EP0374194B1 - Systeme for driving carriages on a rail and process for operating same - Google Patents

Abstract

The system disclosed, which ensures the passage from a first region, in which the carriages are close together, to a second region in which the carriages are separated, and vice versa, is characterized in that it comprises: at least two carriages (6,6') connected by a flexible or collapsible linking element (26); dogs (15) which drive the carriages via an element which can be retracted for storage, and which are arranged on a driving chain (13) at predetermined intervals. The invention also concerns an application to an installation for storing and positioning seats and the process for implementing it.

Description

The present invention relates to a system and method for driving mobile carriages on a rail, as well as an application to an installation and method for storing and placing the seats of a room with multiple events.

There are in the state of the art performance halls whose seats are removable in order to provide a surface usable for example on the dance floor, banquets, or exhibition stand. The transformation of the auditorium can be done manually by means of a most rudimentary and tedious solution which consists in dismantling the seats one by one, removing them and storing them in an annex room or vice versa.

A more flexible solution is described in patent FR-1,287,511 in which use is made of at least one retractable floor which can be superimposed on a fixed floor and which is made up of elements equipped with wheels and jacks allowing them either to roll. , or to rest stably on the fixed floor. Storage is carried out in recesses of sufficient dimensions to receive at least one retractable floor. Such an installation nevertheless requires fairly voluminous storage volumes and still requires manual operations of placing and fixing the different floors to one another.

There is also known the solution which consists in pivoting the floor flat or inclined respectively around a central horizontal axis by a half-turn as described in patent FR-369,879 or an axis at the edge of the room such that described in European patent application No 0.002.865. These installations are unsatisfactory because they require large pits for the operation of the floors and do not allow the floor to be tilted depending on the event.

There are also rooms with seats mounted on casters that can be moved in grooves floor guide. The number of seats and their arrangement can be changed by moving each seat inside or outside the room. This embodiment described in German patent No 1,015,210 has the particular disadvantage of also requiring a large annex storage volume if one wants to remove all the seats.

Patent DE-1,254,852 is also known, in which an installation for storing and installing rows of seats comprising at least two carriages connected by a connecting element is described. Such an installation has drawbacks in use, especially in terms of spectator safety.

Finally, there is also known the patent FR-2,500,509 in which the floor comprises at least two elements hinged together, and at least one of the elements carries retractable rails on which one can slide several rows of seats, but it no mention is made of automatic means of moving them.

The present invention therefore aims to overcome the drawbacks set out above by proposing a storage installation and installation of seats from a low-volume storage area to a use area and vice versa by implementing a system and an automatic process for driving the carriages.

Another objective is to automatically allow the removal of the seats from a floor with several inclinations to transform it into a floor of a single inclination devoid of seats and vice versa.

Yet another objective of the present invention is to allow the partial establishment of the rows of seats according to the intended use of the room.

To this end, the invention firstly relates to a system for driving movable carriages on a rail, ensuring the passage from a first zone in which the carriages are brought closer to a second zone in which the carriages are separated and conversely, comprising at least two carriages connected by a flexible or foldable connecting element (DE-A-1254852).

The system is distinguished in that said connecting element has a predetermined clearance (D) relative to the carriage in the direction of the rail, and in that it further comprises carriages for the carriages via a retractable storage member, arranged on a drive chain at predetermined intervals between a length L and (LD), L being the length maximum pitch between two consecutive carriages, said chain being attached to the last carriage and extending parallel to the rail over the entire second zone and partly over the first zone.

According to a first characteristic of the system, said movement is achieved by a longitudinal clearance of at least one articulation of the connecting element on the carriage.

According to another characteristic, the retractable member of the carriages is an elongated member, articulated to the carriage, and is subjected to the return of a spring which tends to keep it in the projecting position and oriented towards the storage area, said member being retractable. upwards when the tabs pass in the direction of the storage area.

• des rangées de sièges montés sur poutre et reposant sur au moins deux chariots disposés respectivement sur l'un et l'autre rail;
• un système d'entraînement des chariots selon le système ci-dessus, propre à chaque rail, ledit élément de liaison étant susceptible de recouvrir le rail.

The subject of the invention is also, in application of the above system, an automatic installation for storing and placing the seats of a room comprising a floor comprising at least two longitudinal rails; the installation stands out in that it includes in combination:

• rows of beam-mounted seats resting on at least two carriages arranged respectively on one and the other rail;
• a carriage drive system according to the above system, specific to each rail, said connecting element being capable of covering the rail.

According to a particularly advantageous embodiment of the installation, said connecting element is constituted by two blades connected to each other by at least one substantially central hinge.

According to another characteristic of this embodiment of the installation, the movement of the connecting element of said system is carried out on the upstream plate which further comprises an inclined face oriented towards the storage area and intended to initiate the folding of the blades when a stop of the carriage comes against it at the start of the storage operation.

According to yet another characteristic of the installation, the floor comprises at its upper level above the rails, lateral grooves facing one another, in which a continuous covering element for the rails can slide when the seats are stored.

Finally, according to a particularly advantageous characteristic, said carriage drive system further drives the continuous covering element, the latter being fixed to the last carriage.

The present invention also relates to a method implementing the system for storing and placing trolleys:

This method comprises the deployment a first phase in which the upstream carriage driven by the chain pulls the downstream carriage from the off-chain storage area to the drive chain via the tensioned connecting element; in a second phase, said downstream carriage is towed individually by a chain driving cleat.

In the discharge, in a first phase, the upstream carriage is driven back to the downstream carriage to compress or fold the connecting element; finally, the row of downstream seats is driven back by the row of upstream seats by contact of the upstream carriage with the downstream carriage.

• au déploiement, selon une première phase, on fait en outre coulisser simultanément la bande de recouvrement dans le sens opposé à la zone de stockage;
• et au refoulement, selon une première phase, on fait en outre coulisser simultanément la bande de recouvrement continue vers la zone de stockage;

A final object of the present invention is an application of this method to the automatic installation of storage and positioning of seats in a room. The process is identical to the previous one except that:

• during deployment, in a first phase, the covering strip is also made to slide simultaneously in the opposite direction to the storage area;
• and in the discharge, according to a first phase, the continuous covering strip is also made to slide simultaneously towards the storage area;

• la fig.-1 représente une vue globale d'une salle et des sièges en position de rangement (1a) et de mise en place (1b);
• la fig.-2 est une vue partielle de l'installation montrant la liaison du dernier chariot avec la chaîne et délimitant une zone hors chaîne;
• la fig.-3 montre une rangée de sièges montés sur poutre;
• la fig.-4 est une vue de deux chariots respectivement de gauche à droite aval et amont, entrainés par une chaîne;
• la fig.-5 montre deux chariots rapprochés l'un contre l'autre, la lame de liaison étant repliée;
• la fig.-6 est une vue selon A-A de la figure 4 montrant le rail et le chariot en coupe transversale.
• la fig.-7 montre quatre position de la platine amont par rapport au chariot selon différentes phases du procédé.

Other characteristics and advantages of the present invention will appear in more detail in the description which follows of an embodiment given solely by way of example with reference to the appended drawings in which:

• fig.-1 shows an overall view of a room and seats in the storage position (1a) and implementation (1b);
• fig.-2 is a partial view of the installation showing the connection of the last carriage with the chain and delimiting an off-chain area;
• fig.-3 shows a row of seats mounted on a beam;
• fig.-4 is a view of two carriages respectively from left to right downstream and upstream, driven by a chain;
• fig.-5 shows two carriages close together, the connecting blade being folded;
• Fig.-6 is a view along AA of Figure 4 showing the rail and the carriage in cross section.
• fig.-7 shows four positions of the upstream plate relative to the carriage according to different phases of the process.

We see in Figure 1 that the installation is divided into two juxtaposed zones that can communicate with each other, a first zone (1) for the storage of seats, a second (2) for their implementation in the multiple event room. The so-called storage area has the advantage of being constituted by a volume under the stage (3), but could be the opposite, located behind the room.

The installation comprises (Figures 3 and 2), on the one hand rows of seats (4) mounted on metal beams (5) resting on at least two rolling carriages (6, 6 ′), and on the other hand means for moving the seats from one zone to another and vice versa.

The means for moving a row of beam-mounted seats comprise motor means for driving said rolling carriages, which cooperate individually with a rail (7) for guiding and "rolling" them.

In Figures 3 and 7, we see that each rail consists of two metal beams (8) of U-shaped section, arranged in parallel, their concave part facing each other so as to form therebetween a lower and upper groove. They extend over the entire length of the first and second zones, and their upper level is slightly below the level of the floor (9).

The carriage comprises a chassis (10) mounted on four wheels (11) with an internal circular shoulder (12) for guiding in the lower groove of the rail. The surface of rolling is carried out by the internal surface of the lower branch of each beam.

In FIGS. 2 and 4, it can be seen that the linear drive motor means are produced by two synchronized chains (13) which encroach on the first zone and which extend over the whole of the second zone. They revolve around a drive gear and a return gear. The chains are made up of 190 mm links and bear a breaking load of 5.6 t. calculated to move approximately 20 rows of 14 seats. Note that only the last carriages (14) are attached to the links of their respective drive chain. Without modifying the principle of the invention, it may be advantageous to fix the chain substantially in the middle of a very long carriage, common to the last two rows of seats, to allow the establishment of the last row beyond the rear idler wheel.

In addition, each chain is provided with individual lugs (15) for driving the carriages. These cleats have a vertical attack face (16) and are spaced a length corresponding to the width of the span between two rows of installed seats. In this case, the spacing between two consecutive cleats was set at 850 mm.

The carriages comprise (fig.-4) an elongated protruding hooking member (17), inclined by about 30 ° relative to the vertical in the direction of the storage area. This member, mounted in rotation about a horizontal axis (18) of the carriage, is subjected to the tension of a spring (not shown) which tends to keep it in the projecting position. The lower end (19) is intended to obstruct the attack face of the cleat while the opposite end abuts against the base of the carriage.

It can be seen in FIG. 5, that the carriage also comprises horizontal hinges formed by an axis (20) integral with the carriage and upstream and downstream articulation plates (21, 22) in two parts, a lower part and a plate of recovery.

The plate (21) upstream of each carriage has a recess (23) of rectangular and long cross section approximately 20 mm which allows the plate to have a longitudinal clearance (D) of approximately 15 mm taking into account the diameter of the articulation axis. It also comprises from left to right a lower flat surface terminated by a pan (24) inclined about 45 ° downwards intended to come against a stop (25) of the carriage located below the flat surface of the plate to initiate its inclination. This stop appears in the figure, it has the shape of a cylinder arranged horizontally and fixed by welding to the carriage. The maximum distance between the cylinder and the inclined plane must be less than the travel of the plate (about 10 mm).

The carriages are connected by a connecting element (26) which allows the carriages to come together (with the possible exception of the last two rows if they have a common carriage of great length). It can be flexible in bending but rigid in traction or, as in the illustrated embodiment, it can be formed by two blades (27, 28) comprising a hinge (29) substantially central, and slightly wider than the grooves formed by the guide rails. They are each fixed to the plates by removable means, for example by screwing (30). The predetermined maximum distance (L) of the pitch between two consecutive carriages is 855 mm. In the implementation, this distance is valid for all the spans but it may be advantageous to increase it gradually as a function of the distance from the stage to improve the visibility of the spectator when the floor is horizontal.

According to the invention, the seats are preferably foldable in order to be able to bring the rows as close together as possible until the carriages touch. The blades are then folded, form an acute angle between them and are placed almost vertically between two consecutive rows.

Thus, the maximum space requirement of the seats corresponds to the cumulative length of the carriages in the contiguous position between them and the storage volume can be reduced considerably to the volume located under the stage. For example, the size can be reduced at least to half that of the seats deployed.

In an application where the floors are tiltable, the blades appearing at each inclination of the floor are provided with several articulations which allow them to follow the possible change of slope.

The installation works as shown below. In FIG. 1a, it can be seen schematically that the seats are stored under the stage. In this position, all the rows, with the exception of the last, are out of the chain, that is to say that the hooking members are out of the range of the driving cleats.

During deployment, the chain is activated, the last (or also the penultimate) row is driven out of the storage area away from the next row while the angle formed between the two blades increases as and as the distance from the driven row moves away. When the angle reaches 180 °, the next row is towed outwards via the connecting blades and the distance separating the two moving carriages is then maximum (L), the upstream stage adopting the configuration (c) (fig.-7) in which horizontally, it is moved as far as possible from the stop (25) of the carriage.

The row arrives within range of the chain stops at a speed identical to the linear speed of the chain. The stopper touches the attachment member of the carriage while it is still on the periphery of the toothed wheel. From this point and as long as the cleat describes an arc of a circle, there is a transition phase during which the drive of the carriage is relayed by the chain via the cleat and during which the row of seats being hooked is brought closer to the previous one until the distance separating it from the previous row equalizes that separating two consecutive cleats, and the plate adopts the configuration (d) in which the axis of articulation and the stop have clearance upstream and downstream respectively.

The following rows are deployed according to a process identical to that described above.

When all the rows are in place, the chain drive is deactivated by a limit switch for example, and an immobilization system, for each cart intervenes; these may for example be brakes fixed to the rails at locations corresponding to the position of the seats and exerting friction of adjustable intensity on the chassis of each carriage.

Such a system can advantageously be produced by a cam rotating about an axis fixed to the rail which is pivoted by a lever connected to a common rod parallel to the rail which is actuated by a jack arranged at the end of the rail. This cam comes into contact with the upper surface of the carriage and blocks its movement according to any degree of freedom. Of course other blocking means could be retained.

The seats are stored according to the process described below. The chain is activated in the opposite direction to the previous operation and drives the last carriages to the storage area. The carriage approaching the front row, the cylinder comes into contact against the inclined face of the plate (in accordance with the configuration (e) fig.-7) which causes it to tilt upwards, which obviously has the effect of cause the bending of the connecting blades to start. The latter continue to bend until the front of the moving carriage comes into contact with the rear of the previous carriage (configuration (f) plate raised). In turn, this second carriage approaches that preceding it and operates in the same manner as above. Thus all the carriages are pushed one after the other by the last row to the storage area and another limit switch interrupts the process. To absorb the shock between the carriages, provision may be made to coat the contact surfaces with an elastic foam of the neoprene type or any other damping means.

It should be noted that the attachment members are then retractable upwards from the passage of the coaching cleats; on the other hand, for correct operation of the installation, it is of course advisable to have the drive chains synchronized.

Sealing the grooves when the seats are stored is also effected by a covering strip (not shown), for example a flexible metal blade, elastic with the length of the rails of the area of use. This blade slides flat in lateral grooves (32) facing each other at floor level. The recovery is done at the same time as the operation of pushing the rows towards the storage area because the metal strip is hooked to the rear of the last carriage and fills the void in the groove as it moves .

In the other direction, this strip can be pulled on the one hand by a system of pressure rollers (not shown) located under the floor at the back of the room and on the other hand pushed by the last trolleys, a pressure roller pressing the blade against a motorized roller. In a different embodiment or the rollers serve only as a guide, the lower surface of the grooves is coated with a material (31) with a low coefficient of friction. The blade can be rolled up on a wheel under the floor or left in free movement.

Thus, at the same time as the seats are stored, the void of the rail grooves is closed by the unwinding of the blade and the floor has a uniform surface.

The installation has the advantage of being able to deploy a limited number of seats while operating in a relatively simple manner. It suffices to break the link between two rows before deployment. Preferably, the break is made at the level of the downstream plate of a carriage, for example by removing the screw fixing the blade to the plate.

The present invention finds a particularly remarkable use for floors with several predetermined slopes from which one wants to remove the seats to for example a show or a concert in which the spectator is standing. In these conditions, it is advisable to have a floor of a single relatively slight inclination (5%) to allow good visibility. the invention very advantageously allows this transformation to be carried out by having a floor made up of several parts hinged together and means for lifting each part as defined in patent FR-2,500,509.

In addition, in such an installation, the seats may have, in the storage area, a rearward inclination relative to the vertical equivalent to the inclination relative to the horizontal of their corresponding floor.

Finally, in a more sophisticated version, it is possible to envisage having a variable inclination of all or part of the rows of seats by means, for example, of an articulation of the beams at the level of the carriages.

Claims (17)

1. System for driving movable undercarriages along a rail, providing for movement between a first area in which the undercarriages are positioned in close proximity, to a second area in which the undercarriages are extended apart and vice-versa, comprising at least two undercarriages connected each other by a foldable or flexible connection element characterized by the fact that:

- said connection element (26) has a predetermined range of motion (D) with respect to the undercarriage in the direction of the rail (7);

- and in that it comprises in addition stop blocks (15) for driving the undercarriages by means of a device (17) which is retractable in a storage configuration, said stop blocks being arranged on a drive chain (13) at predetermined intervalls having a length of between L and (L-D), L being the maximum lenght of the spacing between two consecutive undercarriages and said chain being attached to the last undercarriage and extending parallel to the rail over the entire second area (2) and over part of the first area.

2. System according to claim 1, characterized in that said range of motion is created by the longitudinal play (23) of at least one joint of the connection element (26) found on the undercarriage.

3. System according to claim 1, characterized in that said retractable device (17) on the undercarriage is elongated pivotally jointed to the undercarriage, and is subjected to the return motion produced by a spring tending to hold it in a protruding position in the direction of the storage area, said device being retractable upwards as the stop-blocks move towards said storage area.

4. System according to claim 1 or claim 2, characterized in that said connection element (26) is fastened to the undercarriages by jointed plates (21, 22), one of said plates having a structure operative to initiate the folding of said connection element (26) at the beginning of the storage operation.

5. System according to claim 4, characterized in that at least one attachment of said connection element (26) onto the plates is dismountable.

6. Automatic seat installation apparatus for the storage and arrangement of seats on an auditorium, comprising a floor containing at least two longitudinal rails, characterized in that said installation comprises in combination:

- rows of seats mounted on beams (5) and resting on at least two undercarriages (6, 6′) placed one on each of the two rails; and

- a system for each rail for driving the undercarriages according to any of claims 1 through 5, said connection element being capable of covering said rails.

7. Installation according to claim 6, characterized in that said connection element comprises two sheet means (27, 28) being attached together by at least one hinge (29) approximatively central.

8. Installation according to claim 8, characterized in that said range of motion of said connection element (26) of said system is achieved on said upstream plate (21), said upstream plate further comprising, a sloping panel (24) positionned towards the storage area and designed to initiate the folding of the sheets when a stop means (25) on the undercarriage constitutes an obstacle to it at the beginning of the storage operation.

9. Installation according to claim 6, characterized in that the maximum distance between said stop (25) and the panel (24) of the upstream plate in a horizontal position is less than said range of motion.

10. Installation according to claim 6, characterized in that said floor contains at a level above the rails, lateral grooves (32) facing one another, within a continuous rail covering element is operative to slide when the seats are stored.

11. Installation according to claim 10, characterized in that the lower surface of the grooves is lined with a material (31) having a low coefficient of friction.

12. Installation according to claim 9, characterized in that said system for the driving of undercarriages draws also said continuous covering element, which is fastened to the last undercarriage.

13. Installation according to claim 11, characterized in that said continuous covering element is a flexible metal strip.

14. Installation according to claim 6, characterized in that the seats are foldable.

15. Installation according to claim 6, characterized in that the floor comprises several parts jointed together and means for lifting each of the parts.

16. Process for implementation of a system for storage and positionning of undercarriages as set forth in any of claims 1 through 5 characterized in that:

- in a first phase of deployment, the upstream undercarriage driven by said drive chain draws after it the downstream undercarriage from a storage area beyong the limit of said drive chain into engagement with said drive chain means by means of said connection element being tightened.

- then, in a second phase, said downstream undercarriage is drawn forward individually by a stop-block on said drive chain.

- in a first phase of reverse drive, said upstream undercarriage is driven back toward the downstream undercarriage in order to compress or fold the connection element;

- then the downstream row of seats is driven back by the upstream row of seats because the upstream undercarriages comes into contact with the downstream undercarriage.

17. Process for implementation of the automatic seat installation for storage and positionning of seats of an auditorium as set forth in any of claims 6 through 15 characterized in that:

- in a first phase of deployment, the upstream row of seats driven by said drive chain draws after it the downstream row of seats from a storage area beyong the limit of said drive chain into engagement with said drive chain means by means of said connection element being tightened and simultaneously causes the cover strip to slide in the direction opposite to the storage area.

- then, in a second phase, said downstream row of seats is drawn forward individually by a conveyor stop block on the chain.

- in a first phase of reverse drive, said upstream row of seats is driven back toward the downstream row of seats in order to compress or fold the connection element and the continuous covering strip is simultaneously made to slide toward the storage area.

- then the downstream raw of seats is driven back by the upstream row of seats when the upstream undercarriages comes into contact with the dowstream undercarriages.

Images