Operating method of pile guide frame coupled with rotatable arm

• US 10,487,470 B2
• Filed: 06/11/2018
• Issued: 11/26/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 06/12/2017
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ship and Ocean Industries R&D Center
• Original Assignee: Ship and Ocean Industries R&D Center
• Inventors: Huang, Chun-Chia, Chung, Feng-Yeang, Ou, Chia-Chuan, Liao, Ying-Chao
• Primary Examiner(s): Oquendo, Carib A
• Application Number:
  US16/004,460
• Publication Number:
  US 20180355575A1
• Time in Patent Office: 533 Days
• CPC Class Codes: E02D 13/04 Guide devices; Guide frames as parts of the driver scaffold E02D7/16
• CPC Class Codes: E02D 7/14 Components for drivers inasmuch as not specially for a specific driver construction

Abstract

A pile guide frame is coupled with at least one rotatable arm and includes a plurality of leveling modules for compensating for differences in height of the seabed. The rotatable arm can be rotated along a supporting frame and thereby move a pile guide module to facilitate pile-driving operations. A method for operating a pile guide frame coupled with at least one rotatable arm is also provided.

Claims

1. A method for operating a pile guide frame coupled with at least one rotatable arm, comprising the steps of:

a. providing the pile guide frame coupled with the at least one rotatable arm;

b. rotating the at least one rotatable arm by a rotation module in order to move a pile guide module of one of the at least one rotatable arm along at least one rail surface of a supporting frame to a leveling module, wherein the supporting frame is provided with at least one set of at least one positioning block and at least one set of at least one locking support; and

c. lowering the at least one rotatable arm and the rotation module, securing the at least one rotatable arm to the supporting frame, and then performing a pile-driving operation until the pile-driving operation is completed;

wherein the step b further comprises adjusting a height or inclination angle of the leveling module through at least one first actuator, thereby adjusting a height or inclination angle of the supporting frame as a whole.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the step b further comprises adjusting a distance between the leveling module and the supporting frame through at least one first adjusting member.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein in the step b, each of the at least one rotatable arm is moved along the at least one rail surface through a slide module of the each of the at least one rotatable arm.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein the slide module of each of the at least one rotatable arm comprises:

a wheel mount connected to the each of the at least one rotatable arm;

at least one wheel mounted on the wheel mount and each in contact with one of the at least one rail surface; and

at least one guide plate provided on the wheel mount and corresponding in position and number to the at least one positioning block in each of the at least one set of at least one positioning block;

wherein each of the at least one wheel is provided with at least one second actuator connected to the wheel mount and at least one damping member connected to the wheel mount.

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein the step c further comprises securing the at least one guide plate and at least one swing clamp of each of the at least one rotatable arm to a corresponding one of the at least one set of at least one positioning block and a corresponding one of the at least one set of at least one locking support of the supporting frame sequentially.

6. The method according to claim 4, wherein the rotation module is provided with at least one third actuator, and the step c comprises lowering the at least one rotatable arm and the rotation module together with the pile guide module by the at least one third actuator working in concert with the at least one second actuator of each of the at least one wheel of each of the at least one rotatable arm.

7. The method according to claim 6, further comprising the steps, to be performed after completion of the pile-driving operation in the step c, of:

d. unlocking the pile guide module, opening a first pile securing member and a second pile securing member of the pile guide module, and then lifting the at least one rotatable arm and the rotation module;

e. rotating the at least one rotatable arm by the rotation module in order to move the pile guide module to a next said leveling module and for the pile guide module to receive a next said pile;

f. lowering the at least one rotatable arm and the rotation module, securing the at least one rotatable arm to the supporting frame, and then performing a next pile-driving operation until the next pile-driving operation is completed; and

g. repeating the steps d˜

f until pile-driving operations corresponding to all said leveling modules are completed.

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein in the step d, before unlicking the pile guide module, the second pile securing member is fastened to the first pile securing member through a pile securing lock.

9. The method according to claim 7, wherein each of the first securing member and the second pile securing member is connected to the one of the at least one rotatable arm through a fourth actuator;

the first pile securing member and the second pile securing member are configured to be opened with respect to each other in the step d, thus forming a predetermined included angle therebetween and the predetermined included angle is determined by pulling/releasing actions of the fourth actuators.

10. The method according to claim 4, wherein each said damping member is a spring-loaded shock absorber, a hydraulic shock absorber, a pneumatic shock absorber, or a combination thereof.