US1880233A - Caisson and means and method of sinking the same - Google Patents

Description

Oct. 4, 1932. M. -BIUMENTHAL CAISSON AND MEANS AND METHOD OF`SINKING THE SAME Filed oct. s, 192s Patented Oct. 4, 1932 UNITED STATES MAURICE BLUMENTHAL, F BROOKLYN, -NEW YORK CAISSON AND MEANS AND METHOD OF S[1\TIK1|1\TC11F` THE SAME Application led October 3, 1928. Serial No. 309,916.

This invention relates to an improvement in caissons and to improved means and method by which to sink the same, and an object of the invention is to provide a caisson which will be strong and substantial, and which may be readily sunk into the earth, which may be easily cut off at its lower end after sinking so as to conform tothe surface contour of a rock bed or the like upon which it is intended to t@ rest, which will include means serving both to re-inforce its wall parts and to support a desired number of power hammers bywhich to drive it, which may be driven by blows struck at or near its lower end, which will lf include means to facilitate the striking of blows thereagainst at other points for assisting in sinking the caisson, and which will include separated channels or compartments through which loosened earth at the lower end of the caisson may be blown upwardly and outwardly from the caisson by means of compressed air in the usual manner.

A further object is to provide means for sinking the caisson, including a plurality of horizontal cross bars arranged interiorly of the caisson and a plurality of power hammers also interiorly of the caisson resting upon the cross bars being preferably adjustable to dif` ferent positions along the cross bars so that the driving force of the hammers may be imparted to the caisson at selected points as may be required to counteract different shades of earth resistance at diiferent points surroundn ing the caisson, together with other power 'd hammers for adjustably engaging other c ross bars to assist in driving the'caisson and serv'- ing to impart a desired vibratory movement of the body of the caisson at different points preferably above the first hammers thereby O to further assist the driving action of the first hammers.

A further object is to provide a new and improved method for the sinking of caissons according to which the compression strains 'f upon the side walls of the caisson incident to the hammer blows struck the caisson in the sinking thereof are practically eliminated, according to which also caissons made of relatively lighter material than heretofore may on this account be used for the support of a given load, and according to which the caisson will be pulled downwardly into the earth by force applied'to its lower end, the relatively upper portions of the caisson being meanwhile vibrated in predetermined amount and at selected points as may be desired to reduce skin friction between the caisson and the surrounding earth during the sinking operation.

Other objects and aims of the invention, more or less specific than those referred to above, will be in part obvious and in part pointed out in the course of the following description of the elements, combinations, arrangements of parts and applications of principles constituting the invention; and the scope of protection contemplated will be indicated in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawing which is to be taken as a part of this specification, and in which I have shown merely a preferred form of embodiment of the invention Fig. l is a longitudinal sectional view of a caisson constructed in accordance with this invention, the same being shown in process of being sunken into the earth by the means and according to the method proposed by this invention, and

Fig. 2 is a transverse sectional view taken upon the plane of line ll--H of Fig. 1.

Referring to the drawing for describing in detail the arrangement as illustrated therein, the caisson L is shown as being rectangular in horizontal section and as consisting of a front wall 1, a rear wall 2 and opposite end walls 3 and li.

lt will be understood of course that the caisson may be of any cross sectional shape and proportions as ma be desired.

The height of the calsson is likewise indefinite since this will also vary with different requirements. In some instances the height may be made up of a plurality of superposed sections as 5, 6 and 7 connected together, usually by welded joints as indicated at 8--8, this being the usual arrangement where the lfieight is required to be more than six or eight eet.

It will be understood that the caisson is constructed preferably of sheet metal which is of a thickness commensurate with'the size titi V Or if and the ends of the cross bars be welded.

face of the cross bars, their pendant portions of the caisson and the pressures etc. to be encountered in diierent instances.

Within the caisson, adjacent the lower end thereof, is arranged a plurality of cross bars as 9-9 adapted to support the power hammers G-G. These cross bars may be connected with the opposite walls of the caisson 1n any appropriate manner, either permanently or detachably. In the instance illustrated three such cross bars are shown spaced in substantially parallel relation to each other along the length of the caisson, that is between the opposite end walls 3 and 4, the ends of said cross bars being connected to the front and rear walls 1 and 2.

Pocket forming parts as 10-10are illustrated fixed to the walls 1 and 2 for receiving the ends of the cross bars. The cross bars may rest removably within these pockets or they ma be rigidly fixed within said pockets. esired the pockets may be omitted directl to the metal of the caisson walls, this being 1n fact the preferable arrangement.

The hammers G rest upon the upper suras 11-11 straddling opposite sides of the cross bars to prevent displacement in the usual manner. The hammers are capable of being readily moved to any point longitudinally of -thelr supporting bars. l

More than a single hammer may be placed upon a selected bar, or one or more of the bars may be left without ahammer, this according to the requirements met in the sinking of any caisson, it being understood -that the hammers may be shifted around as indicated to impart more or less driving force at an selected point about the caisson to insure t e continuance of a straight line downward movement of the caisson, during the sinking operation.

Suitable carrying lines as 12-912, and air hose as 13--13 will of course extend from the hammers upwardly through the upper end of the caisson.

During the driving operation a suitable number of men may be atfyvork in the lower end of the caisson cutting away the earth in the area defined by the caisson walls to -facilitate the downward movement of said channels or compartments as 15-15 extendin vertically of the caisson each being of su ciently small size to enable the practical .priate points in the upper -not only assist the upper use of air pressure to discharge the loosened earth upwardly therethrough.

When these partitions are used they are preferably fixed permanently to the opposite walls of the caisson, either by welding or otherwise, but if desired they may be removably held between bracket members as 16--16, but in any event they may be relied upon as eiiicient re-inforcing elements for assisting in preventing collapse of the side walls of the caissono during the sinking operation.

In order to facilitate the easy downward movement of the caisson into the earth, particularly in instances where the vertical height of the caisson is excessive, it may be desirable to utilize one or more auxiliary power hammers as H-H placed at approportion of the caisson so` that their hammering action will ortions of the caisson downwardly but will lmpart a certain desired amount of vibratory motion to the side walls of the caisson, at selected points, to el'ect a material reduction in the skin friction between the caisson and the surrounding earth.

These auxiliary hammers may be the same size and power as the main drlving or pulling hammers G and they ma be supported by cross bars identical 1n al respects with those described with respect to the hammers G. The hammers H are preferably however somewhat smaller than the hammers G, and their supporting cross bars as 17-17' may be corres ondingl smaller.

Poc et forming brackets as 18, corresponding with the brackets 10, ma be placed at any number of different loca ities throughout the height of the caisson and cross bars 17 may be rested in any selected air thereof, according as it may be desire to apply hammer blows in different localities during the sinking operation.

The brackets 18 may be omitted if preferred and the cross bars 17 be attached permanently, as by welding or otherwise in selected ositions.

Whi e the hammers G and H are usually intended to be operated in their normal vertical positions it is to be noted that the supporting means for said hammers is of a character such that'whenever desired one or more of thev hammers may'be tipped over into an inclined position, as indicated for one of the hammers H in Fig. 1, this being desirable in some cases to insure an excessive vibratory movement of a given wall part v of the caisson.

After a caisson has been sunk to a desired depth the hammers may all readily be lifted out and the inside of the caisson filled with concrete according to the usual practice. One or more of the the hammers may be retained if desired during the pouring in of this con- Iii crete said hammer or hammers being placed at selected points in the height of the caisson, in the same manner as above mentioned, and utilized to impart such blows to the caisson as will serve to vibrate the caisson and the mass of concrete thus causing the concrete to become more compact than would otherwise be the case. The hammers used for this purpose may be advanced step by step upwardly to different localities as the level of the concrete rises.

In sinking a caisson to bed rock it is desirable that the lower edge of the caisson should have direct Contact with the rock throughout practically the entire extent of said lower edge if possible. According to the present invention, if the surface of the rock does not conform to the original contour of the lower edge of the caisson the lower edge portion of the caisson being of sheet metal may be cut olf, as by means of an acetylene torch so as to mate exactly the surface contour of the rock.

It will be seen that according to the invention as above described the sinking of the caisson will be accomplished primarily by a force applied at the lower end of the caisson effective to pull the upper portions downwardly through the earth, and that the point of application of this force is adjustable. The natural result of a pulling force, as di'stinguished from a pushing force, is to insure a relatively straighter path of movement of the body to which the force is applied, and by adjusting the point of application of the pulling force as herein the path of movement of the body may be very accurately determined at all times. This is an extremely important consideration in the present invention in that it insures accurate straight line downward movement of the caisson.

Furthermore by applying the sinking force at the lower end of the caisson the application of vertical crushing strains upon the material of the caisson is eliminated, being supplanted by tensile strains which are much more easily contended with and which require considerably less body of lnaterial to withstand them. Even the tensile strains may be largely eliminated by the use of the auxiliary hammers suggested.

The noise of the operating hammers is deadened because of being confined within the interior of the caisson at all times.

The successive sections 6 7 etc. may be added to the caisson, by welded oi nt or otherwise, after the preceding section or sections have been sunk. With the driving hammers operating within the caisson rather than against its inner surface or edge, these sections maybe put in place, and in some instances even welded tight while the driving hammers continue their work without interruption.

The improved method herein set forth accordingly comprehends the application of a pulling force applied to the caisson at a point or points spaced from the upper end of the caisson effective to move the lower end of the caisson into the earth and pulling the remainder of the caisson with it. Also the auxiliary application of force to the portion of the caisson above the point of application of the main force. And also the application of a vibratory motion to the caisson walls to reduce skin friction between the exterior of said walls and the surrounding earth during the sinking of the caisson.

As many changes could be made in this construction without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the following claims, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description, or shown in the accompanying drawing, shall be interpreted as illustrative only and not in a limiting sense.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is l. A caisson adapted to be sunk into the earth, said caisson comprising the usual confining wall members, and a cross bar arranged within the caisson adjacent the lower end thereof having its opposite ends in cngagement with opposite walls of thecaisson, said bar being of a character to support a power hammer within the caisson and to receive and transmit to the walls of the caisson the blows of said hammer to thereby sink the caisson.

2. A caisson adapted to be sunk into the earth, said caisson comprising the usual conining wall members, a cross bar arranged within the caisson adjacent the lower end thereof having its opposite ends in engagement with opposite Walls ofthe caisson said bar being of a character to support a power hammer within the caisson and to receive and transmit to the walls of the caisson the .blows of said hammer to thereby sink the caisson, and said bar being of a length to permit adjustment of the. hammer to different positions along the length of the bar.

3. A caisson adapted to be sunk into the earth, said caisson comprising the usual confining wall members, and means arrangedl within the caisson adjacent the lower end thereof of a character to support a plurality of power hammers at different points within the caisson and to receive and transmit to the walls of the caisson the blows of said hammers to thereby sink the caisson.

4. A caisson adapted to be sunk into the earth, said caisson comprising the usual confining wall members, and a plurality of cross bars arranged within the caisson spaced apart adjacent the lower end thereof each of said l cross bars having their opposite ends in engagement with opposite Walls of the-caisson said bars each being of a character-to support a power hammer within the caisson and to receive and transmit to the caisson the blows of said hammer to thereby sink the caisson, and each of said bars being of a leno'th to permit adjustment of its hammer to different positions along the length of the respective bar.

5. A caisson adapted to-be sunk into the earth, said caisson comprising the usual conning wall members, and a plurality of cross bars arranged within the caisson of a character each to support a power hammer within the caisson and to receive and transmit to the wallsof the caisson the blows of said hammers to thereby sink the caisson.

6. A caisson adapted to be sunk into the earth, said caisson comprising the usual conining wall members, a cross bar arranged within the caisson, means by which the cross bar is connected with the caisson, the cross bar being of a character to support a power lhammer within the caisson and to receive the blows of the hammer, the connection between the `cross bar and the caisson being of a, character to transmit the hammer blows to the caisson, and said connections being also of a character to permit removal of the cross bar.

7. A caisson adapted to be sunk into the earth, said caisson comprising the usual conining wall members, and being open at its lower end to give access for removal of earth from beneath said lower end, and partitions Ldividing the interior of the caisson into a plurality of separate channels extending vertically of the caisson and open at their upper and lower ends, each of said channels being of such size transversely that when compressed air is admitted into the material to be discharged from the bottom of the channel said material will be discharged upwardly ont of the upper end of the channel by theaction of said compressed air.

8. The combination with a tubular mem? ber intended to be sunk into the earth, of means arranged within thehollow of said tubular member adjacent the lower end thereof and being in engagement with said member of a character to strike blows against said lower end tending to draw the member downwardly into the earth, together with an independently operable power hammer arranged to strike in rapid succession against the wall of the tubular member' at a point spaced above the first mentioned means to thereby produce vibration of the tubular member to thus assist the first mentioned means.

9. The combination with a tubular member intended to be sunk into the earth, of means arranged within the hollow of said tubular member adjacent the lower end thereof and being in engagement with said member of a character to apply force to said lower end tending to draw the member downwardly into the earth, together with a vibratory device, and said tubular member having a plurality of prepared localities thereon spaced above said force applying means selectively usable to receive said vibratory device whereby said vibratory device may be applied for vibrating the wall of said tubular member at any one of a plurality of selected localities spaced above said force applying means.

10. In combination, a caisson intended to be sunk into the earth and being open at its upper and lower ends so that earth removed at the lower end may be passed out of the 11pperl end, hammer means within the caisson adjacent the lower end thereof in engagement with the walls of the caisson of a character to strike blows against said lower end tending to draw the caisson downwardly into the earth and vibrating means engaging the walls of the caisson at alocality above said hammer means operable to cause vibration of the walls of the caisson continuously during the period while blows are being struck by said hammer means, to cause vibration of the walls of the caisson continuously during the period while blows are being struck b said hammer means.

1l. The herein described method of sinking into the earth an open ended caisson, which method consists in excavating earth at the lower end of the caisson and passing it upwardly out of the upper end of the caisson, meanwhile applying force against the lower end portion of the caisson tending to draw the caisson downwardly into the earth, and at the same time operating a power hammer to strike blows in rapid succession against the wall of the caisson at a locality above the lower end of the caisson' to thereby produce vibration of said Wall.

12. A caisson adapted to be sunk into the earth, said caisson comprising the usual conning wall members, and means extending transversely across the caisson of a character to support a plurality of power hammers at different points withinithe caisson and to receive andtransmit to the walls of the caisson the blows of said hammers to thereby sink the calsson.

13. A caisson adapted to be spunk into the earth, said caisson being open at its upper and lower ends to give access' for the removal of earth beneath the lower end and discharge thereof out of the upper end, means extending transversely across the caisson of a character to support a plurality of power hammers at different points within the caisson @and to receive and to transmit to the wallswof v the caisson the blows of said hammers 'to' y thereby sink the caisson, partitions dividing j ing into the earth an open ended caisson, which method consists in forming the interior of the caisson wit-h a plurality of separate channels extending vertically of the height of the caisson each of a size adapted for the discharge of earth upwardly therethrough by compressed air, and then discharging earth upwardly through said channels independently by compressed air.

15. The herein described method of sinking into the earth an open ended caisson, which method consists in dividing the interior of the caisson into a plurality of separate vertically extending channels each of such size that when compressed air is admitted into material to be discharged from the bottom of the channel said material will be discharged upwardly out of the upper end of the channel by the action of the compressed air,`making` the earth at the lower end of the caisson to be of a consistency suitable for being discharged through said channels by compressed air, and then introducing air pressure into the earth within selected ones of said channels and thereby discharging earth upwardly through said selected channels by said compressed air.

16. A caisson adapted to be sunk into the earth, said caisson comprising the usual contining wall members and being open at its upper and lower ends to permit of removal of earth upwardly from beneath the lower end,

a separately formed partition extending Ver- A tically within the caisson dividing the interior of the caisson into a plurality of separate channels extending vertically of the caisson open at their upper and lower ends, each of said channels being of such a size that when compressed air is admitted into the material to be discharged from the bottom of the channel said material will be discharged upwardly out of the upper end of the channel -by the action of the compressed air, and retaining means for said partition of a character to permit removal of said partition from the caisson.

17. The herein described method of sinking into the earth a hollow tubular member, which method consists in applying force against the lower end portion of the tubular member interiorly thereof tending to draw the tubular member downwardly into the earth, and at the,same time operating a vibrating device against the wall of said tubular member at a locality' above the lower end portion thereof to thereby produce vibration of said walls so as to reduce skin friction between the outer surface of said wall and the surrounding earth.

18. The herein described method of sinking into the earth a hollow tubular member, which method consists in applying force against the tubular member tendingto force the tubular member downwardly into the earth, and at the same time operating a vibrating device against the wall of said tubu- MAURICE BLUMEN THAL.

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