Expansion joint apparatus for bridges

Abstract

The present invention relates to an expansion joint device for connecting upper sections of bridges that are spaced apart from each other. According to one embodiment, the expansion joint device comprises a pair of rail modules (100A, 100B) installed side by side in the width direction of the bridge on the upper sections of each spaced-apart bridge and an expansion joint (40) connecting the rail modules. Each rail module (100A, 100B) comprises: a rail (10) arranged in the width direction of the bridge; an anchor (20) attached to a first side and a lower surface of the rail and protruding in a direction perpendicular to the length direction of the rail; and a barrier (30) attached to a second side of the rail in the length direction of the rail.

Description

Technology Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a joint device installed in a bridge, and more specifically, to an expansion joint device connecting upper sections of a bridge that are spaced apart from each other. Background Technology

[0002] Generally, since the upper sections of bridges used for the passage of people or vehicles may temporarily expand or contract in length due to temperature changes, earthquakes, or strong winds, bridges are installed with a certain distance between them and connected by expansion joints to accommodate this.

[0003] FIG. 1 schematically illustrates a cross-section of a conventional expansion joint device of this structure. In FIG. 1(a), rails (210) are installed at the upper corners of the two bridges spaced apart from each other, and an expansion joint (230) connects the two rails (210). Additionally, anchors (220) extending from each rail (210) are embedded in the concrete layer (300) of the bridge.

[0004] However, in this structure, the expansion joint device is subjected to a continuous vehicle load on the rail (210) due to vehicle traffic. As a result of the vehicle load applied to the rail (210), the anchor (220) at the opposite end is subjected to a force that lifts it upward, and as a result, the concrete layer (300) above the anchor (220) cracks and breaks over time. For example, FIG. 1(b) shows a conventional expansion joint device installed on an actual bridge, where it can be seen that the concrete layer above the anchor (220) of the rail (210) is damaged as it is lifted upward due to the vehicle load.

[0005] In addition, conventionally, the depth (D) from the surface of the bridge to the anchor (220) is only about 40 mm, but due to the structural limitations of the current expansion joint device, this depth (D) cannot be designed to be deeper, making it difficult to prevent damage to the concrete layer (300) caused by vehicle loads as described above. Prior art literature

[0006] 1. Korean Published Patent No. 10-2003-0036396 (Published May 9, 2003) 2. Korean Registered Patent No. 10-2187004 (Published December 4, 2020) The problem to be solved

[0007] The present invention aims to solve the aforementioned conventional problems by improving the configuration of the expansion joint device to prevent damage to the expansion joint device caused by vehicle load. means of solving the problem

[0008] According to one embodiment of the present invention, an expansion joint device for connecting upper sections of bridges spaced apart from each other is disclosed, wherein the expansion joint device comprises a pair of rail modules (100A, 100B) installed side by side in the width direction of the bridge on the upper sections of each spaced-apart bridge and an expansion joint (40) connecting the rail modules, and each rail module (100A, 100B) comprises: a rail (10) arranged in the width direction of the bridge; an anchor (20) attached to a first side and a lower surface of the rail and protruding in a direction perpendicular to the length direction of the rail; and a barrier (30) attached to a second side of the rail in the length direction of the rail.

[0009] In one embodiment, a plurality of anchors are attached to the rail, wherein one anchor (20) is attached to each end of the rail, and a pair of anchors are attached in the area between the two ends of the rail at a certain distance from each other, and the two anchors of the pair of anchors may be spaced apart at a predetermined distance from each other.

[0010] In one embodiment, it further includes a fixing member (50) that is interposed between the predetermined spacing of the pair of anchors and attached to the anchors.

[0011] In one embodiment, the fixing member is formed by a vertical portion that is attached to the pair of anchors and extends vertically upward, and a horizontal portion that is bent from the vertical portion and extends horizontally.

[0012] In one embodiment, the pair of anchors and the fixing member may be fastened together with bolts. Effects of the invention

[0013] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the configuration of the expansion joint device is improved to prevent damage to the expansion joint device caused by vehicle load.

[0014] In addition, according to one embodiment of the present invention, when connecting a plurality of expansion joint devices in the longitudinal direction, anchors can be fastened to each other, which has the advantage of allowing the expansion joint devices to be connected in a straight line and installed on a bridge. Brief explanation of the drawing

[0015] FIG. 1 is a drawing illustrating a conventional expansion joint device, FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an expansion joint device according to one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of an expansion joint device according to one embodiment, FIGS. 4 and 5 are drawings illustrating the steps of installing an expansion joint device according to one embodiment. FIG. 6 is a drawing illustrating the installation of a fixing member and reinforcing steel bar according to one embodiment. FIG. 7 is a drawing explaining the technical effects of an expansion joint device according to one embodiment. FIG. 8 is a drawing illustrating an expansion joint device according to an alternative embodiment, FIGS. 8 to 10 are drawings illustrating a method of connecting expansion joint devices in the longitudinal direction according to one embodiment. FIG. 11 is a drawing illustrating the problems of a conventional expansion joint device. Specific details for implementing the invention

[0016] The above objects, other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will be easily understood through the following preferred embodiments associated with the accompanying drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described herein and may be embodied in other forms. Rather, the embodiments introduced herein are provided to ensure that the disclosed content is thorough and complete and to ensure that the spirit of the invention is sufficiently conveyed to those skilled in the art.

[0017] In this specification, when a component is referred to as being 'above' (or 'below', 'right', or 'left') another component, it means that it may be located directly above (or below, to the right, or to the left) the other component, or that a third component may be interposed between them.

[0018] In addition, expressions such as 'top', 'bottom', 'left', 'right', 'front', and 'rear' used in this specification to describe the positional relationship between components do not imply direction or position as an absolute standard, but may be relative expressions used for convenience of explanation based on the respective drawings when describing the invention with reference to each drawing.

[0019] In the drawings of this specification, the lengths, thicknesses, or widths of the components are exaggerated for the effective description of the technical content, and the relative sizes of any one component to another may vary depending on the specific embodiment.

[0020] In this specification, the singular form of a component includes the plural form unless specifically stated otherwise in the text. Expressions used in this specification such as “comprising,” “consisting of,” and “consisting of” do not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other components in addition to the mentioned components.

[0021] The present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. In describing the specific embodiments below, various specific details have been included to explain the invention more specifically and to aid in understanding. However, a reader with sufficient knowledge in the art to understand the invention will recognize that it can be used without these various specific details. In some cases, it is noted in advance that commonly known parts that are not significantly related to the invention have been omitted to prevent confusion in describing the invention.

[0022] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an expansion joint device according to one embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view of an expansion joint device.

[0023] Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, an expansion joint device (100) according to one embodiment includes a pair of rail modules (100A, 100B) and an expansion joint (40) connecting them. Each of the rail modules (100A, 100B) is installed side by side in the width direction of the bridge on the upper part of a bridge that is spaced apart from each other. As can be seen in the drawings, each rail module (100A, 100B) is arranged facing each other, and the configuration of each module is identical. Therefore, below, the rail module (100A) on the right side of the drawings will be described in detail, but it will be understood that this configuration is applied equally to the rail module (100B) on the left side.

[0024] In one embodiment, the rail module (100A) includes a rail (10), a plurality of anchors (20), and a barrier (30). The rail (10) is a rod-shaped member having a predetermined length and can be installed by being positioned in the width direction of the bridge. In one embodiment, the rail (10) may have a length of, for example, 1.8 meters, but this is exemplary and can be manufactured with various lengths depending on the specific construction site.

[0025] Each of the multiple anchors (20) is attached to the first side and bottom surface of the rail (10) and protrudes in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the rail (10). That is, as indicated by the welding area (W) in Fig. 3 with a thick line, one end of the anchor (20) comes into contact with the lower part of the side and bottom surface of the rail (10), and the anchor (20) can be attached to the rail (10) by welding the contacting parts together.

[0026] In one embodiment, the anchor (20) may be composed of a downward extension (21) and a horizontal section (22). The downward extension (21) is an area that is vertically or obliquely inclined downward from the rail (10) when viewed with reference to the cross-sectional view of FIG. 3, and the horizontal section (22) is an area that is horizontally extended for a predetermined length from the bottom of the downward extension (21).

[0027] A through hole (25) may be formed in the horizontal section (22) to allow a bolt (81) to be fastened. In the illustrated embodiment, one through hole (25) may be formed at the position where the horizontal section (22) starts from the downward extension section (21) and at a position adjacent to the end of the horizontal section (22).

[0028] In one embodiment, a plurality of anchors (20) may be attached along the longitudinal direction of the rail (10), and may be attached in pairs. For example, as shown in FIG. 2, one anchor (20) is attached to each end of the rail (10), and a pair of anchors (20) are attached in the area between the two ends of the rail (10) at a certain distance from each other. Then, the two anchors (20) of the pair of anchors (20) are installed at a predetermined distance from each other (e.g., a distance at which a fixing member (50) can be interposed).

[0029] The fixing member (50) is a member that is interposed between two anchors (20) of a pair of anchors (20) located adjacent to each other and is attached to the anchors (20). In one embodiment, the fixing member (50) is a member with a bent shape, i.e., an "L" shape, when viewed with reference to the drawing of FIG. 3. That is, the fixing member (50) may be composed of a vertical part (51) extended in a vertical direction and a horizontal part (52) that is bent and extended in a horizontal direction from therein, and a through hole (not shown) may be formed at the lower end of the vertical part (51).

[0030] Accordingly, as shown in FIG. 2, the bolt (81) is inserted through the through hole (25) of a pair of anchors (20) and the through hole of the fixing member (50) and fastened, thereby allowing the fixing member (50) to be fastened to the anchor (20).

[0031] The barrier (30) is a rectangular plate-shaped member and is attached to the second side of the rail (10) along the longitudinal direction of the rail (10). The barrier (30) can serve as a formwork to prevent concrete from falling into the space below the expansion joint (40) when concrete is poured.

[0032] As shown in FIG. 3, the second side of the rail (10) is the side opposite to the first side of the rail (10) to which the anchor (20) is attached, and as indicated by the welded portion (W) of the thick line, the barrier (30) can be attached to the rail (10) by welding the portion where it contacts the second side of the rail (10) and one end of the anchor (20). At this time, since the barrier (30) and the anchor (20) are also attached by welding, as a result, the three types of parts (i.e., the rail (10), the anchor (20), and the barrier (30)) are welded together as a single unit along the welded portion (W), so the rail module (100A) can be manufactured more robustly.

[0033] In addition, according to the configuration described above, the anchor (20) is embedded deeper from the bridge surface, so damage to the expansion joint device (100) due to vehicle load can be prevented. That is, according to the configuration of FIG. 3, the depth (d1) from the bridge surface to the anchor (20) can be designed to be approximately 100 mm, and the depth (d2) from the bridge surface to the upper part of the fixing member (50) can also be designed to be approximately 60 mm to 65 mm. Accordingly, compared to the conventional joint device structure of FIG. 1, the anchor (20) and the fixing member (50) can be embedded deeper, so the concrete layer from the bridge surface to the anchor (20) and the fixing member (50) is thicker, thus preventing damage to the concrete layer and the expansion joint device due to vehicle load.

[0034] FIGS. 4 and 5 are drawings illustrating the steps of installing an expansion joint device on a bridge according to one embodiment.

[0035] FIG. 4(a) schematically shows the corner areas of the leading edge of the bridges spaced apart from each other. The bridges are cast with a concrete layer (300) and have main reinforcing bars (110) of a predetermined shape embedded therein.

[0036] In order to install an expansion joint device (100) on a bridge of this structure, a block-out area (B) is first formed as shown in FIG. 4(b). The block-out area (B) is an area in which a portion of the concrete layer (300) is removed for the installation of the expansion joint device. As illustrated, the concrete layer (300) is removed to a depth sufficient to install the expansion joint device (100), and preferably, a portion of the main reinforcing bar (110) is exposed so that the expansion joint device (100) can be fixed.

[0037] Next, an expansion joint device (100) is installed as shown in FIG. 4(c). That is, each of the rail modules (100A, 100B) connected to face each other by an expansion joint (40) is installed in the block-out area (B) of each spaced-out bridge. At this time, the anchor (20) of each rail module (100A, 100B) can be installed so as to be supported by the main reinforcement (110) of the bridge. In addition, if the height of the rail (10) does not match the bridge surface, a support (120) of a predetermined height can be placed on the main reinforcement (110) and the anchor (20) can be installed thereon. The support (120) may be, for example, a reinforcement bar that is arranged to be as long as the length of the rail (10) in the width direction of the bridge, but this is an example.

[0038] Next, as shown in FIG. 5(a), a reinforcing bar (130) is installed on the anchor (20) and an auxiliary reinforcing bar (140) is installed to press down on it. Then, as shown in FIG. 5(b), a fixing member (50) is connected to the anchor (20) to fix it.

[0039] In this regard, FIG. 6 is a drawing illustrating a method of installing a fixing member (50) and reinforcing bars (130) when embedding the aforementioned expansion joint device (100) in a bridge. Referring to FIG. 6, first, one or more reinforcing bars (130) are placed side by side along the longitudinal direction of the rail (10) and placed on top of the anchor (20). Then, the fixing member (50) is interposed between the spaced-apart space of a pair of anchors (20) and fastened with a bolt (81) and a nut (82) to connect the fixing member (50) and the reinforcing bars (130) to the expansion joint device (100).

[0040] Referring again to FIGS. 5(a) and FIGS. 5(b), after combining the fixing member (50) and the reinforcing bar (130) in the expansion joint device (100) as described above, an auxiliary reinforcing bar (140) can be installed. The auxiliary reinforcing bar (140) may have a roughly “P” shape consisting of a horizontal section and a vertical section extending vertically downward from both sides thereof, and the horizontal section of the auxiliary reinforcing bar (140) may be positioned so as to be in close contact with the reinforcing bar (130). The auxiliary reinforcing bar (140) may be connected to the main reinforcing bar (110), for example, by welding or binding wire.

[0041] In addition, in an alternative embodiment, the installation order of the fixed member (50) and the auxiliary reinforcing bar (140) may be changed. For example, the reinforcing bar (130) may be placed on the anchor (20) of the expansion joint device (100), and the auxiliary reinforcing bar (140) may be installed first on it, and then the fixed member (50) may be connected to the anchor (20).

[0042] Next, as shown in FIG. 5(c), concrete can be poured over the expansion joint (100) to expose only the surface of the rail (10), thereby forming a concrete layer (300) and completing the installation of the expansion joint (100).

[0043] FIG. 7 is a drawing illustrating the technical effect of an expansion joint device installed on a bridge according to the method described above.

[0044] According to the configuration of the expansion joint device (100) described above, the anchor (20) can be buried deeper from the bridge surface, thereby preventing damage to the expansion joint device (100) due to vehicle load. That is, the depth (d1) from the bridge surface to the anchor (20) can be designed to be 100 mm or more, and the depth (d2) from the bridge surface to the upper part of the fixing member (50) can also be designed to be 60 mm or more. Thus, the anchor (20) and the fixing member (50) can be buried deeper than in the conventional method, thereby preventing damage to the concrete layer and the expansion joint device due to vehicle load.

[0045] In addition, in the present invention, since a reinforcing bar (130) is interposed and fixed between the anchor (20) and the fixing member (50), the expansion joint device (100) is structured to be firmly connected to the reinforcing bar (130) embedded in the concrete layer (300) within the bridge. Therefore, the phenomenon of the end of the anchor (20) lifting up when the rail (10) receives the vehicle load can be further prevented.

[0046] FIG. 8 is a drawing illustrating an expansion joint device according to an alternative embodiment. Compared to FIG. 7, the embodiment of FIG. 8 differs in that the fixing member (50) is positioned below the anchor (20) and fastened.

[0047] According to this configuration, the fixing member (50) is positioned downward from the tip of the anchor (20), and a support (120) is interposed between the anchor (20) and the fixing member (50) to secure it. Thus, the expansion joint device (100) can be firmly connected to the support (120) embedded in the concrete layer (300). In addition, in this embodiment, the depth (d1) of the anchor (20) is the same as in the case of FIG. 7, but since the fixing member (50) is positioned downward, the force of the concrete layer (300) above the anchor (20) to secure the anchor (20) can be greater, and thus the lifting phenomenon of the anchor (20) due to vehicle load can be prevented more effectively.

[0048] As an exemplary method of construction with a structure like that of Fig. 8, for example, the construction steps from Fig. 4(a) to Fig. 4(c) and Fig. 5(a) are the same as those described with reference to Fig. 7, and when connecting the fixing member (50) to the anchor (20) in Fig. 5(b), the fixing member (50) is positioned below the anchor (20), and a support (120) is interposed between the anchor (20) and the fixing member (50) and fastened with a bolt (81), and it will be understood that the subsequent burial in the concrete layer (300) is also the same.

[0049] Meanwhile, in one embodiment, the rail (10) is manufactured with a length of 1.8 meters, but since the width of a typical bridge is about 10 meters to several tens of meters, as shown in FIG. 8, multiple expansion joints (100) must be connected in the width direction of the bridge (i.e., in the length direction of the expansion joints (100)). At this time, multiple expansion joints (100) must be aligned and buried in a straight line, but conventionally, the work of burying them in a straight line was not easy.

[0050] In addition, even after conventional expansion joints are installed longitudinally in the road, problems arise where the alignment between the expansion joints becomes misaligned over time due to the expansion and contraction of the expansion joints caused by temperature changes and vehicle loads. For example, Fig. 12 is a photograph showing a case where conventional expansion joints are installed longitudinally in the road, and it can be seen that problems such as height differences between the expansion joints and damage to the concrete layer around the connection occur.

[0051] In this regard, the expansion joint device (100) of the present invention has a structure that allows for a straight-line connection between expansion joint devices, as illustrated in FIGS. 9 to 11. According to the present invention, as illustrated in FIGS. 9 and 10, two expansion joint devices (100) to be connected are arranged in the longitudinal direction, and the anchors (20) at the outermost ends facing each other can be connected by a bolt (81) and a nut (82). That is, when multiple through holes (25) are formed in the anchor (20), the two expansion joint devices (100) can be firmly connected by fastening each through hole (25) with a bolt (81) and a nut (82). Also, if a fixing member (50) is interposed between the two anchors (20) to form a pair of anchors (20) with a fixing member (50) interposed between them as shown in FIG. 10, the structure becomes identical to the structure of the pair of anchors (20) and fixing member (50) on both sides, thereby providing continuity of the anchor structure over the entire length of the multiple connected expansion joint devices (100).

[0052] Also, referring to FIG. 11, when installing a plurality of expansion joint devices (100) connected in a straight line on a bridge, reinforcing bars (130) corresponding to the lengths of the multiple expansion joint devices (100) are placed across the straight-line connected expansion joint devices (100), and then a fixing member (50) can be fastened to an anchor (20). Since the anchor (20) and the fixing member (50) of each expansion joint device (100) share and are connected by one reinforcing bar (130), the expansion joint devices (100) can be connected more firmly while maintaining a straight line through the reinforcing bar (130).

[0053] As described above, those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains can make various modifications and variations from the description in the specification above. Therefore, the scope of the present invention should not be limited to the described embodiments, but should be defined by the claims set forth below as well as equivalents thereof. Explanation of the symbols

[0054] 10: Rail 20: Anchor 30: Barrier 40: Expansion joint 50: Fixing member 100A, 100B: Rail Module 100: Expansion joint 110: Main reinforcement 120: Stand 130: Reinforcing steel 140: Auxiliary reinforcement

Claims

Claim 1 An expansion joint device for connecting upper sections of bridges spaced apart from each other, wherein the expansion joint device comprises a pair of rail modules (100A, 100B) installed side by side in the width direction of the bridge on the upper sections of each spaced-apart bridge and an expansion joint (40) connecting the rail modules, and each rail module (100A, 100B) comprises: a rail (10) arranged in the width direction of the bridge; a plurality of anchors (20) each attached across the first side and lower surface of the rail and protruding in a direction perpendicular to the length direction of the rail; and a fixing member (50) consisting of a vertical section attached to the anchor and extending vertically upward and a horizontal section bent from the vertical section and extending in a horizontal direction. The expansion joint device comprises: a barrier (30) attached to a second side of the rail along the longitudinal direction of the rail; wherein one anchor (20) is attached to each end of the rail, a pair of anchors are attached in the area between the ends of the rail at a certain distance from each other, and the two anchors of the pair of anchors are spaced apart at a predetermined distance from each other, and the fixing member (50) is attached by being fastened with a bolt and interposed between the predetermined distances of the pair of anchors. Claim 2 An expansion joint device according to claim 1, wherein the anchor is composed of a downward extension (21), which is a region that is vertically or obliquely inclined downward from the rail (10), and a horizontal section (22), which is a region that is horizontally extended for a predetermined length from the bottom of the downward extension (21). Claim 3 An expansion joint device according to claim 1, characterized in that, when the expansion joint device is installed on a bridge, the depth (d2) from the surface of the bridge to the upper part of the fixing member (50) is configured to be 60 mm to 65 mm. Claim 4 An expansion joint device according to claim 1, characterized in that when two of the above expansion joint devices are connected in the longitudinal direction, the anchors (20) at the outermost ends facing each other are connected by a bolt and nut while the two expansion joint devices to be connected are arranged in the longitudinal direction. Claim 5 An expansion joint device according to claim 4, characterized in that when two of the above expansion joint devices are connected in the longitudinal direction, one reinforcing bar (130) is placed in the space between each anchor (20) and fixed member (50) across the two expansion joint devices, so that the anchor (20) and fixed member (50) of the two expansion joint devices share and are joined by one reinforcing bar (130).

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