FR2822788A1 - Modular industrial trailer comprises central, front and axle modules and complementary side frame and front and rear crosspiece modules - Google Patents

Abstract

The vehicle comprises a central module (1), a front module (2) and an axle module (3). There is also a complementary side frame module (4) and front (5) and rear (6) crosspiece modules.

Description

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 The invention relates to a modular chassis for an industrial vehicle and a vehicle comprising such a chassis.

 The invention relates more particularly to a modular chassis provided with solder-free fixing means for assembling the modules of such a chassis, as well as an industrial vehicle such as a truck, a trailer, a semi-trailer or a vehicle specially designed for a particular application comprising such a chassis.

 Most industrial vehicles are designed according to a common principle: a chassis made up of two beams connected to each other by crosspieces rests on one or more axles, the arrangement of which is characteristic for the four main families of industrial vehicles set out above. i.e. at least one front axle and at least one rear axle for trucks and trailers, no front axle and at least one rear axle for semi-trailers trailers, and no axle exclusively assigned to this vehicle, either front or rear, for specially designed vehicles. Each of the rear axles can be either a steering axle or a fixed and possibly retractable axle. The front axle or the front axles of trucks and trailers are obviously steerable by means of a steering system or a drawbar.

 In the case of semi-trailers, the front of the industrial vehicle is fitted with a king pin allowing the industrial vehicle to be coupled to a tractor, as well as two extendable stands for parking the industrial vehicle without a tractor.

 The chassis of these industrial vehicles are also designed so that they can receive all kinds of equipment or bodywork depending on the nature of the material to be transported. Thus, the chassis can be carrying a tank, a bucket, a platform, a structure carrying a tarpaulin, a cockpit and maneuvering of the industrial vehicle itself and its equipment, as well as any equipment necessary for the movement, automotive or not, of the industrial vehicle and

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 regulatory safety equipment.

 In order to be able to respond to the wide variety of designs desired by their customers, manufacturers of industrial vehicles try to design their vehicles so as to be able to obtain the desired diversity from one or a few basic vehicles which are then modified by adding one or other of the desired equipment.

 However, with a wide variety of industrial vehicles, go hand in hand with significant construction or manufacturing costs, and this both in terms of the components of the industrial vehicle as that of time and the actual manufacturing price.

 Also, the object of the invention is to provide an industrial vehicle whose design is capable of responding both to a wide variety of types of industrial vehicle than to a simplification of manufacture and a reduction in its cost.

 The object of the invention is achieved by a modular chassis for an industrial vehicle, the chassis comprising at least two modules (1,2) each of which comprises two longitudinal members (11,12, 21, 22) and crosspieces.

 According to the invention, the modules (1,2) to be assembled are provided, in a junction zone (Z), with perforations (114, 115,214, 215), part of the perforations (114,214) being oriented perpendicular to the other part of the perforations (115, 215).

 The invention applies more particularly to an industrial vehicle made up of modules, all of these modules comprising a front crossmember module intended to integrate the interface with the bodywork, a front module intended to integrate the coupling function and the vehicle steering, a central module comprising longitudinal members and cross members constituting the largest part of the chassis of the industrial vehicle, a rear module intended to integrate a bumper and the bodywork interface, an axle module comprising one or more several axles and suspension elements, and an edge curb module intended

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 to constitute a lateral interface between the chassis and the different types of bodywork.

 The modules set out above, designated according to their main function and / or according to their arrangement with respect to a direction of advance of the vehicle in motion, are assembled according to the desired individual design of the industrial vehicle.

 The different modules are assembled by bolting or riveting and not by welding, the assembly by welding being reserved for what can be called here the assembly inside each of these modules.

 The renunciation of welding for assembling the modules together brings at least two advantages. The first is that each of the modules can be brought to the place of assembly in its position of use. It is therefore no longer necessary, for example, to present the chassis in the inverted position in order to be able to attach thereto by welding the fastening elements necessary for mounting the kingpin, the axle or axles, the suspension, the brake tanks, and many other elements necessary for the equipment and / or for the safety of the industrial vehicle. Consequently, according to the invention, it is no longer necessary either to return the equipped chassis, after having carried out the various welds, and in particular to provide equipment making it possible to turn the chassis over.

 Another advantage is that of being able to give up, for the assembly part of the manufacturing of industrial vehicles, qualified personnel for welding according to the standards established to meet the criteria of construction safety and road safety of industrial vehicles.

 Yet another advantage is that of no longer reducing the effectiveness of the anti-corrosion treatments (cathaphoresis) that the constituent elements of the industrial vehicle undergo before being assembled, and more particularly during their manufacture.

 The modular concept of the industrial vehicle according to the invention also allows a certain number of simplifications of

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 the assembly of the industrial vehicle which brings at the same time improvements such as better protection of certain elements against untimely effects taking influence on the wear of these elements, or even their accidental destruction. By way of example, we cite here the cables and conduits which can be laid, thanks to the modular concept according to the invention and thanks to the chosen geometric shape of certain elements whose modules are made up, from above and in particular in sections of profiles serving at the same time as protection against splashes of liquid or stony materials from the road when the vehicle is moving.

 The modular concept according to the invention also makes it possible to design each of the modules so that the forces which each of the modules must be able to undergo are better taken up inside the module and that the constraints are better defined according to their nature and their span, in order to be able to transmit them from one module to another, so as to significantly increase the mechanical strength of the industrial vehicle.

 Yet another advantage of the invention is that of better repairability of industrial vehicles. When there is particular wear of a part of the industrial vehicle or when this vehicle has suffered an accident, repair may be limited to the module concerned. In addition, the repair is carried out without welding, that is to say without inflicting on the damaged part or in the vicinity of metallurgical modifications.

 Other characteristics and advantages of the invention will emerge from the description of an embodiment of an industrial vehicle according to the invention given below with reference to the drawings.

 In these drawings, FIGS. 1 to 4 show, schematically and without limitation, in a so-called exploded view, the arrangements according to the invention and more particularly: FIG. 1 shows the modular concept of an industrial vehicle in side view, Figure 2 shows the assembly of two beams according to

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 the invention, Figure 3 shows the semi-embedding of the assembled modules, and Figure 4 shows an assembled chassis.

 The industrial vehicle shown in Figure 1 is a semi-trailer. This semi-trailer comprises a central module 1, a front module 2, an axle module 3, a bank edge module 4, a front cross module 5 and a rear cross module 6.

 The central module 1 consists of two longitudinal members 11,12 and crosspieces 13 distributed approximately homogeneously over the entire length of the central module. It is specified for the whole of this text that the terms "length" and "width" designate the dimensions of the industrial vehicle or one of its modules in the direction of travel of the vehicle or with respect to this direction.

 The front module 2 comprises longitudinal elements 21, 22 intended to extend the longitudinal members 11,12 towards the front when the front module 2 is assembled with the central module 1. The front module 2 also comprises a third longitudinal element 24 formed of so as to form a rectangular part 24A and a trapezoidal part 240. According to a variant, the third longitudinal element 24 is entirely formed so as to have the shape of a trapezoid. The front module 2 is used, among other things, for fixing a kingpin by means of which the semi-trailer is attached to a tractor.

 The axle module 3 comprises three axles, each of which has an axle with two hubs, suspension hands and suspension elements such as, for example, variable-volume air cushions. It goes without saying that the realization of the modular concept according to the invention is not limited to such a set of axles, but that it also includes embodiments with a single axle and with a group of two axles and that these axles can be fixed or directing. Likewise, at least one of the axles can be retractable, in order to obtain a greater specific axle load when the vehicle

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 is not fully charged or is even empty.

 The edge border module 4 essentially comprises two sections 41, 42. These profiles extend over the entire length of the whole of the central module 1 and of the front module 2. These profiles are formed so as to be able to serve not only as side edges of a plate mounted on the chassis, but also to receive fixing means of different types depending on the equipment of the industrial vehicle.

 The front crossmember module 5 is intended to form the front end of the industrial vehicle. It extends over the entire width of the industrial vehicle, including the front ends of the sections 41,42. The front crossmember 5 can constitute, for example, the base of a front wall of a box of a van constructed according to the modular concept of the invention.

 The rear crossmember module 6 extends over the entire width of the central module 1 and the profiles of the edge border module 4. The rear crossmember module can serve, for example, as a base for a rear wall or rear doors of '' a body mounted on the chassis. The rear crossmember module 6 can also constitute the base on which a tailgate is mounted.

 The different modules listed above are formed so that they can be attached to each other using bolts or rivets. For this purpose, the different parts of the modules are provided, in sections intended for the junction of two neighboring modules with one another, of holes accessible horizontally and vertically in order to make possible the assembly of the different modules without the need to turn the module over before the assembly and return it again after assembly to put it in its position of use.

 Figure 2 shows schematically in an exploded view the ends respectively of the spar 21 of the front module 2 and the spar 11 of the central module 1, which are intended to be assembled by bolts or rivets.

 Advantageously but not exclusively, the junction zone extends essentially in the zone for reducing the

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 height of the side members. In this zone, the height of the core 111 of the spar 11 considered this time from the rear of the spar towards the front, remains constant up to a certain distance from the free end 116 of the spar 11 and is reduced then to this end 116. While the upper wing 112 remains at a constant level, the lower wing 113 extends, in these two junction zones, first parallel to the wing 112 and extends then obliquely in the form of the wing 113A towards the end 116. In the junction zone, the core 111 is provided with horizontal perforations 114 and the wing 113, exclusively in the part parallel to the shoulder 112, is provided with vertical perforations 115.

 In the end of the spar 21 intended to be fixed on the spar 11, and in a horizontal part of the bracket 28, corresponding perforations 214, 215 are made.

 The arrangement of the perforations 114, 115 and 214 and 215 is chosen so as to assemble the longitudinal members 11 and 21 by a set of bolts or rivets whose axes are oriented horizontally and vertically in the position of use of the chassis. This arrangement is chosen in order to give the spar assembly the greatest mechanical strength in the main loading situations, that is to say in the overload station when the vehicle is parked and in a mixed situation where overlap the loads of the load (therefore of the weight) and the efforts of shifting (in a turn).

 Advantageously, the sliding stability obtained by the assembly described above, of the side members, can be further increased by the use of bracing tubes in place of simple cross members to connect the side members together.

 Furthermore, the arrangement of the horizontal perforations 114, 214 and vertical perforations 115, 215 makes it possible to join together by a single assembly the junction ends of the central and front modules and the crutches of the chassis.

 FIG. 3 shows the semi-embedding of the front module 2 under the beams, here under the beam 11, and the arrangement of the bracket 28 which surrounds part of the beam 11.

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 Figure 4 shows in a perspective view the junction between the front 2 and central modules 1. More particularly, this figure shows the arrangement of brackets 27,28 fixed on the side rails 11,12 at the end of the junction zone between the side members 21,22 of the front module 2 and the side members 11,12 of the central module 1. The brackets 27,28 are intended for mounting crutches intended for supporting the chassis, and therefore of the industrial vehicle, when the latter is parked without to be harnessed.

Claims (4)

 CLAIMS 1. Modular chassis for an industrial vehicle, the chassis comprising at least two modules (1,2) each of which comprises two longitudinal members (11,12, 21,22) and crosspieces, characterized in that the modules (1,2 ) to be assembled are provided, in a junction zone (Z), with perforations (114,115, 214,215), a part of the perforations (114,214) being oriented perpendicular to the other part of the perforations (115,215).  2. Chassis according to claim 1, characterized in that the perforations (114,115, 214,215) are formed in the longitudinal members (11,12, 21,22) of the modules to be assembled, horizontal perforations (114,214) being formed in the core (111,211) beams (11,12, 21,22) and vertical perforations (115,215) being formed in the lower wing (113) of a beam (11) or in a corresponding part (28).  3. Chassis according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that one of the modules to be assembled (1,2) is a front module (2) intended to be equipped with a working pin (29) for the coupling of '' an industrial vehicle comprising this chassis, to a tractor vehicle, the two modules (1,2) being formed so that one (2) of the modules is embedded in the other (1) in the junction zone

 (Z).  4. Industrial vehicle comprising a chassis according to any one of claims 1 to 3.