FI85453C - locking device - Google Patents

Description

1 85453

LOCKING DEVICE

The invention relates to a locking device for connecting swap bodies and containers to a traction master-driven or self-propelled transfer device, by means of which said carriers are unloaded from a car or a similar means of transport and transferred in ports, terminals, industrial plants as desired.

10 Conveyor devices for moving containers are already known which are able to support a container and move it in a closed area. These transfer devices grip the container from its corner pieces. These solutions have been presented e.g. U.S. Patent Nos. 4,792,272, FI 77,612, 3,794,196, GB 2,106,870.

The transfer devices can be divided into two main groups depending on whether they adhere to the container from the upper or lower corner pieces.

Today, swap bodies are most often handled by a forklift or crane with a special gripper arm. Conventional wire lifting is also possible from container corner pieces of a swap body or the like but this is an extremely laborious and time consuming method. Said gripping arms grip the gripping arm assemblies in the standard positions of the -''- 25 replacement load basket, which are located symmetrically on both sides of the basket at its lower edge. The above-mentioned container corner pieces are located symmetrically between the gripping arm connections and the ends on each side of the car.

30 The draft Euro standards for swap bodies are new and there is a significant number of swap bodies in circulation in accordance with national standards which are not fitted with the said container corner pieces but only with gripping arm connections or vice versa.

At present, the biggest drawback in the handling of swap bodies and containers is the lack of a transfer device suitable for handling both load carriers.

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Traditional container transfer devices grip the container from its upper corner pieces. Swap bodies generally do not have top corner pieces. The locking devices of the container transfer devices are provided with guides which force the locking member 5 into the correct position. Such guides cannot be used with swap bodies because the corner pieces are not located at the extreme corners of the body like containers.

During traction, the driver of the traction master also has a direct line of sight to the container corner pieces to which he applies the 10 locking device guides. In the swap body, all gripping points are located on a side to which there is no direct line of sight without special aids. Even with the aids, alignment with the container corner piece in the lateral position is extremely difficult because the tolerances are relatively small. 15

The locking device according to the invention provides a decisive improvement in the drawbacks described above. To achieve this, the locking device according to the invention is characterized by what is stated in the characterizing part of claim 1.

The most important advantage of the invention is that the same basic transfer device can handle containers and swap bodies and that the connection to the transported cargo carriers is simple, fast and safe to use. The locking device according to the invention is simple in construction and inexpensive to manufacture, given its versatile use.

In the following, the invention will be explained in detail with reference to the accompanying drawing.

Figure 1 shows a front sectional view of a locking device according to the invention.

Figure 2 shows the same as Figure 1 but from the side.

Figure 3 shows a section A-A in Figure 1.

Figure 4 shows a locking device according to the invention connected to a container.

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Fig. 5 shows the same as Fig. 4 but connected to a swap body.

Figure 6 shows a transfer device provided with locking devices according to the invention.

Figure 7 shows another locking head of a locking device according to the invention.

Fig. 8 shows the same as Fig. 7 but with the actuators in a different position.

In Fig. 1, the locking device 1 according to the invention consists of a body 2 and a locking head 3. Both the body 2 and the locking head 3 are a suitable steel structure. The locking head 3 is arranged by the turning device 5 to pivot via the shaft 4. The turning device 5 and the shaft 4 are suitably supported on the body 15 2. The forces acting on the locking head 3 are also transmitted to the body 2 via the shaft 4. The locking head 3 has locking devices of known construction: a container lock 6 and a gripping head 7. A surface corresponding to the gripping arm stop 14 be suitably roughened to improve grip. The turning device 8 of the container lock 6 is housed in a housing at the locking end 3.

As is known per se, the locking device 1 is arranged to be movable relative to the load carrier to be locked. Said movement can be implemented not only in the transverse direction but also in the longitudinal direction, whereby cargo carriers of different lengths can be handled with the same locking devices 1. Figure 2 shows a possible solution. The locking device 1 is connected to the transfer device body 9 by articulated arms 10. The distance of the locking device 1 from the transfer device body 9 is regulated, for example, by a hydraulic cylinder, which is not shown in the figure. The change in the height of the locking head 3 caused by the adjustment can be compensated by a height adjustment of the transfer device body 9 known per se or in another known manner by which the locking head 3 and / or the locking device 1 is adjusted. The side of the locking head 3 35 corresponding to the cargo carrier has the shape according to Fig. 3. The angle k is selected such that when, for example, the side of the locking head 3 on the side of the container lock 6 is turned parallel to the carrier, no part of the gripping head 7 extends in front of the plane 4 B 5 4 5 3 of the side of the container lock 6. One preferred value of the angle k is 7 degrees, i.e. when one side of the locking head 3 is parallel to the carrier, the other is at an angle of 14 degrees to it.

Further, the dimensions m and n shown in Figs. 3, 3 and 8 are preferably selected such that m + n substantially corresponds to the distance between the locking centers of the container corner piece or the like and the gripping arm connection determined by the norm.

The end of the locking head 3 on the container lock side 6 can furthermore be provided, if desired, with a protruding guide known per se, which facilitates the alignment of the container lock 6 with the container corner piece 11 of the container.

In Fig. 4, the locking head 3 is thus pivoted via the shaft 4, so that the side of the locking head 3 on the container lock 6 side is parallel to the container 12 and the container 12 is locked by the container lock 6 in connection with the locking device 1.

In Fig. 5, the locking head is turned so that the side of the gripping head 7 is parallel to the replacement load basket 13 and the replacement load basket 13 is connected by the gripping head 7 from its gripping arm stop 14 to the locking device 1.

In Fig. 6, a load representing a container 12 is connected to the transfer device 20 by way of example, followed by a swap body 13 in a longer version and a swap body 13 'in the longest version.

Connected to the transfer device body 9 are 4 locking devices 1, two on each side. The height of the locking heads 3 of the locking devices 1 of the transfer device 20 and thereby also the distance of the load to be transported is adjusted by the cylinders 15 connected to the transfer device body 9 on the one hand and the wheels 16 connected to the wheels 16 and on the other hand by the drawbar table and the corresponding drawbar stop 19. The transfer device body 9 of the transfer device 20 is fork-like.

A traction master, not shown in the figures, is connected to the transfer device 20 via a traction table stop 19, which may be hydraulically adjustable. The functions of the locking devices 1 are controlled by a technique known per se from the cab of the traction master.

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The transfer device 20 can also be equipped with its own power unit and cab, as well as control devices to enable the functions described above.

The rear or all locking devices 1 5 of the transfer device 20 can be provided with a video camera 18 in Fig. 6, the monitor of the video camera 8 of which is placed in the cab of the traction master. Through the video camera 18, the driver can more easily align the locking heads 3 to the correct position before locking. Fig. 7 shows another locking head 3 'of the locking device 1 according to the invention, in which the container lock 6' is provided not only with a locking station turning device 8 'but also with a hydraulic cylinder 22 for pushing the container lock 6' outside the front surface of the locking head 3 '.

This position is shown by a solid line in Fig. 7 and a dotted line in Fig. 8. Respectively, the gripping head 7 * of the locking head 3 'is provided with a hydraulic cylinder 23 which controls the gripping head 7' corresponding to the container lock 6 '. The workstation of the gripping head 7 'is shown by the solid line 20 in Fig. 8 and the dotted line in Fig. 7. The hydraulic cylinders 22 and 23 are known per se to operate in such a way that when one is in the pushing position the other is always in the retracted position. This forced function can only be bypassed by a separate additional locking function, with which the container lock 6 '25 can be brought into the locking position when the gripping head 7' is already connected. The above locking head 3 ', which does not have to pivot into the locking position but in which a suitable locking position is obtained by pushing the desired gripping member, container lock 6' or gripping head 7 'into the workstation, may be an organic extension or component of the locking device 1.

The following explains the locking of the car-loaded container 12 in connection with the transfer device 20 and the transfer: - detaching the container 12 from its transport lock 35 - as is known per se driving the fork-shaped transfer device 20 around the container 12 in such a position that the locking ends 3,3 'of the locking devices 1 are approximately 6 in the longitudinal position; before this the locking heads 3 are turned to the container locking position according to figure 4 or in another case the container locks 6 'are placed in the workstation and the gripping heads 7' are pulled in the locking head 3 '5 - height - if the locking head 3,3, 'is provided with the aforementioned guide 10 and known per se, it is mounted in the control position - the container lock 6,6' is guided inside the container corner pieces 11 by pressing the locking heads 3,3 'towards the container 12 as known and adjusting the position of the articulation arms by fine-tuning the height as previously described 15 - when the container locks 6,6 'are in the container corner pieces 11, the container locks 6,6,' are turned to the locking position - then by video cameras 18, which are preferably on both sides of the transfer device 20 the height movement of the rear part of the transfer device 20 and the cylinders 15 as well as said other height adjustment devices of the transfer device 20 are controlled and the locking heads 3,3 'are moved transversely to the transfer container locks 6,6' to the corresponding container corner pieces 11 and are locked 25 the container 12 connected as described above from the support of the car - with the traction master, the transfer device 20 with the containers 12 is moved as desired.

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The locking and transfer of the reciprocating load basket 13 lying on the ground in connection with the transfer device 20 will be explained below: the transfer device 20 is driven around the exchange load cart 13 retracted.

- by adjusting the transfer device 20 in a known direction and by guiding 7 85453 possible video cameras 18, adjusting the transfer device to the correct height position - the gripping heads 7,7 'of the locking heads 3,3' are pressed against the gripping stops 14 of the exchange loader 13 by known adjustment of the locking devices 1 locking of the gripping heads 7,7 'to the gripping responses 14; the gripping stops 14 have a standard reinforced area to allow sliding against the side 10 of the above-mentioned truck 10 - in the case of locking heads 3 'one or more container locks 6' can be pushed into the workstation to lock the longitudinal position of the truck 13 - the transfer device 20 and its 15 to the transport height and moved as desired - the previously mentioned roughening of the gripping heads 7,7 'increases the friction and improves the ability of the swap body to support during transport; many other backups known per se can be used for the current drive backup.

With the prior art, the transfer device 20 can be implemented in such a way that one or more pairs of locking devices 1 are displaceable from the longitudinal position in the frame 9 in the frame 9. In this case, containers and swap bodies of all sizes can be handled with the same transfer device. By appropriately selecting the cylinders 15 and the articulated arms 17 of the transfer device 20 and also taking advantage of a possible additional lifting 30 which can be connected to the wheel joints known per se, the transfer device can be used to load containers and swap bodies on top of each other, provided their other construction allows.

Furthermore, it should be noted that the invention has been described above with reference to only a few examples of its preferred application,. However, it is not intended to limit the invention in any way, but many modifications are possible within the scope of the inventive idea defined by the following claims.

Claims (3)

8 β 5 453 A locking device for coupling various containers (12), swap bodies (13,13 ') and corresponding cargo carriers comprising container corner pieces (11) and / or gripping arm stops (14) as gripping connections from the side at four locking points (11,14) to pull an external power machine or by its own a transfer device (20) provided with a machine, after which said container (12), swap body 10 (13,13 ') or other similar cargo carrier is raised substantially horizontally to the desired transport height for transfer, characterized in that the locking device (1) comprises in the body (2) a locking head (3) with locking connections at regular distances from each other, a container lock (6.6 ') and a gripping head (7.7'), from which the desired locking joint is selected by adjusting the functions of the locking head (3) known per se. Locking device according to patent application 1, characterized in that the locking head (3) is arranged to pivot relative to the body (2) such that one pivoting extreme position corresponds to the workstation of the container lock (6) and the other gripping head (7) and that the selected locking connection is pivoted against the gripping connection (11, 14) 25 of the cargo carrier to be treated, the second locking connection is turned to a position which does not interfere with said locking functions. Locking device according to patent application 1, characterized in that the locking head (3 ') comprises a container lock (6') 30 and a gripping head (7 ') and adjusting their position substantially transverse to the load carrier (12, 13, 13') which grips them. devices (22, 23) known per se, which are thus cooperated such that, when the container lock (6 ') is in the locking position, the gripping head (7') is in a position which does not interfere with said operation, or vice versa. 9 85453