BE1029315B1 - MODULAR STORAGE SET WITH ADJUSTABLE DIMENSIONS - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a storage assembly (1) comprising at least two stackable and interlocking modules (3, 3a, 3b, 3c, 3d, 3e, 3f) supported by a carrier base. This storage assembly is characterized in that these modules (3, 3a, 3b, 3c, 3d, 3e, 3f) are made from at least one folded sheet, in particular a metal sheet, so as to form a flat frame (4) rectangular, each of the longitudinal (6) and transverse (5) sides of which has a bend forming a first wing (5c, 6c) perpendicular to the plane of the frame (4) and extending downwards which is itself bent at 90° towards the inside of the frame to form a second wing (5d, 6d) parallel to the plane of the frame (5), said second wings (5d, 6d) being arranged in the same plane and in that the external part of the longitudinal sides (6) of the frame (4) is folded upwards so as to form two side walls (7).

Description

DESCRIPTION

TITLE: MODULAR DIMENSIONS STORAGE SET

ADJUSTABLE

The present invention relates to a storage assembly composed of several elements which are of the modular type and can be combined with each other, so as to make said assembly adjustable according to the specific needs of the user.

Such sets are thus known which are used in different types of industry to store objects permanently or temporarily.

Such sets are thus used in the field of shows, and in particular in that of the cinema where the management staff needs for the necessities of filming a film to store and make available to the various users the most diverse elements ranging for example, actual filming equipment for the "rollers" intended to contain and present the filming personnel with the supplies they need.

Storage sets are thus known, often arranged on trolleys, which consist of compartments whose number and dimensions, which are fixed for a given set, depend on the use that one wishes to make of them.

Such storage assemblies usually consist of a load-bearing base supporting horizontal and vertical metal uprights which are welded together so as to form a determined number of lockers in the very specific dimensions that are required.

Patent EP 0640447 thus discloses a device intended for the storage and presentation of tools which comprises several stacked compartments which are housed and maintained inside a rigid structure.

It is understood under these conditions that each storage assembly is defined by several essential parameters, namely on the one hand the number of compartments and on the other hand the dimensions of each of these, namely their width, and their height and possibly their depth, without forgetting their relative disposition. A user who needs for a given application a storage assembly comprising a well-defined number of compartments whose dimensions are also well-defined will often have difficulty finding the ideal storage assembly in an existing stock, all the more so that its requirements may also extend to the arrangement of these lockers in relation to each other.

This user will thus have no other resource than to have the storage assembly he needs specially manufactured, which is costly both in terms of time and budget.

The object of the present invention is to propose a storage assembly of the modular type which can be constituted on demand, from a few basic elements, in a particularly easy and rapid manner, this storage assembly being able in particular, after use, to be transformed easily to make a new different configuration.

The present invention thus relates to a storage assembly comprising at least two stackable and interlocking modules supported by a support base, characterized in that these modules are made from at least one folded sheet, in particular a metal sheet, so to form a rectangular flat frame comprising two longitudinal sides and two transverse sides, which include a bend forming a first wing perpendicular to the plane of the frame and extending downwards which is itself bent at 90° towards the inside of the frame to form a second wing parallel to the plane of the frame, said second wings being arranged in the same plane and in that the outer part of the longitudinal sides is folded upwards so as to form two side walls.

The present invention is interesting in that the fact of producing from each of the two transverse sides a first fold forming a first wing and a second fold forming a second wing located in the plane of the frame makes it possible to confer on these folds two functions , namely a first function of rigidity of the assembly and a second function of support and maintenance both in the longitudinal and transverse direction of trays or trays receiving objects, the base of which can thus be embedded between the first wings while while being held by the second wings.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the modules may be made from a single folded sheet. The latter may be a metal sheet with a thickness of between 1.5 mm and 4 mm and preferably close to 2.5 mm, and in particular an aluminum sheet.

Furthermore, two opposite sides, respectively called anterior and posterior sides, of the frame can be folded downwards so as to form two transverse wings perpendicular to the plane of the frame, the free side of these transverse wings being able to be folded towards the inside of the frame so as to to form two respective horizontal returns.

The front and rear parts of the side walls may include a part folded at 90° towards the inside of the module so as to form vertical tabs which will be arranged in the same plane as the wings and which will extend upwards from the plane of the frame over a height equal to that of the side wall less the width of the transverse wing.

In addition, the upper part of the side walls can be folded at 90° towards the inside of the module so as to form horizontal legs.

Preferably, each of the vertical angles of the storage assembly may include an angle iron fixed to each module.

The storage assembly according to the invention may comprise at least two adjacent modules forming two adjacent columns, these two modules being linked together by removable securing means, in particular of the screw, bolt or rivet type.

Finally, this storage assembly may include at least one module provided with a slide capable of receiving a sliding drawer.

There will be described below, by way of non-limiting example, embodiments of the present invention, with reference to the appended drawing in which: [Fig 1] is a perspective view of an example of a constituent module of a storage assembly according to the invention, [Fig 2] is a top view of the module shown in Figure 1, [Fig 3] is a vertical and transverse sectional view of the module shown in Figures 1 and 2 according to line III-II! of the latter,

[Fig 4] is a vertical and longitudinal sectional view of the module shown in Figures 1 and 2 along line IV-IV of the latter, [Fig 5a] is an enlarged sectional view of a corner of the module shown on the Figure 4, [Fig 5b] is an enlarged sectional view of a corner of the module shown in Figure

3, [Fig 6] is a horizontal sectional view of the module shown in Figure 1, [Fig 7a] is a vertical and transverse sectional view of a variant of a module according to the invention,

[Fig 7b] is a vertical sectional view of another variant of a module according to the invention, [Fig 8] is a vertical and side sectional view of a storage assembly consisting of a superimposed module 3b to a module 3a, [Fig 9] is a perspective view of a storage assembly equipped with wheels,

[Fig 10a] is an enlarged partial sectional front view of two superimposed modules, [Fig 10b] is an enlarged partial sectional side view of two superimposed modules, [Fig 11] is a view of a storage assembly comprising several columns of stacked modules, [Fig 12] is a perspective view of a lower module intended to receive wheels, [Fig 13] is a perspective view of the module of figure 12 once it is fitted with wheels,

[Fig 14] is a perspective view of an alternative embodiment of the present invention, [Fig 15] is a longitudinal sectional view of a drawer module with front exit, [Fig 16] is a transverse sectional view of a drawer module with side exit,

[Fig 17] is a perspective view of a storage assembly according to the invention in the form of a roller which is equipped with an upper drawer module and a lower drawer module with side exit.

In these drawings, for reasons of clarity of representation, the cut parts 5 will not be hatched but shown in bold lines.

There is shown in Figure 1 a perspective view of an example of a module 3 implemented in a storage assembly 1 according to the invention.

This module 3 is made from a folded sheet, in particular a metal sheet, and preferably an aluminum sheet. It will be noted that it is also possible to use a sheet of synthetic material such as, for example,

PVC (polyvinyl chloride), or "plexiglass" (registered trademark), polyethylene, etc.

The module once folded, and as shown in Figures 1 to 4, comprises a flat rectangular base 4 of width L and depth P and two side flanks 7 perpendicular to the base 4 and of height H. The base 4 forms a frame having transverse sides 5 and longitudinal sides 6 as specified below. The opposite transverse sides 5 will thus form respectively called anterior and posterior sides.

The anterior and posterior parts of each of the lateral flanks 7, (that is to say those located respectively on the side of the anterior and posterior sides) are provided with a vertical leg 9 which is folded towards the interior of the module perpendicular to the plane of the side flank 7, this lug 9 extending from the base 4 over a height h less than the height H of the flank 7, this difference in height being specified below.

Each of the side flanks 7 is also provided with an upper horizontal leg 11 which is bent at 90° towards the inside of the module, from its upper edge and which extends over a length p less than the depth P of the module 3, so that, on either side of it, the front and rear corners of the sides 7 have no horizontal leg.

As shown in Figures 4 and 5a, the outer parts of the transverse sides 5 of the base 4 are bent at 90° so as to form transverse outer wings 5a which are directed downwards and which are perpendicular to the plane of the base 4. In addition, the base of these transverse flanges 5a is turned over at 90° towards the inside of the module so as to form a transverse and horizontal return 5b of small width.

It will be noted that the difference between the height h of the legs 9 and the height H of the sides 7 will be equal to the height of the transverse external flanges 5a so that, when two modules are superimposed, the flange 5a of the upper module can be housed above and in the same plane as the leg 9 of the lower module. Such an arrangement is particularly interesting in that it ensures an embedding of the upper and lower modules which ensures them excellent overall cohesion.

Furthermore, the internal parts of the transverse sides of the base 4 are also bent at 90° so as to form transverse internal wings 5c which are directed downwards and which are also perpendicular to the plane of the base 4.

The inner wings 5c, which are thus parallel to the outer wings 5a, are shorter than the latter and their base is turned 90° inwards so as to form a return 5d parallel to the transverse return 5b and to the plane of the base 4.

Similarly and as shown in Figures 3 and 5b, the internal parts of the longitudinal sides 6 of the base 4 are bent at 90° so as to form longitudinal internal flanges 6c which are directed downwards and which are perpendicular to the plane of the base 4. The base of these wings 6c is itself turned 90° inwards so as to form a return 6d parallel to the plane of the base 4.

These different folds are made in such a way that the returns 5d and 6d are in the same plane. This defines a recessed support plane which can securely receive the base of a tray 17, as shown in Figure 7b and preferably a standard format tray called "europe". This support plane, insofar as it is embedded between the respective wings 5c and 6c, ensures the maintenance of the trays 17 and prevents their sliding.

Of course, it would also be possible to place a receiving plate 15 on the recessed carrier plane, as shown in FIG. 7a.

It will be noted that the various folds, that is to say: a) the transverse external wings 5a,

b) the transverse return 5b,

Cc) the internal transverse 5c and longitudinal 6c wings, d) the transverse 5d and longitudinal 6d returns, cooperate to perform two functions, namely on the one hand to constitute a recessed carrier plane allowing to ensure a secure hold of the bins or other accessories that they receive and secondly create stiffening ribs which give the module its own rigidity, both transversely and longitudinally.

The modules according to the invention have the advantage of being able to be stacked in an interlocking manner on top of each other. This means that once stacked the modules are held together due to their interlocking.

There is shown in right view and vertical section in Figure 8 four modules of different and decreasing heights when going from the bottom to the top, namely a first module 3a, a second module 3b which is in a recessed position on the module 3a, a module 3c which is not yet in a position embedded in module 3b and finally a terminal module 3d which is also not embedded in module 3c and which forms the upper part of this "vertical" assembly of the four mods.

It will be noted that these different modules only differ from each other by their height, in other words by the value of the height H of their lateral sides 7; height which is zero in the case of the upper module 3d which does not have lateral sides 7.

Once a module is placed on the module below it, it is embedded on it and therefore maintained with it. Furthermore, the lower module is placed on a base which maintains the assembly. This base may in particular consist of a simple frame 19, as shown in Figure 8. Under these conditions when the modules 3a, 3b, 3c and 3d are stacked on top of each other they are secured and form a set of storage 1 receiver of objects.

The frame 19 can be fitted with wheels 21 which makes it possible to constitute, as shown in FIG. 9, mobile equipment usually referred to as “rolling”.

It is of course possible according to the invention to form storage assemblies comprising several columns of nested modules, as shown in Figure 11. In such a configuration, the modules which are transversely adjacent, in other words the adjacent modules of two neighboring columns can secured to each other by means of retaining devices that are preferably easily removable, such as for example sheet metal screws, bolts or so-called “pop” rivets.

In this form of implementation, the upper modules 3d which include the receiving cavity forming the supporting plane embedded between the wings 5c and 6c can be replaced by a panel 10 covering the assembly, this panel will include a base of the type described above. so that it can fit into the corners of each of the modules on which it will rest.

Of course, as shown in Figure 11, the storage assemblies according to the invention may comprise any number of columns and each column may be formed of any number of modules 3.

These storage sets may or may not, depending on the needs, include wheels ensuring their movement so as to transform them into wheels. These wheels may be of any type and in particular of the solid or inflatable type.

They can be arranged outside the storage assembly, as shown in Figure 9 or be embedded in the lower module, as shown in Figures 12 and 13.

In these figures the lower module, which acts as a base or support for the upper modules, is of a slightly different construction from the previous modules. It thus comprises a carrier plate 4′ two lateral sides 7 and a bottom 8 which are perpendicular to the carrier plate 4′. The latter and the bottom 8 are hollowed out with respective slots 12a, 12b intended for the wheel arch 21.

In order to ensure a solid hold of these wheels 21 the rear and lower corner of the support module is provided with a reinforcing gusset 22 which is pierced with a hole 23 for the passage of the axis of these wheels.

In a variant implementation of the invention, the holding of the various modules between them can be improved by placing, as shown in FIG. 14, a vertical angle bracket 24 which will be fixed to each module in the vertical angles of the storage assembly over the entire height of it.

The present invention is particularly advantageous in that it makes it possible to constitute storage assemblies free of welding, which allows their easy and inexpensive manufacture as well as easy and rapid assembly and disassembly. It is thus possible, at the request of a user, to easily and quickly constitute a completely personalized storage unit insofar as the number, the dimension of the modules as well as their arrangement are completely combinable between them.

To do this, it will be enough to have a family of several modules of different heights and possibly different widths, as well as bases of different widths (multiple of the widths of the modules) to be able to quickly constitute a set of storage, optionally provided with wheels, which conforms to the wishes of a user.

Such a storage unit is particularly interesting in the field of rental where user customers have specific and varied needs. In such a field, the present invention allows, for example, a lessor, once the service has been completed, to partially dismantle the recovered storage assembly in order to transform it in order to make it conform to the wishes of a new customer, or replace this or that module that could have been damaged during the service.

It would also be possible for the lessor to completely dismantle the recovered storage unit in order to have all the modules in reserve, which would thus become available for another service.

Of course according to the invention the modules can be equipped in order to give them a specific vocation according to the needs of the users.

It is thus possible to equip the modules with sliding trays forming extensions capable of being deployed on either side of the storage assembly both in the transverse direction and in the longitudinal direction. It is thus possible to produce modules equipped with drawers capable of receiving and/or displaying accessories. There has thus been shown in FIG. 15 a third module which is provided with slides which receive a drawer 26a whose exit is carried out frontally and which makes it possible to receive objects, which makes it possible to increase, when this proves necessary, the reception surface of the worktop.

There is shown in Figure 16 a module 3f which is provided with a drawer 26b of the same type but whose output is carried out laterally. On the same storage unit can be arranged several drawers 26b of this type as shown in Figure 17 which shows a wheel according to the invention which is equipped with two drawers with side exit, namely an upper drawer and a lower drawer.

According to the invention, it is possible to provide different modules dedicated to particular specific functions such as, for example, a water tank module, a beverage dispenser module, etc.

It is also possible to provide, in particular on the side flanks 7 of the modules, receiving elements such as in particular inserts, screws or holes receiving hooks making it possible to fix various accessories.

Claims (10)

1. — Storage assembly (1) comprising at least two stackable and interlocking modules (3, 3a, 3b, 3c, 3d, 3e, 3f) supported by a support base, characterized in that these modules (3, 3a, 3b , 3c, 3d, 3e, 3f) are made from at least one folded sheet, in particular a metal sheet, so as to form a flat rectangular frame (4), each of the longitudinal (6) and transverse (5) sides ) comprises a bend forming a first wing (5c, 6c) perpendicular to the plane of the frame (4) and extending downwards which is itself bent at 90° towards the inside of the frame to form a second wing (5d , 6d) parallel to the plane of the frame (5), said second wings (5d, 6d) being arranged in the same plane and in that the outer part of the longitudinal sides (6) of the frame (4) is folded upwards so as to form two side walls (7). 2. Storage assembly according to claim 1 characterized in that the modules (3, 3a, 3b, 3c, 3d, 3e, 3f) are made from a single folded sheet. 3. - Storage assembly according to one of claims 1 or 2 characterized in that two opposite sides respectively called front and rear sides (5) of the frame (4) are folded downwards so as to form two transverse wings (5a ) perpendicular to the plane of the frame (4). 4. — Storage assembly according to claim 3 characterized in that the free side of the transverse flanges (5a) is folded towards the inside of the frame so as to form two respective horizontal returns (5b). 5. - Storage assembly according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the front and rear parts of the side walls (7) comprise a part folded at 90° towards the inside of the module so as to form vertical tabs ( 9) which are arranged in the same plane as the transverse wings (5a) and which extend upwards from the plane of the frame (4) over a height (h) equal to that (H) of the side wall ( 7) reduced by the width of the transverse wing (5a). 6. — Storage assembly according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the upper part of the side walls (7) is folded at 90° towards the inside of the module so as to form horizontal tabs (11). 7. — Storage assembly according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that each of its vertical angles comprises an angle iron (24) fixed to each module. 8. - Storage assembly according to one of claims 2 to 7 characterized in that the aforesaid single folded sheet is a metal sheet with a thickness of between 1.5 mm and 4 mm and preferably close to 2.5 mm, and in particular an aluminum foil. 9. - Storage assembly according to any one of the preceding claims comprising at least two adjacent modules forming two adjacent columns, characterized in that these two said modules are linked together by removable securing means, in particular of the screw type, bolts or rivets. 10.— Storage assembly according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises at least one module (3e, 3f) provided with a slide adapted to receive a sliding drawer (26a, 26b).