Trench excavator and method for forming an excavated trench in the ground

Abstract

The present invention relates to a trench excavator including a box-shaped housing on whose upper surface a lifting device can be attached, at least one excavating wheel arranged on the lower surface of the housing and rotatably driven to remove soil material, the excavating wheel having excavation teeth arranged in at least one circumferential row along an outer periphery of the excavating wheel, with at least one axial gap adjacent to the at least one circumferential row, and at least one removal plate fixedly arranged relative to the housing and engaging with the at least one circumferential gap on the excavating wheel to remove soil material. According to the present invention, the at least one removal plate is attached to a plate holder so as to be spaced apart from the housing, a passage is formed between the at least one removal plate and the housing, and soil material in the passage excavated during operation can be guided upward through the passage.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a trench excavator as described in the preamble of claim 1, comprising a box-shaped housing on whose upper surface a lifting device can be attached, at least one excavating wheel arranged on the underside of the housing and rotatably driven to remove soil material, the excavating wheel having at least one circumferential row of excavating teeth arranged along the outer periphery of the excavating wheel, with at least one axial gap adjacent to the row, and at least one removal plate fixedly arranged relative to the housing and engaging with the at least one circumferential gap on the excavating wheel to remove soil material.

[0002] The invention also relates to a method for producing a trench in ground according to the preamble of claim 14. [Background technology]

[0003] A typical trench excavator is known, for example from EP 1 452 645 A1. Rows of excavating teeth are arranged along the circumference of paired excavating wheels. Axial gaps remain between the rows of excavating teeth, into which so-called removal plates engage. Here, the removal plates are arranged on the underside of a box-shaped housing and prevent the teeth from adhering to sticky soil material, which could impair the excavation performance, by scraping off any sticky soil material adhering to the teeth.

[0004] In said trench excavators, the excavated earth material remains in the ground and can be treated in situ with a hardenable suspension provided to produce a so-called soil mortar, which can form trench wall sections after hardening in the excavated trench, from which cut-off or enclosure walls can be constructed, for example to enclose a construction pit.

[0005] In order to produce soil mortar in situ using the excavated soil material, a typical trench excavator has a box-shaped housing including a drive unit that is designed to have a smaller perimeter than the excavated trench, so that a gap is formed in the housing through which the excavated soil material mixed with the hardening suspension supplied by the excavation wheel to the soil mortar can flow past the housing and into the upper region of the excavated trench. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0006] [Patent Document 1] European Patent Application Publication No. 1452645 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0007] During the operation of the trench excavator, the excavation wheels are driven in particular in opposite directions, so that the two pairs of excavation wheels rotate inwardly, and the soil material is conveyed to a central area below the excavator housing, where a hardenable suspension can also be fed to provide a good mixing effect to form a soil mortar.

[0008] When driving the excavation wheels inwardly in this way, in some soils, especially soil layers containing stone, the small excavated material can be prevented from being transported beyond the housing by the removal plate engaging in a comb-like manner between the excavation teeth, for example when coarser and harder stone is present. In certain cases, this can result in an excessive increase in the rotational resistance of the excavation wheels, which is undesirable as it can increase power demands. This can also cause damage to the removal plate and the excavation teeth. [Means for solving the problem]

[0009] The problem that the invention aims to solve is to provide a trench excavator and a method for producing an excavation trench which allow particularly efficient operation when producing an excavation trench.

[0010] The above mentioned problem is solved on the one hand by a trench excavator having the features of claim 1 and on the other hand by a method having the features of claim 14. Preferred embodiments of the invention are disclosed in the dependent claims.

[0011] The trench excavator according to the present invention is characterized in that at least one removal plate is attached to a plate holder so as to be spaced apart from the housing, and a passage is formed between the at least one removal plate and the housing, through which soil material excavated during operation can be guided upwards.

[0012] The basic concept of the present invention is that the removal plates are not arranged directly on the underside of the box-shaped housing, but on the plate holder spaced from the box-shaped housing. In this case, the plate holder is arranged and configured such that at least one removal plate is spaced from the housing, thereby forming a passage for the excavated soil material. In particular, when the excavation wheel is driven to rotate inwardly, the excavated soil material, together with the optionally supplied suspension, is guided through the passage over the removal plate and can therefore flow upwards more easily. Thus, hard stone does not have to be forced through the interlocking arrangement of the excavation teeth and the removal plate. Moreover, the actual removal effect of the removal plate is maintained even if soil material is attached. The length of the passage in the horizontal longitudinal direction may range from a few centimeters to about 40% of the diameter of the excavation wheel, and the width in the horizontal width direction may range up to the wheel width of the excavation wheel.

[0013] A preferred embodiment of the invention provides that at least two circumferential rows of teeth are arranged on at least one excavating wheel, these circumferential rows of teeth being axially spaced from one another by a circumferential gap in which the removal plate engages. In particular, three or more circumferential rows, in particular four or five circumferential rows, each spaced axially from the adjacent row of teeth, may be arranged on the excavating wheel. According to the existing gaps, which have an axial width of approximately 2 to 10 cm, the removal plate, which is fixed relative to the housing, penetrates into the circumferential gaps between the excavating teeth which are driven in rotation together with the excavating wheel. The removal plate can either come into slight contact, i.e. rub, with the excavating teeth and tooth holders passing by it, or be spaced from the excavating teeth and tooth holders by a small axial distance, for example of a few millimeters.

[0014] According to another embodiment of the invention, it is preferred that at least one cutting wheel is mounted on a flat support plate provided on the underside of the housing, and at least one removal plate is mounted on the support plate together with a plate holder. A drive may be provided on the support plate, in particular for driving the cutting wheel. In this case, the plate holder may be a simple support arm on which the removal plate is mounted. The support arm may here be arranged transversely to the central plane of the support plate. In principle, however, an L-shaped or T-shaped plate holder may also be attached to the side edge of the support plate or to the housing.

[0015] It is also particularly preferred to arrange two pairs of excavation wheels on the underside of the housing, each of the pair of excavation wheels being arranged on either side of a common central support plate, with the plate holders being arranged on the associated outer side so that the removal plates are oriented obliquely inwardly from the outer side so as to be able to engage within the circumferential gaps between the excavation teeth.

[0016] Furthermore, it is particularly advantageous here if one cutting wheel of each pair of cutting wheels is attached to one side of the support plate and at least one removal plate is assigned to each cutting wheel which is attached to the support plate by a plate holder. Advantageously, a number of removal plates for each cutting wheel can be provided on each plate holder corresponding to the number of intervals or gaps between the circumferential rows of cutting teeth.

[0017] According to another embodiment of the invention, it is advantageous for each cutting wheel to be assigned a passage bounded by at least one removal plate assigned with a plate holder, the housing and the support plate, in which case, in particular, hard stone material can be carried away upwards through the passage, thereby avoiding that such material is forced between the cutting teeth by the tooth holder and the removal plate.

[0018] According to a further aspect of the trench excavator according to the invention, it is proposed to provide a supply device for supplying a liquid, in particular a settable suspension, such as a cement suspension, etc. In this case, the suspension can be transported from the ground to the trench excavator in the excavation trench by means of a corresponding pump device.

[0019] According to a further aspect of the invention, it is particularly advantageous if the feed device is arranged between the two pairs of excavation wheels and / or at least one of the plate holders. In this case, as known, the feed device may be arranged on the underside of the box-shaped housing in the central area between the two pairs of excavation wheels. Alternatively or additionally, the feed device may be arranged on at least one plate holder, where the plate holder is constructed at least partially hollow and is provided with a feed duct. The feed duct ends with one or more outlet nozzles for the liquid to flow out in the area of ​​the removal plate. As a result, the mixing effect is improved and at the same time the sticky substance can be additionally washed away by the excavation teeth.

[0020] In principle, the arrangement of the removal plate with the plate holder of the invention can be used in various types of trench excavators. According to one embodiment of the invention, it is particularly advantageous that the perimeter of the housing is smaller than the excavation cross section of the excavation wheel. As a result, one or more areas are formed along the housing forming a passage area or passage duct between the housing and the surrounding wall of the soil. This allows the excavated earth material, and in particular the soil mortar produced by the supply of the hardenable liquid, to flow past the housing of the excavation frame and out of the area of ​​the excavation wheel upwards into the part of the excavation trench formed above the housing of the trench excavator.

[0021] In principle, the trench excavator according to the invention can be driven in any suitable manner. According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, it is proposed that a drive, in particular a hydraulic or electric motor, is arranged in the housing for driving the excavating wheels. Preferably, one or more central drive motors are provided in the housing. In this case, as is known, the torque can be transmitted via a drive shaft extending downwards in the support plate and a corresponding transmission in the support plate or on the excavating wheels.

[0022] According to another variant of the embodiment of the invention, it may be advantageous if at least one of the excavating wheels comprises a hub on which a hub motor is arranged. Here, the hub motor can also be a hydraulic motor or, preferably, an electric motor. In such a configuration, the box-shaped housing can be used to accommodate other elements or can be configured to be correspondingly compact. In principle, a frame-like housing construction is also possible.

[0023] Another preferred embodiment of the invention is one in which at least one removal plate and / or plate holder is removably fixed, and a connection system is provided on the underside of the housing, by means of which at least one removal plate can be fixed directly to the housing. Depending on the desired type of excavation, a particularly flexible arrangement of the removal plates can be realized, since the driving directions of the excavation wheels are different. In particular, if necessary, the outer removal plates arranged on the plate holders can be removed in part or in whole. Alternatively or additionally, the removal plates can be attached directly to the underside of the housing, as is known. Screw connections or other easily detachable types of connections are particularly possible as connection systems.

[0024] The invention also includes a trench excavator arrangement comprising a transport vehicle on which a trench excavator according to the invention is arranged so as to be vertically movable by means of a lifting device. The transport vehicle may in particular be configured so as to be movable by means of a chassis, in particular a crawler chassis, and a platform rotatably mounted on the chassis. The platform may be provided with a mast or a jib. A suspension cable or a rigid guide rod movably guided along the mast can be used as the lifting device.

[0025] The method according to the invention for producing an excavation trench in the ground is characterized in that a trench excavator according to the invention or a trench excavator arrangement according to the invention is used, whereby the trench excavator or the trench excavator arrangement described above can be used, so that the above-mentioned advantages can be realized when carrying out the method. Effect of the Invention

[0026] According to the invention, a preferred method variant is that the excavated earth material is guided by the at least one removal plate through a passage between the housing and the removal plate as the at least one excavation wheel is driven in rotation in the direction of rotation, which prevents an increase in rotation resistance and the occurrence of damage, especially when excavating soil layers containing harder stones. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0027] [Figure 1]1 is a perspective view of a trench excavator apparatus according to the present invention; [Diagram 2] 1 is a perspective, enlarged and schematic view of a trench excavator according to the present invention; [Diagram 3] FIG. 3 is a front view of the trench excavator according to FIG. 2; [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a side view of the trench excavator according to FIGS. [Diagram 5] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of material flow during excavation using a trench excavator according to the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0028] The invention will be explained in more detail below with reference to preferred and exemplary embodiments which are illustrated diagrammatically in the drawings.

[0029] 1 shows a trench excavator apparatus 10 according to the invention, which includes a transport vehicle 12. The transport vehicle 12 may include a chassis 14 configured as a crawler chassis, on which a platform 16 may be rotatably mounted. A substantially vertical mast 18 may be adjustably mounted on the platform 16 by an articulation mechanism 17 including a working cylinder. A guide rod 22 may extend along the mast 18 as part of a lifting device 20. A trench excavator 30 according to the invention is mounted at the lower end of the guide rod 22, which will be described in more detail below. The guide rod 22 is vertically movable along the mast 18 by a movable slide 24, which may be connected to the guide rod 22 as part of the lifting device 20 by a movable clamping cylinder.

[0030] The trench excavator 30 shown in Figure 1 includes two pairs of parallel digging wheels 40 with horizontally disposed axes of rotation. As is known, the illustrated digging teeth 44 are attached to the periphery of the excavating wheels 40.

[0031] A possible structure of a trench excavator 30 according to the invention will now be described in more detail with reference to Figures 2 to 4, which are shown by way of example. The trench excavator 30 is shown very diagrammatically, in particular the digging teeth are not shown in detail for clarity of the figures, but instead an annular track 45 or circumferential row is shown, along which a circumferential row of digging teeth on the circumference of the excavating wheel 40 moves when driven in rotation. Here, the digging teeth may be arranged on a flat tooth holder (also not shown) and may be connected to a cylindrical hub 42 of the excavating wheel 40. A hub motor for driving the excavating wheel 40 in rotation may be arranged inside the hub 42.

[0032] The tracks 45 or circumferential rows of teeth are axially spaced apart from one another on each cutting wheel 40, leaving circumferential gaps 46 between them. In the illustrated exemplary embodiment, each cutting wheel 40 is provided with three tracks 45 or rows of teeth with two circumferential gaps 46 between them. Each of the stripping plates 50, which may reach close to the outer periphery of the central hub 42, can engage with said circumferential gaps 46. Here, the stripping plates 50 are attached at their outer periphery, radially outside the tracks 45 of the teeth, to plate holders 60, which are stationary in contrast to the rotating cutting wheel 40. A plate holder 60 may be provided for each cutting wheel 40.

[0033] Each pair of excavation wheels 40 may be attached to a flat support plate 34 located between the excavation wheels 40 and attached to the underside of the box-shaped housing 32. A plate holder 60 for each of the removal plates 50 may also be attached to the support plate 34 for each pair of excavation wheels 40. In the illustrated exemplary embodiment, the plate holder 60 includes a retaining shaft 62 attached to the support plate 34 by a flange. A retaining bracket 64 may be fixed to the retaining shaft 62, to which the removal plate 50 of each excavation wheel 40 may be removably fixed, preferably by a screw connection.

[0034] In accordance with the present invention, the plate holders 60, which preferably extend generally parallel to the axis of rotation of the excavating wheel 40, are spaced apart from the box-shaped housing 32 of the trench excavator 30 so as to define a gap or passageway 70 between each plate holder 60 and the housing 32, as shown, for example, in FIG. 3.

[0035] A first feed device 56 for feeding the hardenable suspension to the area between the drill wheels 40 may be provided on the underside of the housing 32, centrally between the two flat support plates 34. Alternatively or additionally, one or more feed devices may be provided on a tubularly designed holding shaft 62.

[0036] The excavating wheels 40 can each be rotatably driven to rotate inwardly by a drive (not shown in detail), which in the illustrated exemplary embodiment may in particular be a hub motor in the hub 42 of the excavating wheels 40. This is indicated in Figure 5 by the arrows indicating the direction of rotation.

[0037] If the excavation wheels 40 are driven as described above according to Fig. 5 when the earth material is scraped off during the excavation operation, the scraped earth material can be mixed with the supplied hardenable suspension in the central area between the excavation wheels 40 to form soil mortar. In this process, the scraped earth material and the generated soil mortar can flow upwards through the passages 70 formed by the arrangement of the removal plates 50 on the plate holders 60 spaced apart from the housing 32, respectively, as shown diagrammatically by the flow arrows in Fig. 5. In this case, the outer periphery of the box-shaped housing 32 is smaller than the excavation cross section generated by the excavation wheels 40.

[0038] In this case, the outer edge of the removal plate 50 may be configured to be inclined inwards accordingly, so that the excavated soil material and suspension can easily flow upwards through the passage 70 between the plate holder 60 and the housing 32. As a result, especially when excavating rocky soil layers, even large rock fragments can be efficiently discharged upwards from the area of ​​the excavation wheels 40, flowing past the housing 32, i.e. the risk of damage to the removal plate 50 and the excavation teeth is reduced.

Claims

1. - a box-shaped housing (32) on whose upper surface the lifting device (20) can be attached; at least one excavating wheel (40) arranged on the underside of said housing (32) and rotatably drivable to remove soil material, said excavating wheel (40) having excavating teeth (44) arranged in at least one circumferential row along its circumference, said circumferential row being adjacent to at least one axial circumferential gap (46); at least one removal plate (50) fixedly arranged with respect to said housing (32) and adapted to engage at least one circumferential gap (46) on said excavation wheel (40) to remove earth material; Including, - said at least one excavating wheel (40) is attached to a flat support plate (34) on the underside of said housing (32); - said at least one removal plate (50) is attached to said support plate (34) by a plate holder (60); - a trench excavator, characterized in that the at least one removal plate (50) is attached to a plate holding part (60) so as to be spaced apart from the housing (32), the plate holding part is arranged so as to be spaced apart from the housing (32), and a passage (70) is formed between the at least one removal plate (50) attached to the plate holding part (60) and the housing (32), and soil material excavated during operation can be guided upwards through the passage (70).

2. 2. The trench excavator of claim 1, wherein at least two circumferential rows of digging teeth (44) are disposed on at least one of said excavating wheels (40), said circumferential rows of digging teeth being axially spaced from one another by circumferential gaps (46) in which said removal plates (50) engage.

3. 3. A trench excavator according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that two pairs of excavating wheels (40) are arranged on the underside of the housing (32).

4. In each pair of excavation wheels (40), one excavation wheel (40) is mounted on one side of the support plate (34); 4. Trench excavator according to claim 3, characterized in that each excavation wheel (40) is assigned at least one removal plate (50) which is attached to the support plate (34) by means of a plate holder (60).

5. 5. The trench excavator according to claim 4, characterized in that each excavating wheel (40) is assigned a passage (70) bounded by at least one of the removal plates (50) assigned together with the plate holder (60), the housing (32) and the support plate (34).

6. A trench excavator according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that it is arranged with a supply system (56) for supplying a liquid, in particular a hardening suspension.

7. 7. Trench excavator according to claim 6, characterized in that the feed system (56) is arranged between two pairs of excavation wheels (40) and / or on at least one of the plate holders (60).

8. A trench excavator according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the periphery of the housing (32) is smaller than the digging cross section of the digging wheels (40).

9. Trench excavator according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that a drive, in particular a hydraulic or electric motor, is arranged in the housing (32) for driving the excavating wheel (40).

10. A trench excavator according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the at least one excavating wheel (40) comprises a hub (42) on which a hub motor is arranged.

11. A trench excavator according to any one of claims 1 to 10, characterized in that the at least one removal plate (50) and / or the plate holder (60) are removably fixed and a connection system for the at least one removal plate (50) is provided on the underside of the housing (32).

12. A trench excavator apparatus including a transport vehicle (12) on which a trench excavator (30) is arranged so as to be vertically movable by a lifting device (20), A trench excavator installation, characterized in that it is provided with a trench excavator (30) according to any one of the preceding claims.

13. A method for producing an excavated trench in ground, characterized in that a trench excavator (30) according to any one of claims 1 to 11 or a trench excavator device (10) according to claim 12 is used.

14. 14. The method according to claim 13, characterized in that the at least one digging wheel (40) is driven in rotation in a rotational direction and excavated soil material is guided by the at least one removal plate (50) through the passage (70) between the housing (32) and the removal plate (50).

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