Pile straightener
AssigneeBate & Ramey, Inc.
InventorRobert A. Seyle
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A tool for straightening bent steel sheet piles and a method for efficiently operating the tool which has a movable top jig and a stationary bottom jig. The movable top jig has a surface contoured to the normal shape of one face of a pile to be straightened, and the stationary bottom jig has a complementary surface contoured to the normal shape of the other surface of the pile. The top jig is moved in a vertical direction by rams attached to its upper part and in a horizontal direction by rams attached to its side. The method involves vising a pile placed between the complementary surfaces of the jig by alternately activating the vertical and horizontal rams. The top jig is then moved away and the straightened pile is removed.
Claims39
An apparatus for straightening bends in sheet pile at ambient temperature, such sheet pile used for shoring in excavations, for reuse for shoring in excavations, comprising:
- a frame;
- jig means mounted on said frame for straightening such bent sheet pile, said jig means including a moveable portion;
- and
- means mounted on said frame and connected to said jig means for moving said portion of said jig means in two nonparallel directions.
An apparatus for straightening a structurally distorted sheet pile having a front surface and a rear surface, such sheet pile used for shoring in excavation work, so that such sheet pile may be reused in excavation work, comprising:
- a frame;
- a first jig mounted on said frame having a first jig surface;
- a second jig mounted on said frame having a second jig surface;
- said first jig surface contoured to mesh with such front surface of such distorted sheet pile;
- said second jig surface contoured to mesh with such rear surface of such distorted sheet pile;
- and
- force means for engaging and disengaging said jig surfaces by moving said surfaces relative to each other in at least two nonparallel directions.
An apparatus for straightening a structurally distorted sheet pile having a front surface and a rear surface, comprising:
- a frame;
- a first jig mounted on said frame having a first jig surface;
- a second jig mounted on said frame having a second jig surface;
- said first jig surface contoured to mesh with such front surface of such pile;
- said second jig surface contoured to mesh with such rear surface of such pile;
- and
- force means for engaging and disengaging said jig surfaces by moving said surfaces relative to each other in at least two directions;
- wherein said directions include a horizontal direction and a vertical direction.
An apparatus for straightening a bent steel sheet pile comprising:
- a frame;
- a first jig and a second jig mounted on said frame;
- said jigs having means for vising a substantial portion of the entire width of such sheet pile over at least a portion of the length of such sheet pile;
- first force means for engaging and separating said first and second jigs in a first direction;
- and
- second force means for engaging and separating said first and second jigs in a second direction.
An apparatus for straightening a bent sheet pile having a distorted upper and lower surface, comprising:
- a frame;
- a first jig fixedly attached to said frame having a first surface adapted to mate with a sugstantially undistorted lower surface of such pile;
- a second jig having a second surface adapted to mate with a substantially undistorted upper surface of such pile;
- vertical force means, having first means for attaching said vertical force means to said frame and second means for attaching said vertical force means to said second jig for applying vertical force to force mating of said second surface with such upper surface by bending such pile;
- horizontal force means, having third means for attaching said horizontal force means to said frame and fourth means for attaching said horizontal force means to said second jig for applying horizontal force to force mating of said second surface with such upper surface by bending such pile;
An apparatus for straightening a bent sheet pile, comprising:
- a first jig having a first jig surface;
- a frame having a first top beam, a second top beam, and a side beam and means for supporting said beams, said top beams being parallel to one another and normal to the vertical plane through said side beam;
- vertical force means for moving said first jig, said first vertical force means being hingedly connected to said first and second top beams;
- horizontal force means for moving said first jig, said horizontal force means being hingedly connected to said side beam;
- a second jig securely attached to said frame, said second jig having a second jig surface adapted to mesh with said first jig surface;
- said first jig having hinge means for attaching to said horizontal force means and said vertical force means such that said horizontal and vertical force means mesh said first jig surface and said second jig surface.
A method of straightening a bent steel sheet pile at ambient temperatures, so that the straightened sheet pile may be used in excavation work, comprising the steps of:
- placing the bent steel sheet pile at ambient temperature between a first jig and a second jig at ambient temperature;
- moving said first jig toward said second jig with two degrees of freedom in direction;
- compressing the bent sheet pile between the jigs until the bent sheet pile conforms to the vising surfaces of the jigs.
A method for straightening a bent steel sheet pile comprising the steps of
- placing such sheet pile between a first jig and a second jig;
- moving the first jig toward the second jig in a first direction until the pile is secured between the first and second jigs;
- compressing the pile between the first jig and the second jig in a second direction;
- compressing the pile between the first jig and the second jig in said first direction.
A method for straightening a bent steel sheet pile comprising the steps of:
- resting the sheet pile on a stationary jig having a surface contoured to the normal shape of the lower surface of the sheet pile;
- resting a movable jig having a surface contoured to the normal shape of the upper surface of the sheet pile on the upper surface of the sheet pile facing away from the stationary jig;
- applying a force against the movable jig in a first direction until the pile is vised between the movable jig surface and the stationary jig surface;
- applying a force in a second direction further vising said sheet pile between said movable jig surface and said stationary jig surface.
A method of straightening bent steel sheet pile for reuse in shoring operations for excavation work, comprising the steps of:
- placing such bent sheet pile between a first jig and a second jig having complimentary vising surfaces having substantially horizontal portions and substantially vertical portions;
- compressing the pile between the surfaces by alternately supplying substantial increases in horizontal and vertical compressive force until the pile conforms to the surfaces;
- releasing the straightened sheet pile from between the first jig and the second jig.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.