EP3406536B1

EP3406536B1 - Platform for the storage and transport of substantially cylindrical objects

Info

Publication number: EP3406536B1
Application number: EP18174334.5A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Gianluca Ivan FINA
Original assignee: Fina Cosimo Srl
Current assignee: Fina Cosimo Srl
Priority date: 2017-05-25
Filing date: 2018-05-25
Publication date: 2020-03-11
Anticipated expiration: 2038-05-25
Also published as: EP3406536A1; IT201700056956A1

Description

The present invention relates to a platform for the storage and transport of substantially cylindrical objects, which are homogeneous in size characteristics.
Such objects may be for example, empty methane gas cylinders that are to be subjected to a testing process before the re-use thereof.
The movement of the platforms is possible by means of the use of suitable lift trucks and aerial cranes of suitable capacity. The end aim is the location of the platforms on a trailer to allow the road transport of the methane cylinders intended for the testing cycle and to ensure the complete safety during the movement, the transport and successive storage with the use of less space with respect to the cylinders themselves. The platforms are provided with specific hooks for anchoring to the trailer. Currently, the cylinders are simply positioned lying down on loading planes and stacked on one another to form a kind of pyramid. Then, they are packed for the successive transport using belts, straps or bands. The loading and unloading operations are performed using forklifts which forks are used to lift and position the cylinders.
Such systems have a plurality of drawbacks, which are indicated below.
Investing in ground personnel: Since the trailer loading-unloading actions are executed by means of the aid of lift trucks, there is the danger of hitting pedestrians busy in the same loading-unloading activity or in other activities performed nearby. In this case, the probability of occurrence is associated with the preventive measures implemented (definition of "fixed" routes of the lift trucks, good visibility along the path, training of lift truck drivers and ground personnel) but also simply with the number of forklifts used and the number of trips made by each of them. It indeed is logical to expect a lower probability of occurrence if the number of passages of the lift trucks is lower.
Falling from height: The trailer loading-unloading operations may in general require appointed personnel on the trailer. If on the one hand, the trailer plane is at contained heights, it is worth noting that the stack of cylinders reaches heights of about 2 meters and therefore the operator may find him/herself in the condition of having to organise the highest row, exposing him/herself to the risk of falling from a height. It is worth noting that despite legislation establishing the limit height at 2 meters due to the risk of falling from height, even falls from lower heights may be defined as an injury level.
Crushing due to collapsing: The cylinders are arranged in stacks in a "pyramid" by means of the lift trucks. During the loading step, before the load is secured by means of the anchoring belts, and during the unloading step, the cylinders at the top could be unstable and fall to the ground with subsequent danger of crushing of the operators below. In the absence of retaining systems such as wedges or saddles, also the cylinders of the first row may roll to the ground.
Knocks, falls and slips: The cylinders are arranged in stacks in a "pyramid".
The "free" cylinders are lifted by means of the lift trucks, but the operator on the trailer is to arrange them and organise the stack. The cylinders could fall onto the operator in this step. Also, the cylinders arranged "free" on the forks may fall to the ground due to jerks of the lift truck and incorrect manoeuvres by the lift truck driver. The injury in this case may be contained by means of the mandatory PPE, but not eliminated.
Road accident due to unstable load: As for any other load on the road, cylinders also are to be secured to the trailer. Any movements or rotation of the cylinders could compromise the stability of the load, thus causing possible falls of material onto the carriageway, thus causing road accidents. Therefore, the load is to be secured to the trailer, thus avoiding such movements during the trip, while paying particular attention to the forces generated in corners or in the event of a sudden braking/acceleration.
Manual movement of loads: If the movement of the cylinders within the testing centre occurs by means of the use of a forklift, it is worth noting that the loading-unloading operations may require the presence of appointed personnel, for example for organising the stack. Therefore, the worker may be required to intervene manually in this step by lifting or moving the cylinders. In this case, the probability of occurrence may be affected by the work conditions, in that the narrower the space is on the trailer or the higher the cylinder is placed, the higher the probability that the worker may have physical problems.
Prior art devices for the storage and/or transport of substantially cylindrical objects are disclosed in CN201580751 U , US1921228A , US2007/039910A1 , JPH0594126U , WO00/76869A1 , DE9408400U1 , EP1551721B1 .
The Applicant has looked at the issue of improving the efficiency of the loading, unloading, transport and storage of such cylinders, both in terms of execution speed of the various steps and of the safety for the operators performing such steps.
The object of the present invention is that of solving the aforementioned drawbacks by providing a platform having the characteristics of the appended claim 1.
The features and advantages of the present invention will be more apparent from the following description of an embodiment of the invention, which is to be understood as exemplifying and not limiting, with reference to the schematic attached drawings, wherein:

figure 1 illustrates a perspective view of the platform in a first embodiment thereof;
figure 2 illustrates the platform of figure 1, in side view with the cylinders stacked;
figure 3 illustrates the platform of figure 1, in a top view;
figure 4 illustrates the platform of figure 1, in a front view;
figure 5 illustrates a perspective view of the platform in a second embodiment thereof;
figure 6 illustrates the platform of figure 5, in side view with the cylinders stacked;
figure 7 illustrates the platform of figure 5, in a top view;
figure 8 illustrates the platform of figure 5, in a front view;
figure 9 illustrates an articulated vehicle having a plurality of platforms on the loading deck loaded with cylinders according to the present invention;
figure 10 illustrates a housing shaped as a saddle according to the prevent invention.

With reference to the mentioned figures, the platform according to the present invention comprises a flat frame 2 of substantially rectangular shape, on which pairs of housings 3 are positioned transversely and in proximity to opposite sides 21 of such frame, such housings repeating themselves parallel to each other substantially for the whole length of the frame.
Such housings 3 are made of proper size and shape to accommodate one or more substantially cylindrical objects B positioned thereon, allowing the arrangement of a first plane of such objects. Other objects of the same type may be stacked on such first plane such as to obtain a pyramid arrangement, as illustrated in figures 2 and 6.
The elongated objects B in the case can be positioned one per row, as illustrated in the embodiment of figures 5 to 8, or they may be more than one in series on the same pair of housings 3, like in the embodiment illustrated in figures 1 to 4, where there are two cylinders B1 and B2 in series on the same transverse axis formed by a pair of housings 3.
The housings are saddle shaped having a radius of curvature such as to adapt to the size of the elongated objects.
In addition to the pair of housings 3, at least a third housing may be present which is arranged in a central position and/or a calendered sheet 3' may be present which is positioned on the saddles, adapted to act as a supporting surface for the objects.
Rings 4 are provided on the opposite longitudinal ends of the frame for attaching anchoring belts 5 for the stacked cylinders.
Preferably, the longitudinal sides 21 of the frame are shaped as an open tube so as to allow the forks of a forklift or lift truck to be inserted into the holes 23 of the tube and to safely lift the platform loaded with objects.
Each saddle 3 comprises an "inverted T" section, wherein the horizontal part 31 of the T forms the supporting base on the frame. The vertical part 32 of the T is shaped and receives a curved plate 33 which forms the supporting surface of the saddle.
The present invention arises from the need to reduce the risks for the safety and health of the operators charged with loading-unloading operations of the cylinders onto/from the trailer. Indeed, in the past, the cylinders were transported on a trailer without the use of any type of movement system. The movement of the cylinders occurred by means of lift trucks by freely arranging them on the forks, in a contained number. Therefore, a large number of trips of the lift trucks were necessary for each individual loading/unloading operation. The platforms were created precisely from the idea to reduce the number of trips of the lift trucks, thus on the one hand containing the consumption of fuel, and on the other reducing the probability of risk of accident with the operators charged with the loading/unloading activity.
Figure 9 illustrates the platforms loaded on a vehicle for the transport thereof. The stability of the first row of cylinders (the one at the bottom) is ensured by the concave saddles of the platform, while the stability of the whole load during the road transport is ensured both by the two polyester belts anchored to the platform and by the steel cables for anchoring the platforms themselves to the trailer, thus avoiding movements and/or rotations both of the individual cylinders and of the whole loaded platform due to the braking/accelerating or centrifugal forces. The loading-unloading steps no longer require the presence of the operator on the trailer or on the ground since it is possible to move the whole load of cylinders with the lift truck without ever transporting them "free" on the forks. The loading-unloading steps of the cylinders onto/from the platform instead is significantly facilitated thanks to specific tilted structures made in the loading-unloading areas which allow the operations without the need for ground operators; the latter only intervenes to anchor the cylinder load by means of the polyester belts, with the platform still on the ground.

Claims

Platform for the storage and transport of substantially cylindrical objects comprising:
• a flat frame (2) of substantially rectangular shape, on which pairs of housings (3) are positioned transversely and in proximity to opposite sides (21) of such frame, such housings repeating themselves parallel to each other substantially for the whole length of the frame,

• such housings (3) being made of proper size and shape to accommodate one or more substantially cylindrical objects (B) positioned thereon allowing the arrangement of a first plane of such objects,

• other objects of the same type being stackable on such first plane such as to obtain a substantially pyramid arrangement,
characterised in that
each housing (3) is shaped as a saddle and each saddle comprises an "inverted T" section wherein the horizontal part (31) of the T forms the supporting base on the frame, the vertical part (32) of the T being shaped so as to receive a curved plate (33) which forms the supporting surface of the saddle.
Platform according to claim 1, wherein elongated substantially cylindrical objects (B) can be positioned one per row.
Platform according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of elongated substantially cylindrical objects (B) can be positioned per row arranged in series to each other.
Platform according to claim 1, wherein, in addition to each pair of housings (3), a third housing is present which is arranged in a central position and/or a calendered sheet (3') is present which is positioned on the housings, adapted to act as a supporting surface for the objects.
Platform according to claim 1, wherein rings (4) are provided on opposite longitudinal ends of the frame for attaching anchoring belts (5) for the stacked cylinders.
Platform according to claim 1, wherein the longitudinal sides (21) of the frame (2) are shaped as an open tube so as to allow the forks of a forklift or lift truck to be inserted into holes (23) of the tube and to safely lift the platform loaded with objects.
Platform according to claim 1, wherein such objects are empty gas cylinders.