FR2822789A1 - 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 chassis for an industrial vehicle and 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.

 The invention relates more particularly to a chassis provided with at least one bracing tube disposed between side members of the chassis and an industrial vehicle 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 axle, and possibly retractable. 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 all equipment necessary for the movement, automobile or not, of the industrial vehicle and regulatory safety equipment.

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 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, 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 or at least a chassis for an industrial vehicle, the design of which is capable of meeting both a demand for a wide variety of types of industrial vehicle and to a simplification of their manufacture and a reduction in its cost.

 More particularly, the assembly of the chassis or the desired vehicle should be simplified by reducing the number of groups or elements to be assembled during the final assembly of the vehicle.

 The object of the invention is achieved by a chassis for an industrial vehicle comprising two beams interconnected by cross members, the chassis also comprising at least one chassis bracing tube mounted between the beams.

 Advantageously, the bracing tube (or tubes) is (or are) fixed (s) on the side members by bolts or rivets.

 This arrangement makes the object of the invention particularly useful for industrial vehicles consisting 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 function coupling and steering of the vehicle, a central module comprising beams and cross members constituting the largest part of the chassis of the industrial vehicle, a rear module intended to integrate a bumper and the body interface, an axle module comprising

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 one or more axles and suspension elements, and an edge curb module intended 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.

 When these modules are assembled by bolting or riveting and not by welding, 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 of the tanks. brakes, and many other elements necessary for the equipment and / or safety of the industrial vehicle. Likewise, it is no longer necessary either to then turn over the equipped chassis, and in particular to provide equipment enabling the chassis to be turned 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 makes it possible to obtain improvements such as better protection of certain elements against untimely effects taking influence on the wear of these elements, or even their accidental destruction. As an 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 shape

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 selected geometry of certain elements of which the modules are made up, from above and in particular in sections of sections serving at the same time as protection against projections of liquid or stony materials from the road when the vehicle is moving.

 Another example is that of compressed air tanks for the braking system.

 Indeed, whether it is in the spirit of the modular concept and its principle of forming and presenting the various modules of an industrial vehicle so as to be able to assemble them in their position of use, or whether it is in the construction practiced before the invention, it may be advantageous to prepare at least one axle group (s) uniting the axle (s) and elements whose function is linked to the function of the axle (or axles).

 Thus, the or each axle can be equipped with a reservoir intended to enclose compressed air, before mounting it between the frame rails.

 Advantageously, the bracing tube is itself formed as a reservoir capable of enclosing compressed air.

 The object of the invention is also achieved by an industrial vehicle comprising a chassis comprising beams interconnected by crosspieces, the chassis also comprising at least one bracing tube mounted between the beams.

 Advantageously, the bracing tube is provided with two axle hands intended to receive an axle.

 According to a variant, the chassis of such a vehicle comprises at least one bracing tube formed as a reservoir capable of enclosing compressed air.

 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,

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 FIG. 1 shows a modular chassis with a three-axle running gear, FIG. 2 shows a bracing tube according to the invention, FIG. 3 shows a detail of the tube of FIG. 2, and Figure 4 shows an axle module comprising a bracing tube according to the invention.

 The chassis with three-axle undercarriage shown in Figure 1 is that of 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 is made up 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 of 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 24D. 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 realizations with a single axle and with a group of two

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 axles and that these axles can be fixed or steered. Likewise, at least one of the axles can be retractable in order to obtain a greater specific axle load when the vehicle is not fully loaded 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.

 As Figure 2 shows, each of the axles of module 3 comprises a chassis bracing tube 31, the two ends 32 and 33 of which are each provided with two flanges 34, 35 consisting of a flat element, hollowed out in its center so to present a hole whose diameter corresponds to the outside diameter of the bracing tube. The flanges 34, 35 are slid over the ends of the bracing tube 31 and attached to the latter by means of circumferential welds.

 The two flanges 34 and 35 are extended transversely with respect to a longitudinal axis of the bracing tube 31 and both parallel and symmetrically with respect to a median plane defined transversely with respect to the axis of the tube

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 bracing 31, by an axle hand 36 or 37. The axle hand 36 is attached to the flange 34, and in the same way the axle hand 37 to the flange 35, by a profile 38A or 38B depending on the side considered. Profile 38A is formed by a flat part intended to be arranged horizontally and another flat part forming an angle of the order of 1350 with the horizontal part. The flange 34, the profile 38A and the axle hand 36 are welded together and the part forming the obtuse angle with the horizontal part and therefore rising towards the bracing tube, surrounds the latter partially from below and is also welded on the bracing tube.

 According to an alternative embodiment of the bracing tube, shown in Figure 3, the flange 34 and, symmetrically, the flange 35 are returned to the plane of symmetry S of the bracing tube so as to form a perpendicular return 38C in the plane of the flange 31 and oriented towards the plane of symmetry S of the bracing tube. In the position of use of the axle, these returns 38C will be horizontal. Furthermore, the return 38C is extended by a portion 38D, essentially flat itself and oriented so as to form an obtuse angle of the order of 135OC with the return 38C. The free symmetry of the part 38D partially surrounds and is welded to the bracing tube.

 According to the variant embodiment shown in FIG. 3, the axle hand 36 comprises a flange 38E which, when the axle hand is mounted on the flange 34 or 35, is oriented parallel to the return 38C and is attached thereto by means of bolts.

 It is specified here for the whole of the text that the explanations of the invention are given by presenting a fixing by bolts. However, and in an equivalent manner within the framework of the present invention, the axle hand 36 or 37 can also be attached to the flange 34 or 35 and in particular to its return 38C by means of rivets.

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 The chassis bracing tube 31 described so far incorporates both the axle hand support function and the manufacturing template for the arrangement of the frame rails 11, 12.

 According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the bracing tube of the chassis 31 also includes a reservoir function. Indeed, industrial vehicles with an authorized weight in excess of six tonnes must be equipped with an air brake. The compressed air necessary for the operation of the air brakes is enclosed in vases provided for this purpose. These vases or at least such a vase is usually attached to the chassis close to the axle or axles or to another location which is suitable for this purpose.

 Unlike this, the embodiment shown in Figure 2 uses the chassis bracing tube 31 as a compressed air tank. Also, the bracing tube 31 comprises two partitions 71, 72 arranged symmetrically with respect to the median plane of the axle which corresponds to the plane of symmetry S of the bracing tube 31, and at a distance from each of the two ends 32, 33 of the spacer tube 31.

The axial distance of the partitions 71, 72 defines the volume of a reservoir 70 that these partitions 71, 72 define with the interior of the bracing tube 31.

 According to a variant, the diameter 70 may consist of a reservoir tube whose external diameter corresponds approximately to the internal diameter of the bracing tube 31 and the ends of which are closed by partitions corresponding to the partitions 71,72 described above. The realization of the compressed air tank function integrated in the bracing tube by an independent tank brings the advantage of being able to choose, for particular embodiments requiring such a choice, two different materials for the tank and the bracing tube. However, in most applications, the bracing tube itself constitutes the wall of the reservoir 70. According to yet another variant, the interior of the bracing tube can be coated on its outer wall.

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 a layer of a material providing special or additional protection to the air tank, just as it is also possible to coat the spacer tube inside to protect it from the effects of humidity such as condensation and l compressed air could generate.

 The bracing tube according to the invention is also provided with at least two nozzles 73, one of which connects the reservoir 70 to a compressor and the other of which connects the reservoir 70 to the axle braking circuit.

Claims (6)

 CLAIMS 1. Chassis for an industrial vehicle comprising two beams (11,12) interconnected by crosspieces (13), characterized in that the chassis also comprises at least one bracing tube (31) of chassis mounted between the beams (11,12).  2. Chassis according to claim 1, characterized in that the bracing tube (31) is formed like a reservoir (70) capable of enclosing compressed air.  3. Chassis according to claim 2, characterized in that the bracing tube (31) comprises two end pieces (73) making it possible to connect the reservoir (70) to a source of compressed air and to the braking circuit.  4. Industrial vehicle comprising a chassis comprising beams (11,12) connected to each other by crosspieces (13), characterized in that the chassis also comprises at least one bracing tube (31) mounted between the beams (11, 12).  5. Vehicle according to claim 4, characterized in that the bracing tube (31) is provided with two axle hands (36, 37) intended to receive an axle.  6. Vehicle according to claim 5, characterized in that the bracing tube (31) comprises a reservoir (70) intended to enclose compressed air.