EP0712456B1 - Rail for transporting suspended loads - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a rail for the transport of loads suspended from trolleys fitted with galats intended to take support and roll on the rail. These trolleys can be moved on the rail for example by a chain system with motorized cleats. Such conveyor devices are used in many fields, in particular for carrying out the carcass of cattle in the slaughterhouses, to pass the carcass to the various treatment stations.

Generally, the rail suspension system includes a tubular rail in galvanized steel, of circular section, supported by points by chairs or consoles belonging to the installation frame. The loads to be transported are suspended on hooks belonging to trolleys each equipped with a roller bearing on the rail.

The friction of the roller of each carriage causes, especially when the load is high, a partial loss of layer of zinc, which quickly results in the appearance of rust, especially when the installation is in a humid atmosphere. In in addition, there is a deformation of the tubular rail with wear and losses matter, resulting in increased tension in the system hook drive, which results in excessive play of this drive device, or even a rupture of constituent parts of this training device. In practice, in slaughterhouses, the tubular rail should be changed after approximately one year of use, which constitutes a expensive operation, and disrupting operation. It also results from this deterioration a fall of rust and steel particles on the animal carcasses, which is damaging at least in terms aesthetic. Finally, certain ruptures, such as ruptures of the drive chain can cause, in curve, the chain causing the fall of carcasses. To remedy this disadvantage, it was imagined to look for a harder metal. The solution was not found. It was also imagined to use steel stainless. However, it does not have the hardness qualities required.

The object of the invention is to remedy these drawbacks by providing a rail for the transport of suspended loads, comprising excellent mechanical qualities, especially hardness, to avoid any deformation over time, and having satisfactory properties, especially in terms of food, insofar as the costs transported are for example cattle carcasses in slaughterhouses.

For this purpose, the rail for the transport of suspended loads it concerns, comprises in combination a metal support element fixed on chairs or consoles belonging to the installation frame, and a rigid synthetic bar which, resting over its entire length on the support, constitutes the bearing and rolling surface of the carriages bearing the charges.

The metal support element ensures the mechanical resistance of the whole, while the plastic bar provides the function track for support and rolling of carriages.

According to a first embodiment, the bar in matters synthetic has a circular section, its metal support being consisting of a cradle in the form of a cylindrical surface section of same diameter as the bar and extending to the lower part of its periphery.

In this case, insofar as each carriage has a body disposed on one side of the rail, between its bearing area on the rail and its area load suspension, the wing of the support cradle, located on the side of the body of the carriages, is lower than that located on the opposite side corresponding to the side on which the fixing chairs are located.

Advantageously, the edge of the cradle located on the side of the body carriages are machined to have a substantially vertical flat.

It is indeed important that the wing of the support cradle located on the side of the carriage body is shorter, to avoid, in particular turn, that the carriage body does not strike the support cradle.

According to another embodiment of this rail, the bar in synthetic material, generally circular in section, has a flat formed in its lower part, intended for mounting on a support metal in the form of a horizontal flat bar.

According to yet another embodiment of this rail, the bar made of synthetic material of circular general section, includes a continuous recess, opening into its lower part, into which is engaged a metal support in the form of a vertical flat bar.

According to another characteristic of the invention, the bar in synthetic material is fixed by points on the metal support by through lag screws.

Advantageously, at least some of the lag screws are also engaged in the chairs of the frame and are used to fix the rail on these.

In addition, the plastic bar is full and is made from sections whose ends each have a central bore or slot, for connection to the neighboring section at using a pin or a plate, respectively.

This mechanical assembly can possibly be completed by bonding or welding.

The plastic bar is made of polyethyleneterephthalate, as known under the brand ERTALYTE, or possibly in polyamide 6 cast, as known under the brand ERTALON 6XAU.

Figure 1 est une vue de côté d'un tronçon de dispositif de transport par rail conforme à l'invention ;

Figure 2 en est une vue en coupe transversale et à échelle agrandie ;

Figure 3 est une vue en coupe transversale et à échelle encore plus agrandie du rail de figures 1 et 2 ;

Figure 4 est une vue similaire à figure 3 d'une variante d'exécution de ce rail ;

Figures 5 et 6 sont deux vues en coupe similaire à figure 3 représentant deux autres rails ;

Figure 7 est une vue en perspective des extrémités de deux tronçons de barreau avant assemblage ;

Figure 8 est une vue de côté, partiellement en coupe longitudinale, de l'assemblage entre deux tronçons de barreaux ;

Figure 9 est une vue en perspective des extrémités de deux tronçons de barreaux avant assemblage.

In any case, the invention will be clearly understood with the aid of the description which follows with reference to the appended diagrammatic drawing representing, by way of nonlimiting examples, several embodiments of this rail:

Figure 1 is a side view of a section of rail transport device according to the invention;

Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view on an enlarged scale;

Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view and on an even larger scale of the rail of Figures 1 and 2;

Figure 4 is a view similar to Figure 3 of an alternative embodiment of this rail;

Figures 5 and 6 are two sectional views similar to Figure 3 showing two other rails;

Figure 7 is a perspective view of the ends of two sections of bar before assembly;

Figure 8 is a side view, partially in longitudinal section, of the assembly between two sections of bars;

Figure 9 is a perspective view of the ends of two sections of bars before assembly.

The installation shown in the drawing includes a rail 2 on which are intended to be moved from the 3 load carriers. Each carriage 3 comprises a body 4 disposed laterally relative to to rail 2, the upper end 5 of which forms a yoke open towards the bottom used to mount a diabolo-shaped roller 6 intended for bear on rail 2. The lower end of the body can, for example, be fitted with a suspension hook 7. Rail 2 is fixed by points on chairs 8 belonging to the installation frame. The part upper of these chairs is equipped with a rail 9 of section in I, serving to the support and guiding of rollers 10 supporting through a body 12 a motorized chain 13. This chain 13 carries by point, cleats 14, intended to carry out the driving of the carriages 3.

In the embodiment shown in Figures 1 and 2, the rail 2 consists of a bar 15 made of synthetic material, such as polyethyleneterephthalate, known under the brand ERTALYTE. This bar of circular section, rests by its lower part on a metal support 16 in the form of a cradle, consisting of a section of cylindrical surface of the same radius as the bar.

As shown in particular in FIGS. 3 and 4, the wing 17 of the metal support 16, located on the side of the body 4 of the carriages is more shorter than the wing 18 located on the side of the chairs 8. In addition, the edge of the wing 17 has a substantially vertical flat, this to prevent this wing constitutes a hindrance for the passage of the bodies 4 of the carriages 3, especially when cornering, or when the body of the carriages is subjected to oscillations.

In the embodiment shown in Figure 3, the assembly between the bar 15 and the metal support 16 is carried out at using lag bolts 19, also crossing chairs 8, which allows to assemble the two components of rail 2 at the chairs 8.

In the embodiment shown in Figure 4, the lag screw 19 is engaged from the upper face of the bar 15, and comes screw in chair 8, while the opposite solution was adopted in Figure 3.

FIG. 5 represents an alternative embodiment in which the bar 25, of generally circular section, has a flat 26, formed in its lower part, intended for mounting on a support metal in the form of a horizontal bar 27.

In the embodiment shown in Figure 6, the bar 35 is of circular general section, and has a recess 36 opening into its lower part, into which the support is engaged metallic 37 constituted by a vertical flat bar.

The assembly between two sections of bars can be carried out by providing, in the ends to be assembled, axial bores 20, intended to receive a pin 22. It is also possible to spare in the ends of the bars 15, not bores 20, but slots 23 intended for the engagement of a plate 24, which can possibly be fixed on a chair 8 belonging to the frame.

As is apparent from the above, the invention provides a great improvement to the existing technique by providing a rail for the transport of suspended loads, simple in design, capable of withstand heavy loads without deformation, thanks to the combination of the metal support and the material track synthetic, while using a material at the level of the track support, which is free from deformation, and which has excellent nutritional qualities, which is an advantage when the rail is intended for the transport of carcasses.

It goes without saying that the invention is not limited only to embodiments of this rail, described above by way of examples, it on the contrary embraces all variants. This is how the metal support could be fixed by welding on the chairs or consoles, or that the assembly between sections of bars could be done differently, for example by screwing a rod threaded in the central position, without leaving the frame the invention.

Claims (11)

1. A rail for transporting loads suspended from carriages (3) fitted with guide-pulleys (6) designed to bear on and roll along the rail (2), characterised in that it has in combination a metal support element (16, 26, 36) fixed onto hangers (8) or brackets belonging to the framework of the installation and a bar (15, 25, 35) made from a rigid synthetic material which, resting across its entire length on the support (16, 26, 36), forms the supporting and rolling surface for the carriages carrying the loads.
2. A rail as claimed in claim 1, characterised in that the bar of synthetic material (15) has a circular section, its metal support being formed by a cradle (16) in the form of a length having a cylindrical surface of the same diameter as the bar and extending across the lower part of its periphery.
3. A rail as claimed in claim 2, characterised in that, each carriage (3) having a body (4) arranged to one side of the rail (2) between the zone (5) thereof bearing on the rail and the zone (7) thereof from which the load is suspended, the wing (17) of the support cradle located on the side of the body of the carriages is not as high as that (18) located on the opposite side corresponding to the side on which the mounting brackets are located.
4. A rail as claimed in claim 3, characterised in that the edge (17) of the cradle (16) located on the side of the body (4) of the carriages (3) is machined to provide a substantially vertical flat portion.
5. A rail as claimed in claim 1, characterised in that the bar of synthetic material (25), which is generally circular in section, has a flat portion (26) arranged at its bottom part, designed so that it can be mounted on a metal support (27) in the form of a flat horizontal bar.
6. A rail as claimed in claim 1, characterised in that the bar of synthetic material (35), which is generally circular in section, has a continuous recess (37) opening at its bottom part, in which a metal support in the form of a flat vertical bar (37) is located.
7. A rail as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 6, characterised in that the bar of synthetic material (15, 25, 35) is secured onto the metal support by means of tie-screws at various points.
8. A rail as claimed in claim 7, characterised in that at least some of the tie-screws are also located in the brackets of the framework and are used to secure the rail thereto.
9. A rail as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 8, characterised in that the bar of synthetic material (15) is solid and is made up of lengths, each of the ends of which has a central groove (20) or a slit (23) for the purpose of assembly with the adjacent length by means of a pin (22) or a small plate (24) respectively.
10. A rail as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 9, characterised in that the bar of synthetic material (15, 25, 35) is made from polyethylene terephthalate, such as that sold under the ERTALYTE trade name.
11. A rail as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 9, characterised in that the bar of synthetic material (15, 25, 35) is made from cast polyamide 6, such as that sold under the ERTALON 6XAU trade name.

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