阅读说明：本技术 打桩装置及驱动进入地面中的方法 (Pile driving device and method of driving into the ground ) 是由 D.舍夫佐夫 R.库尔青格 S.策普迈泽尔 J.施特克尔 于 2020-03-06 设计创作，主要内容包括：本发明涉及一种用于将驱动材料驱动到地面中的打桩装置和方法,其中,为了驱动进入,驱动材料借助于夹紧装置被夹紧并保持在打桩动力单元上,并且在夹紧之前,驱动材料借助于柔性固定元件,特别是固定链,连接到打桩动力单元。根据本发明,提供了一种按压元件,其相对于打桩动力单元朝向驱动材料移位,并且这样做时,按压力被施加到驱动材料的向上定向的前表面上。(The invention relates to a piling device and a method for driving drive material into the ground, wherein, for driving in, the drive material is clamped and held on a piling power unit by means of a clamping device, and before clamping, the drive material is connected to the piling power unit by means of a flexible fixing element, in particular a fixing chain. According to the invention, a pressing element is provided which is displaced towards the drive material relative to the piling power unit and, in doing so, a pressing force is applied to the upwardly directed front surface of the drive material.)

1. A piling device for driving a drive material into the ground, having:

a pile driving power unit arranged in a vertically movable manner and having a clamping device for clamping and holding the drive material, and

-a flexible fixing element, in particular a fixing chain, with which the drive material can be connected to the pile driving power unit before clamping,

wherein the content of the first and second substances,

-a pressing element is provided, which is supported displaceably relative to the piling power unit and is designed to apply a pressing force onto the upwardly directed front surface of the drive material before clamping.

2. Piling device according to claim 1,

wherein the content of the first and second substances,

the pressing element is designed with a channel through which the clamping of the drive material by the clamping device can be achieved when the pressing element abuts.

3. Piling device according to claim 1,

wherein the content of the first and second substances,

the pressing element has a fork-shaped design.

4. Piling device according to claim 1,

wherein the content of the first and second substances,

the pressing element is movable by means of a positioning cylinder arranged between the pile driving power unit and the pressing element.

5. Piling device according to claim 1,

wherein the content of the first and second substances,

the pressing element is displaceable along a linear guide arranged on a rod or on the pile driving power unit.

6. Piling device according to claim 1,

wherein the content of the first and second substances,

the pile driving power unit is designed as a vibrator with a rotatable unbalance element or as a pile driving hammer with a pulse element that can be driven in a linearly reversible manner.

7. Piling device according to claim 1,

wherein the content of the first and second substances,

a test unit is provided which is designed to determine whether the flexible fixation element is attached between the drive material and the pile driving power unit.

8. Piling device according to claim 1,

wherein the content of the first and second substances,

a mobile vehicle is provided on which the pile power unit is arranged in a vertically movable manner by means of a carriage on a rod or by means of a support cable.

9. A method for driving or extracting drive material into or from the ground, in particular by a piling device according to claim 1,

wherein the drive material is clamped and held on the piling power unit by means of a clamping device and is connected to the piling power unit by means of a flexible fixing element, in particular a fixing chain,

wherein the content of the first and second substances,

a pressing element is provided which is displaced towards the drive material relative to the pile driving power unit and in so doing a pressing force is applied onto the upwardly directed front surface of the drive material.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the first and second light sources are selected from the group consisting of,

wherein the content of the first and second substances,

the drive material is held in a clamped position by the pressing element,

wherein subsequently the pile driving power unit is moved towards the driving material, and

wherein the drive material is clamped and held on the pile driving power unit by means of the clamping device for driving in.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the first and second light sources are selected from the group consisting of,

wherein the content of the first and second substances,

subsequently, for driving in, the pressing element is released and spaced apart from the driving material.

12. The method of claim 9, wherein the first and second light sources are selected from the group consisting of,

wherein the content of the first and second substances,

by means of the pressing element, the position of the drive material is adjusted and brought into the clamping position.

13. The method of claim 9, wherein the first and second light sources are selected from the group consisting of,

wherein the content of the first and second substances,

in the case of a pressing force being applied to the drive material by the pressing element, the pile driving power unit assumes a test position in which a flexible fixing element between the drive material and the pile driving power unit is tensioned, and

wherein a test unit determines whether the flexible fixation element is located between the driving material and the piling power unit in the test position.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the first and second light sources are selected from the group consisting of,

it is characterized in that the preparation method is characterized in that,

in case it is determined that there is no flexible fixation element (30) between the driving material (5) and the pile driving power unit (20), the test unit issues a warning signal.

15. The method according to claim 13 or 14,

wherein the content of the first and second substances,

in the event that it is determined that there is no flexible fixing element between the drive material and the pile driving power unit, the test unit prevents clamping by means of the clamping device, driving the drive material into or out of the drive material.

Technical Field

The invention relates to a piling device for driving drive material into the ground, having a piling power unit which is arranged vertically movably and has a clamping device for clamping and holding the drive material, and having a flexible fixing element, in particular a fixing chain, with which the drive material can be connected to the piling power unit before clamping, according to the preamble of claim 1.

The invention further relates to a method according to the preamble of claim 9 for driving drive material into or extracting drive material from the ground, wherein for driving in the drive material is clamped and held on a pile driving power unit by means of a clamping device and the drive material is connected to the pile driving power unit by means of a flexible fixing element, in particular a fixing chain.

Background

A generic pile driving device and a generic method are available from DE3602609a 1. In this known method, sheet piles, for example, which are arranged horizontally on the ground, are initially loosely fixed to the vibration apparatus using chain anchoring. The fixing chain is guided through a through-hole in the upper end region of the pile and is fixed on the vibration device. By the upward movement of the vibration device along the rod, the sheet pile is held by the chain anchor and pulled upward until the sheet pile is oriented substantially vertically and suspended on the fixed chain. The vibrating device is then moved downwards by a certain amount until the lower end of the sheet pile rests on the ground and the upper end of the sheet pile enters the receiving groove of the vibrating device between the two jaws. Subsequently, the sheet pile is clamped between the two clamping jaws on a vibration device, so that the clamped sheet pile can then be driven vertically or impact-driven into the ground using the vibration device. In this process, however, it may happen that the sheet pile is inclined from the vertical before being received in the receiving groove.

When the foundation construction measures are completed, it is often necessary or desirable to remove the sheet pile again from the ground. For this purpose, it is also possible to use known piling devices, in which case, before the sheet pile is extracted, a fixing chain is also guided through the through-hole in the sheet pile, so that the sheet pile is additionally fixed to the vibration device. Before or after this, the upper end of the pile is clamped again and extracted from the ground by vibration using a vibration device. The securing chain serves here as an additional mechanical fall protection to prevent the pile from falling uncontrollably to the ground, for example in the event of failure of the hydraulic clamping device.

A similar arrangement of a pile driving device is known from US5,332,047. In this known arrangement, the pile-shaped driving material is driven into the ground, in which case a fixed chain may also be arranged between the driving material and the pile driving device. Due to the variety of different shapes and sizes of the driving material, especially in the case of sheet piles, adapting to the respective size may be problematic.

A pile driving device with a hammer head is known from DE102010023216a1, wherein a gripper for gripping pile-shaped driving material is additionally provided. The gripper comprises two clamping jaws with which the drive material can be clamped and held along the lateral edges.

Disclosure of Invention

The invention is based on the object of providing a pile driving device and a related method for driving a drive material into the ground, by means of which a particularly efficient and reliable handling of the drive material is enabled.

According to the invention, this object is achieved by a pile driving device having the features of claim 1 and by a method having the features of claim 9. Preferred embodiments of the invention are set out in the dependent claims.

The piling device according to the invention is characterized in that a pressing element is provided, which is displaceably supported relative to the piling power unit and which is designed to exert a pressing force on the upwardly directed front surface of the drive material before clamping. Since the pressing element acts on the upwardly oriented front surface of the drive material, the position and size of the pressing element is largely independent of the lateral size of the drive material and does not have to be adapted in particular when changing drive materials.

By means of the invention, particularly safe handling of the drive material is made possible. In particular, the present invention prevents work incidents where improperly secured or improperly clamped drive material detaches itself from the piling power unit and falls to the ground. Sheet pile breakout and fall, which can exceed 10m in length and weigh up to a ton or more, can lead to serious accidents at the construction site, including personal injury and material damage.

According to the invention, a firm clamping of the drive material in the clamping device is ensured. The invention is based on the finding that during lifting of the drive material, the flexible fixing elements are tensioned until the drive material is vertically aligned and placed on the ground. When the pile driving power unit is moved downwards and the upper end of the driving material is introduced into the clamping device, the tension on the flexible fixing element is removed. Thus, there is no fixing of the position of the vertically oriented drive material for a certain period of time, which may last for a few seconds, before being brought into the clamping position on the clamping device. The drive material may then be tilted from the vertical position, thereby hindering or completely preventing correct introduction into the gripping device. Indeed, the tilt driving material may be captured by the flexible fixation element. However, the drive material must then be aligned again by the upward movement of the pile driving power unit and the threading process into the clamping device must be repeated, which means an additional expenditure of time. Furthermore, when capturing the tilt driving material, the flexible fixation elements are subjected to considerable stress and corresponding wear. For example, in the case of insufficient maintenance of the fixed chain, there is a risk that it breaks and the drive material falls uncontrollably.

According to the invention, a pressing element is provided which is supported in a displaceable manner relative to the piling power unit. Thus, the pressing element may be moved towards the driving material before releasing the tension of the flexible fixation element and be held in a vertical position by applying a defined pressing force when the piling power unit is moved downwards for clamping, before clamping by means of the clamping device. Therefore, the drive material can be reliably held in the vertical position. In this vertical position, a firm introduction of the drive material into the clamping device is enabled by a simple downward movement of the pile driving power unit. This allows for an efficient and secure clamping of the drive material to the piling power unit without subjecting the fixing element to significant stress.

A preferred embodiment of the invention consists in that the pressing element is designed with a channel through which, when the pressing element abuts, clamping of the drive material by the clamping device can be achieved. Thus, the pressing element does not cover the entire upper area of the drive material. In fact, by means of the channel, a partial area of the drive material remains uncovered, wherein the drive material is then clamped on the piling power unit by means of a clamping device having at least one movable jaw.

Basically, the pressing element can have any chosen design in order to achieve this function. A preferred embodiment consists in that the pressing element has a fork-shaped design. By means of the fork-shaped pressing element, it is possible, almost independently of the size and shape of the driver material, that the driver material, in particular the sheet pile, can be pressed down reliably in its outer region by vertical forces, while the clamping device can clamp the driver material reliably in its central region on its upper end.

In a further development of the invention, the pressing element is designed such that, in addition to the displacement capability of the entire pressing unit, the pressing arm pressing onto the drive material is also adjustable in the horizontal plane, allowing the upper end of the drive material to be rotated and/or displaced horizontally. This enables a particularly easy and reliable alignment of the drive material, so that the clamping device of the pile driving power unit can move over the drive material and reliably clamp the drive material. To this end, the invention makes use of the finding that long driving materials, such as sheet piles, which may have a length of 10m or even more, are themselves so flexible that the upper end can also be turned or displaced if the lower end is pressed onto the ground and fixed in place to some extent. The clamping process is thus carried out in a fast, safe and reliable manner, thereby enabling efficient operation.

The pressing element can be moved towards the drive material and pressed against it in substantially any suitable manner in order to apply the required pressing force. According to a further development of the invention, it is particularly advantageous if the pressing element is displaceable by means of a positioning cylinder arranged between the pile driving power unit and the pressing element. The positioning cylinder is preferably hydraulically driven and is designed in particular as a double-acting hydraulic cylinder.

The pressing element may be displaceably supported in any chosen manner. According to a variant of the invention, it is particularly advantageous that the pressing element is displaceable along a linear guide arranged on the rod or pile driving power unit. When arranged on a vertical rod, the pressing element can in particular be displaced along the same linear guide along which the working slide of the pile driving power unit can also be displaced along the rod. Alternatively, a linear guide can be designed on the pile driving power unit itself, which is oriented downwards and along which the pressing element is supported in a displaceable manner. In this case, the linear guide may preferably be designed as one or more cylindrical guides. Such a linear guide on the pile driving power unit proves to be particularly advantageous if the pile driving power unit is freely suspended on the rope.

The pile driving power unit is used for the purpose of driving material, in particular piles, beams or sheet piles, into the ground by means of vibration or impulse. For this purpose, it is preferred that the pile driving power unit is designed as a vibrator with a rotatable unbalance element or as a pile driving hammer with a pulse element that can be driven in a linearly reversible manner. The vibrator may have one or several pairs of rotatable unbalancing elements which are adjustably supported relative to each other in a known manner in order to generate a directed unbalancing force. Alternatively, the piling power unit may be a piling hammer. The drive movement can thereby cause an impact pulse, wherein the reversibly driven impulse element strikes the impact surface. Alternatively, the impulse element can also be driven in a reversible manner without impact contact, so that a target vibrational motion is generated and transmitted to the drive material.

According to a further development of the invention, an increase in operational safety is achieved by providing a test unit designed to ensure that the flexible fixation element is attached between the driving material and the pile driving power unit. By establishing, in particular, electrical contacts, the test unit can determine before driving the material in motion whether the flexible fixation element is connected in particular to one or two anchoring points on the piling power unit. Especially when the driving material is extracted from the ground, it is ensured that this process is not carried out without additional mechanical fixing of the driving material to the pile driving power unit.

In another embodiment of the device according to the invention, it is advantageous to provide a moving vehicle on which the rod is arranged. In particular, the vehicle can have a crawler track on which a rotatable upper carriage with a vertical bar is supported, in particular a telescopic guide or boom with a support cable.

The method according to the invention is characterized in that a pressing element is provided which is displaced towards the drive material relative to the pile driving power unit and in doing so a pressing force is applied onto the upwardly directed front surface of the drive material.

The method according to the invention can be implemented in particular by the pile driving device described previously. Whereby the advantages described above can be achieved.

A preferred method variant of the invention consists in that the drive material is held in the clamping position by the pressing element, whereafter the pile driving power unit is moved towards the drive material and the drive material is clamped and held on the pile driving power unit by means of the clamping device for driving in (driving-in). By means of the pressing element, a pressing force is applied to the drive material, so that the drive material is fixed in a vertical position and cannot be turned over before the flexible fixing element is detached or the tension is released. In this position, when the gripping device has been moved into position by the downward movement of the piling power unit, the drive material can then be gripped by the gripping device effectively, reliably and carefully. Subsequently, drive-in may be performed.

The method is preferably further developed in such a way that the pressing element is subsequently released and spaced apart from the drive material for driving in. In particular, the pressing element can be moved by the positioning cylinder from the pressing position back into a standby position in which the pressing element is spaced apart from the drive material. The pile driving power unit can then be put into operation so that the driving material can then be driven into the ground without direct stress being exerted on the pressing element.

According to a further development of the method according to the invention, it is preferred that the position of the drive material is adjusted by means of the pressing element and brought into the clamping position. The pressing element itself can be adjustable transversely to the vertical displacement axis in one or more movement directions, whereby a certain alignment of the drive material is achieved by the pressing element. Alternatively, different adjustable components or parts can be arranged on the pressing element itself, which can be adjusted relative to the base carrier of the pressing element for driving the alignment of the material.

Another advantageous method variant of the invention consists in that, in the case of a pressing force being exerted on the drive material by means of the pressing element, the piling power unit assumes a test position in which the flexible fixing element between the drive material and the piling power unit is tensioned, and the test unit determines whether the flexible fixing element is located between the drive material and the piling power unit in the test position.

In this method variant, it can be automatically determined by the pile driving device whether a flexible fixing element, in particular a fixing chain, is attached between the drive material and the pile driving power unit for additional position fixing and accident protection. With the drive material held in the vertical position by the pressing element, the pile driving power unit can be moved upwards in this position and the flexible fixing element fixed on the drive material on the one hand and on the pile driving power unit on the other hand can be tensioned. If the fixing element is suitably fixed, tension is created between the pressing element holding the driving material in a vertical position and the pile driving power unit by the tensioned flexible fixing element during upward movement of the pile driving power unit. This can be determined, for example, by a pressure or force measuring device located on the pressing element, for example, the pressing element or a positioning cylinder of the pile driving power unit.

When a certain tension value is reached, it can therefore be reliably determined by the test unit or the evaluation unit that the flexible fixing element is correctly fixed. However, if such tension is not established, this may be considered an indication that the flexible fixation element is not fixed or not properly fixed. The test can be carried out by the test unit before the drive-in or before or after the extraction of the drive material. During the test, a defined test force is applied, by means of which the flexible fixing element is not excessively tensioned.

According to an embodiment variant of the method according to the invention it is provided that the test unit emits a warning signal if it is determined that there is no flexible fixing element between the drive material and the pile driving power unit. In particular, the warning signal may be sent optically and/or acoustically to the machine operator or also to the area around the pile driving device. In particular, in this case, the drive material is held by the clamping device which is blocked in the clamped state.

According to a further development of the invention, it is preferred that the test unit prevents the drive in or out of the drive material if it is determined that there is no flexible fixing element between the drive material and the pile driving power unit. For example, the drive-in can only be continued if the missing fixing element is attached. In particular, in the absence of a flexible fixing element, the pressing force on the drive material can be maintained until after a predetermined safety procedure a sufficient positional fixing of the drive material is ensured or a potentially dangerous area of personnel caused by the unfixed drive material is cleared.

Drawings

The invention is further described below by means of preferred embodiments schematically illustrated in the drawings, in which:

figure 1 is a schematic side view of a piling device having a vertical rod, receiving a driving material;

figure 2 is a schematic detail view of a piling device according to the invention in lifting a drive material;

figure 3 is a schematic detail view of the piling device of figure 2 with vertically arranged driving material according to the invention;

figure 4 is a schematic detail view of the piling device of figures 2 and 3 when gripping a driving material;

figure 5 is a schematic detail view of the piling device according to figures 2 to 4 when the pressing element is released;

figure 6 is a schematic perspective view of the piling device according to the invention and according to figures 2 to 5 in a testing position;

FIG. 7 is an enlarged detailed perspective view of the pressing unit according to the present invention;

figure 8 is a schematic side view of another piling device with a rope suspension of the piling power unit according to the present invention;

FIG. 9 is the piling power unit of FIG. 8 with the driving material clamped and the pressing elements in abutment; and

figure 10 is the piling power unit of figure 9 with the pressing element withdrawn.

Detailed Description

The basic construction of the piling device 10 is explained in connection with fig. 1. The piling device 10 has a moving vehicle 12 including a crawler 13. An upper carriage 14 is rotatably supported by the crawler belt 13. The upper carriage 14 has in a generally known manner an operator cab and a power unit of the piling device 10. A lever 18, which in the embodiment shown is designed as a telescopic guide, is supported in an adjustable manner on the upper carriage 14 by means of the adjusting mechanism 16. On the front side of the rod 18, which is oriented in a substantially vertical manner, a linear guide 19 is arranged, along which a pile driving power unit 20 is supported in a linearly movable manner. In the embodiment shown, the pile driving power unit 20 is designed as a vibrator, in the housing of which a rotationally driven unbalance element is supported.

For receiving the drive material 5, which may in particular be sheet piles or steel beams, the pile driving power unit 20 is displaced along the rod 18 into the lower receiving position shown in fig. 1. The drive material 5 is initially connected to the receiving part 22 at the lower end of the piling power unit 20 by means of a flexible fixing element 30, in particular as a fixed chain. The flexible fixing element 30 can be guided through the fixing hole 6 in the drive material 5. The flexible fixing element 30 is fixed to the receiving part 22 by means of a lock in a generally known manner.

For lifting and clamping the pile driving material 5, the pile driving power unit 20 is displaced upwards along the rod 18 with a linear guide 19 via a not shown rope drive or hydraulic cylinder, as schematically shown in fig. 2. As the drive material 5 is connected to the receiving part 22 of the piling power unit 20 via the flexible fixing element 30, the drive material 5 is lifted from the horizontal position according to fig. 1 and pulled into the vertical position. A clamping device 24 having at least one hydraulically adjustable clamping jaw is located on the receiving part 22 in a generally known manner. Furthermore, according to the invention, in the lower region of the pile driving power unit 20, a pressing unit 40 according to the invention is arranged, which has a pressing element 42 in a standby or retracted position. In this standby position, the pressing element 42 is located above the receiving part 22 and the clamping device 24.

The upward movement of the piling power unit 20 with the suspended drive material 5 occurs until the rod-shaped drive material 5 has been lifted or erected vertically, with the lower end of the drive material 5 resting on the ground. In this position shown in fig. 3, the schematically shown flexible fixation element 30 between the erected vertical drive material 5 and the piling power unit 20 is tensioned. In this position, the vertical position of the drive material 5 is fixed by means of the tensioned flexible fixing element 30. In order to maintain this fixed position, according to the invention, the pressing element 42 of the pressing unit 40 is displaced downwards relative to the piling power unit 20 by means of a positioning cylinder, not shown, until the lower contact section 43 of the pressing element 42 abuts against the upper front surface 7 of the drive material 5, so that the drive material 5 is pressed downwards against the ground with a defined pressing force. In this position, the vertically oriented drive material 5 is positionally fixed by the pressing element 42 abutting under pressure, as shown in fig. 3. This securing of position or fall protection is independent of the width or lateral profile of the driver material 5.

With the pressing element 42 abutting against the drive material 5, the pile driving power unit 20 can now be displaced downwards relative to the pressing element 42, whereby the upper end region of the drive material 5 is introduced into the receiving part 22 with an inclined introduction surface, as shown in fig. 4. The drive material 5 can then be clamped firmly on the piling power unit 20 by means of the hydraulic clamping cylinders of the clamping device 24 oriented transversely to the vertical direction. During the downward movement of the piling power unit 20 along the linear guide 19, the tension of the flexible fixing element 30 is released while the driving material 5 is still held in the vertical position by the pressing element 42 abutting under pressure. In summary, according to the present invention, it is therefore possible to achieve a reliable introduction of the drive material 5 into the receiving part 22 and clamping by the clamping device 24 of the piling power unit 20.

According to fig. 5, the pressing element 42 can now be displaced again in an upward direction along the linear guide 19 of the rod 18 relative to the piling power unit 20 and thus released from the upper front surface 7 of the drive material 5. In doing so, the drive material 5 is still gripped by the gripping means 24 of the piling power unit 20 and is thereby fixed in position. After the forked pressing element 42 has been spaced apart from the driving material 5 by moving back to the withdrawn standby position, the actual piling process can now begin. Here, the rotary unbalance unit inside the pile driving power unit 20 is arranged to rotate in a generally known manner, thereby generating a targeted, downwardly directed unbalance force. The elongate driving material 5 can thus be driven into the ground by the simultaneous downward movement of the pile driving power unit 20. After driving into the ground, the flexible securing element 30 is again separated from the driving material 5 so that new driving material 5 can then be received by the piling device 10 and the piling process can be repeated.

Conversely, the extraction of the drive material 5 from the ground can also be performed by means of the pile driving device 10. In the process, the upper end of the drive material 5 protruding from the ground is clamped by the clamping device 24 of the piling power unit 20, wherein the flexible fixing element 30 is attached between the receiving part 22 of the piling power unit 20 and the drive material 5 at the same time or with a time delay for reasons of operational safety. In particular, by generating the target vibration, the driving material 5 can thus be reliably extracted from the ground by the upward movement of the piling power unit 20. The gripping device 24 is then released, so that the driving material 5 is again separately connected to the piling power unit 20 via the flexible fixing element 30.

For reasons of operational safety, it is important to ensure that during release of the clamping device 24, the drive material 5 is still actually fixed to the piling power unit 20 via the flexible fixing element 30, as illustratively shown in fig. 6.

For a reliable verification, this provision is made in the piling device 10 according to the invention for a test unit, not shown. Thereby, before releasing the clamping device 24, the forked pressing element 42 of the pressing unit 40 is displaced in a downward direction with respect to the piling power unit 20 from the withdrawn standby position until the pressing element 42 abuts against the upper front surface 7 of the drive material 5. The pressing element 42 thereby exerts a defined retaining force on the drive material 5 in the downward direction, so that it is fixed in the vertical position. The clamping device 24 can now be released and the piling power unit 20 can be displaced upwards by a defined distance and/or with a defined retraction force until the flexible fixing element 30 again reaches the tensioned state. In the case of a correctly attached flexible fixing element 30, a defined tension is established in the process, which can be established by means of a test unit.

This is a clear indication that the flexible fixation element 30 is properly attached, if there is a corresponding tension, and the drive material 5 is thus reliably connected to the piling power unit 20 via the flexible fixation element 30. If the test unit does not establish a tension or tensioning force, this may be an indication that proper fixation of the flexible fixation element 30 to the drive material 5 cannot be ensured. A warning signal is then emitted by the test unit and a fixing procedure can be performed or further operations prevented. In particular, in this case, the pressing element 42 remains pressed against the front surface 7 of the drive material 5 in order to fix the drive material 5 in the vertical position until, for example, sufficient additional fixation is attached between the piling power unit 20 and the drive material 5.

Of course, the verification may also be performed before the extraction of the drive material located in the ground.

The pressing unit 40 according to the invention with the pressing element 42 is shown in more detail in fig. 7. The pressing element 42 has a base body 44 with two parallel pressing arms 45. In this way, the pressing element 42 is formed in the shape of a fork, wherein a central channel 46 is formed between two parallel pressing arms 45. The passage 46 allows for gripping of the driving material by a gripping device on the piling power unit, which may be passed along the passage 46 through the pressing element 42.

Preferably, two pressing arms 45 are pivotably supported on the base 44 about a vertical axis. Furthermore, on its underside, the pressing arm 45 has a contact section 43 for contacting the drive material. The contact section 43 is preferably supported in a movable manner along a pressing arm 45, on the rear side of the base body 44 of the pressing element 42 a guide block 48 being designed to interact with the linear guide 19 on the lever 18.

In fig. 7, two positioning cylinders 50 are also schematically shown, by means of which the pressing element 42 can be displaced relative to the piling power unit 20, wherein by means of the positioning cylinders 50 a defined pressing force can be exerted on the driving material.

In fig. 8 to 10, an alternative embodiment of the piling device 10 according to the invention is shown, in which a piling power unit 20 with a base frame 21 is freely suspended by means of the crane hook 17 and the support ropes 15.

To erect the driving material 5, which in this embodiment is a sheet pile, the flexible fixing element 30 is initially guided through the fixing hole 6, while the driving material 5 is in a horizontal position. The flexible securing element 30 is in this embodiment a steel cable, the ends of which are secured to the receiving part 22 of the piling power unit 20. Now, the driving material 5 can be lifted to a vertical position by pulling the pile driving power unit 20 upwards by means of the crane hook 17 fixed on the crane, in particular a crawler crane, until the driving material 5 rests vertically on the ground. In this state, the bracket-shaped pressing element 42 of the pressing unit 40 can then be moved downward from the retracted position on the piling power unit 20. This can be achieved by means of two lateral positioning cylinders 50 arranged between the base frame 21 and the pressing element 42.

In so doing, the contact section 43, which is supported in a laterally displaceable manner on the underside of the pressing element 42, comes into contact with the front surface 7 of the drive material 5 and thereby presses the drive material 5 against the ground with a defined force. This ensures a reliable position fixing or tilt protection of the drive material 5 irrespective of the lateral outer contour, as shown in fig. 8. In order to achieve a reliable reception of the drive material 5 in the receiving part 22 by means of the clamping device 24, the contact section 43 can be displaced substantially horizontally by an amount in order to align the front surface 7 of the drive material 5 towards the receiving part 22.

According to fig. 9, with the pressing element 42 still abutting against the front surface 7 of the drive material 5, the receiving part 22 can then be moved towards the drive material 5 by retraction of the positioning cylinder 50 together with simultaneous lowering of the crane hook 17, whereby the front surface 7 of the drive material 5 is received in the receiving part 22 between the clamping jaws of the hydraulic clamping device 24, as schematically shown in fig. 9. In this state, the received drive material 5 can then be clamped firmly on the piling power unit 20 by closing the clamping device 24.

Before the actual piling process starts, the positioning cylinder 50 is further retracted, whereby the pressing element 42 reaches a retracted position in which the contact section 43 is spaced apart from the front surface 7 of the drive material 5. To obtain sufficient forward force, a corresponding superimposed load may be provided on the base frame 21 of the piling power unit 20. Since the total weight of the pile driving power unit 20 is combined with the generated vibratory motion, the driving material 5 can be driven into the ground.