ES2361884T3 - MODULABLE AND STACKABLE CONTAINER. - Google Patents

Abstract

The container has four panels fixed on four posts by two fixation units in the form of large and small snails, to allow the rotation of each panel with respect to a base. One of the fixing units includes fingers (37) arranged on the panel and a slot situated on one of the posts. The fingers slide and pivot inside the slot for permitting horizontal folding of the panels on the base. The slot is provided with an opening by which the panels pass through during their assembling and/or disassembling.

Description

The invention relates to a container adapted for handling, transporting and storing parts, especially automobiles, or products.

The invention relates more particularly to a modular and stackable container consisting of a base plate, four uprights and four panels.

The packaging of parts and products requires, for reasons of transport, handling and storage, specific containers (adapted to a piece and / or a product) or multipurpose (adapted to several families of parts and / or products). To respond to this need, there are already folding containers, but, given their conception, they generally have certain drawbacks.

The existing containers have two and not four folding panels per semipanel, which imposes a sense of positioning of the container with respect to the operator, taking into account the current ergonomics rules.

The semipanels, once opened, leave the dimensions of the container, thus causing during manipulations deterioration due to the coupling of these semipanels with the other containers.

On the other hand, the folding operations of the trellised panels on the base plate need an order in the manipulations that, if not respected, causes deterioration of the panels and prevents stacking in this misfolded position of the containers with each other.

Once folded, certain panels can protrude or exceed the set constituted causing losses or degradation of these panels during handling operations.

The assembly or disassembly of the trellised panels generally requires, for entertainment reasons, particular tools.

During crashes caused by “chicken nests” on the roads, the trucks that transport these containers transmit vertical forces that tend to de-base the panels of the motherboard and can lead to loss of parts through the space thus created.

Documents DE 2460846, EP 0736457 and CH 524 509 describe modular containers of the aforementioned type.

The objective of the present invention is to alleviate all or part of the aforementioned drawbacks, proposing a container that offers enough modularity to be versatile.

For this purpose, the invention relates to a modular container comprising a base plate and four panels fixed to four uprights by means of a first and second fixing means suitable to allow the pivoting of each of the panels with respect to the base plate, the first fixing means constituting a set consisting of a finger arranged in the panel and a throat located in the upright and inside of which the finger can slide and pivot to allow the substantially horizontal folding of the panels on the base plate, characterized in that the throat is substantially oval, snail-shaped and embossed with respect to the uprights, the throat comprising a U-shaped bottom extended by a first side wall located towards the inside of the container and by a second side wall located outside the container and parallel to the first, the first side wall having an extension inclined towards the exterior and towards the top of the container, and an opening that is defined between the free ends of the second side wall and the inclined extension, the panels passing through said opening during its assembly and / or its disassembly.

The height of the throats of the fixing means is preferably at least equal to four times the thickness of the panels to allow folding of the panels horizontally on the base plate.

According to a feature of the invention, the uprights are pivotally mounted on the base plate to allow stacking of the containers.

At least one of the panels comprises two moving parts with respect to each other to allow the container height to decrease during the loading of parts.

The moving parts of the panels are advantageously mounted pivotally with respect to each other to allow a robust articulation.

image 1

According to another feature of the invention, the base plate comprises a recess to allow its transport.

Other particularities and advantages will become clearer with the description that is made of it below, by way of indication and in no way limiting, referring to the attached drawings. The embodiments represented in Figures 8 and 10 are not covered by claim 1.

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the container.

Figure 2 is a perspective view of the container with the upper half-panels

partially folded

Figure 3 is a perspective view of the container with the folded panels.

Figure 4 is a perspective view of the container with the folded panels and uprights.

Figure 5 is a perspective view of the upright.

Figure 6 is a front view of a lower semipanel.

Figure 7 is a front view of an upper semipanel.

Figure 8 is a perspective view of the base of the upright mounted on the base plate.

Figure 9 is a perspective view of a part of the first fixing means in the form of a "large snail".

Figure 10 is a perspective view of a part of the first fixing means in the form of a "small snail".

Figure 11 is a perspective view of the container foot.

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the container 1 according to the invention. This, in a substantially parallelepipedic manner, comprises a base plate 3, four uprights 5, 7, 9 and 11 and four panels 13, 15, 17 and 19.

The base plate 3 forms the socket of the container 1. This comprises a recess 21 in its lower part to allow its transport by lifting carts.

Each upright has a fixed part and a movable part with respect to the base plate 3 (see Figure 8).

The fixed part forms the base of the upright and comprises a foot 27, a square 29 and means for locking the moving part to the fixed part, as shown in Figure 11.

Figure 5 shows the movable part of the upright, which is a hollow tube 31 of substantially square section.

The locking means of the part fixed to the movable part of the upright are constituted by a pin housed in the foot 27 of the upright and by a slot 35 located at the base of the tube.

The groove 35 is suitable for cooperating with the pin 33 to allow the articulation of the tube 31 and its folding on the base plate 3.

The panels 13, 15, 17 and 19 are constituted by metal tubes that form their frame, by a wall that can be lattice and are fixed to the uprights 5, 7, 9 and 11 thanks to fixing means.

The panels 13, 15, 17 and 19 do not have any connection with the base plate 3 but cooperate with the uprights 5, 7, 9 and 11 with the aid of fixing means. These fixing means make them mobile and removable with respect to the container 1.

Given the shape of the container, two of the four panels are shorter than the other two. There are thus two large panels 13 and 17 and two small panels 15 and 19, of substantially rectangular shape.

image2

Each of these panels comprises an upper half-panel 13s, 15s, 17s and 19s according to Figure 6 and a lower half-panel 13i, 15i, 17i and 19i according to Figure 7. These semi-panels are pivotally mounted relative to each other. .

The fixing means are constituted by a set consisting of fingers arranged in panels 13, 15, 17 and 19 suitable for sliding and pivoting in throats located in the uprights.

The fixing means are constituted by first fixing means A and second fixing means B.

The first fixing means A of the panels to the uprights comprise fingers 37 located at the base of each of the lower half-panels 13i, 15i, 17i, 19i and throats 39 housed at the base of the uprights 5, 7, 9 and 11 .

According to Figure 6, each lower half-panel comprises two fingers 37 on the lower extremities of its base (one finger on each side). These fingers 37 are parallel to the base plate 3.

The throats 39 in accordance with the fixing means A are in the form of substantially oval embossed throats in the form of a "snail".

The height of the throat 39 is different depending on whether it is a fixing means intended to fix one of the small panels 15 and 19 or one of the large panels 13 or 17. The throat 39a which is intended to fix a small panel has a height greater than the height of the throat 39b which is intended to fix a large panel.

The throats 39 are provided with an opening 41 oriented upwards which allows the assembly and disassembly of the panel in the uprights.

The throat 39a is located in the square 29 (see figure 9).

The throat 39b is located at the base of the movable part of the upright (see figure 10).

The two throats 39a and 39b are fixed to the stud by a weld type joint.

The second fixing means B of the panels to the uprights are constituted by fingers 45 of which each half-panel is provided and by holes 47 distributed in the tube 31 of the upright.

The lower and upper semipanels are equipped with handles 43 that are located in the upper part of the semipanel and arranged symmetrically to both sides. Each semipanel comprises two handles 43.

The handles comprise fingers 45. The fingers 45 of the handles 43 are parallel to the base plate 3. When the handle is operated by an operator, the fingers 45 exit with respect to the frame of the semipanel so that they can penetrate the holes 47 of the uprights

The holes 47 of the uprights are located on two sides of the hollow tubes (see Figure 5), these two faces being perpendicular to each other. Each of these faces comprises two holes suitable for accommodating the fingers 45 of a lower half panel and an upper half panel.

To de-consolidate a lower half-panel of the uprights, the handles 43 are operated so that the fingers 45 slide towards each other to free themselves from the corresponding holes 47 of the uprights.

The dimensions of container 1 are between 300 mm and 1800 mm high, 800 mm and 3200 mm long and 600 mm and 2300 mm wide. In the example illustrated by the figures, the dimensions of the container 1 are preferably substantially the following: 920 mm high, 1600 mm long and 1150 mm wide.

Preferably, the base plate 3 has a length approximately equal to one and a half times its width. Its length is between 0.7 meters and 3 meters and preferably it is substantially equal to 1.5 meters. Its width is between 0.5 meters and 2 meters and preferably it is substantially equal to 1 meter in the present embodiment.

The tubes 31 have a length that is substantially less than the height of the container 1. This length is between 0.35 meters and 1.5 meters. A tube according to the example illustrated by the present invention preferably measures approximately 0.7 meters.

image3

The width of the upper semipanel is substantially the same as that of the lower semipanel. The width of the upper semipanel is preferably very slightly smaller than that of the lower semipanel. The dimensions may advantageously be the following: 370 mm high for the width of the lower half-panel and 310 mm for the upper half-panel.

The throats 39a are approximately twice as high as the throats 39b. The height of the throats 39a is between 70 mm and 300 mm. A throat 39a preferably measures approximately 130 mm. The height of the throats 39b is between 30 mm and 120 mm. A throat 39b preferably measures approximately 60 mm.

The container is preferably made of steel to give it a better resistance.

An example of using container 1 will now be described.

In accordance with the object of the invention, which is to make the container 1 modular, different configurations that the container can take during its use will be revealed.

In its assembled state, according to figure 1, the container may contain parts and / or products.

According to Figure 2, it is possible to decrease the height of the container 1 by folding one or several upper half-panels 13s, 15s, 17s and / or 17s to decrease the height of the container. This operation is carried out by sliding the handles 43 of the upper half-panels towards each other and horizontally. This operation allows the fingers 45 of the handles to be released from the holes 47 of the tube, thus allowing the upper half-panel to be folded over the lower half-panel 8. Thus, the operator can more easily load parts or products into the container.

According to Figure 3, it is also possible to completely fold the panels onto the base plate by sliding the handles of the lower half-panel from the configuration shown in Figure 2.

This folding is carried out by a pivoting of the panel with respect to the base plate after the handles have been opened in the same way as the handles of the upper semi-panel.

The height of the throats 39 is at least equal to the cumulative thickness of the four panels 1. This has the effect that, when the panels are folded on the base plate 3, they remain in a substantially horizontal position and this, whatever the order of folding the panels, as shown in figure 4. The operator is not obliged to respect a particular order.

On the other hand, the panels can also be removed from the container. To do this, once the handles have slipped, the operator pulls them upwards to detach the fingers from the throats by moving the said panels through the opening of the throats. This operation is fast and does not require any particular tools, thus facilitating assembly and maintenance of the container.

According to Figure 5, the folding of the uprights 5, 7, 9 and 11 on the base plate 3 is carried out by sliding and pivoting the pin 33 of the foot in the throat 39, thus making the container 1 suitable for being stacked on other containers. Thus, it is possible to gain space when the containers must be stored. In addition, deterioration of the panels, induced by misfolding, can also be avoided when the containers are stacked on top of each other.

Naturally, the present invention is not limited to the illustrated example, but is susceptible to various variants and modifications that will be manifested to the person skilled in the art.

image4

Claims (6)

1. Modular container (1) comprising a base plate (3) and four panels (13), (15), (17),

(19)

 fixed to four uprights (5), (7), (9), (11) by means of a first and second fixing means (A) and (B) suitable to allow the pivoting of each of the panels with respect to to the base plate, the first fixing means (A) constituting an assembly consisting of a finger (37) arranged in the panel and a throat (39) located in the upright and inside of which the finger can slide and pivot to allow substantially horizontal folding of the panels on the base plate, characterized in that:

to.

 the throat (37) is substantially oval, snail-shaped and embossed with respect to the uprights,

b. the throat understands

i.

 a U-shaped bottom extended by a first side wall located towards the inside of the container and by a second side wall located towards the outside of the container and parallel to the first, the first side wall having an extension inclined towards the outside and towards the top of the container,

ii. and an opening that is defined between the free extremities of the second side wall and the inclined extension, C. the panels pass through said opening during assembly and / or disassembly. 2. Container according to claim 1 characterized in that the height of the throats (39) of the fixing means (A) is at least four times the thickness of the panels in order to allow the panels to be folded horizontally on the base plate (3).

3.

 Container according to claims 1 or 2 characterized in that the uprights are pivotally mounted on the base plate (3) to allow stacking of the containers.

Four.

 Container according to one of the preceding claims characterized in that at least one of the panels comprises two moving parts with respect to each other to allow the height of the container to be reduced during the loading of parts.

5.

 Container according to claim 4 characterized in that the movable parts of the panels are pivotally mounted with respect to each other to allow a robust articulation.

6.

 Container according to one of the preceding claims characterized in that the base plate (3) comprises a recess (21) to allow its transport.