Earthquake-resistant flat expansion joint using hinge
An earthquake-resistant flat expansion joint using a hinge is provided which includes an expansion joint main body disposed between opposite ends of deck slabs of a bridge or an elevated road, hinged to one side of the deck slab at its one end to enable behavior in X, Y and Z-axis directions, and expanded or shrunk depending on temperature variation and vibrations due to earthquakes to be moved in the X, Y and Z-axis directions, an expansion/shrinkage member connected to one end of the expansion joint main body to accommodate the behavior in X, Y and Z-axis directions due to expansion and shrinkage of the expansion joint main body caused by temperature variation and occurrence of the earthquakes, a hinge shaft support member installed at one end of the deck slab to support a lower part and side parts of a hinge shaft part of the expansion joint main body, an expansion joint support member installed at one end of the other deck slab to support lower parts of an expansion part of the expansion joint main body and the expansion/shrinkage member, anchor bolts for fixing the hinge shaft support member and the expansion joint support member to the opposite deck slabs, and a rubber seal disposed under the expansion joint main body and detachably installed at a space between both opposite ends of the deck slabs to collect rainwater and foreign substances.
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an earthquake-resistant flat expansion joint used in bridges or elevated roads, and more particularly, to an earthquake-resistant flat expansion joint using a hinge, which is capable of improving the structure of a main body of the expansion joint to be movable in X, Y and Z directions, i.e., three axial directions upon occurrence of earthquakes to prevent damage to structure due to the expansion joint connected to the structures when slabs connected to the expansion joints, girders and breast walls of abutments are moved by the earthquakes, avoiding traffic disturbance even through the earthquake occurs, and further preventing secondary damage to a lower structure due to traffic jam caused by traffic control and delayed exchange of a damaged rubber seal member by improving a rubber seal for collecting rainwater and foreign substances in a structure exchangeable independently from the expansion joint.
2. Description of Related Art
Generally, a relatively long bridge having a plurality of piers has a plurality of deck slabs divided in a longitudinal direction thereof in order to deal with expansion and shrinkage of the bridge caused by temperature variation. Expansion joints are installed between the deck slabs.
Referring to
Although the conventional expansion joint for a bridge having the structure as above can be moved in a vehicle moving direction within an expandable range when an earthquake occurs, it is impossible for the expansion joint to move in a lateral direction, i.e., in a direction perpendicular to the vehicle moving direction. In addition, since the expansion joints are not allowed to be moved in a longitudinal direction, when breast walls of abutments vertically move upon occurrence of the earthquake, the slabs, girders, and other structures installed at the bridge, to which the expansion joints are coupled, may be damaged due to the earthquake, so that the deck slabs are separated form the bridge.
Further, the rubber seal 104 is coupled to a concrete slab by the anchor bolts 102 before installation of the upper cover plates 101a and 101b. Then, the upper cover plates 101a and 101b are installed and nuts are fastened to the anchor bolts 102, thereby completing installation of the expansion joint. Therefore, when the rubber seal 104 is damaged, the upper cover plates 101a and 101b have to be opened to exchange the damaged rubber seal 104 after traffic control. In addition, this damaged rubber seal may bring about rainwater leakage, thereby causing additional damage to a lower structure.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONThe present invention has been made in view of the above drawbacks, and it is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide an earthquake-resistant flat expansion joint using a hinge, which is capable of improving the structure of a main body of the expansion joint to be movable in X, Y and Z directions, i.e., three axial directions upon occurrence of earthquakes to prevent damage to structure due to the expansion joint connected to the structures when slabs connected to the expansion joints, girders and breast walls of abutments are moved by the earthquakes, avoiding traffic disturbance even through the earthquake occurs, and further enabling to use the expansion joint as it is, without additionally installing a new expansion joint when a deck slab is recovered.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an earthquake-resistant flat expansion joint using a hinge, which is capable of preventing secondary damage to a lower structure due to traffic jam caused by traffic control and delayed exchange of a damaged rubber seal by improving a rubber seal for collecting rainwater and foreign substances in a structure exchangeable independently from the expansion joint.
According to the present invention for achieving the above object, there is provided an earthquake-resistant flat expansion joint using a hinge comprising: an expansion joint main body disposed between opposite ends of deck slabs of a bridge or an elevated road, hinged to one side of the deck slab at its one end to enable behavior in X, Y and Z-axis directions, and expanded or shrunk depending on temperature variation and vibrations due to earthquakes to be moved in the X, Y and Z-axis directions; an expansion/shrinkage member connected to one end of the expansion joint main body to accommodate the behavior in X, Y and Z-axis directions due to expansion and shrinkage of the expansion joint main body caused by temperature variation and occurrence of the earthquakes; a hinge shaft support member installed at one end of the deck slab to support a lower part and side parts of a hinge shaft part of the expansion joint main body; an expansion joint support member installed at one end of the other deck slab to support lower parts of an expansion part of the expansion joint main body and the expansion/shrinkage member; anchor bolts for fixing the hinge shaft support member and the expansion joint support member to the opposite deck slabs; and a rubber seal disposed under the expansion joint main body and detachably installed at a space between both opposite ends of the deck slabs to collect rainwater and foreign substances.
Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
Referring to
The expansion joint main body 210 is disposed between opposite deck slabs 205a and 205b of a bridge or an elevated road and hinged to one deck slab 205a at its one end to allow behavior in X, Y and Z-axis directions, i.e., three-axial directions. The expansion joint main body can be moved in the X, Y and Z-axis directions, i.e., three-axial directions depending on expansion and shrinkage of the deck slabs due to temperature variation and occurrence of earthquakes. The expansion joint main body 210 includes a cylindrical hinge shaft part 210s fixed to a hinge shaft, and a flat plate part 210p integrally formed with the hinge shaft part 210s. In addition, step grooves 210h for inserting connection members and fastening the connection members by bolts are formed at side surfaces of the plate parts 210p to connect adjacent expansion joint main bodies 210 such that the expansion joints are integrally moved. A rubber piece member or an iron piece member 270 as the connection member is inserted into the grooves 210h with gaps therebetween and fastened to the main bodies by bolts, thereby connecting several adjacent expansion joint main bodies 210. Each of the expansion joint main bodies 210 is formed of steel.
Meanwhile, in installation of the expansion joint main body 210 having such a structure, as shown in
The expansion/shrinkage member 220 is connected to the end of the plate part 210p of the expansion joint main body 210 to accommodate behavior in X, Y and Z-axis directions caused by expansion/shrinkage due to temperature variation of the expansion joint main body 210 and earthquakes. As shown in
Here, the fixing members 300 connect and fix the expansion/shrinkage member 220 to each of the end of the plate part 210p of the expansion joint main body 210 and a key part of the expansion joint support member 240. Each of the fixing members 300 includes a fixing piece 301 having a groove engaged with one of protrusions 220t formed at both ends of the expansion/shrinkage member 220 and a through-hole through which a bolt passes, a bolt 302 for fastening and fixing the fixing piece 301 to each of the plate part 210p of the expansion joint main body 210 and the key part of the expansion joint support member 240, and a bushing 303 having a female threaded part and fixing the bolt 302 to each of the plate part 210p of the expansion joint main body 210 and the key part of the expansion joint support member 240. Preferably, the bushing 303 may be formed of stainless steel or may be plated with a metal material to prevent generation of corrosion.
After fastening the bolt 302 in a state that the fixing piece 301 of the fixing member 300 is inserted into one of the protrusions 220t (see
When the expansion/shrinkage member 220 is deteriorated with the passage of time, ride comfort of the vehicles is also decreased. In this case, the method of exchanging the expansion/shrinkage member 220 is as follows.
First, the bolts 302 fastened to the fixing members 300 are released to separate the fixing pieces 301 from both ends of the expansion/shrinkage member 220, respectively. Then, the damaged expansion/shrinkage member 220 is removed and replaced with a new one. Next, the fixing pieces 301 are fastened to both ends of the expansion/shrinkage member 220, respectively, such that the grooves of the fixing pieces 301 are meshed with the protrusions 220t of both ends of the new expansion/shrinkage member 220, and then, the bolts 302 are fastened again. Thereafter, in order to prevent corrosion of the bolts due to rainwater, a waterproof treatment is performed around the bolts 302 by sealing.
Meanwhile, the hinge shaft support member 230 is installed at one end of the deck slab 205a to support a lower part and side parts of the hinge shaft part 210s of the expansion joint main body 210 in a surrounding fashion. The hinge shaft support member 230 is configured to have a cylindrical inner periphery corresponding to a cylindrical outer periphery of the hinge shaft part 210s such that the hinge shaft part 210s can be freely and vertically pivoted therein. The hinge shaft support part 230 is formed of steel.
The expansion joint support member 240 is installed at one end of the other deck slab 250b to support lower parts of the plate part 210p of the expansion joint main body 210 and the expansion/shrinkage member 220. The expansion joint support member 240 has a flat structure and is formed of steel.
The anchor bolts 250 fix the hinge shaft support member 230 and the expansion joint support member 240 to the concrete slabs of the deck slabs 205a and 205b. That is, one ends of the anchor bolts 250 are welded to the hinge shaft support member 230 and the expansion joint support member 240, respectively, and after-cured concrete is poured to the other ends of the anchor bolts 250, to which nuts and washers are fastened, to thereby fix the hinge shaft support member 230 and the expansion joint support member 240 to the deck slabs 205a and 205b.
The rubber seal 260 is disposed under the expansion joint main body 210 and detachably installed between opposite ends of the deck slabs 205a and 205b to collect rainwater and foreign substances.
Referring to
As shown in
The following is a further description of manufacture and installation of the rubber seal main body 450 and the guide rail 454.
First, in manufacturing the rubber seal main body 450, as shown in
In manufacturing the guide rail 454, in the case of an exposed guide rail as in
Referring to
Referring to
Referring to
As described above, the respective coupling mechanisms of the guide rails and the guide rollers have substantially the same function and effect although they may have appropriate constitutions depending on conditions of bridges or other concrete structures, and construction sites.
Meanwhile, in installation of the guide rails 454, as shown in
Meanwhile,
As shown in
As shown in
As can be seen from the foregoing, an earthquake-resistant flat expansion joint using a hinge according to the present invention an earthquake-resistant flat expansion joint using a hinge can improve the structure of a main body of the expansion joint to be moved in X, Y and Z directions, i.e., three axial directions upon occurrence of earthquakes to prevent damage to structure due to the expansion joint connected to the structures when slabs connected to the expansion joints, girders and breast walls of abutments are moved by the earthquakes, and avoiding traffic disturbance even through the earthquake occurs. In addition, even though the deck slab is separated from a bridge, the expansion joint can be recovered to the deck slab, without installation of a new expansion joint.
Further, the present invention can prevent secondary damage to a lower structure due to traffic jam caused by traffic control and delayed exchange of a damaged rubber seal by improving a rubber seal for collecting rainwater and foreign substances in a structure exchangeable independently from the expansion joint.
While the present invention has been described with reference to the particular illustrative embodiments, it is not to be restricted by the embodiments but only by the appended claims. It is to be appreciated that those skilled in the art can change or modify the embodiments without departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention.
Claims
1. An earthquake-resistant flat expansion joint using a hinge comprising:
- an expansion joint main body 210 disposed between opposite ends of deck slabs of a bridge or an elevated road, hinged to one side of the deck slab at its one end to enable behavior in X, Y and Z-axis directions, and expanded or shrunk depending on temperature variation and vibrations due to earthquakes to be moved in the X, Y and Z-axis directions;
- an expansion/shrinkage member 220 connected to one end of the expansion joint main body 210 to accommodate the behavior in X, Y and Z-axis directions due to expansion and shrinkage of the expansion joint main body 210 caused by temperature variation and occurrence of the earthquakes;
- a hinge shaft support member 230 installed at one end of the deck slab to support a lower part and side parts of a hinge shaft part 210s of the expansion joint main body 210;
- an expansion joint support member 240 installed at one end of the other deck slab to support lower parts of an expansion part of the expansion joint main body 210 and the expansion/shrinkage member 220;
- anchor bolts 250 for fixing the hinge shaft support member 230 and the expansion joint support member 240 to the opposite deck slabs; and
- a rubber seal 260 disposed under the expansion joint main body 210 and detachably installed at a space between both opposite ends of the deck slabs to collect rainwater and foreign substances.
2. The earthquake-resistant flat expansion joint using a hinge of claim 1, wherein the expansion joint main body 210 has a cylindrical hinge shaft part 210s fixed to a hinge shaft, and a flat plate part 210p integrally formed with the hinge shaft part 210s.
3. The earthquake-resistant flat expansion joint using a hinge of claim 2, wherein step grooves 210h for inserting connection members and fastening the connection members by bolts are formed at side surfaces of the plate parts 210p to connect adjacent expansion joint main bodies 210 such that the expansion joints are integrally moved.
4. The earthquake-resistant flat expansion joint using a hinge of claim 1, wherein the expansion/shrinkage member 220 is formed of a corrugated structure having a plurality of hollows 220h for accommodating behavior of the plate part 210p caused by the expansion/shrinkage and the earthquakes.
5. The earthquake-resistant flat expansion joint using a hinge of claim 4, wherein rise-prevention wrinkles 220w are formed at a lower surface of the corrugated structure and disposed between the hollows 220h to prevent the expansion/shrinkage member 220 from rising when the plate part 210p is moved by the earthquake.
6. The earthquake-resistant flat expansion joint using a hinge of claim 1, wherein the expansion/shrinkage 220 is fixed to an end of the plate part 210p of the expansion joint main body 210 and the expansion joint support member 240 by fixing members 300, and the fixing members 300 connect and fix the expansion/shrinkage member 220 to the end of the plate part 210p of the expansion joint main body 210 and a key part of the expansion joint support member 240, respectively, each of the fixing members 300 having a fixing piece 301 having a groove engaged with one of protrusions 220t formed at both ends of the expansion/shrinkage member 220 and a through-hole through which a bolt passes, a bolt 302 for fastening and fixing the fixing piece 301 to each of the plate part 210p of the expansion joint main body 210 and the key part of the expansion joint support member 240, and a bushing 303 having a female threaded part and fixing the bolt 302 to each of the plate part 210p of the expansion joint main body 210 and the key part of the expansion joint support member 240.
7. The earthquake-resistant flat expansion joint using a hinge of claim 6, wherein the bushing 303 is formed of stainless steel or is plated with a metal material to prevent generation of corrosion.
8. The earthquake-resistant flat expansion joint using a hinge of claim 1, wherein the rubber seal 260 comprises a rubber seal main body 450 for collecting rainwater and contaminants, guide rollers 452 for detachably installing the rubber seal main body 450, and guide rails 454 for fixing and rolling the guide rollers 452.
9. The earthquake-resistant flat expansion joint using a hinge of claim 1, wherein the expansion joint support member 240′ has two sections, one having a flat plate structure and the other having a cylindrical inner periphery structure through which the expansion/shrinkage member 220 can freely reciprocate depending on the behavior of the expansion joint main body 210 while maintaining its shape as it is without compression or extension thereof.
10. The earthquake-resistant flat expansion joint using a hinge of claim 9, wherein the expansion/shrinkage member 220′ is formed of a solid rubber plate.
11. An earthquake-resistant flat expansion joint using a hinge comprising:
- expansion joint main bodies 210′ and 210″ disposed between opposite ends of deck slabs of a bridge or an elevated road, hinged to one side of the deck slab at its one end to enable behavior in X, Y and Z-axis directions, and expanded or shrunk depending on temperature variation and vibrations due to earthquakes to be moved in the X, Y and Z-axis directions;
- a hinge shaft support member 230 installed at one end of the deck slab to support a lower part and side parts of a hinge shaft part 210s of the expansion joint main body 210′;
- an expansion part/hinge shaft support member 240″ installed at one end of the other deck slab to support lower parts of an expansion part and a hinge shaft part of the expansion joint main body 210″;
- anchor bolts 250 for fixing the hinge shaft support member 230 and the expansion part/hinge shaft support member 240″ to the opposite deck slabs, respectively; and
- a rubber seal 260 disposed under the expansion joint main bodies 210′ and 210″ and detachably installed at a space between both opposite ends of the deck slabs to collect rainwater and foreign substances.
12. The earthquake-resistant flat expansion joint using a hinge of claim 11, wherein the expansion joint main bodies 210′ and 210″ are installed at the opposite deck slabs to partially overlap each other, the one expansion joint main body 210′ is installed to move along a slope formed at a certain part of a body of the support member 240″ of the other expansion joint main body 210″, and the other expansion joint main body 210″ is installed to move along an upper surface of the one expansion joint main body 210′.
Type: Application
Filed: Sep 11, 2007
Publication Date: Mar 12, 2009
Applicant: IL-WON TECH CO., LTD (Hwaseong-si)
Inventors: Doo Sung Lee (Bucheon-si), Jun Sung Lee (Seoul), Young Seo Jeon (Seoul), Yong Kul Cho (Gunpo-si), Dong Joon Ko (Gwacheon-si)
Application Number: 11/898,282
International Classification: E04B 1/98 (20060101); E01D 19/06 (20060101);