WO2003047788A1

WO2003047788A1 - Method for producing wire meshes

Info

Publication number: WO2003047788A1
Application number: PCT/CH2002/000658
Authority: WO
Inventors: Carsten Schauhoff; Max Hollenweger
Original assignee: H.A. Schlatter Ag
Priority date: 2001-12-07
Filing date: 2002-12-04
Publication date: 2003-06-12
Also published as: EP1317977A1; EP1450970A1

Abstract

The device for producing wire meshes, particularly welded wire fabrics, comprises a longitudinal wire supply device with mechanical wire guiding means (104.1 to 104.6) for the longitudinal wires and a mesh welding machine equipped with a number of welding units (3.1 to 3.6) that can be positioned at adjustable distances from one another. The wire guiding means (104.1 to 104.6) are designed to that they can be displaced perpendicular to the longitudinal direction (9) in such a manner that the distance of the longitudinal wires from one another is continuously altered over the length of supply while changing from a grid that is specific to the machine to an adjustable product grid at the welding units (3.1 to 3.6). The wire guiding means comprise rails (104.1 to 104.6), which are clamped in a fixed manner at the front end facing the welding unit (3.1 to 3.6) so that the longitudinal guiding element (104.1 to 104.6) for guiding the longitudinal wire defines a supply curve having a constant curvature and a run that tangentially extends in the longitudinal direction of the welding units (3.1 to 3.6).

Description

Process for the production of wire mesh

Technical field

The invention relates to a method for producing wire grids, in particular structural steel mats, wherein longitudinal wires in a desired product grid are fed to a grid welding machine with a plurality of welding units which are arranged at an adjustable distance from one another and which define a longitudinal direction, and are welded by the latter with a cross bar, wherein the longitudinal wires are provided in a prefitting device in a machine-fixed grid and are then fed into the desired product grid of the grid welding device via a feed line with mechanical guide means with a continuous change in distance. The invention further relates to a device for producing wire grids, in particular structural steel mats. State of the art

Welded wire grids, so-called structural steel mats, are being used more and more for the reinforcement of concrete components. In order to achieve an optimal static use of the steel cross-section of the line and cross wires when reinforcing concrete with structural steel mats, it is necessary to be able to adjust not only the cross wire distances, but also the line wire distances essentially continuously. While the adjustment of the cross wire distance via the feed of the longitudinal wires between the individual welds is unproblematic, the adjustment of the longitudinal wire distance and the associated electrodes is carried out using special, continuously acting adjusting devices. Often, only small batch sizes, especially list mats, are required, but they are only complex and therefore expensive to manufacture.

DE 33 27 243 C1, for example, shows a welding device for producing welded wire grids, in which several pairs of electrodes are arranged on a rail. Each pair of electrodes is designed as a welding unit which can be moved individually on the rail and which can be at any distance from the adjacent welding unit. The longitudinal wires are fed to the welding unit via a tubular, short line wire guide coupled with each welding unit.

The welding machine shown in EP 0 239 745 A2 comprises a plurality of independent welding units which are arranged next to one another with a mutual spacing from one another and can be moved as desired on a rail. Driven pairs of rollers are arranged on the input side of each welding unit. The welding units are also assigned a threader which has a carriage which can be moved on rails in the direction of transport of the longitudinal wire. Several clamps are slidably mounted on a crossbeam, which is held in a height-adjustable manner on the carriage. The clamps can clamp one or two longitudinal wires at the same time. A tubular bellows is arranged between part of the crossmember and the clamping tongs, which clamps the clamping tongs that were previously in position when pressure is applied. At the beginning of the traversing path of the threading device, a pre-threading device is arranged which extends the line wire so far pretends that it can be gripped with the threader's pliers and transported to the pairs of rollers in the welding unit. Between the pre-threader and the welding units, several roll-mounted supports for the longitudinal wires are arranged distributed over the path of the threader.

From AT 373 798 a device is known in which the longitudinal wires are lifted out of a magazine with the aid of lifting magnets, separated with several cam disks placed at fixed lateral distances from one another and then gripped by so-called transfer gripping devices. These are mounted on a trolley that can run forward on rails. In this way, the front ends of the longitudinal wires are pulled forward into the effective area of so-called transport gripping devices. For the transfer of the longitudinal wires to the transport gripping devices arranged under the transfer gripping devices, the rails which guide the carriage are temporarily lowered.

The transport gripping devices are held by sliding carriages on a cross member, which in turn can be moved on two longitudinal rails. Between the longitudinal rails there are several guide profiles, which are fixed at one end but are articulated and are laterally adjustable at the other end according to the spacing of the welding units. So when the transport gripping devices are moved forward, they move simultaneously and successively into the desired distances.

Presentation of the invention

The object of the invention is to provide a method and a device which enables the production of structural steel mats with any longitudinal wire spacing, with little retrofitting work required and simple, precise and reliable functionality being provided.

The solution to the problem is defined by the features of claim 1. According to the invention, in the method for producing wire grids, in particular structural steel mats, the longitudinal wires in a desired product grid of a mesh welding machine with several welding units arranged at an adjustable distance from each other and welded by a cross bar. The longitudinal wires are provided in a prefitting device in a machine-fixed grid. The longitudinal wires are then fed into the desired product grid of the lattice welding device with mechanical guide means via a feed path with a continuous change in distance. At least one of the longitudinal wires is fed to the corresponding welding unit of the grid welding device using wire guide means along a feed curve which has a constant curvature and in a region upstream of the corresponding welding unit and is tangential to the longitudinal direction.

The term "continuous" is to be understood in a mathematical sense, according to which the curvature (as a derivative of the geometric path curve based on the length parameter of the path curve) changes at most continuously, but not abruptly. A "constant curvature" is not the same as a constant radius of curvature. Rather, the point is that the curve has no sudden changes in direction.

With the method according to the invention, pre-cut and aligned longitudinal wires can be provided in a fixed, preferably uniform, grid in the pre-winding device. The longitudinal wires are then fed to the grid welding machine via the feed section with mechanical guide means. The feed path is the area that lies between the pre-catching device with the fixed grid and the welding units with the product grid. The distance between the individual welding units is set beforehand to the desired product grid. The distance between the welding units can be freely adjustable or the distance can be set using a predetermined grid. The product grid is understood to be the variable grid that the longitudinal wires of the finished structural steel mats should have. By means of the method according to the invention, the longitudinal wires with the mechanical guide means are continuously changed from the fixed grid of the pretensioning device to the desired product grid of the grid welding device. Due to the special type of guidance, each line wire is fed exactly to the respective lattice welding unit in the longitudinal direction, even if the line wire previously comes from a different direction. In other words: the line wire is fed in a gentle, "grinding" curve. There is no sudden change in direction (ie no "kink" or "discontinuity in curvature") in the feed curve, as is the case, for example, with a swivel joint connection between two rails.

Since the longitudinal wires are taken over by a fixed grid, simple and proven pre-catching devices can be used. The mechanical guide means transport the line wire over the feed path. In order to enable the continuous change in distance from the fixed grid to the desired product grid, the longitudinal wires are preferably guided in the longitudinal and transverse directions. For example, clamps are arranged which guide the wire along the feed path. Furthermore, rollers or rollers, between which the longitudinal wire runs, can also be arranged as the guide means of the longitudinal wire. In a further variant, flexible channels can be provided along the feed path in which the longitudinal wires are guided. An essential feature of the guide means used is the ability to guide the line wire from the fixed grid to the desired product grid with a continuous change in distance.

In the method according to the invention, there is no need for complex mechanical changeover work, which requires a great deal of work and thereby considerably slow the production of small lots or make the production of small lots impossible at a reasonable cost. To change the longitudinal wire spacing of the structural steel mats produced, only the movable welding units have to be moved to the new, desired product grid. Due to the elimination of the complex mechanical changeover and adjustment work and the resulting time saving, even the smallest batch sizes of special structural steel mats - so-called list mats - can be produced economically with the method according to the invention. Furthermore, the amount of bending force acting on the longitudinal wires along the feed path is significantly reduced by the continuous change in the distance from the fixed grid of the prefitting device to the desired product grid. The longitudinal wires remain essentially straight, which leads to a higher quality of the structural steel mats produced than is the case with the previous methods with different grids of the recovery device and desired product grids.

Advantageously, at least one of the longitudinal wires is picked up by a delivery device (which delivers the longitudinal wires) with the wire guide means along a pick-up curve which has a constant curvature and a course which is tangential to the longitudinal direction. As a result, the corresponding longitudinal wire is gently or “slidingly” guided away from the longitudinal direction in order to be transferred to another spacing grid. Overall, there is an S-shaped course of the guide.

In the method, the longitudinal wires are preferably gripped and advanced in the feed section with pliers. This enables the transport of the longitudinal wires. The line wire is preferably advanced a predetermined distance into the feed line by the pretensioning device, so that the line wire can be securely gripped by the associated pliers even at high cycle rates of the device. The distance of the advance of the retractor is about one twentieth to one tenth of the total length of the line wire. Depending on the design of the device, the distance can be more or less than the aforementioned length. In the case of the arrangement of double longitudinal wires, for example in the case of a list mat, the longitudinal wires are preferably advanced by a predetermined amount offset from one another by the pretensioning device, gripped by the tongs assigned to them and fed from there to the welding units via the feed path.

The pliers preferably change their mutual distance as a function of a feed position by means of the mechanical guide means. In this way, the distances between the longitudinal wires with respect to one another are preferably changed continuously. For this purpose, each of these pliers is preferably mechanically coupled to a longitudinal guide member. The Pliers are guided through the mechanical coupling in accordance with the alignment of the longitudinal guide members. The pliers have, for example, a carriage fitted with at least one roller, the roller being matched to the longitudinal guide member. When arranging a flat steel profile as a longitudinal guide member, the side surfaces serve as guide surfaces. Is used as a longitudinal guide member z. B. arranged a crane rail, the role preferably includes this rail or is designed according to a wheel of a railroad. Is used as a longitudinal guide member z. B. arranged with the web fixed U-profile, the width of the roller is preferably less than the inner flange distance of the U-professional. In a variant, the roller can be made wider than the lying U-profile, recesses or grooves being provided in the rolling surface of the roller corresponding to the protruding flanges of the U-profile. Instead of rollers, the substructure of the pliers can be designed as a slide, which is designed to slide on the longitudinal guide member.

In addition to pliers, as already mentioned, rollers and rollers can grasp and advance the longitudinal wires. Furthermore, essentially any type of clamps can take over the function of the pliers. For example, magnetic holders can be used instead of the pliers. When choosing the material of the individual components, the usability of the device must be considered. Materials with high wear resistance that require little maintenance are preferred.

The longitudinal wires in the feed section are preferably transferred from a first longitudinal wire holding system to a subsequent second longitudinal wire holding system, the two longitudinal wire holding systems being moved independently of one another in the longitudinal direction. The second line wire holding system feeds a first line wire to the associated welding unit, while the first line wire holding system already detects and advances a subsequent second line wire provided in the recovery device. If the first line wire has been processed, the second line wire holding system can take over the second line wire from the first line wire holding system and feed it again to the assigned welding unit. This enables a continuous supply of longitudinal wires that reduce the amount of structural steel mesh produced in the same time. significantly increased compared to a method with only one line wire holding system. The production costs are reduced compared to known methods, which improves the economy of the entire device and thus the operating result.

The longitudinal wire holding system can be designed as a crossmember, on which, for example, the pliers guided by the guide means are arranged in a controlled manner or displaceably displaceable in the transverse direction. The pliers mechanically coupled with the guide means are passively guided through them when the cross member is moved in the longitudinal direction. The continuous change in distance of the guide means is understood by the tongs, since these can move on the cross member in the transverse direction of the feed path. For this purpose, the pliers are mounted on the cross member such that they slide on the cross member with little friction. For example, the pliers are mounted on the cross member with rollers. In one variant, the contact surfaces between the pliers and the crossmember can be coated with a plain bearing material.

The cross member is preferably provided with a drive which the longitudinal wire holding system in and against the feed direction (= longitudinal direction) for the feed of the longitudinal wires z. B. moves on a rail construction. In the preferred arrangement of a first and a second longitudinal wire holding system, the two longitudinal wire holding systems are controlled independently of one another. To ensure the feed of the longitudinal wires and an economical dimensioning of the drive, two coordinated or synchronized drives are preferably arranged at the ends of the longitudinal wire holding systems. Linear motors or rack and pinion drives, for example, can be used as the drive.

In the case of an arrangement of two or more longitudinal wire holding systems, each cross member is preferably equipped with its own drive independently of the other cross members and can be moved as desired. With a long feed section, more than two line wire holding systems can also be arranged. The first line wire holding system takes over the line wire from the retractor to the subsequent line wire holding system. Systems passes. The last - based on the direction of advance of the longitudinal wires - the longitudinal wire holding system transfers the longitudinal wire to the associated welding device.

If two longitudinal wires are simultaneously advanced to the welding unit by one and the same tongs, for example for the production of list mats, the tongs of the second longitudinal wire holding system feed the double longitudinal wires detected in the front area to the assigned welding unit. The first longitudinal wire holding system can carry out a sweeping movement relative to the double longitudinal wires captured by the first longitudinal wire holding system, so that the rear ends of the double longitudinal wires are brought together or aligned parallel to one another.

The pliers, or another holding device arranged on the cross member, do not necessarily have to be guided by guide means. For example, the clamps with arithmetically determined data can be positioned actively controlled with their own drive. Each pliers can be provided with its own drive, which moves the pliers in the transverse direction according to the position of the cross member into the calculated position. The data for the position of the crossmember, the continuous distance to be moved and the length of the feed section serve as the basis for the active control. In such an embodiment, longitudinal guide members could possibly be dispensed with.

The longitudinal wires are advantageously distributed to machine-fixed grid positions in the retraining device in such a way that the distances between the longitudinal wires are as close as possible to the desired product grid. The change in distance from the machine-fixed grid position to the desired product grid takes place continuously, as has already been mentioned. The smaller the difference in the distance between the fixed grid and the product grid, the less the longitudinal wire has to be moved transversely to the feed direction. In the method according to the invention, undesirable bending forces can also act on the line wire via the feed path, even if these are smaller than in the conventional methods. This results in an interaction of the length of the feed section and the transverse displacement of the longitudinal wires to be traveled. The device for producing wire grids, in particular structural steel mats, comprises a line wire feed device with mechanical wire guide means for the line wires and a grid welding device with a plurality of welding units that can be positioned at an adjustable distance from one another. The wire guide means are designed such that they can be displaced transversely to the longitudinal direction in such a way that a mutual distance between the longitudinal wires is continuously changed over a feed path from a machine-fixed grid to an adjustable product grid on the welding units.

The pre-cut and aligned longitudinal wires are made available in a machine-fixed grid of the device according to the invention in the line wire feed device. The mechanical wires are used to transport the longitudinal wires from a magazine, for example, to the transport level of the feed section.

The welding units of the mesh welding machine are moved to the desired product grid beforehand. The distance between the welding units corresponds to the distance between the longitudinal wires, which the structural steel mats to be produced should have. In the production of small series of structural steel mats, for example so-called list mats, the welding units can be positioned continuously in accordance with the desired product grid for small quantities and production can be continued after the repositioning of the welding units has been completed. As will be described below, the device according to the invention eliminates complex mechanical adjustment work or retrofitting work before the production of structural steel mats can be continued with a different longitudinal wire division.

The mutual spacing of the longitudinal wires is continuously changed by the wire guide means over the feed path in that the wire guide means are designed to be displaceable longitudinally and transversely to the longitudinal direction. On the one hand, continuous means a constant change as well as a change in small steps. For example, in the event of a change in small steps, the line wire is z B. 30 length units in the longitudinal direction and then shifted by 2 length units in the transverse direction. Then the longitudinal and transverse feed takes place again until the assigned welding unit was reached. The difference from the fixed grid to the product grid and thus the continuous change in distance can be converging or diverging. If the fixed grid matches the product grid, the longitudinal wires are fed to the welding units parallel to each other.

According to the invention, the wire guide means comprise at least one longitudinal guide member (e.g. a metal rail) which is firmly clamped at one end facing the grid welding device. In principle, it is sufficient if the clamping is fixed in a direction across the machine (i.e. in the direction of the cross wire). It is permissible if the longitudinal guide element is movable in the vertical direction (i.e. perpendicular to the cross wire direction or pivotable about an axis parallel to the cross wires) or in the longitudinal direction. In most cases, however, it should make sense to clamp the longitudinal guide element in a completely directionally fixed manner (namely in the longitudinal direction). Because the rear end of the longitudinal guide member is offset transversely to the front end, the longitudinal guide member, which is elastic transverse to its longitudinal axis, forms a bending line or curvature curve. If the line wire is now transported forward along this bending line to the grid welding unit, it will inevitably end up in the desired direction. It is avoided that the line and cross wire in the welding node are welded at an oblique angle (i.e. an angle deviating from 90 °).

The wire guide means preferably comprise at least one longitudinal guide member, which is held or clamped in a directionally fixed manner on the input side of the feed section, so that the longitudinal guide member defines a pick-up curve for the longitudinal wire with a constant curvature and a tangent course in the longitudinal direction of the welding units. The mutual distances between the adjacent longitudinal guide members are defined in a stationary manner in accordance with the machine-fixed grid. On the output side, the longitudinal guide elements of the feed section are held so that they can be adjusted to any product grid. The longitudinal guide members can guide the wire guide means on a kind of rail. For example, a rail profile, such as railroad tracks or crane railroad tracks, is arranged for this purpose. A flat steel profile or U-profile can also be used as the longitudinal guide element. The longitudinally displaceable Before part of the wire guide means is formed in accordance with the arranged longitudinal guide member, that is to say that the displaceable part of the wire guide means has, for example, one or more rollers or slides complementary to the rail shape. The displaceable part of the wire guide means can also be attached to the longitudinal guide members as a hanging construction. In a so-called hanging construction, the longitudinal wires can rest on a flat table. With the wire guide means, the longitudinal wires are advanced in accordance with the orientation of the longitudinal guide members.

On the input side of the feed section, the longitudinal guide members are fixed in position and matched to the machine-fixed grid of the recovery device. The longitudinal guide member is preferably fixedly attached to the retractor. In a variant to this, the longitudinal guide members are fastened, for example, by means of a bolt on the input side of the feed section, so that the longitudinal guide members can pivot about a vertical axis. The vertical pivot axis of the longitudinal guide element is understood to mean the axis which runs perpendicular to the plane formed by the feed path and through the center of the bolt. With a high elasticity of the longitudinal guide member, this can be firmly connected on the input side of the feed section. The prefitting device, the feed section and the grid welding device are preferably designed as a coherent system. The feed path can also be detached from the lead-in path, but can be matched to it in its fixed grid. In such a variant, the longitudinal guide members are mounted on a vertical hinge axis (= bolt) and are arranged on the input side of the feed path, for example in the transverse direction, so that the longitudinal guide members can, if necessary, be adapted to different grids of different types of retraining devices.

On the output side of the feed section, the longitudinal guide members are preferably held displaceably in the transverse direction to the feed direction of the longitudinal wires, so that they can be adjusted to the desired product grid. Depending on the profile chosen for the longitudinal guide member, particular attention must be paid to the stability of the profile, particularly with regard to the usability of the device according to the invention. Depending on the size of the transverse distance to be moved, the longitudinal guide members are subjected to high loads in the device according to the invention when the distance is changed continuously (for example loads caused by the action of torsional forces). So that the longitudinal guide members do not bend over the long term in such a way that the guidance of the wire guide means is impossible or at least partially hindered, additional longitudinal profiles can be arranged on which the longitudinal guide members are fastened. Such longitudinal profiles are dimensioned and selected according to the loads that occur. The selected longitudinal profiles must have sufficient elasticity so that the longitudinal member with the longitudinal guide member can adapt to the change in distance from the fixed grid to the product grid over the length of the feed path. For example, rolled profiles can be arranged as stiffening girders for the longitudinal guide members, such as double-flange girders (eg I or H girders) or hollow profiles (eg rectangular RHS profiles).

It can be advantageous to fix the longitudinal guide members not only at the beginning and at the end, but also at one or more points in between. A releasable fixation device is described below.

The longitudinal guide members are preferably mechanically coupled to the welding units. For example, as in a variant already described, the longitudinal guide members are fastened on the input side of the feed path to bolts which enable the longitudinal guide members to be rotated about an axis which is perpendicular to the plane formed by the feed path. However, the longitudinal guide members are preferably screwed or welded to the welding units. The longitudinal guide members are aligned in a fixed arrangement at the entrance of the welding units in the direction of production. This avoids an angular transition from the output-side end of the longitudinal guide member to the welding unit, which largely prevents the bending stresses on the longitudinal wire, particularly shortly before the welding process. By continuously adapting the change in distance via the feed line, the longitudinal wires are only exposed to slight deformation loads when they are fed from the rewinding device to the welding units. The longitudinal guide member can be a continuous steel profile or a series of several profile pieces.

In a variant, the feed section can be detached from the welding units, and it can be matched to the product grid of the welding units. In such a variant, the longitudinal guide members are mounted, for example, on a separate stand device with bolts, or are screwed or welded firmly to this device. Each holder of the longitudinal guide members is arranged to be freely displaceable in the transverse direction so that the longitudinal guide members can be adapted to the product grid of the welding units. The control of the holders of the longitudinal guide members is preferably coordinated with the control of the associated welding units, or the welding units and the holders are positioned by a controller.

The continuous adjustment of the line wire distance from the fixed grid to the product grid can be done in a variant with a controlled, mechanical displacement of the longitudinal guide members. On the basis of the data of the distance to be adjusted and the length of the feed path, positioning points are determined at several locations of the longitudinal guide members. With a mechanical device, the corresponding points of the longitudinal guide members are brought into agreement with the calculated positioning points. In this variant, the device according to the invention can be used as a separate system that is separate from the prefitting device and the mesh welding machine and can be adapted to the corresponding systems. In order to be able to adapt to a rewinding device and to a mesh welding machine, the longitudinal guide members are designed to be freely movable in the transverse direction on the input side and on the output side.

A feed-in device is preferably provided on the input side of the feed section, which feeds longitudinal wires prepared and cut with a machine-fixed grid in a line wire supply system (= feed-out device). The number of ready provided longitudinal wires preferably corresponds to the number of the number of longitudinal wires required for the production of the structural steel mat. The longitudinal wires are gripped by the longitudinal wire holding system and advanced with a continuous change in the distance between the longitudinal wires.

The difference in the mutual distance between the machine-fixed grid and the product grid is preferably matched to the minimum possible distance between the welding units. The narrowest pitch of the longitudinal wires is thus transported essentially parallel to one another, which reduces the risk of mutual hindrance, for example due to the grooves of the longitudinal wires becoming caught in one another, during transportation over the feed path.

The longitudinal wire is gripped in a front area of its total length by a wire guiding means and transported from the recovery device over the feed path to the associated welding unit. Due to the continuous change in distance, the longitudinal wire does not always rest on the longitudinal guide members of the wire guide means. In order that an end of the longitudinal wire does not accidentally fall between the longitudinal guide members and possibly jam between them, the space between the longitudinal guide members is preferably covered. The cover is preferably arranged between the longitudinal guide members and the stabilizing longitudinal members, as a result of which any hanging longitudinal wire end can hang down by a maximum of the distance between the wire guide means and approximately the lower edge of the longitudinal guide member. Sheet metal with slots can be used as a cover, for example, so that the longitudinal guide members located at the top can be connected to the stabilizing longitudinal members via holders and the longitudinal guide members can be displaced in the transverse direction of the feed path.

In a variant, sheet metal strips are provided that are spaced apart from one another over the entire width of the feed path. This prevents the spacers for the longitudinal guide members attached to the longitudinal members from being obstructed by the sheet metal strips during the alignment of the longitudinal guide members. As lead before z. B. sheet metal, heavy plate or a so-called flat steel can be used. Furthermore, close-meshed wire nets or wire grids as well as plastic plates or the like can take over the function of the sheets.

The longitudinal guide members are preferably made of prefabricated steel profiles. With the appropriate dimensioning, the usability of the device according to the invention can be ensured. As already mentioned, the longitudinal guide members can be coupled to a stabilizing longitudinal beam, which in turn is preferably made of steel. In a variant, plastics can be used as the base material for the various components of the device according to the invention, provided that their properties are approximately comparable with those of the steel.

A flat steel profile is preferably used as the longitudinal guide member, the side surfaces of which serve as guide surfaces for the rollers. In a variant, a horizontal U-profile can be used as the longitudinal guide member, which with its web on the longitudinally stiffer longitudinal member than the horizontal U-profile z. B. is attached via individual spacers or longitudinal profiles. The exposed ends of the flanges of the U-profiles are preferably used for lateral guidance of the rollers or the carriage of the wire guide means.

The wire guide means are firmly attached to the device sliding along the longitudinal guide members and aligned perpendicular to the plane which is formed by the welding units. Due to the fixed alignment of the wire guide means and the longitudinal guide member, which is preferably fixedly attached to the associated welding unit, the longitudinal wire is fed perpendicular to the transverse wires of the welding unit before the welding process. This ensures high precision of the structural steel mats produced, even with high cycle numbers of the device according to the invention.

In a variant for the fixed alignment, the wire guide means can be made rotatable about an axis, the axis running perpendicular to the plane formed by the feed path and through the wire guide means itself. So that the line wire guided during feed over the feed path tangentially along the associated, continuously aligned longitudinal guide member. The rotatability of the wire guide means creates an angle compensation when the wire guide means travels at an angle. Since the longitudinal guide member is preferably fixedly attached to the associated welding unit, the longitudinal wire is fed perpendicular to the transverse wires of the welding unit before the welding process.

As already indicated above, it can be advantageous to provide a detachable rail fixing device with which the longitudinal guide members can be fixed in the transverse direction during operation. If the wire guide means are moved quickly and / or jerkily ("stop and go") along the longitudinal guide members (bent in the longitudinal direction), the longitudinal guide members can possibly oscillate transversely to the longitudinal direction. The vibration effect can be eliminated or at least greatly reduced with suitably placed devices for damping or clamping the longitudinal guide members.

According to a preferred embodiment, the rail fixing device extends over the entire width of the device and fixes all longitudinal guide members simultaneously or releases them simultaneously. As a variant, fixation devices are also possible, which fix only part of the longitudinal guide elements (e.g. the outer ones). The fixing device can be designed as a controllable braking element that is provided individually for each longitudinal guide member.

With short longitudinal guide members, with relatively rigid cross sections, with small transverse movements, or with suitable acceleration behavior of the wire guide means, there is generally no need for fixing devices in the central region of the longitudinal guide members.

From the following detailed description and the entirety of the claims, further advantageous embodiments and combinations of features of the invention result. Brief description of the drawings

The drawings used to explain the exemplary embodiment show:

Figure 1 is a plan view of the device according to the invention.

Fig. 2 is a section along the section line A-A in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a plan view of a second embodiment of the invention; and

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of a fixation device.

In principle, the same parts are provided with the same reference symbols in the figures.

Ways of Carrying Out the Invention

Figure 1 shows a plan view of the device according to the invention. The linear line wire feed device 1 for producing wire grids, in particular structural steel mats, takes over pre-cut and directed longitudinal wires (not shown here) from delivery devices 2.1 to 2.6 of a pretensioning device and feeds them to the welding units 3.1 to 3.6 which can be displaced in the transverse direction 6. The dispensing devices 2.1 to 2.6 are arranged in a fixed grid, for example 10 cm apart. A rail 4.1 to 4.6 - here a flat steel profile - is preferably fixed, for example screwed, or pivotably attached to each dispensing device 2.1 to 2.6. A pivotable attachment of the rail 4.1 to 4.6 serving as a longitudinal guide member can be carried out, for example, with a bolt 5.1 to 5.6, which enables the rail 4.1 to 4.6 to be rotated about an axis running perpendicular to the plane shown through the center of the bolt 5.1 to 5.6. The rails 4.1 to 4.6 are firmly connected to the welding units 3.1 to 3.6, for example screwed tight. A welding unit 3.1 to 3.6 is assigned to each delivery device 2.1 to 2.6. A first longitudinal wire feed device 7 and a second longitudinal wire feed device 8 are arranged in the longitudinal direction for feeding the longitudinal wires along the feed path. The two line wire feed devices 7 and 8 are constructed essentially identically. The line wire feeder 7 or 8 has a number of pliers according to the number of rails 4.1 to 4.6 on a cross member 10 or 1 1

12.1 to 12.6 or 13.1 to 13.6, which are each mechanically coupled to the associated rail 4.1 to 4.6 or guided therein. Drives 14.1 and 14.2 or 15.1 and

15.2 arranged, which move the cross members 7 and 8 back and forth in the longitudinal direction 9 as desired. For example, the cross members 10 and 11 are on the same

Crane rail or a similar device arranged.

As an example of all rails 4.1 to 4.6, the method according to the invention is described below with the aid of rail 4.3 and the associated devices. The following information applies mutatis mutandis to the entire linear line wire feed 1. The distance between the dispensing devices 2.1 to 2.6 is 10 cm in this example. For example, structural steel mats with a line wire spacing of 7.5 cm should be created. The welding units 3.1 to 3.6 are moved in the transverse direction 6 to a production distance of 7.5 cm in accordance with the desired longitudinal wire distance of the structural steel mat to be produced. It goes without saying that the longitudinal wire spacing of the structural steel mat and thus the spacing of the welding units 3.1 to 3.6 need not be uniform over the entire width of the structural steel mat. The welding units 3.1 to 3.6 can be moved in the transverse direction 6 at any distance from one another depending on the desired production.

By connecting the rail 4.3 to the delivery device 2.3 and the connection of the rail 4.3 to the welding unit 3.3, the rail 4.3 is continuously adapted to the change in the distance of the delivery device 2.3 to the welding unit 3.3 when positioning the welding unit 3.3. The pliers 12.3 or 13.3 are mechanically coupled to the rail 4.3. The feed path is the section in the longitudinal direction 9 which lies between the dispensing device 2.3 and the welding unit 3.3 and corresponds to for example the maximum length of the longitudinal wires to be processed. However, it is also conceivable that the length of the longitudinal wires is longer than the feed path, wherein this length of the longitudinal wires can be a multiple of the feed path.

The feed path is preferably designed to be sufficiently long so that on the one hand the angles of the change in direction between the position of the dispensing devices 2.1 to 2.6 and the associated welding units 3.1 to 3.6 are kept small even with larger differences from one another and on the other hand the advanced longitudinal wire in front of the assigned welding unit 3.1 to 3.6 in this way be turned off so that the line wire is processed essentially in a straight alignment in the welding unit 3.1 to 3.6. Furthermore, the angles mentioned can be reduced in that the distances between the delivery devices 2.1 to 2.6 are matched to the mainly produced structural steel mats and their line wire distances already in the basic setting of the recovery device and grid welding machine. If space permits, in a variant the feed path can be made longer than the maximum length of the longitudinal wires to be processed. In this variant, the advanced line wire can be completely turned off in front of the assigned welding unit 3.1 to 3.6, so that the entire line wire is aligned perpendicular to the cross wires at the start of the welding process.

The time which the longitudinal wires need to leave the delivery devices 2.1 to 2.6 has a further influence on the length of the feed section. The length of time is determined by the feed into the welding units and the duration of the welding process itself, as well as the length of the structural steel mats to be produced and thus the length of the longitudinal wires. It must be long enough for the dispensing devices 2.1 to 2.6 to be able to be loaded again in order to enable the longitudinal wires to be replenished in order to produce additional structural steel mats. As long as the longitudinal wires are still pulled out of the delivery devices 2.1 to 2.6, they cannot be loaded with new longitudinal wires for the production of further structural steel mats. The line wire to be processed is made available at the delivery device 2.3. At the same time, the cross member 10 is moved towards the delivery device 2.3. The longitudinal wire is advanced into the feed section by the delivery device 2.3 in such a way that the pliers 12.3 can grip the longitudinal wire in its front region in relation to the feed direction. The cross member 10 is then moved in the longitudinal direction 9 in the direction of the welding unit 3.3. As soon as the two crossbeams come to lie next to one another, the tongs grips the longitudinal wire advanced by the tongs 12.3 and transports the longitudinal wire to the associated welding unit 3.3. The tongs 12.3 and 13.3 move along the rail 4.3.

The line wire is inserted into the associated welding unit 3.3 by the pliers 13.3 and, during the welding process, pushes the line wire forward, preferably in a clocked manner, depending on the desired cross wire distance. Behind the welding units 3.1 to 3.6, mat pull-out units (not shown here) can be arranged, which take over the line wire from the pliers 13.3 and pushes the partially produced structural steel mat against the transverse wires in an attacking manner. The mat pull-out unit now takes over the further transport of the line wire and the line wire is only guided by the pliers 13.3. In a variant, roller feed units can be arranged on the welding units 3.1 to 3.6, which take over the longitudinal wire from the pliers 13.3 and advance them in a clocked manner. In such an embodiment, too, the longitudinal wire is only guided by the tongs 13.3 as soon as the longitudinal wire has been gripped by the roller feed unit of the welding device 3.3.

At the same time, the cross member 10 is again moved in the direction of the delivery devices 2.1 to 2.6 and the next line wire provided in the delivery device 2.3 is gripped with the pliers 12.3. The cross member 10 is then moved again in the direction of the welding units 3.1 to 3.6. As soon as the longitudinal wire guided by the tongs 13.3 no longer has to be guided through the latter, the cross member 11 moves towards the cross member 10 and takes over the next longitudinal wire for the renewed transport to the welding unit 3.3. A section along the section line AA in FIG. 1 is shown in FIG. 2. The line wire

16 is gripped in this position by the tongs 13.3 and fed to the associated welding unit 3.3. For the welding of the structural steel mat, the longitudinal wire 16 is advanced, clocked with the mat pull-out unit 17, of the welding unit 3.3. The feeding of the longitudinal wire 16 is timed to the extent of the desired distance 18 between the transverse wires 19.1 and 19.2 or the subsequent transverse wires. The cross wire spacing can also be varied as required, depending on the desired structural steel mat. The longitudinal wire 16 is advanced accordingly and preferably from a magazine (not shown here) the transverse wires are fed in from above and then welded to the longitudinal wire 16 between the electrodes 20.1 and 20.2.

The pliers 13.3 have previously taken over the longitudinal wire 16 from the pliers 12.3 (not shown here), inserted into the welding unit 3.3 and pushing it forward in a clocked manner for the welding process. Arranged behind the welding unit 3.3 is a mat pull-out unit 17 which takes over the clocked feed as soon as the mat pull-out unit 17 engages one of the cross wires 19.1 or 19.2 which have already been welded on. At least two mat pull-out units 17 are preferably arranged on the device, so that the longitudinal wires are pushed forward evenly over the entire width of the structural steel mat or pulled through the welding units 3.1 to 3.6. Any time of transfer from the pliers 13.3 to the mat pull-out unit 17 when the longitudinal wire 16 is advanced depends on the mat geometry. In the case of long line wire protrusions at the beginning of the mat, it is conceivable that the line wire 16 is advanced by the pliers 12.3 and the pliers 13.3 only serve to guide the line wire 16. Is the cross wire so thin that a feed or pull on it through the mat pull-out unit

17 is not possible or is only possible to a limited extent, the longitudinal wire 16 is advanced clocked with the pliers 13.3 or 12.3.

The pliers 13.3 are moved in the longitudinal direction with the aid of the cross member 11. For guidance in the rail 4.3, the pliers 13.3 are mechanically coupled to the rail 4.3 via the substructure 21. In this exemplary embodiment, the substructure 21 is designed as a carriage with rollers 22.1 and 22.2, which are guided in the rail 4.3 and in their dimensions are coordinated with them. The rollers 22.1 and 22.2 are attached to the chassis 23. On the chassis 23, a structure 24 is arranged with a recess provided in the transverse direction for the cross member 11. So that the pliers 13.3 can slide on the cross member 1 1 in the transverse direction of the device with low friction, the structure 24 z. B. with rollers or rollers on the cross member 1 1.

The clocked feed takes place only with one of the devices described. The majority of the devices (the line wire feed devices 7 and 8, the mat pull-out unit or units 17 and the possibly arranged roller feed unit before or after the welding units) primarily serve only to be able to carry out the re-gripping processes without wasting time and to ensure the replenishment of the line wires ,

The rails 4.1 to 4.6 are matched to the function as longitudinal guide members for the wire guide means (the pliers e.g. 13.3) and mostly have insufficient stability. On the one hand, the rails 4.1 to 4.6 are chosen to be as small as possible so that they have sufficient elasticity for the continuous adaptation and the usability of the device according to the invention is ensured over a longer period of time. On the other hand, they are chosen to be as small as possible so that the longitudinal wires are not mainly guided in the rails 4.1 to 4.6 and are therefore exposed to unnecessary deformations. To improve the stability, each rail 4.1 to 4.6 is therefore assigned a stable longitudinal member 26. For example, a rectangular rolled profile, such as an RHS profile, is used as the longitudinal beam 26. The side member 26 is like the associated rail z. B. 4.3 articulated on the dispenser z. B. 2.3 and firmly attached to this rail 4.3 associated welding unit 3.3. In spite of its stability, the longitudinal member 26 must allow a continuous change in the distance of the rail 4.3 from the fixed grid of the dispensing devices 2.1 to 2.6 to the product grid of the welding units 3.1 to 3.6.

To prevent the free end of the longitudinal wire 16 between two rails, for. B. between the rails 4.3 and 4.4, during the advance with the pliers 13.3 hangs, possibly thereby jammed with a part of the device and thus disrupts production, sheet metal strips 27.1 to 27.4 are arranged between the longitudinal beams 26 and the rails 4.1 to 4.6. So that the metal strips 27.1 to 27.4 can be arranged, the rails 4.1 to 4.6 are fastened at a distance from their associated longitudinal member 26 with spacers 28.1 to 28.3, so that the space required for the metal strips 27.1 to 27.4 is created. The spacers 28.1 to 28.3 are arranged at predetermined intervals, for example on the basis of static or structural boundary conditions, in the longitudinal direction of the device. The metal strips 27.1 to 27.4 are spaced apart from one another in such a way that the rails 4.1 to 4.6 can adapt in the transverse direction to the continuous change in distance without this adaptation being impeded by the metal strips 27.1 to 27.4 if the spacers 28.1 to 28.3 are between the spaced ones Move metal strips 27.1 to 27.4 back and forth laterally. At their ends, the sheet metal strips 27.1 to 27.4 can be fixed, for example, to the rail construction of the cross members 10 and 11 which are movable in the longitudinal direction. To optimize the material thickness of the metal strips 27.1 to 27.4, they are preferably supported at several points along the transverse direction of the device towards the floor.

Fig. 3 shows a second embodiment of the invention. The dispensing devices 2.1 to 2.6 are again shown, which make the longitudinal wires available in a grid that is predetermined in a machine-fixed manner. On the output side of the delivery devices 2.1 to 2.6, for example, six guide rails 104.1 to 104.6 are held by brackets 105.1 to 105.6. In contrast to the exemplary embodiment according to FIG. 1, the brackets 105.1 to 105.6 are not joints that can be pivoted about a vertical axis, but rather directionally fixed clamps. This means that the guide rails 104.1 to 104.6 are held in such a way that their first end (ie on the machine input side) is always aligned parallel to the longitudinal direction 9 of the machine. The said first ends are, however, held in a longitudinally displaceable manner. This enables length compensation. In terms of design, the desired, directionally correct holder 105.1 to 105.6 can be realized in that the end of each guide rail 104.1 to 104.6 is guided telescopically in a tubular or channel-like element. Instead of one tubular element, two pairs of bolts spaced in the longitudinal direction can be provided for each guide rail 104.1 to 104.6. The bolts of a pair of bolts are vertical (ie perpendicular to a wire mesh plane defined by the machine) and have a spacing in the transverse direction which corresponds to the width of the respective guide rail 104.1 to 104.6. The two pairs of bolts are spaced apart in the longitudinal direction so that the rail cannot pivot in the horizontal plane (which is parallel to the plane of the wire mesh).

The second (i.e. machine output side) ends of the guide rails 104.1 to 104.6 are firmly clamped (as shown in FIG. 1), so that the second ends always run parallel to the longitudinal direction 9. If the rear ends of the guide rails 104.1 to 104.6 are not in the same transverse position with respect to the longitudinal central axis of the machine, then the guide rails 104.1 to 104.6 (as can be seen in FIG. 3) form a more or less pronounced S curve. The advantage of these S-curves is that the longitudinal wire is initially only "gently" deflected from the original transverse position after being taken over by the delivery device 2.1 or 2.6. The transverse movement is accelerated only when there is a certain distance from the delivery device 2.1 or 2.6. If the line wire comes close to the welding unit 3.1 or 3.6, the transverse movement is braked or completed at an early stage. The line wire is fed parallel to the longitudinal direction of the welding unit 3.1 or 3.6. The division of the transverse movement into a first and third section of slight transverse movement and a second (middle) section of maximum transverse movement automatically results from the S curve described above. The guide rails 104.1 to 104.6 assume the preferred S-shape according to the invention due to their inherent rigidity and the end-side clamping parallel to the longitudinal direction 9.

Another difference from the embodiment of FIG. 1 is that the tongs 1 12.1 to 1 12.6 or 1 13.1 to 1 13.6 of the first and second line wire feed devices 107 and 108 are always held parallel to the longitudinal direction 9 and cannot be pivoted in the horizontal plane , This can also contribute to better and more precise guidance of the longitudinal wires. Otherwise, the crossbeams 1 10 and 1 1 1, which guide the pliers 1 12.1 to 1 12.6 or 1 13.1 to 1 13.6 in the transverse direction and the drives 1 14.1, 1 14.2 or 1 15.1, 1 15.2 can be of the same design as in the context with Fig. 1 mentioned.

4, the welding units 3.3 and 3.4 are shown in perspective together with the guide rails 104.3, 104.4. According to a particularly preferred embodiment, a detachable rail fixing device 116 is provided approximately half the length of the guide rails 104.3, 104.4. This enables the guide rails 104.1 to 104.6 to be fixed in the transverse direction during operation, so that undesired mechanical vibrations are avoided.

The rail fixing device 1 16 essentially consists of two transversely extending clamping elements 1 17.1, 1 17.2, which can be actuated in the vertical direction 119 with two drives 118.1, 1 18.2 preferably arranged on both sides of the machine. In the present example, the clamping elements 1 17.1, 1 17.2 are two parallel rods which extend essentially over the entire width of the machine and can be moved towards and away from one another. For example, the upper clamping element 117.1 is connected at its two ends to the drives 1 18.1, 1 18.2. The drives include e.g. B. pneumatic cylinders.

On the underside of each guide rail 104.3, 104.4, a tongue 120.3, 120.4, which extends essentially in the longitudinal direction and extends between the two clamping elements 1 17.1, 1 17.2, is fastened. If the clamping element 1 17.1 is now pressed down by the drives 1 18.1, 1 18.2, the tongues 120.3, 120.4 are clamped between the clamping elements 1 17.1, 1 17.2 and thus fixed. The guide rails 104.3, 104.4 are consequently each held at one point in the transverse direction. To set a new (modified) line wire pitch, the clamping element 1 17.1 is raised. The welding units 3.3, 3.4 can now be moved into the desired new position. Finally, the clamping element 1 17.1 is lowered again. The exemplary embodiments described can be modified in a variety of ways. Some variants are explained below as examples. The specialist can easily think of more for himself.

The rail fixation device 16 preferably (but not necessarily) detects all the guide rails 104.1 to 104.6. (Only two guide rails 104.3, 104.4 are shown in FIG. 4 for the sake of simplicity.) The rail fixing device need not be continuous over the entire machine width. It can also be implemented using individual units individually assigned to each guide rail. Instead of a lifting and lowering rod, an inflatable, tubular bellows can also be provided. This can be inflated with compressed air so that the tongues are locked. The bellows can e.g. B. may be formed on the underside of the upper clamping element (the clamping element in this case is typically mounted stationary).

The control of the two cross beams 10 and 11 can be modified such that the cross beam 11 moves towards the cross beam 10 when it transports the line wire from the dispenser to the welding unit in order to shorten the path of the first cross beam 10. Furthermore, more than two cross members can be arranged in one and the same linear wire feed device. The pliers on the first cross member grips the longitudinal wire at the dispenser and transfers it to the pliers of the next cross member. This transports the line wire further and transfers it to the pliers of another cross member for transport or to the pliers of the cross member, from which the line wire is fed to the associated welding unit. In principle, the device according to the invention could also be equipped with only one cross member and thus only one pair of pliers per rail. The production quantity of structural steel mats in the same time would, however, be significantly smaller than is the case with the arrangement of two or more cross members.

Instead of on a construction with rollers, the pliers can slide on a slide construction along the rails. In summary, it can be stated that the method and the device according to the invention enable the production of structural steel mats with any longitudinal wire spacing, the longitudinal wires to be welded being provided at a fixed distance. Only by repositioning the movable welding units can the longitudinal wires be adapted for a changed production of structural steel mats. Conversion and adjustment work of a mechanical or automatic type is eliminated, which means that even small series of so-called list mats can be produced economically.

Claims

Patent claims

1. Method for producing wire meshes, in particular structural steel meshes, wherein longitudinal wires (16) in a desired product grid are fed to a mesh welding device with several welding units (3.1 to 3.6) arranged at an adjustable distance from one another and which define a longitudinal direction and are taken along by this a cross bar (19.1, 19.2), the longitudinal wires (16) being provided in a pre-hauling device (2.1 to 2.6) in a machine-fixed grid and then fed into the desired product grid via a feed path with mechanical guide means (7, 8) with a continuous change in distance Grid welding device are fed, characterized in that at least one of the longitudinal wires (16) of the corresponding welding unit (3.1, to 3.6) of the grid welding device is fed with wire guide means along a feed curve, which has a continuous curvature and in one of the corresponding welding unit (3.1 to 3.6 ) upstream area has a tangential course to the longitudinal direction (9).

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that at least one of the longitudinal wires (16) from a dispensing device (2.1 to 2.6) with the wire guide means along a pickup curve, which has a continuous curvature and in an area downstream of the dispensing device (2.1 to 2.6). has a tangential course to the longitudinal direction (9), and is picked up leading away from the longitudinal direction (9).

3. Method according to one of claims 1 or 2, characterized in that the longitudinal wires (16) in the feed section are transferred from a first longitudinal wire holding system (7) to a subsequent second longitudinal wire holding system (8), the two longitudinal wire holding systems (7 and 8) can be moved independently of each other in the longitudinal direction.

4. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that the longitudinal wires (16) are distributed in the pre-holing device to machine-fixed grid positions in such a way that the distances between the longitudinal wires (16) are as close as possible to the desired product grid.

5. Device for producing wire mesh, in particular structural steel mats

a) a longitudinal wire feed device (7, 8) with mechanical wire guide means in order to feed the longitudinal wires (16) in a longitudinal direction (9), and b) a grid welding device (3.1 to 3.6) with several welding units (3.1) that can be positioned at an adjustable distance from one another to 3.6), where c) the wire guide means (4.1 to 4.6) are designed to be displaceable transversely to the longitudinal direction in such a way that a mutual distance between the longitudinal wires (16) over a feed path continuously changes from a machine-fixed grid to an adjustable product grid on the welding units (3.1 to 3.6) is changed, characterized in that d) the wire guide means comprises at least one longitudinal guide member (4.1 to 4.6), which is on one of the. The end facing the grid welding device (3.1 to 3.6) is held in a directionally fixed manner, so that the longitudinal guide member (4.1 to 4.6) for the longitudinal wire (16) creates a feed curve with a constant curvature and in an area upstream of the corresponding welding unit (3.1 to 3.6).

Longitudinal direction (9) tangential course is defined.

6. Device according to claim 5, characterized in that the at least one longitudinal guide member (4.1 to 4.6) is mechanically coupled to or attached to the associated welding unit (3.1 to 3.6).

7. Device according to claim 5 or 6, characterized in that the at least one longitudinal guide member (4.1 to 4.6) faces a dispensing device (2). th end is held or clamped in a directionally fixed manner, so that a pickup curve with a constant curvature and a course tangentially leading away from the longitudinal direction is defined by the guide rail (4.1 to 4.6) for the longitudinal wire (16).

8. Device according to one of claims 5 to 7, characterized in that the at least one longitudinal guide member (4.1 to 4.6) is held or clamped in a longitudinally displaceable manner at the end facing the dispensing device (2), so that length compensation is possible.

9. Device according to one of claims 5 to 8, characterized in that the wire guide means have wire driving means (12.1 to 12.6 or 13.1 to 13.6) for the longitudinal wires (16) which can be moved transversely to the longitudinal direction and that each wire driving means (12.1 to 12.6 or 13.1 to 13.6) is mechanically coupled to the associated longitudinal guide member (4.1 to 4.6).

10. The device according to claim 9, characterized in that the wire driving means are formed by pliers (12.1 to 12.6 or 13.1 to 13.6) and that they are movably mounted on a cross member (10, 1 1) which can be moved in the longitudinal direction.

1 1. Device according to one of claims 5 to 10, characterized in that a pre-hauling device (2.1 to 2.6) is provided on the input side of the feed section, which has a longitudinal wire supply system with a machine-fixed grid corresponding to a minimum possible mutual distance between the welding units (3.1 to 3.6 ) having.

1 . Device according to one of claims 5 to 1 1, characterized in that a gap between the longitudinal guide members (4.1 to 4.6) is mechanically covered.

13. Device according to one of claims 5 to 12, characterized in that the longitudinal guide member (4.1 to 4.6) is a rail, in particular a steel profile, preferably a flat steel profile.

14. Device according to one of claims 5 to 13, characterized in that a releasable rail fixing device (1 16) is provided, with which the longitudinal guide members (4.1, 4.6; 104.3, 104.4) can be fixed in the transverse direction during operation.

15. The device according to claim 14, characterized in that the rail fixing device (1 16) extends over the entire width of the device and simultaneously fixes or releases all longitudinal guide members (104.3, 104.4).