FR2792356A1 - Access path for working on large container such as tank, etc, has stairs with railing and leading on one side to rectangular floor, and on other side to working zone extending parallel to trailer - Google Patents

Abstract

Access path comprises platform (1) supported by two posts (3) and delimited by railing (2). Railing opens to stairs (5) protected by railing (7) so as to access platform from ground, and to stairs (11) leading to rectangular floor (9) and protected by railing (13). Floor leads to working zone (12) extending along direction yy' of trailer (10).

Description

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  The present invention relates to an access path intended to encourage personnel interventions, in particular on containers fitted to vehicles for the transport of bulk goods, such as tanks, dumpsters, wagons, etc. When it is desired intervene on large containers, such as in particular tanks, in order to carry out interventions on them during the construction or operating phases, such as quality controls, sampling, filling or emptying, cleaning, we generally use articulated stairs which are arranged perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of these containers, or we use means of access, construction, of the latter. Hydraulic nacelles are also used which can be

  as close as possible to the work area.

  The different means used each have their own advantages and disadvantages. Thus, if the articulated stairs placed perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the tanks are easy and quick to position, we know however that their installation only allows access to certain heights of very specific tanks. In addition, operator safety is far from being properly ensured because the work area is located

  off center with respect to the tank.

  The means of integral access to the containers usually prove impractical and dangerous. In addition, they undergo degradations linked to transport, and are

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  usually insufficient on most vehicles. Again, occupational safety is not properly ensured. As for the hydraulic nacelles, if they allow easy, comfortable, fast and safe access to an almost arbitrary zone of the lateral faces of the containers, they lead to isolation, of the personnel who are on board these nacelles, from the upper surface of these containers. In addition, the pods do not allow rapid and natural evacuation when necessary. In addition, it is impossible for a third party to intervene to assist active staff. Finally, the motorization must be compatible with the explosion-proof requirements of these installations. The present invention aims to remedy these various drawbacks by providing an access path to containers which is easy and quick to implement, which allows access to any part of the latter, so that once set up, said access path allows an ambulatory back and forth of the various stakeholders, without the need to modify anything

the positioning of the assembly.

  The present invention thus relates to an access path to a work area which extends in a longitudinal direction, in particular of a vehicle, and which is

  located at a variable height from the ground, from a platform

  form located at a fixed height, characterized in that: - it comprises access means which, from the platform, lead to the working area,

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  - The access means comprise means capable of causing them to move in a vertical plane parallel to said longitudinal direction, - the access means open onto a floor which extends transversely relative to the longitudinal direction. The access means can for example consist of a ladder hinged at one end, a staircase

  articulated steps, or also of an inclined plane.

  In an advantageous embodiment of the invention, the floor is extended by a cantilever which is intended to delimit, in the horizontal plane, the working area. This cantilever consists of several superimposed guardrails and has no bottom since its base is intended to bear on the upper surface, for example of a container, such as the dome of a tank. This cantilever in certain embodiments of the invention may be provided with a bottom, so as to transform it into a nacelle in order to allow users to carry out work on surfaces of

for example vertical work.

  The cantilever will be widened in relation to the floor in the longitudinal direction, so as to constitute for the users a particularly working area

effective.

  The floor may include means capable of causing it to move in a plane perpendicular to said longitudinal direction. In one embodiment, the floor will be deformable and will include means allowing

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  to move the cantilever in one direction

  perpendicular to this longitudinal direction.

  Preferably, the circulation surface of the access path will be fitted with one or two handrails, or even with a guardrail, preferably standardized, in order to ensure lateral safety of the path of users. The access path can be blocked by placing the hinged staircase in the raised position. It can receive a complementary barrier means, operational in all positions, consisting of at least one horizontal bar, or of a gate, making it possible to control

  access to the cantilever or the nacelle.

  In order to favor interventions on containers or tanks of great length as much as possible, without the need to move them, while preserving the safety means for operators, the access path object of the invention may be made mobile on displacement means constituted for example by one or more rails arranged in the ground preferably

  parallel to the longitudinal direction.

  Various embodiments of the invention will be described below, by way of non-limiting examples, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an access path according to the invention to a dome of a tank truck,

  the access means being shown in an ascending position.

  Figure 2 is a schematic perspective view showing the path of Figure 1, the means

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  of access being represented in a substantially horizontal position. Figure 3 is a schematic perspective view of the embodiments shown in Figures 1 and 2, the access means being shown in the downward position. Figure 4 is a schematic perspective view of an embodiment of the access path shown in Figures 1 to 3, the access means being shown in

position for closing the access.

  Figure 5a is a perspective view of a variant

  for implementing the access path according to the invention.

  Figure 5b is a partial perspective view of a detail of the implementation of the access path

shown in Figure 5a.

  Figure 5c is a partial cross-sectional view on an enlarged scale of a guide means used in the embodiment shown in Figures 5a

and 5b.

  FIGS. 6a and 6b are partial perspective views showing means for closing the access to a cantilever device used in the access path shown in the preceding figures, respectively in the closed position and in the position

access.

  The access path according to the invention represented in FIG. 1 essentially consists of a platform 1 maintained at a given height from the ground by two posts 3, and intended to give partial access to a tank 10

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  with longitudinal axis yy '. For security reasons, this

  platform 1 is limited on its periphery by a guard

  body 2. This railing 2 opens on the one hand onto a staircase also provided with a railing 7, which allows access to the platform 1 from the ground, and on the other hand means of access to a rectangular floor 9, which consist of a staircase 11 whose axis of symmetry zz 'is parallel to the longitudinal axis yy' of the tank 10. This staircase 11 is provided with a guard body 13 and its downstream end opens onto the floor 9. The latter is also protected by a bodyguard 16 which opens on the one hand to the staircase 11 and on the other hand to an evolution space 12 which is protected by a lateral cantilever 14 integral with the floor 9 and its railing intended to ensure the safety of users. This cantilever 14 has no bottom because its base is intended to come to bear on the dome of the tank 10, so as to allow users to move directly thereon. The evolution space 12, in order to provide a large field of action, extends in the longitudinal direction yy 'of the tank 10. The present device thus ensures both a

  mobility and maximum security for users.

  The staircase 11 is formed from a system of steps associated with stringers in the form of parallelograms, which allows it to oscillate in a vertical plane parallel to the axis yy 'of the tank 10, from axes of rotation located at its base on the platform 1. The means for ensuring the control in position of the staircase 11, and which are not shown in the drawing, can be

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  constituted for example in a known manner, by gas spring cylinders, pneumatic, compressed air or hydraulic cylinders. Under these conditions, it is understood that the floor 9 and the evolution space 12 can occupy different positions, depending on the height at which the

  vehicle intervention area.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the staircase 11 can occupy a substantially horizontal position in which it behaves like a simple gangway, which occurs when the level of the tank 10 is located

  substantially at the same height as platform 1.

  It is also possible, as shown in Figure 3, to position the floor 9 and the area

  evolution 12 at a height lower than that of the platform

  form 1 by tilting the stairs 11 downwards in the case where the intervention area of the tank 10 is more

  lower than that of platform 1.

  It is also possible according to the invention, as shown in FIG. 4, to use the staircase 11 as a means of closing access to the floor 9 and to the evolution space 12 in order to prohibit, when it is wishes, access to the upper part of the tank 10. In this embodiment, the access means constituted by the staircase 11 are pivoted so that the latter is located

  upright as shown in Figure 4.

  The raised position of the staircase 11 thus described with reference to FIG. 4 can advantageously be maintained

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  by means of a lock, the operation of which can be combined with

  the presence or absence of a tank 10.

  In another embodiment of the invention, the access path comprises means making it possible to move it parallel to the longitudinal axis of a vehicle. As shown in Figures 5a to 5c, the access path is supported on a base 19, for example of concrete or steel, which is hollowed out on one of its sides, with a longitudinal groove 23 in which a raceway 18 is embedded. In this embodiment, the access path bears on the base 19, in its upstream part by two parallel uprights 20 joined together by a system of cross-pieces 21, which terminate at each of their respective ends by wheels 22 and 22 ', and in its downstream part, namely the lower end of the staircase 5, by the uprights 17 thereof which are

  end with two wheels, 24 and 24 'respectively.

  As shown in FIGS. 5b and 5c, the wheels 22 and 24 take place in the raceway 18 which has a longitudinal slot 25 at its upper part, so as to admit the uprights 17 and 20. It is understood that due to the overhang created by the mass of the floor 9 and the cantilever 14 protecting the evolution space 12, the wheels 22 and 24 are applied against the internal face

  upper track 18.

  In order to guide the wheels 22 and 24, it is possible to have on the front part of the upright 20 and on the rear part of the upright 17, guides constituted by

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  example by cylindrical rollers 26 whose diameter is

  close to the width of the slot 25.

  The present mode of implementation is particularly advantageous insofar as it allows the user to move the access path according to the invention to any area of a tank or a vehicle, and this by requesting the uprights or the staircase 5 in the desired direction, namely following the direction of the

  arrow F or that of arrow F '.

  For security reasons, it is possible to use additional barrier means at the level of access to the cantilever 14. Security means consist for example of a tilting element 27 formed of two lateral uprights 28 in the form of S, an anterior crossbar 30 and a rear plinth 29. The tilting element 27 is capable of occupying two positions, namely a barrier position, as shown in FIG. 6a, and a position of access or use, as shown in Figure 6b. The plinth 29 is in the low position during use and can receive forces from a foot sliding on the curved surface of the tank in order to block it. The transverse bar 30 prohibits access to the cantilever 14 and to the evolution space 12 when it is in the low position thus

as shown in Figure 6a.

  It is of course possible to transform the cantilever 14 into a working platform by adding a floor to it. Such a work platform is interesting for carrying out

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  work in particular on a work area consisting of a

substantially vertical wall.

  One can of course also remove the nacelle 14 and replace it with an extension of the floor in the longitudinal direction. Although in the various embodiments of the invention, the platform 1 is represented at a given distance from the ground, it is of course possible to use an access path in which, in a simplified version,

  this platform 1 will be at ground level.

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Claims (11)

  1.- Access path to a work area, which extends in a longitudinal direction (yy '), in particular of a vehicle, and which is located at a variable height from the ground, from a platform form (1) situated at a fixed height, characterized in that: - it comprises access means (11) which, from the platform (1), lead to the working area (12), - the access means (11) comprise means capable of causing them to move in a vertical plane parallel to said longitudinal direction (yy '), - the access means (11) open onto a floor (9) which s extends transversely to the direction longitudinal (yy ').   2.- Access path according to claim 1, characterized in that the access means consist of a staircase (11) articulated at its base on the platform (1).   3.- Access path according to one of claims 1   or 2 characterized in that the floor (9) is extended by an overhang (14) which delimits, in the plane   horizontal, the working area (12).   4.- Access path according to claim 3 characterized in that the cantilever (14) extends   mainly along said longitudinal direction (yy ').   5.- Access path according to claims 3 or 4   characterized in that the floor (9) is deformable and includes means capable of displacing the cantilever (14) 12 2792356   in a direction (xx ') perpendicular to the direction longitudinal (yy ').   6.- Access path according to claim 5 characterized in that said floor (9) comprises means capable of causing it to move in a plane perpendicular to the longitudinal direction (yy ').   7.- Access path according to any one of   previous claims characterized in that it comprises   displacement means parallel to the ground.   8.- Access path according to claim 7 characterized in that the displacement means are provided with guide element (18, 25, 26) for moving it   parallel to the longitudinal direction (yy ').   9.- Access path according to any one of   previous claims characterized in that it comprises   barrier means constituted by the access means (11) themselves.   10.- Access path according to claims 3 to 9   characterized in that the cantilever (14) is provided with secondary barrier means (27,30) intended to control access to it.   11.- Access path according to any one of   previous claims characterized in that the floor   (9) has an extension in the longitudinal direction (yy ').