CZ20004585A3 - Articulated arm - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention concerns an articulated arm for transferring fluid products comprising two tubular sections (7, 8+2) mutually linked by a pivoted connection (3) with horizontal axis, and a balancing device (4, 10) linked with each of the tubular sections to compensate torque variations about the pivoted connection axis while the two sections are rotating relatively. The invention is characterised in that the balancing device comprises a U-shaped spring (10) with two branches (11, 12) whereof the ends (11A, 12A) are each connected to a respective section.

Description

The invention relates to an articulated arm for transferring liquid, liquid or gaseous products between a fixed tank and a mobile tank, for example a tank mounted on a truck or a railway carriage.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The products to be carried may be a wide variety of conventional products, for example petroleum derivatives, in particular motor vehicle fuels, or also chemical products, in particular acids and solvents.

The products are essentially liquid, but generally are in equilibrium with the gas phase, so they are actually liquids. In some cases, it may be necessary to separately transfer the liquid and the gas phase.

Tanks are treated in different ways to be placed on different types of substrates, such as a truck or a railway carriage. In addition, the tanks are provided with a connecting flange intended to be connected to a pipeline for transferring liquid products, which pipeline can be supplied to the tanks in various ways. This pipeline is necessary because it is practically ill to place a truck or a railway car on which the tank is mounted so precisely to the fixed tank that transfer can be carried out without the auxiliary pipeline.

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For this reason, it is necessary to provide, on the one hand, a fixed tank and, on the other hand, a connecting flange of the mobile tank with a device which has a certain deformability. Devices of this kind, often referred to as arms for carrying said products or arms for filling and discharging, are basically devices of two types. The first type is provided with a flexible part, which is usually associated with aging problems of the material from which said part is made, or the device consists of at least two cylindrical sections connected by a hinged connection.

Thus, the arm for transferring the liquid products is to feed the product during transfer so that the free end of such arm is connected to the connecting flange of the tank. The opposite end is rigidly connected to the fixed tank. Approaching the boom to the mobile tank is carried out by a worker who is not expected to spend too much of the work. While it would be possible to provide the arm for transferring the liquid products with a motorized transmission so that it would be very easy to approach the arm to the tank, it would be very difficult to automate the process. It would also be very difficult to train workers to operate such equipment. For this reason, the installation of such a device would be very costly and substantially exceed the current cost of transferring liquids.

In order to facilitate the work of individual people working at fixed tanks or when transporting products by tanker, various types of balancing devices have already been proposed which should compensate for at least part of the torque variations around the articulation axes, substantially horizontal axes when the cylindrical configuration changes articulated arm.

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In the first group of balancing devices a counterweight is used which is fixed on the opposite side of the arm to balance it. While this solution is effective, it takes up a lot of space and is cumbersome.

In the second group of balancing devices, springs are used, for example torsion springs made of steel, most often being worms surrounding the joint or located inside the swivel joint. They may also be torsion springs made of steel such as Archimedes spiral or hyperbolic spiral.

Another group of said devices utilizes a compression spring of steel, usually mounted along a portion of the arm or in the form of a spring housing, which is fixed to a portion of the articulated arm.

It is also possible to use in these devices a tension spring, which is usually made of steel and often also lies along the articulated arm.

There are still balancing devices using jacks, for example pneumatic, hydraulic or electric.

Obviously, a combination of different balancing devices can be used on one articulated arm.

The various solutions mentioned above have both advantages and disadvantages. At present, there is no balancing device that is fully efficient, does not take up much space and is inexpensive. For example, if a counterweight is used, an effective one can be achieved

9 9 balancing in a variety of positions, but the device takes up a lot of space and is cumbersome. With respect to the other solutions mentioned, the balance is generally only approximate, especially if the symmetry of the device is not maintained, which can often lead to the risk of malfunction.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to overcome the disadvantages of known balancing devices.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides an articulated arm for transferring liquids, liquids or gases formed by cylindrical transfer sections connected by a swivel joint with a horizontal axis, a balancing device connected to each cylindrical section to compensate for torque variations about the swivel joint axis. the device consists of a U-shaped spring with two arms, the ends of which are connected to one cylindrical section each.

The U-shaped spring works equally well in approaching and moving its arms out when the cylindrical sections are displaced relative to each other.

In preferred embodiments, the device may be configured such that

- each of the end sections of the U-shaped arms is connected to a corresponding cylindrical section along an axis parallel to the axis of the pivot joint,

- at least one of the end sections of the U-shaped spring is provided with a plurality of receptacles for receiving a fastener with a cylindrical section, 9 9 · ············ 9 · 9

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- each of the end elements of the U-shaped spring arms is provided with a plurality of receptacles for receiving a connecting element with a respective cylindrical section,

- both cylindrical sections are fitted with clamping strips for connecting the two arms of the U-shaped spring perpendicular to the axis of the pivot joint,

- the U-shaped spring is made of a combined material,

- the U-shaped spring is provided with a silicone coating.

The invention will be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a part of the articulated arm for transferring fluids according to the invention.

FIG. 2 is a bottom view of the articulated arm.

Fig. 3 shows a side view of the articulated arm according to the invention.

Fig. 4 shows a view of a balancing device in the form of a U-shaped spring.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

1 to 3 show a part of the articulated arm for transferring fluids, liquids or gaseous products. This articulated arm consists of a first cylindrical section 1, a second cylindrical section 2, a pivot joint 3 with a horizontal axis and a balancing device 4 which is

connected to the first cylindrical section 1 and the second cylindrical section 2 to compensate for the torque variations about the axis of the pivot joint 3 during relative rotation between the first cylindrical section 1 and the second cylindrical section 2 about the horizontal axis.

In this example, the first cylindrical section 1 is horizontal and comprises an elbow 5 bent at 90 ° and connected to the second pivot joint 6 with a vertical axis. This second pivot joint 6 is connected to the pivot joint 3 with the horizontal axis by means of a second knee 7, also bent at 90 °.

The second cylindrical section 2 is in the configuration shown in the drawings horizontal and parallel to the first cylindrical section 1. This second cylindrical section 2 is terminated on its left side by a third elbow 8, also bent at 90 ° and connected to the pivot joint 3.

That is, at different angular positions of the second pivot joint 6 and the pivot joint 3, the second cylindrical section 2 can assume any orientation with respect to the first cylindrical section 1.

It should be noted that the second elbow which is connected to the pivot joint 3 and the second pivot joint 6 itself also constitutes a cylindrical section connected to the second cylindrical section 2 by means of a hinge rotatable about a horizontal axis.

The balancing device 4 is connected to the second cylindrical section 7 and to the second elbow 7 as a further cylindrical section. In this way, the balancing device 4 is indirectly indirectly. Connected to the first cylindrical section 11, but since the second pivot joint 6 has a vertical axis, there is no need to compensate for changes in position due to the rotation of the second pivot joint. 6.

The balancing device 4 is formed by a U-shaped spring 10 with arms 11 and 12 substantially parallel to the rest of the spring 10, the end section 11A of the arm 11 and 12A of the arm 12 being connected to the second cylindrical section 2 and the second elbow 1 as a further cylindrical section.

In a preferred embodiment, each of the end sections 11A and 12A of the U-shaped spring 10 is connected to a corresponding cylindrical section along an axis parallel to the axis of the pivot joint. If the elasticity of the material of the spring 10 permits, it is possible to connect the end portions 11A and 12A of the spring 10 to the cylindrical portions without rotation, since some deformation of these end portions 11A and 12A is assumed.

The connection of the end sections 11A and 12A of the spring 10 to the corresponding thumb sections can be made by means of pins 13 or 14, which are inserted into the respective receptacles of the end sections 11A and 12A of the spring 10.

In a preferred embodiment, the spring 10 may be provided such that at least one end section 11A or 12A of the spring 10 is provided with a plurality of bearings for connection with respective cylindrical sections, for example by means of pins 13 and 14, as mentioned above.

In a very preferred embodiment, both end sections 11A and 12A of the spring 10 are provided with a plurality of bearings.

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Referring to FIG. 4, the spring 10 is shown in detail, each of its end sections 11A and 12A being configured as a block 15 or 16, in which four cylindrical bearings are located, the axis of which is perpendicular to the plane of the arms 11 and 12. .

These blocks 15 and 16 are connected in FIG. 4 to the arms 11 and 12 of the spring 10 and are located on the inside of the arms 11 and 12. This corresponds to the design of the spring 10, in which the material of the legs 11 and 12 and the base of the spring 10 is made of a material other than blocks 15 and 16 which are subjected to different stresses than the entire U-shaped spring 10. Resistance to aging and weathering. On the other hand, the material for the blocks 15 and 16 must have good wear resistance, since there is friction within all of the bearings during operation of the balancing device 4 as a whole.

If the material of the U-shaped spring 10 permits, bearings for the pins 13 and 14 can be provided directly on the end sections 11A and 12A of the spring 10.

If it is preferable to attach the blocks 15 and 16 to the U-shaped spring 10, additional blocks 17 and 18 may be added over the blocks 15 and 16 at the end portions 11A and 12A, these portions may be fixed by screws (not shown) passing through the end portions 11A and 12A of the spring 10. According to an embodiment not shown, the blocks 15 and 16 may form part of a monoblock that surrounds the end sections 11A and 12A of the spring 10.

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Furthermore, one of the blocks 15 and 16 may be or both blocks 15 and 16 may be mounted on the outside of the spring 10.

The second elbow 8 as a further cylindrical section and the third elbow 8 as a further cylindrical section together with the second cylindrical section 2 are connected to the pivot joint 3 with the horizontal axis and are provided with clamping strips 20 and 21. These clamping strips 20 and 21 are preferably The two arms 11 and 12 of the U-shaped spring 10 are mounted in the same plane perpendicular to the axis of the pivot joint, i.e. in a plane perpendicular to the plane of FIG. 2 or parallel to the plane of FIG. 1.

As is evident from the drawings, the clamping strips may be formed, in particular in the case of the clamping strip 20, with a textile material optionally provided with a 20A and 20B reinforcement as shown in FIG. to the left such that the end element 25 is disposed in the direction of another cylindrical section, i.e. in the direction of the second elbow 7 as another cylindrical section. With respect to the second clamping bar 21, the clamping bar 21 is formed by two protuberances parallel to the horizontal axis of the pivot joint 2 ^and intended to receive the end section 12A of the U-shaped spring 10.

It will be appreciated that a number of different methods can be selected for fastening the U-shaped spring 10.

In one embodiment (not shown), the clamping strip 20 may be directly attached to the second cylindrical section 2 and not to the end of the pivot joint 3.

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The pin 14, which serves to connect the end section 11A of the U-shaped spring 10 by means of the clamping strip 20, is preferably provided with a pin 26 for insertion into the end element 25 for fixing the spring 10.

The fact that the two arms 11 and 12 of the spring 10 are preferably located substantially in the same plane perpendicular to the axis of rotation of the pivot joint 3 has the advantage of preventing changes in torque around said axis.

The U-shaped spring 10 is preferably made of a composite material, such as glass or carbon fibers, coated with a resin and processed in a mold to obtain a U-shape followed by drying. After removal from the drying oven, the spring 10 is further processed by cleaning, drilling and optionally applying a silicone coating or other coating according to the intended use. The blocks 15 and 16 and possibly additional blocks 17 and 18 can then be mounted by screwing in place.

The U-shaped spring 10 is preferably provided with a silicone coating to protect the spring forming material 10 exposed to the environment.

It has been shown that by using springs of the above type, in particular when selecting a suitable composite material, it is possible to compensate for the torques occurring in the articulated arm during the transfer of liquid materials from trucks or railway wagons in the range of several daNn to more than 230 daNn. The use of the spring according to the invention thus substantially improves the ergonomics of the workers preparing the transfer of the contents of the movable tanks to the ...

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fixed tanks. In addition, it is still possible to use a parallel mounting of a plurality of springs to increase the desired effect.

The articulated arm according to the invention thus makes it possible to achieve a more efficient balance than the known devices, and the articulated arm according to the invention is simple and cheaper. The balance that can be achieved in this way approximates that achieved by using a counterweight, but without the need for more space and at no cost.

The balancing spring is shown on a large scale in the drawings. In practice, however, the solution in this way is much less space-consuming than any of the known solutions.

Furthermore, the balancing device according to the invention does not further burden the components to be balanced.

The balance which can be achieved by the articulated arm according to the invention is the same if the second cylindrical section 2 is oriented at the same angle upwards or downwards, it is a symmetrical function.

It has been shown that the balancing device proposed according to the invention at a 20 ° inclination upwards or downwards from the horizontal position performs a balancing of at least 5 kg absolute value.

Since the device spring is made of a composite material, the spring has a lower weight than the known balancing devices.

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As far as the safety aspect is concerned, the spring used cannot break if the articulated arm bears only its own weight, but not even under heavy loads. The spring may fail, but not so that the articulated arm falls. If desired, stops can be provided to limit the approach or spacing of the arms of the U-shaped spring used. As far as the spacing of these arms is concerned, this can be limited, for example, by a cable attached to the arms.

The proposed balancing device is easy to mount and does not require specific measures.

Due to the range of fixtures for fixation pins, the balancing device can be easily adjusted if it is to operate in a smaller load range or if the load increases.

The device described is not sensitive to the usual temperature changes of the environment. In addition, due to the use of the combined material for the spring U, it is also less sensitive to ultraviolet light. It is therefore not necessary to use protective coatings.

Due to the simplicity of its construction, the balancing device according to the invention reduces the need for replacement

Claims (7)

An articulated arm for transferring liquid, liquid or gaseous products, comprising two cylindrical sections (7, 8 + 2) connected by a pivot joint (3) to a horizontal axis and a balancing device (4, 10) connected to each cylindrical section for compensation torque variations in the axis of the pivot joint during relative rotation of the cylindrical sections, characterized in that the balancing device is formed by a U-shaped spring (10) with arms (11, 12) whose end sections (11A, 12A) are connected to corresponding cylindrical sections . 2. The articulated arm according to claim 1, characterized in that each end section of the U-shaped spring (10) is fixed by pins (13, 14) to a corresponding cylindrical section about an axis parallel to the axis of the pivot joint. The articulated arm according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that at least one end section of the U-shaped spring is provided with a plurality of receptacles (15, 16) for receiving pins (13, 14) for connection with a respective cylindrical section). The articulated arm according to claim 3, characterized in that the end sections (11A, 12A) of the arms (11, 12) of the U-shaped spring (10) are provided with a plurality of bearings for pins (13, 14) for connection with a corresponding cylindrical section. . 5. The articulated arm according to any one of claims 1 to 4, 14 ·· · • · * 9 t * • · ♦ · · · • · • · • · • · • · • · ···· ·· · • · · · · 9 «· · • · · · · • 9 9 9 9 9 9 999 • ·· · · • ♦ marked u se se t í m, that both cylindrical sections are fitted with clamping strips (20, 21) so that both arms (11, 12) U-shaped springs (10) are stored in the same plane, perpendicular to the pivot axis. Articulated arm according to one of Claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the U-shaped spring (10) is made of a composite material. The articulated arm according to claim 6, characterized in that the U-shaped spring (10) is provided with a silicone coating.