WO2021185871A1

WO2021185871A1 - Heavy and/or bulky load handling kit for easy loading and unloading, intended to be integrated into a utility vehicle

Info

Publication number: WO2021185871A1
Application number: PCT/EP2021/056735
Authority: WO
Inventors: Thierry Burais; Laurent Burais
Original assignee: Burais Distribution
Priority date: 2020-03-17
Filing date: 2021-03-16
Publication date: 2021-09-23
Also published as: FR3108280A1; FR3108280B1

Abstract

The invention relates to a handling kit with a hoist mounted on a telescopic slide that is itself fixed to a profile frame, which can be easily installed in any type of utility vehicle, in particular lightweight utility vehicles. It can in particular be installed in the retrofitting of utility vehicles already in circulation.

Description

Title: Kit for handling heavy and / or bulky loads for easy loading and unloading, intended to be integrated into a utility type vehicle.

Technical area

The present invention relates to the field of motor vehicles of utility type, and more particularly of light commercial vehicles (YUL).

It relates more particularly to a system for handling heavy and / or bulky loads to be loaded / unloaded from a utility vehicle.

By "heavy loads" we mean loads that a single individual cannot in practice lift manually on their own.

Although described with reference to a van or van type YUL vehicle, the invention applies to any type of utility vehicle and more particularly to all types of LCV vehicles, that is to say those which according to the official definition are commercial transport vehicles with a permissible gross vehicle weight (GVWR) not exceeding 3.5 tonnes. They can therefore be vans, vans, vans, pick-ups, or even vehicles of the chassis-cab and floor-cab type.

A main intended application relates to the unloading / loading from the utility vehicle in which they are charged / intended to be relays with induction coil or batteries intended for G signaling or other power supply at the edge of railways, in particular during renovation work.

Although described with reference to this main application, the invention is applicable to any type of application in which operators have to manually unload heavy loads from commercial vehicles.

Prior art

In France, maintenance of the rail network is one of the main activities of the Société Nationale des Chemins de Fer (SNCF), as the safety and reliability of the rail network depend on it.

There are many areas of work involved. Maintenance must deal mainly with problems of mechanical origin, linked for example to the connection of the ballast and rails, and electrical problems, linked for example to the design of electrical substations as well as to the electromagnetic compatibility of the network. Some maintenance work directly concerns work or replacement on site, that is to say on ballast. A heavy maintenance operation, usually referred to as ballast track renewal, is an itinerant mechanized railway site intended to replace the entire railway track: the rails, sleepers and ballast. Other occasional maintenance work can also be mechanized: change of sleepers, work on switches, additional ballast ...

During these renovations, an operation that is not to date and cannot really be due to accessibility constraints, consists of lifting and handling relays with induction coil or batteries intended for à G signaling or other electrical power supply at the edge of railway tracks.

Induction coil relays, also commonly called "inductive connections" (IC), are implemented in a track circuit is formed by the application of an electrical voltage to each rail wire of a given section, the trails of the section being isolated from those of the adjacent sections. If the rail vehicle is not passing, the relay is energized and the contacts are stuck. In the presence of a vehicle, a short circuit occurs which is called bypassing; part of the current is diverted by the wheels and the axle, which are metallic and therefore conductive, which causes the relay contacts to open. This relay in turn controls a circuit supplying the signal to the input of the section.

The number of inductive connections implemented is therefore proportional to the number of track circuits implemented, and therefore very significant at the scale of the rail network, especially in France.

Due to the poor accessibility to the aforementioned renovation sites and / or for reasons of cost and / or site speed, the lifting and handling operations of the inductive connections are carried out manually most of the time.

However, inductive conduits are heavy loads so that a single operator is not enough to carry out their lifting and handling.

This is why the applicant has proposed in patent application FR3073513A1 a tool perfectly suited to handling the aforementioned loads, once they have been unloaded from a utility vehicle which has transported them in situ.

If this tool perfectly meets the constraints on site and improves the working conditions of the operators, it nevertheless remains a significant constraint to the loading / unloading of the vehicle. Indeed, if in storage warehouses, factories and other places in which these heavy loads, and in general any type of heavy and / or bulky loads, are manufactured and / or packaged for transport, automated handling means ( forklifts, cranes, rolling bridges, cradles, etc.) are generally available and designed for loading into utility vehicles, this is not the case for sites where said loads are intended to be delivered or other heavy and / or bulky loads to be recovered by the utility vehicle.

For example, to return to the application referred to above, unloading inductive connections and switch motors on a path at the edge of a railway track, from the floor of a commercial vehicle is a delicate operation for operators.

More generally, the situations in which it is necessary to load / unload heavy loads in a commercial vehicle which is in a place where no means of handling is available are numerous.

What is more, in many cases, the operator who is the driver of the utility vehicle is often alone.

Handling systems on board commercial vehicles have already been developed to help operators load / unload heavy loads from the floors of vans and trucks.

Mention may be made, for example, of patent application CN 203957962U which discloses a truck, with, in its rear compartment, a handling system comprising a frame supporting horizontal rails on top of the volume of the compartment, and a cross member slidably mounted relative to the frame. and which supports a lifting device. The proposed system is particularly bulky with a frame which makes it incompatible with a good number of utility vehicles, in particular LCVs. Above all, the system is designed from the manufacture of the truck and it cannot therefore be implemented in an existing vehicle that one would seek to equip.

Document DE 4216709 discloses for its part a handling system with a structure intended to be installed in a van-type vehicle on which is slidably and pivoted a lifting device with forks. The proposed system is particularly bulky with a ground connection which makes it incompatible with a good number of utility vehicles, in particular LCVs. In particular, the hoist-type device proposed in the embodiment of FIG. 3, involves a lateral space requirement. This is due to the pulleys used as well as a space requirement on the top due to the need for the location of the hoist operating motor. In addition, the medium-term robustness of the system is far from being assured by the rollers used for sliding. Finally, the system shown is not really suitable for handling heavy loads or at the cost of increased cost and complexity by the means of multiplying the force of the engine that it would be necessary to install. .

There is therefore a need to further improve on-board handling systems in utility vehicles, in particular LCVs, in order to allow a single operator to load / unload a vehicle with heavy and / or bulky loads.

The invention aims to meet all or part of this need.

Disclosure of the invention

To do this, the invention relates, according to one of its aspects, to a handling kit, intended to be installed in a commercial motor vehicle, of the LCV type, comprising:

- A frame forming a handling gantry, comprising sections of which at least four vertical sections are each intended to be arranged on an anchoring point of the utility vehicle and at least two horizontal sections parallel to each other and supported by the four vertical sections;

- a telescopic slide, a fixed part of which is fixed to the two horizontal profiles, the slide being telescopic between an extreme folded position in which it is intended to be contained in the volume of the utility vehicle and an extreme deployed position in which at least part of its length is intended to be outside the volume of the utility vehicle,

- a first motorized hoist, fixed to a movable part of the telescopic slide, the first hoist being adapted to lift vertically a load from the ground near the utility vehicle to an end position in which the load can be brought back inside the gantry then placed on the floor of the utility vehicle and vice versa.

Thus, the invention consists of a handling kit with a first hoist mounted on a telescopic slide which is itself fixed to a frame with profiles, which can be easily installed in any type of commercial vehicle, in particular LCVs.

It can in particular be installed as a retrofit of utility vehicles already in circulation.

The kinematics of loading / unloading are very simple and quick to implement. A single operator, for example the driver of a utility vehicle equipped with the kit according to the invention, can thus load, or conversely unload, heavy loads from the floor of the vehicle.

The kit is very compact and reliable in the long term, and the means of motorization (hoist) or aid in moving the slide (jack or electric slide) can be supplied with electricity directly from a socket in the vehicle. utility and an additional battery connected to the power outlet.

The man-machine interface, such as a box, for controlling the hoist when it is motorized, can be easily manipulated by the operator without hindering him to guide the heavy load to be loaded / unloaded from the utility vehicle and this regardless of the surrounding outdoor terrain, even sloping ground.

The handling kit according to the invention fully meets the loading standards, in particular the NF EN ISO 12100 standard.

The handling kit can be easily configured for any type of commercial vehicle, only the lengths of the profiles and their relative spacing during assembly of the chassis being to be adapted according to the volume and the floor available for the commercial vehicle to to equip, in particular by retrofitting.

Advantageously, the slide is a ball slide.

According to an advantageous variant, the first hoist is motorized by means of an actuating motor supported by one of the parts of the telescopic slide.

The motor of the first hoist is preferably an electric motor intended to be supplied electrically by an outlet of the utility vehicle and an additional battery connected to the outlet.

According to an advantageous embodiment, the kit further comprises a cylinder or a motorized rack suitable for deploying and folding the telescopic slide.

According to another advantageous embodiment, the kit comprises load distribution plates each fixed below one of the four vertical profiles.

Advantageously, a mechanism can be provided for locking the telescopic slide in any position from its extreme folded position to its extreme deployed position. The telescopic slide blocking mechanism can be:

- a hydraulic device with a locking / unlocking handle, the manual actuation of which causes the movement of the telescopic slide; - an electrically motorized rack / pinion device with two actuation pushbuttons, one for moving the slide in one direction, the other in the other direction.

The handling kit may include a second motorized hoist, fixed to a movable part of the telescopic slide, the second hoist being adapted to lift a load vertically, in a position corresponding to the position of the first hoist when the telescopic slide is folded. , from the floor of the commercial vehicle to an end position, in which the load can be placed on the floor of the commercial vehicle and vice versa.

This embodiment thus makes it possible to increase the amplitude of movement of the load within the vehicle itself, which facilitates its loading / unloading.

Preferably, the first and second motorized hoist are attached to the telescopic slide so that, in the folded end position of the telescopic slide, the first hoist is positioned at one end of the telescopic slide and the second motorized hoist is positioned at the opposite end of the telescopic slide.

The subject of the invention is also a utility vehicle comprising a handling kit as described above.

Advantageously, the vertical profiles are each fixed at an anchoring point specified by the vehicle manufacturer of said vehicle.

Finally, the subject of the invention is the use of a kit as described above, to carry out the retrofitting of a utility vehicle.

Other advantages and characteristics of the invention will become more apparent on reading the detailed description of examples of implementation of the invention given by way of illustration and not limitation with reference to the following figures.

Brief description of the drawings

[Fig 1] FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view from below of an example of a handling kit according to the invention as it is ready to be installed inside and on the floor of a commercial vehicle LCV .

[Fig 2] Figure 2 is a schematic perspective view from above of the example kit according to Figure 1. [Fig 3] FIG. 3 is a perspective view in the extreme deployed position of a telescopic ball slide, used as a means of moving the hoist of a handling kit according to the invention.

[Fig 3A] Figure 3A is a longitudinal sectional view of a slide according to Figure 3. [Fig 3B] Figure 3B is a cross-sectional view of a slide according to Figure 3.

[Fig 4] Figure 4 is a photographic reproduction taken from the rear of the interior of a side sliding door LCV utility vehicle retrofitted with a handling kit according to the invention.

[Fig 5] Figure 5 is a photographic reproduction taken from the lateral side of the interior of the LCV commercial vehicle according to Figure 4, the heavy load being hooked inside the vehicle, by the hoist for unloading.

[Fig 6] Figure 6 is a photographic reproduction showing the slide in the extreme deployed position with the heavy load hooked by the hoist initially according to Figure 5, ready to be unloaded.

detailed description

Throughout the present application, the terms “lower”, “upper”, “above”, “below”, “vertical (ux)”, “horizontal (ux) are to be understood by reference with respect to a kit of handling according to the invention in a configuration installed inside and on the floor of a utility vehicle.

There is shown in Figures 1 and 2, a handling kit generally designated by the reference numeral 1, intended to be installed in a light commercial vehicle (LCV) with a sliding side door.

This kit 1 firstly comprises a frame 2 forming a handling gantry, and produced by assembling metal profiles, typically aluminum.

More specifically, in the illustrated embodiment, the frame 2 firstly comprises four vertical profiles 21, 22, 23, 24 each intended to be arranged on an anchor point of the utility vehicle, as described below, and four horizontal sections 25, 26, 27, 28 parallel to each other two by two, supported by the four vertical sections.

The frame 2 also includes load distribution plates 31, 32, 33, 34 each fixed below one of the four vertical profiles 21, 22, 23, 24.

The handling kit 1 also comprises a hoist 4 motorized by means of an electric motor 40. When it is in its configuration installed in a utility vehicle, the hoist 4 is suitable for lifting a heavy load vertically from the ground in the vicinity of the utility vehicle to an end position in which the load can be brought back inside the gantry and then placed on the floor of the utility vehicle and vice versa.

The hoist 4 and its electric motor 40 are fixed on a telescopic slide 5 itself fixed to two of the horizontal sections 25, 27.

More precisely, the telescopic slide 5 comprises a fixed part 50 fixed orthogonally to the two horizontal profiles 25, 27 while being parallel to the two other horizontal profiles 26, 28 and at least one movable part 51 on which the hoist 4 and its motor 40 are fixed. .

As illustrated in Figures 3, 3A and 3B, the telescopic slide 5 is a ball slide 500 in three parts including two movable parts 51, 52 which deploy from the fixed part 50 by the ball paths 500.

In order to facilitate the sliding maneuvers by an operator, a jack 6 is fixed on the slide 5 to deploy or fold it as desired.

A handle 7 is also fixed at the end of the movable part 51 of the slide 5 to facilitate gripping.

To secure handling, a locking mechanism 8 can be provided for the telescopic slide 5 in any position from its extreme folded position to its extreme deployed position. As shown in Figure 2, this mechanism 8 may consist of a device with the hydraulic cylinder 6 and an actuating handle 81 on the rod 80 which blocks or unlocks the telescopic slide 5.

An example of a handling kit 1 installed in a vehicle V between its roof T and its floor P is shown in FIG. 4 with the vertical profiles 21 to 24 of the frame 2 resting and fixed against the floor P, each at the level of an anchor point defined as such in the technical specifications of the vehicle manufacturer.

The motor 40 for actuating the hoist 4 is preferably connected to a power outlet of the vehicle V, which makes the operation of the handling kit 1 completely autonomous from the electrical energy supplied by the battery of the vehicle V or d. '' a dedicated additional battery, attached to the vehicle. This additional battery, typically 12v with a 70AH capacity, can be attached near the kit in the utility vehicle and be equipped with a circuit breaker with fuse and an extension cord typically 12v under 10A current. This additional battery can be connected to the original cigarette lighter located at the rear of the vehicle which allows the additional battery to be recharged while the utility vehicle is in motion.

By means of a control box 41 of the electric motor 40 for actuating the hoist 4, an operator can control the hoist 4 to hook a heavy load C placed on the floor by means of the hook at the end of the cable 42 unwound from the hoist 4 (figure 5).

Once the attachment is secure, it can lift the heavy load C by winding the cable 42 to a raised position inside the vehicle.

He then proceeds to deploy the telescopic slide 5 manually by gripping the handle 7 and assisting the cylinder 6. This assistance can also be performed by an electric motorized rack / pinion device, the actuation of which in one direction or in the right direction. The other opposite can be implemented by pressing the operator on a dedicated push button.

The slide 5 is then deployed through the opening O left free by sliding the vehicle door. The slide 5 is deployed between its extreme folded position in which it is contained with the load C fully within the volume of the vehicle V and a deployed position in which the end portion 51 is outside the volume of the vehicle. V (figure 6).

Preferably after blocking the slide by actuating the mechanism 8, the operator can then unload the heavy load C onto the ground by unwinding the cable 42 from the hoist 4, still using the control of the box 41 within reach.

Other variations and improvements can be provided without departing from the scope of the invention.

For example, if in Figures 3, 3A and 3B, the telescopic slide 5 is made with single rails, that is to say with an asymmetry in front view, we can also implement double rails.

The expression "comprising a" should be understood as being synonymous with "comprising at least one", unless specified to the contrary.

Claims

1. Handling kit (1), intended for installation in a commercial motor vehicle (V), of the LCV type, comprising:

- a frame (2) forming a handling gantry, comprising sections of which at least four vertical sections (21 to 24) are each intended to be arranged on an anchoring point of the utility vehicle and at least two horizontal sections (25 to 28) mutually parallel and supported by the four vertical sections;

- a telescopic slide (5), a fixed part (50) of which is fixed to the two horizontal profiles, the slide being telescopic between an extreme folded position in which it is intended to be contained in the volume of the utility vehicle and an extreme position deployed in which at least part of its length is intended to be outside the volume of the utility vehicle,

- a first motorized hoist (4, 40), fixed to a movable part of the telescopic slide, the hoist being adapted to lift a load vertically from the ground near the utility vehicle to an end position in which the load can be brought back inside the gantry and then placed on the floor of the utility vehicle and vice versa.

2. Handling kit according to claim 1, the slide being a ball slide.

3. Handling kit according to claim 1 or 2, the first hoist being motorized by means of an actuating motor supported by one of the parts of the telescopic slide.

4. Handling kit according to one of the preceding claims, the motor of the first hoist being an electric motor intended to be supplied electrically by an outlet of the utility vehicle and of an additional battery connected to the outlet.

5. Handling kit according to one of the preceding claims, further comprising a cylinder (6) or a motorized rack adapted (e) to deploy and fold the telescopic slide.

6. Handling kit according to one of the preceding claims, comprising load distribution plates (31 to 34) each fixed below one of the four vertical sections.

7. Handling kit according to one of the preceding claims, comprising a locking mechanism (8) of the telescopic slide in any position from its extreme folded position to its extreme deployed position.

8. Handling kit according to one of the preceding claims, comprising a second motorized hoist fixed to a movable part of the telescopic slide, the second hoist being adapted to lift a load vertically, in a position corresponding to the position of the first. hoist (4, 40) when the telescopic slide is folded, from the floor of the utility vehicle to an end position, in which the load can be placed on the floor of the utility vehicle and vice versa.

9. Handling kit according to the preceding claim, the first (4, 40) and the second motorized hoist being fixed to the telescopic slide so that, in the extreme folded position of the telescopic slide, the first hoist is positioned at one end. telescopic slide and the second motorized hoist is positioned at the opposite end of the telescopic slide.

10. Utility vehicle comprising a handling kit according to any one of the preceding claims.

11. Utility vehicle according to claim 10, wherein the vertical profiles are each fixed at an anchoring point specified by the vehicle manufacturer of said vehicle.

12. Use of a handling kit according to one of claims 1 to 9, for retrofitting a commercial vehicle.