FR2855799A1 - Moving apparatus e.g. wheel chair, loading/unloading device for motor vehicle, has activation part compressing suspension part for lowering vertical plate and unfolding primary and secondary parts until secondary part reaches ground - Google Patents

Abstract

The device has a height adjusting unit (9) with a primary part articulated on a vehicle and a secondary part articulated on the primary part. A linking unit connects two plates (10, 17) and assures rotation of one part with respect to the other part. An activation part (28) compresses a suspension part (36) for lowering a vertical plate and unfolding the parts until the secondary part reaches the ground.

Description

Device for loading / unloading a platform of a vehicle

automotive

  The present invention relates to the field of devices which make it possible to facilitate the loading / unloading of a platform of a motor vehicle, in particular of a utility van.

  A large number of such devices are known. However, these devices are generally complex, heavy and expensive. In addition, they do not completely facilitate loading and unloading and are not adapted to really facilitate the loading and unloading of a wheelchair on which a disabled person is installed.

  The object of the present invention is to provide a device considerably improving access to a platform of a motor vehicle.

  The device according to the present invention, for loading / unloading a platform of a motor vehicle having suspension means which can be deformed relative to its structure, comprises height compensation means comprising at least two parts, one of which first part is articulated on the vehicle and a second part is articulated on this first part and connecting means connecting these two parts and ensuring the pivoting of one relative to the other; and actuation means connected to said suspension means and to said height compensation means and making it possible, when they act in one direction, to compress said suspension means to lower the platform of the vehicle and deploy said parts of said compensation means until their second part reaches the ground and, when they act in the other direction, to release said suspension means to raise the platform of the vehicle and fold up said parts of said compensating means.

  According to a variant of the present invention, said parts of said height compensation means comprise first and second plates hinged together to constitute, in the deployed position, an access ramp to the vehicle platform.

  According to the present invention, the connecting means of said plates can advantageously comprise at least one actuation cable 5 one end of which is fixed to said second plate and the other end of which is fixed to said vehicle, this actuation cable being deflected on a support carried by at least one of said plates.

  According to the present invention, said actuating cable is preferably arranged so that an increase in the distance between its ends causes the deployment of said parts of said height compensation means.

  According to the present invention, said plates are preferably one against the other in the raised position and substantially aligned in the lowered position.

  According to another variant of the present invention, said first part of said height compensation means comprises at least one deformable structure comprising at least one deformable parallelogram one side of which is carried by the vehicle and its second part comprises a plate carried by the opposite side of said parallelogram, such that between an intermediate position and a low position of said deformable structure, this plate is movable between a high position in which it is substantially aligned with the platform of the vehicle and a low position.

  According to the present invention, one of the other sides of said deformable parallelogram is preferably detachable.

  According to the present invention, between a raised position and said intermediate position of said deformable structure, this deformable structure and said plate are preferably kept folded relative to each other.

  According to the present invention, the connecting means connecting said actuating means to said suspension means can advantageously comprise at least one traction cable.

  According to the present invention, said traction cable can advantageously comprise a muffling acting between the vehicle and a movable part of said suspension means.

  According to the present invention, said traction cable preferably has one end fixed to said first part of said height compensation means.

  According to the present invention, said actuation means preferably comprise at least one jack interposed between the vehicle and the first part of said height compensation means.

  According to the present invention, said actuating means are preferably connected to an opening of the vehicle in order to actuate the latter.

  According to the present invention, said height compensation means are preferably housed vertically in the vehicle when they are in the raised position.

  The present invention will be better understood from the study of devices for loading / unloading a platform of a motor vehicle, described by way of nonlimiting examples and illustrated by the drawing in which: - Figure 1 describes a longitudinal section of a first device according to the present invention, installed on a motor vehicle and in a folded or raised position; - Figure 2 shows a longitudinal section of the first aforementioned device, in an intermediate unfolded position; - Figure 3 shows a longitudinal section of the first aforementioned device, in a fully deployed position; - Figure 4 shows a top view of the first aforementioned device, in a fully extended position; - Figure 5 shows a longitudinal section of a second device according to the present invention, in a folded or raised position; - Figure 6 shows a longitudinal section of the aforementioned second device, in an intermediate unfolded position; - And Figure 7 shows a longitudinal section of the aforementioned second device, in a lowered or fully extended position.

  Referring to Figures 1 to 4, it can be seen that there is shown a device 1 for loading / unloading a platform 2 5 substantially horizontal of a motor vehicle 3 having a rear opening 4 may be closed by a tailgate 7 articulated on the vehicle 3 according to an upper transverse hinge 8.

  The device 1 firstly comprises a height compensation device 9 which comprises a first part constituted by a first rectangular plate 10 which has opposite sides 11 and 12 extending transversely to the vehicle and sides 13 and 14 which s 'extend longitudinally to the vehicle.

  The longitudinal sides 13 of the plate 10 have, on the side of its transverse side 11, extensions 14 which are articulated on 15 lateral plates 15 fixed on the platform 2, behind the latter and on each side of the opening 4, via transverse axes 16.

  The height compensation means 9 also comprise a second part constituted by a second rectangular plate 17 which has two opposite sides 18 and 19 which extend transversely to the vehicle and whose side 18 is articulated on the side 12 of the plate 10 by means of a transverse hinge 20, as well as two other opposite sides 21 which extend longitudinally in correspondence with the longitudinal sides 13 of the plate 10.

  The plates 10 and 17 are arranged so as to be able to pivot between a folded position, in which the first plate 10 is arranged vertically and extends upwards from the transverse hinges 15 and the second plate 17 is folded back and extends downwards from the hinge 20, and an unfolded or deployed position in which the plate 10 is inclined backwards and the second plate extends substantially in the extension of the first plate 10.

  In the folded or raised position shown in FIG. 1, the plates 10 and 17 are in the vehicle 3 so that the tailgate 7 can be closed. In the unfolded position, the tailgate 7 being raised, the plates 10 and 17 are outside the vehicle, the transverse edge 11 of the first plate 10 then being a short distance from the rear edge of the platform 2 and substantially at the same level .

  To rotate the plates 10 and 17 relative to each other between the folded position above and the unfolded position above, the height compensation means 9 comprise two grooved wheels 22 carried laterally by the plates 10 and 17 along the transverse articulation 20 and two lateral actuating cables 23 which have an end 24 fixed on the plates 15, in front of and above the transverse axes 16 and an end 25 fixed laterally on the plate 17, the cables 23 bypassing the wheels 22 from above by passing through their grooves over part of their periphery.

  The actuating cables 23 are arranged and tensioned by return springs not visible in the figures so that when the first plate 10 passes from the above-mentioned raised position to the above-mentioned unfolded position, the distance between the ends 24 and 25 of the latter increases, then causing the rear plate 17 to deploy towards the rear.

  The device 1 also comprises actuating means 26 which comprise two plates 27 fixed on and above the sides 13 of the first plate 10, on the side of the transverse axes 16, and two lateral jacks 28 which are fixed on the one hand on transverse axes 29 mounted on the lateral sides of the platform 2 and transverse axes 30 mounted on the plates 27, the jacks 28 extending along the sides and above the platform 2.

  The actuating means 26 further comprise two lateral traction cables 31, one end 32 of which is fixed to the plates 27 and another end 33 of which is fixed to the vehicle 3. Between these ends 32 and 30 33, the cables 31 form hauling systems 34 which bypass pulleys with grooves 35 carried by the lateral spring suspensions 36, for example helical, with blades or torsion bars, of vehicle 3 and pulleys with grooves 37 carried by the structure of vehicle 3.

  The traction cables 31 are arranged so that, when the jacks 28 are actuated in the direction which move their articulations 29 and 30 and cause the height compensation means 9 to pass from their raised position to their unfolded position described above, the plates 27 5 pull on the traction cables 31. In a first phase the traction cables 31 are stretched by pushing the aforementioned lateral tensioners and, in a second phase these cables 31 bring the wheels 35 and 37 closer to the haulings 34 and compress the spring suspensions 36 of the vehicle, thereby causing the rear part of the vehicle to lower and consequently tilting the platform 2 towards the rear.

  In the final position reached shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the height on the ground of the rear part of the platform 2 is reduced and the plates 10 and 17 are aligned, the transverse edge 19 of the second plate 17 being supported on floor. Thus, access to the platform 2 for loading and unloading any rolling vehicle, in particular a wheelchair carrying a disabled person, is facilitated by the access ramp formed by the platforms 10 and 17 at low inclination due to the length which they represent when they are deployed and to the lowering of the platform 2.

  When the jacks 28 are actuated in the other direction, the spring suspensions 36 of the vehicle 3 are relaxed and released and the height compensation means 9 return to their raised position described above, these movements being essentially obtained by means of the effect of the spring suspensions 36 of the vehicle 3.

  In addition, the device 1 comprises two lateral links 38 which connect the plates 27 to the interior sides of the tailgate 7 respectively by transverse axes 39 and 40, the actuation of the jacks 28 causing in one direction, the opening of the tailgate 7 and in the other direction closing the latter at the same time as the movements 30 described above and without interfering with the latter.

  To control the device which has just been described, it is particularly advantageous for the jacks 28 to be connected to a remote-controlled electronic system, further facilitating its maneuver with a view to accessing the platform 2 of the vehicle 3.

  In order to prevent the traction cables 31 from beating when the device 1 is in its raised position, it is desirable that the latter be subjected to lateral tensioners compensating for the deformations in height of the spring suspensions 36 of the vehicle 3 in current use .

  Referring to Figures 5 to 7, it can be seen that there is shown a device 41 for loading / unloading a platform 42 of a vehicle 43 constituted in the following manner.

  The device 41 comprises height compensation means 44 which laterally comprise first parts 45 made up of vertical plates 46 fixed laterally on the rear part of the platform 44, of bars 47 one end of which is fixed on transverse axes 48 mounted on the plates 46, plates 49 which carry transverse axes 50 on which the other ends of the bars 47 are articulated, upper bars 51 articulated on the plates 49 by means of transverse axes 52 and d transverse axes 53 which are fixed on the plates 46 above the transverse axes 48, the other end of the arms 51 having notches 51a in which the transverse axes 53 can be engaged.

  The arms 47 carry above the plates 54 and, as in the previous example, lateral jacks 55 mounted between on the one hand transverse axes 56 fixed on the platform 42 and transverse axes 56a fixed on the plates 54 .

  As in the previous example, lateral traction cables 57 57 connect on the one hand to the plates 54, which correspond to the plates 27 of the previous example, and on the other hand to the spring suspensions 59 of the vehicle 43 by the intermediate mufflings.

  The height compensation means 44 also comprise a second part constituted by a loading / unloading plate 58, which is fixed laterally on the plates 49.

  When the device 41 is in a raised position shown in FIG. 5, the bars 47 are arranged vertically and upwards above the rear part of the platform 42, the bars 51 hang down from the axes 52 and the plate 58 is suspended from the plates 49 and is disposed between the bars 47, the edge 58a of the plate 58 being near the platform 42 and being secured to the bars 47 by screws 60. In addition, the traction cables 57 do not constrain the spring suspensions 59 and are preferably subjected to lateral tensioners 5 compensating for the deformations in height of the spring suspensions 59 of the vehicle 3 in current use.

  In order for the device 41 to pass from the raised position described above to an intermediate position shown in FIG. 6, the jacks 55 are actuated in the direction which move the transverse axes 56 10 and 56a apart.

  In an unarmed intermediate position, the bars 47 reach a horizontal position and are oriented towards the rear and the plate 58 is then disposed horizontally at the level of the platform 42 of the vehicle 43, the plate 58 extending towards the front from the plates 48 and its transverse edge 59 being disposed near the rear transverse edge of the platform 42.

  At the same time, in a first phase, the traction cables 57 are tensioned by pushing the aforementioned lateral tensioners and, in a second phase, these cables 31 partially compress the spring suspensions 59 of the vehicle 43 to an intermediate position, thus causing a partial lowering to an intermediate position of the rear part of the vehicle and consequently a partial inclination towards the rear of the platform 42.

  The bars 51 can then be hooked to the fixed plates 46 by engaging their notches 51a on the transverse axes 53, so that the bars 47 and 51 constitute with the plates 49 and the fixed plates 46 parallelograms extending in planes vertical longitudinally to the vehicle. Then, the plate 58 is separated from the bars 47 by actuating the screws 60. The plate 58 is then carried in cantilever forward by the plates 49.

  The device 41 is then in an armed intermediate position visible in FIG. 6.

  It is then possible to pass a load, for example a rolling load such as a wheelchair, from the platform 42 onto the platform 58 By again actuating the jacks 55 in the direction which move their axes of articulation 56 away and 56a, a vertical and downward deformation of the above-mentioned parallelograms is caused relative to the fixed articulation axes 48 and 53 and consequently the descent of the plate 58 parallel to itself.

  At the same time, the plates 54 pull on the traction cables 10 57 which cause additional compression of the spring suspensions 59 of the vehicle 43 in order to lower the platform 42 even more.

  The device 41 then reaches a low position shown in FIG. 7, in which the loading / unloading plate 58 touches the ground and the platform is clearly lowered.

  It is then easy to unload the load that the plate 58 carries or to place on the plate 58 a load to be brought onto the platform 42.

  By actuating the jacks 55 in the other direction, the device 41 can be brought back to its above-mentioned intermediate armed position, mainly under the effect of the extension of the spring suspensions 59 to its intermediate position, this extension allows the lifting the load placed on the platform and lifting the platform 42 to its intermediate position.

  When the device 41 has reached its armed intermediate position, the load can then be passed from the plate 58 onto the platform 42 of the vehicle by a substantially horizontal movement.

  No longer needing to load or unload, the device 41 is placed in its unarmed intermediate position by hooking the plate 58 to the bars 47 by means of the screws 60 and 30 by unhooking the bars 51 from the transverse axes 53 of so as to release the above deformable parallelograms.

  The jacks 55 can then be actuated again in the direction which brings these hinge pins 56 and 56a together so as to raise the height compensation means 44 to their raised position described above and release the spring suspensions 59 from the vehicle 43.

  Of course, the device 41 could be installed on a vehicle such as that of FIGS. 1 to 4.

  In a variant, the plates 10 and 17 of the device 1 and the plate 58 of the device 41 could carry longitudinal guide rails preventing the fall from the sides of the ramp that they constitute, in particular during the ascent or descent of 'rolling machines.

  The present invention is not limited to the examples described above. Many variant embodiments are possible without departing from the

  framework defined by the appended claims.

Claims (14)

  1. Device for loading / unloading a platform of a motor vehicle having deformable suspension means with respect to its structure, characterized in that it comprises height compensation means (9; 44) comprising 5 at least two parts (10, 17; 45, 58) of which a first part is articulated on the vehicle and a second part is articulated on this first part and connecting means connecting these two parts and ensuring the pivoting of the one in relation to the other; and actuating means (28; 55) connected to said suspension means (36; 59) and 10 to said height compensation means (9; 44) and making it possible, when they act in one direction, to compress said means of suspension for lowering the platform of the vehicle and deploying said parts of said compensation means until their second part reaches the ground and, when they act in the other direction, to release said suspension means to raise the platform from vehicle and folding said parts of said compensation means.   2. Device according to claim 1, characterized in that said parts of said height compensation means comprise first and second plates (10, 17) hinged together to form, in the deployed position, an access ramp to the vehicle platform.   3. Device according to claim 2, characterized in that the means for connecting said plates comprise at least one actuating cable (23) one end of which is fixed to said second plate and the other end of which is fixed to said vehicle, this actuating cable being deflected on a support carried by at least one of said plates.   4. Device according to one of claims 2 and 3, characterized in that said actuating cable (23) is arranged so that an increase in the distance between its ends causes the deployment of said parts of said means for compensating for height.   5. Device according to any one of claims2 to 4, characterized in that in the raised position, said plates (10, 17) are one against the other and in the lowered position, these plates are substantially aligned .   6. Device according to claim 1, characterized in that said first part of said height compensation means 5 comprises at least one deformable structure (45) comprising at least one deformable parallelogram one side of which is carried by the vehicle and its second part comprises a plate (58) carried by the opposite side of said parallelogram, such that between an intermediate position and a low position of said deformable structure, this plate is movable 10 between a high position in which it is substantially aligned with the platform of the vehicle and a low position.   7. Device according to claim 6, characterized in that one (51) of the other sides of said deformable parallelogram is detachable.   8. Device according to one of claims 6 and 7, characterized in that between a raised position and said intermediate position of said deformable structure, this deformable structure (47) and said plate (58) are kept folded one compared to each other.   9. Device according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the connection means connecting said actuation means to said suspension means comprise at least one traction cable (31; 57).   10. Device according to claim 9, characterized in that said traction cable comprises a muffling (34) acting between the vehicle and a movable part of said suspension means.   11. Device according to one of claims 9 and 10, characterized in that said traction cable has one end fixed to said first part (27; 54) of said height compensation means.   12. Device according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that said actuating means comprise at least one actuator (28; 55) interposed between the vehicle and the first part of said height compensation means.   13. Device according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that said actuating means are connected to an opening (7) of the vehicle in order to actuate the latter.   14. Device according to any one of the preceding claims 5, characterized in that the said height compensation means (9) are housed vertically in the vehicle when they are in the raised position.