HK1094461B - Pneumatic support - Google Patents

Description

Inflatable support

Technical Field

The invention relates to an inflatable support.

Background

Inflatable stents in the form of a number of inflatable hollow bodies are known, for example, from US3,894,307(D1) and WO01/73245(D2) of the same applicant as the present invention. If such a support is loaded transversely, the task to be solved is firstly to take up the resulting tensile and pushing forces without bending.

In D2, axial compression is applied by a compression rod, while axial tension is applied by two tension elements helically wound around the hollow body and fastened to the ends of the compression rod. The task of the inflatable part of the construction element described there is to stabilize the compression-resistant bar against bending.

In D1, a plurality of hollow bodies are combined in parallel to form a bridge. The tensile force is applied by an elastic jacket surrounding all hollow bodies and the pressure is applied by a bridge formed by parallel connection of elements. These elements are laterally fixed to the jacket surrounding the hollow body and are thus prevented from bending.

D2 is the closest document to the present invention. The inflatable construction element disclosed in D2 has at least two tensile elements which are relatively long compared to the length of the construction element, depending on the number of turns of the element around the hollow body. This produces a greater deflection under load than when using shorter tension elements. Furthermore, the nodes located above the structural elements and not at the outermost ends of the structural elements use a support structure which is relatively more complex than a bracket for receiving the support forces. In D1, the tensile element is a large-area jacket which can only withstand limited tensile forces and can only be tensioned with high technical outlay.

Disclosure of Invention

The aim of the invention is to create gas-free supports with tensile and compressive elements, which have a high flexural strength, can be manufactured simply and economically, can be easily spliced into complex components and constructions, such as roofs and bridges, can be constructed very quickly, and which can be combined in a simple manner with conventional building structures.

This object is achieved by an inflatable support, further preferred developments of which are given below.

According to a first aspect of the invention, an inflatable support is provided, which has an air-tight, pressure-loadable, longitudinally extending hollow body made of an elastic material, and at least two compression/tension-resistant elements. Wherein the compression/tension resistant element rests against the hollow body along a generatrix of the hollow body and is connected to the hollow body; the hollow body has a shape of a pointed ending towards both ends thereof; and the at least two compression/tension elements are connected to each other at their ends.

According to a second aspect of the present invention there is provided the use of an inflatable support as described above as a support element in above and below ground buildings.

According to a third aspect of the invention, there is provided the use of an inflatable support as described above as a bridge, wherein the driving road structure is laid on the compression/tension element located above and is fixed to the compression/tension element.

Drawings

The subject matter of the invention is described in detail below by means of a number of embodiments with the aid of the attached drawings. In the drawings:

FIGS. 1a, b schematically show a first embodiment of an inflatable support in a side view and in a cross-sectional view,

FIGS. 2a, b schematically illustrate a second embodiment of an inflatable support in side and cross-sectional views,

figures 3a, b schematically illustrate a third embodiment of an inflatable stent in another axial and cross-sectional view,

FIGS. 4a, b schematically illustrate in side view the rolled and inflated state of a fourth embodiment of an inflatable support,

figure 5 shows a first embodiment of the force-transmitting connection of the compression/tension element in a schematic side view,

figure 6 shows a second embodiment of the force-transmitting connection of the compression/tension element in a schematic side view,

figure 7 schematically illustrates an embodiment of a compression/tension resistant element in top view,

figures 8-10 schematically show three embodiments of hollow body shapes in side view,

figures 11-13 show schematically in longitudinal section three embodiments of a hollow body divided into a plurality of pressure chambers,

figure 14 schematically illustrates in side view a fifth embodiment of an inflatable support,

figures 15a-c schematically illustrate a first embodiment of a plurality of inflatable stent connections.

Detailed Description

Fig. 1 schematically shows a first embodiment of the inventive concept. A support 1 is composed of an elongated hollow body 2 ending in a pointed manner towards the end, a compression bar 3 and a tension element 4. The hollow body 2 is formed by an outer casing 7 made of a gas-tight, elastic, low-elongation material. Since these properties are difficult to be uniform in a single material, the hollow body 2 is preferably formed by an outer, less-stretchable, elastic casing 7 and an inner, gas-tight, elastic inner container. The hollow body 2 can be acted upon by pressurized gas via a valve 6. Both the pressure-resistant rod 3 and the tension element 4 rest against the hollow body 2 along diametrically opposite generatrices of the hollow body. The pressure-resistant rod 3 is connected by suitable means in a force-transmitting manner to the hollow body 2 along this generatrix. This can be achieved, for example, by means of edge reinforcement (Kederverbindung), pockets (Tasche) or a plurality of strips which enclose the hollow body 2. The ends of the tension elements 4 are fixed in a force-fitting manner to the ends of the compression-resistant rods 3. This first embodiment of the inflatable support 1 is suitable for applications where pressure is applied to the support 1 in only one direction. This support is for example mainly suitable for bridges, on which the weight and the work load of the bridge's own weight are exerted. The compression struts 3 and the tension elements 4 lie in the plane of action of the load vectors which act on the compression struts 3 and point in the direction of the tension elements 4. The hollow body 2 prevents the compression bar 3 from bending, so that the material of the compression bar 3 can withstand loads up to the yield limit. This yield limit is at a force well above the bending load of a rod. The hollow body 2 also spatially separates the compression strut 3 and the tension element 4 from one another. Such a structure is characterized by a low material consumption and a low weight at high load-bearing capacities. Fig. 1a shows a side view and fig. 1b shows a cross-section AA.

Fig. 2 shows a second exemplary embodiment of a further inflatable support 1, which can be used, for example, for roof structures. Under strong winds, it is possible to exert a strong suction force on a part of the roof, which suction force balances the load forces more in the vertical direction. This results in an opposing force action on the stent 1 used in this way. In fig. 2, only the lower tension element 4 in fig. 1 is replaced by a compression/tension element 5; i.e. an element which can withstand not only compressive forces but also tensile forces. The simplest and most common case of a compression/tension element 5 is a second compression bar 3. Such a rod may be made of steel or aluminum, for example, because these materials have similarly good tensile and compressive properties. Whereas materials with good compression properties but insufficient tensile properties can be pretensioned by pulling ropes, whereby they can also be used to withstand tensile forces. An example of a material that is tensile by this method is concrete that is pre-tensioned by means of steel cables. In fig. 2, two compression/tension-resistant elements 5 surround the hollow body 2 along two diametrically opposite generatrices. The compression/tension elements 5 remain fixed to the bus bar for preventing bending under load. The compression/tension elements 5 are connected to one another at their ends and act as tension elements or compression elements, depending on the direction of the load. It is within the contemplation of the invention that the two compression/tension elements 5 can be distinguished in their nature as compression elements or tension elements. The compression/tension elements 5 can be selected, for example, such that the upper elements are subjected to a greater compression than the lower elements. Fig. 2a shows a side view and fig. 2b shows a cross-section BB.

A third embodiment of the inventive concept is shown in fig. 3. In the above described embodiments the bracket 1 is loaded mainly in the vertical plane. However, if a support 1 is erected vertically and used as a column, the transverse forces no longer occur essentially only in one plane, but can act on the support from all sides with a similar magnitude, for example in the case of wind forces. In order to be able to withstand all lateral forces, the support 1 in fig. 3 has three compression/tension-resistant elements 5, which are distributed uniformly around the cross section of the hollow body 2 and are still fastened to it along the busbar and are connected to one another in a force-connecting manner at their ends. When such a support 1 is used as a support column, an axial load is also applied thereto. In the inventive concept, embodiments are included with more than three compression/tension-resistant elements 5 distributed around the hollow body 2. Fig. 3a shows an isometric view and fig. 3b shows a cross-section CC.

Fig. 4 shows how the complete support 1 with the emptied hollow body 2 can be rolled up, for example for transport or storage, when the compression/tension element 5 is made of a flexurally elastic material. Fig. 4a shows the wound-up support 1 with the emptied hollow body 2, while fig. 4b shows the ready-to-use support 1 with the pressure-loaded hollow body 2 on a reduced scale. The stent 1 with the evacuated hollow body 2 and the flexurally elastic compression/tension element 5 or compression strut 3 can also be folded, for example, in an S-shape.

In fig. 5 and 6, different methods for connecting the compression/tension elements 5 at the ends of the support 1 are shown. In fig. 5, the compression/tension element 5 opens into a terminal block 9, which can surround the end of the hollow body 2, for example. In the end block 9, for example, a shaft 8 can be fixed for the purpose of joining the support to a structural component; alternatively, the end block 9 can be designed such that it can be placed directly on a bearing.

In fig. 6, the ends of the compression/tension element 5 are connected by a shaft 8.

Figure 7 shows a preferred embodiment of a compression/tension element 5 having a wider cross-section towards the ends and thus a higher bending strength. This structure of the compression/tension resistant element 5 takes this condition into account: the compression/tension elements 5 must withstand a greater bending moment at the ends of the stent 1 than in the middle of the stent 1. In fig. 6, a greater cross section is provided towards the ends of the compression/tension element 5 to achieve a higher bending strength of the compression/tension element 5.

Fig. 8 to 10 show different embodiments of the hollow body 2. The cross section of the hollow body 2 is circular over substantially the entire length. However, other shapes or cross sections that vary in length, for example a flat hollow body cross section, can also be included in the inventive concept for improved lateral stability. Fig. 8 shows an embodiment of an asymmetrical hollow body 2, which has a greater curvature on the top side of the carrier 1 and a more flat curved bottom side. The support 1 with the hollow body 2 formed in this way has a particularly low deflection when used as a bridge for unilateral loading. Fig. 9 shows a hollow body 2 which is formed rotationally symmetrically about a longitudinal axis. Here it is essentially a cylindrical tube with a tip-forming end. The hollow body 2 in fig. 10 has a drop shape in longitudinal section.

Fig. 11 to 13 show different embodiments of hollow bodies with a plurality of chambers 10. In fig. 11, the hollow body is divided transversely to the longitudinal axis into a plurality of chambers 10, which occupy the entire cross section of the hollow body 2. The chambers 10 can be loaded by different pressures. In the exemplary embodiment, a variant with three pressure controls (Druckregime) is shown. Namely: p0 < P1 < P2 < P3. The pressure increases towards the end of the holder 1. In fig. 12, the hollow body 2 is divided into a plurality of chambers 10 which are substantially parallel to the longitudinal direction and extend substantially over the entire length of the hollow body 2. Fig. 13 shows a combination of longitudinally and transversely separated chambers 10. In the exemplary embodiments shown in fig. 11 to 13, the hollow body is made of an elastic, low-stretch casing 7, for example made of aramid-reinforced fabric. In this slightly extensible jacket 7, a plurality of inner containers 11 made of a slightly extensible, gas-tight material are inserted. Additionally, a mesh 12 can be inserted into the casing 7 in order to substantially fix the position of the pressure-loaded inner container 11 and to prevent said inner container 11 from moving inside the casing 7. To see this, fig. 11 shows a side of the support 1. It is also conceivable and according to the invention to divide an airtight enclosure 7 with an airtight mesh 12 into a plurality of chambers 10, as shown at 12, 13. Fig. 14 illustrates another embodiment according to the inventive concept. A holder 1 as shown in fig. 2 is curved upwards in the shape of a circular arc and thus has a concave bottom surface and a convex top surface. The distance between the two ends of the support 1 can be fixed either by the tension ends on the support or primarily by an external tension element 14. When this support 1 is loaded from above, the two compression/tension elements 5 are subjected to compression forces, while the tension forces are taken by the support or tension element 14.

An example of the use of the inflatable stent 1 in the construction of a bridge is shown in figures 15 a-c. The two supports 1 formed according to the embodiment of fig. 1 are combined to form a lightweight bridge by means of a roadway structure 13 which connects them and rests on the compression-resistant bars 3. The person skilled in the art knows how different methods are possible for such a road to be produced in a layered structure, for example from fiber-reinforced plastic. And therefore will not be described in detail herein. Fig. 15a shows the bridge in a plan view, fig. 15b shows the section DD and fig. 15c shows the section EE.

Claims (17)

1. An inflatable support (1), it

-having a gas-tight, pressure-loadable, longitudinally extending hollow body (2) made of an elastic material,

-also at least two compression/tension elements (5), characterized in that,

-the compression/tension element (5) rests against the hollow body (2) along a generatrix of the latter and is connected thereto,

-the hollow body (2) has a shape ending in a pointed shape towards both its ends,

-said at least two compression/tension elements (5) being mutually connected at their ends.

2. The pneumatic stent (1) as claimed in claim 1, characterised in that the at least two compression/tension resistant elements (5) are arranged rotationally symmetrically around the hollow body (2).

3. The inflatable scaffold (1) of claim 1 or 2, characterized in that at least one of the at least two compression/tension elements (5) only needs to withstand tensile forces and is therefore constituted by a tension element (4); and at least one of the at least two compression/tension elements (5) only needs to withstand the compression and is therefore formed by a compression bar (3), wherein the at least one compression bar (3) is fixed to the hollow body (2) along a generatrix thereof and is connected at both ends thereof to the at least one tension element (4).

4. The pneumatic stent (1) as claimed in claim 3, characterised in that the at least one compression bar (3) extends along a generatrix of the hollow body (2) which is diametrically opposite a tension element (4) and is fixed to the hollow body (2).

5. The inflatable support (1) of claim 4, wherein the hollow body (2) has a circular cross-section along a longitudinal axis.

6. The inflatable support (1) according to claim 5, characterized in that the hollow body (2) is divided perpendicularly to the longitudinal axis into a plurality of chambers (10) which can be acted on by pressure, wherein the chambers (10) extend over the entire cross section of the hollow body (2).

7. The inflatable support (1) of claim 6, wherein the chambers (10) have different pressure controls and the chambers towards the ends of the hollow body (2) are loaded by a higher pressure than the chambers in the middle of the hollow body (2).

8. The inflatable support (1) according to claim 5, characterized in that the hollow body (2) is divided parallel to the longitudinal axis into a plurality of chambers (10) which can be acted on by pressure, wherein the chambers (10) extend over the entire length of the hollow body (2).

9. The air-filled strut (1) as claimed in claim 8, characterised in that there are terminal blocks (9) on both ends, to which the compression-resistant bars (3), the tension-resistant elements (4) and the compression/tension-resistant elements (5) are fixed.

10. An inflatable stent (1) as claimed in claim 1, characterised in that the compression/tension elements (5) are flexurally elastic and the stent (2) can be rolled together or folded together in the non-pressure-loaded state.

11. The pneumatic stent (1) as claimed in claim 1, characterised in that the fixing of the compression/tension element (5) on the hollow body (2)

-produced by a plurality of strips which are guided around the hollow body (2) and are fastened to the compression/tension-resistant element (5), or

-produced by pockets in which compression/tension elements (5) are inserted, or

-by means of an edge reinforcement site connection mechanism.

12. The inflatable support (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that the hollow body (2) consists of an outer casing (7) and at least one inner container (11) enclosed therein, wherein the outer casing (7) is made of an elastic and low-stretch material and the inner container (11) is made of an airtight elastic film.

13. The inflatable support (1) of claim 12, wherein the outer casing (7) of the hollow body is divided into a plurality of chambers (10) by a mesh (12).

14. An inflatable stent (1) as claimed in claim 1, characterised in that the stent (1) has a circular arc shape.

15. The gas-filled strut (1) according to claim 14, wherein the ends of the bracket (1) in the shape of a circular arc are connected by an external tension element (14) which does not rest against the hollow body (2).

16. Use of an inflatable support (1) according to claim 15 as a support element in above-ground and underground constructions.

17. Use of at least two gas-filled struts (1) according to claim 15 as a bridge, wherein the roadway structure (13) is laid on the above-located compression/tension element (5) and is fastened thereto.