1990-04-25
1991-11-26
Novosad, Stephen J.
Bridges
Transportable
E01D 1512
Patent
active
050671910
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The invention concerns a bridge layer with mechanisms for laying stacked bridges or bridge sections.
Bridge layers with mechanisms for laying a bridge consisting of several parts are known. The parts are stacked on the vehicle for transport and are joined together while still on it. They are positioned by an arm on the side of the vehicle and by booms, and an advancing mechanism comprises a variable pinion that engages a ladder rack.
Known bridge layers are either wheeled or tracked vehicles.
The Leguan ("iguana") is a bridge layer with wheels and the Biber ("beaver") a bridge layer with a track.
The armored Biber has an arm with a piston-and-cylinder mechanism at the front and a boom for joining the bridges at the rear of the underturret. These mechanisms are built onto the hull. Built into the front of the vehicle is a telescoping bracing system with a raking blade.
This known armored and tracked bridge layer is accordingly a specialized vehicle that can only be employed for the aforesaid purpose. Another drawback is that, when the vehicle is in the traveling mode, its center of gravity is not in a practical location in that the bridge sections and laying systems project relative far forward from in front, considerably stressing the forward track wheels.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The object of the present invention is to completely improve the system of mechanisms for laying bridges or bridge sections from an armored and tracked vehicle using the arm and boom known from the Biber to the extent that the center of gravity will be ideal while the vehicle is traveling. Furthermore, the vehicle that is to function as a bridge layer is to be an armored and tracked vehicle that is not specifically designed for laying bridges.
The bridge layer in accordance with the invention consists of a positioning mechanism that can be mounted on the turret ring of a known type of armored vehicle, converting it into a bridge layer. The turret that normally rests on and is bolted to this ring on the vehicle's hull is unnecessary.
The bridge-laying system is advanced approximately one meter into and out of the laying position from a control carriage by a piston-and-cylinder mechanism inside the carriage. Instead of the laying system that is rigidly built onto the hull of the armored bridge layer at the state of the art with its position in relation to the vehicle dictated by the laying kinematics and making the whole structure top-heavy, retracting the laying system and bridge in accordance with the invention out of the laying position and into the traveling position ideally locates the center of gravity for traveling. The angle of inclination increases as the mechanism is displaced, facilitating overland travel.
Instead of the bracing system and scraper built into the front of the Biber armored bridge layer to transmit the supporting forces into the ground while the bridge cantilevers out to the front, the cantilever moment in accordance with the invention is supported on two legs.
The legs are articulated laterally to the front of the carriage and the supporting forces are transmitted by hydraulic piston-and-cylinder mechanisms that rest against the carriage. Since the two cylinders operate independently, they can compensate for longitudinal and transverse irregularities in the ground, allowing unexceptionable bridge laying even on uneven embankments. Plates articulated to the bottom of the legs ensure satisfactory distribution of pressure even on soft soil.
The overall laying system and bridge, resting on the platform on the turret ring of the bridge layer, is designed to minimally restrict the operator's vision while the bridge is being laid and while the bridge layer is traveling. Since the legs have also been pivoted up by the piston-and-cylinder mechanism while the vehicle is traveling, with the plates resting against the front but outside the angle of inclination, the legs also will limit the driver's vision only minimally. One or even two commander's cupolas can be built into the side of
REFERENCES:
patent: 3488787 (1970-01-01), Soffge et al.
patent: 3491391 (1970-01-01), Soffge
patent: 3492683 (1990-02-01), Wagner et al.
patent: 4023226 (1977-05-01), Soffge et al.
patent: 4510637 (1985-04-01), Zlotnicki
Illgner Eberhard
Kinzel Walter
Fogiel Max
MAN Gutehoffnungshutte AG
Novosad Stephen J.
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