The invention relates to a friction tube anchor.
Friction tube anchors are known, in which connection for example reference can be made to U.S. Pat. No. 4,459,067 A and WO 2006/066 288 A.
Friction tube anchors are rock anchors which have a tube which is folded to the inside in the lengthwise direction and which is placed in a bore hole and expanded by increasing the pressure within the folded tube so that the outer surface of the tube adjoins the inner surface of the bore hole and thus fixes the anchor in the bore hole.
In the known friction tube anchor (compare
WO 2004/099571 A also discloses attaching screw bolts, for example eye bolts, to the outer end pieces of these friction tube anchors to accommodate loads.
The object of the invention is to expand possible applications of friction tube anchors of the initially mentioned type while maintaining the advantages of friction tube anchors.
This object is achieved with a friction tube anchor which has the features described herein.
Preferred and advantageous configurations of the invention are described below.
Since in the friction tube anchor as claimed in the invention there is a casing-like sleeve which is connected to one end of the expandable tube of the friction tube anchor, optionally with a casing joined in between, there are several different possible applications.
Thus, the casing-like sleeve which is provided in the friction tube anchor as claimed in the invention can be used to couple several expandable tubes of friction tube anchors to one another so that the effective length of the friction tube anchors is increased and better holding, especially in friable rock or loose subsoil, is achieved.
The casing-like sleeve on one end of the expandable tube of the friction tube anchor can also be used to connect an inflation adapter to the expandable tube, by which pressurized fluid (water) from a pressure source is routed into the friction tube anchor to expand the tube.
Finally, the casing-like sleeve which is provided in the friction tube anchor as claimed in the invention can also be used to join other components to the friction tube anchor after it has been expanded and fixed in the subsoil. These components can be components such as bolts, especially screws, eye bolts or the like which can be screwed in. In this case the casing-like sleeve forms a hanger jacket.
If in the friction tube anchor as claimed in the invention the casing-like sleeve is used as a hanger jacket, a casing which is connected to the expandable tube of the friction tube anchor and from the other end a bolt, especially an eye bolt or the like, can be inserted, especially screwed into the casing-like sleeve from one side. Thus an especially simple structure of the friction tube anchor as claimed in the invention arises and it becomes possible to fix it in a bore hole by an inflation adapter being attached (inserted) via the end (thread) of the casing-like sleeve into which the fastening bolt is inserted (screwed) later; the pressurized medium which is necessary for expanding the tube of the friction tube anchor is fed via the adapter. Thus the operating reliability of the friction tube anchor as claimed in the invention is ensured.
The invention can be fundamentally used in all types of friction tube anchors, especially also in friction tube anchors of the design known from WO 2006/066288A.
In one embodiment of the friction tube anchor as claimed in the invention, the casing-like sleeve is made with two threaded sections so that casings which are connected to the expandable tubes of the friction tube anchors and/or other components such as bolts, eye bolts and the like as well as the inflation adapter can be screwed in. It is preferable in this connection if the thread for holding the casings which are joined to the expandable tubes of the friction tube anchors are round threads, and threads for holding inflation adapters or other components such as bolts are metric threads.
Within the framework of the invention, it is considered that the thread in which on the one hand the casing for the expandable tube of the friction tube anchor and the thread into which the inflation adapter for expanding the tube or the attachment bolt is screwed, on the other, is a thread which runs in the same direction or in opposite directions.
For example, the thread for holding the casing is a left-hand thread (round thread) and the thread for holding the inflation adapter or the fastening bolt is a right-hand thread (metric thread).
Within the framework of the invention it can be provided that the casing in which the expandable tube of the friction tube anchor is fixed has an outside thread, for example a round thread.
In order to seal the casing relative to the casing-like sleeve, especially the hanger jacket, on its outside there can be a seal, especially an O-ring.
When the friction tube anchor as claimed in the invention is set, an inflation adapter via which the pressure medium is supplied is screwed into the end of the casing-like sleeve, which end in the position of use points to the outside, therefore toward the open end of the bore hole. This inflation adapter has a distance from the casing or from the expandable tube which has been attached in it. The pressurized medium for an expandable tube with a tightly welded end enters the expandable tube exclusively via an outside hole, for example via a hole which is provided in the wall of the casing.
If according to one embodiment of the invention in the weld on the tightly welded end of the expandable tube there is at least one opening for the passage of the pressurized medium into the interior of the welded tube, an opening in the wall of the expandable tube is as unnecessary as a radial opening in the casing.
In one embodiment of the invention, it is provided that the expandable tube is connected, for example welded, to the casing which has been inserted into the casing-like sleeve, especially screwed in via a rolled thread.
In order to facilitate the entry of the liquid for expanding the tube of the friction tube anchor from the outside, especially via the hole in the wall of the casing, in the transition between the regions of the casing-like sleeve into which the casing or a bolt is inserted, especially in the transition between the two threaded sections of the casing-like sleeve, there is a region with an enlarged cross section which is made especially without threads. This thread-free region with an enlarged diameter however need not be present if there is a round thread, since the fluid which expands the expandable tube, as a result of the tolerance of the round thread in the threaded region, can flow as far as the radial opening in the casing which has been attached to the expandable tube and can enter the expandable tube there.
This thread-free region on the inside of the casing-like sleeve can be omitted when expandable tubes with open welding or expandable tubes with closed welding and opening in the weld are used.
In one embodiment of the invention the casing-like sleeve is made as a “hanger casing” and has a section with a round thread and a section with a metric thread, and the expandable tube of the friction tube anchor can be screwed into the round thread via the casing which is connected to this tube. A bolt, for example an eye bolt, can be screwed into the metric thread. In this embodiment the pressurized fluid which is necessary for expanding the expandable tube is fed via the inflation adapter which has been screwed into the metric thread of the sleeve (hanger jacket). This fluid can flow either directly axially into the omega profile of the expandable tube at this point (for open welding of the profile of the expandable tube). For closed welding, the fluid, like in a conventional friction tube anchor, enters the interior of the expandable tube via at least one radial hole which has been drilled through the expandable tube and the welded-on casing, or through at least one axial hole which is provided in the weld.
The expression “open welding” (shown in
The expression “closed welding” (shown in
One difference between “open welding” and “closed welding” is the welded cross section of the profile. In this connection, for “closed welding” there is an increased welded steel cross section so that the failure load is higher than in an “open welded” profile. In “open” welding the profile is not welded tight, so that the pressurized fluid which is required for expansion can emerge axially into the casing-like sleeve. For closed welding on the other hand the profile is welded tight, is therefore closed on its end which is held in the casing-like sleeve so that a radially arranged hole is necessary in the wall of the expandable tube or an opening in the weld is necessary through which fluid can enter and emerge.
In one embodiment the casing-like sleeve with two sections is made with round threads which are designed to hold one expandable tube of a friction tube anchor each via the casings fixed on their end by screwing in. In this connection the fluid required for the expansion of the expandable tubes at this point can emerge either axially from the (open-welded) expandable tube and can penetrate axially into the expandable tube which has been screwed in behind it, or the fluid emerges radially through a hole or axially through an opening in the weld from the expandable tube which has been welded closed, flows through the interior of the casing-like sleeve and for the second tube which has been screwed into the sleeve penetrates in turn through a radial hole or through an opening (axial hole, for example drilled hole) in the weld into the interior of the expandable tube.
Fundamentally, within the framework of the invention there are especially for example the following combinations:
An individual friction tube anchor with casing-like sleeve (hanger jacket) which has been screwed on, and an eye bolt,
two or more friction tube anchors screwed together with the casing-like sleeve screwed on, and an eye bolt and
two or more friction tube anchors screwed together with a normal end casing with an inflation hole and an anchor plate (similar to as shown in
The invention also relates to an inflation adapter which in conjunction with the casing-like sleeve of the friction tube anchor of the invention provided as claimed in the invention can be used especially advantageously.
This inflation adapter as claimed in the invention is characterized by the features named in the independent claim directed at the inflation adapter.
Preferred and advantageous embodiments of the inflation adapter as claimed in the invention are the subject matter of the dependent claims.
Other details and features of the invention will become apparent from the following description of one preferred embodiment using the drawings.
A friction tube anchor as claimed in the invention has an expandable tube 1 of metal which has been folded omega-like (compare
The expandable tube 1 of the friction tube anchor is connected to the casing 6 especially by welding. In this connection “open welding”, compare
The casing 6 on its outside has a round thread 8 and a peripheral groove 9 which is open to the outside and into which O-ring packing 11 is inserted. Instead of the ring packing 11 inserted into the peripheral groove 9, any other seal of the casing 6 relative to the casing-like sleeve 7, such as for example a flat seal, is likewise considered within the framework of the invention. The section 13 of the casing-like sleeve 7 which is designed to hold the casing 6 and the tube 1 connected to it is provided with an inside thread (round thread) which corresponds to the (rolled) outside thread 8 of the casing 6.
The casing-like sleeve 7 has another section with a thread 14, and the thread in sections 13 and 14 can be in the same direction or opposite direction. For example the thread in section 13 for holding the casing 6 is a left-handed thread and the thread in section 14 is a right-handed thread. The thread in section 14 can be a metric thread.
In the region 15 between the threaded sections 13 and 14, in one preferred embodiment in the casing-like sleeve 7 there is an unthreaded region 15 with an enlarged diameter. As already indicated, especially when the casing 6 on the outside has a round thread and the casing-like sleeve 7 in its region 13 has a round thread, between the section 13 and the section 14 of the casing-like sleeve 7 there need not be an unthreaded section with an enlarged diameter. This applies especially when the end of the expandable tube 1 which is connected to the casing 6 has “open welding”. But even if the end of the tube 1 which lies in the region of the casing 6 is made with “closed welding”, the unthreaded region which optionally also has an enlarged diameter (region 15 of the casing-like sleeve 7) is not critical. As mentioned, the pressurized fluid due to tolerances of the round threads can flow through the threaded section, therefore between the inside surface of the section 14 of the casing-like sleeve 7 and the outside surface of the casing 6.
A bolt, for example an eye bolt (compare
When an anchor as claimed in the invention is set, therefore the tube 1 must be expanded, an inflation adapter 20 (compare
After the inflation adapter 20 has been screwed out of the section 14 of the casing-like sleeve 7, a fastening bolt (
From the side opposite the tube 1 an inflation adapter 20 is screwed into the casing-like sleeve 7 into the metric thread which is located there in the section 14 and is sealed relative to the sleeve 7 by ring packing (O-ring) 21. Since in the arrangement which is shown in
An inflation adapter 20 which can be used in conjunction with the casing-like sleeve 7 provided in the friction tube anchor as claimed in the invention is shown in
This inflation adapter 20 for supplying the fluid (pressurized medium) with which the expandable tube 1 of the friction tube anchor can be expanded via the casing-like sleeve 7 which is connected to it has an axial channel 25. This axial channel 25 is supplied with the pressurized medium from a conventional pressure source via a radial hole 27 which discharges into the axial channel 25.
The inflation adapter 20, as shown in
As
Between the thread 31 of the inflation adapter 20 and the part of the casing-like sleeve 7 which lies outside the latter there is ring packing 21 (O-ring). For the inflation adapter 20 which is inserted, especially screwed into the casing-like sleeve 7, the ring packing 21 is clamped between the adapter-side end of the casing-like sleeve 7 and a shoulder 33 on the inflation adapter 20, therefore the transition region between the section with the tapered diameter and the section of the inflation adapter 20 with a larger diameter. For this purpose the annular end surface of the casing-like sleeve 7 is made inside with a bevel 35.
In addition, in the embodiment shown in
So that in the embodiment of closed welding of the expandable tube 1 shown in
Furthermore, in the embodiment with the opening 45 in the welding 41 on the closed, welded end of the expandable tube 1, the unthreaded region 15 in the casing-like sleeve 7 which clears the flow path in the radial holes 17 is dispensable.
It is also recognizable in
The casing-like sleeve 7 on its two ends has cylindrical, unthreaded sections 47 so that the ring seals 11 can easily perform their sealing function. Between the threads in the sections 13 which are threads in opposite directions or in the same direction, in the region of the middle of the casing-like sleeve 7 there is an unthreaded section 49.
In summary, one embodiment of the invention can be described as follows.
A friction tube anchor has a tube 1 which can be expanded under the action of a pressurized medium and which is attached to a casing 6. The casing 6 is screwed into a threaded section 13 of the casing-like sleeve 7 and is sealed by ring packing 11 relative to the inside of the section 13. The casing-like sleeve 7 has another threaded section 14 in which selectively either another expandable tube 1 or an inflation adapter for feeding the pressurized medium for expanding the tube 1, or a fastening bolt, for example an eye bolt, can be screwed.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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A 1382/2006 | Aug 2006 | AT | national |
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
---|---|---|---|---|
PCT/AT2007/000366 | 7/26/2007 | WO | 00 | 2/19/2008 |
Publishing Document | Publishing Date | Country | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
WO2008/019409 | 2/21/2008 | WO | A |
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
4100748 | Hansen | Jul 1978 | A |
Number | Date | Country |
---|---|---|
2004099571 | Nov 2004 | WO |
WO 2005073510 | Aug 2005 | WO |
WO 2005119009 | Dec 2005 | WO |
WO 2006066288 | Jun 2006 | WO |
Number | Date | Country | |
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20090035071 A1 | Feb 2009 | US |