AUTOMATIC SINGLE-SIDED GUIDANCE DEVICE FOR A SELF-PROPELLED VEHICLE ALONG A SIMPLY CONTINUOUS WALL

Abstract

An automatic guidance device for a self-propelled vehicle 22 along the wall 28 of a tunnel 12, comprising a wall 90 formed on either side of the vehicle's running surface 16, means for supporting the vehicle on the wall 90, and safety arms 108 extending above the wall 90 to bear against the opposite face of this wall. The invention is particularly applicable to the automatic guidance of vehicles with steering wheels in tunnels.

Description

AUTOMATIC ONE-WAY VEHICLE GUIDANCE DEVICE SELF-PROPELLED VEHICLE ALONG A SIMPLY CONTINUOUS WALL The invention relates to improvements to the automatic unilateral guidance device of a self-propelled vehicle along a substantially continuous wall, which was described in the main patent. This patent proposes to guide a wheeled vehicle unilaterally and automatically along a substantially continuous wall of great length, such as the wall of a gallery forming part, for example, of the tunnel to be dug under the English Channel between France and England. To this end, the main patent provides a device comprising means for systematically applying a thrust directed towards the wall to the vehicle, and means for supporting the vehicle against the wall or a fixed surface extending parallel to said wall, in order to counteract said thrust. Preferably, this device includes means for automatically controlling the vehicle's steering wheels, imposing a small steering angle on these wheels in the direction of said wall, and means for regulating the steering angle of the vehicle's wheels according to the force exerted on the aforementioned wall or fixed surface. Various embodiments of this device have been described in the main patent. The present invention relates to other embodiments of this device. It proposes in particular an automatic unilateral guidance device for a self-propelled vehicle with steering wheels along a substantially continuous wall, of the type described in one of claims 8 5 11 of the main patent, characterized in that the aforementioned fixed surface is formed by a low wall extending along the vehicle's running surface, over a relatively small height from this surface. The means of support of the vehicle on the wall then include wheels with a vertical axis, distributed regularly freely on a longitudinal rocker arm mounted on the vehicle by means of a suspension of the deformable parallelogram type. This ensures that the rocker arm always remains parallel to the longitudinal axis of the vehicle. Depending on the embodiment, each side of the vehicle includes a lifting beam of this type, which is movable between a service position where its wheels are in contact with the wall, and a rest position where it is substantially retracted, for example under the body of the vehicle; or the vehicle includes a single lifting beam that can be moved parallel to itself from one side of the vehicle to the other. Preferably, the wheels exiting via the aforementioned lifting beam are of the type pulled relative to the normal direction of movement of the duct. Furthermore, the interval between the wheels on a lifting beam is greater than the length of any local interruptions in the wall, corresponding for example to the showers of transverse galleries in the tunnel. In this way, the passage of the vehicle over these transverse galleries does not cause the spreader bar to move apart and avoids any violent impact of the guide wheels on the wall. The vehicle is also expected to include safety roll bars or lateral arms, extending transversely over the wall, designed to rest at their free end against the face of the wall opposite the wheel bearing surface of the lifting beam, in order to restrain the vehicle should it tend to move abnormally away from the wall. These lateral arms are mounted retractably on the vehicle. This provides positive safety during the automatic guidance of the vehicle along the wall and prevents, when these lateral arms are in the service position, the vehicle from accidentally crossing the entire running surface of the tunnel in the direction of the opposite wall. In another embodiment of the device according to 1 invention, the vehicle's running surface comprises a guide rut or groove with a substantially V-shaped cross-section, which extends parallel to the aforementioned wall, and each vehicle support means comprises a pair of crossed wheels, whose rolling axes are substantially parallel to the flanks of the guide groove, one of these wheels being intended to bear against one flank of the groove for guiding the vehicle, the other wheel bearing against the other flank of the groove to restrain the vehicle when it tends to deviate abnormally from its predetermined trajectory towards the opposite wall. Each pair of crossed wheels is carried by a support mounted on the vehicle by means of a suspension comprising on the one hand means for raising and lowering the pair of wheels in the guide groove, and on the other hand means for transmitting the lateral thrust of the vehicle towards the aforementioned wall. These transmission means comprise, on the one hand, means for providing elastic support to the vehicle on the support of the crossed wheels, and on the other hand, stop means which are transversely opposed to these elastic support means, as well as means for reversing the functions of the stop and elastic support means. Finally, the vehicle's steering wheels are connected to the vehicle's traction means on the aforementioned fixed surface, by servo means themselves controlled by function selection means such as manual or automatic steering, direction of vehicle movement and automatic guidance to the right or left. In the following description, given as an example, reference is made to the accompanying drawings in which Figure 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a tunnel equipped with a device according to the invention; Figure 2 is a schematic plan view of a section of this tunnel, representing the vehicle moving through the tunnel. Figure 3 is a view corresponding to Figure 2, for an alternative embodiment of the vehicle. Figure 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view of an alternative embodiment of the device according to the invention. Figure S is a schematic, larger-scale view of part of the device shown in Figure 4. Figure 6 is a plan view of a part of a vehicle according to the convention. We first refer to Figure 1, where reference numeral 12 designates a tunnel of the same type as that described and shown in the main patent. This tunnel 12, for example, has an internal diameter of approximately 5 m, a length of approximately fifty kilometers in the case of the Channel Tunnel, and is connected at regular intervals to transverse galleries 14 having an internal diameter of approximately 3 m. This tunnel 12 comprises a substantially north-south-facing vehicle surface 16, formed by a concrete slab approximately 10 cm thick, and a ceiling 18 delimiting, with the upper wall of the tunnel 12, a space 20 for the passage of cables, pipes, etc. In tunnel 12 circulate self-propelled vehicles 22 which are of the amphidromous type, having at their two ends steering wheels 24 and a classic manual steering system, so that each vehicle can move indifferently in one direction and the other inside tunnel 12, along one or the other wall of this tunnel, change direction and / or lane of movement, etc. The vehicle running surface 16 is bordered longitudinally by two low walls 90 extending along the lateral walls 28, 30 of tunnel 12 and which have a relatively low height above the running surface 16, for example, on the order of 30 to 40 cm. These walls can be made using the concrete exposed by the thinning of the slab 16 (due to the absence of metal rails embedded in the slab) or by installing long prefabricated elements. As can be seen more clearly in Figure 2, each vehicle 22 is equipped with two longitudinal rocker arms 92 carrying wheels 94 that rest on a support wall 90. Each rocker arm 92 is mounted on the chassis of the vehicle 22 by means of pivoting arms 9b, to form a deformable parallelogram suspension, thus requiring each rocker arm 92d to remain parallel to the longitudinal axis of the vehicle 22. One of the rocker arms 92 can therefore be in the operational position, with its wheels 94 in contact with the support wall 90, while the other rocker arm is retracted under the vehicle. Hydraulic or pneumatic means, for example, are used to move the rocker arms from one position to the other. Each spreader 92 carries at least two wheels 94, which are separated by an interval greater than the length of the outlets of the transverse galleries 28 in the tunnel, so that the outlets of these galleries can be passed without difficulty, when the walls 90 are interrupted locally at the right of the galleries 28. as can be seen schematically in figure 2. To reduce the impact of the wheels 94 on the ends of the walls 90, these wheels are preferably of the pulled type with respect to the normal direction of movement of the vehicle, indicated by the arrow F. Obviously, the other lifting arm 92 of the vehicle, which is active when the vehicle moves in the opposite direction, taking support along the other wall of the tunnel, also includes pulled wheels 94, oriented in the opposite direction. In the embodiment variant of figure 3, the vehicle 22 comprises only a rocker arm~98, which extends substantially in the middle of the vehicle, and which carries transverse arms or axles 100 at the ends of which are mounted the support wheels 94 on the walls 90. It is sufficient to move the rocker arm 98 transversely, to one side or the other of the vehicle, so that the wheels 94 on one side are in the service position, while the wheels 94 on the other side of the vehicle are in the retracted position. Elastic thrust means 102 and stop means 104 are associated with the rocker arm 98 to support the thrust of the vehicle 22 towards the wall 90. When the vehicle moves back in the opposite direction along the other wall of the tunnel, the functions of these means 102 and 104 are reversed. As in the previous embodiment, the rocker arm 98 is mounted on the vehicle chassis by means of trailing arms 106 forming a deformable parallelogram suspension. These arms are divided into two groups on either side of the rocker arm 98, each group being active for a specific direction of vehicle movement, and inactive in the other direction. Furthermore, the vehicle 22 is equipped with safety arms or hoops 108 (Figure 1) which are retractable and mounted on its longitudinal sides. In the operational position, these arms extend over the wall 90 so that their free end, fitted with a sliding pad or similar means, can, if necessary, rest against the face of the wall opposite to that against which the wheels 94 of the lifting beam rest. This positively limits the maximum distance between the vehicle 22 and the wall 90 against which it rests. When the vehicle 22 needs to change its lane of travel in the tunnel, the arms 108 are simply retracted, for example, by pivoting them upwards. We now refer to figures 4 and 5, which represent a variant embodiment of the device according to the invention. In Figure 4, the running surface 16 includes a longitudinal groove 110 with a cross-section substantially in V which extends along the wall 28 of the tunnel and one of whose sides forms the fixed surface for guiding vehicles traveling along this wall. This groove 110 receives the vehicle's support means, which here consist of pairs of crossed wheels 112 and 114. The axis of rotation of wheel 112 is parallel to the flank 116 of the groove 110 against which it bears, and which is located on the side of the wall 28. The axis of rotation of the other wheel 114 is parallel to the other flank 118 of the groove 110, which is located on the opposite side of the tunnel wall. In its normal operating position, this wheel 114 is not in contact with the flank 118, but is held away from it by a certain distance and only comes into contact with this flank 118 when the vehicle tends to deviate from its normal trajectory, heading towards the opposite wall of the tunnel. Preferably, the sides 116 and 118 of the groove 110 are perpendicular and inclined at 45° to a vertical plane, forming an angle of 135° with the running surface, which limits the risk of spalling of the concrete at the edge. The wheels 112 and 114 are preferably mounted on the same support, comprising a vertical extension 120 which is guided vertically and associated with lifting and lowering means 130. Means 132, for example spring-loaded, allow a downward vertical force to be exerted on the pair of wheels 112 and 114, of the same order of magnitude as the lateral thrust of the vehicle, so that the guide wheel is pressed normally against one or the other side of the groove 110. This lateral thrust is transmitted to the wheel supports 112 and 114 by means 134 associated with stop means 130. The functions of means 134 and 136 must be reversible when the vehicle changes direction. The embodiment shown in Figure 5 can then be used. In this figure, each means 134, 136 comprises - a hydraulic or pneumatic cylinder 138 associated with a return spring 140. The cylinders of the cylinders 138 are, for example, fixed to the axle or chassis of the vehicle while their piston rods are each connected to a stop plate 42. The two plates 142 are arranged on either side of the extension 120 of the support for the crossed wheels 112 and 114 and determine between them an interval which corresponds to the necessary stroke to enable the automatic steering of the vehicle and which limits to an admissible value the gap between the vehicle and the wall along which it is automatically guided. Figure 5 shows that the cylinder 138 of drcit. located on the opposite side of the tunnel wall 28, is put to the exhaust, to allow the return spring 140 to do its job, the plate 142 of its piston rod being applied to the extension 120, while the left cylinder, located on the side of the wall 28, is supplied with pressurized fluid so as to compress the spring 140. its plate 142 resting on the bottom of the cylinder of this jack. Under these conditions, if the vehicle, during its movement, tends to approach the wall 28; this results in a compression of the spring 140 of the right-hand jack. While the lateral thrust of the vehicle towards the wall 28 is transmitted to the support wheel 112 by the plate 142 and the extension 120. Conversely, if the vehicle tends to move away from the wall 28, this results in a release of the spring 140 of the right-hand cylinder, and a decrease in the support force of the wheel 112 on the side 116 of the groove 110. If the vehicle moves further away from the wall 28, the safety wheel 114 will then come to rest on the side 118 of the groove 110 while the plate 142 of the left-hand cylinder will abut against the extension 120. This prevents the vehicle from moving too far away from the tunnel wall 28. The movements of the vehicle relative to the wall 28 can be used to modulate the steering angle of the vehicle's wheels 24 in the desired direction, for example by means of the system shown in Figure 6. In this figure, the steering wheels 24 of the vehicle are connected to each other by a linkage 144 forming a deformable parallelogram, comprising two parallel transverse bars 146 and two parallel longitudinal bars 148. These bars 146 and 148 are articulated to each other at their ends, the longitudinal bars 148 being further articulated at their midpoint on the axle carrying the wheels 24. Means are also provided to ensure that the steering wheels 24 of the vehicle are substantially parallel to the longitudinal bars 148. Coupling means 150, 152 are further provided respectively on the cross bars 146, such that, depending on the direction of travel of the vehicle, one of these bars is linked to the support of the wheels 112, 114, while the other can slide transversely relative to the chassis of the vehicle. In the case shown in Figure 6, where the vehicle moves in the direction indicated by arrow F, it is the bar 146 located at the front that is fixed to the guide wheel 112, while the rear bar 146 can slide transversely. Thus, when the vehicle tends to move towards the wall, this necessarily results in a leftward translation, in the direction of arrow 154, of the axle carrying the wheels 24 relative to the front bar 146 of the Linkage 144, which tends to reduce the steering angle of wheels 24. Conversely, if the vehicle tends to move away from the wall 28, the axle moves in translation in the opposite direction to arrow 154, which tends to increase the steering angle of the wheels 24, and therefore to bring the vehicle back towards the wall 28. On the other hand, when the vehicle has to move in the opposite direction, that is to say in the opposite direction to that indicated by arrow F, it is the coupling means 152 which secures the bar 146 with the support of the guide wheel 114, while the coupling means 150 allows a translation of the corresponding bar 146. The means for controlling the steering angle of the wheels 24, which have been shown in Figure 6, are mechanical means, using linkages When these control means are of the hydraulic type, for example when the vehicle is equipped with a di- With the assisted steering type, the steering angle of the wheels 24 can be controlled according to the vehicle's pressure on the guide wall. It is then sufficient to provide a reversing switch at a suitable point in the hydraulic control circuit to obtain the same results as with the mechanical system in Figure 6. Finally, it is planned that the vehicle will be equipped at its ends with a "cattle pusher to clear the way of bearing, and that the guide wheel support includes cleaning shoes for groove 110. In general, vehicle guidance systems according to the present invention have the advantage of not using metal rails embedded in the vehicle's running surface, and of being silent (the means of support on the guidance surface being wheels equipped with tires, which roll on concrete surfaces). Furthermore, the concrete of these guidance or support surfaces works in compression, with a low or virtually nonexistent risk of spalling, depending on the embodiment of the system according to the invention.

Claims

DEMANDS 1) Automatic unilateral guidance device for a self-propelled vehicle with steering wheels along a substantially continuous wall, according to one of claims 8 to 11 of the main patent. comprising means for automatically controlling the steering wheels (24) of the vehicle, imposing on these wheels a small steering angle in the direction of the wall (28) and means for supporting the vehicle (22) on a fixed surface parallel to said wall (28,30), characterized in that said fixed surface is formed by a wall (90) extending along the running surface (16) of the vehicle, over a relatively small height from this surface. 2) Device according to claim 1, characterized in that the means for supporting the vehicle on the wall (90) comprise wheels (94) with a vertical axis, mounted on a longitudinal rocker arm (92, 98) and attached to the vehicle by means of a deformable parallelogram suspension (96, 106). 3) Device according to claim 2, characterized in that a rocker arm (92) of the aforementioned type is provided on each side of the vehicle, and is movable between a service position where its wheels (94) are in contact with the wall (90), and a rest position where it is substantially retracted, for example under the body of the vehicle (22) 4) Device according to claim 2, characterized in that the vehicle comprises a single rocker arm (98) of the aforementioned type, movable parallel to itself from one side to the other of the vehicle. 5) A device according to any one of claims 2 to , characterized in that the wheels (94) of the rocker arm (92, 98) are of the pulled type, relative to the normal direction of travel of the vehicle 6) Device according to any one of claims 2 to 5, characterized in that the gap between the wheels (94) on a rocker arm is greater than the length of any local interruptions in the wall (90). 7) Device according to any one of claims 1 to 6. characterized in that the vehicle comprises lateral safety arms (108), extending transversely above the wall (9Q) and intended to bear at their free end on the face of the wall (90) opposite to the bearing face of the wheels (94) of the rocker arm, to restrain the vehicle when it tends to move away abnormally from the wall, these lateral arms (108) being mounted retractably on the vehicle. 8) Device according to claim 12 of the main patent, wherein the vehicle's running surface (16) comprises a guide groove (110) with a substantially V-shaped cross-section extending parallel to the aforementioned wall (28), characterized in that each vehicle support means comprises a pair of crossed wheels (112, 114). whose rolling axes are substantially parallel to the flanks (116, 118) of the guide groove, one (112) of these wheels being intended to bear against one flank (116) of the groove for guiding the vehicle, the other wheel (114) bearing against the other flank (118) of the groove to restrain the vehicle when it tends to move abnormally away from the wall (28) along which it is guided. 9) Device according to claim 8. characterized in that each pair of crossed wheels (112,114) is carried by a support (120) mounted on the vehicle by means of a suspension comprising, on the one hand, means (130) for raising and lowering the pair of wheels in the guide groove (110) and on the other hand, means (134,136) for transmitting the lateral thrust of the vehicle in the direction of said wall (?8). 10) Device according to claim 9, characterized in that said transmission means comprise means (134) for elastic support of the vehicle on the support (128) of the crossed wheels, and stop means (136) which are transversely opposed to said means (134) for elastic support, as well as means for reversing the functions of the stop and elastic support means. 11) A device according to any one of claims 1 to 10, characterized in that the steering wheels (24) of the vehicle are connected to the vehicle's support means on the aforementioned fixed surface by servo means themselves controlled by means for selecting functions such as manual or automatic steering, direction of vehicle movement, and automatic guidance to the right or left