie bars 74 so as to drive them through slot 23 of plate 21 and into the pavement a stroke at a time a given distance A. During this forward movement, the tie bars 74 move in sliding engagement relative to the guide rail 66 and are thereby supported on the guide rail 66 and the table 72 until they are inserted to substantially their entire depth within the pavement. The tie bars 74 are fully inserted so that their bent portions 75 lie within the dimensions of the key strip 62 and can pass bracket 17 as shown in FIG. 9.

The apparatus of the present invention thus provides for insertion of the tie bars with a minimum of the operators time.

I claim:

1. An apparatus for inserting tie bars into concrete pavement before the hardening thereof to cooperate with a movable slip-form paving machine, the apparatus comprising:

a. a support frame mounted on the key joint forming device;

b. a tie bar guide rail mounted on said support frame, one portion of said guide rail angularly positioned relative to the direction of travel of said paving machine, whereby said angled portion is so positioned as to properly align a plurality of tie bars relative to pavement being formed;

c. a pusher bar movably mounted on said support frame in adjacent position to the angled portion of said guide rail; and

d. a motor mounted on said support frame, driving means connecting said motor to said pusher bar, said driving means providing orbital motion to said pusher rod upon operation of said motor, whereby said pusher bar is positioned relative to said angled portion of said guide rail so as to force the simultaneous insertion of a plurality of tie bars arranged successively on said guide rail due to the combined orbital motion of said pusher bar and continuous forward travel of said paving machine.

2. An apparatus for inserting tie bars as in claim 1, further comprising said guide rail having a front portion extending parallel to the direction of travel of the paver, an outwardly twist portion of said guide rail integrally connecting said front portion and said angled portion.

3. An apparatus for inserting tie bars as in claim 2 wherein said front portion and said angled portion are defined by a substantially V-shaped channel, wherein said angled portion diverges generally toward the pusher bar, and the front portion has one leg of said V positioned in a horizontal plane and the other leg positioned in a vertical plane.

4. An apparatus for inserting tie bars as in claim 1 in combination with a key strip forming device wherein said push bar is mounted on the key strip forming device in an angular position relative to the direction of insertion of the tie rods into the pavement substantially parallel to said angled portion of the guide rail, the push bar mounted on said frame so as to simultaneously stroke a plurality of successively arranged tie rods, each of which are progressively inserted through the key strip and into pavement as the paver moves continuously forward relative to the pavement.

5. An apparatus for inserting tie bars as in claim 1 wherein said driving means comprises two sprocket wheels eccentrically attached to opposite ends of the push bar, each of said sprockets being driven by a cooperating sprocket chain which is driven by said motor.

6. An apparatus for inserting tie bars as in claim 5 wherein each of said sprocket wheels are mounted on a shaft, a connecting plate rotatably attached to an eccentric of each shaft, and the pusher bar rigidly attached at each end to said connecting plates whereby rotation of said sprocket imparts or bital motion to said pusher bar so as to stroke the tie bars as the paver continuously moves forward relative to said pavement.

7. An apparatus for inserting tie bars as in claim 5 further comprising a chain cover mounted on said support frame and partially surrounding said sprocket wheels and associated support chains, an elongated portion of said chain cover having one end securely attached to the push bar, the opposite end of said elongated portion cooperating with a depending flange of said cover so as to partially surround the sprocket wheels and chains during orbital movement of the push bar.

8. An apparatus for inserting tie bars as in claim 7 wherein the elongated portion of said chain guard is made from a flexible material and has its opposite end securely attached to the chain guard.

9. An apparatus for inserting tie bars as in claim 7 wherein said elongated portion of said chain guard is made from a substantially rigid material and has its opposite end engaging the depending flange of said chain guard by means of a slip joint.

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