The present invention relates to the field of devices for handling and support of equipment required to carry out productive activities arranged in industrial areas or grounds even lacking routes for vehicle passage, such as, for example, areas used as photovoltaic sites .

Handling of vehicles on rough terrains has always been a problem, which in some cases has limited the multiple uses of the grounds themselves and at the same time has determined remarkable problems in the maintenance of manufactures provided for logistic requirements, such as, for example, poles, or other analogous works, strictly connected to their specific use .

Over time, vehicles able to travel along the most various rough terrains have been perfected, generally relying on the strength and size of the tyres as their strong point . These solutions have turned out to be useful in most cases, even though accidents have occurred, but they have always had to consider not neglectable problems in terms of stability, regardless of the conditions and slope of the terrain, especially for the weights that they were carrying, such as manufactures, equipment or devices, in some cases forcing to request human intervention for periodic maintenance activities usually carried out with the support of automated machines .

The recent development of photovoltaic sites, that is extended grounds provided with a sequence of solar panels, which structure and functioning are widely known, in particular, has entailed the need to implement solutions allowing to keep the solar radiation absorption efficiency as constant as possible over time, by cleaning the absorption surface from dust, sand and debris .

For example, automatic cleaning systems have been achieved, which are able to move along the surface of the single panel and contemporarily bring back the panel itself to the highest possible efficiency .

Given the difficulties of manually managing areas of remarkable sizes, very often composed of high heights and sloped structures to increase irradiation, and given the wide and uneven area over which photovoltaic sites are spread, the present inventors were able to verify that cleaning equipment on the market necessarily still require the support of handling means between one panel and another, mainly in the case of sites developed over several columns, and with different heights and slopes .

Currently available devices for the transport of cleaning equipment are essentially moveable carriages, operated by remote control, provided with driving and handling means . Nevertheless, it has been verified that systems available to this date are not yet completely autonomous : for their management, the presence of a human operator is required, with a remarkable waste of time and money .

In particular, inventors have verified that one of the major problems connected with currently used handling systems is that they are not able to ensure the required stability to the cleaning equipment, with the risk that they are not in the correct position when they approach a panel when the roughness of the terrain and the difficulty to overcome it do not determine gaps from the original position, up to overturning.

So, starting from this practical evidence, inventors were able to verify that it is a felt need and is hence a main object of the present invention, to achieve a device for handling and support of the equipment required to carry out productive activities arranged in industrial areas or terrains even lacking routes for vehicles passage, for example, rough and with different slopes, which could be able to support said equipment in a stable preset position, during handling.

It is a secondary object of the present invention, specifically, to achieve a device for the transport of cleaning equipment for solar panels, generally called "rover", equipped with means for free and omnidirectional handling along the terrain on which panels are planted, ensuring, on one side, a correct autonomous handling and on the other a totally remote management, both in approaching and leaving of the cleaning equipment from one panel to another . Said objects are obtained by means of a device for handling and support of machinery and equipment in rough areas characterized in that it consists of three distinct units, brought into mutual engagement by electromechanical connections :

- a handling unit, consisting of a series of at least two mutually independent wheels, each kept in engagement by means of an articulated system comprising posts and crossmembers to a first frame having a polygonal plan;

- a self-levelling unit, consisting of a second frame, having a polygonal plan, centrally provided with an engagement plate, in engagement with a cardanic joint fastened to said first frame;

- a lifting unit consisting of three articulated arms, which lower ends of which are pivoted to a support structure provided with U-shaped brackets for housing said lower ends and which is in turn fastened to said engagement plate of said self-levelling unit, the upper ends of said articulated arms showing a pair of brackets pivoted on a pin that is kept in engagement in corresponding eyelets of a housing plate of a support tray of said machinery or equipment .

Technical details and specific advantages of the invention will become apparent following the description of a preferred embodiment of the invention reported below, disclosed with particular reference to the enclosed figures, wherein : fig. 1 is a perspective top view of the handling and supporting device of a machinery or equipment according to the invention; fig. 2 is a side view of the handling device of a device of fig . 1 during operation; fig. 3 is a side view of the handling device of a device of fig . 1 at rest; fig. 4 is a perspective top view of the handling unit of the handling device of the cleaning equipment for solar panels according to the invention; fig. 5 and fig. 6 are a front and perspective views of a wheel body of the unit of fig. 4 ; fig. 7 is the perspective view of the self-levelling unit mounted on the handling unit, wherein the levelling elements are emphasized; fig. 8 is the side view of the self-levelling unit; fig. 9 is the perspective view of the cardanic joint of the unit of fig. 7 ; fig. 10 is the perspective top view of the lifting unit .

The handling and supporting device 1 for machinery and equipment according to the invention, as depicted in figures 1 to 3 consists of three distinct units, brought into mutual engagement for the correct functioning of the whole structure :

- a handling unit;

- a self-levelling unit;

- a lifting unit .

The handling unit is depicted in detail in figures 4 to 6 : it consists of a series of four mutually independent wheels 2, each kept in engagement, by an articulated system of posts and crossmembers 3, to a first frame 4 , having a hexagonal plan, that supports the other two units . To each wheel 2 a command and control unit 5, supported by said first frame 4, a driving gearmotor 6 in direct axis with the wheel and a steering gearmotor 15, which will be better described later are associated, in order to ensure, independently for each wheel 2, both traction and direction, obtaining then the omnidirectionality of the handling unit, and i . e . the possibility of choosing both the transmitted power and the direction impressed to each wheel depending on the terrain conditions and the speed that the device is able to tolerate .

The articulated system of posts and crossmembers 3, aimed at ensuring freedom of movement of each wheel, consists of an array of mechanical connections which allows, on the one hand, to achieve the guarantee of the resistance of the wheel on any terrain, and on the other, to ensure the freedom of movement necessary to obtain the preset objects .

Hence a crossbar 7 is provided, integral with the first frame 4, supporting a first vertical bracket 8 having a U-shaped profile, supporting at its upper and lower ends parallel connecting rods 9 provided with an end eyelet on both ends, said connecting rods 9 being kept in a position free to rotate vertically by pins inserted in through holes provided at the ends of said first bracket 8 . Complementary to said first bracket 8, a second bracket 10 is provided, identically fastened to the other end of said connecting rods 9 .

Said second bracket 10, in turn, carries a first L-shaped bracket 11 on which distal ends a second L-shaped support bracket 12 of said wheel 2 is pivoted, of said gearmotor 6 and of said steering gearmotor 15 .

The so-built handling unit provides motion damping means, in order to make the movement of the handling device 1 as parallel as possible, in comparison with the ground level, said damping means being provided in the supporting and driving structure of the wheel 2 . In particular, a damper 13 is provided in the connection between the first bracket 8 and the second bracket 10, to balance the oscillations of the first L-shaped bracket 11 in comparison with said crossmember 7 . To this purpose, a shaped bracket 14 is provided mounted on said crossmember 7 and that joins on top said first bracket 8, said shaped bracket 14 consisting of a pair of parallel plates, shaped at the free end to identify a rounded head and drilled in the middle of said head in order to house a retaining pivot aimed at holding said damping means 13 in position . A steering gearmotor 15 is also provided, which is held in position between said second L- shaped bracket 12 supporting the wheel 2 and the driving gearmotor 6. The steering gearmotor 15 allows to change the angular position of the second L-shaped bracket 12 in comparison with the first L-shaped bracket 11 and then to change at will, over 360° , the motion direction of the wheel 2 .

Particular attention is deserved by the first frame 4 structure, essential for the understanding of the whole device and its complex structure . The outer hexagonal plan of the first frame 4, displays a series of crossmembers inside, which strengthen the whole structure . Starting from the middle of the hexagonal figure, three pairs of crossmembers 16 depart that span about half the distance between the middle and the vertex, from the end of which two additional crossmembers depart, going to join together with the inner surface of the perimeter profile of the first frame 4 in correspondence with the median point of the original hexagonal structure sides . Then, a spiderweb structure is formed, based on the crossmembers 16, which will be particularly useful to support some elements provided in the following units .

In turn, the self-levelling unit, depicted in figures 7 to 9 consists of a second frame 17 with a hexagonal base, in three non- consecutive vertexes a coplanar insert 18 being provided, having a length smaller than the side of said hexagonal base, from said insert, towards the middle of said second frame 17 , two radial, mutually parallel crossmembers 19 depart . Centrally, a hexagonal engagement plate 20 is provided, for engagement with a cardanic joint support 21 fastened to said first frame 4 . To ensure further resistance to the structure in correspondence with each vertex of the second frame 17 lacking said insert 18, a crossbar 22 is provided, which joins two mutually contiguous sides .

Two linear actuators 24, 25 fastened under the middle of the first frame 4 are in a stable engagement with the bottom surface of two of said inserts 18, to ensure the correct angulation of the plane of the second frame 17, to which linear handling motors along the X and Y axes are associated.

The cardanic joint support 21, in turn, consists of a cylindrical central body 26 from which three vertical gusset plates 27 having a right-angled triangle profile depart, at an angulation of 120 ° , and at the top of which the properly said cardanic joint 28 is arranged. It is generally consisting of two complementary U-shaped brackets, 29, 30 displaying a rotation mechanism along two axes within the area of mutual engagement, thanks to the rotation pins 31, 32 of the upper bracket 30 with respect to the bracket fastened to said cylindrical central body 26. On the outer top surface of said upper U-shaped bracket 30 a pierced ferrule 33 of engagement with the bottom surface of said engagement plate 20 is mounted, in correspondence with the holes 23.

Finally, the lifting unit depicted in fig. 10 consists of a structure 34 , fastened on the top surface of the engagement plate 20 of the second frame 17, said structure 34 being suitable to support three pivoted articulated arms 35, thanks to the U-shaped brackets 34s fastened to the structure 34 in which the lower ends of said articulated arms 35 are pivoted, so that these are free to rotate by

180 ° each with respect to its own pin, and from a A-shaped support plate 36 placed at the upper end of said articulated arms 35 and pivoted to them via the engagement between lower eyelets provided on said support plate 36 and pins 37 kept in engagement with the brackets 38 placed at the lateral ends of the top of said articulated arms 35 . Above plate 36, a tray 39 for housing said machinery, or equipment, to be transported, is mounted, and fastened.

Linear actuators 40, pivoted on supports 41 fastened to the crossmembers 22 of said second frame 17 determine the movement of the lower part of said articulated arms 35, in order to define the position of the structure - and of the tray 39 - in the space along the three cartesian axes, with total freedom of movement along each axis in comparison with the others . Hence, with the so-built structure, the lifting unit displays a degree of freedom in correspondence with the fastening base of the arms 35.

On the top surface of the tray 39, housing and holding corresponding elements 42 can be provided, for the equipment or machinery to be transported by the device now described, in operation .

In particular, this opportunitiy is actually achieved thanks to the conception of a structure of an upside down A-shaped robot . In other words, the present inventors have reversed the conventional structure of a robot for automatized plants, making it a structure able to keep a supporting plane in a constantly horizontal position - that can be recognized in tray 39 arranged at the top of the handling device - during the movement of such handling device on rough terrain, despite the roughness or slopes of the terrain .

As it will be understood from the preceding description, each unit has its own innovative value, although the maximum advantage can be verified from the evaluation of the overall structure, which allows the operator to remotely manage both the handling and the self-levelling unit, and the lifting unit they are carrying, clearly reducing the number of operators and machinery needed for the maintenance operation of plants, manufactures or even for the surveillance of areas under observation for geomorphological or flora-faunistic reasons .

In particular, as described at the beginning, the so-built structure was designed to ensure a correct approaching of the automatic equipment for solar panel cleaning to the single line of panels . It is well understood that the structure now described perfectly suits this particular case : the handling device is able to carry the cleaning equipment over the terrain of interest, being able to move so as to lower the risk of damaging the equipment itself, changing its position with respect to the panel, to become perfectly aligned with it, without any kind of effort .

However, nothing prevents that on the tray, in place of the cleaning equipment, cutting devices, such as for example hedge cutters, or video transmission devices to the remote headquarters, to carry out continuous surveillance of the area, what back in time was called "patrol service", or finally devices suitable for the structural analysis of manufactures located on rough terrains, in order to have the certainty of their state of health, without the need of an inspection by a human technician can be provided.

Therefore, the solution now described has a relatively simple functioning, as it will be described hereinafter .

In operation, the device is remotely operated, most likely having taken care of laying the equipment or machinery of interest on the tray . The engines associated with the wheels define in real-time, addressing directions coming from the operator or sensors provided on the vehicle, the correct power to supply to each of the wheels provided.

The particular arrangement of the wheels, comprised in the handling device according to the invention, allows to overcome the roughness of the terrain and slopes absolutely inaccessible by the devices of the state of the art, for example being able to move on slopes even higher than 10° and overcome vertical hurdles of height higher than the normal heights allowed for similar devices of the state of the art .

In proximity of the photovoltaic panel to be cleaned, the linear motors of the self-levelling system and lifting system are actuated, so as to obtain the correct angulation with respect to the ground and with respect to the panel : in fact, there are two angulations to consider in order to keep the balance of the device continuously constant .

For example, the first linear motor of the self-levelling system defines the angulation of the upper plane for angles ranging over a sufficient angulation, for example ±20° , in comparison with the x coordinate, while the second linear motor of the self-levelling system defines the angulation of the upper plane for angles ranging over a sufficient angulation, for example ±20° , in comparison with the y coordinate . In this way it is ensured that the lifting mechanism is correctly supported, because the working condition is maintained vertical, absorbing the roughness of the ground.

Similarly, the lifting system can adjust the correct vertical and horizontal positioning, with what could be defined as a fine- tuning, of the tray for the correct operation of the device that is being transported.

From the description now terminated, it is demonstrated that the preset objectives have been achieved, that is a handling device for cleaning equipment for photovoltaic panels that is able to move on photovoltaic plants keeping the cleaning equipment totally safe, avoiding on the one hand stopping due to the roughness of the ground and on the other dangerously risking to lose balance .

In particular, the handling system allows every single wheel to move absolutely autonomously, modifying the power of the motor associated with every single wheel depending on the state of the terrain .

Further, the self-levelling system is able to keep the lifting mechanism associated with it constantly in a vertical position, with the upper plane always perfectly levelled, without the slightest concern that the natural differences in height of the terrain may change the correct arrangement of the cleaning equipment on the photovoltaic panel to be treated.

Finally, the lifting system is built so as to ensure a remarkable retractability (achieving a reduction of the encumbrance in the resting position at about 20 cm) and at the same time to be able to define the precise relative position on the cartesian axes of the tray that carries the cleaning equipment, allowing then a perfect alignment of the equipment itself with the solar panel structure .

It is finally to underline the fact that the solution described above, of a handling device for cleaning equipment for photovoltaic plants, is only one of the possible embodiments of the present invention, considering as "equivalent" all the solutions providing a pairing between a device in motion on a rough terrain and a work plane kept in a horizontal position .

It is additionally to underline that the description made so far is directed to a particular embodiment and that there are multiple variations that can be brought to the structure now described, without for this reason assuming to be outside the scope of protection defined by the attached claims .

In particular, the description was made with reference to a first and a second frame having a hexagonal plan, but the structure of said frames can have any polygonal plan that is considered suitable : the choice of a hexagonal plan is to be considered merely a choice of higher convenience for the understanding of the structure and for ease of assembly .