GB2029299A - Improvements relating to vehicle presses - Google Patents

Abstract

A vehicle press is provided which is formed from a lower base table 17 and an upper pressure table 33 interconnected at their ends by rams 15 by means of pivotal connections 18 and 44. The base table 17 carries a vertically extending support channel 27 in which is slidably mounted a bearing block 30 which receives a shaft 29 lying parallel with the base table 17 and pressure table 33 and extending from one side of the pressure table 33. By this means the pressure table 33 is free to pivot about the shaft 29 axis into a tilted attitude, the pivotal connections 18 and 44 between the rams 15 and base table 17 and pressure table 33 allowing for compensation of such movement. The pressure table 33 may be guided by pairs of vertical guided pillars 50 at either end of the base table 17 so as to resist possible sideways movement of the rams 15. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Improvements relating to vehicle presses This invention relates to vehicle presses which are utiiised for crushing motor vehicles into a compact state.

It is an object of this invention to provide a vehicle press of a height which is capable of being transported from site to site and which will be of relatively simple but rugged construction.

Accordingly this invention provides a vehicle press comprising a lower base table and an upper pressure table inter-connected at their ends by rams; wherein the base table carries a vertically extending support channel in which is slidably mounted a bearing block which receives a shaft lying parallel with the base table and pressure table and extending from one side of the pressure table, so that the pressure table is free to pivot about the shaft axis, the rams being pivotally interconnected at their respective ends to both the base table and the pressure table.

When such a press is used to crush a vehicle the pivotability of the pressure table made possible by rotation of the pressure table about the shaft axis and compensating tilting movement of the rams with respect to both the base table and the pressure table, enables the pressure table to adopt varying angles out of the horizontal (from end to end), if differential resistance to movement between the two ends of the pressure table is met as a vehicle is crushed.

It is preferred that the rams should be provided in pairs at either end of the press, the respective ends of the rams of each pair being pivotally mounted about common axes. Whilst, in theory, screw-tye rams could be utilised, in practice hydraulic rams will prove to be most suitable as they will provide automatic compensation. As a modification the base table may carry side support guide pillars extending upwardly to either side of the rams at each end of the press. These guide pillars will resist any possible tendency for sideways movement of the rams during operation.

In the preferred embodiment back plates are secured to the base table so as to extend to either side of the support channel, to which they are secured, and towards the ends of the base table.

This provides added support for the support channel and also provides a back wail against which a vehicle to be crushed may be positioned.

The bearing block carried by the support channel will ideally incorporate a heavy duty bearing in which the shaft is free to rotate whilst the other end of the shaft will be secured to the pressure table. It will be appreciated, however, that the shaft could be free to rotate with respect to both the bearing block and the pressure table or could be fixed to the bearing block and free to rotate within a bearing in the pressure table.

It is greatly preferred that the pressure table should be of swan-necked form so that the ends of the table extend upwardly to the pivotal interconnection points with the rams. The base table may also be recessed correspondingly to a certain extent.

To enable the vehicle press to be able to operate on vehicles of large width (in one or two crushing stages), it is advantageous to provide the base table with adjustable outriggers which can be moved out from a storing position within the base table to provide support for parts of a vehicle to be crushed which will overlap the side of the base table.

For most purposes it is preferred that the vehicle press should be readily transportable from place to place and thus the base table is ideally mounted on wheels in the form of a trailer which may be attached to a tractive unit.

The invention may be preformed in various ways and preferred embodiments thereof will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a part-sectional side elevation of a mobile vehicle press of this invention, showing the pressure table thereof in a closed position; Figure 2 is a cross-sectional side elevation of the press of Figure 1, but showing the pressure table in an open position; Figure 3 is a plan view looking down on top of the press in the direction of arrows 3-3 in Figure 1; Figure 4 is a vertical cross-section on line 4-4 of Figure 1; Figure 4A is a cross-sectional view similar to that of Figure 4, but illustrating a modification to the construction of the vehicle press;; Figure 5 is a cross-section on line 55 of Figure 1 also exposing the end elevation of a pair of rams on that side of the press in their closed position; Figure 6 is an enlarged view,showing details of a back mounted guide system of the press viewed from the cross-section line 6-6 of Figure 3; Figure 7 is a horizontal cross-section through the guide system on line 7-7 of Figure 6; Figure 2A is a view similar to Figure 2 but illustrating a modified form of press of the invention; and Figure 5A is a view similar to that of Figure 5, but taken on the section line 5A--5A of Figure 2A.

A semi-trailer shown in Figures 1 to 7 has main I-beam runners 10 with strengthening cross members 16 at regular intervals welded to and between the main I-beams 10. The semi-trailer can be drawn by means of any conventional tractive unit 12 with a fifth wheel coupling table 13. The rear end 14 of the trailer is of standard construction with a single axle suspension unit.

The trailer carries a main base table 17 of heavy plate construction complete with stiffeners 22 (Figure 4) at regular intervals at the front side.

Stiffeners 23 at similar intervals on the rear side in turn support a back main channel section 24. Back plates 31 and 32 supported by back posts 25 stiffened by bracings 26 form a back wall for the pressure table. The back posts 25 are in turn supported from the rearwardly extended back channel frame 24. The centre open region between the back plates consists of two channel sections 27 which extend from the base table 1 7 to the extreme height of the back plates 31 and 32. A floating centre plate (Figure 6) consists of two outer skid channels 28 coupled to a bearing block 30 with a heavy duty bearing built thereinto.

A shaft 29 extends to the back of the pressure table and is able to rotate axially within the bearing in the block 30 which is itself able to move upwards or downwards at the same time.

A main pressure table is constructed from a base plate 33 with two.l-beams 35 running parallel along the length thereof and spaced equally each side of the center line of the base tabe 17. Internal longitudinal plates 41 and stiffeners 42 are spaced at regular intervals.

Exte rn a udinaS plates 36 form an outer vertical swan neck and outer stiffening plates, 34=are also provided. The swan neck additionally consists of internal stiffening plates 40 and 39 together with head plates 38 and back plates 37.

The outer edges of the pressure table are stiffened by horizontal plates 48.

A quadruple set of rams 1 5 (whose upper ends support the pressure table) are situated two at either end of the press and are connected at their uppermost ends by means of shafts 44 with locating sleeves 43, 45 and 46. The rams are similary connected at their lower ends by shafts 18 having locating sleeves 19, 20 and 21. The rams are allowed to pivot freely about the shafts 44 and 18 but cannot move sideways in the direction of the axes of the shafts 44 and 18. The hydraulic cylinders of the rams 15 are operated by means of hydraulic fluid pumped under pressure through hydraulic lines 46 and 47 and connected to an hydraulic control unit 11 mounted on the front end table 49.

A vehicle to be crushed can be placed on the main base table 1 7 by any suitable means such as a forklift truck after the pressure table has been raised to the position illustrated in Figure 2. The pressure table will then be activated by means of the quadruple ram system and will also be free to tiit about the axis of shaft 29 so that either end of the pressure table can be higher or lower than the opposite end, the rams 15 tilting about the shafts 44 and 18 to compensate for such movement.

After the vehicle has been crushed it will also be possible to place another vehicle on top of that already crushed and repeat the operation.

Prior to transporting the press to a new position the pressure table will be lowered to its lowest position as shown in Figure 1.

The vehicle press illustrated in Figures 2A and 5A is substantially identical to that shown in Figures 1 to 7 of the drawings except that it incorporates a pair of vertical guide pillars 50 at either end. These pillars 50 guide the two ends of the swan-necked pressure table and also serve to resist possible sideways movement of the rams 15.

In the arrangement shown in Figure 4A, the main pressure table is shown in the raised position and the trailer body incorporates an adjustable outrigger 50, carrying a power base extension plate 62. The outrigger is powered by an hydraulic ram 61 which can move the outrigger from a closed position where the ram 61 and the plate 62 are disposed within the normal confines of the trailer body, and the extended position illustrated in Figure 4A. Whilst in the extended position, the plate 62 will be supported by movable supports 63. This arrangement enables abnormally wide vehicle structures to be carried for crushing by the vehicle press, if necessary in two stages by rotating the semi-crushed vehicle body on the trailer through 1 800 after crushing the one side of the vehicle body with the pressure table.

It will be appreciated that the precise construction of the apparatus may be modified in various ways as may occur to those skilled in the art. For example it would be possible to utilise a flat bed main base table and reduce the depth of the swan-necked pressure table correspondingly.

Furthermore it will be appreciated that pneumatic rams or screw-type rams may be employed instead of hydraulic rams.

Claims (12)

1. A vehicle press comprising a lower base table and an upper pressure table interconnected at their ends by rams, wherein the base table carries a vertically extending support channel in which is slidably mounted a bearing block which receives a shaft lying parallel with the base table and pressure table and extending from one side of the pressure table, so that the pressure table is free to pivot about the shaft axis, the rams being pivotally interconnected at their respective ends to both the base table and the pressure table.

2. A vehicle press according to claim 1 , wherein the rams are provided in pairs at either end of the press, the respective ends of the rams of each pair being pivotally mounted about common axes.

3. A vehicle press according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the rams are pneumatic or hydraulic rams.

4. A vehicle press according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the base table carries side support guide pillars extending upwardly to either side of the rams at each end of the press.

5. A vehicle press according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein back plates are secured to the base table so as to extend to either side of the support channel, to which they are secured, and towards the ends of the base table.

6. A vehicle press according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the bearing block carried by, the support channel incorporates a heavy duty bearing in which the shaft is free to rotate whilst the other end of the shaft is secured to the pressure table.

7. A vehicle press according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the shaft is free to rotate with respect to both the bearing block and the pressure table or is fixed to the bearing block and free to rotate within a bearing in the pressure table.

8. A vehicle press according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the pressure table is of swan-necked form so that the ends of the table extend upwardly to the pivotal interconnection points with the rams.

9. A vehicle press according to claim 8, wherein the base table is recessed to a certain extent to correspond to the shape defined by the swan neck.

10. A vehicle press according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the base table is provided with adjustable outriggers which can be moved out from a stowing position within the base table to provide support for parts of a vehicle to be crushed which will overlap the side of the base table.

11. A vehicle press according to any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein the base table is mounted on wheels in the form of a trailer which may be attached to a tractive unit.

12. A vehicle press of a form substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings.