Abstract:
The invention relates to a transport vehicle which serves to transport objects having large dimensions, especially glass stands. The transport vehicle is provided, as a low-platform railway car, with a traversal loading area. This loading area and the loading ramps assigned thereto form a travelling surface for so-called Osila glass transport vehicles, whereby the loading area is protected against soiling in an overall manner by a structure, and the load is secured on the loading area by stand fixing devices and load securing devices.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The invention relates to a transport vehicle for the transport of objects having large dimensions, especially low-platform railway cars which feature a long loading area that is built to fit the measurements of the rails and which also features low-set steering controls which are set in a distance to each other. The long loading area is bounded by a loading board on both sides and on its head side it features a connecting loading ramp which allows a short coupling with other low-platform railway cars. 
     Such transport vehicles could either be railway cars or freight trucks to transport glass sheet packages that measure a length of more than 6 meters and a height of more than 3 meters. Those glass sheet packages are set in an angle against an A-shaped or L-shaped glass stand and then they are taken by the especially designed transport vehicle. With freight trucks it is customary to arrange for U-shaped longitudinal carriers on the floor to correspond with the glass stands. The longitudinal carriers are shaped to also correspond with the according longitudinal carrier elements of the freight truck so that they can be loaded during, or better, after lowering the back part of the freight truck. Air bellows that correspond with the wheels are used for lifting or lowering, in order to lift and lower the back part of the freight truck towards the wheels. The corresponding longitudinal carriers on the frame feature fixating fixtures or stand fixing devices in order to support the glass stands which are set inside the freight truck or the glass sheet packages that rest upon the stands. Those fixtures are known from the DE-OS 35 16 914.1 whereas here, parallelogram struts are used which can be moved via a hydraulic cylinder. A disadvantage of those freight trucks is that they are road vehicles which can put pressure on the environment. Furthermore, practically only interior loading equipment in connection with an articulated vehicle can be used that are only suitable for the transport of such glass stands. As stated, such loading gear has limited use for transporting other goods or cannot be used for other goods at all. To comply with general efforts to transfer as many transports as possible onto the rail, low-platform railway cars were developed which can also transport freight trucks. Those freight trucks can be loaded with various goods including in theory articulated equipment with connected interior loading gear. If such low-platform railway cars shall receive or be loaded directly with those glass stands it is compulsorily necessary that these glass stands are loaded onto the railway cars by cranes in order to transport them. Such glass stands can move and lose their position during the transport, in other words, while the railway car is moving, so that they are very much in danger. A special problem results from the fact that only A-shaped glass stands can be used in order to avoid slipping and an imbalanced loading of the low-platform railway cars. L-shaped glass stands, which by nature cause an imbalanced loading of a wagon, cannot be used although the glass industry uses more and more of those L-shaped glass stands. As previously stated, it is especially disadvantageous that crane-type equipment is always necessary for loading, which might be available at the glassworks but in most cases not at the location of the buyer of such glass sheets. The EP-0548037-A1 shows a railway car with a completely over-all enclosed structure. Via roller construction it is possible to lift and lower the fold bellows. It is disadvantageous because it makes it difficult to drive through the area between two wagons and even makes it impossible for a vehicle that transports glass sheets. This is also true for the convoy of vehicles according to U.S. Pat. No. 5,511,491. Even though it is stated in the EP-0 463 505 A1 that the roof shall be constructed so that it can be raised, but that only concerns railway cars which are to transport cars on two levels. Once the upper level is occupied, the roof can be lowered again. A fixation of the cargo is not intended. The EP 0 672 566 A1 however shows a low-platform railway car for the transport of freight trucks. The roof structure can be widened to drive in or for loading in order to facilitate the loading process especially the driving onto the railway car. Objects with large dimensions, above all, glass stands cannot be transported, and in particular specialized vehicles cannot unload and pick up glass stands. The solutions according to U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,235,285 and 4,248,472 as well as EP 0 461 448 A1 also show only details concerning a roof that can be raised. The railway vehicle according to EP 0 924 130 A2 requires a separate crane in order to set the glass stand with the glass sheets onto the loading area. This results in considerable problems and disadvantages. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The invention therefore has the task to create a transport vehicle which can be loaded with objects having large dimensions and with that in particular transport stands for glass sheets without requiring a crane. 
     The task is solved according to the invention through the disclosed characteristics. 
     Because of the special construction of the transport vehicle it is possible to drive onto the entire loading area, to set the individual glass stands, regardless whether it is an A-shaped or a L-shaped glass stand, unto the loading area and to secure them there in such a fashion that the glass stands as well as the cargo, meaning the glass sheets, are secured during the transport. This could be a low-platform railway car as well as a low loading car which is accessible for specially equipped vehicles to drive onto, in this case Osila-glass-transport vehicles, in order to unload the glass stands as described and to secure them afterwards. It is especially advantageous that the loading as well as the unloading can be done without a crane, while the Osila-glass-transport vehicles are special equipment which are available at the glassworks because they are required for internal transport. They can also be used without a problem at the buyer&#39;s location because they are usually available there, whereas for precautionary measures a large transport with multiple low-platform railway cars could also include an appropriate Osila-glass-transport vehicle which would be part of the transport and can therefore take care of the loading and unloading of the glass stands at the destination points. With this, a very versatile procedure or transport vehicle has been created, which, no matter whether it is a railway vehicle or a road vehicle, can be used for the specified tasks without requiring elaborate cranes or similar equipment. Due to the reinforcement boards which run in longitudinal direction an overloading of the actual loading area is ruled out or, in other words, it is not necessary to make the entire loading area appropriately stable which would make the loading of goods more difficult. Those reinforcement boards furthermore are designed in such a manner that a sliding of the glass stands on them and a sliding of the glass stands with the reinforcement boards is difficult, or better, impossible. A loading process with a standard osila-glass-transport vehicle with its elevated driver booth is advantageously possible because the structure that rests on the loading area features a roof that can be raised. During the loading of the loading area the roof will be raised accordingly so that the Osila-glass-transport vehicles can, without a problem, drive the glass stands cross the loading area and place them there. When the loading process is completed, the roof will be lowered and you are looking at an advantageously designed low-platform railway car or low-loader. The side walls are stabilized and connected with the loading area, or better, with the loading board in such a manner that they can be used as a bearing for the fixtures that are securing the loaded goods. Thus the side walls can, for example, be set in appropriate load-retaining stanchions in the loading board or be connected with it in another way in order to transfer the necessary force. It is also thinkable that there would be stands intended to stabilize the side walls which would rest on the diagonal carriers of the loading area thus representing the bearing for the actual load securing devices. 
     An especially advantageous design of such a bearing based on its limited space requirements would be such that the sidewalls, the roof and the loading area in regards of the required bearing for the load securing devices are coupled with each other to build one unit. The side walls, the roof and the loading area practically build rings on which the load securing devices can rest when they have been pushed against the glass sheet packages in order to effectively protect them during the transport. 
     Another useful design is such that the fittings to fixate the stands are air or hydraulic cylinders, which are able to swivel round and which are set on the lower loading board and rest on an U-shaped longitudinal carrier of the glass stand. The stand fixing devices prevent the glass stands from sliding back and forth on the loading area thus taking advantage of the U-shaped longitudinal carriers of the glass stands which are suited for the transport within the facility as well as the transport with the inner loaders. Furthermore, the stand fixing devices can also rest on the loading board or be attached to it so that they can be swiveled out of the way or moved up during the loading process. Because air or hydraulic cylinders are used, the space requirements are minimal whereas the air cylinders can take advantage of the pressurized air that is available on such low-platform railway cars or also on low-loaders. 
     If there is no pressurized air and no hydraulic pressure available, the fixation of the glass stands can take place mechanically for which the invention intends that the stand fixing devices are shaped as double wedges which can be fitted in U-shaped spaces in the loading board and in the glass stand or, in better words, can be braced between the two. Here, it is also thinkable that those double wedges feature a spring mechanism to achieve an additional bracing when put in place. Because the stands shall be transported with the Osila-glass-transport vehicles, the fixation can be facilitate for example via the Osila-glass-transport vehicles when those pull the double wedges into their bracing position so that the glass stands are loaded via the Osila-glass-transport vehicle. 
     In order to only raise the part of the roof under which the work takes place, it is advantageous that the roof of the structure is designed so that it can be raised in segments. Two glass transport stands can be set on common low-platform railway cars so that only half of the roof of such a low-platform railway car is raised during the loading process where as the other part remains in its low position. 
     A quasi automatic raising of the roof will be achieved by the fact that it features loading ramps that are fit to correspond with the Osila-glass-transport vehicles. The osila-glass-transport vehicle as well as the actual railway car, or better its roof, contain additional components that bring a quasi automatic raise of the roof when the Osila-glass-transport vehicles drives onto the loading area of the transport vehicle. Separate components to raise and lower the roof are therefore no longer necessary. 
     The individual low-platform railway cars or low loaders shall also be protected from the environment as a one unit convoy to avoid a soiling of the transported glass panes. For this reason, the loading area and the structure above it build a sealing unit as previously stated whereas the structure also seals against the environment. Due to the short couplings the individual cars can be closely coupled whereas the area between the cars that build the convoy can also be sealed in such a way that the low-platform railway cars are connected with each other with accordion shaped covers. This has the advantage that even during the transport you can walk or even drive from the loading area from one car to the other without making it necessary to close off the cars from each other. Even in curves, the enclosure is ensured, because this part is shaped like an accordion. The entire train therefore builds one complete even climatically controlled unit so that even highly sensitive glass can be transported from one plant to the other or from one place to the other. 
     The invention features special characteristics due to the fact that a transport vehicle or a type of transport vehicle has been created that can be advantageously loaded with glass stands without requiring cranes or similar loading aids. For loading or unloading, so-called Osila-glass-transport vehicles can be utilized advantageously, since they are used anyway within the plants and which bring the common A-shaped and also L-shaped glass stands onto the especially designed loading area where they are set into fittings that fixate and secure the stands in such a way that even over long transport distances damages to the appropriately fixated glass panes do not have to be feared. Based on the special features of the low-platform railway cars or also the low loaders they can also be used for the transport of other goods with large dimensions whereas again there is the advantage that the cargo as well as the transport fixtures or glass stands as such can be fixated and held on the loading area so that they cannot leave their intended position during the transport, on the other hand, they are set and fixated in a way that they survive curves as well as jerky transports without a problem. 
     Additional details and advantages of the invented object can be found in the following description of the corresponding drawings where a preferred design example is depicted with the necessary details and individual parts. 
     It is shown in: 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG.  1 : two coupled low-platform railway cars viewed from the side. 
     FIG.  2 : an individual low-platform railway car viewed from the side on which two glass stands have been set. 
     FIG.  3 : a bird&#39;s eyes view onto a low-platform railway car. 
     FIG.  4 : a back view onto a low-platform railway car which is loaded with an Osila-glass-transport vehicle and. 
     FIG.  5 : a low-platform railway car viewed from the front which is loaded with an L-shaped glass stand. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     FIG. 1 shows a transport vehicle  1  which is a low-platform railway car  2 ,  3 , which features steering controls  4 ,  5  and which are connected with each other via a short coupling  6 ,  6 ′ in such a way that its loading areas  7  are quasi be accessed and loaded as one section. Appropriate panels or loading ramps are set between the loading areas  7  so that it is entirely possible to be entered by a vehicle via appropriate transport gear. 
     On the side of the loading area  7  loading boards  8  are intended as can be seen on the following pictures. Those loading boards  8 ,  9  are complemented by side walls  10 ,  11  and they are connected on top by a roof  12  which in all creates a stable structure  14 . This structure  14  is complemented between the loading areas  7  and the side walls  10 ,  11  as well as the roof  12  by an accordion type shaped cover  13 ,  13 ′ to safeguard this space in between and to “seal” it. In the event that the individual low-platform railway car  3  is divided into various compartments  17 ,  18 , an accordion-type shaped cover  13 ,  13 ′ might be useful in order to ensure a complete seal of the inner compartment. With that, the space above the rails  16  should also be enclosed to avoid a soiling of the transported glass stands. 
     FIG. 2 shows a low-platform railway car  2  viewed from the side where it becomes clear that here, the low-platform railway car  2  is divided into two compartments  17 ,  18  which are both loaded with corresponding glass stands which cannot be seen due to the cover. On the outside of the cover  19  you can see lettering, so that those surfaces can also be used for advertising. 
     Here, the individual low-platform railway car  2  features two steering controls each  4 ,  5 ,  4 ″,  5 ′. Thus, even with a great length, it can follow even a small rail radius whereas the rail  16  is only briefly indicated. 
     FIG. 3 shows a bird&#39;s eyes view onto a low-platform railway car  2 , which is equipped with short couplings  6 ; the common buffers  28  are at least intended where a coupling onto the pulling engine is necessary. Otherwise, the shown short couplings  6  are sufficient. FIG. 3 also indicates a stepping board  29  like it is customary with such low-platform railway cars  2 . 
     Interesting is the large loading area  7  on which the traveling surface  15  is visible which is used by the Osila-glass-transport vehicles which are not shown here, as well as to receive the glass stands which are also not depicted. On the side, the loading area  7  is lined by loading boards  8 ,  9  while the front and back part features segments  36 ,  37  onto which loading ramps can be placed, which are also not shown, to make the loading area accessible and drivable for the previously referenced Osila-glass-transport vehicles. Especially the spaces between the individual low-platform railway cars  2 ,  3  can be bridged in such a way that the aligned low-platform railway cars  2 ,  3  can be loaded from one loading area. Thus, the loading takes place in longitudinal direction  38  without the necessity to move the goods from sideway loading ramps or to move them with cranes sideways onto the loading area  7 . 
     FIG. 4 shows a loading process in progress during which an Osila-glass-transport vehicle  20  is driven in longitudinal direction  38  onto the loading area  7 . On the loading area  7  the traveling surface  15  for the Osila-glass-transport vehicle is provided whereas the glass pane packages  23  on the glass stand  22  are held in such a way on the fixating fixtures  21  that they cannot slide during the transport. 
     It is visible that the entire glass stand  22  holding the glass pane packages  23  is moved by the Osila-glass-transport vehicle across the traveling surface  15  onto the loading area  7  in an elevated fashion to then be set onto the loading area  7 . 
     It is also visible that the Osila-glass-transport vehicle  20  features an elevated driver booth  24  whose protecting roof  25  can feature loading ramps and guiding rails with which the roof  12  of the low-platform railway car  2  can be raised enough at the same time as the vehicle drives onto the railway car so that the roof  12  does not represent a hindrance to the Osila-glass-transport vehicle. The Osila-glass-transport vehicle is fitted with rollers  26  which ensure a gliding transport on the traveling surface  15 . Also, the lowering frame  27  can be lowered towards the rollers  26  far enough so that the bottom surface  41  of the glass stand  22 , which is here featured as an A-shaped glass stand, can be lowered onto the loading area  7 . By proceeding in longitudinal direction  38 , the Osila-glass-transport vehicle  20  is freed of the glass stand  22 , can again be raised and can be used to transport additional glass stands into the glassworks or can be transported to the client. 
     It was stated previously, that the roof  12  can be raised above the driver&#39;s booth  24  or the protecting roof  25 . Besides this lifting construction it is also possible to raise the roof  12  and also lower it with the help of lifting equipment  32  which is located on both side walls  10 ,  11 . 
     Towards the sides of the side walls  10 ,  11  there is also a fixture  30 ,  31  that is securing the loaded goods so that with this fixture  30 ,  31  the glass pane packages can be fixated similar to when they are transported with the Osila-glass-transport vehicle. 
     Differing from picture  4 , picture  5  shows an L-shaped glass stand  33  which is loaded with a correspondingly larger glass package  23 . This L-shaped glass stand  33  also features a U-shaped longitudinal carrier  42 , which the correspondingly fitted U-shaped longitudinal carriers of the Osila-glass-transport vehicle  20  can interlink with as shown in detail in picture  4 . Those U-shaped longitudinal carriers  42  according to picture  5  are also used to receive the stand fixations  34 ,  35  which take care of a fixed position of the glass stands  22 ,  23  after the L-shaped glass stand  33  or the glass stand  22  have been unloaded. According to picture  5 , air cylinders  43 ,  44  are intended for this purpose which for one part link into the U-shaped longitudinal carrier  42  in its braced position as well as link into the U-shaped fixtures  42  in the loading board  8 ,  9 . According to picture  5  a joint  45  can be intended to swivel the air cylinder  43  up when the Osila-glass-transport vehicles  20  are used for the loading and unloading procedure. 
     Instead of the air cylinders or hydraulic cylinders  43  other braces can be used which work together with the fixture  30 ,  31  that is securing the loaded goods. 
     According to picture  5 , a more elaborate fixture  30  that is securing the loaded goods is intended, which features a fixating clip  46  that can be swiveled and which works more or less independent from the side walls  10 ,  11 . It rests more on the loading board  8 ,  9  so that the other part of the structure  14  can be less stable. In order to accommodate the tremendous weight especially of the L-shaped glass stands  33 , there are reinforcement boards  40 ,  40 ′ intended that run in longitudinal direction  38  across the diagonal carriers  39 . The reinforcement boards  40  ensure an optimized even distribution of the weight of the glass package  23 . 
     In addition to the design according to picture  5 , other designs of fixtures  30 ,  31  that are securing the loaded goods can be used to secure the glass package  23 . With that, it is important that the glass package  23  is held in such a way that the glass panes cannot be damaged while the low-platform railway car is moved. To simplify matters, picture  5  only shows one fixture  30  that is securing the loaded goods. A similar fixture has to be placed on the opposite side because otherwise it cannot be prevented that the entire L-shaped glass stand  33  tips over. 
     All specified characteristics, as well as those which can be seen on the drawings are regarded by themselves as well as in combination essential to the invention.