BACKGROUND

The invention relates to an arrangement for attaching a falling post on a base structure.

The invention further relates to a vehicle comprising the arrangement .

Safety railings that can be tilted from their standing po- sition to a lower or recumbent position are widely used in vehicles that have to move in narrow passages. One example of such vehicles are vehicles used in mines. The safety railings are required e.g. during service and maintenance work of a vehicle when personnel has to work on the vehi- cle, but on the other hand, standing safety railings are vulnerable to be damaged when the vehicle moves in a mine.

A problem with known tilting safety railings is that the tilting operation is complicated and typically not execut- ed by one operator.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION

Viewed from a first aspect, there can be provided an ar rangement for attaching a falling post on a base struc ture, the post being rotatable movable between a standing and a recumbent position, the arrangement comprising a stand, comprising attachment element for attaching the falling post to said base structure, the post attached pivotally to the stand by a pin, the post having an abil ity to rotate from the standing position to the recumbent position in respect of the stand, the stand comprising at least one groove arranged laterally in respect of the post, the post comprising at least one projection extend ing in a lateral direction from the post, said at least one groove being arranged in respect of said at least one projection such that when the stand is in the standing po- sition, the at least one projection lies in the at least one groove, and thereby locks the post in said standing position, the at least one projection being attached to the post such that it has an ability to move in respect of the stand in a longitudinal direction of the post an exte rior of the stand comprises a guidance surface ending to the at least one groove, and arranged to lift the at least one projection and guide said projection to move in the at least one groove, the arrangement further comprising a lever attached rotatable in the stand, the lever including a first end, length of which is arranged to extend past the guidance surface when the post is in the recumbent po sition such that the at least one projection arranged to move on the guidance surface is adapted to push the first end of the lever and rotate the lever in first direction therewith, and the at least one projection arranged to push down the first end simultaneously with moving into the at least one groove, such that the post being in the standing position the first end of the lever is situated under the at least one projection lying in the at least one groove, and wherein the lever being activated to ro tate in a second direction opposite to the first direc tion, the first end of the lever is adapted to lift the at least one projection away from the at least one groove, thus allowing the post being moved towards the recumbent position.

Thereby a safety railing that is simple and easy to oper ate may be achieved.

The arrangement is characterised by what is stated in the characterising part of the independent claim . Some other embodiments are characterised by what is stated in the other claims. Inventive embodiments are also disclosed in the specification and drawings of this patent application. The inventive content of the patent application may also be defined in other ways than defined in the following claims. The inventive content may also be formed of sever al separate inventions, especially if the invention is ex amined in the light of expressed or implicit sub-tasks or in view of obtained benefits or benefit groups. Some of the definitions contained in the following claims may then be unnecessary in view of the separate inventive ideas. Features of the different embodiments of the invention may, within the scope of the basic inventive idea, be ap plied to other embodiments.

In one embodiment, the at least one projection is arranged in the post movable in longitudinal direction of said post, preferably connected with an actuator arranged in the post and adapted to urge said projection towards the pin and allow said projection being lifted by the guidance surface to move away from the pin. An advantage is that the structure of the post is simple.

In one embodiment, the at least one projection is arranged fixedly in the post, the stand comprises vertically elon gated mounting holes for receiving the pin attached to the post, such that the guidance surface is arranged to lift the pin and the post therewith in guidance of said elon gated mounting hole. An advantage is that structure of the arrangement is simple.

In one embodiment, the at least one projection is arranged fixedly in the post, the post comprises vertically elon gated mounting hole for receiving the pin attached to the stand, such that the guidance surface is arranged to lift the post therewith in guidance of said elongated mounting hole. An advantage is that structure of the arrangement is simple. In one embodiment, the stand comprises two grooves ar ranged opposite sides of the stand, and respectively, the post comprises two projections extending opposite direc tions from the post. An advantage is that a symmetrical and self-adaptable structure may be achieved.

In one embodiment, an upper section of the guidance sur face has a convex profile. An advantage is that a continu ously smooth movement of the projection may be achieved.

In one embodiment, the at least one groove comprises a rear edge that extends higher from the bottom of the groove than a front edge joining to the guidance surface. An advantage is that a simple means for stopping the move ment of the projection may be achieved.

In one embodiment, as the lever is in its extreme position in a second direction of rotation, the first end of the lever is arranged to lie at the at least one groove, such that said first end is limiting length of the at least one groove to a length shorter than width of the projection, the lever thus prohibiting the projection entering in the groove . An advantage is that a simple structure for facil itating of handling of long safety railings may be achieved .

In one embodiment, the lever being dimensioned such that as the first end is limiting said length of the at least one groove to a length shorter than width of the projec tion, the second end of the lever is lying on the same side with the first end with relation to a vertical imagi- nary plane arranged in and parallel with a rotational pin of the lever. An advantage is that unintentional movement of the lever may be prevented. In one embodiment, the lever comprises two first ends and an arc-like connecting piece therebetween, said arc-like connecting piece establishing the second end of the lever. An advantage is that a symmetrical and sturdy structure of the lever may be achieved.

In one embodiment, the lever comprises an extension ex tending to an opposite side of the stand as the second end of the lever. An advantage is that the arrangement can be operated easily from both sides of the safety railing.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF FIGURES

Some embodiments illustrating the present disclosure are described in more detail in the attached drawings, in which

Figure 1 is a schematic view of a safety railing compris ing an arrangement for attaching a falling post of the in vention,

Figure 2 is a schematic perspective view of an arrangement for attaching a falling post in a first position,

Figure 3 is a schematic perspective view of the arrange ment shown in Figure 2 in a second position,

Figure 4 is a schematic perspective view of the arrange ment shown in Figure 2 in a second position,

Figure 5 is a schematic perspective view of the arrange ment shown in Figure 2 in a second position,

Figure 6 is a schematic perspective view of the arrange- ment shown in Figure 2 in a second position,

Figure 7 is a schematic perspective view of the arrange ment shown in Figure 2 in a second position, Figure 8 is a schematic perspective view of the arrange ment shown in Figure 2 in a second position, Figure 9 is a schematic perspective view of another embod iment of the arrangement,

Figure 10 is a schematic perspective view of a third em bodiment of the arrangement, and

Figure 11 is a schematic perspective view of a fourth em bodiment of the arrangement.

In the figures, some embodiments are shown simplified for the sake of clarity. Similar parts are marked with the same reference numbers in the figures.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Figure 1 is a schematic view of a safety railing 200 com prising an arrangement 100 for attaching a falling post of the invention and arranged to a vehicle V. The vehicle V is a mining vehicle or a construction vehicle. In mines and at other work sites different type of vehicles are used. The vehicles may be provided with one or more work ing devices for executing designed work tasks at the work site. The vehicle may be a wheel loader, a transport vehi- cle or dumper, a rock drilling rig, an excavator or a lifting machine, for example.

However, the vehicle V may be any other type of a utility vehicle, such as a tractor, a truck, a farming machine, a forestry machine etc.

Figures 2 - 8 are schematic perspective views of an ar rangement for attaching a falling post in various posi tions. The arrangement 100 comprises a stand 2 that has an at tachment element 3 for attaching the falling post 1 to a base structure B. The attachment element 3 shown in fig ures comprises bolt holes but, of course, the attachment element may be realized various ways. The base structure B is a part or component of the vehicle V .

The post 1 is attached pivotally to the stand 2 by a pin or axle 4, the post 1 thus having an ability to rotate from a horizontal position to a vertical position, and vice versa, in respect of the stand 2. The horizontal or recumbent position is shown in Figure 2 and vertical or standing position is shown in Figure 5.

It is to be noted that "vertical or standing position" means here a position where the post 1 lies when the safe ty railing 200 is arranged for securing safety of person nel, whereas "horizontal or recumbent position" means a position where the safety railing 200 has been lowered or overturned in order to lower the height thereof.

The stand 2 comprises at least one groove 5 arranged lat erally in respect of the post 1. In the embodiment shown in Figures, there are two grooves 5 arranged opposite sides of the stand 2.

The post 1 comprises at least one projection 6 extending in a lateral direction from the post 1. In the embodiment shown in Figures, there are two projections 6 extending opposite directions from the post 1.

The grooves 5 are arranged in respect of the projections 6 such that when the post 1 is in the standing position (shown in Figure 5), the projections 6 lie in the grooves 5, and thereby locks the post 1 in the standing position and in respect of the stand 2. The projections 6 are attached to the post 1 such that they may move in respect of the stand 2 in a longitudinal direction of the post 1. In the embodiment shown in Fig- ures, the projections 6 are attached to a sleeve 17 that glides on the post 1. The sleeve comprises two long aper tures and the post 1 a bolt and nut arranged in said aper tures. The apertures and the bolt and nut limits and guides the movement of the projections 6 on the post 1. In an embodiment, an actuator 10 is arranged in the post 1. The actuator 10 is adapted to urge the projection(s) 6 towards the pin 4 and allow said projection(s) 6 being lifted by a guidance surface 7 to move away from the pin 4. In the embodiment shown in Figures, the actuator is a coil spring. However, the actuator may also be e.g. me chanical spring of another type, a gas spring etc.

In another embodiment, there are no actuator at all. In stead, the movement of the projection(s) is caused by gravity of the projections 6.

The position and shape of the guidance surface 7 is de signed such that the projection(s) 6 of raising post 1 make (s) contact with a convex-shaped upper section of the guidance surface 7. This ensures a smooth and easy lift-up of the post 1, and also a reliable lifting of the projec tion (s) 6.

In another embodiments, the guidance surface 7 may have different shapes. In an embodiment, the shape is straight.

The exterior of the stand 2 comprises guidance surfaces 7 that end to the grooves 5. The guidance surfaces 7 are adapted to lift (see Figures 3 and 4) the projections 6 during movement of the post 1 from its horizontal position to the vertical position and guide said projections 6 to move in the grooves 5. Furthermore, the pin 4 may be ar ranged acentrically with respect to the convex-shaped up per sections, such that the distance of upper part of the guidance surface 7 from the pin 4 is more than said dis tance in lower parts of said surface 7. Thanks to this feature, the projections 6 move away from the pin 4 during the raising of the post 1 and, simultaneously, the actua tor 10 is "primed", e.g. in case of spring, the spring is tensioned. The tension is at least partly released when the projections move in the grooves 5.

The arrangement 100 comprises further a lever 8 attached rotatable in the stand 2.

The lever 8 has a first end 9, length of which is arranged to extend past the guidance surface 7 when the post 1 is in the horizontal position. Thus the projections 6 that move on the guidance surface 7 together with raising post will 1 push the first end 9 of the lever and rotate the lever 8 in a first direction D1 therewith (shown in Figure 2).

The projections 6 push the first ends 9 moving on the re spective guidance surfaces 7 ahead (as shown in Figure 4) until the projections 6 reach the grooves 5. Then the pro- jections 6 move or drop into the grooves 5 and, simultane ously, push down the first ends 9 of the lever. As a re sult, the first ends 9 are situated under the projections 6 settled in the grooves 5. The post 1 and the safety railing 200 is then in the standing position and locked in this position by the projections 6 in the grooves 5 as shown in Figure 5.

The movement of the projections 6 in the first direction D1 may be stopped just above the grooves 5 by a high rear edge 12 of the groove 5. According to an idea, in embodi- ments comprising two projections, such as shown in Fig ures, the two projections centre and guide themselves against respective rear edges. Thus plays, if any, in the structure of the post and projections may be eliminated. However, it is to be noted that the high rear edge is not an essential feature of the structure.

In a case the standing safety railing 200 has to be low ered, the lever 8 is activated to rotate in a second di rection D2 opposite to the first direction. The activation may be done by pressing second end of lever 15 e.g. by foot. Then the first ends 9 of the lever are adapted to lift the projections 6 away from the respective grooves 5, as shown in Figure 6. In this position of the projections 6, the post 1 is released and may be turn over to the hor izontal position.

The lever 8 shown in Figures comprises two first ends 9 and an arc-like connecting piece 14 connecting the first ends. The arc-like connecting piece 14 establishes the second end 15 of the lever.

The embodiment shown in Figures comprises two grooves 5, two projections 6 and two guidance surfaces 7. In another embodiment, there is only one groove 5, one projection 6 and one guidance surface 7. Basically, it is preferable that the numbers of the grooves, projections and guidance surfaces are equal, but this is not compulsory. According to an idea, as the lever 8 is in its extreme position in a second direction D2 of rotation, the first end 9 thereof is arranged to limit a length L (shown in Figure 2) of the groove 5 to a length shorter than width W (shown in Figure 7) of the projection 6. An example of this kind of posi tion is shown in Figure 7. Thus the lever 8 is prohibiting the projection 6 entering in the groove 5. This may facil itate the operator's work especially when moving a safety railing 200 comprising at least two posts and arrangements 100 from a standing position to recumbent position. As the operator has lifted the projection (s) 6 away from the groove (s) 5 in one arrangement, the projection (s) will not go back spontaneously in said groove(s), but is/are sup ported by the first end (s) 9. Thus the operator may leave said arrangement and concentrate to operate with a next arrangement 100. This way even a very long safety railing 200 can be turned over by just one operator.

Figure 9 is a schematic perspective view of another embod iment of the arrangement. In an embodiment, the projection 6 is arranged fixedly in the post 1. The stand 2 comprises vertically elongated mounting holes 11 that receives the pin 4 attached to the post 1. The pin 4 and also the post 1 may move in the mounting holes 11 in vertical direction. The guidance surface 7 lifts the projection 6, the pin 4 and the post 1 therewith such that the projection 6 enters at a corresponding groove 5, and then the projection 6 and the post 1 therewith drops in the groove 5.

Figure 10 is a schematic perspective view of a third em bodiment of the arrangement. In another embodiment, the projection 6 is arranged fixedly in the post 1. The post 1 comprises vertically elongated mounting hole 11 for re ceiving the pin 4 attached to the stand 2. The post 1 may move in relation to the pin 4 in direction of the elonga tion. The guidance surface 7 lifts the projection 6 and the post 1 therewith such that the projection 6 enters at a corresponding groove 5, and then the projection 6 and the post 1 therewith drops in the groove 5. It is to be noted that the lever 8 is not shown in Figure 9 in order to simplify the presentation.

Figure 11 is a schematic perspective view of a fourth em bodiment of the arrangement. In an embodiment, there is an extension 16 in the lever 8 that extends to an opposite side of the stand 2 as the second end 15 of the lever. Said extension 16 makes it easy to use the arrangement 100 from both sides of the safety railing 200.

The invention is not limited solely to the embodiments de scribed above, but instead many variations are possible within the scope of the inventive concept defined by the claims below. Within the scope of the inventive concept the attributes of different embodiments and applications can be used in conjunction with or replace the attributes of another embodiment or application.

The drawings and the related description are only intended to illustrate the idea of the invention. The invention may vary in detail within the scope of the inventive idea de fined in the following claims.

REFERENCE SYMBOLS

1 post

2 stand 3 attachment element

4 pin

5 groove

6 projection 7 guidance surface 8 lever

9 first end of lever

10 actuator 11 mounting hole 12 rear edge 13 front edge

14 connecting piece

15 second end of lever

16 extension

17 sleeve

100 arrangement

200 safety railing

B base structure

D1, D2 direction of rotation L length of groove

P plane

V vehicle

W width of projection