Classifications

• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B66—HOISTING; LIFTING; HAULING
  • B66F—HOISTING, LIFTING, HAULING OR PUSHING, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR, e.g. DEVICES WHICH APPLY A LIFTING OR PUSHING FORCE DIRECTLY TO THE SURFACE OF A LOAD
  • B66F11/00—Lifting devices specially adapted for particular uses not otherwise provided for
  • B66F11/04—Lifting devices specially adapted for particular uses not otherwise provided for for movable platforms or cabins, e.g. on vehicles, permitting workmen to place themselves in any desired position for carrying out required operations
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B61—RAILWAYS
  • B61K—AUXILIARY EQUIPMENT SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR RAILWAYS, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • B61K11/00—Serving peculiar to locomotives, e.g. filling with, or emptying of, water, sand, or the like at the depots

Definitions

• the present invention concerns the railway field and, more particularly, a new platform that can be used for performing the maintenance operations on railway cars and rolling stock in general. Description of the prior art
• the object of the present invention is to fully satisfy the need discussed above and, more particularly, to provide an item of equipment that, due to a novel combination of its components, will be capable of appreciably improving the quality of maintenance work performed on the outside of railway cars, increasing the productivity of the repair operations and, at the same time, permitting it to be carried out in greater safety.
• the supporting platform for railway car maintenance workers to be placed close to the body side of said car and characterized in that it comprises: a motor- operated trolley with a lateral side which extends along the direction of its movement and is intended to be arranged close to the body side of said car; a raisable horizontal footboard supported by the trolley; and a pair of projecting structures comprising respective walking planes, said structures being arranged at the forward and rearward ends of the horizontal footboard, with respect to the direction of motion of the trolley, and being movable between a non-working position in which they do not project beyond the lateral side of the trolley, and a working position in which they do project beyond this side, holding out the walking planes beyond the lateral side of the trolley in a position that is substantially coplanar with the footboard.
• the projecting structures are pivotable around an axis which is raisable integrally with the footboard and extends along the direction of motion of the trolley, so that in said non- working position and in said working position the projecting structures are respectively lifted and lowered, said two positions being spaced by a rotation through substantially 90°.
• figure 1 shows a side elevation of the platform according to the invention
• figures 2a and 2b show respectively a top plan and a front elevation of the platform of figure 1, provided with pivotable projecting structures in the lifted position
• figures 3a and 3b show, respectively, a top plan and front elevation of the platform of figure 1, with the pivotable structures in the lowered position
• - figure 4 shows the axle region of the platform of the previous figures to a larger scale and partly in section
• figure 5 shows a detail of the region of figure
• the platform according to the present invention comprises a base trolley 1 movable on wheels 2 distributed over two axles 3, one of which is motor-driven.
• the wheels 2 move on rails 4 situated next to and parallel with the rails (not shown in the figure) intended to carry the car that is to be repaired.
• the trolley 1 may be carried on tyred wheels.
• the two front sides of the trolley 1, i.e. the two sides which cross the direction of motion, are provided with stop devices la, which perform collision-prevention functions.
• each axle 3 there is associated a system to prevent the trolley 1 from overturning, said system comprising, for each wheel 2, a pair of sliding blocks 5, one mounted upstream and the other downstream the wheel.
• Each sliding block 5 consists of a stirrup 5a that projects downwards from the trolley 1 and four rollers 5b carried by the stirrup 5a, these rollers forming two pairs arranged on opposite sides of the stirrup.
• the rollers 5b slide within two opposed C- shaped guides 6 formed below the appropriate rail 4.
• the shelf 8 is mounted on the uprights 7 by means of a sliding arrangement, so that it can be raised and lowered into any desired position under the action of a transport system powered by an oil -pressure circuit, which is not shown in detail since its configuration would be obvious to a person skilled in the art.
• the shelf 8 in its turn, sustains a footboard 9 intended as a support for the personnel occupied on the maintenance work and for this purpose provided with perimeter guard rails 10 to prevent accidental falls.
• the footboard 9, just like the shelf 8, has a width that is less than the width of the trolley 1. It can however be displaced with respect to the shelf 8, in a direction perpendicular to the direction of motion of the trolley 1, in such a way that it can assume both a rearward position in which it is in contact with the uprights 7 (as in the figures) and a forward position in which it projects beyond the free lateral edge lb of trolley 1, i.e. the edge adjacent to the item of rolling stock on which the work is to be performed. Using appropriate actuator means, this movement is once again powered by the oil-pressure circuit mentioned above.
• the shelf structure 8 also supports a pair of projecting structures 11 arranged close to respective front edges of the footboard 9, i.e. at the forward and rear end thereof in relation to the direction of motion of the trolley 1. More precisely, each projecting structure 11 has a walking plane 11a and a guard rail lib that rises from the perimeter of said walking plane 11a. In the zone adjacent to the uprights 7 the guard rail lib is hinged to the shelf structure 8, so that the projecting boards - in this particular embodiment - can be pivoted about a longitudinal axis Y between a vertically lifted position (figures 2a and 2b) and a lowered or working position
• each structure 11 projects beyond the side lb by a distance that substantially corresponds to half the standard width of railway cars and rolling stock in general.
• the appendices 13 are also provided with perimeter guard rails similar to the guard rails lib of projecting structures 11.
• the workmen on the footboard 9 stand in need of supply means for the tools/instruments normally used in the repair and maintenance operations.
• the platform according to the invention is connected to circuits supplying such resources as - typically - oxygen, fuel gas, oil and electricity, the latter being used also for powering the propulsion of the platform and its parts.
• the connection is effected by means of hanging chains 15 that contain the cables/pipes and are supported coaxially by a beam 14 rising from the trolley 1 and are also dragged by it whenever the trolley changes position.
• the chains 15 are connected to the trolley 1 from above and, more precisely, by means of a horizontal suspension system 16 that extends in the direction of motion of the trolley and is integral with the infrastructures (not shown in the figure) of the repair shop. It can be noted in figures 6b and 7b that a chain segment 17 reaches the footboard 9, on which there are situated not only the plug-in point of the various power sources mentioned above, but also control panels 18
• the trolley 1 is provided with a general electric control panel 19 to which there is connected, in addition to the various auxiliary power components, also a PLC that, with the help of an appropriate sensor network and in a manner obvious for a person skilled in the art, administers the programmed logic of the platform movements as described further on.
• a general electric control panel 19 to which there is connected, in addition to the various auxiliary power components, also a PLC that, with the help of an appropriate sensor network and in a manner obvious for a person skilled in the art, administers the programmed logic of the platform movements as described further on.
• the PLC management system prevents the shaft structure 8 from being moved when the footboard 9 is in its forward position and/or one or both of the projecting structures 11 are lowered into their working position. Furthermore, as has already been mentioned, the footboard 9 cannot be moved forward except when the shelf structures 8 are in their upper end-of-run position. It is readily apparent that the platform according to the invention fully attains the aims it set out to achieve, providing in practice a mobile production area that can be easily configured to meet all specific needs of the maintenance workers with respect to the rolling stock to be maintained and is capable of placing at their disposal the power supplies for the equipment needed for a highly variegated range of interventions, even the most complex. And all this with a maximum of safety. The quality and the productivity of the maintenance operations are thus considerably enhanced.
• a base frame of such form as not to project beyond the side lb of the trolley 1 will either be connected to the footboard 9 or incorporated in it, while the actual projecting structure (possibly, in its turn, provided with an appendix 13) will be joined to the frame by means of a sliding fit, so that it can be extended into its working position beyond the side lb.
• the footboard 9, too, can be provided with a walk-on appendix to be extended transversely with respect to the side lb.
• the end of the car could be wedge-shaped and have tapering body sides according to the aerodynamic design typical of modern locomotives.
• an appendix of the footboard 9 with a free edge shaped in such a manner as to reproduce the top plan outline of the end of the car. Thanks to this expedient, whenever the platform has to be placed against such a car end, the walkway surface can be extended so as to skirt the perimeter of the car, which becomes translated into an obvious advantage in terms of efficacy of the maintenance operations that can be carried out and safety for the men engaged in the work.

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• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
• Structural Engineering (AREA)
• Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
• Geology (AREA)
• Warehouses Or Storage Devices (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (3)

Publications (1)

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• 2001
  • 2001-12-04 IT ITFI20010096 patent/ITFI20010096U1/it unknown
• 2002
  • 2002-12-03 AU AU2002365845A patent/AU2002365845A1/en not_active Abandoned
  • 2002-12-03 EP EP02804335A patent/EP1487734A1/de not_active Withdrawn
  • 2002-12-03 WO PCT/IT2002/000755 patent/WO2003048024A1/en not_active Application Discontinuation

Non-Patent Citations (1)

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