FR3055008A1 - VISUAL OCCULTATION DEVICE FROM A VEHICLE BEFORE A TRANSHIPMENT WHARF - Google Patents

Abstract

The object of the invention is a device for visual occultation from a vehicle in front of a loading dock (16), comprising movable concealment means (18) able to take at least one retracted position leaving free vision from said vehicle and at least one hidden position in which the vision is obscured from said vehicle.

Description

(57) The object of the invention is a device for visual concealment from a vehicle in front of a loading dock (16), comprising movable occultation means (18) capable of assuming at least one retracted position leaving vision free from said vehicle and at least one obscured position in which the vision is obscured from said vehicle.

FR 3 055 008 - A1

VISUAL OCCULTATION DEVICE FROM A VEHICLE IN FRONT OF A DOCK

TRANSHIPMENT

The present invention relates to a visual occlusion device for vehicles in front of transfer platforms.

In the road freight transport sector, the transhipment phases, which consist of loading and unloading transport trucks or their containers, are phases presenting a certain number of risks linked to the safety of users, handlers and truck drivers.

Indeed, the loading and unloading of the trailers or containers they transport is carried out by a door located on the rear side of the truck. Transshipment docks are docks fitted with a door intended to receive the rear of the truck trailer and constitute the link between the truck trailer and the goods storage warehouse.

The truck is parked in front of the transfer dock in reverse. Once the trailer of the truck has docked, that is to say a few tens of centimeters from the transfer dock at most, a gangway, operated manually or mechanically, makes the connection between the transfer dock and the trailer of the truck leaning on the floor of the truck trailer. This bridge allows the circulation of a forklift type handling vehicle.

In addition, the rear doors of the truck trailer can only be opened or closed when the truck is moved away from the platform and this, at a distance at least equal to the width of a door of the trailer.

However, it often happens that the truck driver moves forward to get away from the transfer dock in order to close the truck doors and performs this maneuver while the round trips of the handling vehicle, between the warehouse and the truck, do not are not finished. The consequences can be very serious since the handling vehicle, if it is located on the gangway when the truck leaves the platform, could then fall from the platform or the trailer, the height of which is at least a meter. The bodily consequences of the handler operating the handling machine could be dramatic.

The problem is described for a trailer but this problem is identical for a standing container that can be brought in and left by a truck. The risk is that the truck will pick up the container while it is being loaded.

Many systems have therefore been developed to prevent the truck from leaving without loading / unloading operations being completed.

There are numerous chock systems, automatic or manual, for blocking the wheels of the truck or the trailer of the truck which prevent the movement of the vehicle until the handling operations are completed and the operator did not close the platform door. These chocks can also be coupled, in an automated way, with the platform door and then release the wheels of the truck only when the door is closed and locked. These wedges therefore prevent any unwanted departure from the truck and any risk of falling from the quay of handling equipment.

We also know the wedge described in French patent FR 15 62344, filed by the same applicant.

However, the holds cannot always be installed on the logistics platforms receiving the trucks, in particular for reasons of space. Indeed, the limited spacing between the platforms sometimes prevents the installation of wedging devices. It would therefore be advisable to install a device which can be installed whatever the spacing between the quays and which can be installed on all logistics platforms.

In addition, the bilge systems are relatively complex and expensive and act mechanically on the truck without the truck driver being directly concerned.

It would be advisable to propose a device acting directly on the choices and the decision of the driver. In the case of a visual occlusion device, the safety device according to the invention prohibits the advance of the truck by preventing the truck from moving, but by obscuring the vision of the truck driver which would allow him to 'moving forward.

In addition, the simplicity of the device according to the present invention reduces the possibilities of breakdowns and malfunction and facilitates its installation.

The device according to the present invention is also very little greedy in place, which makes it possible to envisage its installation even on very congested sites and very limited inter-vehicle spaces.

The present invention is now described according to a main embodiment, without this being limiting, this with regard to the associated drawings in which the different figures represent:

Figure 1: an elevation view of an unloading dock, a truck and the visual blanking device,

Figure 2: a perspective view of the visual concealment device,

FIG. 3: a front view of said visual occlusion device, and

Figure 4: an elevation view of a loading dock, a container and the visual concealment device,

As shown in FIG. 1, the visual occlusion device, object of the present invention, is positioned on a logistics platform 10.

A truck 11, composed of a tractor 12 and a trailer 14, is parked in front of a transshipment platform 16. The transfer platform 16 is equipped with a platform door 17 of a logistics building, which makes the junction between said logistics building, and the transfer platform 16.

The visual occultation device is formed by movable occultation means 18 made up of support means 19, in this case two fixed posts 20, supporting guide means 22 in this case a rail 24. The rail 24, each of which of the two ends is fixed at the top of each post 20, guides and supports a mobile carriage 26. The axis of the rail 24 is orthogonal to the surface of the platform door 17, itself vertical. The mobile carriage 26 is provided with displacement means 28, for example an electric motor and drive rollers, not visible. In addition, the mobile carriage 26 supports a pivoting arm 30 whose axis is horizontal and orthogonal to the longitudinal axis of the rail 24. Said pivoting arm 30 serves to fix and support a barrier 32. The barrier 32 can be constituted a rigid element such as a simple metal plate type panel or a rigid frame supporting a stretched tarpaulin. The barrier 32 can also be equipped with light or reflective markings to improve visibility. Here, said barrier 32 is provided with a stop marking on these two faces. The posts 20 as well as the quay 16 and the mobile carriage 26 are equipped with detection means 34, in this case sensors 36. The posts 20 are also equipped with signaling means 38, for example indicator lights 40, better visible in Figure 2.

Figure 2 shows the visual blanking device alone, seen in perspective, with the barrier 32 raised, that is to say horizontal. The sensors 36 are visible on the front and rear faces of the posts 20, considered with respect to the longitudinal direction of the concealment device.

FIG. 3 represents the visual occlusion device alone, seen from the front, with the barrier 32 lowered, in the obscured position, and having undergone a rotation of 90 ° along the axis of the pivoting arm 30, relative to the horizontal position of the barrier 32. As shown and visible in FIGS. 2 and 3, the barrier 32 is provided with a stop marking.

FIG. 4 represents the visual concealment device and a container Ç, positioned in front of the quay 16 during loading or unloading. Said container Ç, provided with feet 42, is shorter than the trailer 14 shown in FIG. 1. The mobile carriage 26, the pivoting arm 30 and the barrier 32, are located closer to the quay 16. Said barrier 32 is then positioned in front of container Ç and lowered vertically.

The pivoting arm 30 is motorized, by means of pivoting of said pivoting arm 30 such as an electromagnet or a motor for example, not shown.

When the truck 11 arrives on the logistics platform 10, it reverses in reverse, to align the trailer 14 with the platform 16 and the platform door 17, and so that the trailer 14 is parallel to the axis of the rail 24. A once the trailer 14 of the truck 11 is correctly positioned and parked, the operator placed in the logistics warehouse triggers the positioning of the barrier 32. Once the sensor 36 of the platform 16 has correctly detected the presence of the trailer 14 of the truck 11 , the mobile carriage 26 then moves along the rail 24 and is positioned as close as possible to the tractor 12 using the displacement means 28 and sensors 36 with which the mobile carriage 26 is provided. The rotation of the pivoting arm 30 and therefore of the barrier 32 is then carried out to position the barrier 32 vertically in front of the windshield of the tractor 12 of the truck 11, in the obscured position. As soon as the movable carriage 26 and the barrier 32 are correctly positioned, the interior indicator light hitherto red, then indicates to the operator, for example by the lighting of a green indicator that it is possible to open the platform door 16 and have access to the trailer 14. The exterior indicators 40, placed on the posts 20 light up red and indicate to the driver of the truck 11 that he must no longer maneuver said truck 11. The operator can thus carry out handling operations to load or unload the trailer 14.

As long as the barrier 32 is positioned vertically in front of the windshield of the tractor 12 of the truck 11, it represents a visual obstacle and an alert element that the driver cannot ignore. Even if the driver can physically leave with the truck, he cannot hide the visualization of the barrier 32. Any movement of the truck 11 would therefore be deliberately carried out by his driver.

Once the trailer 14 has been loaded or unloaded, the operator closes the platform door 17 and triggers the withdrawal of the barrier 32. For this, a rotation in the opposite direction to the previously described rotation of the pivoting arm 30 is performed and allows to position the barrier 32 horizontally as shown in Figure 2. The movable carriage 26 then moves in the opposite direction to that of the platform and is positioned awaiting a next arrival of truck. The exterior indicator lights 40 then turn green and the interior indicator returns to red and then indicates to the operator, that the truck 11 can leave and that it is no longer possible to access the platform 16.

The use of the visual concealment device is previously described with a truck and its trailer but the device can obviously be used for containers C, as shown in Figure 4. In this case, the main risk is that the truck container maneuvers and recovers container C while said container C is being loaded or unloaded. After the container truck maneuver, which deposits the container C on legs 42 at platform height 16, as shown in FIG. 4, the container truck withdraws and leaves the container Ç positioned.

Once the container Ç placed on its feet 42 and the container carrier truck gone, the procedure described above is triggered by the operator. The exterior indicator lights 40 and the interior indicator lights associated with the concealment device operate in the same way. The mobile carriage 26 and therefore the barrier 32 then moves towards the container C. The sensor 36 of the mobile carriage 26 not meeting a truck 11, the mobile carriage 26 comes to the end of the rail 24, against the post 20 most close to platform 16. The barrier 32 lowers until it is vertical. In this use, the interest is not to obscure the driver's view so that he does not leave but to prevent access to container C for the container truck. Once the container Ç has been loaded or unloaded, the operator closes the platform door 17 and triggers the withdrawal of the barrier 32. For this, the rotation in the opposite direction to the rotation of the pivoting arm 30 is carried out and allows to position the barrier 32 horizontally as in FIG. 2. The mobile carriage 26 then moves in the direction opposite to that of the platform 16. The container truck can thus come and collect the container.

The whole of this visual concealment device can be coupled to a retractable terminal whose up / down movements are coupled with the movements of the barrier 32.

Thus, the lifting is coupled with the lowering of the barrier 32 in the case where the driver advances despite the lowering of the barrier 32.

The barrier 32 and the pivoting arm 30 are here described as being pivotable about an axis identical to the axis of the arm 30 and therefore a horizontal axis orthogonal to the axis of the rail 24. However, the mobile carriage 26 can also be provided with a mechanism allowing rotation of the pivoting arm 30 and of the barrier 32 about an axis parallel to the axis of the rail 24. In this case, the pivoting arm 30 and the barrier 32 rotate through 90 ° from the horizontal position and are positioned vertically. This vertical position makes it possible to avoid catching during maneuvers of the truck 11. The barrier 32, here described as a panel or a rigid frame, can also be a flexible element, such as a simple rectangular tarpaulin provided with ballasting along its lower end. When in its horizontal position, said ballasting makes it possible to stabilize the cover, in particular in the presence of wind. Once raised and vertical, the pivoting arm 30 supports the flexible barrier 32, which then deforms along said pivoting arm 30.

Claims (8)

1. Visual occultation device from a vehicle in front of a loading dock (16), comprising movable occultation means (18) capable of assuming at least one retracted position leaving free vision from said vehicle and at least one concealed position in which the vision is obscured from said vehicle. 2. Device for visually obscuring a vehicle in front of a loading dock (16), according to claim 1, characterized in that the movable occultation means (18) comprise support means (19), guide means. (22) and means for moving (28) a barrier (32). 3. Device for visually obscuring a vehicle in front of a loading dock (16), according to claim 2, characterized in that a mobile carriage (26) supports a pivoting arm (30) on which the barrier is fixed ( 32). 4. Visual occultation device of a vehicle in front of a loading dock (16), according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it is provided with detection means (34). 5. Visual occultation device of a vehicle in front of a loading dock (16), according to claim 4, characterized in that the detection means (34) comprise sensors (36). 6. Device for visually obscuring a vehicle in front of a loading dock 16, according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it is provided with signaling means (38). 7. Device for visually obscuring a vehicle in front of a loading dock (16), according to claim 6, characterized in that the signaling means (38) comprise indicator lights (40). 8. Device for visually obscuring a vehicle in front of a loading dock (16), according to claims 2 to 7, characterized in that it comprises a retractable terminal whose up / down movements are coupled with the movements of the barrier (32). 1/2 READ