Shield machine and gate unit

Abstract

To make it possible to excavate a curve part by using simpler structure as compared to a prior art.SOLUTION: A shield machine comprises a first body part 11 having a cutter head 13 and a screw conveyor 1 and a second body part 12 connected to the rear of the first body part 11. The screw conveyor 1 has a conveyor part 2 for carrying mud and a gate unit 3 with gates 4, 5 capable of opening and closing. The conveyor part 2 and the gate unit 3 are connected by spherical seat structure slidably fitting a convex surface part provided at one side and a concave surface part provided at the other side. The gate unit 3 has a protrusion 6 extending upwardly or downwardly and the second body part 12 has a pair of structures 7 extending inwardly. When an angle formed by a travel direction of the first body part 11 and a travel direction of the second body part 12 exceeds a predefined threshold value, the protrusion 6 and the structure 7 are placed so that one of the structures 7 interferes with the protrusion 6.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a shield machine and a gate unit used for a screw conveyor of the shield machine.

Background Art

[0002] In shield machines, various techniques for dealing with excavation of curved sections have been proposed. Since many of the components of a shield machine are mainly configured in a linear shape, when excavating a curved section, it becomes a problem of how to avoid interference between the exterior part that follows the curved section and the linear components installed inside the exterior part.

[0003] For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 7-127375 (Patent Document 1) discloses a shield tunneling machine including an earth discharging device installed so as to be rotationally displaced in the horizontal direction and a following device that follows the horizontal displacement of the earth discharging device. Also, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 7-173990 (Patent Document 2) discloses a shield tunneling machine in which the length of the machine is shortened by protruding one end of a shield jack into a cutter chamber (Patent Document 2).

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0004]

Patent Document 1

Patent Document 2

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0005] However, with the technologies of Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2, the devices become large-scale, making it difficult to miniaturize the entire shield machine. Therefore, it has been difficult to apply these technologies to shield machines used for excavating tunnels with a relatively small inner diameter and having severe space constraints.

[0006] Therefore, there is a need to realize a shield machine that can excavate curved sections with a simpler structure compared to conventional technology. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] The shield machine according to the present invention comprises a first body section having a cutter head and a screw conveyor, and a second body section connected to the rear of the first body section, wherein the screw conveyor has a conveyor section for transporting mud and a gate unit having an openable and closable gate, the conveyor section and the gate unit are connected by a spherical seat structure in which a convex curved surface section provided on one side and a concave curved surface section provided on the other side are slidably fitted together, the gate unit has a projection extending upward or downward, and the second body section has a pair of structures extending inward, the projection and the structures are arranged such that when the angle between the direction of travel of the first body section and the direction of travel of the second body section exceeds a predetermined threshold, one of the structures interferes with the projection.

[0008] The gate unit according to the present invention is a gate unit connected to a conveyor section for transporting mud in a screw conveyor of a shield machine, and is characterized by comprising: an openable and closable gate; a concave curved surface section that slidably fits with a convex curved surface section provided on the conveyor section, or a convex curved surface section that slidably fits with a concave curved surface section provided on the conveyor section; and a projection provided at a position that can interfere with a structure provided on a second body section connected to the rear of a first body section having the screw conveyor.

[0009] With these configurations, when excavating the curved sections of the tunnel, the protrusions on the gate unit come into contact with the structures on the second body, causing the gate unit to be pushed (interfered with) in the left-right direction. This naturally changes the angle of the gate unit relative to the conveyor section. This allows the shield machine to follow the curved sections of the tunnel. These configurations can be realized without requiring complex mechanical structures.

[0010] Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below. However, the scope of the present invention is not limited by the examples of preferred embodiments described below.

[0011] In one embodiment, the shield machine according to the present invention preferably further comprises an elastic member interposed between the projection and the structure.

[0012] With this configuration, even if the curvature of the tunnel is not sufficient for the projection and the structure to be in direct contact, the structure can bias the projection via an elastic member, resulting in a faster response to curved sections of the tunnel.

[0013] In one embodiment, the shield machine according to the present invention preferably has a plurality of gates.

[0014] This configuration allows for redundancy in case of gate failure.

[0015] In one embodiment of the shield machine according to the present invention, it is preferable that the gate is a flat plate gate.

[0016] This configuration makes it easier to control the space occupied by the gate.

[0017] In one embodiment, the shield machine according to the present invention preferably has a predetermined threshold of 3° or more.

[0018] This configuration makes it easier to secure space for installing other equipment in the second fuselage section.

[0019] Further features and advantages of the present invention will become clearer through the following description of exemplary and non-limiting embodiments, with reference to the drawings. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0020] [Figure 1] This is a top perspective view of the shield machine according to the embodiment. [Figure 2]It is a side perspective view of a shield machine according to an embodiment. [Figure 3] It is a top perspective view of a spherical seat structure of a shield machine according to an embodiment. [Figure 4] It is a diagram showing the positional relationship between a protrusion and a structure in the reference posture of a shield machine according to an embodiment. [Figure 5] It is a diagram showing the positional relationship between a protrusion and a structure when a shield machine according to an embodiment excavates a curved portion. [Figure 6] It is a diagram showing the positional relationship between a protrusion and a structure in the reference posture of a shield machine according to a modification. [Figure 7] It is a diagram showing the positional relationship between a protrusion and a structure when a shield machine according to a modification excavates a curved portion.

Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[0021] Embodiments of a shield machine and a gate unit according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Hereinafter, an example in which the shield machine and the gate unit according to the present invention are applied to a shield machine 10 for excavating a tunnel with a diameter of 1000 mm and a gate unit 3 mounted thereon will be described (FIGS. 1 and 2). In FIGS. 1 and 2, the posture of the shield machine 10 when excavating a curved portion of the tunnel is illustrated.

[0022] Hereinafter, the traveling direction of the shield machine 10 (the left side of the paper surface in FIGS. 1 and 2) will be referred to as the front, and the opposite side (the right side of the paper surface in FIGS. 1 and 2) will be referred to as the rear. Also, when referring to the vertical and horizontal directions, the vertical and horizontal directions in the direction of looking through from the rear to the front shall be meant. That is, the left direction is the downward direction in FIG. 1, the right direction is the upward direction in FIG. 1, and the vertical direction is the vertical direction in FIG. 2.

[0023] 〔Configuration of Shield Machine〕 The shield machine 10 according to this embodiment comprises a first body section 11 and a second body section 12 (Figures 1 and 2). The first body section 11 has a cutter head 13 and a chamber 14, and is the part that excavates soil at the front of the shield machine 10. The second body section 12 is connected to the rear of the first body section 11 and is equipped with electrical and hydraulic equipment 15 necessary for operating the cutter head 13, and a feeder bucket 16 that receives soil discharged from the gate unit 3 of the screw conveyor 1. Although there is another body section behind the second body section 12, it is not shown in the figure.

[0024] The first section 11 further includes a screw conveyor 1. The soil excavated by the cutter head 13 is mixed with water in the chamber 14 to form mud. The screw conveyor 1 plays the role of transporting the mud formed in the chamber 14 to the rear.

[0025] The screw conveyor 1 comprises a conveyor section 2 for transporting mud and a gate unit 3 according to this embodiment. The conveyor section 2 is, for example, a known outer-cased driven screw conveyor, but is not limited thereto.

[0026] The gate unit 3 is connected to the rear side of the conveyor section 2. The gate unit 3 is supported integrally with the conveyor section 2 on the first body section 11, but in terms of its position in the front-to-back direction, it is positioned to enter the second body section 12. The gate unit 3 is equipped with two flat plate gates (front gate 4 and rear gate 5), and when at least one of the front gate 4 and the rear gate 5 is closed, mud will not flow out of the screw conveyor 1.

[0027] Furthermore, the gate unit 3 has a projection 6 that extends downward from the rear gate 5. The projection 6 is positioned so as to be able to interfere with a pair of structures 7 provided on the second body section 12.

[0028] The conveyor section 2 and the gate unit 3 are connected by a spherical seat structure (Figure 3). Specifically, a concave curved surface 21 provided at the rear end of the conveyor section 2 and a convex curved surface 31 provided at the front end of the gate unit 3 are slidably fitted together to form the spherical seat structure. Within the movable range of the spherical seat structure, the bending angle θ1 of the gate unit 3 relative to the conveyor section 2 (Figure 1) can be changed. Preferably, the spherical seat structure has a movable range such that the upper limit of the bending angle θ1 is 6° or more.

[0029] The pair of structures 7 provided on the second fuselage 12 are positioned to interfere with the projection 6 of the gate unit 3 (Figure 4). That is, one structure 7 is provided on each side, at least partially coinciding with the projection 6 in the front-rear direction. When it is necessary to distinguish between the left and right structures 7, the one on the left will be called structure 7a and the one on the right will be called structure 7b.

[0030] When the direction of travel X1 of the first fuselage section 11 and the direction of travel X2 of the second fuselage section 12 coincide, the projection 6 is located midway between the two structures 7. At this time, neither structure 7a nor structure 7b is in contact with the projection 6 (Figure 4). Hereafter, this posture will be referred to as the reference posture.

[0031] On the other hand, when the shield machine 10 excavates the curved section of the tunnel, the first drum section 11 and the second drum section 12 each move along the curve, so the direction of travel X1 of the first drum section 11 and the direction of travel X2 of the second drum section 12 do not coincide (the angle θ2 between the direction of travel X1 and the direction of travel X2 is not 0°). Figure 5 shows the positional relationship between the projection 6 and the structure 7 when the path curves to the right in the direction of travel (upper side of Figure 1).

[0032] At this time, the screw conveyor 1 supported by the first body 11 is positioned along the direction of travel X1, and the pair of structures 7 provided on the second body 12 are positioned along the direction of travel X2. As a result, the relative positional relationship between the gate unit 3 (projection 6) and the second body 12 (structure 7) becomes uneven in the left-right direction (Figure 5). When the angle θ2 becomes large enough, the left structure 7a comes into contact with the projection 6, and a force acts on the projection 6 to push it to the right.

[0033] Here, since the conveyor section 2 and the gate unit 3 are connected by a spherical seat structure, when the projection 6 is pushed to the right, the concave curved surface 21 and the convex curved surface 31 slide against each other in the spherical seat structure, and the direction of the conveyor section 2 is maintained while only the direction of the gate unit 3 (bending angle θ1) is changed. As a result, the screw conveyor 1 changes its orientation to conform to the shape of the curved section of the tunnel. This change in orientation makes it less likely for the gate unit 3 to interfere with the equipment 15. Also, since the change in orientation occurs naturally as the shield machine 10 moves along the curved section of the tunnel, there is no need for workers to adjust the orientation of the front gate 4 and the rear gate 5.

[0034] By adjusting the distance between the projection 6 and the structure 7, the likelihood of the screw conveyor 1 changing its orientation can be adjusted so that the screw conveyor 1 changes its orientation when the angle θ2 between the direction of travel X1 and the direction of travel X2 exceeds a predetermined threshold. In light of the actual conditions of tunnel construction, it is preferable that the threshold angle θ2 at which the orientation change occurs is 3° or more. In this case, the bending angle θ1 of the gate unit 3 relative to the conveyor section 2 can be set to a range of approximately 4° to 6°, making it easier to avoid interference between the gate unit 3 and the equipment 15.

[0035] [Variation] As a modification of this embodiment, a case in which a spring 8 is interposed between the projection 6 and the structure 7 will be described. There is one spring 8 on each side (Figure 6). If it is necessary to distinguish between the left and right springs 8, the one on the left will be called spring 8a and the one on the right will be called spring 8b.

[0036] When the direction of travel X1 of the first body section 11 and the direction of travel X2 of the second body section 12 coincide, the projection 6 is located midway between the two structures 7. At this time, the elastic forces of springs 8a and 8b are balanced, and the projection 6 is not biased to either the left or the right (Figure 6).

[0037] On the other hand, when the shield machine 10 excavates the curved portion of the tunnel, as described above, the relative positional relationship between the gate unit 3 (projection 6) and the second body 12 (structure 7) becomes uneven in the left-right direction (Figure 7). As a result, the spring 8a on the left side is compressed compared to the reference position, and the spring 8b on the right side is extended compared to the reference position. At this time, an elastic force is generated that causes springs 8a and 8b to return to their reference position, and this elastic force biases the projection 6 to the right (upward in Figure 1). Note that the manner in which the structure 7 biases the projection 6 via the spring 8, as in this embodiment, is one manner in which the projection 6 and the structure 7 interfere with each other.

[0038] In this modified example, the likelihood of the screw conveyor 1 changing its orientation can be adjusted by adjusting the elastic modulus of the spring 8 and the frictional force of the spherical seat structure. The screw conveyor 1 changes orientation when the angle θ2 between the direction of travel X1 and the direction of travel X2 exceeds a predetermined threshold. Adjustments such as using a spring 8 with a high elastic modulus or making the frictional force of the spherical seat structure relatively small will make the orientation change more likely to occur.

[0039] [Other Embodiments] Finally, other embodiments of the shield machine and gate unit according to the present invention will be described. Note that the configurations disclosed in each of the following embodiments can be applied in combination with configurations disclosed in other embodiments, provided that this does not create a conflict.

[0040] In the above embodiment, a configuration in which the equipment 15 and feeder bucket 16 are mounted on the second drum section 12 was described as an example. As in this example, a configuration in which equipment such as electrical equipment and hydraulic equipment are mounted on the same drum section as the conveyor is commonly used for shield machines with relatively small diameters (typically those that excavate tunnels with a diameter of about 1330 to 2000 mm). However, the present invention is also applicable to shield machines in which the equipment and conveyor are not mounted on the same drum section. An example of such a shield machine is one equipped with a trailing carriage.

[0041] In the above embodiment, a configuration with two flat plate gates (front gate 4 and rear gate 5) was described as an example. However, the number and type of gates are not limited in the present invention. That is, there may be one gate or three or more gates. Also, arc gates or the like may be used instead of flat plate gates. Furthermore, when there are multiple gates, it is preferable that the type of each gate is the same, but they may be different.

[0042] With regard to other configurations, the embodiments disclosed herein are illustrative in all respects, and it should be understood that the scope of the present invention is not limited thereto. Those skilled in the art will readily understand that modifications can be made as appropriate without departing from the spirit of the invention. Therefore, other embodiments modified without departing from the spirit of the invention are naturally included within the scope of the present invention. [Industrial applicability]

[0043] This invention can be used, for example, in tunnel excavation. [Explanation of symbols]

[0044] 1: Screw conveyor 2: Conveyor section 21: Concave curved surface part 3: Gate Unit 31: Convex curved surface part 4: Front gate 5: Rear gate 6: Protrusion 7 :Structure 8: Spring 10: Shield Machine 11: First section of the fuselage 12: Second hull 13: Cutter head 14: Chamber 15:Equipment 16: Feeder Bucket 100: Shield Machine X1: Direction of travel of the first section of the fuselage X2: Direction of travel of the second fuselage

Claims

1. It comprises a first body section having a cutter head and a screw conveyor, and a second body section connected to the rear of the first body section, The screw conveyor comprises a conveyor section for transporting mud and a gate unit having an openable and closable gate. The conveyor section and the gate unit are connected by a spherical seat structure in which a convex curved surface provided on one side and a concave curved surface provided on the other side are slidably fitted together. The gate unit has a projection extending upward or downward, and the second body has a pair of structures extending inward. A shield machine in which the projection and the structure are arranged such that when the angle between the direction of travel of the first body and the direction of travel of the second body exceeds a predetermined threshold, one of the structures interferes with the projection.

2. The shield machine according to claim 1, further comprising an elastic member interposed between the projection and the structure.

3. The shield machine according to claim 1, having a plurality of the aforementioned gates.

4. The shield machine according to claim 1, wherein the gate is a flat plate gate.

5. The shield machine according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined threshold is 3° or more.

6. In a screw conveyor of a shield machine, a gate unit connected to the conveyor section that transports mud, A gate that can be opened and closed, A concave curved surface portion that slidably fits with a convex curved surface portion provided on the conveyor portion, or a convex curved surface portion that slidably fits with a concave curved surface portion provided on the conveyor portion, A gate unit comprising: a projection provided in a position capable of interfering with a structure provided on a second body connected to the rear of the first body having the screw conveyor; and a projection provided on the second body connected to the rear of the first body having the screw conveyor.

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