AU662242B2

AU662242B2 - Improved pivotal mounting for a collapsible container panel or gate

Info

Publication number: AU662242B2
Application number: AU46200/93A
Authority: AU
Inventors: James Deane Coogan
Original assignee: Rees Operations Pty Ltd
Current assignee: Rees Operations Pty Ltd
Priority date: 1992-09-28
Filing date: 1993-09-09
Publication date: 1995-08-24
Anticipated expiration: 2013-09-09
Also published as: AU4620093A

Description

n i 66 2 4 2Regulation 3.2

AUSTRALIA

PATENTS ACT 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION FOR A STANDARD PATENT

ORIGINAL

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4t I I 1 44 Name of Applicant: REES OPERATIONS PTY LTD Actual Inventor: JAMES DEANE COOGAN Address for Service: R K MADDERN ASSOCIATES, 345 King William Street, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia Invention title: "IMPROVED PIVOTAL MOUNTING FOR A COLLAPSIBLE CONTAINER PANEL OR GATE" Ir I.1 Details of Associated Provisional Application No: PL 5050 dated 28th September, 1992 The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to us.

1 CLi L This invention relates to an improved pivotal mounting for a swinging panel or gate, and more particularly to a pivotal mounting for a panel or gate of a collapsible storage container for controlling the movement of the gate or panel between its upright and collapsed positions.

Collapsible storage containers comprising front, rear and side panels or gates which are either permanently or releasably hinged to the pallet base so that they can fold down to a collapsed condition or be removed from the pallet base and stacked for transport of the container in a folded down condition, are well known in the industry. It is of course desirable for collapsible containers to allow one or more operators to easily and quickly access their interior.

When loading an empty container with goods, normally either one or both of the front and rear gates of the container are removed from the pallet base, whilst the remaining pair of lit side panels remain in an upright position. This allows one or more operators to readily access the container from both the front and rear thereof and facilitate the loading operation (as well as the unloading thereof). It has been found in practice that with the front and rear gates removed or folded down, there is the danger of one or both of the side panels or gates accidentally collapsing inwardly under their own weight (or by means of an inadvertent externally applied force) onto an operator positioned within the interior of the container. The weight of such panels or gates is quite S considerable and even when collapsing under its own weight, considerable injury can be sustained by an operator when struck by the gate or panel.

It is desirable therefore that the panels or gates of a collapsible storage container remain safely upright during loading or unloading operations, and are constrained against accidental or inadvertent inward collapsing movement under their own weight onto the base of the container.

It is the main object of the present invention therefore to provide an improved pivotal mounting for a swinging gate la or panel of a collapsible storage container, which will effectively control the inward swinging movement of the gate or panel, and which will reduce the likelihood of the gate or panel inadvertently or accidentally collapsing onto the base of the container.

It is another object of the present invention to provide an improved pivotal mounting for a swinging panel or gate of a collapsible storage container which will not only control the inward swinging movement of the panel or gate, but also be effective to retain the panel or gate in an upright or inclined erected condition without the need for any catch or latch devices between the panel or gate and the container base, and at the same time permit the panel or gate when Iri fully collapsed on the base, to be lifted upwardly by an operator to an erect position without excessive physical effort.

It is a still further object of the present invention to provide an improved pivotal mounting for a swinging panel or gate which is of extremely simple construction, relatively inexpensive, and which can be conveniently repaired or S replaced in the field.

According to this invention therefore, an improved pivotal mounting for pivotally connecting a swinging panel or gate to a fixed frame, e.g. for use in a collapsible storage LrI I S container, comprises an annular bush fixedly secured to the frame, an horizontal pivot pin or bolt projecting through the bush and co-axial therewith, the pivot pin defining a pivot axis about which the gate or panel pivots relative to the frame, said bush having a bore extending therethrough, the bore having walls which taper towards the outer end of the pivot pin or bolt, a pivotal block having a bore for slidably receiving the pivot pin or bolt so as to allow the block to rotate about the axis of the pivot pin or bolt and to undergo limited axial sliding movement therealong, said block being carried by the panel or gate so as to rotate therewith, a hollow boss projecting centrally from one end of said block, 2 said boss having sides which taper in a direction away from said one end and which define a frusto-conical outer wall, said boss projecting into and being rotatably received within the bore of the annular bush with its outer wall frictionally engaging the bore surface of the bush, spring means for biasing said pivotal block in the direction of engagement of its boss within the bore of the annular bush, and means for locking the pivotal block and the bush in an engaged condition.

Preferably, in order to achieve optimum frictional contact between the frusto-conical boss on the pivotal block and the tapered bore surface of the annular bush, the taper of the bore in the bush matches the taper of the outer frusto-conical wall of the boss. In practice, it has been found that a taper in the order of 60 is desirable.

Preferably the spring means comprises a split spring washer bearing against the other opposite end of the pivotal block and being urged thereagainst by means of a locking nut threadably engaged on the threaded shank of the pivot pin or I tA bolt.

Preferably the pivotal block is slidably and snugly located and non-rotatably held in a rectangular sleeve carried at the lower end of a side frame member of the panel or gate, the central longitudinal axis of the sleeve coinciding with the longitudinal axis of the pivot pin or bolt. With this arrangement, the rectangular sectioned pivotal block can be easily fitted within the passage of the rectangular sleeve through one end thereof, with the conical boss projecting outwardly away from the other end of the sleeve and engaging within the correspondingly tapered bore of the annular bush.

Preferably, the annular bush is secured, e.g. by means of fastening pins, to a stub corner post located at a corner of the rectangular base of the container, one of the flanges

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of the angle stub corner post being formed with an aperture in which the annular bush is located.

Preferably, the pivotal block is formed of steel, whilst the annular bush is formed of brass, such selection of materials being effective to create adequate friction between the tapered boss on the pivotal block and the correspondingly tapered bore of the annular bush. Of course, it will be appreciated that other materials may be selected for the component parts, the preferred requirements being that the metallic material forming the tapered boss on the pivotal block is hard relative to the material of the bush, and the need to use dissimilar materials in order to create effective frictional grip between the outer surface of the boss and the inner bore surface of the annular bush, when the panel or gate is being swung between its upright and collapsed positions.

It will be appreciated that as the gate is rotated, the frictional engagement between the interior of the bush and the tapered cone provides a resistive braking force which Seffectively controls the movement of the gate, and prevents it from collapsing inwardly under its own weight. Thus, if the gate or panel is accidentally knocked or bumped, it will only undergo limited rotational movement, with continual pressure or force being required to further rotate the gate.

Thus, the gate can be swung downwardly from its upright position to its horizontal collapsed position on the base of the container in rotational increments. Any sudden inward collapsing of the gate is prevented.

Of course, during use, the bush of the pivotal mounting will be subjected to wear and it is a feature of the present invention that as such wear occurs during the working life of the mounting, this is compensated for by the ability of the tapered boss on the pivotal block to slide relative to the bush and to maintain effective frictional contact between the if contiguous surfaces thereof.

J 4 The invention also allows the same mountings to be used with gates of different weight. If a heavy duty gate is employed, the mounting is simply adjusted by tightening the locking nut in order to create the required frictional braking force.

In order to more fully explain the present invention, an embodiment is described hereunder with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:- Fig 1 is a fragmentary perspective view of a collapsible container showing one of the side panels pivotally mounted to the container base by means of the mountings according to this invention; Fig 2 is a fragmentary perspective view of one corner of the collapsible container base showing an angle stub corner post which supports a peripheral frame member of a panel or gate by means of the pivotal mounting according to this invention; Fig 3 is a vertical sectional view taken through the pivotal mounting shown in Fig 2; while Fig 4 is an "exploded" perspective view of the pivotal mounting shown in Figs 2 and 3.

In this embodiment, reference is made to a collapsible storage pallet container 1 of the type comprising a rectangular pallet base 2 which is provided at each of its four corners with metal stub corner posts of angle section, the pallet base 2 having an horizontal floor 4 supported by an upper deck which in turn is supported by a lower deck by short length vertical uprights, in addition to the stub corner posts, front and rear folding gates (not shown) and a pair of folding side gates 5 (one only being shown), each of the gates comprising a peripheral tubular metal frame to which is secured a metal mesh infill.

In this embodiment both the front and rear gates are removably hingedly mounted on the pallet base 2, whilst each of the side gates 5 is hingedly connected with respect to the pallet base 2 by means of a pair of horizontally aligned pivotal mountings 10 at the bottom corners of the gate, so as to permit each of the side gates to rotate between an upright position and an approximately horizontal position wherein it lies flat on the base of the container. This is in accord with known art.

Each pivotal mounting 10 comprises an horizontal pivot pin or bolt 11 which engages in an aperture 12 formed in one Sof the flanges 13 of a respective stub corner post 14. The pivot bolt 11 comprises an enlarged head 15 and a threaded shank 16 which threadably receives a lock nut 17.

The pivot bolt 11 rotatably supports a rectangular sectioned pivotal block 20 which in this embodiment is formed of steel, the block 20 being slidably housed co-axially within a rectangular sleeve or collar 21 fixedly carried at the lower end of a vertical peripheral frame member 22 of the S side gate 5, whereby the block 20 rotates simultaneously with the frame member 22.

The pivotal block 20 is provided with a central, longitudinally extending horizontal bore 23 for receiving the pivot bolt 11, the inner end of the block 20 being S provided with a hollow tapered boss 24 which tapers in a direction away from the inner end of the block 20, the tapered boss 24 projecting into and being rotatably received within a bore 26 of an annular bush 27 which in this embodiment is formed of brass. The bore 26 of the bush 27 has a taper which corresponds to the taper of the outer cylindrical wall of the boss 24. In this embodiment the taper is preferably in the order of The bush 27 is formed with a small diameter annular portion 29 which snugly fits within the aperture 12 formed in the flange 13 of the corner post 14, and a relatively large r diameter flange 30 which bears against the inner surface of the flange 13, the bush 27 being fixedly retained to the flange 13 by means of fastening pin(s) 31 which extend(s) through the wall of the flange 13 and the flange 30 of the bush 27.

To ensure that the block 20 maintains continuous pressure contact with the bush 27, there is provided a spring washer 33 located between the outer end of the block 20 and the lock nut 17. Upon tightening of the nut 17, the spring washer 33 urges the block 20 in the direction of engagement of its boss 24 within the bore 26 of the bush 27, with the S pivot bolt 11 being maintained in a tensioned condition.

7104 It is a feature of the present invention that the pivotal block 20 locates snugly within the housing 21 and is capable of limited axial sliding movement, under the spring pressure of the washer 33, relative to the bush 27 and the pivot bolt 11. Thus, as wear of the bush 27 occurs during the working life of the mounting 10, the tapered boss 24 will engage deeper into the tapered bore 26 of the bush 27, and thereby maintain effective frictional contact between the outer wall of the boss 24 and the bore surface 26, such frictional contact being necessary to control the swinging sd0 movement of the side panel, and in turn inhibit any accidental or sudden collapsing of the side gate onto the base of the container where an operator might be stationed.

4 4 44 I It will be appreciated that no lubrication of any of the component parts of the pivotal friction mounting 10 is required. In the event that the bush 27 needs to be replaced, it is a relatively simple procedure to disassemble the pivotal mounting 10 in order to remove the worn bush and replace it with a new one.

A brief consideration of the above-described embodiment will indicate that the invention provides for a very simple friction mounting for a swinging gate of a collapsible container which will not only prevent accidental collapsing of the gate from its upright position, but is also effective 7 in maintaining the gate in an upright condition, without any need for additional catches or latching devices, when loading or unloading the container.

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Claims

2. A pivotal mounting according to claim 1 wherein said pivotal block is slidably and non-rotatably housed in a tubular sleeve carried by the panel or gate, the central axis of said tubular sleeve coinciding with the longitudinal axis of the bore of the pivotal block. S 35 3. A pivotal mounting according to claim 2 wherein said tubular sleeve is of rectangular section, said pivotal block also being rectangular sectioned and snugly locating within said sleeve. S9
4. A pivotal mounting according to any one of the preceding claims wherein said spring means comprises a split spring washer arranged to bear against the other opposite end of the pivotal block and being retained thereagainst by means of said locking means. A pivotal mounting according to any one of the preceding claims wherein said locking means comprises a lock nut threadably engaged on a threaded portion of the shank of said pivot pin or bolt.
6. A pivotal mounting according to any one of the preceding claims wherein said bush is provided with a radially outstanding circular flange at its inner end and
115- which faces said pivotal block. 7. A pivotal mounting according to any one of the preceding claims wherein said boss and said bush are made of dissimilar metals, with the boss being formed of metal which is hard relative to the metal of the bush. II 4* S8. A pivotal mounting according to claim 7 wherein said bush is formed of brass and said boss is formed of steel. 9. A pivotal mounting according to any one of the preceding claims wherein said pivotal block and said boss are integrally formed. 10. In a collapsible storage container of the type comprising a rectangular pallet base which is provided at each of its four corners with metal stub corner posts of angle section, front and rear folding gates, and a pair of folding side gates, each of the gates comprising peripheral frame members to which is secured infill means, wherein each of the side gates is hingedly connected with respect to the pallet base by means of a pair of horizontally aligned pivotal mountings at the bottom corners thereof, whereby each of the side gates is able to swing between an upright position and an approximately horizontal position wherein it lies approximately flat on the base of the container, wherein each said pivotal mounting comprises: a bush fixedly mounted within an aperture formed in a flange of a respective said stub corner post, said bush having a bore extending therethrough with the walls of the bore tapering in direction outwardly away from the stub corner post, a pivot pin or bolt passing through the bore of the bush and coaxial therewith, said pivot pin defining a pivot axis about which the gate or panel pivots relative to the base, a pivotal block having a bore for slidably receiving the pivot pin or bolt so as to allow the block to rotate about its axis and to undergo limited axial sliding movement therealong, said block being carried adjacent a bottom corner of the side gate so as to rotate therewith, a hollow boss projecting centrally from one end of said block and having sides which taper in a direction away from said one end and which define a frusto-conical outer wall, said boss projecting into and being rotatably received within the bore of the bush with its outer wall frictionally engaging the bore surface of the bush, 1 spring means for biasing said pivotal block in the direction of engagement of its boss within the bore of the bush, and means for locking the pivotal block and the bush in an engaged condition. 11. A collapsible storage container according to claim 10 further comprising a tubular sleeve fixedly carried at each of the lower corners of each said side gate for slidably and non-rotatably housing a respective said pivotal block. 12. A collapsible container according to claim 11 wherein said tubular sleeve and said pivotal block are both i rectangularly shaped. i 11 13. A pivotal mounting for a swinging panel or gate substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings. 14. A collapsible storage container substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Dated this 9th day of September, 1993. REES OPERATIONS PTY LTD I By its Patent Attorneys t" R K MADDERN ASSOCIATES t g I t t I St f I C-rr~- (Ij- i I-i i -cil- i.^l-i-r. ABSTRACT The pivotal mounting (10) of the present invention, for pivotally connecting a swinging panel or gate to a fixed frame, comprises: a bush (27) fixedly secured to the frame and having an axial bore (26) extending therethrough, said bore having walls which taper in a direction outwardly away from the frame, an horizontal pivot pin or bolt (11) projecting through said bush (27) and coaxial therewith, the o, pivot pin or bolt defining a pivot axis about which the panel or gate can pivot relative to the frame, a pivotal block "I0, having a bore (23) for slidably receiving the pivot pin or bolt (11) so as to allow the block (20) to rotate about the axis of the pivot pin or bolt (11) and to undergo limited axial sliding movement therealong, said block being carried by the panel or gate so as to rotate therewith, a hollow boss (24) projecting centrally from one end of said block said boss having sides which taper in a direction away from said one end and which define a frusto-conical outer wall, said boss (24) projecting into and being rotatably received within the bore (26) of the bush (27) with its outer wall ?0 frictionally engaging the bore surface of the bush, spring means (33) for biasing said pivotal block (20) in the direction of engagement of its boss (24) within the bore (26) of the bush and means (17) for locking the pivotal block (20) and the bush (27) in an engaged condition. This pivotal mounting may be used in relation to a panel or a gate of a collapsible storage container, for controlling the Smovement of the gate or panel between its upright and collapsed positions. f *1 p