The invention relates to an armature attachment device, in particular concerning an armature attachment device comprising at least an attachment rail, an attachment fitting and necessary number of locking bodies, which attachment fittings are arranged to be fitted in any position along the attachment rail. The armature attachment device, formed to be fixedly concreted is particularly well suited for application in a manhole, but its use is not limited to this.

During installation of pipes, pipefittings and valves in the ground, it is common to employ manholes for installation of necessary armature. A supply pipe can, for example, be led through an aperture in a manhole where the supply pipe is then connected to a valve and where one or more valve outlets are connected to outlet pipes being led out from the manhole via other manhole apertures .

To facilitate fitting work inside the manhole, among other things, and to maintain the armature in the desired position,

P24843PC00DE- 06.04.2006

attachments between the manhole floor and the armature are being employed.

It is known to concrete rails into a manhole floor, where the rails along their longitudinal direction are provided with a number of installation holes commonly having equal spacing therebetween .

Those attachment fittings, which are bolted to the armature, are provided with installation holes meant to correspond with the installation holes in the rails. It may be difficult to place the attachment fittings in a position relative to the rails in a manner for bolts to be installed into the installation holes being closest. It has further turned out that the manhole environment is often such that it promotes corrosion. It may therefore, after a time, be very difficult to loosen the bolts fixing the armature to the manhole.

It is an object of the invention to remedy or reduce at least one of the disadvantages of the prior art .

The object is achieved according to the invention by those features presented in the following description and in the thereafter following claims.

An armature attachment device according to the invention comprises at least one attachment rail, the attachment rail being arranged to be fixedly concreted into a base, and an attachment fitting arranged to be connected to an armature where at least one locking wedge is fasteningly provided between the attachment rail and the attachment fitting when the attachment fitting is in its active fixed position.

P24843PC00DE- 06.04.2006

The attachment rail is in a preferred embodiment, related to normal operating position, uppermost provided with a continuous abutment portion which, when viewed in cross-section in a direction from the end portion of the attachment rail, com- prises an upright convex lateral guide and shoulders projecting substantially horizontally, one on each side of the side guide in opposite directions and perpendicularly to the longitudinal direction of the side guide.

The projecting shoulders have a rest surface on their top face and a toothed rack on their lower face.

The attachment fitting comprises an abutment portion, which displaceably and complementarily fits on the abutment portion of the attachment rail.

A side portion projects outwards and downwards from the abut- irient portion on each side of the attachment rail when the attachment fitting is in its operative position. The side portions are on their lowest portion on the side facing the attachment rail provided with an upwards-facing toothed rack.

The distance between the side portions is large enough for the attachment fitting to be able to be displaced vertically downwards over the attachment rail shoulders .

Rising from the abutment portion is a curved platelike section provided with through boltholes adapted to a standard flange-bolting pattern. The curved section is arranged for attachment to the armature .

P24843PC00DE- 06.04.2006

The attachment fittings are locked in the desired position on the attachment rail by pushing preferably wedge shaped locking bodies in between corresponding toothed racks on the attachment rail and toothed racks on the attachment fitting. It is an advantage that the locking bodies are made of plastics and thus have certain flexibility so that they provide a good grip with the toothed racks.

The locking body thus strains the attachment fitting rest portion against the attachment rail rest portion. The toothed racks gripping the elastic locking body prevent an axial displacement of the attachment fitting relative to the attachment rail.

The device of the present invention simplifies to a large extent installation of piping in the ground. Compared to the prior art the device exhibits a considerably increased flexibility and possibility for re-use of armature attachment devices .

In the following will be described a non-limiting example of a preferred embodiment illustrated by the enclosed drawings, where:

Fig. 1 shows partly sectioned a manhole provided with an armature attachment device of the invention and where also an armature in the form of a valve armature is installed;

Fig. 2 shows an attachment rail in larger scale;

Fig. 3 shows an attachment fitting;

P24843PCO0DE- 06.04.2006

Fig. 4 shows a locking body;

Fig. 5 shows an attachment fitting installed on an attachment rail and where a locking body is forced in between the attachment fitting and the attachment rail; and

Fig. 6 shows an attachment fitting for larger armature being installed and where two attachment rails are used.

In the drawings, reference numeral 1 denotes an armature at- tachment device provided in a manhole 2 , a valve 4 being connected to the armature attachment device 1.

The armature attachment device 1 comprises at least one attachment rail 6 concreted in a floor 7 of the manhole 2 , two attachment fittings 8 and the necessary number of wedge shaped locking bodies 10.

The attachment rail 6 is designed as a somewhat longitudinal inverted T, see Fig. 2, where a lower relatively wide portion 12 abuts the floor 6. Stretching from the portion 12 are anchoring hooks 14 protruding into the concrete floor 7.

An upper abutment portion 16 running along the attachment rail 6 comprises, when viewed in cross-section, an upright projecting convex lateral guide 18 and shoulders 20 projecting substantially horizontally, one on each side of the lateral guide 18 in opposite directions, which shoulders 20 be- ing provided with a rest face on its upper side and a toothed rack 22 on its underside.

P24843PC00DE- 06.04.2006

The attachment fitting 8 comprises an abutment portion 24, which fits displaceably and complementarily on the abutment portion 16 of the attachment rail 6.

Due to the shape of the abutment portion 16 comprising lat- eral guides 18, the attachment fitting 8, when placed on the attachment rail 6, is prevented from rotating around a vertical axis while the projecting shoulders 20 at the same time causes the attachment fitting to abut firmly also about its horizontal axis.

A side portion 26 projects outwards and downwards from the abutment portion 24 on each side of the attachment rail 6 when the attachment fitting 8 is in its operative position. The side portions 26 are on their lowest portion on the side facing the attachment rail 6 provided with an upwards-facing toothed rack 28.

The gap between the side portions 26 is large enough to allow the attachment fitting 8 to be displaced vertically downwards over the attachment rail 6 shoulders 20.

Rising from the abutment portion 24 is a curved platelike section 30 provided with through boltholes 32 adapted to a standard flange-bolting pattern.

When an armature 4, here in the form of a valve, is to be installed in the manhole 2, the attachment fittings 8 may be connected to the valve before the valve 4 is lowered onto the attachment rail 6. The valve 4 may alternatively be fastened to the attachment rail 8 after the attachment fittings are placed on the attachment rail 6.

P24843PC00DE- 06.04.2006

When the attachment fittings 8 are in the desired position on the attachment rail 6 the attachment fittings 8 are locked to the attachment rail 8 by displacing flexible locking bodies 10 in between corresponding toothed racks 22 on the attach- ment rail 6 and toothed racks 28 on the attachment fitting 8, see Fig. 5.

The locking body 10 strains the abutment portion 24 of the attachment fitting 8 against the abutment portion 16 of the attachment rail 6. The gripping action of the toothed racks 22, 28 with the locking body 10 prevents axial displacement of the attachment fitting 8 relative to the attachment rail 6.

Pushing out the locking bodies 10 may disengage the connection.

In Fig. 6 the armature attachment device 1 is provided with two attachment rails 6 to be able to receive a heavier armature. This embodiment is also used in Fig. 1.

P24843PC00DE- 06.04.2006