Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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The present invention consists in a lifting apparatus
mounted on a vehicle, comprising lif-ting members supported
by the structure of a vehicle and suitable for raising a
nacelle carrying persons and/or things. These lifting
apparatus are used to carry materials and especially
personnel, for working in places difficult to be reached by
other means.
Lifting apparatus of the aforementioned general type are
knGwn, which are provided with a nacelle or platform
supported by a system of mechanically actuated vertical
telescopic members. The known lifting apparatus of this
type have, however, an extremely limited reach, in that the
nacelle or platform may be lifted with respect to the
vehicle, substantially only in a vertical direction; any
necessary horizontal displacement, must be made by the same
vehicle carrying the lifting apparatus. Furthermore by
these arrangements very limited heights may be reached,
otherwise the dimensions of the vehicle transporting the
lifting system in the lowered position will not be
acceptable in the road circulationO
Liftin~ apparatus of the general type are also known from
prior patents of the same Holder, in which the nacelle is
supported by a system of reciprocally pivoted arm members,
actuated by hydraulic cylinders. Said lifting apparatus
allow remarkable lifting heights, as well as a wider working
reach, because the nacèlle may also be horizontally moved,
by means of the system of articulated arms; said system may
be mounted on the vehicle by interposition of a rotating
thrust block actuated by a suitable motor. ~lowever the
horizontal displacements performed in this way are rather
limited due to the necessity of keeping the stability of the
system with its centre of gravity always inside the
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supporting perimeter on the ground; said perimeter which
is defined providing the vehicle with supporting legs
having hydraulic jacks may be increased, but only within
relatively restricted limits with respsct to the natural
supporting perimeter of the vehicle. When the nacelle
must be horizontally displaced, both for the remarkable
weight of the terminal elements of the system of arm
members supporting the nacelle, or becau~e the entire
system of arms needs to be moved towards the desired
direction to be given to the nacelle, strong
displacements of the centre of gravity may occur
limiting thereby the possibilities of use which,
complying with suitable safety measures, may be employed
for the nacelle.
The main object of the present invention is to
provide a lifting apparatus mounted on a vehicle capable
of reaching, while retaining safety limits, remarkable
operative heights, and allowing considerable horizontal
displacements of the nacelle, thus performing an
extended reach and still having, when the system is
completely lowered, an overall size compatible with the
road circulation of the vehicle.
This object can be achieved, according to the
invention, by means of a lifting apparatus comprising a
system of reciprocally articulated arm members, mounted
on a vehicle and actuated by hydraulic cylinders, a
nacelle connected to an upper end of the system of arm
members to be lifted and displaced by it, an additional
system of telescopic members actuated by hydraulic
cylinders and being rotatably inserted between the upper
end of the system of arm members and the nacelle, the
system of telescopic members comprising at least two
elongated elements located one in the other and provided
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with reclprocal guide rollers, the first elongated
element being articulated to the system of arm members
and being connected to it by a hydraulic cylinder
arranged for regulating an inclination of the system of
telescopic members, and the last elongated element of
the telescopic system being articulated to the nacelle
and being connected to it by a hydraulic cylinder
arranged for regulating the inclination of the nacelle,
the system of arm members comprising a turret with
respect to which a first lifting arm is articulated by
means of a pair of connecting rods, the first lifting
arm being connected by an actuating hydraulic cylinder
to the turret, a cradle being articulated to the first
lifting arm and guided by a tie rod-strut, a second
lifting arm articulated to the cradle and connected to
the same by an actuating cylinder, and a counter cradle
articulated to the second lifting arm and guided by a
tie rod, the counter cradle forming an element of the
system of arm members with respect to which the system
of telescopic members is articulated.
Thanks to this composite structure, the lifting
apparatus may raise the nacelle at remarkable heights,
corresponding
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to the amount of heights reacheable by the system of arm
members and by the system of telescopic members, when this
latter system is orientated in a vertical direction or, if
the nacelle is only raised at the height reacheable by the
system of arm members, great horizontal displacements of the
nacelle may be attained by the lifting apparatus, when the
system of telescopic members is orientated in a horizontal
direction. These horizontal displacements of the nacelle,
even if very extended, do not cause a loss of stability,
because only the terminal elements of the system of
telescopic members are laterally elongated with the nacelle,
whereas the system of arm members, having a preponderant
weight, remains balanced or, when needed, may be fairly
displaced at the opposed side to maintain a stable balance.
Furthermore any intermediate condition, between the two
aforesaid extreme conditions may be attained giving the
system of teles~opic members an inclined position. Thus, a
wide range of selectively operative phases of the nacelle,
may be covered by the lifting apparatus, which cannot be
attained by the ~nown systems.
On the other hand, when the lifting apparatus is lowered
into the resting position on the vehicle carrying it, the
system of telescopic members may be horizontally orientated
over the system of lowered arm members and over the driver's
cab of the vehicle, availing itself of the entire length of
the vehicle, so as to reduce the height to the normally
accepted dimensions compatible with thetraffic re~ulations.
The specific details and advantages of the object of the
invention will be clearly described in the following
description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings
which are a schematically but not limitative example of a
preferred embodiment of the inventionr wherein:
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FIG. 1 is a side view on a reduced scale, of a vehicle
carrying a lifting apparatus according to the invention,
lowered into the resting position for the road circulation
of the vehicle;
FIG. 2 is a frontal view of the vehicle with a lifting
apparatus according to FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is a plan view of the vehicle according to the
previous figures, provided with the means of support on the
ground, but without the lifting apparatus;
FIGS. 4, 5 and 6 are side views of the inferior part of the
section of the system comprising the articulated arms, in
three positions, respectively: completely low~red, partially
raised and completely raised;
FIG. 7 is a frontal view of the l:ifting device separated
from the vehicle in the maximus elevated condition;
FIG. 8 is a side view on a largeI. scale of the proximal
portion of the system of telescopic arms;
FIG. 9 similarly to fig. 8, is the distal view of the system
2S of telescopic arms;
FIG. 10 is a frontal view of the distal portion of the
system of telescopic arms;
FIG. 11 analogously to FIG. 10 is a partial section view of
the proximal portion and of some intermediate portions of
the system of telescopic arms;
FIG. 12 on a larger scale is a cross section view along
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dotted line XII-XII of fig. 10 of the system of telescopic
arms;
FIGS. 13 to 16 are a view on a reduced scale, of the
different arrangements performed by the lifting apparatus;
and
FIG. 17 is a schematically view of the operative reach
performed by the lifting apparatus.
1 indicates the bed of a vehicle, which in the example
illustrated is a truck with driver's cab 2 and wheels 3, but
it can also be a trailer, a railroad car or something else.
On bed 1 a thrust block 4 is mounted suitable for receiving
the lifting apparatus and furthermore, a structure 5 with
extensible arms 6 is provided in order to ensure a safe
support on the ground when the lifting apparatus is
operating; said arm have vertical jacks 7 suitable for
providing a support on the ground when needed, widening the
supporting perimeter, as shown in FIG. 3.
A turret 8 is mounted on the thrust block 4 forming the base
element of the lifting apparatus. Thrust block 4 with
turret 8 may be rotated with respect to the vehicle with any
known means, preferably by a suitable motor, in order to
orientate the lifting apparatus. Two connecting rods 9 and
10, are articulated to turret 8, formin~ a parallelogram
articulated to a first lifting arm 11. This latter i5
actuated by a hydraulic cylinder 12 whose ends are
articulated respectively to arm 11 and the base of turret 8.
The elements described herein are referred to each side of
the lifting apparatus, but in the practical implementation
some of them, and also some of those which will be described
afterwards, are double, being repeated on the other side of
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the lifting apparatus, as shown in fig. 7.
A square element 13 called cradle is articulated to the
distal end of a first lifting arm 11. Said square element
is also connected to the system of connecting rod 9-10 by
means of a tie rod-strut 14; all these components are shaped
in such a way that cradle 13 moves remaining substantially
parallel to itself with respect to the variability of the
system arrangement. When hydraulic cylinder 12 is not
excited, these components may be brought into the resting
position according FIGS. 1 and 4, where they are nested one
into the other with very reduced overall size; this is the
transport position. When using the lifting apparatus,
hydraulic cylinder 12 is actuated and the same components
may be partially raised as shown in fig. 5 or completely
raised as shown in fig. 6 according to the lifting
necessltles .
A second lifting arm 15 actuated by a hydraulic cylinder lB
is articulatd to cradle 13; said cylinder 18 is articulated
to one end of cradle 13. A square element 16 called counter
cradle is articulated to the opposed end of the second
lifting arm 15. Furthermore coun~er cradle 16 is connected
to cradle 13 by means of a tie rod 17 and all these elements
are shaped in such a way that counter cradle 16 moves while
remaining substantially parallel to itself with respect to
the variability of the system arrangement. When hydraulic
cylinder 18 is not excited, the latter components herein
described may be brought into the resting position as shown
in fig. 1, where the second lifting arm 15 and tie rod 17
lower on the first lifting arm 11 and counter cradle 16
overlaps driver's cab 2 of the carrying vehicle with a
minimum overall size. When using the lifting apparatus, the
hydraulic cylinder 18 is actuated and components may be
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raised, for example into the positions illustrated in FIGS.
14 and 16.
The first element 19 of a system of telescopic members is
articulated to counter cradle 16; said element may be
orientated with respect to the counter cradle 16 by means oE
a hydraulic cylinder 20, which allows element 19 to be
selectively placed in any position between the horizontal
one (illustrated for example in FIGS. 15 and 16) and the
vertical one (illustrated for example in FIGS. 14 and 16).
Inside the first element 19 a second element 22 is inserted,
guided by own rollers 23, 23' and by roller 21 of the
element 19, by means of said rollers the second element 22
can telescopically slide with respect to the flrst element
19. Analogously a third element 25 is inserted in the
second element Z2, guided by its own rollers 26,26' and by
rollers 24 of the element 22 in order to telescopically
slide with respect to the second element 22. The three
elements 19, 22 and 25 are twin elements, being repeated on
each side of the lifting apparatus and form a telescopic
system which can be extended and lowered by means of a
hydraulic cylinder 27, placed between the twin elements of
the telescopic system; its ands being connected to the first
element 19 and respectively to the third element 25, as
particularly illustrated in FIGS. 8 to 12. By means of
cylinder 27, the telescopic system 19 - 25 may be lowered as
shown in FIG. 1 or more or less extended according to the
necessities, up to the maximum extension of the system as
shown in FIGS. 14 to 16.
The third telescopic element 25 brings at its distal end a
bracket 28 articulated to a nacelle 30, whose inclination
with respect to the bracket 28 may be regulated by means of
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a hydraulic cylinder 20. If necessary, the hydraulic
cylinder 27 (which regulates -the inclination of the element
19 and therefore of the system of telescopic elements 19
25) and the hydraulic cylinder 29 (which in turn, regulates
the inclination of the nacelle 30 with respect to the
bracket 28 and therefore to the system of telescopic
elements 19 - 25) may be reciprocally regulated in the most
suitable way, so that the nacelle 30 remains
substantially parallel to itself with respact to the
variability of the lifting apparatus arrangement.
The lifting apparatus described herein has an extreme
versatility of use, because combining the various
possibilities of displacement of its parts, the nacelle 30
may be vertically and horizontally displaced within wide
limits. Thus, for example, extremely extending the
hydraulic cylinder 12, 20 and 27 b~lt not cylinder 18 the
arrangement according to FIG. 13 is c~eated, in which the
nacelle 30 is at remarkable height, almost on the vertical
of the carrying vehicle, whereas also extending the
hydraulic cylindex 18 the arrangement according to FIG. 14
is created, where the nacelle 30 has reached, almost on the
vertical of the carrying vehicle, its maximum height.
On the contrary, if hydraulic cylinder 20 is not extended,
the telescopic system 19 - 2S is horizontally arranged and
its extension allows the nacelle 30 to attain a strong
lateral elongation with respect to the carrying vehicle, as
shown in FIG. 15 - 16, in relation to two different height
levels o~ the nacelle, whether the hydraulic cylinder 18, in
turn, is extended or not.
As best seen in FIG. 15 and 16 when the nacelle is laterally
displaced with respect to the carrying vehicle, most part of
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the lifting apparatus unit is near the verti.cal passing
through the vehicle; for this reason the particular
arrangement of the lifting apparatus object of the present
invention allows remarkable lateral displacements of the
nacelle without any displacement of the centre of gravity of
the system outside the perimeter of support on the ground.
In particular arrangements such as in FIG. lS a strong
counterweight is created due to the second lifting arm 15
which is positioned in the direction opposite the elongation
of the nacelle. Thus, by using these arrangements, a strong
lateral displacement of the heavy loaded nacelle can be
attained.
When the liftlng apparatus particularly reaches the
lS arrangements illustrated in FIG. 15 and 16 or in FIGS. 13,
14 and/or whenever a remarkable or maximum extension of the
telescopic arm 19, 22, 25 is needed, brakes means not
illustrated in the present drawings, are provided to prevent
any movement between said tel.escopic elements, and to block
one with respect to the other, the successive telescopic
elements. This device prevents the arm from swinging
avoiding the consequent pendular movements of the nacelle
30.
2S Of course the invention is not limited to the arrangements
herein illustrated, but many other arrangements are
possib~e, by actuating only a partial extension of the
various hydraulic cylinders. FIG. 17 summarize all the
different possibilities of modifying the lifting apparatus
arrangement, and illustrates in a bidimensional view the
range of positions covered by the nacelle of the lifting
apparatus. It must be understood that the range of
positions herein represented is referred to a specific
orientation of the turret of the lifting apparatus; said
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turret being mounted on a rotatable thrust block, therefore
the whole tridimensional range oE displacement of the
nacelle is defined by a rotation solid, having its axis
coincident with the axis of the thrust block and whose
section is defined by the bidimensional range of positions
shown in fig. 17.
As best seen in FIG. 1 the nacelle 30, in the resting
position, is located behind the carrying vehicle at a very
low level from the ground. This ensure the easiest approach
to the nacelle before raising it.
The invention has been herein described in relation to a
specific embodiment, but any modifications and replacements
lS of technical equivalents are possible without departing from
the ambits of the invention and from the significance of the
present Patent.
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