WO2007023387A2

WO2007023387A2 - Improved elevating platform for persons and/or goods adapted for transport means in general

Info

Publication number: WO2007023387A2
Application number: PCT/IB2006/003009
Authority: WO
Inventors: Sabrina Venier
Original assignee: Mobility Trend S.R.L.
Priority date: 2005-08-22
Filing date: 2006-08-16
Publication date: 2007-03-01
Also published as: ITUD20050134A1; WO2007023387A3

Abstract

An improved elevating platform for persons and/or goods adapted for transport means in general, constituted by a containment box (1) with a door, which can be installed under the loading floor pan. The platform is of the telescopic type (4), with lateral supporting arms (5), with lateral telescopic guides (6) and a plate (9) for connection to the loading floor pan, and with a device (10) for actuating the tilt-flap (7) at the end with a transverse bar (8).

Description

IMPROVED ELEVATING PLATFORM FOR PERSONS AND/OR GOODS ADAPTED FOR

TRANSPORT MEANS IN GENERAL ^' Field of application

The present invention relates to an elevating platform for persons (disabled individuals with wheelchairs or also persons with limited motor capacity) and/or goods, particularly adapted for transport means in general both in rear application and in lateral application. The invention relates to a series of technical improvements which make the automated platform highly competitive both in terms of construction and higher efficiency in operation and in terms of safety and easy handling of emergency means in case of an accidental power failure during its use.

The invention is highly versatile indeed because of its geometrical space occupation shape, which is conceived to allow easy mounting on vehicles of various manufacturers under their floor pan. The geometric shape is contoured, compact (derived from applied improvements) and in particular the entire elevating assembly has a reduced weight. This is a fundamental characteristic which fully complies with technical road worthiness standards and which allows a higher useful transport load when using the same vehicle. The invention relates to an elevating device which does not occupy space on the loading floor pan because the entire actuation assembly is fixed below said floor pan and can operate from road level up to the level of the loading floor pan, protruding automatically with a telescopic platform from its containment box and then reaching its initial retracted position after the elevating operation has been completed. Background art

In the background art in the field of elevating devices for disabled persons who use wheelchairs or also for persons with limited motor capacity and/or for handling goods, mounted on means of transport such as for example private or public vehicles such as buses, coaches, trains, trams, trolleybuses, watercraft, and ships, various devices are known which are more or less bulky and heavy, more or less automated, and more or less practical in case of emergencies in operation. Various systems are known which are patented by companies specialized in the construction of automatic platform-type elevating systems suitable for carrying disabled persons on wheelchairs. They provide (for example Maxon Lift Corporation, USA, 6,705,824/2004) an automated post which is fixed onto the loading floor pan in a vertical direction next to the access door. This solution is very practical in installation but very bulky in the area of the loading floor pan indeed because of its range of action: accordingly, it is scarcely convenient when carrying more than one disabled individual with wheelchairs on confined surfaces. A device is also known (for example The Braun Corporation, U.S.A., PCT WO 2004/067324) which has two vertical posts on the loading floor pan, arranged at the two sides of the access door. This invention arranges the platform vertically when inactive, in the internal part, occupying the opening of the access door.

Finally, elevating devices for disabled persons on wheelchairs are known which are contained in appropriately provided parallelepipedal boxes which are fixed below the loading floor pan (for example, Lift-U, Division of Hogan MFG. Inc., USA, PCT WO 2004/07041; Dyck Isaac, Ade & Company, CA, no. CA 2 436 498/2005). The former in particular in a lateral application on buses and the latter on a car. These inventions related to elevating units which use two arms with actuated levers for each side of the platform. The former is very bulky in all of its dimensions and has a containment box shaped like a parallelepiped, which is fixed in a compartment below the walking surface and proximate to the door. The latter instead provides for a parallelogram-type actuation device characterized by a considerable length, and therefore its application in many cars made by several automakers is very problematic.

Our invention seeks to answer and obviate the drawbacks and disadvantages arising from known devices for elevating disabled persons with wheelchairs. Summary of the invention

The aim of the present invention is therefore: to provide a device for elevating disabled persons on wheelchairs or persons with reduced motor capacity and/or goods in general of the automatic type which can be applied to cars both at the rear and laterally, with positioning and fixing below the loading floor pan, having the particularity of being very compact as regards the containment box of the contoured type so that it can be installed in various configurations in the various supporting structures of the various means of transport;

- to provide a device for elevating persons and/or goods which can also be installed on the inside of the vehicle, providing a false floor pan for this purpose;

- to provide a device for elevating persons and/or goods which uses telescopic platform mounted on two light alloy lateral guides with sliding blocks made of synthetic material in order to reduce noise in the strokes of said platform; to provide a device for elevating persons and/or or goods with an access platform which has a particular safety tilt-flap for ground platform access and for simultaneous prevention of rear slippage during elevating, which is actuated by a transverse bar which allows to actuate the platform along its entire width and in all the points of the elevating device, not from just two ground contact points, as occurs in known elevating devices; to provide a device for elevating persons and/or goods which is provided with a platform for connection to the floor pan of the vehicle which automatically arranges itself vertically when the surface of the platform is on the ground (this position is maintained until the level of the floor pan is reached) and then turns through 90° and arranges itself above said floor pan. Movement is reciprocal in the opposite step; there is also a further rotation through 90° (at 180° with respect to the floor pan) when the telescopic platform is stored within the containment box, by using levers combined with a gas cylinder actuator;

- to provide a device for elevating persons and/or goods which has at least one sliding guide for the telescopic platform, within the containment box, which is parallel to the direction of entry and exit of said platform and is composed of four bearings or equivalent systems; to provide a device for elevating persons and/or goods which is contained in a containment box or supporting frame provided with an automatic closure door; to provide a device for elevating persons and/or goods which is provided with a door for closing the containment box which can be opened in case of emergency by simply removing the external front plate;

- to provide an elevating device for persons and/or goods which is provided with additional means for intervention in case of emergency in order to disengage the motor for actuating the extension or retraction of the telescopic platform; to provide, in the manufacture of the automatic device for elevating persons and/or goods, a cycle counter and/or a time counter which is visible to the user in order to facilitate the scheduling of ordinary maintenance of the elevating unit; to provide a device for elevating persons and/or goods which is equipped with a driving motor which is fixed to the chassis and cannot move with the carriage. Essence of the invention . .

The aim and objects of the invention are achieved according to the characteristics of the main claim and/or of any claim cited in the present patent text by providing an automatic assembly or device for elevating persons and/or goods of an improved type, which is particularly suitable to be fitted on various types of means of transport, such as vehicles, buses, coaches, trains, trolleybuses, trams, watercraft or ships in any access part thereof.

The invention is based essentially on a series of improvements of retractable elevating devices, i.e., of the fitting of the frame or box for containing the telescopic platform under the loading floor pan of the vehicle. Said telescopic platform is actuated and supported by two pairs of lateral arms, two on one side and two on the other, and reaches automatically the level of the road and the level of the loading floor pan of the vehicle.

The first improvement relates to the outer end of the telescopic platform, in particular of the device of the tilt-flap for mutually connecting the platform and the ground. It is actuated in its movements (opening to connect to the ground and vertical closure) by a single transverse end bar, which is connected to the two lateral support devices. The road or the ground usually are never parallel to the platform or to the loading floor pan and therefore it is sufficient for a single point of the bar to come into contact with the ground to actuate simultaneously the two lateral support devices and thus arrange the connecting tilt-flap in the access position. This actuation is currently performed with just two points of contact with the ground proximate to the lateral supports, and therefore the command to turn the tilt-flap occurs only if both end devices touch the ground: sometimes, indeed when the ground is not parallel to the plane of the platform, the platform is deformed, or with a hydraulic cylinder. Moreover, said device has, on both sides, a protruding pin which is meant, during the retraction of the telescopic guides into the containment box, to facilitate the retraction of said transverse bar within the contour.

The second important improvement relates to the use of two telescopic guides for the platform, one for each side. These guides are of the light-alloy type (aluminum alloy or the like), very compact in terms of thickness, and operate with sliding blocks made of synthetic material (such as for example Teflon or equivalents) which have technical characteristics of long life and quietness and are almost maintenance free. Lateral guides mounted on steel plates are currently used which slide on ball bearings: they are heavier, noisier and require more frequent maintenance.

The third advantageous improvement relates to the geometric shape of the containment box or supporting frame of the elevating assembly. It is contoured, in plan view, like an inverted letter T or simply rounded (or has another geometric shape), with two lateral cutouts which facilitate the insertion of the box in the supporting structure of the vehicle and at the same time contain motor means and actuation means, thus reducing the installation space occupation of the elevating unit. Currently, all containment boxes are shaped like a parallelepiped and in plan view are shaped like a rectangle or square: this provides greater lengthwise space occupation during installation on vehicles, forcing protrusion beyond the contour of the vehicle.

The fourth important improvement relates to the use of at least one fixed straight guide for the sliding of the telescopic platform arranged within the containment box, parallel to the entry and exit direction of the platform. Said platform is provided with rolling bearings, which act on the fixed guide of the box. Similar elevating devices currently are not equipped with sliding guides for the platform, and this entails an inconstant and abnormal movement, causing unwanted friction on the lateral internal walls. Our invention therefore overcomes the observed drawbacks (higher maintenance and costs for replacements of worn moving parts), reducing maintenance times and the number of the maintenance actions and achieving longer life and greater reliability of the parts involved.

The fifth innovative technical solution is applied to the containment box of the elevating device, particularly on door for closing and opening flap said device. Said door is actuated automatically and opens and maintains its position if the telescopic platform exits from the box with the support and movement arms and closes, again automatically, when the platform returns to the inactive position within the box. Our invention allows easy manual disassembly of the covering panel (sheet plate fixed to the rotation shoulders by means of four simple quick-opening screws) in case of emergency (lack of power) or malfunction of the system. In this manner, it is possible to easily intervene manually without deforming the mechanisms and the articulations for general movement and for the door itself to extract the platform or for ordinary operating maintenance.

Another improvement relates to the use of a particular mechanical system for moving the platform for connection to the loading floor pan. This articulation for transmission of the rotation of the platform uses a gas cylinder actuator (as a replacement of conventional helical elastic springs), meant to provide the initial impulse for opening the platform when it exits from the containment box.

A further improvement relates to safety in case of manual intervention on the motor device for actuating the system. It consists in disengaging the actuation pinion on the chain for moving the telescopic platform by snap mutual disengagement of the motor and pinion, which can be actuated from the outside simply with an appropriately provided handle and a flexible rod. The actuation motor is fixed to the box and moves the carriage of the telescopic platform by means of a chain formed by links.

Finally, for better management of the automatic elevating system for the disabled, in particular in order to program preventive and ordinary maintenance, a cycle counter and/or a timer for counting the working time of said elevating device is used. These elements are placed in a clearly visible position in order to facilitate their reading by users, so as to provide a timely reminder of the maintenance interventions to be performed. This allows safer use of the device and a longer life of the system. These technical and applicative safety refinements, the cycle counter and the timer, are applied in the management of devices for elevating persons and/or goods which use boxes under loading floor pans and/or on other similar devices with external arms. Description of drawings

The improvements according to the present invention are shown by way of preferential but non-limiting example in the accompanying four drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of an elevating device for the disabled with a containment box or supporting frame and a platform which protrudes externally with a tilt-flap for connection to the ground in a vertical position;

Figure 2 is a side view of the elevating device of Figure 1, with the floor pan connecting platform slightly raised;

Figure 3 is a side view of the elevating device in the two working positions, with the telescopic platform at road level and in an upper position for connection to the loading floor pan of the vehicle; Figure 4 is a perspective view of the telescopic platform in the closed position;

Figure 5 is a perspective view of the telescopic platform in the open position with the front connecting plate arranged horizontally and the tilt-flap for connection to the ground in the open position;

Figure 6 is a perspective view of the telescopic platform of Figure 5 with the ground connecting tilt-flap in the vertical safety position;

Figure 7 is an enlarged-scale perspective view of a detail of the region of the rear ground connecting tilt-flap;

Figure 8 is a sectional side view of the region of the ground connecting tilt-flap with said tilt-flap in a vertical position;

Figure 9 is a plan view of the box that contains the telescopic platform, highlighting the sliding guide which is parallel to the direction of movement of the platform;

Figure 10 is a perspective view of the containment box or supporting frame of the platform with the rear closure door in the open position;

Figure 11 is a side view, without the covering, of the platform in the fully extended position, illustrating the articulation for moving the side of the platform for connection to the loading floor pan;

Figure 12 is a side view, without the covering, of the platform of Figure 11 in the fully closed position;

Figure 13 is a side view, without the covering, of the platform with the part for connection to the loading floor pan partially raised (initial step for connection to the ground).

As can be seen from the accompanying drawings, the device for elevating persons and/or goods adapted for transport means in general, is constituted by a containment box or supporting frame 1, which is fixed to the structure of the transport vehicle and is positioned under the loading floor pan. It is not shaped like a parallelepiped, but its front insertion side is narrower, and its two opposite lateral edges 2 are contoured to a measurement which is distinctly smaller than the width of the box: this is done to facilitate installation and fixing to the supporting structure of the vehicle and the same time provide space for the motor means for said device, reducing the rear protrusion length.

The box 1 is provided with a rear closure door 3 (constituted by two shoulders which are pivoted externally with respect to the box and by a front covering sheet plate 18), which is actuated automatically downward in order to allow the exit of the telescopic platform 4 and of the double lateral articulation 5 for moving the same, The platform is provided laterally with special light-alloy telescopic guides 6 which slide by means of sliding blocks made of synthetic material (such as for example Teflon and/or equivalents). These guides are very narrow and compact, reliable over time, and very quiet. A particular device 10, one for each side, for actuating the ground connecting tilt-flap 7 is provided at the rear end of said guides. The two mechanisms that rotate the tilt-flap 7 into the connecting position (horizontal) or safe position (vertical), in order to avoid the accidental escape of the wheels of the wheelchair or of another carriage during the elevating or lowering maneuver, are actuated simultaneously by a transverse bar 8, which is arranged on the lower side of the platform. As soon as said round or tubular bar, having any geometric sectional shape, comes into contact in any point with the ground, it acts directly on the two articulated mechanisms ] O, which will turn the tilt-flap 7 from the inactive (vertical position) to the active position for connecting to the ground in order to allow the transit of the wheels of the wheelchair. Furthermore, said lateral devices are provided with a pin 19 which protrudes outwardly and is meant, during the return of the telescopic platform into the containment box, by resting against the lateral end plates 20 of the carriage, to lift the bar 8 and position it within the contour, thus reducing the rear overall space occupation.

The telescopic platform 4 has, on its front side, a plate 9 for connection to the loading floor pan of the vehicle. Said plate rests horizontally on the upper surface of the telescopic platform during the step for insertion or extraction from the containment box and rotates angularly on command (with an appropriately provided mechanical articulation or with the aid of gas cylinder actuators or of other equivalent systems) upward during the exit of said platform. The rotation of the connecting plate is at 90° (vertical) when the telescopic platform is at a lower level and reaches a higher level, and vice versa. In the step for connection to the loading floor pan of the vehicle, said plate rotates through another 90°, resting against said floor pan, thus connecting the upper surface of the platform and facilitating the transit of the wheelchair. The mechanical device for actuating said rotation (visible in Figures 11, 12, 13) is constituted by a lever-type mechanical articulation 22 which uses at least one gas cylinder actuator 21 (or another equivalent) in order to ensure the initial impulse during the opening of the plate-platform 9.

Within the containment box 1 or supporting frame of the elevating device, at least one sliding guide 11 is used which is arranged parallel to the direction of movement of the telescopic platform 4. Said guide is meant to facilitate the sliding and correct movement of the floor pan, avoiding lateral swaying during its operation. Bearings rigidly coupled to the structure of the floor pan act on the guide.

Within the container 1 there is also a floor pan movement system, which uses an electric motor 12 with a particular engagement clutch (actuated manually in an emergency by means of the handle 15), which actuates a driving chain 13 on which the platform is engaged 14. A further emergency action is provided by means of a handle 16 which acts directly on the electromagnetic release of the unit 17.

The invention of course is not limited to the examples of embodiment described above, starting from which it is possible to provide other embodiments and other ways of carrying out the invention, and the details of execution may in any case vary without thereby abandoning the essence of the invention as stated and as claimed hereinafter. ^■

Claims

1. An improved elevating platform for persons and/or goods adapted for transport means in general, also suitable for moving persons with reduced motor capacity on wheelchairs, characterized in that it is contained in an appropriately provided container, which constitutes the supporting frame which is fixed to the structure of the vehicle under the loading floor pan, provided with one or more (in the various combinations) of the following improvements: a) mechanical devices (10) for actuating the rotation of the tilt-flap (7) for connection to the ground, at the end of the platform (4), which are actuated by the movement of a transverse bar (8) which is located below said platform if it comes into contact in any point with the ground. Upon contact, it tends to move, rotating outwardly and actuating, by virtue of suitable devices, the rotation of the tilt-flap (7) from a vertical (inactive) position to a horizontal (active) position. Once contact with the ground has ceased, the bar returns to the inactive position (by virtue of appropriately provided elastic springs) and the tilt-flap automatically returns to the vertical locked position; b) the telescopic platform (4) uses, for the surface extension and retraction movement, on the two mutually opposite sides, appropriately provided telescopic guides (6) arranged horizontally and vertically. They are made of light alloy and use sliding blocks made of synthetic material for sliding; c) the telescopic platform (4) has, on the loading side, a particular connecting plate (9) for connection to the loading floor pan of the vehicle. It has a rectangular shape, is pivoted about a transverse axis to the platform on one side, and rotates automatically in relation to the position of the platform in its operating cycle. From an inactive horizontal position (0°), by resting on the upper surface of the platform (4), it turns vertically (at 90°) during movements from the ground to the level of the loading floor pan, and turns through an additional 90° (180°) to reach and rest on the loading floor pan of the vehicle; d) a containment box (1) or frame for supporting the elevating device to be fixed to the chassis of the vehicle under its loading floor pan, to the rear and/or laterally, and shaped like an inverted letter T (in plan view) in the rear part (2), which will be inserted and fixed on the structure of the means; e) a rectilinear sliding guide (11) within the containment box, which is fixed parallel to the direction of moment of the telescopic platform (4) and of the corresponding supporting articulation (S) on which said platform is forced to slide by virtue of suitable means (bearings); f) the possibility to remove quickly the door (3) for closing the container box (1), in particular the front contoured sheet plate, which can be removed easily in an emergency; g) a manual system (15) for disengaging the electric motor from the transmission of motion to the platform and thus disengage it in case of emergency; h) a manual system (16) for the electromagnetic release of the corresponding actuation system; i) the provision of optical indicator systems, such as a counter for work cycles of the elevating unit and/or a timer for counting the hours of operation in order to schedule exactly the maintenance of the elevating device for the disabled.

2. The improved elevating platform for persons and/or goods according to claim 1, characterized in that the containment box (1) is not shaped like a parallelepiped, but its front part is contoured so as to have any geometric shape in order to adapt to the vehicle to be equipped and/or to accommodate the various devices for the operation of the elevating unit.

3. The improved elevating platform for persons and/or goods according to claim 1, characterized in that it can be fitted to any means of transport, even inside it, under a false loading floor pan.

4. The improved elevating platform for persons and/or goods according to claim 1, characterized in that the bar (8) for actuating the tilt-flap (7) for connection to the ground can have any sectional configuration and can be made of metal and/or synthetic material.

5. The improved elevating platform for persons and/or goods according to claim 1, characterized in that the straight guide (11) within the containment box (1) can have any geometric sectional shape and can be made of any material and be in any position, provided that it is suitable to facilitate the rectilinear sliding of the structure of the telescopic platform.

6. The improved elevating platform for persons and/or goods according to claim 1, characterized in that the front removable sheet plate (18) of the cover (3), which can be moved towards the lower part of the container, is made of metallic material (steel, light alloy, et cetera) or of synthetic material (plastic and/or its derivatives).Said front housing (18) can be pivoted in a downward region about an axis which lies transversely with respect to the container (1) and is provided with suitable gas cylinder actuators in order to adjust the downward opening and closure in the opposite direction.

7. The improved elevating platform for persons and/or goods according to claim I, characterized in that the two end devices (10) of the platform that actuate the tilt-flap (7) each provide a pin (19) which protrudes outwardly and is meant to return the transverse bar (8) from a lower position to a position within the contour, during the step for insertion of the telescopic platform (4) within the containment box (1), by virtue of the contact of said pin with the lateral plate (20).

8. The improved elevating platform for persons and/or goods according to claim 1, characterized in that the articulation with levers (22) for the turning movement of the plate for connection (9) to the loading floor pan of the means of transport provides for the use of at least one gas cylinder actuator (21) which is suitably calibrated for correct operation of said articulation.

9. The improved elevating platform for persons and/or goods adapted for transport means in general, provided according to one or more of the preceding claims and according. to what is substantially described and illustrated for the specified purposes.