Deep vibrator with a lubrication system for lubricating a bearing of a shaft of the deep vibrator

Abstract

Deep vibrator (1) for compacting soil with a shaft (31) which is supported by means of a bearing (32, 33), wherein the bearing (32, 33) has a lubrication system (34-39) which is designed to lubricate the bearing (32, 33), wherein the lubrication system (34-39) has a lubricant source (34) which is arranged above the bearing (32, 33) and is designed to discharge a lubricant (35) downwards into or onto the bearing (32, 33), characterized by a lubricant collection element (37) which is arranged and designed below the bearing (32, 33) in such a way as to collect and store the lubricant (35) that has passed through the bearing (32, 33) in such a way that the bearing (32, 33) is at least partially located in the collected lubricant (35).

Description

[0001] The invention relates to a deep vibrator for compacting soil with a lubrication system for lubricating a bearing of a shaft of the deep vibrator.

[0002] A deep vibrator is a horizontally vibrating device used to stabilize unstable soils. Deep vibrators are employed to carry out various vibration processes to improve the subsoil if it lacks sufficient load-bearing capacity for the planned project. This is achieved by introducing vibrations into the ground using the deep vibrator.

[0003] Coarse-grained and granular soils such as sand or gravel can be consolidated, i.e., compacted, by these vibrations, thus creating a denser layer (vibration compaction). The deep vibrator is inserted into the soil using air flushing in the dry process or water flushing in the wet process, and the consolidation occurs as the deep vibrator is withdrawn from the ground.

[0004] In mixed-grained or fine-grained as well as cohesive soils such as fine sands or silts, where sufficient compaction of the soil material cannot be achieved, coarse-grained additive material such as gravel is introduced into the soil liquefied by flushing and vibration, thus creating a so-called vibratory compaction column (vibratory compaction method). For this purpose, the deep vibrator can also be designed as a sluice vibrator, allowing the additive material to be introduced through a sluice via a transport pipe to the vibrator tip and into the cavity created by the raising and lowering of the deep vibrator.

[0005] Deep vibrators consist of a cylindrical metal tube housing, the lower end of which forms the housing tip or vibrator tip, allowing them to penetrate the ground. The impact mechanism is located inside the housing and above the housing tip. Further up, a generally electric drive is located, which is connected to and can power the impact mechanism; a hydraulic drive is also possible. This entire section of the housing, including the drive and impact mechanism, can be referred to as the impact mechanism housing. The housing can be connected at its upper end to an extension tube via a vibrator coupling, allowing it to be suspended or attached to an excavator or a pole-guided support device.

[0006] The percussion mechanism features an unbalanced weight which, via an unbalanced weight shaft, can rotate around the longitudinal axis of the depth vibrator by means of the drive mechanism within the percussion mechanism housing. The rotating unbalanced weight can set the percussion mechanism housing, including its tip, into an oscillating, wobbling rotational motion around the longitudinal axis, so that the liquefied soil material can be radially displaced and / or redistributed.

[0007] The counterweight shaft is supported inside the striking mechanism housing, one above and one below the counterweight, by two counterweight bearings. These can be ball bearings, roller bearings, cylindrical roller bearings, or similar components. The counterweight bearings must be lubricated during operation to reduce friction and prevent wear.

[0008] For this purpose, several manufacturers of deep vibrators are known to use unbalanced weight bearings that are lubricated with oil or grease. Oil supply circuits or grease reservoirs can be provided for this purpose.

[0009] A disadvantage of this approach is that oil supply circuits are very complex and prone to malfunctions. In particular, the pump can fail due to vibrations from the impact mechanism and heat, which can be generated especially by an electric drive, thus disabling the entire oil lubrication system during operation.

[0010] Another disadvantage is that the grease reserves can be consumed during use, and refilling the grease reservoirs inside the deep vibrator, especially in the impact mechanism, from the outside or above can be very time-consuming.

[0011] DE 943 865 B describes an arrangement of the stuffing box and the bearing for rotating vertical shafts on vessels, wherein the shaft is mounted by means of a rolling bearing in a cylindrical housing arranged on the vessel, advantageously projecting into the vessel in a cup-like manner, which is filled with oil or is flushed with oil and is sealed on the outside of the vessel outside the bearing by a stuffing box against the shaft, wherein a cup for collecting the lubricating fluid is arranged below the bearing housing on the shaft, which closely surrounds it.

[0012] DE 198 59 962 A1 describes a deep vibrator for improving a building site by determining the degree of compaction, with a substantially tubular vertically arranged housing, with an unbalanced mass arranged in the housing and driven by rotation about a longitudinal axis of the housing, and with at least one pair of accelerometers.

[0013] DE 866 745 B describes a rolling bearing with a disc mounted on the shaft for regulating the amount of grease in the bearing, wherein openings are provided on the circumference of the disc through which the excess grease is flung off.

[0014] The DD 1 591 93 A1 describes a grease lubrication system for rolling bearings.

[0015] DE 17 48 017 U describes a circulating lubrication system for high-speed rolling bearings.

[0016] One object of the present invention is to improve the lubrication of a bearing on the shaft of a deep vibrator and, at the same time, to make it as simple as possible, in particular without moving and / or actively operated components such as pumps. In particular, refilling with lubricant should be easy. At the very least, an alternative to known methods should be provided.

[0017] The problem is solved according to the invention by a deep vibrator with the features of claim 1. Advantageous embodiments are described in the dependent claims.

[0018] The present invention thus relates to a deep vibrator for compacting soil with a shaft which is supported by means of a bearing, wherein the bearing has a lubrication system which is designed to lubricate the bearing, wherein the lubrication system has a lubricant source which is arranged above the bearing and is designed to deliver a lubricant downwards, in particular by dripping, into or onto the bearing, so that in this way, as described above, metered lubrication of the bearing can be achieved without a conveying circuit.

[0019] According to the invention, the deep vibrator is characterized by the fact that a lubricant collection element is provided, which is arranged and designed below the bearing in such a way as to collect and store the lubricant that has passed through the bearing, such that the bearing, in particular its moving elements such as the cylindrical rollers, is at least partially located in the collected lubricant. In other words, the lubricant is collected directly below the bearing and retained in such a way that the bearing is located at least in its lower region in the collected lubricant.

[0020] This prevents the bearing from running dry, because with a sufficient amount of lubricant collected, there is always an adequate amount of lubricant on the lubricant collection element to ensure continuous lubrication of the bearing. This can increase the bearing's service life.

[0021] Furthermore, the collected lubricant can adhere to the bearing elements, such as cylindrical rollers, due to their movement and be distributed within the bearing by their rotation, thus reducing friction and wear. Therefore, the bearing is not only lubricated from above, at least partially, as previously known, but according to the invention, its lower area is also lubricated from below by the collected lubricant, and the bearing as a whole is lubricated from below by the lubricant distributed over the bearing elements.

[0022] It is also advantageous that the lubrication system of the deep vibrator according to the invention can be refilled easily and quickly with lubricant, because this only requires refilling the lubricant source above the bearing. The bearing is then automatically refilled with lubricant by the lubricant dripping from the lubricant source and by the lubricant collected below the bearing.

[0023] According to one aspect of the present invention, the lubricant collection element has a radially outer edge relative to the collected lubricant, extending vertically to the bearing. This edge limits the lubricant collection element radially outwards, allowing the collected lubricant to accumulate against this edge in this direction. This is particularly advantageous when the supported shaft rotates, because the collected lubricant can then be drawn into the bearing by the rotation of the bearing elements, such as cylindrical rollers, upon contact with these bearing elements. This allows the lubricant to distribute throughout the entire bearing, including areas not covered by the lubricant from above or by the collected lubricant.

[0024] Furthermore, if the lubricant has sufficient viscosity, it can experience centrifugal force from the rotating bearing elements, causing it to move radially outwards along the lubricant collection element. In this case, the radially outer edge, extending up to the bearing, is advantageous because the collected lubricant cannot escape from this side of the lubricant collection element but is instead conveyed into the bearing.

[0025] According to a further aspect of the present invention, the lubricant collection element has a passage through which the collected lubricant can exit downwards. Through this passage, the lubricant can drain into the impact chamber. This is advantageous because the amount of lubricant that can lubricate the bearing from below can be easily adjusted in this way. The passage can be adjusted in its position and shape, i.e., width and length, so that reliable lubrication of the bearing from below is always achieved without excessive lubricant accumulating in the bearing.

[0026] According to a further aspect of the present invention, the passage is arranged radially inwards towards the shaft. This takes into account that centrifugal forces can act on the collected lubricant, causing it to accumulate radially outwards on the lubricant collection element. For this reason, the radially inner passage can, for example, be arranged as a gap radially inwards towards the shaft, so that only when a predetermined quantity or height of collected lubricant has been reached is it partially released into the impact chamber.

[0027] According to a further aspect of the present invention, the lubricant collection element is fixedly arranged. This enables a secure and stable positioning of the lubricant collection element and, if necessary, a secure positioning of the passage into the impact chamber.

[0028] An exemplary embodiment and further advantages of the invention are explained below in connection with the following figures. These show: Fig. 1. A schematic representation of a longitudinal section through a deep vibrator; and Fig. 2 a schematic detail view of a lubricant system according to the invention for lubricating a bearing of a shaft of a deep vibrator.

[0029] Fig. Figure 1 shows a schematic representation of a longitudinal section through a deep vibrator 1. The deep vibrator 1 is located in the Fig. Figure 1 is shown in the orientation as it would penetrate downwards into the ground. This direction also corresponds to the direction of the longitudinal axis L of the deep vibrator 1, to which the radial direction R or radius R extends perpendicularly. In this sense, the terms "top" and "bottom" are to be understood in relation to the height H.

[0030] The deep vibrator 1 has a vibrator housing 10, which in the upper area has a cylindrical housing part 11, the percussion housing 11, on which the housing tip 12 or vibrator tip 12 extends downwards towards the bottom.

[0031] A drive unit 2 is arranged in the upper part of the percussion mechanism housing 11. The drive unit 2 comprises an electric motor 20. The electric motor 20 is arranged around a drive shaft 21, to which it can transmit its rotation. The drive shaft 21 is supported above the electric motor 20 by means of an upper drive shaft bearing 22 and below the electric motor 20 by means of a lower drive shaft bearing 23. At its lower end, the drive shaft 21 has a shaft coupling 24.

[0032] In the lower part of the percussion mechanism housing 11 is an unbalanced vibration generator 3, which has an unbalanced weight shaft 31. The shaft is supported in its upper part by an upper unbalanced weight bearing 32 and in its lower part by a lower unbalanced weight bearing 33. At its upper end, the unbalanced weight shaft 31 is coupled to the drive shaft 21 via the shaft coupling 24, so that the rotation of the electric motor 20 can be transmitted to the unbalanced weight shaft 31. The unbalanced weight shaft 31 is shown in the illustration. Fig. 1. An unbalanced weight 30 is arranged to the left of the longitudinal axis L.

[0033] Fig. Figure 2 shows a schematic detail view of a lubrication system 34-39 according to the invention for lubricating a bearing 32, 33 of a shaft 31 of a deep vibrator 1. The lower unbalanced weight bearing 33 is considered by way of example. At the top of the illustration of the Fig.2 A lubricant source 34 in the form of a grease chamber 34 is arranged, which is circumferentially closed in an annular shape around the unbalanced weight shaft 31. A defined quantity of a lubricant 35 in the form of a technical grease 35 is stored in this grease chamber 34. The quantity of grease 35 is sufficient for at least one vibration process, so that at least one vibration process can be carried out without the grease in the grease chamber 35 being completely consumed. The grease can be replenished between individual vibration processes.

[0034] The underside of the grease chamber 34 has an outlet opening 34a through which the grease 35 can slowly and evenly flow downwards from the grease chamber 34 and drip into the lower unbalanced weight bearing 33, as illustrated by the grease droplet 36 that has emerged from the grease chamber 34. The outlet opening 34a is designed such that, taking into account the viscosity and operating temperature of the grease 35, the desired quantity of grease can continuously emerge as grease droplets 36. These grease droplets 36 then pass through the lower unbalanced weight bearing 33 and lubricate it and its moving elements, such as cylindrical rollers.

[0035] To improve the lubrication of the lower unbalance weight bearing 33 and to reduce the likelihood of dry running, a lubricant collection element 37 in the form of a grease collection plate 37 is arranged below the unbalance weight bearing 33 according to the invention. This element is essentially designed as a circumferentially ring-shaped surface below the unbalance weight bearing 33 and has a radially outer edge 38. The grease collection plate 37 is designed to be flat and space-saving and is arranged as directly below the unbalance weight bearing 33 as possible, i.e., not rotating with the unbalance weight shaft 31.

[0036] The grease collection plate 37 serves to collect the grease 35 after it has passed through the lower unbalanced weight bearing 33, in order to retain it within the lower unbalanced weight bearing 33 so that the collected grease 35 can additionally lubricate it from below. Furthermore, this allows the retained grease 35 to be drawn into the lower unbalanced weight bearing 33 by the rotating bearing elements, such as its cylindrical rollers, so that it can also reach areas of the lower unbalanced weight bearing 33 with which it would not otherwise be in direct contact. This further improves lubrication.

[0037] Due to the viscosity of the grease 35, the rotation of the unbalance weight shaft 31 can be transmitted to the grease 35 via the co-rotating elements of the lower unbalance weight bearing 33, causing it to experience a centrifugal force and be forced radially outwards. Therefore, the radially outer edge 38 serves to retain this radially displaced, accumulated grease 35 and to convey it upwards along the radially outer edge 38 and into the lower unbalance weight bearing 33.

[0038] Radially on the inside side towards the unbalance weight shaft 31, a passage 39 is provided in the grease collection plate 37 in the form of a circumferentially annular gap 39, which forms a radial gap 39 to the unbalance weight shaft 31. Through this gap 39, excess grease 35 can drip further down into the impact chamber, preventing excessive grease 35 from backing up into the lower unbalance weight bearing 33. This could negatively affect the bearing properties and, for example, increase the frictional resistance, because the rotation of the bearing elements, such as cylindrical rollers, would have to occur against the viscosity of the lubricant.

[0039] The gap 39 is arranged radially opposite the edge 38 so that sufficient grease 35 can be drawn upwards into the lower unbalanced weight bearing 33 by centrifugal force at the outer radial edge 38, and only excess grease is drained downwards through the gap 39. The amount of grease dripping downwards can be influenced, for example, by the radial width of the gap 39, so that the lubrication of the lower unbalanced weight bearing 33 by the collected grease 35 can be influenced by the height of the radially outer edge 38 and the position and width of the radially inner gap 39. This improves the lubrication of the lower unbalanced weight bearing 33 and better prevents it from running dry. REFERENCE MARK LIST (Part of the description) H Height of the deep vibrator 1 L Longitudinal axis or axis of rotation of the deep vibrator 1 R Radius or radial direction perpendicular to the longitudinal axis L 1 (tubular, cylindrical) deep vibrator 10 vibrator housings 11 cylindrical housing part, striking mechanism housing 12 Housing tip, vibrator tip 2 Drive unit 20 (electric) motor 21 Drive shaft 22 upper drive shaft bearing 23 lower drive shaft bearing 24 shaft coupling 3 Unbalance vibration generators 30 unbalance weight 31 Unbalance weight shaft 32 upper unbalance weight bearing 33 lower unbalance weight bearing 34 Lubricant source or grease chamber 34a Lubricant source outlet 34 35 Lubricants or technical grease 36 lubricant escaped from lubricant source 34 or grease droplets 37 Lubricant collection element or grease collection plate 38 radial outer edge of the lubricant collection element 37 39 (radial inner) passage or gap of the lubricant collection element 37

Claims

[1] Deep vibrator (1) for compacting soil with a shaft (31) which is supported by means of a bearing (32, 33), wherein the bearing (32, 33) has a lubrication system (34-39) which is designed to lubricate the bearing (32, 33), wherein the lubrication system (34-39) has a lubricant source (34) which is arranged above the bearing (32, 33) and is designed to deliver a lubricant (35) downwards into or onto the bearing (32, 33), characterized by a lubricant collection element (37) which is arranged and designed below the bearing (32, 33) in such a way as to collect and store the lubricant (35) that has passed through the bearing (32, 33) in such a way that the bearing (32, 33) is at least partially located in the collected lubricant (35). [2] Deep vibrator (1) according to claim 1, wherein the lubricant collection element (37) has a radially outer edge (38) relative to the collected lubricant (35), which extends in height (H) to the bearing (32, 33). [3] Deep vibrator (1) according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the lubricant collection element (37) has a passage (39) through which the collected lubricant (35) can exit downwards from the lubricant collection element (37). [4] Deep vibrator (1) according to claim 3, wherein the passage (39) is arranged radially inwards towards the shaft (31). [5] Deep vibrator (1) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the lubricant collection element (37) is arranged in a fixed position.

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