FR2719275A1 - Wagon unloading system operated automatically - Google Patents

Abstract

The wagon runs on rails (47), mounted on the ground, with an actuator (40) mounted adjacent to the rails. The actuator extends towards the wagon and connects with an operating mechanism (41), on the wagon. Data relative to a location (X1,Y1) on the wagon is registered in a memory and a feeler finger contacts a reference (44) on the wagon.This automatically locates the wagon position, in the memory and controls the movement of the actuator appropriately, to unload the wagon. The feeler may be a retractable arm positioned at wagon wheel level. The wagon may comprise hoppers, with bottom gravity discharge controlled by a spigot (72) operated valve, rotated by a slotted (70) disc (71) on the actuator.

Description

"Unloading system for wagon with maneuvering means

  vre et automatate "The subject of the present invention is an unloading system for a wagon comprising a maneuvering means movable relative to the ground to be moved to a position facing at least one member to be maneuvered which is integral of a wagon placed on rails carried by the ground. This system finds its main use in the automation of the unloading of wagon trains

  cereals, especially in port areas.

  We know that, after the grain has been harvested, it is transported to the first storage locations from which it is later left either by truck or by train to another destination. A possible destination, and in fact transitory, is a port area in

  view of boarding by boat. At each stage of the trans-

  port, an unloading must be carried out which

  is almost always carried out by gravity which occa-

  releases high dust emissions due to scrubbing

  abrasive grains against each other.

  In the case of rail transport, each

  wagon has a plurality of hoppers, each hopper

  carrying one or more lower orifices for discharging

  wagon gravity, and each opening being provided with an opening / closing device actuated by a

  rotary actuator. Each opening device

  ture / closure is itself provided with a locking device

  rusting / unlocking whose operation is

  controlled by a maneuvering device in two positions.

  For the unloading of each wagon,

  therefore comes to successively operate the device first

  locking / unlocking then the opening / closing device, unloading is then carried out by

  gravity, and later it is necessary to carry out the ma-

  reverse operation first of the opening / closing device then of the locking / unlocking device so that

  the wagon is always closed during transport.

  All these maneuvers of the wagon devices

  are mostly performed today my-

  ls nuately in harsh conditions especially because

  dust. In addition, the opening device

  ture / closure is often a worm screw whose maneuver-

  vre requires a lot of physical effort if only because of the large number of laps to perform; to reduce the arduousness of this work, several improvements have already been envisaged, in particular the use of a rotary motor

  mounted or not on wheels and moved by hand to be

  placed opposite each worm that the user

  rotates in the correct direction; we find such an example

  ple of improvement with the device mounted on a rail as described in US Pat. No. 4,522,545 to Peckham although,

  in this example, no locking system

  lage / unlocking is not mentioned; so the user no longer has to put in a lot of physical effort, however he

  even more or less exposed to a push environment

serious.

  Of course, automation has long been

  sation of these maneuvers is sought and desired but to date we have encountered a technical difficulty

  which comes from the diversity of types of railcar

  Harbor; indeed we know that there are wagons comprising two, three, four and even five hoppers, each hopper being provided with a chute itself provided with a device

  opening / closing and a locking device

  lage / unlock these being similar for all

  the hoppers of the same wagon; on the other hand from a wagon to the

  tre there are different types of organs to operate and especially the locations of these organs on the wagons are different. For example, Figures 1, 2 and 3 show

  three different wagon types among a larger di-

  side, on which: - Figure 1 represents a wagon with two hatches, whose openings are made by tilting levers with a rotation of 160 between total closure and full opening and whose axes of rotation of the levers are located respectively at distances of 1 995 mm and 6 666 mm from the axis of a wheel taken as a reference on the wagon and at a height of 500 mm from the top of the rails, the wagon being considered new and empty, so

  that other double hatch cars may have po-

  different wheel positions, different heights from rails and be operated by

other organs than levers.

  - Figure 2 shows a wagon with three hatches whose

  openings are made by cranks with a ro-

  tation of 68 turns between total closure and full opening and whose axes of rotation of the cranks are located respectively at distances of 1390 mm,

  4 275 mm and 7 160 mm from the axis of a wheel taken as a reference

  on the wagon and at a height of 700 mm above the rails, the wagon being considered new and unladen, while other wagons with three hatches may have different positions relative to the wheel,

  heights from different rails and be ac-

  operated by solid cranks or flywheels.

  - Figure 3 shows a wagon with four hatches whose

  openings are made by handwheels with a rota-

  65 turns between total closure and full opening and whose axes of rotation of the flywheels are respectively located at 1,340 mm, 2,740 mm, 5,270 mm and 6,670 mm from the axis of a wheel taken as a reference on the wagon and at a height of 650 mm above the rails, the wagon being considered

  new and empty, while other four-trap cars

  pes may have positions relative to the different wheel

  different heights with respect to different rails and be operated by cranks or flywheels

full.

  This diversity of hoppers and their bottlenecks

  has so far been an obstacle to the automation of the pro-

  stop unloading grain trains since in the same train there is obviously a mix of wagons

of different types.

  The present invention aims to propose on the one hand a tracking system on the wagon of each member to be maneuvered, on the other hand a homogenization of the

  opening / closing and locking devices

  lage / unlocking, homogenization arranged in such a way-

  deny that the operation of these devices can be self-

  controlled by means of a single automaton, the means of which

  operation will be simple enough that their manufacture

  cation is reasonably possible from an economic point of view

  despite the diversity of existing systems, and a

  sufficient reliability taking into account the environment

serious.

  According to the present invention, a detection system

  loading of the previously defined type is particularly remarkable in that: - on the one hand, a data recording memorization means is provided for memorizing a location

  relative to the wagon the location of the organ to ma-

  work, - on the other hand, a feeler element is provided to come into contact with a reference point of the wagon and thus

  provide location location data relative to

carriage on the ground of the wagon on the rail,

  - and in that an automaton is provided with means for combi-

  the markings provided by the data recording and by the feeler element, and in order to be able to control the movement of the operating member to the position

  vis-à-vis the organ to be maneuvered as a function of the re-

  result of the combination of markings.

  Thus by providing for the recording of data

  these can be provided in good time

  portun to an automaton so that it can bring an organ of

  maneuver in the correct position; the automaton itself po-

  sits in relation to the wagon by means of a pal-

fear.

  Advantageously, the location data relative to the wagon of the location of a member to be maneuvered

  are marked in relation to a wheel of the wagon; preferably

  rence, the feeler element is a retractable feeler arm located at the wheels of the wagons; thus the benchmark of a wagon is, according to the invention, advantageously

  chosen as a wagon wheel; here it is necessary to remark

  quer that the invention takes advantage of the symmetry

  sort of the wagon which allows, for a wagon with four wheels, to be located in relation to any one of the four wheels since the location data of each member to be maneuvered, each member having of course its symmetrical on the wagon, are the same with respect to each of the four wheels; obviously for bogie wagons, that is to say

  eight wheels, we will choose for example the four inner wheels

  of the wagon to further benefit from the symmetry.

  In the general case, a grain transport wagon comprises a plurality of hoppers, that is to say a plurality of organs to be maneuvered; in particular, each

  that hopper has at least one opening orifice

  closure / actuation operable by a general operating member

  rotational rotation; for automation purposes, it

  is necessary to seek a homogenization of the organ-

  nes to maneuver despite the diversity of wagon types

  for which the organ to be maneuver was as well a le-

  to rotate by 120 than a flywheel coupled to a

  worm screw to rotate 60 times; for this homogeneous

  neization, according to the invention, each rotary actuator is specially arranged with a crank pin arranged at a predetermined distance from its axis of rotation, and the operating means is a rotary drive means provided with a disc with openings for drive the crankpin in rotation.

  Similarly, each opening device

  ture / closure being itself provided with a locking device

  rusting / unlocking the operation of which is controlled

  dice by a member to be operated in two positions, it was necessary to homogenize the member to be operated; so,

  according to the invention, each member to be operated in two positions

  tions is specially fitted out with an axis of dev-

  rusting arranged so as to be maneuverable between a locked position and an unlocked position by a simple movement of horizontal translation of two bars

  which are arranged vertically, which

  kill the maneuvering means for ver-

  rusting / unlocking. Thus, according to the invention, what seemed almost impossible to achieve due to the diversity of existing wagons in circulation, became possible by the homogenization of the organs to be maneuvered,

  homogenization which in particular makes it possible to identify their location

cement on the wagon.

  As already mentioned, this identification is carried out relative to a wheel of the wagon in order to be able to combine with the positioning of the automaton by means of its retractable feeler arm; it is of course advisable to memorize the

  location data and this should be done for each wa-

  gon; in practice, it is the tread of the wheel which is chosen as the contact point of the feeler arm, and,

  therefore, the height data of each maneuverable organ

  checking relative to the rails is a data which depends on the wear of the tread of the wheel; thus this data can be variable from one wagon to another; it is even more variable over time, which may require that it be updated regularly or cyclically depending, in particular, on the number of kilometers traveled by the wagon. It is therefore always advisable to record a specific location for each wagon and, according to the invention, it can be provided that the recording means is either a computer file, or centralized database, or a memory integrated in an electronic circuit which can be loaded on each wagon; in both cases, of course, the automaton must be able to access the tracking data, therefore either by conventionally accessing the computer file, or by accessing, by a known high frequency radio process, the electronic circuits on board

the wagons.

  These two solutions each have advantages.

  stages and disadvantages depending on whether one refers to diff-

  important criteria: confidentiality, inviolability, longevity

  speed, cost, reliability, ...; if desired, we can

  target the simultaneous implementation of the two storage systems, it is up to each PLC to choose the most suitable system depending on the operating site, that is to say the general organization of the unloading of

wagons at the location in question.

  Preferably, the maneuvering means, the retractable feeler arm, and the automaton, are all carried by the same carriage, which is movable on the parallel ground.

  also to the rails; in addition, the machine cart

  carries a mobile tool holder console according to the three axes to bring each operating means for the device

  opening / closing and / or for locking device

  rusting / unlocking vis-à-vis the operating member

vrer corresponding.

  In practice, when according to the invention the person skilled in the art has on the one hand a tracking system, on the other hand data recorded in accordance with this

  tracking system with prior homogenization of the or-

  ganes to maneuver wagons, it is then able to design without major difficulty various types of carriage with the necessary and sufficient degrees of freedom both in translation and in rotation to bring, at a given moment, each means of maneuvering in screw -with the corresponding operating member; he can for example consider having several maneuvering means on a single carriage, for example four, which gives him the possibility of actuating all the hoppers of the same wagon at the same time

  for wagons with two, three, or four hoppers.

  Other advantages and variants of this

  invention will be better understood in view of the description

  cut, but not limited to, an il-

  glossed by the attached drawings, among which:

  - Figures 1, 2 and 3 show succinct-

  known wagons of different types,

  FIG. 4 represents a rotary drive means according to the invention for driving a dis-

  positive opening / closing, - Figure 5 shows a member to be operated for the wagon of Figure 1 after adaptation according to the invention, - Figure 6 shows a member to be operated for the wagon of Figure 3 after adapted adaptation to the invention. Figures 1, 2 and 3 show wagons for transporting bulk cereals with hatches in different numbers respectively 2 (la, lb), 3 (2a, 2b, 2c), 4 (3a, 3b, 3c, 3d) of which the locations and the maneuvers are different, as already mentioned, so that it seems very difficult to envisage, and of course to carry out, their automation. We note however that the wagons are all

  symmetrical as well as this is highlighted on the fi-

  gure 1 with the reference dimensions which appear there twice

  compared to two different benchmarks, namely the wheels.

  FIG. 4 represents a motor 40 ready for ac-

  actuate a flywheel 41 for opening the hatch; engine,

  disposed on a frame 42 can move X, Y to position itself

  position in relation to the wagon wheel at dimensions X1.Yl.

  The chassis 42 is fixed on another chassis 43

  so as to be able to rise so as to position the mo-

  tor according to dimension Y in relation to above the rails on

which run the cars.

  The base chassis 43 hooks and is located on the reference wheel 44 of the wagon; he moves on

  rails 45, 46 parallel to the railway track 47.

  Oblong lights 70 are made in

  a plate 71 disposed on the shaft of the motor 40, these lights

  res 70 compensating for the differences in height of the wagons, compared to the theoretical dimensions to take into account the wear of the tires and the load variations between the

full wagons and empty wagons.

  ] o The steering wheel 41 of the wagon was fitted with a crank pin 72 which enters one of the lights 70 of the plate fixed 71 on the motor shaft when the latter moves along the third axis Z. All of the wagons, which '' they are opened by handwheels, cranks, levers or solid handwheels is equipped with crank pins 72, all arranged at the same

  radial distance from the axis of rotation of the ma-

  works in such a way that only one type of tray 71 equals

  pant the robot can open any wagon.

  Figures 5 and 6 show, in close-up, two types of hatch operating members associated with

their unlocking system.

  Figure 5 concerns wagons like the one in

  FIG. 1 with two hatches open by lever 52 and FIG.

  gure 6 concerns wagons like the one in figure 3 to

flaps with flywheel opening 41.

  These figures show that, according to the invention, the wagons must all be equipped with crank pins 72 located at

  a radial distance of approximately 200 mm from the center line

  tation of the opening / closing operating devices and

  that the unlocking members must also be equally

  axes 77 arranged substantially at a horizontal distance

  tale of 400 mm and 580 mm for the locked and unlocked positions shown in solid line and in dotted lines respectively; it is the choice of these dimensions and the

  relative arrangement of this new equipment of the organ-

  nes of maneuver which makes possible the automation sought-

  thanks to the homogenization of the wagons which is obtained with remarkably simple means in view of the

diversity initially identified.

  These figures show that the relative positions

  Unlocking and locking ves are reversed on these two different wagon types; moreover it is known that the position to the right, or to the left, of the operating member ll

  depends, for the same wagon, on the side where the wa-

  gon; this information will of course have to be recorded

in the stored data.

  The means of recording data for memo

  riser a location of the organs to be maneuvered on the wagon can be a computer file, or database, in which each wagon is represented by a record accessible by the identification number of the wagon, each record comprising the coordinates relative to the point of marker of the wagon of each organ to be maneuvered; these coordinates are then used in a known manner to successively position the base frame 43 and the

  chassis 42 as well as each drive or control member

  noeuvre vis-à-vis the organ to be operated. Alternatively, it can be envisaged that the data recording means

  is integrated into an electronic circuit which is embedded

  qué on each wagon and accessible from the automat

  by a high frequency radio process; in this case we say

  installs a remote read / write device by microwave transmission; such systems are commercially available for example the MELODHY system which is

  marketed by the CSEE whose head office is 99 ave-

  nude Aristide Briand 92542 Montrouge FRANCE; such a system

  is for example able to read information on a mo-

  bile moving up to 400 km / h, which is more than ne-

  in the present case, opposite the reading system.

Claims (10)

R E V E N D I C A T I O N S   1) Unloading system for wagon comprising   both a maneuvering means (40) movable relative to the ground to be moved to a position facing at least one member to be maneuvered (41) which is integral with a wagon arranged on rails (47 ) carried by the ground, characterized in that: - on the one hand, a data recording memorization means is provided for memorizing a location (X1, Y1) relative to the wagon of the location of the member to maneuver, on the other hand, a feeler element is provided to come into contact with a reference point (44) of the wagon and thus   provide location location data relative to carriage on the ground of the wagon on the rail,   - and in that an automaton is provided with means for combi-   the markings provided by the data recording and by the probe element, and to be able to control the   movement of the operating member (40) up to the po-   position vis-à-vis the organ to be operated in function   of the result of the combination of markings.   2) Unloading system according to the claim   tion 1, characterized in that the location data relative to the wagon of the location of a member to be maneuvered   are identified with respect to a wheel (44) of the wagon.   3) Unloading system according to the claim   tion 2, characterized in that the feeler element is an arm   Retractable probe located at the wheels of the wagons.   4) Unloading system according to the claim   tion 3, characterized in that the operating means, the retractable feeler arm, and the automaton are all carried   by the same carriage (43), which is movable on the ground pa- parallel to the rails.   ) Unloading system according to claim 4, in particular for a wagon for transporting grain in bulk, comprising a plurality of hoppers, each hopper   having one or more lower holes for the   loading of the wagon by gravity, each orifice being provided with an opening / closing device which can be actuated by a rotary member to be maneuvered, characterized in that:   - each rotating member of the wagon is special -   fitted with a crank pin (72) disposed at a predetermined distance from its axis of rotation, - and in that the operating means for opening / closing device is a rotary drive means   (40) provided with a disc (71) with openings (70) for   lock in gear and rotate the crankpin (72).   6) Unloading system according to the claim   tion 5, each opening / closing device being itself   even fitted with a locking / unlocking device   the operation of which is controlled by a maneuverable member   vrer in two positions, characterized in that each member to be operated in two positions is specially arranged with   an unlocking pin (77) arranged so as to be controlled   can be operated between a locked position and a position   unlocked by a simple clockwise movement   zontale of two drive bars arranged vertically-   which constitute the operating means for   locking / unlocking device.   7) Unloading system according to the claim   tion 6, characterized in that the data recording means for memorizing a location with respect to the wagon of   the location of the organ to be operated, is a file   formatic, or database, where each wagon is represented   sensed by a record accessible by the wagon identification number, each record comprising the coordinates (X1, Y1) relative to the reference point of the   wagon of each organ to be maneuvered.   8) Unloading system according to the claim   tion 6, characterized in that the data recording means for memorizing a location relative to the wagon of the location of the member to be maneuvered is integrated in an electronic circuit which is on board each wagon and accessible from the PLC by radio process high frequency.   9) Unloading system according to the claim   tion 7 or 8, characterized in that the automat carriage includes a mobile tool holder console along the three axes X, Y, Z for bringing each operating means for opening / closing device and / or for   locking / unlocking vis-à-vis the body corresponding correspondent.   10) Unloading system according to the claim   tion 5, characterized in that the predetermined distance from the sleeve (72) to its axis of rotation is substantially mm.   11) Unloading system according to the claim   tion 6, characterized in that the two positions ver-   rusty and unlocked are at distances of   horizontal translation of substantially 400 mm and 580 mm.