Plant for immobilizing a transport vehicle in a predetermined loading position

Claim 2

Installation according to claim 1, characterized in that the support (5) is arranged in proximity to at least one wheel (7) of the vehicle (1).

Claim 3

Installation according to claim 2, characterized in that it includes a plurality of supports, each of which comprises a stud anchored in the ground, these studs being arranged at a given distance from one another along a line substantially perpendicular to the loading platform.

Claim 4

Installation according to claim 2, characterized in that the support (5) serves to guide at least one carriage (11, 111) supporting a wedging element (4), the carriage (11, 111) being displaceable by the drive means (12, 15) between the rest position and active position of the wedging element (4).

Claim 5

Installation according to claim 4, characterized in that the support (5) comprises two parallel longitudinal members (6) at a distance from one another sufficient to allow the wheels (7) of the vehicle (1) to pass between then, these longitudinal members (6) serving to guide at least one carriage (11, 111), the wedging element (4) extending transversely between said longitudinal members, each of its ends being supported on this carriage (11, 111).

Claim 6

Installation according to claim 5, characterized in that the carriage is formed by a plate (111) which is movable in the supports (6) and is held at a slight distance from the ground by a resilient suspension at least when the wedging element (4) moves from its rest position to its active position.

Claim 7

Installation according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the wedging clement (4) is deformable and has a relatively flat shape in the rest position so that the wheels (7) of the vehicle (1) can pass over them easily and is adjusted upward in the active position.

Claim 8

Installation according to claim 7, characterized in that the wedging element (4) is realized in the shape of a deformable dihedral converging at the top and formed by a front panel (16), or panel remotest of the wheel (7) to be locked, and by a rear panel (17), or panel closest to said wheel (7), which panels (16, 17) form the two sides of the dihedral and are articulated around a transverse intermediate axle (18) forming the upper edge of the deformable dihedral, the front panel (16) being articulated along its front lower edge on a front transverse axle (19) which is driven by the drive means (12), the rear panel (17) being articulated along its rear lower edge on a rear transverse axle (21) which is fixed in position on said carriage (11, 111), while the driven front axle (19) is arranged so as to be longitudinally dlsplaceable on the carriage (11, 111) so as to control the deformation of the wedging element (4).

Claim 9

Installation according to claim 8, characterized in that a cam arrangement (135) driven in a translatory manner by drive means (12) is arranged in the vicinity of the intermediate axle (18) when the wedging element (4) is in the rest position in such a way that it is displaced vertically at least before the front axle (19) is displaced when the wedging element (4) passes from the rest position to the active position.

Claim 10

Installation according to claim 9, characterized in that the cam arrangement includes a slide (131) connected to drive means (12), the rear portion of the slide (131) having a portion (135) which is inclined from top to bottom and from front to back and is capable of contacting the intermediate axle (18) so as to lift it, the slide (131) having a longitudinally elongated slot (141) receiving one end of the front axle (19), play being provided between the front end of the slot (141) and the front axle (19) when the wedging element (4) is in the rest position in such a way that when the slide (131) is displaced toward the rear portion of the carriage (11, 111) its inclined portion (135) has ensured the lifting of the intermediate axle (18) when the front end of the slot (141) comes into contact with the front axle (19).

Claim 11

Installation according to one of claims 8 to 10, characterized in that a transverse contact member (123) is provided on the rear portion of the carriage (11, 111), this contact member (123) being driven against the wheel (7) of the vehicle (1) to be wedged in the active position by drive means (12) and having a longitudinal dimension such that the wheel (7) to be wedged does not contact the rear panel (17) when the contact member (123) is supported against the wheel (7) to be wedged.

Claim 12

Installation according to one of claims 8 to 11, characterized in that said carriage (11, 111) carries a stop (22) limiting the movement of the front axle (19) toward the wheel in a position such that when the wedging element (4) is adjusted in the active position the front panel (16) of the wedging element (4) is inclined from top to bottom and from front to back in such a way that it forms an articulated mechanism which is locked in the active position against any movement of the latter toward the wedging element (4).

Claim 13

Installation according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that a claw coupling arrangement which secures the wedging element (4) so as to be integral with its support (5) in its active position includes a plurality of members which move with said carriage (11, 111), namely a wedge (24), an anchoring block (25) and a locking bar (26), the wedge (24) whose rectilinear outer end contacts a flange (6a) of the section (6) of the support (5) has a stepped inner edge (27) having longitudinal portions (27a) connected by sloping portions (27b), respectively, forming ramps, the anchoring block (25) has a corresponding stepped sloping edge (28) made up of longitudinal portions (28a) connected by sloping portions (28b) forming ramps and contacts the stepped inner edge (27) of the wedge (24), the anchoring block (25) has a series of teeth (29) on its outer edge opposite its stepped inner edge (28) which are spaced in the longitudinal direction and serve to engage in the holes (30) provided in the facing flange (6b) of the section (6), the anchoring block (25) being accommodated with a certain degree of longitudinal play in a longitudinal slot (31) provided in the locking bar (26) which is longitudinally displaceable.

Claim 14

Installation according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that an arrangement (60) is provided for detecting the wedging element (4) so as to control a safety arrangement (3), e.g. a movable barrier (3a), so as to permit this barrier to be opened only when the wedging element (4) is in its active position.

Claim 15

Installation according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it includes an arrangement (41) which is associated with each wedging element (4) for preventing a wheel (7) supported against the wedging element (4) in the active position from climbing it due to a force applied to the vehicle (1), this arrangement (41) includes a collar (42) which is supported on a base of the wedging element (4) and is displaceably mounted in such a way that a skid (43) which projects out laterally at its upper part can engage in the space defined in the interior of the rim (44) of the wheel (7) so as to retain this rim (44).

Claim 16

Installation according to claim 15, characterized in that the collar (42) is mounted on a longitudinal block (46) which forms a lever arm and is supported at its front end on the ground so as to transform the couple force into a supporting force on the ground at its front end.

Claim 17

Installation according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it simultaneously includes a front wedging element and a rear wedging element (48) associated with a movable collar (49) carrying a skid (51) which can engage in the interior of the rim (44) of the wheel (7) to prevent this wheel (7) from moving forward away from the rear wedging element (48).

Claim 18

Installation according to claim 17, characterized in that the movable collar (49) associated with the rear wedging element (48) is arranged on a bearing block (52) forming a lever arm, extending longitudinally toward the front and being supported at its front end on the ground.

Claim 19

Installation according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it includes an auxiliary arrangement which makes it possible to limit the backing up of the vehicle (1) and has a rear wedging element (48) which is coupled by transmission means (54) to a sensor (55) detecting the position of the rear edge (1a) of the vehicle (1), the transmission means (54) being arranged in such a way that a longitudinal displacement of the wedging element (48) toward the front or toward the rear causes a displacement of the sensor (55) by the same distance but in the opposite direction, i.e. toward the rear or toward the front.

Claim 20

Installation according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it includes auxiliary means which enable the wedging element (4) to move away from the wheel to a third position, or end of transfer position, once the transfer operation of the vehicle (1) has been effected so as to allow the vehicle to be moved up to this position and immobilized in it.

Claim 21

Installation according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the wedging element is a rear wedging element realized in two parts (48a, 48b), means being provided to ensure a positioning of one part (48a) of the rear wedging element at a sufficient distance from the platform (2) to allow e.g. the rear doors of a vehicle (1) to be opened when the rear part of the vehicle (1) is positioned with respect to the industrial platform (2) and to ensure the positioning of the other part (48b) of the rear wedging element at a distance from the platform suitable for loading or unloading the vehicle (1) and to withdraw the part (48a) of the rear wedging element to permit the vehicle (1) to back up so that the rearmost wheel (7) contacts the part (48b) of the rear wedging element.