ES2930461A1 - Loading arm for containers with closed roof (Machine-translation by Google Translate, not legally binding) - Google Patents

Abstract

Loading arm for containers. The invention consists of an arm that has a "C" configuration, whose upper (3) and lower (4) branches are horizontally elongated, and its intermediate section (5) vertical, these free branches presenting a length in accordance with the depth of the container (1) in which it is applicable. The upper branch (3) of the arm includes hoisting means (6), so that to balance the device it has a counterweight (10) in said upper branch, while the lower branch (4) of the arm incorporates means for the hanging of the load (11). The device has been designed to present a minimum weight and that it can be transported in the containers in which it is applied. (Machine-translation by Google Translate, not legally binding)

Description

DESCRIPTION

Loading arm for containers with closed roof

TECHNIQUE SECTOR

The present invention refers to a loading arm, which has been specially designed to facilitate the introduction of loads into containers with a closed roof.

The object of the invention is to provide an arm with a structure that significantly facilitates cargo loading maneuvers in closed-top containers by using cranes.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

When loading a container, the fact that it only allows access through its rear end greatly limits loading maneuvers from the point of view of the machinery to be used.

Thus, for the loading of this type of container, forklifts are usually used which, although they allow the load to be raised up to the level of the platform or base of the container, have obvious limitations in terms of the degree of insertion within the container. said container, which is why it is usually necessary to use, inside the container, forklifts whose mast collides with the roof or pallet trucks, thus complicating all the operations and machinery to be used, especially if the merchandise to be loaded must be previously unloaded by a crane, especially in the case of heavy and long pieces such as train rails and metal profiles or bars or any other material. Maneuvers with these and other equipment are usually slow, unproductive and in many cases dangerous.

EXPLANATION OF THE INVENTION

The recommended loading arm for closed-top containers satisfactorily resolves the aforementioned problem, based on a simple but effective solution that allows all loading maneuvers to be carried out with a single mechanism, which can be installed on a crane.

To this end, the loading arm of the invention is embodied in a body with a "C" configuration, based on a structural tube, whose free branches are horizontally elongated, and its intermediate section is vertical, these free branches presenting a length in accordance with the depth of the container on which you want to deposit the load.

More specifically, the upper branch of the device will have hoisting means to link the arm to the corresponding crane.

Symmetrical lifting elements are attached to the hoisting means that allow a ring to be attached to the hook of the crane on which the loading arm is to be installed. This ring creates an imaginary axis that we will call the vertical axis of the lifting ring.

On each side of this imaginary axis, the arm has different lengths and weights, and both sides must balance. On the one hand we have the counterweight side and on the other the counterbalanced side

Depending on the measurements and weight of the counterbalanced side, an arm with a counterweight that balances the center of gravity of the device is fixed to the other side, or it is extended in a single piece.

The sections of the materials with which it is constructed and the lengths of the device on each side of the vertical axis of the lifting eye have a considerable effect on the TARE of the arm. The larger sections of the materials with which it is built, the greater the counterweight masses and the greater TARE of the loading arm.

The shorter the arm associated with the counterweight, the greater the weight of the counterweight. The longer and heavier the side to be counterbalanced, the heavier the counterweight should be.

The TARA of the arm is a handicap in its possibilities of use, since the higher the TARA of the loading arm, the fewer the number of users who have a crane with the necessary capacity for its use.

One of the ways to reduce the TARA is to lengthen the arm associated with the counterweight, so that the mass of the counterweight is less the more this side is lengthened (due to the lever made with respect to the vertical axis of the lifting eye). The drawback is that excessively long arm can be obtained for use, storage and maneuverability.

For its part, the lower arm will include means for hanging the load of various constructions, such as pairs of transverse lugs emerging from both sides of the arm on which to establish the elements for lifting and/or supporting the load, such as cables, wire ropes, slings, chains, ropes or similar, assisted by lugs, rings, shackles or fixing elements and that may be assisted by bolt mechanisms that prevent their accidental detachment.

The means for hanging the load will be placed symmetrically with respect to the vertical axis of the lifting eye. The center of gravity of the load to be lifted will be vertically aligned with the vertical axis of the lifting eye and in this way the arm remains in balance both when it is loaded and when it is not.

This lower branch can optionally be finished off with a fork on whose arms the merchandise can be hung and which allows the useful height of the container to be optimised.

In any of the cases, in this way a device is achieved that between its upper and lower branches defines a space through which the roof of the container can be passed once the loading arm is vertically aligned and previously arranged laterally to the container. container, so that the lower branch of the container can move to the bottom of the container without any type of obstacle to deposit the load in the exact place that is deemed convenient

The arm is built with a structural tube but the structural efforts of said tube are not homogeneous in all areas and there are large differences between the different areas.

To reach the required capacity in the area of greatest stress, if it is built only with structural tube, its section must be higher than necessary in the areas of least stress. This has an impact on a high TARA of the loading arm and reduces its possibilities of use due to the fact that it requires, for its installation, larger cranes with more capacity.

The aim is to avoid a tube with a large section and, on the other hand, it is sought that the structure reaches the required section in the areas of greatest effort. Locating the areas of greatest effort, a reinforcement is placed by means of welded steel plates on both sides of the tube. In this way, the section of the tube is reduced in the areas of least stress and the reinforcements are increased only in the required area.

Additionally, a second reinforcement can be added that is welded in the area of greatest stress of the first reinforcement, although this is not done in all models and is optional depending on its design and geometry.

The use of steels with a high elastic limit greater than S355 also allows lightening the weight and increasing the load capacity of the device for the same thickness of the material.

There are several options in the combinations of the use of steel with a high elastic limit higher than S355 and steels with an elastic limit equal to or lower than S355, for the construction of the horizontal and vertical branches that participate in the loading device. The main four are:

1. Use reinforcing plates with steel with a high elastic limit greater than S355 and structural tube with steel with an elastic limit equal to or less than S355. It is the most efficient option since it allows to considerably reduce the TARE due to the fact that the plates are located in the area furthest away from the lifting rings.

The further away the plank is, the more impact it has on the mass of the counterweight needed to balance the arm. By using steel with a high elastic limit greater than S355 in the reinforcement plates, we can lower the thickness of the plate for the same load capacity of the loading arm to be built. It is the most economical option in the use of steels with a high elastic limit greater than S355 since these steels are much more expensive than steels with an elastic limit equal to or less than S355 and we concentrate their use in the area that requires the greatest effort and that more impact on the mass of the counterweight.

The rest of the plates with which the arm is built can be steel with a high elastic limit higher than S355 or steel with an elastic limit equal to or lower than S355 and all the options can be combined. These last options have less influence on the TARE of the loading arm. For descriptive purposes of the following 3 options, we consider this criterion of options to be extensible to combine all its possibilities together with the 4 main ones.

2. Use steel reinforcement plates with a high elastic limit higher than S355 and structural tube steel with a high elastic limit higher than S355. It is the option that allows to reduce the TARE of the arm to the maximum and it is the most expensive option of all.

3. Use reinforcing steel plates with an elastic limit equal to or less than S355 and the structural steel tube with a high elastic limit greater than S355. This option reduces the TARE but in a less efficient way than option 1 since the weight reduction is not concentrated in the thickest area and distant from the vertical axis of the lifting eye

4. Use the plates and structural tube with steels with an elastic limit equal to or less than S355. This is the option that implies the highest TARA in the construction of the arm, which is why it is an uninteresting option.

As for the upper branch, it can be built in two ways:

A- Upper arm in a single non-removable piece topped with a counterweight: they are usually short arms, with a higher TARE but which is sufficient for the crane on which it is to be installed and the mass to be lifted.

B- Removable upper arm: The upper branch of the structure is complemented with an arm as an extension of it that is fixed to it by any conventional means, arm that is finished off with the corresponding counterweight.

The main purpose for its division into two pieces is to reduce transportation costs, especially when it comes to transporting it in 20-foot containers, since otherwise a 40-foot container would be required, which increases the transportation cost considerably, especially if it is done between continents. The main side, which almost always corresponds to the counterbalanced side (although it is not the same), is built so that it is less than 20 feet in order to transport it in this type of container. The means to join both parts can be varied: screwable plates, joints by means of bolts, joints by fitting pieces and the various ways of joining two removable pieces.

The other purpose for which it can be made in two pieces is to facilitate its handling when it is built, which reduces production times and likewise its cost and, by extension, its sale price.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

To complement the description that is going to be made below and in order to help a better understanding of the characteristics of the invention, according to a preferred example of its practical embodiment, a set of drawings is attached as an integral part of said description. where, with an illustrative and non-limiting nature, the following has been represented:

Figure 1.- Shows a perspective view of a loading arm for containers with a closed roof made in accordance with the object of the present invention.

Figure 2.- Shows an exploded view of the assembly of the previous figure.

Figure 3.- Shows an elevation view of the arm in an operative situation, introducing a load onto the container of a vehicle represented schematically.

Figure 4.- Shows a profile view of the arm carrying a load.

Figure 5.- Shows, finally, a perspective view of four variants of the arm of the invention in loading arrangement.

PREFERRED EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION

In view of the outlined figures, it can be seen how the loading arm of the invention is designed to carry out the loading of goods in 20 and 40 foot containers (1) with closed roofs (2).

For this, the loading arm of the invention is materialized in a "C"-shaped body, based on a structural tube, whose upper (3) and lower (4) branches are horizontally elongated, and its intermediate section (5) vertical, these free branches presenting a length in accordance with the depth of the container (1) on which the load is to be deposited.

This arm is linked to a crane through hoisting means (6) established in the upper branch (3), a crane that must have the capacity to lift both the TARE of this arm and the maximum weight of the load that said arm can lift. arm.

The branch or intermediate section (5) is capable of being reinforced with a pair of lateral reinforcements (7), made of steel with an elastic limit greater than S355. This same reinforcement can be further reinforced with a second reinforcement.

In order to balance the center of gravity that is generated when the arm is raised from two points close to the free end of the upper branch (3), it has been provided that said free end is finished off with some plates in the form of flanges (8) to join the second arm (9), topped with a counterweight (10), this second arm could optionally be a simple extension of the upper branch (3) itself, that is, present a one-piece character with said branch, thus dispensing with the flanges (8) or or use other conventional fixing systems such as joints by means of bolts, joints by fitting parts, etc.

This counterweight (10) can be materialized in a kind of steel container that can be filled with silica sand, cement, with more steel or with another element to increase the weight of the counterweight. By increasing the length of the upper branch (3) by means of the second arm (9), a lighter weight counterweight is required.

In addition, this detachable nature of the second arm (9) and counterweight (10) assembly allows the device to be loaded in a 20-foot container, thereby considerably reducing its transportation costs.

As can be seen in figure 3, the lower branch (4) will include means for hanging the load of various constructions (11), such as pairs of transverse lugs (12) emerging from both sides of the arm on the to establish the lifting and/or support elements of the load, such as cables (13), wire ropes, slings, chains, ropes or similar, assisted by lugs, rings, shackles or carabiners (14) and that may be assisted by mechanisms bolt (15) to prevent accidental release.

Finally, and in accordance with the embodiment variants shown in figure 5, the length of the second arm (9), as well as the rest of the elements of the device, may vary depending on the specific needs of each case, with the possibility of the lower branch ( 4) finished off in a fork (16) on whose arms hang the load (11) from the holes in those plates that act as forks. Likewise, these forks can be built with steel plates with a high elastic limit greater than S355.

Claims (4)

1a.- Loading arm for containers with a closed roof, characterized in that it is made up of a "C"-shaped body, whose upper (3) and lower (4) branches are horizontally elongated, and its intermediate section (5 ) vertical, these free branches presenting a length in accordance with the depth of the container (1) in which it is applicable, having provided that the upper branch (3) of the arm includes lifting means (6), branch to which it is linked or a second arm (9) ending in a counterweight (10) is extended in a single piece, while the lower branch (4) of the arm incorporates means for hanging the load (11), with the particularity that the branch or section intermediate (5) includes a pair of reinforcements (7) or side plates, where the reinforcement plates and/or the structural tube through which the "C"-shaped structure is obtained are obtained from high elastic limit steel better than S355. 2nd.- Loading arm for containers with a closed roof, according to claim 1, characterized in that the means for hanging the load (11) are materialized in pairs of transverse lugs (12) emerging from both sides of the lower branch (4 ) of the arm assisted by bolt mechanisms (15). 3.- Loading arm for containers with a closed roof, according to claim 1, characterized in that the free end of the upper branch (3) can be joined by means of screw-on plates, joints by bolts, joints by fitting parts with the second arm (9) associated with the counterweight (10). 4.- Loading arm for containers with a closed roof, according to claim 1, characterized in that the lower branch (4) of the arm ends in a fork (16) whose arms determine the means for hanging the load (11).