BE1020750A3 - ELEMENT FOR STORING, HANDLING AND TRANSPORTING MAINLY PLATE-MADE ITEMS. - Google Patents

Description

Element for storing, handling and transporting mainly plate-shaped objects.

The present invention relates to an element for storing, handling and transporting objects.

The invention more particularly relates to an element for storing, treating and transporting fragile or easily damaged mainly flat objects, such as glass panels, plates, tablets, tiles and the like in any materials such as natural stone, ceramics, glass etc.

Damage, whether it is a fracture, or damage to a surface with a decorative finish, should of course be avoided.

When such objects are stacked flat for storage, handling or transport, they are relatively vulnerable to shocks which may occur during transport or during handling and also to scratches which can occur due to the objects sliding over each other.

The farther the objects are at the bottom of the stack, the more fragile and / or brittle they are, since they must bear the weight of the stack of objects above.

Even if hard particles are present between the objects, such as, for example, grains of sand or particles that have broken off from the objects themselves, the risk of damage is particularly high.

With elements for storing, handling and transporting objects, it is also important that they are designed as cheaply as possible, because they are often intended for single use only.

For cost reasons, the elements are therefore selected as small as possible for the load for which they are intended.

Also, if they are small, the elements are relatively light, so that they can be transported more cheaply and so that their own weight compared to the weight placed on them is minimized.

Such elements are described in WO 2012/031340 that meet all requirements: they are light yet strong and inexpensive to manufacture.

However, these elements have a drawback during use. This concerns the fact that when a small element is chosen for certain objects, it often occurs that the objects protrude longitudinally outside the element.

If the element with the objects then has to be transported by means of a transport aid with forks, for example a fork-lift truck or pallet truck, the parts of the objects protruding outside the element can easily come into contact with the transport aid, in particular with the part thereof to which the forks are attached, which may cause damage to the objects on the element.

This could of course be solved by taking a larger element, so that the objects no longer protrude outside the element, but this has a cost disadvantage because a larger element is more expensive and weighs more.

Due to the fact that the elements are normally produced in a limited number of standard sizes and that precise adaptation of the element to the objects is often not possible in practice, this also leads to the use of unnecessarily large elements, so that fewer elements and therefore fewer objects can be loaded on a certain surface, for example in a truck.

Another disadvantage is that the objects can slide on the elements and must therefore be properly secured.

The invention has for its object to provide a solution to at least one of the aforementioned and other disadvantages in that it provides an element for storing, handling and transporting substantially plate-shaped objects, which has a bearing surface for carrying the objects, which bearing surface is a physical surface or is defined and bounded by two or more bearing edges, the element being adapted to be moved with a transport aid provided with forks, characterized in that the element is provided with at least one bump that is outside the bearing surface .

The bearing surface hereby extends substantially horizontally, wherein substantially horizontally also comprises a slight deviation, up to approximately 25 °, from a completely horizontal position.

This makes it possible to use the element for objects that are larger than the bearing surface, and therefore to project protruding objects outside this bearing surface, without risk of damaging the objects when an element with objects on it with a transport aid, such as a forklift or pallet truck is being moved.

The objects must of course be of such a size and the bumpers must be placed at such a distance from the bearing surface that the objects do not protrude beyond the bump.

In a preferred embodiment, the at least one bumper is an edge that lies in the plane defined by the bearing surface. This allows, if incidentally necessary, to be able to place objects that fall outside the bumps on the element / in that case of course without bump protection.

In a preferred embodiment, the at least one bumper is a raised edge that protrudes above the plane defined by the bearing surface.

Hereby it is prevented that an object can shift to partially outside the bumper, because such a displacement is hindered by the bumper itself, and it becomes easy to see when an article is accidentally placed in such a way that it protrudes outside the bumper, because it then takes an inclined position, partly on the bumper and partly on the bearing surface.

In a further preferred embodiment, the element has a support surface for causing the objects to rest against which support surface is a physical surface or is defined and bounded by at least two support edges, the support surface extending substantially vertically, the element having a longitudinal direction that is defined by the intersection of the supporting surface and the supporting surface, wherein the at least one bumper is only viewed in the longitudinal direction outside the supporting surface or the outer supporting edge and protrudes at least in the longitudinal direction above the projection in the longitudinal direction of the supporting surface.

The supporting surface herein extends substantially vertically, wherein substantially vertically also comprises a slight deviation, up to approximately 25 °, from a completely vertical position. In addition, the support surface is preferably approximately perpendicular to the support surface.

In a further preferred embodiment, the fender is formed by a plate-shaped buffer element which is arranged in a substantially or completely vertical orientation, wherein the plate-shaped buffer element is provided with an edge part corresponding in height or width position with a boundary of a space or spaces below it. bearing surface provided for the forks of the transport aid.

Projecting parts of objects obstruct a good view of the maximum height that forks are allowed to carry in the space provided for this purpose under load, so without risk of the element being damaged by the forks.

There are also restrictions in the width direction for the position that the forks may have.

This may be, for example, because auxiliary supports are provided, not necessarily in the center, which must of course not be damaged, or because there are zones that may not be used to exert an upward force because the specific design of the element is not provided to to resist an upward force in those zones, which could cause the entire element to collapse.

These limitations in width direction can also be hidden from view by the projecting parts of objects placed on the element.

By now designing the bumper as a plate-shaped buffer element in a vertical orientation, with edge parts corresponding to boundaries of the spaces intended for the forks, the person who has to move the elements can nevertheless easily see in which position the forks may be placed because the view of the bumper cannot be obstructed in normal use.

These boundaries can relate to the height, wherein an edge part of the plate-shaped buffer element is designed as a horizontal lower edge which is placed at a height corresponding to the free height of the said space or spaces.

These boundaries can also relate to the width position, wherein an edge part of the plate-shaped buffer element is designed as a downwardly-oriented protrusion, the position in the width of which corresponds to a position in the width to be avoided by the forks of a transport aid.

An alternative to ensure that space or spaces to be used by forks of transport aids are visible, this can be obtained by designing the element so that the bump is formed by a plate-shaped buffer element arranged in a substantially or completely vertical orientation, wherein edge part of the plate-shaped buffer element is designed as a horizontal lower edge which is placed at a height that is such that the height of said space or spaces can be seen by a person who wants to move the element with a transport aid.

The precise height of the lower edge cannot be represented as a numerical value, because it depends on the horizontal distance from the bumper to the bearing surface, which depends on the size of the objects that you want to be placed on the element, and the size and anticipated operating position of the transport aid provided for displacing the element, but can be easily determined in practice by those skilled in the art, both experimentally and theoretically.

In a preferred embodiment, the element comprises two or more ribs which define bearing edges, supporting edges and feet for placing the element on a surface, which ribs are attached to each other parallel to each other and at a distance from each other by a minimum of two longitudinally extending slats.

In this case, preferably at least two slats extending on either side of the element protrude outside the bearing surface to form projecting parts and the plate-shaped buffer element is mounted on the projecting parts of the two slats, forming a connection between the two projecting parts.

This is a flexible way of carrying out such a bump, because an element made from standard parts by simply placing the plate-shaped buffer element at a desired distance from the bearing surface and sawing off unnecessary parts of the slats, to a desired size can be adjusted.

This is also a way of forming the bumper that requires little material and is therefore light and inexpensive.

To facilitate the assembly of an element, the plate-shaped buffer element is preferably provided with a recess which at least partially surrounds the slats.

This may be, for example, in the form of a recess that completely surrounds the slats on three sides, namely the top, the bottom, and the inward-facing side, or in the form of a recess that the slats are only on the top and on the inward-facing side is at least partially surrounded.

This latter embodiment also has the advantage that the plate-shaped buffer element can be easily removed with only a vertical movement and can be put back in a different location. This also makes it possible to move a plate-shaped buffer element when the element is loaded with objects that could hinder other directions of movement of the buffer element.

The plate-shaped buffer element can hereby be precisely adjusted to the size of the objects, so that a sliding movement of those objects on the element according to the invention can be avoided.

The invention also relates to a kit for building an element as described above which comprises ribs, slats and a plate-shaped buffer element, and which therefore comprises at least the required ribs, the required slats to connect the ribs and a plate-shaped buffer element to serve as a bumper .

With the insight to better demonstrate the characteristics of the invention, a preferred embodiment of an element according to the invention is described below as an example without any limiting character, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 schematically and in perspective represents an element according to the invention; figure 2 represents a section along line II-II of the element of figure 1; figure 3 represents a side view according to arrow F3 of the element of figure 1; figures 4 and 5 represent parts of the element of figure 1; Figures 6 and 7 show the use of an element of Figure 1; and Figures 8 and 9 represent alternative embodiments of the part of Figure 4.

The element 1 shown in Figures 1 to 3 for placing plate-shaped objects 2 thereon is made of wood, for example a multi-layered wood plate, and has a length L and a width B.

The element 1 mainly consists of four plate-shaped ribs 3, which are shown separately in Figure 5, four slats connecting the ribs 3 parallel to each other, and viewed in the longitudinal direction at a distance from each other, namely two short slats 4 and two long slats. slats 5, two plate-shaped buffer elements 6 and two footboards 7.

The ribs 3 are also connected in pairs by the footboards 7 which are intended to be placed on a surface.

The long slats 5 protrude outside the ribs 3. The buffer elements 6 are attached in a vertical orientation to the projecting parts 8 of the long slats 5, viewed in the longitudinal direction L, at the ends of the element 1.

The ribs 3, slats 4, 5, footboards 7 and buffer elements 6 are attached to each other by means of combined pin / screw connections, but other fixing methods are of course also possible.

The ribs 3 have bearing edges 9 which extend substantially horizontally but are at a small angle α of 5 ° with a horizontal line. The common bearing edges 9 define and define a bearing surface 10, i.e. a surface or a number of bearing edges 9 which together ensure that plate-shaped objects 2 can be supported in the vertical direction. The bearing edges have a maximum height Hd.

The bearing surface 10 is not a physical surface and is therefore shown in dotted lines in the figures.

The ribs 3 also have supporting edges 11, which are perpendicular to the bearing edges 9. The joint supporting edges 11 define and define a supporting surface 12, that is to say a surface or a number of supporting edges 11 which together ensure that plate-shaped objects 2 can be supported in the horizontal direction and thus cannot fall over.

The support surface 12 is not a physical surface and is therefore shown in dotted lines in the figures.

The cutting line S of the supporting surface 12 and the supporting surface 10 extends in the longitudinal direction L.

The ribs 3 have foot sections 13 which, together with the footboards 7, form feet 14 which ensure that there are free spaces underneath the element into which the forks of standard transport aids, such as for example a forklift truck, fit. The free spaces 15 have a height Hv.

Approximately below the supporting edges 11, each rib 3 is provided with an auxiliary support 16 in the form of a downwardly directed protrusion, which almost, but not completely, comes to the ground.

The buffer elements 6 in this example are, as can clearly be seen in figure 4, provided with two recesses 17 which fall around the long slats 4, more specifically those which completely extend the long slats on the upper side and largely on the inwardly directed side, surround.

The buffer elements 3 have an upper edge 18 and a lower edge 19, both of which are straight, the upper edge 18 being arranged at a height Hb, which in this example is, but not necessarily, greater than Hd, whereby the upper edge is an upright edge 20 which protrudes above the geometric plane defined by the bearing surface 10.

The buffer elements 6 have a lower edge 19 which is arranged at a height H0, which in this example is considerably higher than Hv.

The use of the above-described element 1 is described below, referring to Figures 6 and 7.

Flat objects 2, for example glass panels, are placed side by side with their edges on the bearing surface 10 formed by the bearing edges 9 of the ribs 3.

The objects 2 herein rest with their flat side against the supporting surface 12, either directly or indirectly via other similar objects 2.

The objects 2 protrude outside the bearing surface 10, but not outside the buffer elements 6.

Thanks to the shape of the recess 17 on the buffer elements 6, which do not surround the long slats 4 on the underside, they can easily be removed, with only a vertical movement, and again arranged at a different location, for example against the objects 2.

This firstly keeps the objects 2 in place better, and secondly, parts of the long slats 4 protruding outside the buffer elements 6 can then be sawn off so that the element 1 becomes smaller and therefore more elements 1 can be placed on a certain surface to become.

If a forklift truck or other transport aid is now used to move the element 1 with the objects 2, the person operating the forklift truck can see, thanks to the high lower edge 19 of the buffer element 6, how high the free spaces 15 for the forks are, because he can see the access of these free spaces 15 at the nearest rib 3, so that he can avoid bumping into the ribs 3 with the forks and thus causing damage.

The buffer element 6 here protects the objects 2 placed on the element 1 against damage by the fork-lift truck when it is accidentally brought too close to the bearing surface 10 and thus acts as a bumper.

With vertical impact loads, the element 1 will deform, so that the auxiliary supports 16 temporarily find support on the substrate, the element 1 being arranged such that this happens before the element 1 is deformed in such a way that it collapses.

The alternative buffer element 6 shown in Figure 8 differs from the previously described buffer element 6 in that it has recesses 17 of a different shape, namely so that when used in an element 1 they surround the long slats 4 on three sides.

This alternative buffer element 6 is also provided with three specific edge parts, viz. A high lower edge 19, a low lower edge 21, and a downwardly directed protuberance 22.

The high lower edge 19, when used in an element 1 as described above, is arranged at the same height H0 as the lower edge 19 of the lower elements 6 of the above-described element 1, and has the same function, namely to allow the height Hv of the free spaces before the forks can be seen.

The low lower edge 21, when used in an element 1 as described above, is arranged at the same height H0 as the upper limit Hv of the free spaces 15, so that this low lower edge 21 for the operator of a transport aid, even with a fully loaded element 1, clarifies the maximum height of the forks of the transport aid before they are brought under the element 1.

The downward-facing protrusion 22, when used in an element 1 as described above, is arranged at the same width position B as the auxiliary supports 16, so that the protrusion 22 makes clear to the operator of a transport aid, even with a fully loaded element 1. which width position B should be avoided with the forks, in order to avoid damage to the auxiliary supports 16.

The alternative buffer element 6 of Fig. 9 differs substantially from the previously described buffer elements 6 in that the upper edge 18 is obliquely designed, so that when used in an element 1 as described above, this upper edge 18 lies in the plane defined by the bearing surface 10, so that if necessary, larger objects can be placed on the element 1.

The present invention is by no means limited to the embodiments described as examples and shown in the figures, but an element according to the invention can be realized in all shapes and sizes without departing from the scope of the invention.

Claims (11)

An element (1) for storing, handling and transporting substantially plate-shaped objects (2), which has a support surface (10) for supporting the objects, which support surface (10) is a physical surface or is defined and limited by two or more bearing edges (9), wherein the element (1) is adapted to be moved with a transport aid provided with forks, characterized in that the element (1) is provided with at least one bumper (6) which is located outside the bearing surface ( 10). Element (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that at least one bumper (6) has an edge (18) that lies in the plane defined by the bearing surface (10). Element (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that at least one bumper (6) is a raised edge (20) that protrudes above the plane defined by the bearing surface (10). Element (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it has a support surface (12) for supporting the objects (2) against which support surface (11) is a physical surface or is defined and limited by at least two supporting edges (11), wherein the supporting surface (12) extends substantially vertically, the element (1) having a longitudinal direction (L) defined by the intersection line (S) of the supporting surface (12) and the supporting surface (10), wherein at least one fender (6), viewed only in the longitudinal direction (L), is outside the bearing surface (10) and protrudes at least in the longitudinal direction (L) above the projection in the longitudinal direction (L) of the bearing surface (10), 5, - Element (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it is provided with two bumpers (6) which, viewed in the longitudinal direction (L), are located on two opposite sides of the bearing surface (10). Element (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the bumper is formed by a plate-shaped buffer element (6) which is arranged in a substantially or completely vertical orientation, wherein the plate-shaped buffer element (6) is provided with a peripheral part (19, 21, 22) corresponding to height or width position with a boundary of a space or spaces (15) below the bearing surface (10) provided for the forks of the transport aid. Element (1) according to claim 6, characterized in that an edge part of the plate-shaped buffer element (6) is designed as a horizontal lower edge (21) which is placed at a height (H0) corresponding to the free height (Hv) of the said space or spaces (15). Element (1) according to claim 6 or 7, characterized in that an edge part of the plate-shaped buffer element (6) is designed as a downwardly directed protrusion (22), the position of which in the width (B) corresponds to a position in the width (B) to be avoided by the forks of a transport aid. Element (1) according to one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the buffer edge is formed by a plate-shaped buffer element (6) arranged in a substantially or completely vertical orientation, wherein an edge part (19) of the plate-shaped buffer element (6) is designed as a horizontal support (19) which is placed at a height such that the height Hv of said space (15) or spaces can be seen by a person who wants to move the element (1) with a transport tool. Element (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises two or more ribs (3) defining bearing edges (10), supporting edges (10) and feet for placing the element (1) on a surface , which ribs (3) are attached to each other parallel to each other and at a distance from each other by at least two longitudinally (L) slats (4,5). Element (1) according to one of claims 6 to 9 and claim 10, characterized in that at least two slats (5) extending on either side of the buffer element protrude outside the bearing surface (10) to form projecting parts (8), and that the plate-shaped buffer element (6) is attached to the protruding parts (8) of the two slats (5) and forms a connection between the two protruding parts (8). Element (1) according to claim 11, characterized in that the plate-shaped buffer element (6) is provided with a recess (17) which at least partially surrounds the slats (5). Element (1) according to claim 12, characterized in that the plate-shaped buffer element (6) is provided with a recess (17) which completely surrounds the slats (5) on three sides, namely the top, the bottom and the inwards facing side. Element (1) according to claim 12, characterized in that the plate-shaped buffer element (6) is provided with a recess (17) that at least partially surrounds the slats (5) only on the top side and on the inward-facing side. A kit for building an element (1) according to one of claims 11 to 14, which comprises at least the required ribs (3), the required slats (4,5) to connect the ribs and a plate-shaped buffer element (6) to to serve as a bumper.