FR2875582A1 - Tilting lighting column blocking device, has rigid plate with fixation unit fixed on base of column and with locking unit retaining tilting mast tilted in inclined position with respect to base when plate is fixed on base - Google Patents

Abstract

The device has a rigid plate (30) with a fixation unit (40) removably fixed on a fixed base of a tilting lighting column. The plate has a tilting mast locking unit (50) retaining a tilting mast (6) tilted in an inclined position with respect to the base when the plate is fixed on the base. The units (40, 50) are placed at a distance (D) greater than or equal to an outer transversal dimension of a part (8) of the mast. An independent claim is also included for a method for blocking a lighting column.

Description

The present invention relates to a device for blocking a candelabrum,

  as well as a method of blocking a candelabrum.

  It applies to tilting mast candelabra, that is to say, candelabra whose upper part is mounted swinging on a fixed base for easy maintenance and which are generally located in places difficult to access, where the use of a maintenance nacelle is impossible or dangerous.

  FIGS. 1 and 2 show an example of such a candelabrum, generally designated by the reference numeral 1. This candelabrum 1 comprises a base 2 made in the form of a generally frustoconical barrel of axis XX that is substantially vertical and whose lower end is a foot 4 firmly anchored in the ground 5. This foot 4 is, for example, mounted on a base embedded in the coating constituting the ground 5, such as tar. The candelabrum 1 also comprises a mast 6 mounted on the upper end of the base 2 to tilt about an axis Z-Z substantially perpendicular to the axis X-X. The portion of this mast articulated on the shaft 3 consists of an arm 7 comprising, on the one hand, a generally cylindrical body 8 with a circular base and YY axis and, on the other hand, a generally shaped tail 9 a half truncated cone YY axis, whose inner face is substantially complementary to a portion of the outer face of the frustoconical barrel 3. At the free end of the body 8, the mast 6 is equipped with a butt 10. A rectilinear part 10A of this stock has a generally cylindrical shape with a circular base, sized to be received inside the cylindrical body 8 and to be immobilized there by fastening screws 11, for example eight in number, located in several locations distributed at a time along the periphery and the length of the body 8. The butt 10 also has a bent portion 10B integral with the straight portion 10A and extending generally in the plane containing both the YY and Z axes - Z. At the e free end of this bent portion 10B is arranged a light 12, that is to say a light source for illuminating the ground 5. The bent shape 3o of the butt 10 is only illustrative and, alternatively not shown, this butt may be substantially rectilinear.

  In FIG. 1, the candelabrum 1 is represented in the configuration of use, that is to say a configuration in which the mast 6 is erected vertically and the fire 12, when powered electrically, illuminates the zone of the ground 5 surrounding the foot 4 of the base 2. In this configuration, the axis YY of the arm 7 is substantially coincident with the axis XX of the shaft 3 of the base 2 so that the tail 9 covers the right lateral flank of it was, considering that the left and right directions correspond to those of an observer looking at the candelabrum 1 according to the arrow 13 indicated in FIG.

  When it is necessary to carry out a maintenance operation on the butt 10 and / or the fire 12, the mast 6 is tilted from its upright position in FIG. 1 to its inclined position in FIG. 2. For this purpose, the arm 7 is tilted about the ZZ axis, as indicated by the arrow 14, an intermediate position of the arm being shown in dashed lines in Figure 2. The setting in motion of the arm 7 is permitted by unlocking a non-mechanical locking member shown, which until now held the tail 9 in contact with the right side of the barrel 3 of the base 2, being received in an orifice provided in the shank 9. The control of the tilting of the mast 6 is initiated by driving by hand the shank 9 from its position in FIG. 1 to its dotted position in FIG. 2, from which a rope 16, slid into an orifice 15 visible in FIG. 2, makes it possible to control the end of the tilting movement, the butt 10 and fire 12 con the tilting movement of the mast 6 is continued until the butt portion 10A is situated in the vicinity of the left flank of the barrel 3, as shown in solid lines at FIG. Figure 2. The weight of the butt 10 and the fire 12 makes this configuration generally stable. The maintenance operation can then be performed by an operator located at ground level 5, without using a nacelle, ladder or the like. Thus, the tilting of the mast 6 is achievable by one person and only requires the use of conventional tools.

  However, if during the maintenance operation, the fire 12 and possibly the buttstock 10 are disassembled from the arm 7, no sufficient counter-weight allows the retention of the mast 6 in an inclined maintenance position. Under the effect of the weight of the shank 9, the arm 7 then suddenly passes from its inclined maintenance position to its upright position of use of FIG. 1, which constitutes a major risk of accident, both for the person in charge 2875582 3 maintenance only for people in the vicinity of base 2 during the maintenance intervention.

  To limit the risks of this situation, two solutions are used to date. A first solution consists in performing the maintenance intervention in the presence of two operators, a first operator carrying out the maintenance operation at the level of the fire 12 while the other operator prevents the mast 6 from returning to its upright position. . If the maintenance operation is performed by only one person, the latter takes the precaution, before removing the fire 12 and / or the butt 10, to attach a rope 1 o around the arm 7 and the base 2 to firmly press and hold the body 8 against the shaft 3. The use of such a rope is however impractical and relatively dangerous because of the risk of inadvertent release of the rope. In addition, the presence of this rope wrapped around the arm and the base considerably reduces access to the screws 11, which complicates the disassembly and / or reassembly of the butt 10.

  The object of the present invention is to provide a locking device in the maintenance configuration of a candelabrum such as the candelabrum 1 described above, which is practical and fast to use and which limits as much as possible the risk of accident .

  For this purpose, the invention has for one object a locking device for a tilting mast candelabrum, characterized in that it comprises a rigid plate provided at the same time with a removable fixing means on a fixed base of the candelabrum and a mast attachment means, adapted to retain the mast tilted in a position inclined relative to the base when the plate is fixed on the base.

  The use of this device is easy and fast because it only requires the cooperation, on the one hand, the fastening means with the base of the candelabrum and, secondly, the means of attachment with the mast candelabra. The implementation of this device can be performed by a single operator, and this safely. The inadvertent release of this device is prevented by the rigidity of the plate. In addition, this device makes it possible to limit its zone of attachment to the mast of the candelabrum so as to guarantee good access to the elements of this mast, in particular to the securing screws of a stick.

  According to other characteristics of this device, taken separately or in any technically possible combination: the fastening means and the attachment means are located at a distance from one another greater than or equal to the external transverse dimension the part of the mast intended to be hooked by the attachment means; - The fastening means and / or the attachment means are secured to the plate; the fastening means and / or the fastening means are at least partially articulated with respect to the plate; the fastening means is adapted to cooperate with the base of the candelabrum in a first plane and the fastening means is adapted to cooperate with the mast in a second plane, these first and second planes being inclined relative to one another; another from a non-zero angle; - The fastening means and / or the attachment means are adapted to cooperate respectively with the base and the pole of the candelabra by complementarity of shapes; - With the part of the base, on which is mounted the mast, having a generally frustoconical shape, the fastening means comprises a curved rigid piece C-shaped, closed over 180 and having both a spacing between the edges C greater than the outer diameter of a first section of the frustoconical portion and an inner diameter substantially equal to the outer diameter of a second section of the frustoconical portion; - The attachment means comprises a U-shaped curved rigid part whose curved portion is closed on 180 or less than 180 and has an inner diameter greater than or equal to the outer diameter of the mast; one of the branches of the U-shaped curved piece is in the rectilinear extension of the plate; the C-piece and the curved part of the U-shaped piece extend from the same face of the plate; - The fastening means and / or the attachment means are each equipped with a flexible coating adapted to be interposed between the means and the base or mast candelabra.

  The invention also relates to a method of blocking a tilt pole candelabrum, characterized in that it comprises successive steps consisting of: positioning a blocking device at the same time against a sidewall of a fixed base of the candelabra and a flank of the mast tilted in a position inclined relative to the base and translate the locking device along the base so as, firstly, to fix a portion of the device on the base and to on the other hand, hook another part of the device to the mast.

  The invention will be better understood on reading the description which follows, given solely by way of example and with reference to the drawings, in which: FIGS. 1 and 2 are perspective views of a mast candelabrum; pivoting, in respective configurations of use and maintenance; FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a locking device according to the invention; FIG. 4 is an elevational view along the arrow IV indicated in FIG. 5 is an elevational view along the arrow V indicated in FIG. 6 is a section along the plane VI-VI indicated in FIG. 4; FIGS. 7A and 7B are diagrammatic elevational views taken along the arrow VII indicated in FIG. 2 and illustrating the use of the device of FIG. 3 in order to block the candelabrum of FIGS. 1 and 2 in the maintenance configuration.

  FIGS. 3 to 6 show a locking device 20 comprising essentially three parts, namely: a generally flat plate 30 of substantially parallelepipedal shape and extending in length along a median axis AA, a split sleeve in C 40 , secured to one of the longitudinal ends, referenced 31, of the plate 30, and - a U-shaped hook 50, integral with the plate 30, at the other longitudinal end 32 of the plate, the hook and the plate thus forming a generally J-shaped integral part. The distance along the axis AA separating the split bushing 40 from the hook 50 is denoted D in FIG. 4.

  The plate 30 and the hook 50 are made of a rigid material, for example metal, in particular steel. The sleeve C 40 is preferably also made of metal and is welded at the end 31 of the plate 30 along a weld line 33 substantially perpendicular to the axis 1 o A-A.

  The bushing C 40 is in the form of a ring with a circular base, the central axis B-B is substantially parallel to the plane defined by the plate 30 and whose inner diameter is noted d40. As shown in FIG. 6, this ring is closed on more than 180, being interrupted on a portion of its periphery generally opposite to the weld line 33. This interruption forms a longitudinal slot 41 open at an angle a, centered on the BB axis, worth about 90 for the example shown. The distance separating the edges of the slot 41 is denoted d41.

  The axis B-B does not extend parallel to the weld line 33 but in an inclined manner. Thus, by referencing CC the axis which extends both parallel to the plane of the plate 30, following a diameter of the annular sleeve 40 and located in the median plane P1 of this sleeve along the axis BB, the projection of this axis CC in the plane of the plate 30 is inclined relative to the axis AA of an angle [3 non-zero and substantially equal to 9 for the example shown.

  The inner wall of the sleeve 40 is coated with a sheath 42 of rubber or a flexible synthetic material.

  The U-shaped hook 50 comprises, on the side of the plate 30, a main body 51 of generally semi-cylindrical shape of U-U axis and diameter noted d50.

  3o The U-U axis is substantially parallel to the plane of the plate 30 and its projection in this plane is substantially perpendicular to the axis A-A. The median plane P2 of the hook 50 along the U-U axis contains the axis A-A and is thus inclined by the angle R with respect to the median plane P1 of the sleeve 40.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the value of the angle of curvature y, centered on the axis UU, of the body 51 is slightly smaller than 180 so that the free end portion 52 of the hook 50, which is essentially flat, is not strictly parallel to the plate 30 but inclined with respect to the plate so as to move away from it in the direction of the socket 40.

  The semi-cylindrical body 51 of the hook 50 extends from the same face 34 of the plate 30, as the split sleeve 40.

  The inner wall of the hook 50 is covered with a sheath 53 made of a material similar to that of the sheath 42 of the sleeve 40. This sheath 53 extends along the axis A-A as far as a portion of the plate 30.

  The use of the device 20 to block in maintenance configuration the candelabrum 1 of Figures 1 and 2 is as follows: In a first step, the tilting mast 6 of the candelabrum 1 is driven around the ZZ axis so as to pass from its use position of Figure 1 to its maintenance position of Figure 2, as described above. When the mast 6 is fully tilted, as shown in solid lines in Figure 2, its axis YY form with the axis XX of the shaft 3 of the base 2 an angle 0 of the order of a few degrees, as shown in FIG. Fig 7A schematically, the taper of the barrel 3 being exaggerated for reasons of visibility. In this configuration, and as long as the fire 12 and the butt 10 are not dismantled, the tilted position of the mast 6 is relatively stable so that the operator can freely manipulate the device 20 to install it on the candelabrum 1 as described. below.

  The operator manually positions the device 20 so that the face 34 of the plate 30 faces the rear of the base 2 and the mast 6, the rear sides of these elements being their opposite side to that seen from the front by an observer looking at the candelabrum 1 along the arrow 13 of FIG. 1. More precisely, the operator brings the device 20 to a height of the base 2, along the axis XX, where a first section 3A of the frustoconical barrel 3 has an external transverse dimension d3A less than the distance d41 separating the edges of the slot 41 of the C 40 bushing, while the hook 50 is placed so that its axis UU converges towards the axis XX of the base 2. In other words, according to the precise value imposed on the angle θ, the axis YY extends generally parallel to the axis UU. The device 20 is then translated forward so as to place this section 3A inside the C-socket 40, as shown in FIG. 7A, with the axes X-X and B-B being substantially parallel. If necessary, the device 20 is rotated about the axis BB so as to bring the face 34 of the plate 30 to the rear flank of the body 8, or to press this face 34 against the body 8. In so far as the inside diameter d50 of the hook 50 is greater than the outside diameter d8 of the cylindrical body 8, the flat end 52 is then disposed further forward than the body 8.

  The cylindrical body 8 of the arm 7 does not interfere with the introduction of the section 3A into the bore of the bushing C 40 due to the sufficient value of the distance D separating the bushing of the hook 50, this value being provided greater than the diameter external d8 of the body 8. Note that if the distance D is only slightly greater than the diameter d8, the inclination of the mast 6 relative to the base 2 can be adjusted so as to almost press the body 8 against the side lateral of the barrel 3.

  The operator then slides the device 20 in the direction of the foot 4, in a direction generally parallel to the axis XX, as indicated by the arrow 21, so as to make the axes XX and BB coincide, up to that the sleeve C 40 is located at the height of a second section 3B of the barrel 3 whose outer transverse dimension d3B is substantially equal to the inside diameter d40 of the sleeve, as shown schematically in Fig 7B. The sleeve 40 is then stuck on the base 2 of the candelabrum 1.

  The displacement in translation of the device 20 between FIGS. 7A and 7B brings the U-shaped hook 50 into engagement with a section 8A of the body 8. The attachment of this section 8A is facilitated by the inclination of the end portion 52 of the hook, which, even if the body 8 is not completely pressed against the face 34 of the plate 30, cooperates with the front flank of the body 8 to cause a slight rotation of the device 20 around the axis BB relative to the candelabrum 1.

  The sleeves 42 and 53, then interposed in a pressed manner between the device 20 and the candelabrum 1, improve the adhesion of the device on the candelabrum and avoid damaging the base 2 and the arm 7 during its introduction.

  In the configuration of FIG. 7B, the hook 50 prevents the arm 7 from straightening, that is to say, from tilting from its maintenance position to its position of use of FIG. 1. Thus, even if the fire 12 and the butt 10 are dismounted from the mast 6, the arm 7 is blocked in a tilting manner about the axis ZZ against the bottom of the semi-cylindrical body 51, the value of the angle 9 formed by the axes XX and YY being then substantially equal to that of the angle R between the hook 50 and the sleeve C 40. In other words, in Figure 7B, the axes YY and UU are substantially parallel.

  In addition, the section 8A of the arm 7 in engagement with the hook 50 has a longitudinal dimension small enough to not hinder access to the screws 11 for securing the butt 10 to the body 8. The possible disassembly of the butt 10 is therefore possible, without taking the risk of a sudden tilting of the arm 7 to its position of use of Figure 1. In addition, the distance D between the sleeve 40 and the hook 50 allows, when the arm 7 is positioned at the bottom of the semi-cylindrical body 51 of the hook 50 as in Figure 7B, to have, between the arm and the shaft 3, a sufficient lateral clearance to easily access the screws 11 located opposite the left side of this drum.

  Once the maintenance operation is completed, the device 20 is disengaged. The sleeve 40 is loosened by translating the device 20 up to the height of the section 3A of the barrel 3 and the device is moved backwards.

  Various arrangements and variants of the locking device 20 described above are furthermore conceivable: - instead of making the angle 13 between the C-bushing 40 and the U-hook 50 via the weld line 33, this angle can be obtained, partially or totally, by inclining the hook 50 vis-à-vis the plate 30; - The removable attachment of the C-socket 40 on the shank 3 of the base 2 can be locked by a clamping member, particularly when the shank 3 does not have a shape, such as the frustoconical shape, allowing the jamming of the socket 40; and / or - the C 40 sleeve and / or the hook 50 may be at least partly hingedly connected to the plate 30 so as to be adaptable to a larger number of bases and / or candelabra poles ; locking means of the device on the candelabrum are then essential.

2875582 11

Claims (12)

  1. Device (20) for locking a candelabrum (1) with tilt mast (6), characterized in that it comprises a rigid plate (30) provided with both a means (40) for removable attachment on a fixed base (2) of the candelabrum (1) and a means (50) for attaching the mast (6), adapted to hold the mast tilted in a position inclined relative to the base when the plate is fixed on the based.   2. Device according to claim 1, characterized in that the fastening means (40) and the attachment means (50) are located at a distance (D) from each other greater than or equal to the transverse dimension outside (d8) of the portion (8) of the mast (6) provided to be hooked by the attachment means.   3. Device according to one of claims 1 or 2, characterized in that the fixing means (40) and / or the attachment means (50) are secured to the plate (30).   4. Device according to one of claims 1 or 2, characterized in that the fastening means (40) and / or the attachment means (50) are at least partially articulated relative to the plate (30). ).   5. Device according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the fixing means (40) is adapted to cooperate with the base (2) of the candelabrum (1) in a first plane (PI) and the means of hooking (50) is adapted to cooperate with the mast (6) in a second plane (P2), these first and second planes being inclined relative to each other by a non-zero angle ((3).   6. Device according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the fixing means (40) and / or the attachment means (50) are adapted to cooperate respectively with the base (2) and the mast (6). ) candelabrum (1) by complementarity of forms.   7. Device according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that, with the portion (3) of the base (2), on which is mounted the mast (6), having a generally frustoconical shape, the fastening means comprises a rigid C-shaped piece (40) closed on more than 180 and having both a gap (d41) between the edges of the upper C to the outer diameter (d3A) of a first section (3A). the frustoconical portion (3) and an inner diameter (d40) substantially equal to the outer diameter (d3B) of a second section (3B) of the frustoconical portion (3).   8. Device according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the attachment means comprises a rigid piece (50) curved U-shaped whose curved portion (51) is closed on 180 or less than 180 and has an inside diameter (d50) greater than or equal to the outside diameter (d8) of the mast (6).   9. Device according to claim 8, characterized in that one o 1 branches of the curved U-shaped piece (50) is in the straight continuation of the plate (30).   10. Device according to claim 7 taken in combination with one of claims 8 or 9, characterized in that the C-piece (40) and the curved portion (51) of the U-piece (50) extend from a same face (34) of the plate (30).   11. Device according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the fixing means (40) and / or the attachment means (50) are each equipped with a flexible coating (42, 53) adapted to be interposed between this means and the base (2) or the mast (6) of the candelabrum (1).   12. A method of blocking a candelabrum (1) with tilt mast (6), characterized in that it comprises successive steps of: positioning a locking device (20) at a time against a side of a base (2) the candelabrum and a flank of the mast tilted in a position inclined relative to the base, and - translate (arrow 21) the locking device (20) along the base (2) so as to, a on the other hand, attaching a part (40) of the device to the base and, on the other hand, hooking another part (50) of the device to the mast (6).