APPARATUS FOR LIFTING PIPELINES
First Claim
1. Apparatus for the lifting of pipelines, comprising:
- a. a frame having two vertical side beams and a transverse top beam interposed between said vertical beams;
b. two concave and symmetrically disposed supporting members pivotally connected to said two vertical beams, respectively, and configured to achieve a pipe supporting position without applying a radial inwardly directed force to the bottommost portion of said pipe when said frame is suitably lowered and said supporting members are suitably pivoted;
c. a driving unit disposed within, and fixedly attached to, each of said supporting members, for generating a linear downwardly directed force;
d. a force transmitting element connected to a driving unit rod along which a corresponding driving unit housing is slidingly displaceable;
e. a control unit for independently controlling each of said driving units; and
f. at least one connecting means for releasably connecting said two supporting members to one another when said supporting members are in a pipe supporting position,wherein said control unit is adapted to immobilize said force transmitting elements against a trench bed in a pre-lifting mode when a first force is generated by said driving units, and to lift each of said driving unit housings together with the corresponding supporting member with respect to the corresponding force transmitting element in a lifting mode when a suitable second force greater than said first force is generated by each of said driving units.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Apparatus for the lifting of pipelines, includes a frame having two vertical side beams and a transverse top beam interposed between the vertical beams. Two concave and symmetrically disposed supporting members pivotally connect to the two vertical beams, respectively, and are configured to achieve a pipe supporting position without applying a radial inwardly directed force to the bottommost portion of the pipe when the frame is suitably lowered and the supporting members are suitably pivoted. A driving unit is disposed within, and fixedly attached to, each of the supporting members, for generating a linear downwardly directed force; a force transmitting element connected to a driving unit rod along which a corresponding driving unit housing is slidingly displaceable. A control unit independently controls each of the driving units; and at least one connector releasably connects the two supporting members to one another when the supporting members are in a pipe supporting position. The control unit is adapted to immobilize the force transmitting elements against a trench bed in a pre-lifting mode when a first force is generated by the driving units, and to lift each of the driving unit housings together with the corresponding supporting member with respect to the corresponding force transmitting element in a lifting mode when a suitable second force greater than the first force is generated by each of the driving units.
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Citations
22 Claims
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1. Apparatus for the lifting of pipelines, comprising:
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a. a frame having two vertical side beams and a transverse top beam interposed between said vertical beams; b. two concave and symmetrically disposed supporting members pivotally connected to said two vertical beams, respectively, and configured to achieve a pipe supporting position without applying a radial inwardly directed force to the bottommost portion of said pipe when said frame is suitably lowered and said supporting members are suitably pivoted; c. a driving unit disposed within, and fixedly attached to, each of said supporting members, for generating a linear downwardly directed force; d. a force transmitting element connected to a driving unit rod along which a corresponding driving unit housing is slidingly displaceable; e. a control unit for independently controlling each of said driving units; and f. at least one connecting means for releasably connecting said two supporting members to one another when said supporting members are in a pipe supporting position, wherein said control unit is adapted to immobilize said force transmitting elements against a trench bed in a pre-lifting mode when a first force is generated by said driving units, and to lift each of said driving unit housings together with the corresponding supporting member with respect to the corresponding force transmitting element in a lifting mode when a suitable second force greater than said first force is generated by each of said driving units. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
said controller being adapted to determine that terrain underlying a force transmitting element is essentially completely compressed when the corresponding axial displacement sensor detects substantially no axial displacement of the corresponding force transmitting element during generation of the first force by the corresponding driving unit.
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17. The apparatus according to claim 16, wherein the controller is adapted to transmit a command to an actuator to terminate operation of the corresponding driving unit when the terrain underlying the corresponding force transmitting element is essentially compressed.
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18. The apparatus according to claim 17, wherein the controller is adapted to transmit a command to the actuator of each driving unit to generate the second force which is sufficient to produce an upwardly directed reactant force applied to the corresponding driving unit housing when the terrain underlying both force transmitting elements is essentially compressed, the two driving unit housings thereby being vertically lifted at the same rate.
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19. The apparatus according to claim 16, wherein the control unit further comprises one or more orientation sensors in communication with the controller, for determining whether the lifting apparatus is balanced.
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20. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein each driving unit is a hydraulic system by which hydraulic fluid for actuating a piston displaceable within a cylinder housed within a corresponding supporting member is supplied during the pre-lifting and lifting modes.
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21. The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the pipe supporting surface is covered by an intermediate layer of padding.
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22. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein each vertical beam has a horizontal rod with which a tension supporting member extending to a link displaceable by means of a crane is engaged.
Specification