Lift Device for a Tugger Train Trailer and Tugger Train Trailer with a Lift Device

Abstract

A lift device (10) of a tugger train trailer(1) is disclosed for raising and lowering a cargo carried in the tugger train trailer (1). The lift device (10) has a lifting shaft (21) driven by a drive motor (20) and mounted so that it can rotate around an axis of rotation (D), and to which at least one lift linkage (25a; 25b; 25c; 25d) that raises and lowers the cargo is coupled in an articulated manner at some distance from the axis of rotation (D) of the lifting shaft (21).

Claims

1. A lift device of a tugger train trailer for raising and lowering a cargo carried in the tugger train trailer, wherein the lift device comprises a lifting shaft driven by a drive motor and mounted so as to rotate around an axis of rotation, and to which at least one lift linkage which raises and lowers the cargo is coupled in an articulated manner at a distance from the axis of rotation of the lifting shaft.

2. The lift device according to claim 1, wherein the lift device has at least two lift linkages which are located at a distance from one another in the longitudinal direction of the lifting shaft.

3. The lift device according to claim 1, wherein the lift linkage coupled in an articulated manner to a crank arm device located non-rotationally on the lifting shaft.

4. The lift device according to claim 3, wherein the crank arm device has two crank discs located at an axial distance from each other on the lifting shaft, and between which the lift linkage is located.

5. The lift device according claim 3, wherein the lift linkage is coupled in an articulated manner to a fastening pin oriented parallel to the axis of rotation on the crank arm device.

6. The lift device according to claim 1, wherein the lift linkage has a hook-shaped profile in the vicinity of the coupling to the lifting shaft, and is arranged so that the hook-shaped profile is in contact in a top end-of-travel position of the lift linkage with an interior surface on an exterior-surface of the lifting shaft to support the lift linkage on the lifting shaft.

7. The lift device according to claim 1, wherein the drive motor is in an operative connection by a transmission with the lifting shaft.

8. The lift device according to claim 1, wherein in a top end-of-travel position, a dead center interlock is provided between the lift linkage and the lifting shaft.

9. The lift device according to claim 1 wherein the lifting shaft is in the form of a spline shaft or an involute spline shaft.

10. The lift device according to claim 9, wherein the crank arm device is provided with a hub profile that interacts in a complementary manner with the spline shaft or involute spline shaft.

11. The lift device according to claim 1, wherein a sensor device is operatively connected with the lifting shaft.

12. The lift device according to claim 1, wherein the lifting shaft is provided with a mechanical interface to which a hand tool can be applied for the manual actuation of the lifting shaft.

13. A tugger train trailer with a chassis, which has two axle modules located at a distance from each other in longitudinal direction of the vehicle, and between which axle modules cargo being carried is located, wherein the tugger train trailer is provided with a lift device according to claim 1.

14. The tugger train trailer according to claim 13, wherein the tugger train trailer has a bridge frame connecting the axle modules, and which has vertical supports located on the axle module and a longitudinal beam connecting the vertical supports, wherein the lifting shaft of the lift device is rotationally mounted on the longitudinal beam.

15. The tugger train trailer according to claim 13, wherein the tugger train trailer has a transport device to receive the cargo, wherein the transport device is located between the axle modules and can be raised and lowered with respect to the axle modules by the lift device, and wherein the lift linkage of the lift device is operatively connected with the transport device.

16. The tugger train trailer according to claim 15, wherein the transport device is located on the axle modules by respective vertical guides so that device can be raised and lowered.

17. The tugger train trailer according to claim 15, wherein the transport device has a platform to drive on dollies that have rollers, wherein the dollies are supported on the platform with rollers.

18. The tugger train trailer according to claim 15, wherein the transport device has positioning forks to receive the cargo.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0036] FIG. 1 is a view in perspective of a tugger train trailer according to the invention with a lift device according to the invention,

[0037] FIG. 2 is a side view of the tugger train trailer from FIG. 1 in a lowered position of a transport device,

[0038] FIG. 3 shows the tugger train trailer from FIG. 2 with the transport device in the raised position,

[0039] FIG. 4 is a detail of the lift device according to the invention.

[0040] FIGS. 5a to 5d show the lift device according to the invention in multiple lift positions.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0041] FIGS. 1 to 3 show a tugger train trailer 1 according to the invention of a tugger train.

[0042] The tugger train trailer 1 has a chassis 2 which has two axle modules 2a, 2b located at some distance from each other in the longitudinal direction L of the vehicle. The axle module 2a is in the form of a front axle module and is provided with front wheels 3. The axle module 2b is in the form of a rear axle module and is provided with rear wheels 4. Located on the axle module 2a is a steerable tiller 5 with which the tugger train trailer 1 can be attached to a tractor vehicle or to a preceding tugger train trailer of the tugger train. The axle module 2b is equipped with a trailer coupling 6, to which an additional tugger train trailer of the tugger train can be attached. The front wheels 3 and/or the rear wheels 4 can be steered. If both the front wheels 3 and the rear wheels 4 are steered, the steering movement of the front wheels and the steering movement of the rear wheels can be coupled.

[0043] A cargo can be carried between the axle module 2a and the axle module 2b. To receive the cargo, the tugger train trailer 1 has a transport device 7 which is located between the two axle modules 2a, 2b.

[0044] The transport device 7 can be raised and lowered with respect to the axle modules 2a, 2b by means of a lift device 10. For the vertical guidance of the transport device 7, a vertical guide, not shown in any further detail, is provided between the transport device 7 and the axle module 2a and between the transport device 7 and the axle module 2a respectively.

[0045] In the illustrated exemplary embodiment, the transport device 7 has a platform 8 for driving on dollies, which are not illustrated in any detail, as load carriers for the cargo, and which are supported with rollers on the platform 8. The platform 8 extends in the transverse direction Q of the vehicle over the entire width of the vehicle, so that the dollies can be pushed up onto and down off the platform 8 from both sides of the vehicle. In the illustrated exemplary embodiment, the platform 8, in the vicinity of the axle module 2a, has a vertical transverse plate 8a that runs in the transverse direction Q of the vehicle, and is guided in the vertical direction by means of a vertical guide on the axle module 2a. In the illustrated exemplary embodiment, the platform 8, in the vicinity of the axle module 2b, has a vertical transverse plate 8b that runs in the transverse direction Q of the vehicle, and is guided in the vertical direction by means of a vertical guide on the axle module 2b.

[0046] In the illustrated exemplary embodiment —- viewed in the longitudinal direction L of the vehicle — the platform 8 has three positioning channels 8c, 8d, 8e, onto each of which a dolly can be driven. Between the front positioning channel 8c and the middle positioning channel 8d, there is a vertical partition web 8f that runs in the transverse direction Q of the vehicle. Accordingly, between the middle positioning channel 8d and the rear positioning channel 8e, there is a vertical partition web 8g that runs in the transverse direction Q of the vehicle.

[0047] In FIG. 2, the transport device 7 is shown in the lowered position and thus in the bottom end-of-travel position, in which the platform 8 is lowered to the roadway FB so that the dollies with the rollers can be pushed onto the positioning channels 8c, 8d and 8e of the platform 8. FIG. 3 shows the transport device 7 in the raised position and thus in the top end-of-travel position, in which the platform 8 is lifted from the roadway surface FB by means of the lift device 10 by the stroke distance H.

[0048] The tugger train trailer 1 further has a U-shaped bridge-type frame 11 –- seen in a side view —that connects the axle modules 2a, 2b. The bridge-type frame 11 consists of a vertical support 11 a located on the axle module 2a, a vertical support 11 b located on the axle module 2b and a longitudinal beam 11c connecting the vertical supports 11a, 11b. The bridge-type frame 11 –-viewed in the transverse direction Q of the vehicle — is centrally located.

[0049] The construction of the lift device 10, by means of which the transport device 7 formed by the platform 8 can be raised and lowered relative to the axle modules 2a, 2b, is described below with reference to FIGS. 4 to 5d.

[0050] The lift device 10 has a lifting shaft 21 which is mounted rotationally around an axis of rotation D and driven by means of a drive motor 20, such as an electric motor for example. The lifting shaft 21 is oriented with the axis of rotation D in the longitudinal direction L of the vehicle. In the illustrated exemplary embodiment, the lifting shaft 21 is rotationally mounted on the longitudinal beam 11c of the bridge-type frame 11. Appropriate bearing devices 22 are provided on the longitudinal beam 11b for the mounting of the lifting shaft. For this purpose the lifting shaft 21 is installed in the longitudinal beam 11c which is in the form of a tubular profile. The drive motor 20 is also attached to the longitudinal beam 11c.

[0051] The drive motor 20 is also operatively connected by means of a transmission 23 with the lifting shaft 21 to drive it. In the illustrated exemplary embodiment, the transmission 23 comprises a flexible drive 24, which can be in the form of a chain drive, for example. The flexible drive 24 in the form of a chain drive comprises a chain 24a driven by the drive motor 20, which drives a sprocket wheel 24b which is fastened non-rotationally to the lifting shaft 21.

[0052] A plurality of lift linkages 25a-25d are coupled to the lifting shaft 21 at some distance from the axis of rotation D of the lifting shaft 21, and are therefore connected in an articulated manner with the lifting shaft 21, and are in an operative connection with the transport device 7 in the form of a platform 8 for raising and lowering the cargo. For this purpose the lift linkages 25a-25d — as shown in FIG. 4 in which the lift device 10 is shown in the bottom end-of-travel position — are coupled in an articulated manner with a lever arm or crank arm A to the lifting shaft 21.

[0053] The lift linkages 25a-25d are guided downward by corresponding recesses of the longitudinal beam 11c and are each connected by means of their respective lower ends with the transport device 7. The lift linkages 25a-25d are preferably fastened to the transport device 7 in an articulated manner.

[0054] The lift linkages 25a-25d are located at some distance from one another in the longitudinal direction of the lifting shaft 21 and thus in the longitudinal direction L of the vehicle. In the illustrated exemplary embodiment, the lift linkage 25a is connected with the platform 8 in the vicinity of the front transverse plate 8a, the lift linkage 25b is connected with the platform 8 in the vicinity of the partition web 8f, the lift linkage 25c is connected with the platform 8 in the vicinity of the partition web 8g and the lift linkage 25d is connected with the platform 8 in the vicinity of the rear transverse plate 8b.

[0055] For the articulated fastening of the lift linkages 25a-25d to the lifting shaft 21, each lift linkage 25a-25d is coupled in an articulated manner to a crank arm device 30 located non-rotationally on the lifting shaft 21. In the illustrated exemplary embodiment — as visible in FIG. 4 — the crank arm device 30 has two crank discs 31a, 31b, each located on the lifting shaft 1 at some distance from each other and connected to each other, and between which the corresponding lift linkage 25a-25d is located. In the illustrated exemplary embodiment, the articulated connection between the respective lift linkage 25a-25d and the crank discs 31a, 31b is formed by a fastening pin 35, which is located parallel to the lever arm or crank arm A at an offset to the axis of rotation D of the lifting shaft 1 in corresponding receptacle borings of the crank discs 31a, 31b. The fastening pin 35 is further held in a receptacle boring on the upper end of the corresponding lift linkage 25a, 25d.

[0056] As shown in FIG. 4, each of the lift linkages 25a-25d is realized in the vicinity of the articulated coupling to the crank arm device 30 and thus in the upper terminal area in the form of a hook profile 40. The hook profile 40 is realized so that the hook-shaped profile 40, in the upper end-of-travel position of the lift linkage 25a-25d, is in contact with an interior surface 40a against the exterior surface of the lifting shaft 21, so that in the top end-of-travel position, the vertical forces of the lift linkage 25a-25d on the lifting shaft 21 are supported.

[0057] In the illustrated example, the lifting shaft 21 is in the form of a spline shaft. The lifting shaft 21 is provided over its entire length with a corresponding spline shaft profile.

[0058] For the non-rotational connection with the lifting shaft 21, the crank arm device 30 is provided with a hub profile that interacts in a complementary manner with the spline shaft profile of the lifting shaft 21 which is in the form of a spline shaft.

[0059] The lifting shaft 21 is further provided with a mechanical interface, which is not illustrated in any further detail, to which a hand tool can be connected for the manual actuation of the lifting shaft 21. The interface is preferably formed from the forward end and/or the rear end of the lifting shaft 21 which is in the form of a spline shaft, and is accessible via the open tubular end of the longitudinal beam 11c, so that in the event of the failure of the drive motor 20, a hand tool such as a lever, for example, can be applied to the shaft end of the lifting shaft 21 which is in the form of a spline shaft, to be able to turn the lifting shaft 21 manually.

[0060] The crank arm devices 30 that sit on the lifting shaft 21 and are non-rotationally connected with the lifting shaft 21, which crank arm devices are connected with the lift linkages 25a-25d, thus form a crank mechanism for the raising and lowering of the transport device 7.

[0061] The lift device 10 comprising the lifting shaft 21, the crank arm devices 30 and the lift linkages 25a-25d can be adapted in a simple manner to different tugger train trailers 1 and to different transport devices 7 and expanded as a result of the mobility of the crank arm devices 30 on the lifting shaft 21 and an arbitrary number of crank arm devices 30, and thus of lift linkages 25a-25d on the lifting shaft 21.

[0062] The process of lifting the transport device 7 of the tugger train trailer 1 by means of the lift device 10 is described below with reference to FIGS. 5a to 5d.

[0063] In FIG. 5a, the lift device 10 is in the bottom end-of-travel position as shown in FIG. 2.

[0064] If the lifting shaft 21 is rotated by means of the drive motor 20 in the counterclockwise direction, the lift linkages 25a-25d coupled with the crank arm A to the lifting shaft 21 are actuated upward, as illustrated in FIGS. 5b and 5c. As a result of the mechanical coupling of the lift linkages 25a-25d to the lifting shaft 21, all the lift linkages 25a-25d rise simultaneously and in a synchronized manner.

[0065] In FIG. 5d, the lift device 10 is in the top end-of-travel position as shown in FIG. 3. The articulated connection formed by the fastening pin 35 of the lift linkage 25a-25d thereby overshoots the dead center point (OT) which lies in the vertical plane. Furthermore, when the dead center point OT is overshot, the hook profiles 40 of the lift linkage 25a-25d are in contact against the interior surfaces 40a on the exterior surface of the lifting shaft 21, so that the forces acting vertically downward on the lift linkages 25a-25b are supported on the lifting shaft 21. Consequently, the drive motor 20 is free of any load in the top end-of-travel position.

[0066] Furthermore, as a result of the overshooting of the dead center point OT, in the top end-of-travel position a dead center interlock is achieved between the lift linkages 25a-25d and the lifting shaft 21, so that an unintentional lowering of the raised transport device 7 is prevented.