Scaffold tunnel

Abstract: The tunnel, suitable for civil and industrial engineering applications, comprises a section bar (8) secured to a fixed support (17) and having mounted thereon, at predetermined spacings over the full length of the tunnel, a plurality of hinge mountings (3) each composed of a bearing block and a hinged body. A metal scaffold secured to these hinge mountings is combosed of hollow base section bars (8) and hollow vault section bars (8A) of any suitable curvature adapted to have cover sheets of glass or a plastic material (11) mounted thereon. The overall construction is completed by a plurality of suitably configured sealing gaskets (7), a corresponding plurality of finish section strips (6) and a plurality of safety tensioners.

Description: The present invention relates to a scaffold tunnel covered with glass sheets or sheets made of impact-resistant metacrylate, polycarbonate or other plastic material, for use as a covered passage between separate buildings in civil and industrial engineering applications. Such a scaffold tunnel with the features of the characterizing part of claim 1 is known from EP 0415667 A1. Depending on thermal or acoustic insulation requirements, the tunnel may be of a single-walled, double-walled or otherwise multiple-walled construction. The known tunnel comprises a metal scaffolding composed of base mounting section bars and walled section bars of any suitable curvature (steep vault, low vault, semi-circular vault and alike). The tunnel is completed by securing on this metal scaffold cover sheets made of glass impact-resistant metacrylate and/or other suitable plastic materials. The metal scaffoldings are carried by a suitable number of hinge mountings on respective mounting section bars themselves secured to a fixed support of for instance concrete. With respect to the scaffold tunnel known from EP 0415667 A1 it is an object of the invention to provide a metal scaffolding that can be assembled rapidly and in a simple manner, regardless of the configuration or curvature of the actual wall, while in addition imparting remarkable resilience to the structure in view of deformations caused by the variations of ambient temperature and whereby simultaneously the heat exchange between the exterior and the interior of the tunnel is limited. This object is solved by the scaffold tunnel with the features of claim 1 in combination. According to the invention the base section bars and walled section bars are hollow and, preferably, in the form of aluminum extrusions of any suitable section and height. According to the hollow section bars the scaffold tunnel is of light construction and still of great structural stability. The hinge mountings each comprise bearing block and a hinged body which are mounted at predetermined spacings over the full length of the tunnel and in particular at the junctions of the base section bars and the walled section bars. By such hinged mounting structures the assembly of the scaffold tunnel can be performed rapidly and in a simple manner. Moreover, in combination with the hollow section bars and the base mounting section bars extending as a longitudinal member continuously over the whole length of the tunnel the scaffold tunnel has a remarkable structural resilience in view of deformations caused by variations of ambient temperature. The overall construction of the scaffold tunnel is finally completed by a variety of suitably configured shaped sealing strips and finish section strips made of rubber or other resilient materials acting to limit the heat exchange between the exterior and interior of the tunnel as well as to improve the outer appearance of the tunnel, and to protect for example the hinged mounting structures. Another scaffold tunnel is known from DE 3113932 A1. This known scaffold tunnel comprises a base mounting bar for rigid attachment to a building structure at which a supporting bar is directly pivotably supported. Base mounting and supporting bar are extended continuously over the whole length of the tunnel. Moreover, cover sheets are directly supported by the hinged support bars whereby lower edges of the cover sheets are fixed to the support bars by means of a sealing element. Further advantageous developments of the invention are disclosed by the subclaims. In the following preferred embodiments of the invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein: fig. 1 shows an overall perspective view of a tunnel construction according to an embodiment of the invention, figs. 2, 3 and 4 show sectional views of hinged mounting structures for tunnels in the vertical position and at inclinations of 30° and 45°, respectively, figs. 5, 6 and 7 illustrate a hinge mounting bearing block as viewed from three sides, figs. 8 and 9 illustrate two views of a hinged body of a hinge mounting assembly, fig. 10 shows a perspective view of a base mounting section bar, fig. 11 shows a perspective view of a hinge mounting inner cover member fig. 12 shows a perspective view of a hinge mounting outer cover member, figs. 13, 14, 15 and 16 show sectional views of hollow section bars of different height to be used for base section bars or vault section bars, fig. 17 shows a perspective view of a piece of a lateral sealing gasket, fig. 18 shows a perspective view of a piece of an intermediate sealing insert, fig. 19 shows a perspective view of a piece of a support sealing strip, fig. 20 shows a sectional view of a detail of a triple-walled scaffold tunnel, fig. 21 shows a sectional view of a detail of a single-walled scaffold tunnel, fig. 22 shows a perspective view of a piece of an outer finish section strip, fig. 23 shows an exploded view of a safety tensioner, fig. 24 shows a sectional side view of the tensioner in its assembled state, and fig. 25 shows an exploded view of a detail of a metal scaffold for a double-walled tunnel, complete with sealing gaskets, outer finish strip and a safety tensioner. As illustrated particularly in figs. 1 and 2, the present scaffold tunnel 1 comprises a base mounting section bar 2 extending over the full length of the tunnel and secured by means of screws 16 to a fixed mounting support 17 of for instance concrete. Mounted on base section bar 2 at predetermined spacings over the full length of tunnel 1 are individual bearing blocks 3 each provided with a hinged body 4 mounted therein by a journal pin 20. Secured to hinged bodies 4 by means of screws 52 is a respective scaffold base section bar 8, with an inner hinge mounting cover member 5 interposed therebetween. Secured to scaffold base section bars 8 at predetermined spacings, specifically at the locations of hinge mounting assemblies 3, 4, are hollow vault section bars 8a, both base section bars 8 and vault section bars 8a being provided with support sealing strips 10 for the support thereon of cover sheets 11 made of glass and/or a plastic material. In the case of a double-walled scaffold tunnel as shown by way of example in fig. 2, intermediate sealing inserts 9 are provided to act as spacers between inner cover sheets 11 and outer cover sheets 11a likewise made of glass and/or a plastic material. The outer finish of the tunnel is formed by finish section strips 12, 12a, provided with support sealing strips 10a and fixed in place by means of screws 53. The described structure is finally completed and stabilized by tensioners 13. As particularly shown in figs. 5, 6 and 7, a bearing block 3 is substantially of the shape of an inverted Greek letter "pi", with a mounting base 14 provided with bores 15 for the passage of screws 16 used for securing bearing block 3 on mounting base section bar 2. Bearing block 3 further has two upstanding walls 18 formed with bores 19 for the passage of journal pin 20 carrying the associated hinged body 4, with cutouts 21 for receiving therein the arcuate rim portion 35 of inner cover member 5, and with dovetail cutouts 22 adapted to receive and retain therein a complementary pair of dovetail ribs 23 provided on the inner side of outer cover member 6. As shown in figs. 8 and 9, hinged body 4 comprises a base plate 24 acting as a seat for inner cover member 5 and hollow base section bar 8 to be secured thereto by means of screws 52, a bore 25 for the passage therethrough of journal pin 20 connecting hinged body 4 to bearing block 3 and a part-circular arcuate slot 26 for receiving therein a pin 27 secured to bearing block 3 for limiting the pivot angle of hinged body 4. The number of hinged mounting assemblies 3, 4 and their spacing along the length of the tunnel can be suitably selected in accordance with the weight of the scaffold structure, depending on its being covered with glass or plastic sheets in a single- or multiple-walled construction with a vault of a longer or shorter span. As particularly shown in fig. 11, inner cover member 5, which extends over the full length of the tunnel, has a lower ledge 33 adapted to support hollow base section bar 8 thereon, and formed at its bottom side with a dovetail groove 32 for the retention therein of a bead 37 provided along one side of a lateral sealing gasket 7 (fig. 17). The arcuate rim portion 35 is provided for covering and protecting hinged bodies 4 and acts to improve the appearance of the finished tunnel on its inside. As particularly shown in fig. 12, outer cover member 6, whose length is likewise equal to that of the tunnel for improving the protection and outside appearance of the finished structure, is formed at its inside with projecting ribs 23 adapted to be received and retained in dovetail cutouts 22 of bearing blocks 3. As particularly shown in fig. 10, base mounting section bar 2, which extends over the full length of the tunnel and is secured to mounting support 17 by means of screws 16, is formed with a dovetail groove 28 for the retention therein of a bead 37 formed along the other side of lateral sealing gasket 7, an inclined rim portion 29 for concealing the lower edge portion of outer cover member 6, a depending rim portion 30 extending along the outer side-wall surface of mounting support 17 for preventing any infiltration of air or liquids into the tunnel, and a plurality of ribs 31 acting to improve the strength of the base mounting section bar 2. As particularly shown in fig. 17, lateral sealing gasket 7 is made of rubber or another resilient material of poor heat conductivity, with an undulating or zig-zag folded cross-sectional shape for accommodating the pivoting of the hinge mountings during assembly of the tunnel. The gasket is installed on the outside over the full length of the tunnel so as to prevent the infiltration of air or liquids into the tunnel. Along its upper and lower longitudinal rims, lateral sealing gasket 7 is formed with beads 37 adapted to be received and retained in dovetail grooves 32 of inner cover member 5 and 28 of base mounting section bar 2, respectively (fig. 3). Adjacent its upper and lower longitudinal rims, lateral sealing gasket 7 is additionally formed with dovetail grooves 38 adapted to receive and retain an additional similar sealing gasket 7 which may be employed for improving the thermal and acoustic insulation and for preventing any infiltrations. As evident from figs. 13, 14, 15 and 16, the hollow section bars used for base section bars 8 and vault bars 8a may be of different height to result in a lighter or heavier scaffold structure. At their outwards facing sides, hollow section bars 8, 8a are formed with dovetail grooves 47 for the retention therein of the cover sheet support sealing strips 10, and with a cavity 41 for the retention therein of a downwards projecting central wall portion 40 of sealing insert 9, or of a downwards projecting central wall portion 44 of outer finish section strips 12, 12a in the case of a single-walled scaffold tunnel. The sealing insert 9 illustrated in fig. 18 is made as an extrusion of rubber or another resilient material of poor heat conductivity, with specific additional characteristics such as mechanical strength and resistance to wear and degradation. The insert 9 is applied to vault section bars 8a and hollow base section bar 8 over the full length of the tunnel so as to provide a temperature barrier between the inside and the outside of the tunnel and to substantially prevent any kind of infiltration. In detail, sealing insert 9 comprises corrugated surface portions 39 for contact with cover sheets 11, 11a, a downwards projecting central wall portion 40 with corrugated side faces 42 adapted to be received in a sealing manner in the cavities 41 of hollow section bars 8 and 8a, and an upwards or outwards opening cavity 43 formed with corrugated lips 45 for the retention therein of the downwards projecting central wall portions 44 of outer finish section strips 12, 12a. Insert 9 is additionally formed with closed internal cavities 46 for further improving its thermal insulating properties. As particularly shown in fig. 20, two or more sealing inserts 9 may be coupled to one another by inserting the downwards projecting central wall portion 40 of a second sealing insert 9 into the upwards facing cavity 43 of a first insert, to thereby give support to a plurality of cover sheets 11, 11a, 11b, resulting in a triple-walled structure of a scaffold tunnel. The cover sheet support sealing strip 10 illustrated in fig. 19 is likewise made as an extrusion of rubber or another resilient material of poor heat conductivity, and formed with a dovetail-shaped bead 47 adapted to be retained in dovetail grooves 48 or 48a formed in hollow section bars 8 and in outer finish section strips 12, 12a. Sealing strip 10 is additionally provided with a closed cavity 50 and a corrugated contact face 49. The outer finish section strip 12 illustrated in fig. 22 is provided at its inner side with a pair of dovetail grooves 48a for the retention therein of support sealing strips 10, and a pair of downwards projecting ribs 44 adapted to be received in the outer cavity 41 of a respective hollow vault section bar 8a in the case of a single-walled tunnel construction (fig. 21), or in the outer cavity 43 of a sealing insert 9 in the case of a double-walled tunnel construction as shown by way of example in fig. 3. On its outer side, strip 12 is formed with a shallow dovetail groove 51 at the location of which holes may suitably be drilled for receiving the screws 53 used for securing strip 12 to hollow section bars 8, 8a, with the interposition, if required, of a sealing insert 9. After completion of the tunnel construction, groove 51 may suitably be closed by an additional cover strip (fig. 2). While the beads 37, 47 of the various sealing gaskets 7, 10 and the corresponding grooves 28, 32, 48, 48a, 38 of the various section bars 2, 5, 8, 8a, 12, 12a and of sealing gasket 7 have been shown to be of a substantially dovetail-shaped cross-sectional configuration, it is also possible within the scope of the invention to provide these elements with any other suitable shape, for instance a rounded, angular or prismatic cross-section, with a view to facilitate manufacturing operations and to optimize the thermal and acoustic insulation characteristics and the appearance of the finished structure. As shown in fig. 23, the safety tensioner 13 comprises a body 54 having a center portion of substantially semicircular cross-sectional shape, with lateral flanges projecting therefrom. This center portion defines a passage 55 adapted to receive therein a stop member 56 of complementary cross-sectional shape to be secured in position by means of screws 57. Grooves 61 extend along the boundaries of passage 55. A slide member 58 of a cross-sectional shape corresponding to that of passage 55 is provided with a pair of projecting lugs 59 adapted to engage corresponding apertures 65 formed in a lower end portion of outer finish strip 12 (fig. 25). The lower end of tensioner 13 is closed by a bottom piece 60 formed with a ledge 60a and secured to body 54 by means of self-threading screws 61a received in grooves 61. Tensioner 13 finally includes a tightening bolt 62, a pair of compensation springs 66, 67, and a threaded collar 64. For properly assembling safety tensioner 13 in the manner depicted in fig. 24, stop member 56 is inserted into passage 55 of body 54 and secured in position by screws 57. Bolt 62 is passed through spring 67 and then threaded into a threaded bore 63 of slide member 58. The latter is then inserted into passage 55, so that the projecting end portion of bolt 62 passes through a bore 68 formed in stop member 56. Spring 66 is then mounted on the lower end portion of bolt 62 and secured in place by threaded collar 64. To complete the assembly, bottom piece 60 is attached to body 54 by the engagement of self-cutting screws 61a in grooves 61. The projecting lugs 59 of slide member 58 are then engaged in the apertures 65 of a (vertical) outer finish strip 12a, and ledge 60a of bottom piece 60 is brought into engagement with the lower edge of a (horizontal) outer finish strip 12, so that the latter is received in a close fit between bottom piece 60 and the lateral flanges 34 of tensioner body 54. Subsequently slide member 58 can be displaced downwards by acting on tightening bolt 62 to thereby securely stabilize the complete assembly. The compensation springs 66, 67 impart a certain resiliency to the tensioner, permitting it to yield to expansion and contraction of the structure in response to changing ambient temperature conditions.

Claims: A scaffold tunnel comprising a base mounting section bar (2) adapted for rigid attachment to a fixed building structure, metal scaffold structures composed by longitudinal base section bars (8) joined to transverse hollow vault section bars (8a) supporting cover sheets (11, 11a) made of glass or a suitable plastic material, hinged mounting structures (3, 4) for hingedly securing said metal scaffold structures (8, 8a) to said base mounting section bar (2), and tensioners (13) mounted on said metal scaffold structures to exert thereon a stabilizing tensional force, characterized in that said base mounting section bar (2) is a longitudinal member extending continuously for the whole length of the tunnel and in that said base section bars (8) are hollow, said hinged mounting structures (3, 4) comprising individual bearing blocks (3) rigidly attached to said base mounting section bar (2), and hinged bodies (4) secured to said base section bars (8), whereby shaped sealing strips (7, 9, 10) seal the edges of said transparent cover sheets (11, 11a), and outer finish section strips (12, 12a) and inner and outer cover members (5, 6) are adapted to cover outer sections of said metal scaffold structure and inner and outer sections of said hinged mounting structures respectively, said tensioners (13) being connected to distal ends of said outer finish section strips (12a) covering said hollow vault section bars (8a). A scaffold tunnel according to claim 1, characterized in that each bearing block comprises a pair of upstanding walls (18) formed with cutouts (21, 22) for the accomodation therein of said inner and outer cover members (5, 6), a journal pin (20) secured to said walls (18) for hingedly supporting said hinged body (4) and means for limiting the pivot angle of said scaffold structure including a part-circular slot (26) adapted for engagement with a limiting pin (27). A scaffold tunnel according to claims 1 or 2, characterized in that said shaped sealing strips (7, 9, 10) comprise a lateral sealing gasket (7) of a resilient material formed along its lower and upper edges with shaped beads (37) for connection to said base mounting section bar (2) and to said inner cover member (5) and with grooves (38) adapted for connection to a second sealing gasket (7) similar to the first. A scaffold tunnel according to claim 3, characterized in that said base mounting section bar (2) is formed with a lateral groove (28) for retaining therein one of said shaped beads (37) of said lateral sealing gasket (7), and with rim portions (29, 30) for preventing any infiltration into the tunnel. A scaffold tunnel according to claim 3 or 4, characterized in that said inner cover member (5) has a groove (32) adapted for retention therein of one of said shaped beads (37) of said lateral sealing gasket (7), and an arcuate rim portion (35) protecting an upper part of said hinged body (4). A scaffold tunnel according to one of the previous claims, characterized in that said outer cover member (6) is formed with shaped projections (23) for insertion thereof in said cutouts (22) of said bearing block (3). A scaffold tunnel according to one of the previous claims, characterized in that said shaped sealing strips (7, 9, 10) comprise support sealing strips (10) for supporting thereon said cover sheets (11, 11a), said hollow base section bars (8) and said hollow vault section bars (8a) are each provided on one side thereof with grooves (48) for retention therein of said support sealing strips (10), and are provided with a cavity (41) for retention therein of downward projecting ribs (44) of a finish section strip (12) forming an outer finish of said base section bars (8, 8a). A scaffold tunnel according to one of the previous claims, characterized in that said shaped sealing strips further comprise an intermediate sealing insert (9) adapted to space inner (11) and outer (11a) cover sheets in case of double-walled cover sheets, said intermediate sealing insert (9) is formed with corrugated surface portions (39) for supporting said cover sheets thereon, a downward projecting central wall portion (40) adapted to be received in respective open cavities (41, 43) of said outer finish section strip (12) or of said central wall portion (40) of another intermediate sealing insert (9), and with a number of continuous closed cavities (46). A scafford tunnel according to claim 8, characterized in that said intermediate sealing insert (9) is adapted to be mounted by insertion of its downward projecting central wall portion (40) into the corresponding open cavity (43) of another intermediate sealing insert (9). A scaffold tunnel according to claim 7 , characterized in that said support sealing strips (10) are provided with shaped beads (47) adapted for retention in corresponding grooves (48, 48a) and with a continuous closed cavity (50). A scaffold tunnel according to claim 1, characterized in that said outer finish section strips (12, 12a) are formed with grooves (48a), downward projecting ribs (44) and a recessed seat (51). Scaffold tunnel according to one of the previous claims, characterized in that each tensioner (13) comprises a shaped body (54), a bottom piece (60) attached thereto and including a ledge (60a), a tightening bolt (62) and a threaded collar (64), whereby said tightening bolt (62) is in threaded engagement with a slide member (58) and extends through a stop member (56) fixed relative to said shaped body (54). A scaffold tunnel according to claim 12, characterized in that said slide member (58) is provided with projecting lugs (59) for engagement in apertures (65) formed in said outer finish section strips (12a). A scaffold tunnel according to claims 12 or 13, characterized in that said ledge (60a) of said bottom piece of said tensioner (13) is adapted to grip the lower edge of a respective outer finish section strip (12).

Inventors: CAODURO CARLO, CAODURO PAOLO, CAODURO, CARLO, CAODURO, PAOLO
Applicants: CAODURO SPA, CAODURO S.P.A
Application year: 1992
Main classification: E04D13
IPC codes: E04D13, E04B1, E04D3