Quick manhole/handhole construction method and related devices

Information

  • Patent Grant
  • 6536987
  • Patent Number
    6,536,987
  • Date Filed
    Wednesday, May 30, 2001
    23 years ago
  • Date Issued
    Tuesday, March 25, 2003
    21 years ago
  • Inventors
  • Examiners
    • Hartmann; Gary S.
    Agents
    • Rosenberg, Klein & Lee
Abstract
A quick manhole/handhole construction method and related devices is provided that includes a cutting unit and a manhole/handhole cover lifter. The cutting unit includes a radial feeding device, a cutting plate, a base, and a vessel, for easily carrying out the cutting task by fixing the base and operating the radial feeding device. The lifter is a single frame, and can be used to lift a manhole/handhole cover.
Description




BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION




The present invention relates to a quick manhole/handhole construction method and related devices having some simple and convenient units, such as a cutting unit with quick positioning ability and a manhole/handhole lifter, etc. The units are applied due to the characteristics of these devices and corresponding construction steps of the present invention to advance the technology of quick replacement of a manhole/handhole.




DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART




A commonly known manhole/handhole is the outlet of a culvert or sewer for burying electrical cables and water pipes. In order to connect the manhole/handhole set with the culvert correctly, the manhole/handhole has to be set by a locking method. When the road surface is varied due to repair of the road, or damage to the manhole/handhole, the manhole/handhole needs to be replaced. The common task encountered is how can the manhole/handhole be moved easily and effortlessly, and then how can the manhole/handhole set that is fastened on the culvert be removed. The latter is actually the most difficult thing. In a commonly seen construction method for replacing a manhole/handhole, the manhole/handhole seat is first taken out by destructive methods of sapping the road surface and digging the culvert. After the new manhole/handhole is positioned, the culvert and the road surface are filled. The construction method described above wastes not only time but also effort, and the structure of the original culvert and the road surface are destroyed such that their life is reduced. A manhole cover moving device, as seen in Taiwan Patent 380654, is made up of a support set, a jack mechanism, a steering mechanism and a turning grip. When the structure described above is used, the jack is fastened first, and other mechanisms are extended one by one for operation. Therefore, the device is inconvenient to use, and needs to be folded up after use, otherwise it occupies too much space. In addition, the devices disclosed by Taiwan Patent 243877 and Taiwan Patent 262900, “Tools for lifting and moving a manhole cover with rolling tubes, prying tubes, hooks, and a crowbar”, need many tools such that many resources are used for bringing these tools. Besides, these tools have to work in coordination with each other, and if the user loses one of these tools, the practicality of these tools is decreased substantially.




In addition, what has to be mentioned is that for replacement of a manhole/handhole, even with advanced countries, such as Japan, with huge capital for researching and manufacturing, common methods of replacement of a manhole/handhole still use manpower or machines to proceed with digging and replacement. In addition to the time and effort that is wasted on the task, where the task is undertaken in an advanced country with vast area, the speed of replacement can't keep up with the speed of damage. How the replacement of the manhole/handhole is carried out with more efficiency and less human and commodity resources is the thing that is done well only in advanced countries. For example, the manhole/handhole replacement related equipments from Japan costs over ten million NT, and needs much manpower to operate and transport. Thus, it can be shown that the conventional construction method of a manhole/handhole has many disadvantages and needs to be improved.




SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION




The purpose of the present invention is to provide a quick manhole/handhole construction device, which uses feeding screws of the cutting unit and the theory of a planet gear mechanism to make the cutting unit position quickly and carry out the horizontal cutting task.




The second purpose of the present invention is to provide a quick manhole/handhole construction device, which uses the extended screw feeding mechanism to make the cutting unit add the function of cutting an asphalt road surface around the manhole/handhole.




Another purpose of the present invention is to provide a quick manhole/handhole construction device, which uses a position hook of the present invention to make the cutting unit reach the position quickly when the cutting unit is placed into a manhole/handhole or a culvert.




Another further purpose of the present invention is to provide a quick manhole/handhole construction device, which has a single frame combined with a pair of fastened wheels and a pair of mobile wheels, and uses the principle of a lever to move the manhole/handhole cover quickly and effortlessly.




The other purpose of the present invention is to provide a quick manhole/handhole construction method, which can carry out replacing the manhole/handhole cover smoothly via every unit of the present invention, even if under the condition that the resources are limited.




The related device corresponding to a quick manhole/handhole construction method that can achieve the purposes described above, at least comprises a cutting unit and a lifter. The cutting unit further comprises a radial feeding device having a pneumatic motor (or a hydraulic motor) combined with a screw feeding mechanism. The screw feeding mechanism and the fixing holder of the chassis are connected to separately add an extended screw feeding mechanism, and a fastening holder is fixed at the final end of the screw feeding mechanism and is normal to the fixing holder of the chassis. The radial feeding device can be fastened on the fastening holder of the extended screw feeding mechanism. The cutting unit includes a cutting plate, which is a circular blade unit covered by a shelter. The shelter has a placing prop fastened at a proper position on the exterior thereof. A chassis is provided whereon a fixing holder is set and a column casing is appended at a proper position on a periphery thereof, and a steering gear mechanism is set at the top of the column casing. A shaft is extended downward from the steering gear mechanism, and a planet gear is fastened on the shaft. The cutting unit includes a base. A fixed gear is fastened on the upper surface of the base and at least three extending arms, which can be controlled via adjusting screws, are set on the bottom face, dividing the area of the bottom face in equal parts. A vessel connecting with an output duct is provided, and is able to be placed into the placing prop set on the shelter. The shelter and the radial feeding device are fastened to the fixing holder of the chassis, and the blade of the cutting plate is fastened to the pneumatic motor of the radial feeding device, and the chassis is set at the top of the base, and the planet gear set on the chassis is able to engage the fixed gear set on the base.




The lifter further comprises a frame. The frame has some symmetrical position holes. A pair of fastened wheels containing two wheels are provided, which are respectively set at two sides of one end of the frame. A pair of mobile wheels containing two wheels are provided at two sides of the frame and respectively coupled with a mobile link. The lifter includes a hook module. The main part of the hook module includes a stick with two sleeves which have positioning holes and can slide on the frame, respectively set at two ends. A pair of other mobile sleeves are provided, respectively having hooks at the bottom and several positioning holes at the top. The lifter further includes a plurality of the positioning pins for fastening the hook module. A pair of folding units are provided which comprises two foldable links and a string. A stopping unit comprising at least a stopping plate is provided which is fixed at a suitable position on the frame and prevent the frame from contacting the ground when the frame is horizontally positioned. The pair of fastened wheels are respectively set at both sides of one end of said frame, and corresponds to the pair of mobile wheels, and the pair of folding units are used to link the fastened wheels and the mobile wheels, and the pair of folding units are connected by a string passing through the frame such that when the string is pulled, the pair of fastened wheels and the pair of mobile wheels can be pulled by the pair of folding units and the foldable links between the wheels can be folded. A pair of positioning pins can pass through the positioning holes of the hook module and the frame at the same time such that quick positioning of the mobile hooks can be accomplished.




A construction method corresponding to the devices for quick construction of a manhole/handhole comprises at least the steps as follows:




Step 1, using a lifter to lift and move a manhole/handhole cover;




Step 2, placing and positioning the cutting unit into the manhole/handhole, and using the cutting unit to cut the surface of the asphalt road around the manhole/handhole;




Step 3, placing and positioning the cutting unit into the culvert and using the cutting unit to cut the culvert connected to the bottom of the manhole/handhole;




Step 4, hoisting up the manhole/handhole;




Step 5, placing a new manhole/handhole;




Step 6, using the lifter to move and set the manhole/handhole cover;




Step 7, laying the surface of the asphalt road around the manhole/handhole.











BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS




The drawings disclose an illustrative embodiment of the present invention which serves to exemplify the various advantages and objects thereof, and are as follows:





FIG. 1

is a perspective view of the cutting unit of a quick manhole/handhole construction method and related devices of the present invention;





FIG. 2

is an exploded view of the cutting unit of the present invention;




FIG.


3


(A) is an exploded view of the extended screw feeding mechanism of the present invention;




FIG.


3


(B) is a perspective view of the extended screw feeding mechanism of the present invention;




FIG.


3


(C) is a perspective view of the fastening holder appended with the dust cover of the present invention;




FIG.


4


(A) is an elevation view of the cutting unit of the present invention horizontally cutting the culvert;




FIG.


4


(B) is an elevation view of the cutting unit of the present invention cutting the surface of an asphalt road;





FIG. 5

is a perspective view of the lifter of the present invention;




FIG.


6


(A) is an elevation view of the lifter of the present invention hanging a manhole/handhole cover;




FIG.


6


(B) is an elevation view of the lifter of the present invention moving a manhole/handhole cover;





FIG. 7

is a flowchart of construction steps of the present invention;




FIG.


8


(A) is a perspective view of a fastening position hook of the present invention;




FIG.


8


(B) is a perspective view of a mobile position hook of the present invention; and,




FIG.


8


(C) is a perspective view showing the application of the position hooks of the present invention.















LIST OF REFERENCE NUMBERS


























H1




Culvert




H2




Manhole/handhole






H3




Manhole/handhole cover




m




Positioning pin






m2




Positioning pin




n1




Positioning hole






n2




Positioning hole




S1




Screw






S2




Screw




S3




Screw






S4




Screw




AC




Surface of an asphalt road






S5




Screw




S6




Nut






S7




Screw




S




Link






w




Vessel




w1




Duct






1




Cutting unit




1a




Radial feeding device






1a1




Pneumatic motor




1a11




Shaft






1a2




Housing




1a3




Turning wheel






1a31




Bevel gear




1a4




Guide block






1a41




Hole




1a42




Sliding trough






1a5




Sliding block




1a51




Slideway






1a52




Block




1a53




Screw






1a54




Bevel gear




1a6




Screw feeding mechanism






1b




Cuffing plate




1b1




Shelter






1b2




Blade




1b3




Lock plate






1b11




Placing prop




1b12




Fixing plate






1b31




Hole




1b4




Blade unit






1c




Chassis




1c1




Steering gear mechanism






1c11




Bevel gear pair




1c12




Turning grip






1c2




Shaft




1c3




Planet gear






1c4




Fixing holder




1c5




Gap






1c6




Shield cover




1c7




Guide shaft






1c8




Column casing




1d




Base






1d1




Extending arm




1d11




Fastening set






1d12




Fastening nut




1d13




Screw bolt






1d14




Internal sleeve




1d15




External sleeve






1d16




Screw hole




1d2




Extending arm






1d3




Extending arm




1d4




Base plate






1d41




Fixed gear




1d42




Support set






1d43




Guiding hole




2




Lifter






21




Frame




2a




Hook module






23




Stopping unit




231




Stopping plate






24




String




26




Stick






261




Mobile sleeve




262




Mobile sleeve






263




Hook




264




Hook






265




Sleeve




266




Sleeve






291




Position hole




301




Position hole






31




Folding unit




32




Folding unit






311




Foldable link




312




Foldable link






321




Foldable link




322




Foldable link






4a




A pair of fixed wheels




4b




A pair of mobile wheels






41




Wheel




42




Wheel






43




Wheel




44




Wheel






51




Mobile link




52




Mobile link






6




Extended screw feeding




61




Steering bevel gear pair







mechanism






62




Turning wheel




63




Sliding block






631




Screw




632




Block






64




Slideway




65




Guide block






66




Sliding trough




67




Sliding slot






671




Screw hole




68




Fastening prop






69




Fastening holder




691




Dust cover






7a




Position hook




7b




Position hook






7c




Position hook




7d




Position hook






7




Position hook




71




Hook






73




Stick




81




Step 1






82




Step 2




83




Step 3






84




Step 4




85




Step 5






86




Step 6




87




Step 7





















DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT




Referring to FIG.


1


and

FIG. 2

, the cutting unit


1


is mainly composed of a radial feeding device


1




a


, a cutting plate


1




b


, a chassis


1




c


, a base


1




d


and a vessel w. The radial feeding device


1




a


is mainly composed of a pneumatic motor


1




a




1


and a screw feeding mechanism


1




a




6


. The pneumatic motor


1




a




1


is mounted on a housing


1




a




2


, and a turning wheel


1




a




3


is mounted at one end of the housing


1




a




2


, and then the shaft of the turning wheel is extended such that a bevel gear


1




a




31


is coupled thereto. A hole


1




a




41


is formed at the proper position of the guide block, and has threads. Both sides of the top of the guide block


1




a




4


respectively have a sliding trench, and the top of the guide block


1




a




4


is fastened to the bottom of the housing


1




a




2


. Both sides of the bottom of the sliding block


1




a




5


respectively have a slideway


1




a




51


, and one end of the sliding block


1




a




5


has a stopping block


1




a




52


joining a screw


1




a




53


. The screw


1




a




53


can rotate at the joint


6


between the screw


1




a




53


and the stopping block


1




a




52


. A bevel gear


1




a




54


for engaging the bevel gear


1




a




31


of the extended shaft of the turning wheel


1




a




3


is mounted at one end of the screw


1




a




53


. The cutting plate


1




b


is a circular blade unit


1




b




4


and is covered with a shelter


1




b




1


, and the blade unit


1




b




4


is made of a blade


1




b




2


with the lock plate


1




b




3


fixed on the blade


1




b




2


via screws S


4


, and a hole


1




b




31


operating in coordination with the shaft


1




a




11


of the pneumatic motor


1




a




1


is set at the center of the lock plate


1




b




3


, and a placing prop


1




b




11


and a pair of fixing plates


1




b




12


are set at proper positions on the exterior of the shelter


1




b




1


.




The chassis


1




c


mainly comprises a chassis shield cover


1




c




6


, and a fixing holder


1




c




4


is mounted on the chassis shield cover


1




c




6


. The fixing holder


1




c




4


has a gap


1




c




5


. An extended column casing


1




c




8


is mounted at a proper position on the chassis shield cover


1




c




6


, and a steering gear mechanism


1




c




1


is mounted at the top of the column casing


1




c




8


. The steering gear mechanism


1




c




1


has a shaft


1




c




2


extending downwardly with a planet gear


1




c




3


fastened thereto. A guide shaft


1




c




7


is mounted below the chassis shield cover


1




c




6


. A base plate


1




d




4


having a fixed gear


1




d




41


is mounted on the base


1




d


. The fixed gear


1




d




41


engages the planet gear


1




c




3


of the chassis


1




c


. Three extending arms


1




d




1


,


1




d




2


,


1




d




3


with the same structure are mounted at the bottom of the base plate, dividing the area of the bottom surface thereof into equal parts. The extending arms


1




d




1


,


1




d




2


,


1




d




3


can be adjusted and controlled by screws.




The extended arm


1




d




1


comprises a fastening set


1




d




11


which is slipped on the screw bolt


1




d




13


, and a fastening nut


1




d




12


is located at the proper position on the screw bolt


1




d




13


. The end without the connecting fastening set


1




d




11


of the screw bolt


1




d




13


is disposed within the screw hole


1




d




16


of the internal sleeve


1




d




14


. The internal sleeve


1




d




14


is used together with the external sleeve


1




d




15


, and the position can be fixed by coordination of a screw S


5


and a nut S


6


. The structure of the extending arm


1




d




2


and


1




d




3


are the same as the extending arm


1




d




1


. A support set


1




d




42


is located above the base


1




d


, and a guiding hole


1




d




43


is formed at the center of the support set


1




d




42


. A duct w


1


is connected to a proper position of the exterior of the vessel w. The fixing plates


1




b




12


of the cutting plate


1




b


, the screws S


1


and S


2


are fixed on the fixing holder


1




c




4


of the chassis. The lock plate


1




b




3


of the cutting plate


1




b


is fixed at the bottom of the pneumatic motor


1




a




1


, and the hole


1




b




31


of the lock plate


1




b




3


works in cooperation with the shaft


1




a




11


of the pneumatic motor


1




a




1


. The vessel w is located at the placing prop


1




b




11


of the cutting plate


1




b


. The guide shaft


1




c




7


of the chassis


1




c


is inset into the guiding hole


1




d




43


of the chassis


1




d


, and the planet gear


1




c




3


engages the fixed gear of the base


1




d.






Referring now to FIG.


3


(A) and FIG.


3


(B), the main structure of the extended screw feeding mechanism


6


comprises a guide block


65


, a sliding block


63


, a fastening prop


68


and a fixing holder


69


. A turning wheel


62


is mounted at one end of the sliding block


63


, and a steering bevel gear pair


61


is respectively mounted to the extended shaft of the turning wheel


62


and a screw


631


which is joined on the block


632


of the sliding block


63


. A set of slideways


64


are set at the bottom of the sliding block


63


, and a fixing holder


69


is located at the other end of the sliding block


63


. The fixing holder


69


can have a dust cover


691


added thereto, as shown in FIG.


3


(C). The fastening prop


68


is fixed at the bottom of the guide block


65


, and a sliding trough


66


is formed in the interior of the guide block


65


. A pair of sliding slots


67


are formed in the bottom of the sliding trough


66


. A screw hole


671


is formed parallel to the sliding trough


66


at a proper position of the guide block


65


. The slideways


64


of the sliding block


63


can slide in the sliding slots


67


of the guide block


65


. The screw


631


of the sliding block


63


operates in coordination with the screw hole


671


of the guide block


65


.




As shown in FIG.


4


(A), when the cutting unit


1


of the present invention is placed into a culvert H


1


, the internal sleeve


1




d




14


and the external sleeve


1




d




15


of the extending arms


1




d




1


,


1




d




2


and


1




d




3


are fastened by the screw S


5


after being adjusted to the proper position (the adjusting motion of the structure of


1




d




2


and


1




d




3


are the same as that of


1




d




1


). Then, the fastening nut


1




d




12


on the screw bolt


1




d




13


is turned to make the fastening set


1




d




11


on the screw bolt


1




d




13


hold against the inner wall of the culvert H


1


. At this time, the turning wheel


1




a




3


of the radial feeding mechanism


1




a


can be turned to rotate the bevel gear


1




a




31


, and the gear


1




a




54


is driven to drive the screw


1




a




53


. Then, the housing


1




a




2


of the radial feeding mechanism


1




a


shifts due to rotation of the screw


1




a




53


. The pneumatic motor


1




a




1


on the housing


1




a




2


is driven simultaneously, and the circular blade


1




b




2


is driven because the lock plate


1




b




3


is fixed to the shaft


1




a




11


at the bottom of the pneumatic motor


1




a




1


. After the circular blade


1




b




2


starts to contact the inner wall of the culvert H


1


, due to turning the turning wheel


1




a




3


of the radial feeding mechanism


1




a


, the user can go on turning the turning wheel


1




a




3


to decide cutting depth, and the shelter


1




b




1


of the cutting unit


1




b


prevents splashing cut pieces. When the circular blade


1




b




2


reaches the cutting depth, the user can turn the turning grip


1




c




12


of the steering gear mechanism


1




c




1


to drive the bevel gear pair


1




c




11


such that the shaft


1




c




2


of the chassis


1




d


is driven to drive the planet gear


1




c




3


and thereby drive the fixed gear


1




d




41


. The cutting plate


1




b


of the radial feeding device


1




a


is thus driven to have circular motion due to rotation of the fixed gear


1




d




41


. The velocity of circular motion of the cutting plate


1




b


is the cutting speed of the cutting unit cutting the culvert H


1


. The manhole/handhole set H


2


can be taken out after the cutting task is finished.




With reference to FIG.


4


(B), an extended screw feeding mechanism


6


can also be added to the cutting unit to work in coordination with the cutting task before the present invention is used to cut the culvert H


1


. First, the extending arms


1




d




1


,


1




d




2


, and


1




d




3


are used to hold the base


1




d


in the manhole/handhole H


2


. Then, the radial feeding mechanism and the cutting plate


1




b


described above are positioned for use, and the guide block


1




a




4


of the radial feeding mechanism


1




a


is fastened on the fastening holder


69


of the extended feeding mechanism


6


. The fastening prop


68


is fixed on the fixing holder


1




c




4


of the chassis


1




c


via screws S


7


. For increasing the stability of the present invention, after the extended screw feeding mechanism is added, a link S can be added on the fixing holder


1




c




4


of the chassis


1




c


. When the user operates the turning wheel


62


, the sliding block


63


is driven in the guide block


65


, and the movement of the sliding block


63


drives the radial feeding mechanism


1




a


to move in a direction parallel to the surface of an asphalt road AC (the amount of the displacement would determine the area of the asphalt road to be cut). After determining the amount of the displacement of the radial feeding mechanism


1




a


, the user can operate the turning wheel


1




a




3


to adjust the amount of vertical displacement of circular blade


1




b




2


(i.e. the depth of the asphalt road to be cut). Then, the user operates the turning grip


1




c




12


to drive the planet gear


1




c




3


. Meanwhile, the planet gear


1




c




3


drives the fixed gear


1




d




4


(which is the cut speed of cutting the surface of the asphalt road). In this way, cutting unit


1


can carry out the task of cutting a circular path according to the amount of displacement of the radial feeding device, the feeding amount of the cutting plate, and the cutting speed of the fixed gear


1




d




4


.




As shown in

FIG. 5

, the lifter


2


is composed of a frame


21


, a pair of fastened wheels


4




a


, a pair of mobile wheels


4




b


, a hook module


2




a


, several positioning pins m, a pair of folding units


31


and


32


, a string


24


, and a stopping unit


23


. Several symmetrical position holes


27


and


28


are disposed at proper positions in the frame


21


. The pair of fastened wheels


4




a


include a wheel


41


and a wheel


42


, and are respectively located on both sides of one end of the frame


21


. The pair of mobile wheels


4




b


, include the wheels


43


and


44


, respectively mounted on the mobile links


51


and


52


joined at two sides of the frame


21


. The hook module


2




a


is mainly composed of a stick


26


, and a pair of mobile sleeves


261


,


262


are set on the stick


26


. Hooks


263


,


264


are respectively located at the bottom of the mobile sleeves


261


,


262


, and several positioning holes n


1


are formed at the top of the mobile sleeves


261


,


262


. Several positioning holes n


2


are formed in the stick


26


. A pair of sleeves


265


,


266


are located at both ends of the stick


26


. The sleeves


265


,


266


can slide on the frame


21


, and the position holes


291


,


301


are respectively formed in the sleeves


265


,


266


. The positioning pins m are used to fix the hook module


2




a.






The folding units


31


and


32


respectively contain a pair of foldable links


311


,


312


and


321


,


322


. The stopping unit


23


contains a stopping plate


231


, which is fixed at a proper position on the frame


21


, to prevent the frame


21


from contacting the ground when the frame


21


is placed down horizontally. The wheel


41


and the wheel


42


of the pair of fastened wheels


4




a


are respectively located at both sides of one end of the frame


21


, and the pair of mobile wheels are located at the outside of the pair of fastened wheels


4




a


and corresponds to the pair of fastened wheels. A pair of folding units


31


,


32


are used to link fastened wheels


4




a


and mobile wheels


4




b


. The pair of folding units


31


,


32


are connected by a string


24


passing through the frame


21


. Whereby, when the string is pulled, the pair of fastened wheels


4




a


and the pair of mobile wheels


4




b


are pulled by the pair of folding units


31


,


32


, such that the foldable links between the pair of fastened wheels


4




a


and the pair of mobile wheels


4




b


are folded. The positioning pins m simultaneously pass through the positioning holes n


1


of the mobile sleeves of the hook module


2




a


, the positioning holes n


2


of the stick


26


, the position holes


291


,


301


of the sleeves


265


,


266


, and the positioning holes


27


,


28


on the frame


21


, such that the position of the mobile hooks


263


,


264


of the hook module


2




a


can be set.




Referring to FIGS.


6


(A) and


6


(B), when lifting the manhole/handhole cover H


3


, the user first pulls the string


24


, and both ends of the string


24


pull the folding unit


31


,


32


such that the foldable link


311


,


312


and


321


,


322


are folded. When the folding units


31


,


32


are folded, the foldable links


312


,


322


respectively pull the mobile links


51


,


52


. After the folding units


31


,


32


are folded, the mobile links


51


and


52


pull the pair of mobile wheels


4




b


to the outside of the pair of the fastened wheels


4




a


. At this time, the user places the frame


21


downward. The hands of the user are protected from being pinched by the stopping plate


231


of the stopping unit


23


. The mobile sleeves


261


,


262


, and the sleeves


264


,


265


are adjusted, and at the same time, the positioning pins m are used to pass through the position holes n


1


, position holes


291


and


301


, then hooks


264


, and


265


are used to hand the manhole/handhole cover, and the manhole/handhole cover H


3


can be lifted easily because of the leverage provided by the frame (i.e. the point contacting ground of the pair of fastened wheels


4




a


are supports, and the hanging positions of the hook module


2




a


are anti-force points, and the other end opposite to the pair of fastened wheels are force-applying points). After the manhole/handhole cover H


3


is lifted, the string


24


is loosened and then, the pair of the mobile wheels


4




b


pull the folding units


31


and


32


to a horizontal state, due to the momentum of the wheel


43


and the wheel


44


, and the manhole/handhole cover H


3


can then be lifted. In this way, the user can easily move a manhole/handhole cover H


3


by the mobility of the pair of fastened wheels


4




a


and mobile wheels


4




b.






As shown in

FIG. 7

, the construction method can be divided into steps as follows:




Step 1


81


, Using a lifter to lift and move a manhole/handhole cover;




Step 2


82


, Placing and positioning the cutting unit into the manhole/handhole, and using the cutting unit to cut the surface of the asphalt road around the manhole/handhole;




Step 3


83


, Placing and positioning the cutting unit into the culvert, and using the cutting unit to cut the culvert connected to the bottom of the manhole/handhole;




Step 4


84


, Hoisting out the manhole/handhole;




Step 5


85


, Placing a new manhole/handhole;




Step 6


86


, Using the lifter to move the manhole/handhole cover and cover the new manhole/handhole; and




Step 7


87


, Laying an asphalt road surface around the manhole/handhole.




Applying the devices, mechanisms and operation method described above smoothly carry out the construction method of the present invention.




With respect to FIGS.


8


(


a


),


8


(B) and


8


(C), when the cutting unit


1


is placed into the culvert H


1


or manhole/handhole H


2


, the position hooks


7


having the same size can be taken together to fasten, via grappling, the extending arms


1




d




1


,


1




d




2


,


1




d




3


of the base


1




d


by the hook


71


. When an insetting motion is carried out, the stick


73


of the position hook


7


can be lodged at the outer periphery of the culvert H


1


and manhole/handhole H


2


(as the position hooks


7




a


,


7




b


, and


7




c


shown in FIG.


8


(C)) to provide quick positioning. Besides, the length of the position hook


7




d


can also be adjusted by the method of using positioning pins m


2


.




When comparing to the noted prior art or other conventionally used technologies, the quick manhole/handhole method and related devices of the present invention have advantages as follows:




(1) Power needed to drive the blade is little, so less energy is consumed.




(2) The task of replacement of the manhole/handhole can be carried out quickly and efficiently.




(3) Because the components of the present invention are simple, the cost is low, the operation is easy, and less operating staff is needed.




(4) The cutting task using the present invention makes the cut surface neat and does not have the bursting condition that traditionally results from the hammering method, which method has a greater maintenance.




(5) The present invention uses a pneumatic motor or a hydraulic motor to serve as the driving force for driving the cutting blade, and, therefore, the worry that flammable gas, such as marsh gas, will be ignited is avoided.




(6) The lifter of the present invention uses the principle of a lever to achieve an effort-saving purpose, and move the manhole/handhole cover easily and quickly. Besides, the structure is simple, and operation is easy.




Many changes and modifications in the above described embodiment of the invention can, of course, be carried out without departing from the scope thereof. Accordingly, to promote the progress in science and the useful arts, the invention is disclosed and is intended to be limited only by the scope of the appended claims.



Claims
  • 1. A quick manhole/handhole construction method, comprising the steps of:a. providing a cutting unit, said cutting unit including: a radial feeding device composed of a pneumatic motor and a screw feeding mechanism; a circular blade unit covered by a shelter having a placing prop fastened at a predetermined position on an exterior of said shelter; a chassis with a fixing holder mounted thereon and a column casing mounted at a predetermined peripheral position of said chassis, said chassis including a steering gear mechanism mounted on a top of said column casing, said steering gear mechanism including a shaft extending downwardly therefrom and a planet gear fastened on said shaft; a base having a fixed gear fastened on an upper surface of said base and at least three adjustably extending arms equidistantly spaced on a bottom face with equal parts; a vessel which is connected with a duct being mounted on said placing prop on said shelter; said shelter and said radial feeding device being fastened to said fixing holder of said chassis, and said circular blade unit being fastened to said pneumatic motor of said radial feeding device, said chassis being mounted on a top of said base, and said planet gear being engaged with said fixed gear set on said base; b. placing and positioning said cutting unit into a manhole/handhole; c. using said cutting unit to cut a surface of an asphalt road above said manhole/handhole; d. placing and positioning said cutting unit into a culvert; e. using said cutting unit to cut said culvert connected to a bottom of said manhole/handhole; and, f. replacing said manhole/handhole.
  • 2. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the step of placing said positioning said cutting unit is preceded by the step of providing a lifter, said lifter including:a frame having a plurality of symmetrical position holes located at predetermined positions; a pair of fastened wheels respectively set at both sides of one end of said frame; a pair of mobile wheels respectively coupled to a mobile link, which is joined at two sides of said frame; a hook module, wherein a main part thereof is a stick with a pair of sleeves respectively set at two ends thereof to be slidable on said frame, said pair of sleeves having a pair of positioning holes respectively formed therein, said hook module including a pair of mobile sleeves disposed on said stick, each of said mobile sleeves having a hook at a bottom thereof and a poisoning hole at a top of said mobile sleeve; a plurality of the positioning pins for fastening said hook module to said frame; a pair of folding units respectively coupled between said pair of fastened wheels and said pair of mobile wheels, each of said folding units including a pair of foldable links and a string passing through said frame such that when said string is pulled, said pair of fastened wheels and said pair of mobile wheels can be pulled by said pair of folding units to be folded; and, a stopping unit including at least a stopping plate fixed at a predetermined position on said frame for preventing said frame from contacting a ground surface when said frame is horizontally disposed.
  • 3. The method as recited in claim 2, wherein the step of providing a lifter includes the step of using said lifter to lift and move a manhole/handhole cover; and wherein the step of replacing said manhole/handhole includes the steps of lifting out and moving away said manhole/handhole, placing a new manhole/handhole in position, using said lifter to move a cover for said new manhole/handhole, and repairing said surface of said asphalt road above said manhole/handhole.
  • 4. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the step of providing a cutting unit includes the steps of connecting an extended screw feeding mechanism to said screw feeding mechanism and said fixing holder of said chassis, and connecting a fastening holder normal to said fixing holder at one end of said extended screw feeding mechanism, and said radial feeding device can be fastened to said fastening holder.
  • 5. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the step of placing and positioning said cutting unit into a manhole/handhole includes the steps of providing a plurality of position hooks and fastening said plurality of position hooks between said extending arms of said base and an upper edge of said manhole/handhole.
  • 6. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the step of placing and positioning said cutting unit into a culvert includes the steps of providing a plurality of position hooks, fastening said plurality of position hooks between said extending arms of said base and an upper edge of said manhole/handhole, and adjusting a length of each said hook with a position pin.
  • 7. A quick manhole/handhole construction method, comprising the steps of:a. providing a cutting unit, said cutting unit including: a radial feeding device composed of a hydraulic motor and a screw feeding mechanism; a circular blade unit covered by a shelter having a placing prop fastened at a predetermined position on an exterior of said shelter; a chassis with a fixing holder mounted thereon and a column casing mounted at a predetermined peripheral position of said chassis, said chassis including a steering gear mechanism mounted on a top of said column casing, said steering gear mechanism including a shaft extending downwardly therefrom and a planet gear fastened on said shaft; a base having a fixed gear fastened on an upper surface of said base and at least three adjustably extending arms equidistantly spaced on a bottom face with equal parts; a vessel which is connected with a duct being mounted on said placing prop on said shelter; said shelter and said radial feeding device being fastened to said fixing holder of said chassis, and said circular blade unit being fastened to said hydraulic motor of said radial feeding device, said chassis being mounted on a top of said base, and said planet gear being engaged with said fixed gear set on said base; b. placing and positioning said cutting unit into a manhole/handhole; c. using said cutting unit to cut a surface of an asphalt road above said manhole/handhole; d. placing and positioning said cutting unit into a culvert; e. using said cutting unit to cut said culvert connected to a bottom of said manhole/handhole; and, f. replacing said manhole/handhole.
US Referenced Citations (5)
Number Name Date Kind
3649071 Graff Mar 1972 A
4924951 Paulson May 1990 A
5470131 Nolan et al. Nov 1995 A
5522646 Friedman et al. Jun 1996 A
5934820 Hinkle Aug 1999 A
Foreign Referenced Citations (2)
Number Date Country
8-326082 Dec 1996 JP
11-323821 Nov 1999 JP