EP0838406A1 - Spacing rider for sheet-like material - Google Patents

Abstract

The staple spacer comprises an upper cylindrical part (2) which is supported on a part of the sheet edge, and has a lower part (3) composed of two jaws which are supported on a surface of the sheet. The staple is positioned to be in contact with another staple on a neighbouring sheet. The contact (15) between the upper and lower parts of each of the neighbouring staples is made along a generating line.

Description

The invention relates to a spacer jumper for handling and transport of sheet articles such as glazing and in particular windscreens, rear or side windows of a motor vehicle. The rest of this talk will deal more particularly with the handling and transport of sheets of glass.

Devices for handling and transporting glass sheets notably windshields are known. Such a device is for example described in the French patent application 2,506,728. This application describes a metal pallet or box formed of a floor and fitted with drop sides vertical sheets intended to protect against impact the glass sheets which rest on their edge.

In order to be spaced, the glazing is arranged in the slots of racks arranged on the floor. The slots then have an equal width the thickness of the sheets to be transported so as to allow them to be wedged leaves.

On the upper edge of the glass sheets, are placed jumpers spacers that maintain a space between two sheets of glass on their entire area. These intermediate jumpers can also have for function of providing support for straps or lashing bar without risk of damage the edge of the glazing.

These devices are widely used in the glazing industry for handling of these. Improvements have already been made to this type of device. The materials constituting the "cases" have notably been modified in order to lighten the device, the forms of "boxes" have been modified so as to reduce their bulk when they are not in use. An advantage important of these pallets or cases is to be able to be reused.

With regard to the intermediate jumpers, it is advantageous that their upper part has an essentially horizontal surface, in particular to provide an area suitable for the passage of straps or lashing bars. Gold, when a jumper is placed on a sheet of glass the position of its surface upper is a function of the inclination of the glazing. Indeed, these are not stored or transported in an upright position but always slightly tilted in order to obtain better stability of the "stacked" articles, this inclination being brought by the slots of the rack arranged on the floor of the pallet or case.

To compensate for this inclination, it is usually planned to carry out such jumpers so that the upper surface makes an angle with the direction jaws, as it is substantially horizontal, when the rider is arranged on the glazing.

To this inclination can be added another inclination due to the shape of the glazing, in particular when the latter has a bending in the direction vertical glazing arranged on a pallet. Indeed, the spacer rider overlapping the edge of a sheet of glass, the direction given to the jaws is that of the tangent to the edge of the glass sheet and is therefore a function of the bending in the vertical direction thereof. However, more and more, glazing for automotive, whether windshields, rear glasses or side windows, have a double bending, that is to say in two perpendicular directions to each other; a curved shape in the vertical direction, when the glazing are stacked on a crate or pallet, is therefore very common. This second tilting due to bending of the glass sheets can also be compensated by the angle provided on the spacer jumper between the upper surface and the direction of the lower jaws.

On the other hand, if the inclination of the glass sheets on a pallet can be chosen to be constant whatever the palette or the sheets of glass, it is clear that the inclination due to the bending of the glass sheets will vary from one series of sheets to another, that is to say as soon as the bending is different.

Currently, it is therefore necessary to provide a jumper model spacer for each glass sheet model, so that the surface top of the jumpers is always substantially horizontal. This solution is achievable but has many drawbacks; first of all, it drives high costs since it is necessary to provide several molds of manufacturing used most often for limited series. In addition, it is necessary that each workshop, which prepares the pallets of glass sheets, has different models of spacer jumpers in stock. On the other hand, each model of rider must be referenced to indicate to the operator the riders corresponding to a given glazing model. These different disadvantages inevitably entail additional costs.

The invention aims to eliminate these drawbacks and gives itself for mission to provide a unique model of spacer rider adaptable to all types of glazing whatever the shape thereof.

Another object of the invention is to provide spacers on the one hand fulfilling the function of interlayer or spacer between the sheets of glass and on the other hand, offering in combination with each other a surface horizontal can accommodate straps or tie bars, without risk of damage the edge of the glazing. In order to properly play their role of separator and protection, it is interesting that the different jumpers placed on the edges upper sheet articles arranged in a case, are in contact with each other with the others.

These objects are achieved according to the invention by a spacer jumper for sheet articles such as glazing, consisting of an upper part which comes pressing on at least part of the edge of an article and a lower part composed of two jaws which each come to bear on one side of said item and positioned on the top edges of the item so that it is in contact with at least one other spacer jumper positioned on an article in sheet next to said article, the contact between the upper part of said jumper and the upper part of each of the other neighboring spacer jumpers being made according to a generator.

The spacer jumper thus proposed according to the invention meets the objectives targeted by the invention. First of all, the rider is in good contact with other riders and thus plays a role of spacer or interlayer. The contact made using a generator, the pressure applied to each jumper is therefore distributed along said generator. Thus, under strong pressure, the jumper offers enough resistance to avoid being crushed. It is possible to position several jumpers on each item. In this way, the riders are under less pressure than if there was only one jumper on the item.

Furthermore, said contact generator is a function of the direction. given to the jaws, it is thus possible to use this spacer jumper which either the direction given to the jaws by its shape and / or the inclination of sheet article. Indeed, the spacer jumper is always in contact according to a generator whether positioned on a vertically curved sheet article or no, the contact according to the generator varying according to the shape and the angle tilt angle. Thus, the spacer jumper is adaptable to different types of sheet articles, such as glazing, whatever the shape and / or the inclination of these.

According to a variant of the invention, the contact generator is a line discontinuous, the contact between the riders advantageously being made on the lateral ends of the upper part, the discontinuous shape of the generator is a consequence of the shape given to the upper part of the jumper, shape which meets the various functions sought for the rider. The explanation of this form will emerge from the description which follows. However, in any event, the contact on a discontinuous generator is sufficient to ensure uniform distribution of the pressures exerted by the riders on the other.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the upper part of the jumper is at least partially cylindrical, the surface of said cylinder being generated by the displacement of the contact generator, that is to say by all the possible contact generators.

This cylindrical shape allows to obtain a contact according to a generator regardless of the direction given to the jaws.

More preferably, the lateral ends of the upper part are at least partially cylindrical with a circular base. According to this variant, the contact between the jumpers takes place on a discontinuous generator.

Preferably, the axis of said circular base cylinder is horizontal and parallel to each of the planes formed by the jaws. So the top is off center relative to the jaws. Decentering provides a set of possible contact generators, set determined by the different angles of inclination of the glazing and / or angles of inclination due to the shape glazing, the sum of these angles being able to go up to 45 °. In addition, thanks to this off-center, the upper part does not have a cylindrical section too important. This advantage is not negligible because the size of the section cylindrical, i.e. the width of the upper part, depends on the spacing sought between glazing when placed on pallets, spacing that we want to reduce as much as possible in order to avoid contact with surfaces of the facing articles, while having the maximum of articles on the pallets or crate.

According to a variant of the invention, the upper part has advantageously on each of its faces complementary shapes allowing a nesting of two jumpers one in the other. It is so possible to position the spacer jumpers aligned with each other, each of them being nested with the neighboring spacer jumper. The knights thus arranged form a band, at the top of the sheet articles, on which it it is possible to install a brembra bar substantially horizontally or strap, so as to keep the items in place in the crate when they are handling.

Preferably, the upper part of the spacer jumper has a indentation area at its top allowing in particular the passage of a strap or lashing bar. It can be set up very easily and does not risk slipping sideways during handling.

According to an advantageous variant of the invention, the contact between the area in recess and the strap or lashing bar is at least linear. Indeed, it the lashing strap or bar need not rest on a surface flat so that the articles are maintained. Of course, the invention is not not limited to linear contact.

The spacer jumpers according to the invention are advantageously used for handling glazing deposited in a stack on pallets or boxes and in particular for windows such as windshields, rear windows or side panels for motor vehicles comprising at least curved zones on the edge of their periphery.

According to the invention, the set of such spacer jumpers arranged on the upper edges of the glazing makes it possible to form a strip on the surface of the stack glazing so that each spacer jumper is in contact with at at least one other spacer jumper according to a direction-dependent generator given to the jaws.

The spacer jumper that has just been presented is therefore adaptable to any type of glazing whatever the shape of it and its combination with other spacers of the same type provide a horizontal surface that can receive straps or tie bars, without risk of damaging the edge of the glazing.

Preferably, the internal faces of the jaws are convergent, thus we obtain a better hold of the rider on the glazing thanks to the pinching jaws.

• Figure 1 : une vue de profil en élévation d'un cavalier espaceur selon l'invention.
• Figure 2 : une vue de face en élévation de ce même cavalier espaceur.
• Figure 3 : une vue de dessus de ce même cavalier.
• Figure 4 et 5 : une vue de profil en élévation de deux cavaliers espaceurs selon l'invention en contact selon deux angles d'inclinaison différents.

Other details and advantageous characteristics of the invention will emerge below from the description of an exemplary embodiment of the invention with reference to FIGS. 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 which represent:

• Figure 1: a side elevational view of a spacer jumper according to the invention.
• Figure 2: a front elevation view of the same spacer jumper.
• Figure 3: a top view of the same rider.
• Figure 4 and 5: a side elevational view of two spacer jumpers according to the invention in contact at two different angles of inclination.

In the following description, the term "horizontal" is parallel to the floor of the box or pallet and by “vertical” perpendicular to the floor of the box or pallet.

In Figure 1 is shown a spacer jumper 1 according to the invention. It is consists of an upper part 2 and a lower part 3, itself composed of two jaws 4 and 5. The qualifiers "superior" and "Lower" are defined according to the position that will be adopted by such rider on top of glazing. Indeed, it is placed on the upper edge glazing and part 2 is thus placed above jaws 4 and 5 which come to bear on the faces of the glazing. When such a jumper is put in placed on a glazing, the lower face 6 of the upper part 2 comes to bear on at least part of the edge of said glazing.

FIG. 2 represents a front view of the spacer jumper 1 according to the invention. We can observe on this representation a recessed area 9 on the upper part 2 of the jumper 1. This indented area 9 is provided for the passage of a strap or lashing bar. Straps or bars, not shown in the figures, serve to hold the glazing in place when on a pallet or crate. Passing the strap or bar lashing on jumpers 1, direct contact between straps or bars is avoided and the edge of the glazing, which could damage the glazing. The areas of recess 9 form a kind of recessed path, when the jumpers are placed on glazing next to each other. So these areas in indentation 9 prevents lateral sliding of the strap or bar and prevents that it rests on the edge of the glazing.

Figure 2 in combination with Figure 1 illustrates the cylindrical shape with circular base of the lateral ends 7 and 8 of the upper part 2. On the Figure 1, it appears clearly the offset of the cylinder relative to the jaws 4 and 5. This particular shape of the ends 7 and 8 of the upper part 2 will be explained later.

Figure 3 showing a top view of the spacer jumper 1 according to the invention shows the presence of a boss 10 and a hollow 11 whose shapes are complementary. Indeed, it is planned to be able to follow the riders spacers 1 inside each other. So when the spacer jumpers 1 are placed on glazing, they are positioned in the same location of glazing so that their locations form a continuous band. The nesting is therefore made by penetration of the boss 10 of a rider into the hollow 11 of another rider. The blocking thus produced is only lateral and allows glass to be removed placed in a box from above.

Figures 4 and 5 show a side view of two jumpers spacers 1 (a) and 1 (b) according to the invention in contact at two angles different inclinations. It clearly appears two points of contact 14 and 15 appearing the two contact generators. We can observe on these representations that the contact points 14 and 15 are different depending on the direction given to the jaws. For rider 1 (a), point 14 is located one level higher than point 15 and vice versa for jumper 1 (b), point 14 is lower than point 15. Indeed, the cylindrical shape offset from the ends lateral 7 and 8 of the upper part 2 allows to keep a contact according to a generator between two jumpers, generator depending on the inclination of jaws due to the shape of the glazing and the inclination of the glazing on the pallet or body, the maximum inclination of the jaws up to 45 °.

In a variant where the recess 9 does not exist, this form cylindrical also allowing, when the various jumpers are arranged on the upper edges of glazing so as to form a strip, to provide a strap or lashing bar a substantially horizontal support plane, plane not shown in the figures.

In the preferred variant, the recessed areas 9 appear on Figures 4 and 5. We observe that the vertices of these zones offer a plan horizontal support 12 or 13 whatever the inclination of the jaws.

In FIG. 4, this support plane 12 is the combination of several surfaces planes, represented by the segments 16 whereas in FIG. 5, this support plane 13 is the combination of several line segments, represented by the points 17. In effect, the contact between the strap or brembra bar and the recess area 9 can be simply linear or planar. According to our embodiment, this contact linear or plan will depend on the inclination given to the jaws by the glazing.

Furthermore, FIG. 4 represents two spacer jumpers 1 in contact when they are arranged on glazing which is not vertically curved, i.e. that point 14 is the highest point of contact you can get between two spacers riders 1. We can observe that the direction of the jaws forms an angle with the perpendicular to the plane 12. This direction of the jaws corresponds to the inclination of the articles on the pallet or crate. Indeed, the glazing is not stored in an upright position, but always slightly inclined so as to obtain better stability. So to compensate for this tilt, it is planned to give the jaws a predefined initial direction relative to plane 12, a function of this inclination.

The spacer jumper thus described can fulfill the different functions desired: separate the glass sheets from each other when they are stacked on boxes or pallets and provide a surface to support the straps or tie bars. Furthermore, unlike the techniques This spacer jumper is sufficient for the different models of glazing and thus limits the costs of manufacturing and storing models different riders and simplifies the choice of one of these models since there are none more than one that is adaptable.

Claims (13)

Spacer for sheet articles such as glazing, composed of an upper part (2) intended to come to bear on at least part of the edge of an article and of a lower part (3) composed of two jaws (4, 5) each intended to come into abutment on one face of said article and positioned so that it is in contact with at least one other spacer jumper positioned on a sheet article adjacent to said article, characterized in that the contact between the upper part (2) of said jumper and the upper part (3) of each of the other neighboring spacer jumpers is produced according to a generator. Spacer according to claim 1, characterized in that said contact generator is a function of the direction given to the jaws (4, 5). Spacer according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that said generator is a broken line. Spacer according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the surface of the upper part (2) is at least partially cylindrical, this surface being generated by all of the possible contact generators. Spacer according to claim 4, characterized in that the ends (7, 8) of the upper part (2) are, at least partially, cylindrical with a circular base. Spacer according to claim 5, characterized in that the axis of said cylinder is horizontal and parallel to each of the planes formed by the jaws (4, 5). Spacer jumper according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the upper part (2) has on each of its faces complementary shapes (10, 11) allowing one jumper to fit into another. Spacer according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the middle of the upper part (2) has a recessed area (9) at its top, in particular allowing the passage of a strap or a brelating bar. Spacer according to claim 8, characterized in that the contact between the recessed area (9) and the strap or lashing bar is made at least linearly. Use of a spacer jumper described according to one of the previous claims for handling glazing deposited in stack on pallets or crates. Use of a spacer jumper described according to claim 10, characterized in that the glazings such as windshield, rear or side windows for motor vehicles have at least curved zones on the edge of their periphery. Set of spacer jumpers for producing a stack of sheet articles, jumpers composed of an upper part (2) intended to bear on at least part of the edge of an article and of a lower part ( 3) composed of two jaws (4, 5) each intended to come into abutment on one face of said article and arranged on the upper edges of said articles so as to form a strip, characterized in that each spacer jumper (1) is in contact with at least one other spacer jumper according to a generator which depends on the direction given to the jaws (4, 5). Spacer for sheet articles such as glazing, composed of an upper part (2) intended to come to bear on at least part of the edge of an article and of a lower part (3) composed of two jaws (4, 5) each forming a plane each intended to come to bear on one face of said article, characterized in that the upper part (2) is at least partially cylindrical, the axis of the cylinder being horizontal and parallel to each of the planes formed by the jaws (4, 5).

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