Patent Application
20210348341
The invention relates, in general, to the technical field of construction and renewal trains involving the placement of the equipment required for the construction of railways or, in the case of renewal, the replacement of all or part of the constituent materials of the tracks, namely the rails and sleepers, as well as the ballast, which ensures the stability of the track on its platform, when these materials are degraded.
The invention relates more specifically to a mechanism for moving stacks of sleepers intended to equip a plurality of successive wagons of a railway vehicle and enable them to be moved along said wagons.
Builders or operators of rail transport networks regularly need to build new rail lines or rebuild existing rail lines, i.e., to replace some of the elements that compose them, such as rails and the sleepers supporting the rails, as well as the fastening means and other accessories. Much of this need for renewal is due to age and wear of the tracks, but it can also involve replacing older models with newer models in order to make better performance possible.
In the most complete case of renewal or construction, such operations are carried out using a rail convoy such as a so-called renewal or replacement train, or construction train, comprising multiple specialized machines for carrying out the various substitution or construction operations. A typical renewal operation involves the use of specialized rail convoys comprising machines that are capable of carrying out the following operations in sequence: clearing, sorting of the ballast, and removal of the cleared products by conveyor belts on wagons used for unloading or by direct jet to the backfill, replacement of the renewed track (rails and sleepers), ballasting and lifting of the track, leveling and straightening, welding of the rails, relieving of stresses, renewed leveling/straightening, adjustment of the benches, and cleaning of the shoulders.
Whether for construction or renewal, such a rail convoy comprises a plurality of wagons for transporting sleepers, which are at least new and, where appropriate, old, in order to supply specialized machines such as equipment for laying new sleepers and/or to remove worn sleepers from removal equipment.
It is known to equip such a set of wagons with a continuous roller track for a gantry which, in moving reciprocally, removes new sleepers from a first storage wagon, places them on a second wagon, particularly on a conveyor belt to the laying equipment, and as necessary takes back worn sleepers that have accumulated on a third wagon, possibly corresponding to the second wagon, and deposits them on a fourth storage wagon, which may possibly correspond to the first wagon. The use of such a gantry makes it difficult to implement two conveying flows, especially when these directions of circulation are opposed in terms of the supplying of new sleepers to the laying equipment and the removal of worn sleepers from laying equipment to storage wagons. In addition, the back-and-forth movements of the gantry on its running track at relatively high speed alongside a plurality of wagons require special precautions and attention to avoid possible accidents involving people in the vicinity of the train or on the train during the laying and removal of new and worn sleepers.
A wagon is also known from document WO2019129678A1 for transferring pallets between an upper conveyor located on an upper floor of the wagon and a lower conveyor located on a lower floor of the wagon, the two conveyors being superposed and having opposite directions of movement. The transfer is carried out by an elevator that moves in purely vertical fashion between an upper receiving zone located at the outlet of the upper conveyor and a conveying platform located at the entrance of the lower conveyor, directly below the upper conveyor. Such a device is particularly complex due to its having to manage two movement flows of superposed stacks of sleepers, resulting in a relatively high center of gravity that has an impact on the stability of the various work wagons concerned. In addition, the passing of the stacks of sleepers along the various wagons is particularly restrictive and requires perfect stability, especially when the train moves on curved paths.
The invention aims to remedy all or part of the drawbacks of the prior art, particularly by proposing a solution that makes it possible to provide for the movement of the sleepers while overcoming the drawbacks associated with the movement of this gantry along its path, all while ensuring good stability of the wagons and easy movement of the sleepers in curves.
According to a first aspect of the invention, a mechanism for moving stacks of sleepers intended to equip a railway track is proposed for this purpose, the displacement mechanism being intended to equip a group of at least two successive work wagons of a railway vehicle, each work wagon comprising a frame supported by at least one wheelset, the displacement mechanism comprising guide means configured to guide, along a longitudinal direction of each of the work wagons, a plurality of adjacent carriages in pairs, the displacement mechanism comprising drive means for jointly moving the carriages reciprocally between a first and a second travel position so that each carriage carries a stack of sleepers following a forward path from the first to the second travel position, so that, for a given pair of adjacent carriages among the plurality of carriages comprising a front carriage and a rear carriage, the second travel position of the rear carriage corresponds to the first travel position of the front carriage and is configured to travel a return path from the second to the first travel position while being unloaded.
By virtue of such a combination of features, the carriages can themselves move reciprocally along the same path and over a relatively short stroke without the need to move a gantry, making it possible to guarantee the safety of people located in the vicinity of the wagon.
According to one embodiment, at least some of the adjacent carriages in pairs are interconnected by at least one articulation to form a transport structure, so that each transport structure preferably comprises three successive carriages. Such a structure of a plurality of interconnected carriages enables the movement of the stacks between two wagons to be facilitated. This makes it possible to facilitate the direct driving of a trolley and the indirect driving of the trolleys to which it is connected. This avoids the use of complex drive means for enabling passage from one wagon to another.
According to one embodiment, the carriages of the same transport structure are connected in pairs by a connecting rod, the connecting rod comprising two opposite ends spaced apart longitudinally, each of which is preferably connected to one or the other of the two carriages by a ball joint. The use of such a connection makes it possible to facilitate the relative rotation between the carriages that occurs particularly during passage between two wagons when the railway vehicle is on curved paths. A certain predetermined distance is thus maintained between the carriages as a function of the length of the connecting rod, making it possible to avoid possible impacts between the stacks of sleepers being carried by adjacent carriages when on these paths. The stability of the stacks of sleepers being carried while on these trajectories is also improved.
According to one embodiment, the displacement mechanism is configured to move each carriage reciprocally by an interval corresponding to a distance between the first travel position and the second travel position, which is greater than or equal to a length of a stack of sleepers. This step is chosen so as to be sufficiently large to cover a distance separating two adjacent wagons.
According to one embodiment, the guide means comprise guide shoulders that are located laterally on either side of each carriage so as to laterally delimit and flank the forward and return paths. Such a structure provides guidance that is easy to implement and sufficiently precise in the context of such use.
According to one embodiment, each carriage defines a first support plane, the displacement mechanism comprising a supporting structure that defines a second support plane, the displacement mechanism further comprising an elevator mechanism that is configured to vary the relative vertical position of the first and second support planes relative to one another when the carriages are in their first and second longitudinal travel position, so that each stack of sleepers rests on the vertically highest support plane among the first and second support planes. Such a structure makes sequenced and stable movement of the stacks of sleepers possible. In the case of stacks of sleepers, the average speed of movement of the stacks generally depends on the time when the stacks of sleepers are unstacked at the end of the forward path of the stacks, following the forward paths of each of the carriages.
According to one embodiment, the supporting structure forms, or consists of, the guide shoulders. This configuration allows the use of a single structure to perform two functions, namely to guide the carriages along the forward and return paths on the one hand and to take up the load of the carriage stacks according to the relative position of the first and second support planes on the other hand.
According to one embodiment, the supporting structure is secured to the frame by the lifting mechanism, said lifting mechanism comprising jacks such as hydraulic jacks. The use of hydraulic jacks makes it possible to use a source of hydraulic energy commonly used on this type of railway vehicle and can be easily connected to such a hydraulic circuit.
According to one embodiment, the drive means comprise at least one chain that engages with a drive wheel that is integral with all or part of the carriages in order to drive each carriage reciprocally, the chain preferably driving a carriage directly by transport structure.
According to another aspect of the invention, it relates to a railway work vehicle of the type comprising, for example, equipment for laying new sleepers and/or removing worn sleepers, the railway vehicle comprising at least two successive work wagons, the railway work vehicle being remarkable in that it comprises at least one mechanism for moving stacks of sleepers as described above.
According to one embodiment, at least some of the work wagons comprise an upper conveyor device located at a height greater than that of the displacement mechanism, the conveyor device being configured to transport sleepers individually. Such a configuration thus enables conveyance of stacks of sleepers at a lower level by means of the displacement mechanism on the one hand, and conveyance of individual sleepers at a higher level, and hence above the displacement mechanism, on the other hand. In such a configuration, a relatively low center of gravity is achieved, which improves the stability of the rail convoy.
According to one embodiment, the displacement mechanism enables sleepers to be moved in stacks of superposed sleepers in a first direction of movement along a longitudinal direction of each given work wagon, and the upper conveyor device enables sleepers to be moved individually, in a second direction of travel opposite the first direction, along the longitudinal direction of each given work wagon.
Other features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the description that follows with reference to the appended figures, in which:
For greater clarity, identical or similar elements are identified by identical reference signs in all of the figures.
In the description and the claims, in order to clarify the description and the claims, the longitudinal, transverse, and vertical terminology will be adopted without limitation with reference to the trihedron X, Y, Z indicated in the figures.
With reference to
The railway vehicle 1, for example a renewal train as illustrated in
With reference to
In the configuration illustrated in the figures, the equipment 11 for laying new sleepers 21 and the equipment 12 for removing worn sleepers 22 are located at the rear of the railway vehicle 1 relative to the wagon 100 for transferring sleepers 21, 22, and the storage wagons 300 are located at the front of the railway vehicle 1 relative to the wagon 100 for transferring sleepers 21, 22. The opposite arrangement is possible, however.
The transfer wagon 100, like the other wagons of the railway vehicle 1, comprises a frame 110 supported by two bogies 111 that are located at the two front and rear ends of the frame 110 and each provided with one or more wheelsets 112. For this purpose, provision is preferably made for the bogies to each comprise a bogie frame, at least two wheelsets 112, and at least one suspension between the two wheelsets and the bogie frame. The transfer wagon 100 is located between the flows C1 and C2, i.e., at the intersection of the two flows, one flow C1 for removal of worn sleepers 22 on the one hand, and one flow C2 for supplying new sleepers 21 on the other hand. The 100 transfer wagon comprises:
The transfer wagon 100 comprises at least one transfer conveyor 50 supported by a frame 60, the frame 60 being supported by the frame 110 and secured relative to the frame 110. The transfer conveyor 50 is responsible for transferring new sleepers from the first receiving zone Z1 to and up to the second conveying platform P2, as well as for transferring worn sleepers from the second receiving zone Z2 to and up to the first conveying platform P1. The term “transferring” refers here to the transport, by lifting and moving in the air, of a load constituted here by one or more sleepers from one point to another, here from the receiving zone to the conveying platform. The first and second conveying platforms P1, P2 are each distant from the first and second receiving zones Z1, Z2, along a longitudinal direction X of the transfer wagon 100. Relative to the longitudinal direction X of the transfer wagon 100, the transfer conveyor 50 is located between the receiving zone Z1, Z2 and the conveying platform P1, P2. The implementation of the transfer conveyor 50 thus makes it possible to ensure the continuity of the removal flow C1 of worn sleepers 22 and the supply flow C2 of new sleepers 21.
The path of the worn sleepers 22 is as follows: The equipment 12 for removing worn sleepers 22 extracts worn sleepers 22 one by one and repeatedly and successively and then places them on a first removing conveyor device A1; these worn sleepers 22 are then conveyed by the first removing conveyor device A1 to the second zone Z2 for receiving the worn sleepers 22, where they are handled by the transfer conveyor 50, which moves them to the first platform P1 for conveying worn sleepers 22, from which said worn sleepers 22 are conveyed to a storage area of the railway vehicle 1 by a second removing conveyor device A2.
Here, the first and second removing conveyor devices A1, A2 are conveyor devices with chain(s) 70, preferably metallic, mounted on support and drive devices 71 comprising return wheels, such as cogwheels and idle wheels. Often, these devices also comprise tensioning members (not shown) for the purpose of tightening the chain(s) 70. Preferably, each of the first and second removing conveyor devices A1, A2 comprises at least two chain drive tracks mounted in parallel, the worn sleepers 22 then being conveyed while resting on the two parallel chains at the same time. A chain drive path can be formed by one and the same chain continuously circulating in a closed loop, or by a succession of continuous chains circulating in closed loops arranged successively along this drive path for sleepers. When a plurality of chains or chain drive tracks are mounted in parallel and convey the same sleepers, all or some of the support and drive devices, such as the return wheels and idle wheels, can be optionally shared. As will be readily understood, variants of conveyor devices can be used.
The second zone Z2 for receiving the worn sleepers 22 receiving the worn sleepers 22 from the equipment for depositing 12 the worn sleepers 22 as well as the first platform P1 for conveying the worn sleepers 22, from which said worn sleepers 22 are conveyed to a storage area of the railway vehicle 1, each comprise or are each constituted by one of the respective ends of the first and second removing conveyor devices A1, A2. As a variant, or even in addition, the second zone Z2 for receiving the worn sleepers 22 may comprise a buffer zone that is located in the extension of the first removing conveyor device A1 and makes it possible to temporarily store a plurality of worn sleepers 22 before being taken on together as a bundle. Such a buffer zone comprises an area, for example, that is devoid of any drive means or an area that comprises one or more free or disengaged chains, i.e., without drive means engaged with the chains capable of constraining the rotation of the chains over this portion, which is referred to as the conveyance buffer. In such a configuration, each worn sleeper 22 then completes its journey on the chains of the removing conveyor device and then comes into contact with and bears against the worn sleeper 22 situated in front of it and pushes it while driving it in its movement.
In parallel with the removal flow C1 of the worn sleepers 22, the path of the new sleepers 21 feeding the supply flow C2 of new sleepers 21 is as follows: the new sleepers 21 are conveyed in stacks from a storage area of the railway vehicle 1 to the first zone Z1 for receiving and unstacking the new sleepers 21 by a first forwarding conveyor device B1, where they are supported by the transfer conveyor 50, which moves the new sleepers 21 to the second platform P2 of the new sleepers conveyor 21, from which said new sleepers 21 are conveyed to the laying equipment 11 for the new sleepers 21 by a second forwarding conveyor device B2. The transfer conveyor 50 that performs these operations is the same as that carrying out the operations of transferring the removal flow C1 of the worn sleepers 22. One and the same transfer conveyor 50 thus implements the flows C1 and C2.
The second conveying platform P2 comprises, or even consists of, one of the ends of the second forwarding conveyor device B2. This second forwarding conveyor device B2 can be a chain conveyor 70 as described with reference to the removing conveyor devices A1, A2.
The first forwarding conveyor device B1 comprises, or consists of, a mechanism 130 for moving stacks 21′ of new sleepers 21 in order to displace said stacks 21′ of sleepers in translation step by step toward and up to the first zone Z1 for receiving and unstacking new sleepers 21.
The displacement mechanism 130 equips a plurality of successive wagons of the railway vehicle 1, including at least some storage wagons 300 and the transfer wagon 100. The set of wagons along which the displacement mechanism extends will hereinafter be called the working wagon. The displacement mechanism 130 comprises two successive carriages 131 that are adjacent in pairs, each carriage 131 being configured to support each stack 21′ of new sleepers 21. Each carriage 131 is formed here by a frame—metallic, for example—that is reinforced by a central, preferably metallic longitudinal beam 136. This longitudinal central metal beam 136 of the carriage has at its two opposite ends an interface for receiving one end 134′ of a connecting rod 134 with another carriage 131.
The displacement mechanism 130 comprises drive means 150 for moving each of the carriages 131 together reciprocally between a first and a second travel position. Each carriage 131 carries a stack 21′, 22′ of sleepers 21, 22 following a forward path W1 from the first to the second travel position, such as for a given pair of adjacent carriages 131 among the plurality of carriages 131 comprising a front carriage and a rear carriage, the second travel position of the rear carriage corresponding to the first travel position of the front carriage. The carriages are also configured to travel a return path W2 from the second to the first travel position while being unloaded. The back-and-forth movement of a given carriage 131 is therefore a reciprocating movement along the same path, in a forward direction W1 carrying a stack 21′, 22′ of sleepers 21, 22, and in a return direction W2 opposite the forward direction and unloaded, meaning that they are not carrying a stack 21′, 22′ of sleepers 21, 22. Each carriage 131 therefore moves like a shuttle between its two first and second positions.
Guide means 140 are provided to guide the carriages 131 along the longitudinal direction X of each of the work wagons, each having rollers 135 allowing the carriages 131 to run on a guide track 132. The guide means 140 comprise guide shoulders 141 that are located laterally on either side of each carriage 131 so as to laterally delimit and flank the forward and return paths W1, W2.
Some of the adjacent carriages 131 in pairs are interconnected by at least one articulation 133 to form a transport structure 13. Here, each transport structure 13 comprises three successive carriages 131 (for example, see
Each carriage 131 defines a first support plane P1 of a stack of sleepers on which the stack rests when the carriages move said stacks of sleepers along the forward path W1. The displacement mechanism 130 further comprises a supporting structure 160 that defines a second support plane P2 of a stack of sleepers on which the stack of sleepers rests when the carriages move while being unloaded, i.e., without displacing stacks of sleepers in their movement, along the return path W2.
The displacement mechanism 130 comprises an elevator mechanism 170 that is configured to vary the relative vertical position of the first and second support planes P1, P2 relative to one another when the carriages 131 are in the first and second longitudinal travel position, so that each stack 21′, 22′ of sleepers 21, 22 rests on the vertically highest support plane among the first and second support planes P1, P2 (see
In this configuration:
A displacement sequence of the stacks of new sleepers 21 by the displacement mechanism 130 is as follows, for example:
Repeating the sequence in cycles allows the stacks 21′ of new sleepers 21 to be moved step by step in the direction of the first zone Z1 for receiving and unstacking the new sleepers 21. Here, the drive means 150 comprise a chain 151 that engages with a drive wheel 152 integral with only one of the carriages 131 of the transport structure 13, preferably integral with the center carriage 131 among the three carriages 131 of a transport structure 13. The center carriage 131 is thus driven directly by the chain 151 of the drive means 150, and the front carriage 131A and the rear carriage 131C are themselves driven relative to this center carriage 131B indirectly by the center carriage 131 to which they are each linked by the connecting rod 134 (for example, see
The transfer wagon 100 comprises a lifting mechanism 120 in the first zone Z1 for receiving and unstacking the new sleepers 21 toward which the stacks of sleepers moved by the displacement mechanism 130 converge one by one. This lifting mechanism 120 makes it possible, as a stack 21′ of new sleepers 21 is unstacked, to raise the stack 21′ by a predetermined height so that the new sleepers 21 located on an end-layer top of the stack are positioned at a predetermined height and can be more easily supported by the transfer conveyor 50 and improve the speed of movement of said transfer conveyor 50.
In this embodiment, there is only one transfer conveyor 50. The frame 60 that supports it comprises a plurality of uprights 62 standing vertically and carrying at least two horizontal beams 63 on which are arranged rails 61 for guiding and supporting a shuttle 53 that can be moved in translation longitudinally with respect to the frame 60. The uprights of the frame are secured relative to the frame 110 of the transfer wagon 100. The mobile shuttle 53 forms a horizontal structure moving on the two guide tracks formed by the rails 61, said shuttle 53 comprising at least one transverse beam, i.e., extending transversely between the two rails 61, and preferably two beams, forming an overhead crane that is guided by the guide and support rails 61.
The transfer conveyor 50 further comprises a system 51 for gripping at least one sleeper 21, 22 suspended by a lifting system 52 from the shuttle 53. The lifting system 52 is a cable lifting system. The gripping system 51 preferably comprises a lifting beam that is configured to transport a plurality of sleepers 21, 22 grouped together in a bundle. An operating mode will preferably be chosen in which the conveyor 50 moves the sleepers 21, 22 in bundles of a single layer, meaning that during their transfer, the sleepers 21, 22 are not superposed, but rather placed side by side.
The gripping system 51 comprises a spreader that is formed from one or more beams that are integral with one another and comprises jaws at its transverse ends facing one another, for example in the shape of an “L,” each jaw being articulated by its end to the lifter and being controlled so as to pivot by a jack (not shown).
The work of the transfer conveyor 50, particularly of the shuttle 53, of the lifting system 52, and of the gripping system 51, is generally located inside a volume that is delimited by the frame 60 with the frame 110 of the transfer wagon 100. Moreover, whatever the working route of the transfer conveyor 50, it is contained for any position of its trajectory in a volume that is delimited laterally by a contour of the wagon 100 for transferring sleepers, preferably by a contour of its chassis 110, more preferably by the volume that is delimited by the frame 60. In this way, while ensuring the safety of people around the transfer wagon 100, the size of the wagon does not go beyond that of a conventional wagon.
The first conveying platform P1 and the first receiving zone Z1 are closer to a first end 101 of the transfer wagon 100 than the second conveying platform P2 and the second receiving zone Z2. In particular, the first conveying platform P1 and the first receiving zone Z1 are close to the front end 101 of the transfer wagon 100, whereas the second conveying platform P2 and the second receiving zone Z2 are closer to a second end 102 of the transfer wagon 100, i.e., the rear end.
Moreover, and although located at different heights, the first conveying platform P1 is closer to the first end 101 of the transfer wagon 100 than the first receiving zone Z1. Similarly, the second conveying platform P2 is closer to the second end 102 of the transfer wagon 100 than the second receiving zone Z2. These longitudinal offsets allow accessibility by the transfer conveyor 50 along the same axis, corresponding to its axis of translation along the frame 60.
The first conveying platform P1 is situated at a height greater than that of the first receiving zone Z1, and the second conveying platform P2 is situated at a height greater than that of the second receiving zone Z2. By positioning the first conveying platform P1 at a height greater than that of the first receiving zone Z1, and in relation to the storage wagons 300, the second removal conveyor device A2 is placed above the first forwarding conveyor device B1. The sleepers are stored in the form of stacks of sleepers and are placed under the second removing conveyor device A2, which in turn transports the sleepers in bundles of a single layer of sleepers, i.e., without superposition of sleepers. This makes it possible to place the center of gravity as low as possible and thus to ensure better stability for the different wagons, such as the transfer wagon 100 and the storage wagons 300.
Due to the arrangement of the first conveying platform P1 with respect to the first receiving zone Z1 and of the second conveying platform P2 with respect to the second receiving zone Z2, these removal and supply flows C1 C2 are crossed here. Since the transfer conveyor 50 is the only one to operate the two flows, namely the removal flow C1 for worn sleepers 22 and the supply flow C2 for new sleepers 21, the transfer steps are implemented in a sequenced manner.
Along a longitudinal axis X, the first and second platforms P1, P2 and the first and second zones Z1, Z2 are situated such that the transfer conveyor 50 is able to travel the paths of the removal and supply flows C1, C2 when it translates longitudinally with respect to the frame 60 in a single round trip between two extreme longitudinal positions. In this first embodiment, the transfer wagon 100 comprises, in a longitudinal direction X from the rear to the front: the first conveying platform P1, the first receiving zone Z1, the second receiving zone Z2, and then the second P2 conveying platform.
The railway vehicle 1 also comprises a stacking wagon 200 for worn sleepers 22, which is illustrated in
The third receiving zone Z3 comprises, or even consists of, one of the ends of the second removing conveyor device A2 opposite the end constituting the first conveying platform P1. A buffer zone (not shown) can also be provided to receive the sleepers.
The single stacking conveyor 250 is supported by an associated frame 260, said frame 260 being supported by the frame and secured relative to said frame. This stacking transfer conveyor 250 may be of a similar design to that of the transfer conveyor 50, but it may be of a smaller size, since the distance to be traveled is shorter.
The stacking wagon 200 further comprises a turntable system (not shown) that makes it possible to pivot at least one stack of sleepers, for example by 90°, in order to facilitate handling thereof by a handling means external to the machine.
In particular, this sectional view shows the positioning of the third conveyor device D1, which is located vertically above the first removing conveyor device B1 and hence above the displacement mechanism 130 and the second removing conveyor device A2. Here, the illustrated wagon is located upstream from the transfer wagon 100 with respect to the direction of travel of the train. On a portion located downstream from the transfer wagon 100 with respect to the forward direction of the train, the third conveyor device D1 will be positioned in this case such that it is located vertically above the second forwarding conveyor device B2 and the first removing conveyor device A1. In this case, in order to ensure the continuity of the conveyance on the third conveyor device D1, said third conveyor device D1 will be placed vertically above the conveyor 50 at the level of the transfer wagon 100.
In general, it should be noted that, regardless of the flow of sleepers implemented by the railway vehicle, the transfer wagon preferably comprises a third conveyor device, for example for conveying material such as ballast, that is located vertically above the transfer conveyor.
As will be readily understood, the invention was described in the foregoing as an example. It is understood that a person skilled in the art is in a position to produce various variant embodiments of the invention without, however, departing from the scope of the invention.
It is possible, for example, to consider a substantially different configuration of the transfer wagon. For example, it is possible to place the second receiving zone Z2 at a height greater than that of the second conveying platform P2 and/or to place the second receiving zone Z2 closer to a second end 102 of the transfer wagon 100 than the second conveying platform P2, so that the transfer wagon 100 comprises, in a longitudinal direction from rear to front: the first conveying platform P1, the first receiving zone Z1, the second conveying platform P2, and then the second receiving zone Z2.
As will be readily understood, the use of a displacement mechanism 130 as described is not limited to the strict use of the displacement of the stacks 21′ of new sleepers 21 to form the first removing conveyor device B. For example, whether in a complementary manner or not, the first removing conveyor device A1 can be constituted by, or comprise, a displacement mechanism 130 having all or some of the aforementioned features.
It is also conceivable for the supporting structure to be secured and for the lifting mechanism to act on the carriages. It is possible to envisage an embodiment in which the carriages move on a closed loop path, conferring to each of them individually a change in vertical position or not. It is also conceivable for a lifting mechanism to be housed in whole or in part in a thickness of each of the carriages and for them to be configured so as to vary the height of the support planes P1.
It is emphasized that all of the features, as they become apparent to a person skilled in the art from the present description, the drawings, and the appended claims, even if they have been concretely described only in relation to certain other features, both individually and in any combination, may be combined with other features or groups of features disclosed herein, provided that this has not been expressly excluded or technical circumstances make such combinations impossible or nonsensical.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2003671 | Apr 2020 | FR | national |
