EP0320047A1

EP0320047A1 - Rail construction

Info

Publication number: EP0320047A1
Application number: EP88202733A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Johannes Antonius Rietveld
Original assignee: Key-West VoF
Current assignee: Key-West VoF
Priority date: 1987-12-09
Filing date: 1988-11-30
Publication date: 1989-06-14
Also published as: NL8702970A

Abstract

The invention relates to a rail construction for supporting recording equipment, such as a movable cart on wheels supporting a camera or the like. The rail construction (1) is built up from coupled profiles (2, 3, 4, 5). On said profiles lies an elongates rollable or fold-up band of rubber or a similar flexible material (17), whereby the band (17) also serves as the bearing surface for the wheels of the cart.

Description

The invention relates to a rail construction for supporting recording equipment, such as a movable cart on wheels supporting a camera or the like.
When recording picture and/or sound use is often made of recording equipment provided on a movable cart. In particular when making recordings both inside and outside studios use is made of a rail construction which can be mounted and dismounted easily, said rail construction being made of a number of rail parts which can be coupled together. In connection with the required transportability and the convenience of handling when being mounted and dismounted the rail parts have only a relatively short length, so that usually there are several rail connections in the path to be covered by the cart during the recording. When passing a connection between two successive rail parts it cannot be avoided that an objectionable interference occurs in the recording of the picture and/or the sound when the cart passes such a connection.
The purpose of the invention is to obtain a rail construction in which this disadvantage of the known rail construction can be avoided.
According to the invention the rail construction is built up from coupled profiles, said profiles supporting an elongated rollable or fold-up band of rubber or a similar flexible material, whereby the band also serves as the bearing surface for the wheels of the cart.
When using the construction according to the invention use may be made of a long rollable band, which can be easily transported in rolled condition and which can be laid on the joining profiles when the rail construction is mounted, as a result of which a long track without interruptions can be formed for the movable cart with said band.
The invention will be further explained hereinafter with reference to an embodiment of the construction according to the invention diagrammatically illustrated in the accompanying figures.

Fig 1 is a plan view of a profile with a part of a band supported by said profile.
Fig 2 is a side view of fig 1.
Fig 3 is a cross-section of fig 2, seen according to the line III - III in fig 2.
Fig 4 is a view of a cross girder for supporting profiles.
Fig 5 is a plan view of fig 4.
Fig 6 is a larger-scale illustration of an end of a cross girder.
Fig 7 is a side view of fig 6.
Fig 8 is a larger-scale illustration of a foot construction supporting a cross girder.
Fig 9 is an other embodiment of a coupling piece to be provided on a cross girder.
Fig 10 is a side view of fig 9.

The rail construction according to the invention can be built making use of the profile parts 1 illustrated in figs 1 - 3, said profile parts having a substantially U-shaped cross section. Between the legs 2 and 3, extending parallel to each other, of the U-shaped profile part 1, at some distance from the free ends of said legs 2 and 3, there is provided a supporting plate 4 which extends parallel to the connecting piece 5 of the U-shaped profile part 1 connecting the legs 2 and 3.
As appears in particular from fig 2 the parts of the legs 2 and 3 projecting above the plate-shaped part 4 do not extend completely as far as the ends of the profile part 1.
Near the ends of the profile part 1 there are provided holes 6 in the connecting piece 5.
For building up a rail construction, across which a cart supporting recording equipment can be moved, a pair of rails extending parallel to each other are provided, each rail being built up from a number of profile parts 1 being in line. For supporting said profile parts use is made of the cross girders illustrated in the figs 4 - 6. Said cross girders are formed by a beam 7 having a U-shaped section. Near the ends of the connecting parts connecting the legs of said U-shaped beams there are provided holes 8 in the connecting part. Near said holes nuts 9 have been welded on the connecting part. In said nuts there are screwed threaded rods 10 forming part of a foot support (fig 8), said rods at their upper ends being provided with a hexagonal recess 11 in which a spanner can be inserted. In the lower end of one rod 10 there is provided a blind bore in which there is inserted a pin 13 fixed to a baseplate 12, such that the threaded rod 10 can freely rotate about its axis of rotation relative to the baseplate 12.
As will be apparent in particular from figs 4 and 5 a cross girder 7 is supported near its ends by foot supports and it will apparent that by rotating the threaded rods 10 the cross girder 7 can be adjusted in its desired position relative to the floor surface on which the baseplates 12 are supported.
Near the ends of the cross girder 7 there are furthermore fixed coupling pieces 14 having a U-shaped section, such that the longitudinal axes of said coupling pieces 14 extend perpendicularly to the longitudinal axis of the cross girder 7. The coupling pieces 14 are thereby open at their upper ends, as will be apparent from fig 6. The profiles 1 may be put in said coupling pieces, so that the profiles, supported by the cross girders 7, can be supported at the correct distance from and parallel to one another.
Those cross girders that are arranged near the connection between two successive profiles 1 are equipped with the coupling pieces 15 illustrated in the figs 9 and 10, instead of with the coupling pieces 14. As appears from said figs 9 and 10 said coupling pieces 15 are equipped with a pair of pins 16 extending vertically upwards between the legs of the coupling pieces, said pins fitting in holes 6 provided near the ends of the profile parts 1. It will be apparent that, using cross girders 7 equipped with coupling pieces 15 provided with pins, profile parts 1 being in line can be coupled to such cross girders by inserting the pins 16 in holes 6 provided in the ends of the profile parts 1 in question, so that profile parts 1 being in line will be secured against displacement relative to one another.
When the desired number of profile parts 1, supported by cross girders 7, has thus been laid out for forming a desired track which must be travelled by a cart supporting recording equipment during the recording of picture and/or sound, a solid band 17 made of a flexible material, e.g. rubber or plastic material, is laid across the two rails formed by profile parts being in line. In the illustrated embodiment said band 17 has a circular section, as appears from fig 3, and fits between the parts of the legs 2 and 3 of the profile part 1 that project above the baseplate 4, so that said band comes to rest on the plate-shaped part 4 and will be secured against lateral displacement by the upper ends of the legs 2 and 3.
The wheels supporting the cart will be grooved at their circumference, such that the band 17 fits the groove and the cart is secured against lateral displacement relative to the bands supporting the cart.
Such a band, whose diameter is e.g. 30 mm, can easily be rolled up on a reel or the like, so that a great length of band can be transported in rolled condition from one place to another without any difficulty, and can be easily rolled out across the coupled profile parts 1 when it is to be used. The band then forms an uninterrupted bearing surface for the wheels of the cart supporting the recording equipment, so that such a cart can be moved along the entire distance aimed at, without an objectionable jolt occurring when connecting profile parts are being passed.
It will be apparent that alterations and/or variations to the embodiment described above will be possible. Thus the profile parts may e.g. be curved in order to make it possible that a curved track is travelled with the cart. The band 17 can easily follow such a curved track of the profile parts.
Of course the band may also have a section which deviates from the circular section illustrated in fig 3, as long as it is ensured that during use the band is secured against lateral displacement relative to the profile parts and that the rolls 1 supporting the cart have a profile adapted to the profile of the band, so that the cart is secured against lateral displacement relative to the bands 17 supporting the cart.

Claims

1. Rail construction for supporting recording equipment, such as a movable cart on wheels supporting a camera or the like, characterized in that the rail construction is built up from coupled profiles, said profiles supporting an elongated rollable or fold-up band of rubber or a similar flexible material, whereby the band also serves as the bearing surface for the wheels of the cart.

2. Rail construction according to claim 1, characterized in that the profiles are provided with upwardly projecting parts between which at least the lower part of the band is enclosed.

3. Rail construction according to claims 1 or 2, characterized in that a profile has a U-shaped section, whilst at some distance from the free ends of the legs of the U-shaped profile extending parallel to each other a baseplate, extending parallel to the connecting piece connecting the legs, is provided between the legs, such that the band is supported on the baseplate and is enclosed between the ends of the legs of the U-shaped profile projecting above the baseplate.

4. Rail construction according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the band has a circular section.

5. Rail construction according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the profiles are supported by cross girders which at their ends are provided with foot constructions which are vertically adjustable relative to the cross girders.

6. Rail construction according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the profiles are supported by cross girders said cross girders near their ends being provided with coupling pieces having a U-shaped section fitting the profiles.

7. Rail construction according to claim 6, characterized in that one coupling piece is provided with a pair of upwardly extending pins which fit holes provided in the ends of the profiles.

8. Rail construction according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the band is solid.

9. Rail construction according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the band is supported, easily the profiles.