1. A method for repairing andor waterproofing andor insulating andor reinforcing a wall system by restoring the structural integrity thereof, the wall system comprising a solid aggregate structure consisting of blocks of material with a binder interposed therebetween, the solid structure extending between planes of arrangenment of opposite surfaces thereof, the method consisting:
in locating cavities that exist and are formed in said solid structure by disaggregation of the block material or binder;
in providing spaced injection holes within said wall system in a manner suitable to pass through said cavities that exist in the solid structure;
in inserting injection tubes in said injection holes;
in injecting in said injection holes, through said injection tubes, a substance that expands after injection as a consequence of a chemical reaction, fills said cavities and restores the structural integrity of the solid structure.
2. The method according to claim 1, wherein during injection said injection tubes are retracted gradually, in the opposite direction with respect to insertion, along the corresponding injection holes in order to allow said substance to penetrate the cavities crossed by, or proximate to, said injection holes.
3. The method according to claim 2, wherein said injection tubes are constituted by, or treated with, lubricating material in order to facilitate retraction thereof during injection of said substance.
4. The method according to claim 2, comprising during the injection of said substance, adjusting a rate of refraction of the injection tubes according to a pressure andor flow-rate of injection of said substance.
5. The method according to claim 4, wherein the injection pressure is measured by way of a pressure gauge that is arranged upstream of the inlet of said injection tubes and is connected to the feeding tube for injection of said substance.
6. The method according to claim 4, wherein the injection flow-rate is measured by means of a flow-rate measurement device that is arranged upstream of the inlet of said injection tubes and is connected to the tube for feeding the injection of said substance.
7. The method according to claim 4, comprising detecting presence of said substance and the pressure applied thereby during expansion at regions of the solid structure of the wall system that are proximate to regions affected by the injection.
8. The method according to claim 7, comprising measuring the presence of said substance and the pressure applied thereby during expansion, in the regions of the solid structure of the wall system that are proximate to the regions affected by the injection, by way of piezometer pipes inserted in measurement holes provided in the wall system at preset distances from the injection holes in which said injection tubes are inserted.
9. The method according to claim 1, wherein said injection holes are formed substantially at right angles to the largest surface of the cavities inside the wall system.
10. The method according to claim 1, wherein said substance is constituted by a closed-cell polyurethane foam.
11. The method according to claim 1, wherein said substance is constituted by an MDI i.e. a methylene diphenyl diisocyanate and a mixture of polyols.
12. The method according to claim 1, wherein said substance has a maximum expansion pressure substantially comprised between 20 kPa and 200 kPa.
13. The method according to claim 12, wherein said substance has, during expansion, a reduction in the maximum expansion pressure upon a low increase in volume, i.e. a dissipation after a degree of expansion thereof that may be less than 5% of its initial volume.
14. The method according to claim 1, wherein said substance has a maximum expansion pressure that is lower than a bursting limit pressure of the solid structure of the wall system in which it is injected.
15. The method according to claim 1, wherein the reaction time of said substance is comprised between 3 and 60 seconds.
16. The method according to claim 1, wherein the chemical reaction for expansion of said substance and said substance during expansion remain non-altered by water presence.
17. The method according to claim 16, wherein said substance, once injected and hardened, has a lower relative density than water.
18. The method according to claim 1, wherein said substance, once expanded and consolidated, maintains a non-altered state in the presence of water, or water containing acid andor water rich in sulfates andor carbonates or salts in general.
19. The method according to claim 1, wherein said substance, once injected and hardened, has a tensile strength substantially comprised between an average of 180 Ncm2 at a density of 200 kgm3 and 800 Ncm2 at a density of 500 kgm3.
20. The method according to claim 1, wherein said substance, once injected and hardened, has a compression strength substantially comprised between an average of 200 Ncm2 at a density of 200 kgm3 and 1300 Ncm2 at a density of 500 kgm3.
21. The method according to claim 1, wherein said substance, prior to the beginning of the chemical reaction of expansion, has a viscosity substantially comprised between 200 mPa\xb7s and 300 mPa\xb7s at 20\xb0 C.
22. The method according to claim 21, wherein viscosity of said substance passes from a value of 200-300 mPa\xb7s to a value that tends to infinity in a time interval comprised between 20 and 150 seconds starting from the beginning of the chemical reaction of expansion of said substance.
23. The method according to claim 1, wherein said injection holes are produced along substantially vertical directions, and in that said substance is injected through said injection tubes by gradually retracting said injection tubes upward.
24. The method according to claim 1, wherein said injection holes are produced along directions that are inclined with respect to the vertical and in that the injection through said injection tubes is performed while gradually retracting said injection tubes upward.
25. The method according to claim 1, wherein said injection holes are provided along a direction with a longitudinal extension that is contained between the planes of arrangement of two opposite faces of the wall system.
26. The method according to claim 1, wherein the distance between two contiguous injection holes is substantially comprised between 0.20 m and 2.00 m.
27. The method according to claim 1, wherein a diameter of said injection holes is substantially comprised between 4 mm and 40 mm.
28. The method according to claim 1, wherein said injection tubes have an inlet that is connected to an injection device and multiple outlets for passage of said substance.
29. The method according to claim 28, wherein the overall passage section of said outlets of said injection tubes is greater than the passage section of said inlet.
30. The method according to claim 1, comprising providing means for interrupting the injection of said substance.
31. The method according to claim 1, comprising constantly monitoring during the injection of said substance the movement of the solid structure of the wall system along directions that are substantially perpendicular to the planes of arrangement of two larger faces of the solid structure of the wall system.
32. The method according to claim 31, comprising following by way of a monitoring device with laser levels the movement of the solid structure of the wall system along directions that are substantially perpendicular to the planes of arrangement of the two larger faces of the solid structure of the wall system.
33. The method according to claim 1, comprising preliminary interventions to limit escape of said substance from outlets of said cavities that lead out of the solid structure of the wall system.
34. The method according to claim 33, wherein said preliminary interventions consist in performing column-type injections of a substance that expands by chemical reaction in the soil directly in the interface between the soil and the wail system andor in regions of the ground that are spaced from the wall system.
35. The method according to claim 33, wherein said preliminary interventions consist in applying a sheet of geotextile fabric to the surface of the solid structure of the wall system where said outlets of the cavities are present and in performing a spray covering of said fabric with a substance that expands by chemical reaction.
36. A method for repairing, waterproofing, insulating and reinforcing a wall system by restoring structural integrity thereof, the wall system comprising a solid aggregate structure consisting of blocks of material with a binder interposed therebetween, the solid structure extending between planes of arrangement of opposite surfaces thereof, the method consisting:
in locating existing cavities formed in said solid structure by disaggregation of the block material or binder;
in providing spaced injection holes that extend along substantially vertical directions within said solid structure of the wall system in a manner suitable to pass through said cavities that exist in the solid structure;
in inserting injection tubes in said injection holes;
in injecting in said injection holes, through said injection tubes which are gradually retracted upward during injection, a substance that expands after injection as a consequence of a chemical reaction, fills said cavities and the injection holes and restores the structural integrity of the solid structure.
37. A method for repairing, waterproofing, insulating and reinforcing a wall system by restoring structural integrity thereof, the wall system comprising a solid aggregate structure consisting of blocks of material with a binder interposed therebetween, the solid structure extending between planes of arrangement of opposite surfaces thereof, the method consisting:
in locating existing cavities formed in said solid structure by disaggregation of the block material or binder;
in providing spaced injection holes that extend along substantially vertical directions within said solid structure of the wall system in a manner suitable to pass through said cavities that exist in the solid structure;
in selecting an expandable substance suitable to expand as a consequence of a chemical reaction that before expansion has a permeability coefficient equal to 10-9 ms and an average viscosity comprised between 200 and 300 in mPa\xb7s at 20\xb0 C.;
in inserting injection tubes in said injection holes;
in injecting in said injection boles, through said injection tubes which are gradually refracted upward during injection, a substance that expands after injection as a consequence of a chemical reaction, fills said cavities and the injection holes and restores the structural integrity of the solid structure.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
1. An entertainment device being configured for use with a support structure, the support structure including a support portion, the entertainment device comprising:
a housing, the housing including an outer surface;
a mounting structure, the mounting structure being coupled to the outer surface of the housing, the mounting structure including a contact surface, the contact surface being configured to engage the support portion of the support structure; and
a coupling mechanism, the coupling mechanism including:
a first portion, the first portion including a first end and a second end, the first end being coupled to one of the housing and the mounting structure, and the second end including a first coupler attached thereto; and
a second portion, the second portion including its own first end and its own second end, the first end of the second portion being coupled to the housing and the second end of the second portion including a second coupler attached thereto, the first portion and the second portion being configured so that the support portion of the support structure can be located between the coupling mechanism and the housing, and the first coupler and the second coupler can be coupled to each other to secure the housing to the support structure.
2. The entertainment device of claim 1, wherein the first portion of the coupling mechanism is a strap assembly and the first coupler is a buckle portion that is coupled to the strap assembly.
3. The entertainment device of claim 2, wherein the strap assembly includes a first strap portion and a second strap portion, each of the first strap portion and the second strap portion has a first end and a second end, the first end of each of the strap portions is coupled to the mounting structure and the second end of each of the strap portions is coupled to each other.
4. The entertainment device of claim 1, wherein the support structure is an infant support structure and the support portion is a frame member, the frame member being configured to be engaged by the contact surface of the mounting structure and disposed between the coupling mechanism and the housing.
5. The entertainment device of claim 4, wherein the infant support structure is a crib, the frame member is a rail of the crib, and the second portion of the coupling mechanism is configured to pass through an opening in a wall of the crib.
6. The entertainment device of claim 1, further comprising:
an arm, the arm having a first end and a second end, the second end of the arm being coupled to the housing, and the first end of the arm having at least one object supported therefrom.
7. The entertainment device of claim 1, wherein the first end of the first portion of the coupling mechanism is coupled to the housing.
8. A mounting mechanism configured to be coupled to an entertainment device, the entertainment device including a housing with an outer surface, the mounting mechanism comprising:
a body portion, the body portion being configured to be coupled to the outer surface of the housing, the body portion including a contact surface, the contact surface being configured to be placed on a frame portion of a support structure;
a first strap component, the first strap component being coupled to the body portion and including a first coupler; and
a second strap component, the second strap component being coupled to the housing and including a second coupler, the first and second strap components being configured to extend around the frame portion of the support structure engaged by the contact surface, and the first coupler is configured to be secured to the second coupler to mount the body portion and the housing to the frame portion of the support structure.
9. The mounting mechanism of claim 8, wherein the first strap component has a V-shape and the first coupler is attached proximate to the apex of the first strap component.
10. The mounting mechanism of claim 8, wherein the body portion is removably coupleable to the outer surface of the housing.
11. The mounting mechanism of claim 8, wherein the first strap component is releasably coupleable to the body portion.
12. The mounting mechanism of claim 8, wherein the first strap component includes a first end and a second end, each of the first end and the second end of the first strap component being coupled to the body portion.
13. The mounting mechanism of claim 12, wherein the first coupler is disposed along the first strap component between the first end of the first strap component and the second end of the first strap component.
14. The mounting mechanism of claim 8, wherein the body portion includes a edge and at least one notch disposed along the edge, the notch being configured to receive part of the first strap component.
15. The mounting mechanism of claim 8, wherein the support structure is a crib having a wall with at least one opening therein, and one of the first strap component and the second strap component is configured to extend through the opening in the wall while the contact surface of the body portion engages the frame portion of the support structure.
16. A method of mounting an entertainment device to a support structure, the entertainment device including a housing with an outer surface, the housing including a mounting component extending from the outer surface, the method comprising:
placing the mounting component into engagement with a portion of the support structure;
placing a first strap component around the portion of the support structure, the first strap component being coupled to the mounting component; and
coupling the first strap component to a second strap component, the second strap component being coupled to the housing.
17. The method of claim 16, wherein the mounting component includes a substantially planar engagement surface, and the placing the mounting component includes moving the engagement surface into contact with the portion of the support structure.
18. The method of claim 17, wherein the first strap component has a first end and a second end and is coupled at its first end to the mounting component and includes a buckle portion attached to its second end.
19. The method of claim 18, wherein the second strap component has a first end and a second end and is coupled at its first end to the housing and includes a buckle portion attached to its second end, the buckle portion of the second strap component being configured to be coupled to the buckle portion of the first strap component.
20. The method of claim 16, wherein the mounting component is separate from the housing, and the method further comprises the step of:
coupling the mounting component to the outer surface of the housing.