The present invention concerns a method for erecting a constructional type arch construction. Background

An arch is a curved structure that bridges an opening. The arch directs pressure from roof and arch over to a fundament on each side. Pillars and columns are in this connection seen as fundaments.

Arches have traditionally been assembled by wedge shaped stones denoted half bat awhile the uppermost stone has been denoted the key stone (apex stone).

Within the architecture there are a number of different arc shapes. The ones most common are round arches, horseshoe type arches with several different sub-variants within each type. The simplest type of an arch is barrel arch which is considered to constitute a deep arch.

The use of arches is seen as the most important characteristics of the Roman constructional art. The Romans were also able to build arches without cement because the end stone, the uppermost stone, locked the others together. The Romans developed a constructional technique that was exceptionally versatile and which could be adapted almost any need. The Romans perhaps demonstrated their practical sense most in their use of arches in aqueducts. These could have a substantial length - some of them extending 30 and even 50 km from the sources to the user sites.

Arch constructions are used also in modern architecture, e.g. in building of tunnels and bridges. To some extent arch constructions are used also in raising of buildings and different tunnel avalanche covers, e.g. for covering roads and streets with noise deflection walls.

Since modern architecture, however, tends to use arch constructions to a smaller extent than before, further development of technology therefore has been neglected. Of this reason such arch constructions have become rather expensive to produce, which typically is the decisive element when this generally very simple technology in many cases is not chosen. A disadvantage when mounting constructional arch constructions is that traffic in the area is obstructed or prevented in the construction period. This is admittedly a disadvantage which is shared with other types of constructional work. Nonetheless it would have been a great advantage practically and economically if traffic in the area was less affected during the construction period and also naturally if the construction period could be reduced. Among prior art we refer to WO 95/14141 which concerns a method for establishing a tunnel shaped sound screen over a traffic route. Here a specific method for establishing said sound screen is described, allowing the traffic to go as usual in the traffic route.

We also refer to the publications DE 944 061, DE 518 303, DE 4129 171, and DE 2213 637 which all concerns different aspects of arch constructions and mounting of such.

Objects

It is thus an object of the present invention to provide a device for mounting of a constructional arch construction in such a way that traffic in the area is obstructed to the smallest extent possible and such that the constructional period may be reduced. This will also contribute to a reduction of the costs to an acceptable level. In different ways the arch construction according to this invention will then have a potential for a more extensive use than it recently have had. This may e.g. be adequate for different types of large buildings, such as industrial buildings, sports arenas, apartment buildings, noise screens over traffic routes for cars and railroads, tunnels, and the like.

The present invention The above mentioned objects are achieved by the present invention as defined by the

accompanying claims. According to a first aspect the invention provides a device for mounting of an arch construction as defined by claim 1. According to another aspect the present invention provides m method as claimed by claim 10. Preferred, non-mandatory features of the invention are disclosed by the dependent claims. An important element of the present invention is the cooperation between versatile jigs which easily can be assembled from structural elements in the form of a number of sections or legs, which easily can be adapted to any arch shape. The unique feature is however that this type of jig is adapted to cooperate with a support structure that is supported by the jigs and which is arranged in a manner allowing mounting of the arch structure without significantly obstructing traffic under the support structure when the arch structure as such is mounted. Such a support structure will for arch structures of a considerable length, naturally be made up of separate length sections. What is more unique with the support structure according to the present invention is that it is divided also in the length extension, so that at least one part of the support structure is moved to its desired location together with an adjustable part of the individual jig when this is elevated to the desired profile. The support structure can possible be "locked" in this position so that it later can maintain this shape without support from the jigs, or it may solely rest on the jigs - or on girders between the jigs - and thereby be readily dismountable along with the jigs after completed mounting of the arch construction.

If the support structure is locked in desired position it can -provided that it is, made of materials and with dimensions suited therefore - be used without being supported by the jigs when the arch construction is assembled. If it is used while being supported by the jigs when the arch structure is mounted, one may choice freely the point in time to remove the support structure after completed assembly. It may e.g. be left in place for some weeks after completed assembly and removal of the jigs to better ensure that the entire construction is "settled". More generally the arch construction will however be self-supporting immediately after having been completed and will not need any support from below. This latest mentioned feature is, however, one common for arch constructions and not anything special for those mounted according to the present invention.

The support structure can be materialized in many ways and with many different materials. In some situations the support structure can be entirely compact and not let through moisture or materials of any kind, thereby presenting free, "indoor" traffic under the support structure while the arch construction is mounted outside the support structure. In other situations it ca be desirable to use a support structure having a form of a grid structure allowing visual contact from the inside to its outside and possibly for performing of work operations from within, such as application of a sealing mass or the like between sections of pre-fabricated elements being assembled externally. In such cases it can be preferred that the openings in the support structure/ grid structure are comparatively small in relation to the building elements so that it is impossible for building elements to pass through the support structure. Thus traffic under the support structure will be safe while the construction is mounted. If there are unit operations to be performed from inside the support structure these could mainly be performed in periods in which the need for traffic in the area is small. The choice of materials for the different elements varies according to the requirements and according to the dimensions and the weight of the materials with which the arch constructions are assembled. Even if the arch construction is self-supporting when completed, the jigs and the support structure must carry the weight thereof until the last element is put in place. The sections or the legs with which the jigs are assembled are therefore most conveniently made of metal in adequate dimensions, while the support structure can be materialized in a number of different materials according to the need, such as wood, wood fibre plates, polymer materials, composite materials, metal or a combination of same.

Some vital elements of the jigs can also be an assembled construction like e.g. in a frame work. While it is a mandatory feature that at least one leg is length adjustable, it is preferred that several - and optionally all - of the legs are length adjustable, preferably in a stepless manner. Also bars that are used between the jigs and the support structure should to a large extent be designed in a manner allowing a high degree of versatility, i.e. that they may be movable, they may be length adjustable and they may optionally be pivotal.

It is thus a high degree of adaptive capacity for use of same jig for arch constructions of quite different radii and for designing different types of arches. This basic feature ensures the versatility that is characteristic for a rational production which is made industrially and thereby contributes to provide cost-effective solutions. Below the invention is explained in further detail in the form of exemplifying embodiments with reference to the enclosed drawings, in which

Fig. 1 shows a completed jig ready for external assembly of building elements thereon.

Fig. 2 shows a schematic top view of a number of jigs made ready for external assembly of building elements thereon.

Fig. 3 shows a schematic side view of a number of jigs made ready for external assembly of building elements thereon.

Fig. 4 shows the completed jig where the external assembly of building elements has been made.

Fig. 5 shows a jig at a stage where it is disconnected from the arch construction.

Figs. 6A and 6B show alternative embodiments of a two-part support structure.

We now refer to Figures 1 and 4. A suitable fundament 1 is established on both sides of the lower lateral legs 3 of the jig 13. The lower lateral leg 3 is attached to the fundament 1 with an attachment device 2 inside an attachment groove Ib for the arch construction. The lower lateral leg 3 is pivotally joined with the attachment device 2. Furthermore the jig 13 has two upper lateral legs 4, one to the left and one to the right hand side, and can in other embodiments also have intermediate lateral legs between upper lateral leg 4 and lower lateral leg 3. Upper lateral leg 4 is in Fig. 1 shown joined to the lower lateral leg 3 via a non-pivotal joint/ fitting 7. On top a cross-leg 7 is attached to both upper lateral legs 4 in pivotal joints 8, one at each side. It should be emphasized that there is no other principal difference between lateral legs and cross-leg than that - in the case where the jigs have an odd number of legs - all legs having a mate at the opposite side of a longitudinal vertical plane centrally in the jigs, are denqted lateral legs, while the one leg on top of the jig with half its length at each side of the vertical plane, is denoted a cross-leg. The vertical plane is shown with a dotted line in Fig. 4. To all lateral legs 3 and 4 as well as to the cross-leg 5 there are shown a varying number of top bars 9 which are adjustable both with respect to their length and sideways positioning. In the embodiment shown by Fig. 4 there are two top bars 9 attached to each of the lateral legs 3 and 4 as well as to the cross bar 5. On the top bars 9, in the longitudinal direction, the separable support structure 10, 11 is directly or indirectly attached or supported. The support structure 10, 11 is carefully adapted the elements 14 and 15 which is to be mounted on top thereof and which after assembly constitutes the arch construction 16.

Between the top bars 9 of adjacent jigs there may be attached mainly horizontal girders 19, to make a stronger and in the longitudinal direction more continuous bearing surface for the support structure 10, 11 and thereby also for the elements 14, 15. For such girders 19 are used materials and dimensions suitable to accommodate the static forces that will arise under the gradual erection of the arch construction 16. In Fig. 4 girders 19 are shown at two top bars 9, but girders can be used also at other and optionally all top bars.

All length adjustable legs have been fixated to desired length when the jig 13 is in use. It may one or several. For disassembly at least one length adjustable leg is shortened, preferably by activating telescopic retraction. Between the different jigs 13 a number of stiffening bars 12 are mounted. When the required number of jigs have been mounted and stabilized with stiffening bars 12, prefabricated building elements 14, chosen from a wide variety of existing materials and composites, can be assembled thereon. Such pre-fabricated building elements 14 are adapted to and dimensioned for each given project. Each pre-fabricated building element 14 suites like a hand in a glove the external shape of the support structure 10, 11. On top of the arch a pre-fabricated key element 15 is placed. The separate pre-fabricated building elements 14, 15 are attached to one another in a suitable manner while the optionally wedge like grooves between them are filled and fixated. Attachment, filling and fixation of the pre-fabricated building elements 14, 15 are made according to common and known technology for the chosen construction materials for the specific projects, and are therefore not described in further detail here. When these tasks have been performed the arch construction 16 is completed and the jigs 13 can be disconnected therefrom.

In the following description it is assumed that at least the cross-leg 5 has telescopically adjustable length. The first thing to take place during disassembly then is that the top bars attached to the cross-leg 5 is lowered so that the upper, separate part 11 of the support structure 10, lleasily can be released from the jig 13. The jig 13 is then released from the arch construction 16 as shown by Fig. 5 by shortening the telescopic adjustable cross-leg 5 while simultaneously lowering the jig 13 so that its radius is reduced when the lateral leg 3 is turned towards the centre at the joint 6 in the attachment device 2 at each respective side while the cross-leg is maintained in a substantially horizontal position by turning the pivotal joint 8 at each respective side of the upper lateral leg 4. For assembly of the jig as well as disassembly such as shown in Fig. 5, known technology such as use of hydraulic forces, jacks, screwjacks and the like are typically used. Figure 6A shows a support structure 10, 11 which is divided in three separate sections, two identical side sections adapted to be supported by lateral legs 3, 4 and a top section 11 adapted to be supported by cross-leg 5. The top section 11 can slide against the side sections 10 when the jigs are erected to be locked in a desired position and must generally exhibit some overlap to ensure that the support structure 10, 11 is continuous also when the jigs is completely erected. If desired the top section 11 of the support structure 10, 11 can then be attached to the side sections 10 as indicated with dotted bolts, so that the support structure remains unitary even when the jigs are lowered.

Fig. 6B shows a variant where the top section 11 of the support structure 10, 11 is hinged to one of the side sections while the free edge of the top section 11 is adapted to slide against the other side section 10 when the jigs are erected. Also in this case the otherwise free edge of the top section may be attached to the side section 10 of the support structure when the jigs have been completely erected.

While the typical situation will be that jigs and support structure are used together in the constructional area, it is possible also to produce suitable length sections of self-supporting support structures on a fabric area and to transport these to a constructional site and use them there without jigs at the site. A person skilled in the art will understand that in such cases it is a requirement that the support structure has dimensions and is made of materials able to support both its own weight and the weight of the arch construction to be assembled, without the support of jigs. At their lower edges the support structure 10, 11 should in these cases rest against the fundament 1, or against spacing pieces arranged on the fundaments or even more preferred on a number of hydraulic jacks placed arranged for height adjustment of the support structure.