FR3000419A1 - System for maintenance of parts i.e. wood pieces, to be treated in processing enclosure i.e. autoclave, has bar inserted in curved toothed rack so as to carry out maintenance of part to be treated below pressing units by each pressing unit - Google Patents

Abstract

The system (1) has a set of pressing units (5) that is mounted in a pendular type enclosure i.e. autoclave. The pressing units swivel between a set of raised positions for allowing installation of a set of parts to be treated i.e. wood pieces, in the enclosure, and a set of lowered positions for maintenance of the parts to be treated. Each of a set of rectilinear toothed racks (16) includes a bar (6) that is inserted in a curved toothed rack (13) of the pressing units so as to carry out maintenance of the part to be treated below the pressing units by each pressing unit.

Description

The present invention relates to a system for holding parts to be treated in a chamber for treating these parts, receiving a liquid, said parts being such that they float on this liquid. The invention is particularly applicable to the maintenance of pieces of wood in an autoclave for treating these parts.

It is common to treat pieces of wood by means of an autoclave, the treatment consisting of placing the pieces in an autoclave, to put the autoclave in depression in order to eliminate the air contained in the pieces of wood and to dilate them. , to fill the autoclave with a liquid treatment product, then pressurize the autoclave to allow impregnation of the pieces of wood in depth.

To prevent the pieces of wood from floating in the treatment liquid, it is necessary to maintain these parts in position when this treatment liquid is introduced into the autoclave. For this purpose, it is known to provide in the autoclave a succession of pressing members, vertical and rectilinear stroke or pendulum type, that is to say, pivoting about an axis, depending on the height available in this autoclave. The different pieces of wood or piles of pieces of wood placed in the autoclave have different heights, and each pressing member comprises a proper means for its actuation between its lifting position and its lowered position close to the piece of wood, this means being in particular a hydraulic cylinder. Existing systems have the disadvantage of being cumbersome and complex. In addition, they can not be installed in autoclaves in which the available space is very limited. Consequently, two techniques are commonly used to immobilize pieces of wood in autoclaves: - to strap the pieces of wood to the carrier plate of these parts, this plate being immobilized vertically with respect to the bottom of the autoclave, by engagement of its base in U-shaped profiles; - use vertical pressers whose actuating hydraulic cylinders pass through the upper part of the autoclave. The first technique has the disadvantage of requiring long manual operations and tedious. The second technique has the disadvantage of involving a complex and expensive structure, in particular to obtain the required seal.

The present invention aims to remedy all of these disadvantages.

The system concerned comprises, in a manner known per se, a plurality of pressing members mounted in a closed chamber intended to receive a liquid, of the pendular type, that is to say, pivoting between raised positions, allowing the introduction of parts to be treated in the enclosure, and lowered positions, maintaining the parts to be treated. According to the invention, each pressing member comprises two actuating zones, including a first zone, called "lifting / lowering" and a second zone, called "holding"; the system comprises a single actuating bar, able to actuate all the pressing members that comprise the enclosure, this actuating bar comprising, at each pressing member, two remote operating zones, one of the other, including a first zone, called "raising / lowering" and a second zone, called "maintenance"; the actuating bar is movable in two directions of movement and, in each direction of movement, is movable in three successive phases of movement: - a so-called "raising / lowering" movement phase, in which each raising / lowering zone that comprises the bar is in engagement with the corresponding raising / lowering zone that comprises the pressing member, thus realizing, in the direction of movement of the bar, the lifting of the pressing member or a control of the lowering of this pressing member until this pressing member comes close to the workpiece located below it; each holding zone that comprises the bar is then out of engagement with the corresponding holding zone that comprises the pressing member; a so-called "intermediate" movement phase, in which each raising / lowering zone that comprises the bar is out of engagement with the corresponding raising / lowering zone that comprises the pressing member and each holding zone that comprises the bar; remains out of engagement with the corresponding holding zone that includes the pressing member; a so-called "holding" movement phase, in which each raising / lowering zone that comprises the bar remains out of engagement with the corresponding raising / lowering zone that comprises the pressing member and each holding zone that comprises the bar comes into engagement with the corresponding holding zone that comprises the pressing member, so as to maintain, by each pressing member, the workpiece located below this pressing member. The invention thus consists in providing a single actuating bar capable of simultaneously actuating, by its movement, all the pressing members 5 that comprise the enclosure; during said raising / lowering phase, the pressing members are, according to the direction of movement of the bar, either raised or lowered until meeting the respective workpieces located below them; said intermediate phase makes it possible to place the respective raising / lowering surfaces out of engagement and simultaneously bringing all the pressure surfaces of the bar, fixed on this bar, into engagement with the pressing surfaces of the pressing members; said holding phase makes it possible to immobilize the pivoting of each pressing member, so that each pressing member exerts the required maintenance of the workpiece. It should be noted that when the workpiece or workpiece stack below a presser member has the minimum required height, said intermediate movement phase can be very small, said respective raising / lowering surfaces this pressure member and the bar disengaging from each other almost simultaneously with the coming into engagement of said respective pressing surfaces of the pressing member and the bar. Preferably, the raising / lowering zone that comprises each pressing member is formed by a cam surface, and the raising / lowering zone that comprises the actuating bar is formed by a roller capable of rolling against this surface. of cam. This cam / roller design promotes the exertion of the forces required for the lifting / lowering movements of the pressing members, and the rolling of the roller reduces friction. Preferably, the holding zone that comprises each pressing member is formed by a curved rack centered on the axis of pivoting of the pressing member, and the holding zone that comprises the actuating bar is formed by a rectilinear rack capable of coming into engagement with the curved rack of the pressing member. Preferably, the movement of the actuating bar is effected by means of a jack located in the autoclave, to which this actuating rod is connected.

The invention will be better understood, and other features and advantages thereof will become apparent with reference to the appended schematic drawing showing, by way of non-limiting example, a preferred embodiment of the system concerned.

Figure 1 is a view of this side system while it is mounted in an autoclave for treating pieces of wood, this autoclave being seen in section; stacks of planks of wood are placed in the autoclave; pressing members included in the system are in the raised position; Figure 2 is an enlarged view of a pressing member and actuating members of this pressing member; Figure 3 is a view of the system similar to Figure 1, the pressing members being in the bearing position against the stacks of boards; Figure 4 is a view of a pressing member similar to Figure 2, the pressing member being in the same support position; Figure 5 is a view of the system similar to Figures 1 or 3, the pressing members being in a position of exerting pressure on the stacks of boards; and Figure 6 is a view of a pressing member similar to Figures 2 or 4, the pressing member being in the same position of pressure exercise. The figures show a system 1 for holding piles 100 of wooden planks in an autoclave for treating these boards. The autoclave comprises, in a manner known per se, a body 2 of cylindrical shape and a door intended to be put in place on one end of this body in order to seal the volume delimited internally by this body. The body 2 comprises a bottom 2a receiving the stacks 100 of boards. The system 1 is mounted in the body 2 and essentially comprises a plurality of pressing members 5, a bar 6 for simultaneous actuation of these pressing members 5 and a hydraulic jack 7 for actuating the bar 6 in translation. Each pressing member 5 is of the pendulum type, i.e., is pivotable about an axis; this pivoting is between the raised position shown in Figures 1 and 2, allowing the introduction of the batteries 100 in the autoclave or withdrawal of these batteries after treatment, and the pressure position shown in Figures 5 and 6, of exerting pressure on the stacks 100, with an intermediate position shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, by simply pressing the pressing member 5 against the upper plank of the stack 100 situated below it.

The pressing member 5 comprises an elongated body 8 secured at its upper end with a pivot 9 mounted in a support 10 integral with the body 2, and at its lower end with a terminal bar 11 bearing against the stack 100. The pressing member 5 also comprises a branch 12 and a curved rack 13 integral with the body 8. The branch 12 is connected to the body 8 at the pivot 9 and forms an angle of about thirty degrees with this body 8; it forms, on the opposite side to that on which the body 8 is located, a cam surface 14. The curved rack 13 is centered on the axis of the pivot 9. The bar 6 has, at each pressing member 5, a 10 U portion having a roller 15 on the side of the cam surface 14, able to roll against this surface, and a rectilinear rack 16 on the side of the curved rack 13, adapted to engage with the latter The hydraulic cylinder 7 is mounted on a console 20 secured to the body 2 of the autoclave. Its piston rod is connected to the bar 6, and this cylinder 7 allows to actuate 15 this bar 6 in translation, in a back and forth motion. In practice, the pressing members 5 are in the raised position shown in Figures 1 and 2 during the introduction of the batteries 100 in the body 2 of the autoclave. The rod of the cylinder 7 is then retracted, positioning the bar 6 to the left of the figures, and thus bringing the rollers 15 in abutment against the cam surfaces 14, which holds the pressing members 5 in their raised positions shown. After closure of the autoclave, the cylinder 7 is controlled in the direction of the output of its piston rod, moving the bar 6 to the right of the figures. This displacement allows the pressing members 5 to pivot under the effect of their own weight, in a manner controlled by the rolling of the roller 15 against the surface 14, until meeting the upper board of each stack 100, position shown in the figures 3 and 4. The battery 100 shown on the left of FIG. 3 being higher than the stack 100 shown on the right of this figure, the pressing member 5 shown on the left of this figure meets the upper plate of the FIG. left stack before the pressing member 5 shown on the right of this figure comes to meet the upper board of the right stack; when the pressing member 5 of the left rests against said board, the continued movement of the bar 6 leads to disengage the roller 15 from the cam surface 14, and no hindrance exists in the continuation of this movement until that all pressing members 5 have come to rest against the piles 100. It should be noted that the stack 100 on the right is at the minimum required height, the roller 15 being close to the free end of the branch 12, see figure 4. The rectilinear racks 16 are positioned on the branch 6 so that none of them comes into engagement with the curved racks 13 until all the pressing members 5 have come to bear against the stacks 100. continued movement of the bar 6 to the right of the figures then brings these rectilinear racks 16 in engagement with the curved racks 13, providing a locking pivoting of the pressing members 5, as shown in Figures 5 and 6. This worm rusting maintains the batteries 100 in position.

The treatment of the wooden planks constituting the stacks 100 is then carried out, in particular by placing the autoclave under vacuum, filling the autoclave with a liquid treatment product, and then pressurizing the autoclave to allow the treatment to be carried out. impregnation of the boards in depth. After emptying the liquid treatment product, the cylinder 7 is actuated so as to disengage the racks 13 and 16 from their mutual engagement and to bring all the rollers 15 into contact with the cam surfaces 14, thus, in so doing, to bring all the pressure members 5 in their raised positions shown in FIG. 1. As can be seen from the foregoing, the invention provides a system for holding parts to be treated in a chamber for treating these parts, in particular in an autoclave of treatment of wood parts, having the critical advantages of being compact, which allows it to be installed in an autoclave in which the available space is restricted, and to have a simple structure.

The invention has been described above with reference to an embodiment provided by way of example. It goes without saying that it is not limited to this embodiment and that it extends to all other embodiments covered by the appended claims; for example, the cam surface 14 and the rack 16 could be replaced by simple surfaces of the pressing member, or by lugs integral therewith, forming respective lifting / lowering and positional operating surfaces. maintenance; the roller 15 and the curved rack 13 could be replaced by simple tabs integral with the bar 6.

Claims (5)

REVENDICATIONS1. System (1) for holding parts to be treated in a chamber for treating these parts, receiving a liquid, these parts being such that they float on this liquid, comprising a plurality of pressing members (5) mounted in the enclosure , of pendular type that is to say, pivoting between raised positions, allowing the introduction of the parts to be treated in the enclosure, and lowered positions, maintenance of the parts to be treated; characterized in that: - each pressing member (5) comprises two actuating zones (13, 14), including a first zone (14), called "raising / lowering" and a second zone (13), called " keeping "; - The system (1) comprises a single actuating bar (6), able to actuate all the pressing members (5) that comprises the enclosure, the actuating bar (6) comprising, at each organ presser (5), two actuating zones (15, 16) spaced from each other, including a first zone (15), called "raising / lowering" and a second zone, called "holding" ; the actuating bar (6) is movable in two directions of movement and, in each direction of movement, is movable in three successive movement phases: - a so-called "lifting / lowering" movement phase, in which each zone of raising / lowering (15) that comprises the bar (6) is in engagement with the corresponding raising / lowering zone (14) that comprises the pressing member (5), thus realizing, in the direction of movement of the bar ( 6), lifting the pressing member (5) or controlling the lowering of this pressing member (5) until this pressing member comes close to the workpiece located below it; each holding zone (16) that comprises the bar (6) is then out of engagement with the corresponding holding zone (13) that comprises the pressing member (5); a so-called "intermediate" movement phase, in which each raising / lowering zone (15) that comprises the bar (6) is out of engagement with the corresponding raising / lowering zone (14) that the member comprises presser (5) and each holding zone (16) that comprises the bar (6) remains out of engagement with the corresponding holding zone (13) that comprises the pressing member (5); A so-called "holding" movement phase, in which each raising / lowering zone (15) that comprises the bar (6) remains out of engagement with the corresponding raising / lowering zone (14) that the member presser (5) and each holding zone (16) that comprises the bar (6) engages with the corresponding holding zone (13) that comprises the pressing member (5), so as to maintain, by each pressing member (5), the workpiece located below this pressing member. 2. System (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that: - the raising / lowering zone that comprises each pressing member (5) is formed by a cam surface (14), and - the raising / lowering zone that comprises the actuating bar (6) 10 is formed by a roller (15) adapted to roll against this cam surface. 3. System (1) according to claim 1 or claim 2, characterized in that: - the holding zone that comprises each pressing member (5) is formed by a curved rack (13) centered on the pivot axis of the pressing member (5), and - the holding zone that comprises the actuating bar (6) is formed by a rectilinear rack (16) adapted to engage the curved rack (13) of the organ presser (5). 4. System (1) according to one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the movement of the bar (6) of actuation is achieved by means of a jack (7) located in the enclosure, to which this actuating bar (6) is connected. 5. System (1) according to one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the workpieces are pieces of wood and in that said enclosure is an autoclave for treating these pieces of wood.