A hinge device for the articulation of pivoting sluice gates to a bed, provided with a releasable coupling for fixing it to the bed

Abstract

 A hinge device for the articulation of pivoting sluice gates (1) to a bed, for example, in order to create a barrier between a lagoon and the open sea, has a releasable coupling (12) for fixing it to the bed and provided with improved means for locking the coupling in the coupled condition.

Description

[0001] The present invention relates to marine barrage installations and, in particular, to installations used for temporarily blocking the communicating channels between a lagoon and the open sea whenever the water level in the lagoon tends to rise above a maximum acceptable limit.

[0002] Italian Patent No. 906 937 by the same Applicant (to which US Patent No. 3 756 032 and Austrian Patent No. 314 434 correspond) describes and illustrates an installation with sluice gates which can be lowered to protect a lagoon from the open sea, in which each sluice gate is hollow and is articulated to the sea bed about a horizontal axis, and can be pivoted about its articulation axis simply by making use of its buoyancy which is adjusted by varying the quantity of water filling the internal cavity of the sluice gate. This is achieved by admitting air to or expelling air from the sluice gate so as to empty it or fill it with water respectively. In its fully lowered position, the sluice gate is housed in a recess formed in the sea bed so as not to project above the profile thereof (the depth of the communicating channel between a lagoon and the open sea may be quite small). When the sluice gate is in a raised position corresponding to the presence of a certain volume of air within it, however, it is free, as can be inferred from the text of the aforementioned patent, to oscillate as a result of the variable thrust exerted on it by the sea and, at any time, to find the equilibrium position in which the various forces to which it is subject balance each other. Amongst other things, this solution minimises the mechanical stresses to which the hinges used for its articulation to the sea bed are subject during the operation of the sluice gate.

[0003] The design of the aforesaid hinges involves the solution of various technical problems and the present invention relates specifically to some aspects of this design which cannot immediately be resolved with the usual knowledge of experts in the art.

[0004] The hinges of the sluice gate must satisfy various technical requirements. First of all, each hinge must have a releasable coupling for fixing it to the bed. This coupling must enable the coupling and release operations to be carried out easily and at the same time must provide the necessary precision of mounting. Moreover, the coupling must enable the quick connection of compressed air, hydraulic and/or electrical supplies to the systems on the sluice gate and of any mechanical transmission used for detecting the angle of pivoting of the sluice gate at any time.

[0005] In Italian Patent Application No. 20666-A/87, the Applicant has already proposed a hinge device which satisfies these requirements to a certain extent. This device has all the characteristics indicated in the pre-characterising part of the appended Claim 1.

[0006] The object of the present invention is to improve the hinge device described in the Italian Patent Application No. 20666-A/87 cited above by improving its precision and reliability.

[0007] In order to achieve this object, the subject of the invention is a hinge device comprising:
- a first hinge element connected to the sluice gate,
- a second hinge element articulated to the first hinge element and connected to a releasable coupling for fixing it to the bed, in which the releasable coupling comprises:
- a conical female element anchored to a fixed base located on the bed,
- a male element which can be coupled to the female element and connected to the second element of the hinge, and
- a tie-rod which can be coupled to the male element from below when the latter is in its coupled position in the female element and can be pulled downwardly in order to lock the coupling in its coupled condition,
the hinge device being characterised in that:

i) the tie-rod is constituted by a rod fixed to the piston of a fluid cylinder which is adapted to move the tie-rod between a raised position for the coupling to the male element of the coupling and a position for locking the coupling;

ii) means are provided for rotating the piston of the fluid cylinder, when the tie-rod is in its raised position, between a first position in which the tie-rod is free to move axially relative to the male element and a second position in which the male element is anchored to the tie-rod with regard to downward axial movements thereof.

[0008] Some preferred embodiments of the invention will now be described, purely by way of non-limiting example, with reference to the appended drawings:

Figure 1 is a schematic perspective view showing an installation with pivoting sluice gates of the type to which the present invention relates, with the sluice gates raised;

Figure 2 shows the installation of Figure 1 with the sluice gates lowered;

Figure 3 is a perspective view of a single sluice gate provided with two hinge devices according to the present invention;

Figure 4 is a perspective view of the hinge device indicated by the arrow IV in Figure 3;

Figure 5 shows the structure of some parts of the hinge device of Figure 4;

Figure 6 is a longitudinal sectional view of the device of Figure 4;

Figure 7 is a view taken on the arrow VII of Figure 6;

Figures 8 and 9 are sections taken on the lines VIII-IX of Figure 6;

Figures 10 to 12 are sections of the terminal rods constituting the releasable connection means mentioned above, on an enlarged scale;

Figure 13 is an exploded perspective view of the detail indicated by the arrow XIII of Figure 6, on an enlarged scale, and

Figure 14 is an exploded perspective view of the detail indicated by the arrow XIV of Figure 12, on an enlarged scale,

Figure 15 is a sectional view of a further embodiment of the hinge device according to the invention,

Figure 16 is a section taken on the line XVI-XVI of Figure 17,

Figures 17 and 18 are sections taken on the lines XVII-XVII and XVIII-XVIII of Figure 15, on an enlarged scale,

Figures 19 and 20 are views of the details XIX and XX of Figure 15, on an enlarged scale,

Figure 21 shows a variant,

Figures 22 and 23 show views corresponding to those of Figures 15 and 16 with reference to a further embodiment (Fig. 23 is a section taken on the line XXIII-XXIII of Figure 24), and

Figure 24 is a section taken on the line XXIV-XXIV of Figure 22.

[0009] Figures 1 and 2 of the appended drawings show three sluice gates 1 forming part of an installation of the type described in the introduction of the present description, in the raised position and in the lowered position respectively. With reference also to Figure 3, each sluice gate 1 is articulated by means of at least two hinge devices 2 to a fixed concrete base 3 sunk into the sea bed 4 and defining a recess 5 which houses the sluice gates 1 in the lowered position so that the sluice gates do not project above the profile of the bottom in that position (Fig. 2). The base 3 includes a gallery 6 which is hermetically isolated from the sea bed for persons employed in the control and maintenance of the installation. The gallery 6 provides access to the control and connection equipment (described in detail below) associated with the hinge devices 2. With reference to Figure 3, each sluice gate 1 has a hollow sheet-steel structure which can be filled to a greater or lesser extent with water (the holes for the passage of the water are not visible in the drawings) by the control of the quantity of air admitted to its interior through pipes 7 connected to the two hinge devices 2.

[0010] With reference to Figures 4-9, each hinge device 2 includes a first hinge element 8 constituted by a plate welded to the structure of the sluice gate 1 and provided with bracing 9. The second hinge element, indicated 10, is fork-shaped and is articulated to the element 8 by means of a pin 11 (Fig. 6).

[0011] The hinge unit is connected releasably to the base 3 by means of a male-and-female coupling 12. The coupling 12 comprises an upwardly-divergent, conical female element 13 anchored to the base 3 and a male element 14 which can be coupled to the element 13 and is fixed to the second hinge element 10. In the embodiment illustrated, the male element is constituted by two superposed and spaced-apart plates 15, 16 connected by an axial tube 17 which is eccentric with respect to the axis of the cone 13 (with reference to the coupled condition of the coupling) and by means of radial flanges 18. The eccentric position of the tube 17 leaves the necessary space within the cone 13 for electrical, hydraulic and mechanical connection means which will be described in detail below. The eccentric positioning of the tube 17 is only necessary in embodiments which involve a large number of connections and a system of small bulk. The lower plate 16 (Fig. 6) has a convex circumferential edge provided, as is the plate 15, with a sealing ring for a perfect fit in a cylindrical end part of the female element 13. The lower end of the cylindrical part 19 has a welded flange to which a horizontal plate 20 is fixed by screws. A tube 21 with radial flanges 22 projects below the plate 20 and communicates with the space inside the cone 13. The spaces within the cone 13 and the cylinder 21 communicate with pipes 23 for the intake of water as provided for in the prior patent application No. 20666-A/87. A shut-off valve 24 is associated with each pipe 23 and is kept closed as long as the element 14 is not housed in the cone. The lower end of the tube 21 supports the upper end of the body of a fluid cylinder 25. The piston 26 of the cylinder 25 is fixed to a tubular rod 27 constituting a tie-rod which can be used to lock the element 14 in the cone 13. The internal duct of the tie-rod 27 communicates with the space inside the cone 13 and a shut-off valve 28 associated therewith is kept closed as long as the element 14 is not housed in the element 13. In the coupled condition, the internal duct of the tie-rod 27 communicates with the respective air-supply pipe 7 (Fig. 3) through a duct 29 formed in the element 10 (Fig. 6), a box 30 fixed to the outside of the element 10, a rotary joint 31 and an elbow pipe 32 (see also Fig. 7).

[0012] With reference to Figures 6 and 13, the upper end of the tie-rod 27 is provided with radial appendages 33 which cooperate with a seat 34 in the plate 20 in the manner of a bayonet coupling. The tie-rod 27 can be raised by means of the cylinder 25 and made to pass through the seat 34. The element 14 can then be pulled into or locked within the cone 13 by the rotation and subsequent lowering of the tie-rod. The rotation of the tie-rod 27 necessary to engage it with the seat 34 is achieved by an auxiliary cylinder 35 carried by a horizontal plate 36 fixed to the body of the cylinder 25. The cylinder 35 has a piston 36 engaged with a nib 37 which projects radially from a plate 38 fixed to the tie-rod 27.

[0013] Each sluice gate 1 has on-board auxiliary equipment requiring an electrical supply (indicator light, pump for accelerating the fitting of the sluice gate, etc.). Some of this equipment (for example the pumps) may require a lubrication circuit. Moreover, any rotatable mechanical shaft on the side of the base must be connected to the sluice gate by means of a transmission to enable the capture of data relating to the angle of pivoting of the sluice gate at any time. In short, the coupling 12 must be provided with releasable electrical, hydraulic and mechanical connection means. For this purpose, three cylindrical guide pillars 39 extend between the plates 20 and 36 (see Figs. 4, 6, 8) and a horizontal plate 40 is mounted for sliding thereon (by means of a bush 41 and rollers 42 - Fig. 8). The plate 40 is moved vertically by a jack 43 fixed to the plate 36.

[0014] In the embodiment illustrated (Fig. 5), the releasable connection means comprise a first set of vertical terminal rods (four rods 44a for the electrical lines, one rod 45a for the mechanical connection) projecting downwardly from the male element 14 of the coupling 12 (see also Figures 10, 11, 12) and a second set of vertical terminal rods 44b, 45b, 46b anchored in seats 47 in the plate 40 and projecting upwardly. The free ends of the two sets of rods are provided with quick coupling means. In the case of the rods 44, 45, these means are of any known type and have therefore not been shown in detail in the appended drawings.

[0015] With reference to Figures 10-12 and 14, the terminal rods 44a, 45a, 46a are fixed to the plate 15 of the element 14 and have free ends which partially engage bushes 48 carried by the plate 16. When the plate 40 is in its fully raised position, the upper ends of the rods 44b, 45b and 46b are guided in tubular appendages 49 projecting below the plate 20 and each provided with a shut-off valve 50 (with a control lever 51) which is kept closed as long as the element 14 is not housed in the cone 13. The terminal rods 44b, 45b, 46b are also provided with means for their micrometric axial displacement in order to effect the final travel for coupling with the upper rods. More specifically, each lower rod has a rotatable ring nut 52 (fixed axially) which is screwed onto an end part of the respective appendage 49 to effect the final travel.

[0016] In the case of the mechanical transmission, the two rods 46a, 46b have internal rotatable shafts 53 with coupling ends 53a, 53b having the shapes shown in Figure 14.

[0017] The electrical lines and the hydraulic conduits are connected to a first manifold 54 which is connected by means of flexible tubes to a second manifold 55 carried by the sluice gate (Fig. 5).

[0018] The shafts 53, however, are connected to a gearbox 56 (Fig. 12) whose output shaft is on the axis of the pin and is connected to an element fixed to the sluice gate by means of a lever 57.

[0019] In the embodiment illustrated in Figure 15, the male element is constituted by two superposed and spaced-apart plates 15, 16 connected by an axial tube 17 which, unlike the embodiment shown in Figure 6, is coaxial with the cone 13 (with reference to the coupled condition of the coupling). In this case also, the two plates 15, 16 are joined by a plurality of radial flanges 18. The lower plate 16 has a convex circumferential edge for a perfect fit in the cylindrical end part 19 of the female element 13. The lower end of the cylindrical part 19 has a welded flange to which a horizontal plate 20 is fixed by screws. A tube 21 projects below the plate 20 and has radial flanges 22 which communicate with the space inside the cone 13. The spaces within the cone 13 and the cylinder 21 communicate with pipes 183 which are used both for the admission of air to the sluice gate through valves 188 connected to a compressor (not shown) and for withdrawing air, together with any water present in the sluice gate, through valves 184 connected to a suction pump (not shown).

[0020] The spaces in the cone 13 and the cylinder 21 communicate with pipes 23 for the intake of water. A shut-off valve 24 is associated with each pipe 23 and is kept closed as long as the element 14 is not housed in the cone 13.

[0021] The lower end of the tube 21 supports the upper end of the cone of a fluid cylinder 25. The piston 26 of the cylinder 25 is fixed to a rod 27 constituting a tie-rod which can be used to lock the element 14 in the cone 13. The upper end of the tie-rod 27 is provided with radial appendages 33 which cooperate with a respective seat 34 in the plate 20 in the manner of a bayonet coupling. The tie-rod 27 can be raised by means of the cylinder 25 and made to pass through the seat 34. The element 14 can then be pulled into or locked within the cone 13 by the rotation and subsequent lowering of the tie-rod. The rotation of the tie-rod 27 necessary to engage it with the seat 34 is achieved by an auxiliary cylinder 35 carried by a horizontal plate 36 fixed to the body of the cylinder 25. Like the one shown in Figure 6, the cylinder 35 has a piston engaged with a nib 37 which projects radially from a plate fixed to the tie-rod 27.

[0022] The tie-rod 27 has a threaded lower end 27a which can be engaged by a nut 27b which bears against the lower end of the cylinder.

[0023] The tie-rod 27 can thus be locked in its lowered position, enabling the pressure in the chamber of the cylinder to be released.

[0024] The conical coupling is thus kept locked by the nut 27b.

[0025] Unlike the one shown in Figure 6, the tie-rod 27 is not hollow and is not used for the supply of air. The male element, on the other hand, has two axial air ducts 29a which communicate with the interior of the sluice gate through ducts 29 formed in the element 10 of the hinge, ducts 29c formed in two boxes 30 associated with two opposite faces of the element 10, respective rotary joints 31, and elbow pipes 32 which communicate at one end with the ducts 29c through the rotary joints and at the other end with the internal cavity of the sluice gate. The lower ends of the ducts 29a communicate with two holes 29b formed in the lower plate 16 of the male element 14. Two rubber bushes 80 are mounted beneath the plate 16 coaxially with the holes 29b (see Figure 6) and each is reinforced with a steel spiral 80a which is sealingly housed in a respective hole 29d formed in the plate 20. Stainless-steel rings 80b are welded in correspondence with the walls of the holes 29d and house the bushes 80. The holes 29d communicate with the ducts 18. Thus, when the coupling is in the coupled condition, the continuity of the connection between the air supply valves 29a and the internal cavities of the sluice gate is achieved through the ducts 183, the holes 29d, the bushes 80, the holes 29b, the ducts 29a, 29, 29c, the rotary joints 31 and the elbow pipes 32.

[0026] As shown in detail in Figure 5, the seal between the plate 15 and the cone 13 is ensured by a flat sealing ring 15b which has a cross-section like the symbol for a musical note and is fitted in a recessed annular region of the plate 15. The peripheral wall of the plate is also provided with a stainless-steel sheathing ring 15a.

[0027] In order to ensure that the the male element is positioned correctly relative to the cone 13 during coupling, the plate 15 is provided with a radial pin 100 which is intended to engage a recess 101 in the cone 13 (see also Figure 3).

[0028] In the embodiment illustrated, the coupling of the hinge to the sea bed must also effect the electrical connection of sensor devices which are mounted on the sluice gate, as well as a mechanical connection which serves to detect the angle of pivoting of the sluice gate at any time.

[0029] As far as the electrical connection is concerned, a bush 48 is associated with the plate 16 and a terminal 120 mounted therein is connected electrically by means of a line 121 to a further terminal contact 122 intended to be connected to the devices on board the sluice gate by means of a further flexible connecting line (not shown). The terminal contact 120 is adapted to engage a further rod-shaped contact element 123 housed slidably in the bush 48. The contact rod 123 is carried by a sleeve 124 which can be screwed manually, like a ring nut, onto an end part 125 of the body of a valve 126 associated with a vertical tubular duct 127 which passes through the plate 20. The valve 126 serves to discharge the water between the plate 16 and the plate 20 during the coupling operation. Once the coupling has been effected, the electrical contact can be achieved manually by the insertion of the rod 123 and the tightening of the ring nut 124.

[0030] As regards the mechanical connection, the plate 16 is provided with a further bush 48 in which a first coupling element 53a connected by a Cardan shaft 128 to the input shaft 129 of a gearbox 56 associated with the upper plate 15 of the male element is mounted rotatably by means of bearings. The box 56 contains a pair of bevel gears connecting the shaft 129, which has a vertical axis, to a horizontal shaft 130 one end of which projects from the box 56 and has a gear 131 keyed thereto. This gear meshes with a larger-diameter gear 132 which is connected to the sluice gate by a shaft 133 (shown only schematically in broken outline). The pivoting of the sluice gate about the hinge therefore causes a rotation of the gear 132 which is transmitted to the coupling element 53a by means of the gear 131, the box 56 and the shafts 129, 128. The element 53a is adapted to be coupled for rotation, in the same way as that shown in Figure 14, to a further coupling element 53b carried by a shaft 53 and mounted rotatably in a tubular rod 46b by means of bearings. The rod can be inserted through the body 134 of a shut-off valve which is fixed beneath the plate 20 and communicates with a through-hole 135 in the plate. The valve 134 is used to eliminate the water retained between the plate 20 and the plate 16 during the coupling stage, after which the tubular rod 46b can be inserted through the valve 134 of the hole 135 until it causes the engagement of the coupling elements 53a, 53b. This operation can be carried out manually, the means being locked by the screwing of a ring nut 136 onto the body of the valve. The lower end of the tubular rod 46b carries a measuring device (for example an encoder) for detecting the angle of pivoting of the sluice gate which is transmitted by the mechanical transmission described above to the sensor device 137 by means of the shaft 53. Alternatively, the mechanical and electrical coupling operation may be effected automatically with the use of a vertically movable plate as shown in Figure 6.

[0031] Figure 21 shows a variant of Figure 15, in which the connection for the air-supply between the male element and the sluice gate is effected by means of flexible tubes 150.

[0032] Figures 22, 23 and 24 show views which correspond to those of Figures 15, 16 and 18 and relate to an embodiment in which the axes of the bushes 48 for the electrical and mechanical service connections lie in a plane containing the central axis of the cone 13, whilst the axes of the air-holes 29b are spaced from that plane. In this case also, the two boxes 30 may, in an alternative embodiment, be connected to flexible tubes, as in Figure 21.

[0033] Naturally, the principle of the invention remaining the same, the details of construction and forms of embodiment may be varied widely with respect to those described and illustrated purely by way of example.

Claims

1. A hinge device for the articulation of a pivoting sluice gate (1) to a sea bed (4), comprising:
- a first hinge element (8) connected to the sluice gate (1),
- a second hinge element (10) articulated to the first hinge element (8) and connected to a releasable coupling (12) for fixing it to the bed (4), in which the releasable coupling comprises:
- a conical female element (13) anchored to a fixed base (33) located on the bed (4),
- a male element (14) which can be coupled to the female element (13) and connected to the second element of the hinge (10), and
- a tie-rod (27) which can be coupled to the male element (14) from below when the latter is in its coupled position in the female element (13) and can be pulled downwardly in order to lock the coupling (12) in its coupled condition
the hinge device being characterised in that:

i) the tie-rod (27) is constituted by a rod fixed to the piston (26) of a fluid cylinder (25) which is adapted to move the tie-rod between a raised position for the coupling to the male element (14) of the coupling (12) and a position for locking the coupling;

ii) means (35) are provided for rotating the piston (26) of the fluid cylinder (25), when the tie-rod (27) is in its raised position, between a first position in which the tie-rod is free to move axially relative to the male element (14) and a second position in which the male element (14) is anchored to the tie-rod with regard to downward axial movements thereof.

2. A device according to Claim 1, in which releasable connection means are provided for the fluid supply to and/or the electrical connection of auxiliary systems on the sluice gate and for a mechanical transmission usable for detecting the angle of pivoting of the sluice gate (1) at any time,
characterised in that:

i) the releasable connection means comprise a first set of vertical terminal rods (44a, 45a, 46a) projecting downwardly from the male coupling element (12) and a second set of vertical terminal rods (44b, 45b, 46b) projecting upwardly and having free ends which can be coupled to the free ends of the rods of the first set,

ii) the second set of terminal rods is carried by a support plate mounted for vertical movement on a structure fixed to the female element (13) of the coupling between a raised position for coupling the rods of the first set and of the second set and a lowered, uncoupled position.

3. A device according to Claim 2, characterised in that micrometric displacement means (52) are associated with each rod of the second set of terminal rods for effecting their final travel for coupling with the terminal rods of the first set.

4. A device according to Claim 1, characterised in that the rod (27) of the fluid cylinder constituting the tie-rod is hollow and communicates with a pipe (7) for supplying air to the interior of the sluice gate.

5. A device according to Claim 1, characterized in that, when the male element (14) is in the coupled condition, the axis of the tie-rod (27) is spaced from the axis of that element and of the female element (13).

6. A device according to Claim 1,characterised in that the hinge device has the following further characteristics:

a) when the male element (14) is in the coupled condition, the axis of the tie-rod coincides with the axis of the male element (14) and of the female element (13);

b) the male element (14) includes two axial ducts (29a) which communicate with the internal cavity of the sluice gate and open beneath the male element (14) into two openings defined by bushes (80) of elastomeric material.

c) the base (20) of the female element (13) has two holes (29d) which communicate with respective air-supply pipes (23) associated with the fixed base (3), the holes (29d) being adapted to house the bushes (80) sealingly when the coupling is in the coupled condition to achieve the continuity of the air-supply pipe from the base to the pivoting sluice gate.

7. A hinge device according to Claim 1, characterised in that the male element and the female element (13, 14) are provided with complementary locating means (100, 101) for their correct relative angular positioning in the coupled condition.

8. A hinge device according to Claim 6, characterised in that the ducts which put the axial ducts (29a) of the male element into communication with the internal cavity of the sluice gate comprise two ducts (29) formed in the second hinge element and communicating in turn with supply pipes (32) associated with the sluice gate by means of respective rotary joints (31).

9. A hinge device according to Claim 6, characterised in that the axial ducts (29a) associated with the male element (14) communicate with the internal cavity of the sluice gate through flexible tubes (150).

10. A hinge device according to Claim 1, characterised in that the rod (27) of the fluid cylinder (25) has a threaded end portion engageable by a nut which bears on the lower end surface of the cylinder to lock the tie-rod in its position for locking the coupling.

11. A marine installation with a pivoting sluice gate (1) articulated to the sea bed, characterised in that it includes at least one hinge device according to one or more of the preceding claims.

Drawing