EP0575812A1 - Carrying handle device and container - Google Patents

Abstract

A carrying handle device has a carrying handle (48) which is mounted with pivoting movement on a holding body (10) provided for the attachment to a container. The ends of the carrying handle (48) engage in a groove (16) which is open towards the container. The carrying handle (48) is supported in an approximately horizontal position on the holding body (10) via stops. An enlarged and reinforced support surface (22, 24) is produced as a stop for supporting on the bearing limb (50, 60) of the carrying handle (48) by removal of material in the groove (16) of the extrusion profile. <IMAGE>

Description

The invention relates to a handle device according to the preamble of claim 1 and a container with such a handle device according to the preamble of claim 15.

Usual such handles are made from a stamped and embossed sheet metal part which supports the handle on the container and enables the handle to be pivoted from the adjacent position in a folded position. In the folded position, the handle is at an angle of approximately 90 ° to the side wall of the container, so that easy carrying is possible.

In order to enable the pivoting path of 90 °, the known containers have a handle which comprises a - usually plastic-coated - handle, from which two support legs extend at right angles to the container, the support legs opening in turn at right-angled ends, which serve as a journal on the sheet metal part. The sheet metal part thus acts as a holding body and is attached to the selected side wall in a suitable manner.

Numerous such handles have been announced by different manufacturers with varying degrees of success, the basic principle being defined in the DIN 3136 standard. A problem with such handles is always the insertion of the ends of the handle into the corresponding bearing recesses of the holding body, that in standard handle devices it is necessary to bend the handle, which consists, for example, of 8 mm steel round wire, only when the introduction of the ends is ensured . This problem does not occur with two-part holding bodies, as they have become known for example from DE-OS 34 25 815. With such holding bodies, however, the stability is considerably reduced. On the other hand, the number of screw connections required is nevertheless increased, and it is not or not possible without additional measures to manufacture the handle assembly as a pre-assembled unit and to attach it to the container in question without further assembly steps.

Various other carrying handle devices have also become known in which the problem of mounting the carrying handle is to be solved without additional bending measures for the carrying handle, which are also disadvantageous due to the chrome plating that may have to be carried out. For example, a carrying handle device has become known from US Pat. No. 4,157,763, in which this problem is solved by a special locking body 70 which has to be added after assembly.

However, this solution requires comparatively complex individual parts and is basically only suitable for special containers in which an external seal is not essential.

A further fastening arrangement for a carrying handle device can be seen from US Pat. No. 4,775,072. The recessed handle there is characterized by special bearing supports, which are inserted laterally through the wall of the container and form both the bearing point for the handle and the support surface for upward support. This solution is also only suitable if - as described in the cited document - a container with a thick, foamed wall is used, or smooth inner walls of the container are not of interest.

A special solution that is tailored to plastic can be seen from EP-0 413 836 A1. In this solution, the assembly takes place in such a way that the handle is mounted on the holding body, which is slotted on one side, and at the same time holds the slot of the bearing body together, so that it is fastened to corresponding projections on the side wall of the container. This solution has one by design relatively low lateral stability and is less suitable if an essentially horizontal position of the handle is to be realized as a carrying position.

Furthermore, it has also become known, for example from FR-OS-2 249 632, to insert the handle from behind through the holding body and thereby lock it. With this solution, it is not necessary to subsequently bend the handle into the final shape. The disadvantage of this solution, however, is that there is no preassembled unit, and also that a spring loading of the handle cannot be easily realized. However, spring loading of the handle toward the abutting position is often desirable to prevent the handle from rattling on the container.

Furthermore, from the generic DE-GM 77 09 709 a handle is known, the holding body is designed as an extruded profile, wherein the handle consists of a rectangular profile which is supported in the holding body on support surfaces. In this solution, the handle is inserted into the corresponding groove of the holding body in the adjacent position, in which the short side of the handle fits through the groove. Due to the effect of the leaf spring and the frictional connection thus generated, the handle and holding body still hold together, so that the handle device according to DE-GM 77 09 709 can also be regarded as a pre-assembled unit.

Although this solution is basically good, it requires a subsequent check during assembly to determine whether the preassembled condition has actually been preserved. Even with heavy loads, the system on the stop surfaces could not be sufficient, so that over time the handle would "slip" and a folded position would no longer be ensured.

Accordingly, it is the object of the present invention to provide a handle device according to the preamble of claim 1 and a corresponding container according to the preamble of claim 15, in which a preassembled position is ensured, although a stable and durable carrying function is ensured with inexpensive manufacture.

This object is achieved by claims 1 and 15, respectively. Advantageous further developments result from the subclaims.

It is particularly favorable with the material removal according to the invention that, despite the inexpensive use of an extruded profile, a very stable support on the enlarged and reinforced support surface is made possible. An extruded profile can be produced very easily in the desired shape, the extrusion effect also resulting in material compression which increases strength.

It is particularly favorable here that the material is removed transversely to the extrusion direction and the stop acting as a supporting or supporting surface is thus designed as a projection over a reinforced groove flank. The removal of material also opens up the possibility of carrying out the assembly of the handle without any subsequent bending, despite the large dimensions. According to the invention, for this purpose the handle is tilted diagonally - expediently in a somewhat folded-down position, so that it can even be lifted without contact over the relevant end of a fastening tab, while the opposite end at the transition to the supporting leg of the carrying handle adjoining there is then deep into the material removal formed recess is sunk in the holding body.

Nevertheless, an automatic self-centering effect occurs in both end positions of the handle, which at least reliably prevents the handle from moving in the adjacent position releases from the holding body again, and in the folded-down position feeds both support legs symmetrically to the support surfaces, as will be explained in more detail below.

The support surface can be provided on the groove base or on a groove flank, namely the so-called load groove flank. The maximum leverage for support is available when training at the base of the groove, which makes this solution particularly favorable. Since a profile thickness of 1 mm can be used throughout for the extruded profile holding body, it is expedient if the supporting surface is enlarged to, for example, 2 mm and in a suitable manner, e.g. possibly reinforced by material compaction. This configuration requires only an insignificant, for example 15% higher material consumption, even if the subsequent groove flank is designed with a profile thickness of 2 mm, but increases the strength and long-term stability considerably, for example almost twice.

It is also relevant here that the tool manufacture requires no additional costs due to this modification, so that a very inexpensive manufacture of a handle device according to the invention is still possible. By strengthening both the stop in the area of the groove base and the subsequent load groove flank, the force introduced is deflected obliquely laterally towards the wall of the container, an increase in the material thickness not being necessary in the area of the fastening tab, since the wall itself there corresponding pressure forces.

For the design of the load groove flank, it is advantageous to sharply bevel the steep flank part, which is kept relatively short and adjoins the bottom of the groove, so that the force introduced is absorbed not in the material transverse direction but in the material longitudinal direction.

The transition between the straight and sloping load-flank part can expediently be rounded on the outside, which not only reduces the susceptibility to contamination, but also excludes any notch effects.

The support surface can also protrude from the straight part of the load groove flank by approximately 2 mm, so that there is a compact projection with dimensions of approximately 2 x 2 mm² available for support.

It is also expedient if the material removal is selected such that it is adapted to the shape of the support leg in the region of the support surface. Then a large-area introduction of the forces to be transmitted and thus a uniform force distribution is ensured already in the area of the support surface. Accordingly, when using a handle made of aluminum round wire with a diameter of 8 mm, the support surface can have a correspondingly suitable, concave design, which can adjoin the inclined surface mentioned above.

Due to the selected dimensioning and the great stability of the extruded extruded profile, it has been found that a correspondingly concave configuration of the inclined surface is not necessary, since no deformation was found even when the load was considerably greater than in practice.

The beefy, angular design of the transition between the load groove flank and the groove base also reliably prevents warping in this area, while the opposite guide groove flank, which in practice is only subjected to tension and holds the end of the handle on the inside, can be kept in the low material thickness of, for example, 1 mm.

Furthermore, it is possible to provide the support surface in the area of the load groove flank, which results in a support over a larger area. Due to the shortened load lever arm of the As a one-armed lever-carrying handle, however, somewhat increased forces arise, so that this configuration is particularly suitable when lower loads are incurred. The support on the support surface acts somewhat more elastic in this embodiment.

The length of the desired load arm can be adapted to the requirements in a wide range. The further the support surface is from the axis of rotation of the ends of the handle, the longer the load arm and the lower the force transmitted for this purpose, which must also be transmitted accordingly via an extended load flank.

In any case, according to the invention, an asymmetrical groove profile is favorable, in which the guide groove flank defines the axis of rotation for the handle and the load groove flank is correspondingly more stable and longer.

The material removal according to the invention can be carried out in the desired manner. With a relatively large radius of the transition between the ends of the handle and the support legs, a correspondingly large recess can be provided in order to ensure a trouble-free movement. The support surfaces are preferably followed by inclined surfaces in the area of the groove base, it being possible for the greatest depth of the recess to be reached, for example, in the area of the transition between the guide groove flank and the groove base.

With this configuration, an automatic centering function for the handle can be realized in the folded position. If, for example, the carrying handle sits slightly asymmetrically in the holding body due to the preassembly described below, centering takes place when pivoting into the folded-down position, namely by sliding the transition between the end of the carrying handle and the associated supporting leg along the associated inclined surface and thus at the same time the entire Carry handle at this point outside presses. The dimensioning can be such that the handle is fixed in the folded position due to the action of the two inclined surfaces in the axial direction, that is, in the direction of its axis of rotation, so that a uniform introduction of force is also ensured in this regard.

In the adjacent position, the carrying handle with the supporting legs preferably rests on the corresponding fastening tab, which is the lower fastening tab during assembly on the container. In this position, the handle assembly forms a preassembled unit that can be easily attached to the container wall.

It is particularly favorable that the preassembly of the handle device according to the invention does not, however, require the handle to be bent to completion in the assembled state. According to the invention, this advantage is realized in that the dimensions of the fastening tab on which the handle rests are chosen such that they are slightly larger than the clear width between the support legs, which, however, is smaller than the inner diagonal dimension of the handle.

For assembly, the handle is then tilted diagonally in the slightly pivoted state and lifted over the relevant end of the lower fastening tab. Due to the spring load, the handle pulls automatically into the non-tilted, i.e. straight position, in which there is a safe pre-assembly.

According to the invention, there is provision for a certain sliding mobility of the handle in the axial direction, that is to say in the direction of the axis of rotation of the handle. Accordingly, the recesses are larger than is actually required for the inclusion of the radii between the ends and the support legs. A spiral spring which is arranged in the groove and acts between the end of the handle and the holding body in the direction of the adjacent position of the handle, is also preferably preloaded somewhat, so that axial displacement is only possible by overcoming the frictional engagement of the spring.

The helical spring is advantageously supported on the holding body in a groove which is provided in the extruded profile, in the region of the transition between the load groove flank and the upper fastening tab.

The end of the spiral spring engaging in this groove can be designed in a suitable manner in order, if desired, either to allow the spring to slide relatively easily in the axial direction, to make it difficult to slide the spring in the axial direction, or to slide only in the axial direction, but not in the opposite direction to enable.

The part referred to here as a container, to which the carrying handle device is to be attached, is to be understood in general terms as any container, for example an aluminum transport container, a housing or the like. Since the handle device enables such a stable pre-assembled state, it is also possible to attach the handle device, for example for transport purposes, only occasionally to objects to be transported, and the attachment can be carried out in any manner, for example also by latching, clamping or the like.

Further details, advantages and features result from the following description of an exemplary embodiment with reference to the drawing.

Fig. 1

eine Ansicht eines Haltekörpers zur Verwendung in einer erfindungsgemäßen Tragegriffvorrichtung;

Fig. 2

eine Seitenansicht des Haltekörpers gemäß Fig. 1;

Fig. 3

eine Seitenansicht einer erfindungsgemäßen Tragegriffs in einer anliegenden Stellung;

Fig. 4

eine Ansicht gemäß Fig. 3, wobei der Tragegriff von dem Haltekörper jedoch abgeklappt ist; und

Fig. 5

eine Draufsicht auf eine erfindungsgemäße Tragegriffvorrichtung in fertig montierten Zustand.

Show it:

Fig. 1

a view of a holding body for use in a handle assembly according to the invention;

Fig. 2

a side view of the holding body of FIG. 1;

Fig. 3

a side view of a handle according to the invention in an adjacent position;

Fig. 4

a view of Figure 3, but the handle is folded down from the holding body. and

Fig. 5

a plan view of a handle assembly according to the invention in the fully assembled state.

A carrying handle container according to the invention consists of a holding body 10, as shown in FIG. 1, and the carrying handle which can be seen, for example, from FIGS. 3 and 4.

The holding body 10 is formed from an extruded profile, preferably made of aluminum or an aluminum alloy, the profile being selected such that a groove 16 results between the upper fastening tab 12 and a lower fastening tab 14. The fastening tabs 12 and 14 are provided for full-surface contact with the wall of a container, not shown, to which the handle device is to be attached. The groove 16, on the other hand, protrudes and is intended to be gripped behind by the ends of the handle.

Lateral support legs of the handle pass through a region of recesses 18 and 20. The recesses 18 and 20 and also the groove 16 itself are designed asymmetrically with respect to the extruded profile. The cutouts 18 and 20 are produced by the material removal according to the invention, and preferably in such a way that a support surface 22 and 24 according to the invention is each created in the region of the groove 16 at which the groove 16 protrudes the most. The normal of the support surfaces 22 and 24 here extends transversely to the extrusion direction, the support surfaces preferably being essentially in Extend extrusion direction.

In the illustrated embodiment, the groove consists of three areas, namely a load groove flank 26, a groove base 28 and a guide groove flank 30. In this embodiment, the support surfaces 22 and 24 each cut the groove base 28 and guide the forces introduced over the load Groove edge 26 from. In its part adjoining the upper fastening tab 12, this part is flatter than the guide groove flank 30, so that the force introduced can be better dissipated.

The upper fastening bracket 12 has two fastening holes 32, while the lower fastening bracket 14 has three fastening holes 32. The lower fastening tab 14 is wider than the groove 16 in the region of the cutouts 18 and 20. Its extension is dimensioned such that it is preferably larger than the clear width between the supporting legs of a handle, a protrusion dimension 34 relative to the base of the cutouts 18 or 20 is chosen so that it allows a diagonally tilted insertion of the handle.

The lower fastening tab 14 preferably ends in a fillet 36 and 38, it being understood that the fillet can also have any suitable other shape, for example an angular basic shape with rounded corners. The carrying handle rests on at least one of the fillets 36 and 38 in the preassembled state, that is to say in the state in which the carrying handle device is not yet fastened to the wall of the container, for which purpose reference should be made to the adjacent condition of the carrying handle shown in FIG. 3 .

The cutouts 18 and 20 have their lowest point in the region of the guide groove flank 30. Between this area and the support surfaces 22 and 24, the design of the recesses 18 and 20 is chosen so that inclined surfaces 40 and 42 result, which perform the centering function described above.

From Fig. 2 it can be seen that the support surface 22 is also enlarged transversely to the extrusion direction. For this purpose, the extruded profile is made thicker in the region of the part of the groove base which is adjacent to the load groove flank 26, the support surface 22 being formed just behind the transition from the thinner to the thicker material thickness.

As can be seen from FIG. 2, the support surface 22 forms a real projection over the load groove flank 26.

It is particularly advantageous that the forces introduced by the lever action of the one-armed lever, which is the carrying handle, are already partially neutralized in the region of the groove 16. The forces that are transmitted upward from the support surface 22 are simultaneously supplied via the groove base 28 as tensile forces to the guide groove flank 30, these tensile forces being transmitted only over part of the guide groove flank 30 and there by the support of the ends of the Carrying handle (see. Fig. 4) are neutralized.

Surprisingly, the support surface 22 formed on a projection, because of the reinforced configuration of the projection, transfers these forces particularly well into the guide flank 30, so that the handle device according to the invention proves to be resistant to deformation even during continuous operation and heavy loads.

Here, the configuration of the load groove flank 26 has proven to be particularly favorable, in which a straight, that is to say essentially horizontal, part adjoins the groove base 28, which ends in a strongly bevelled part 44 toward the fastening tab 12. The transition between the part 43 and the groove base 28 is also very rounded. Also the force introduced is improved by the action of the inclined surfaces 40 and 42.

In contrast, the guide groove flank 30 has a more round, conventional design, wherein it is designed to accommodate ends of the handle. Accordingly, its inner surface forms a bearing for the ends of the carrying handle which act as bearing pins, while at the same time serving to accommodate a spiral spring.

In the area of the transition between the part 44 of the load groove flank and the fastening tab 12, a spring support groove 46 is also provided, the function of which can be seen in FIG. 3.

The illustration in FIG. 3 shows the manner in which the handle 48 is mounted on the holding body 10. The ends of the handle engage laterally in the groove 16 via the cutouts 18 and 20. For this purpose, they are bent in a manner known per se and merge into support legs, of which a support leg 50 is shown in FIG. 3.

Also extending in the groove 16 between the ends of the handle 48 is a helical spring 52 which is supported at one end in a groove in the end of the handle 48 and at the other end in the spring support groove 46. Due to its bias, the spiral spring 52 holds the handle 48 in the adjacent position shown in FIG. 3. In the case of a handle device attached to a container, this ensures that the handle 48 always rests in the unloaded state.

The folded position of the handle can be seen in Fig. 4. In this position, the handle 48 extends substantially horizontally, the distance between the inner surface of the guide groove flank 30 and the support surface 22 being selected so that the handle 48 is horizontal Position on both. In this position, the spiral spring 52 is tensioned even more, the force introduced via the support surface 22 being introduced into the wall of the container via the load groove flank 26 and the upper fastening tab 12.

In a manner known per se, the handle 48 has a plastic sheathing 54 to improve the grip, which mainly encases the handle part of the handle 48.

5 shows a view of a fully assembled unit of the handle device according to the invention. As can be seen, the carrying handle device is composed of the holding body 10 and the carrying handle 48. Ends 56 and 58 of the handle 48 engage in the groove 16 of the holding body 10. The ends are bent relative to the support legs 50 and 60, which in turn are each bent through 90 ° relative to the plastic-coated handle 62. The support legs 50 and 60 each overlap the fillets 36 and 38 of the lower fastening tab 14, while the dimension between the bottom of the recesses 18 and 20 is less than the clear width between the support legs 50 and 60. The distance between the base of the recesses 18 and 20 plus the projection dimension 34 is larger than this clear width, but smaller than the inner diagonal dimension of the handle 48 so that it can be removed and inserted by suitable pivoting and tilting.

In the preassembled state, each end 56 and 58 of the handle 48 extends into the groove 16 provided therefor. In this symmetrical position, the handle 48 is securely mounted on the holding body 10. The spiral spring 52 counteracts any tilting, since it is also pretensioned in the adjacent state of the handle 48 shown in FIGS. 3 and 5.

As shown in FIG. 5, both ends of the coil spring are bent, with the fixed end 64 running in the spring support groove 46, while the loose end 66 extends in a transverse groove in the end 58 of the handle 48. There, the end 66 is clamped so that the coil spring 52 remains in the end 58 with axial load, i.e. with a load in the extrusion direction, but with its end 64 shifts in the spring support groove 46. Due to the preload, however, there is a considerable amount of friction, which benefits the stability of the pre-assembly.

In the illustrated embodiment, a round profile for the handle 48 and a flat design of the support surfaces 22 and 24 is shown. It goes without saying that any other configuration is possible, the large area of the support being favorable if the pressure introduced is to be kept small.

Furthermore, it goes without saying that the handle device according to the invention is not limited to one with a hand handle. Rather, if desired, a corresponding eyelet or the like can also be attached in order to enable machine-supported carrying.

Claims (15)

Handle device, with a handle which is pivotally mounted on a holding body provided for fastening to a container, the ends of the handle engaging in a groove open to the container and the carrying handle being supported by stops on the holding body in an approximately horizontal position, thereby characterized in that an enlarged and reinforced support surface (22, 24) is produced as a stop for support on the carrying arm (50, 60) of the carrying handle (48) by material removal in the groove (16) of the extruded profile. Handle device according to claim 1, characterized in that the support surface (22, 24) is formed on the groove base (28) and in particular the load groove flank (26) adjoining the stop is reinforced. Carrying handle device according to claim 2, characterized in that the stop forming the support surface (22, 24) projects over the groove flank (26) adjoining it, the projection dimension approximately the thickness of the groove base (28) at this point or the adjoining groove flank (26) corresponds. Carrying handle device according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that the load groove flank (26) extending from the container and adjoining the stop is extended relative to the opposite guide groove flank (30) and is essentially angled into the groove base (28) merges while the guide groove flank (30) merges into the groove bottom (28). Carrying handle device according to claim 1, characterized in that the support surface (22, 24) is provided without protrusion on the load groove flank (26) provided for receiving the load in the folded-down position of the handle (48), which is opposite an opposite guide groove flank (30) is reinforced. Carrying handle device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the load groove flank (26) provided for receiving the load in the folded-down position of the carrying handle (48) and in particular the parts (43, 44) adjoining this load groove flank (26) ) of the holding body (10) are reinforced so that an upper and a lower fastening tab (12, 14) for attachment to the container connect to the groove (16), the reinforcement reaching at least up to the upper fastening tab (12) and the upper and lower fastening tabs (12, 14) each have a reduced material thickness compared to the groove (16). Handle device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the support surface (22, 24) is formed by a laterally open recess (18, 20) of the holding body (10). Handle device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the support surfaces (22, 24) are followed by inclined surfaces (40, 42) which are provided in the groove base (28) and diverge towards the support surfaces (22, 24). Carrying handle device according to claim 8, characterized in that the carrying handle (48) at the transition between the supporting legs (50, 60) and the ends (56, 58), which extend at an angle of 90 ° to one another, has an inner radius which when moving the handle (48) from an adjacent to a folded position opposite the inclined surfaces (40, 42) serves as a guide surface and slides along these. Carrying handle device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the carrying handle (48) together with the holding body (10) is designed as a preassembled unit and the carrying handle (48) is in the spring-loaded position against the holding body (10) with at least one Supporting legs (50; 60) are supported on a fastening tab (14) at the top. Carrying handle device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that in an adjacent position of the carrying handle (48) on the holding body (10), the lower fastening tab (14) forms a counter abutment surface (rounding 36, 38) on its upper side, whereby the fastening tab (14) has a width which is somewhat larger than the clear width between the carrying legs (50, 60) of the carrying handle (48), its projection dimension (34) relative to the base of the recesses (18, 20) plus the distance between However, this is in particular less than the inner diagonal dimension of the handle (48). Carrying handle device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that a spring for spring loading the carrying handle (48) in the direction of the adjacent position is designed as a spiral spring (52) which is located between a spring support groove (46) at the transition between the fastening tab (12) and a groove flank (26) and one end (56) of the handle (48) is clamped, the spring rests with its coil spring body on the opposite groove flank (14) and is stabilized there by the pretension, so that during assembly it belongs to the associated one End (56) of the handle (48) preloaded in the groove direction. Carrying handle device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the clear width between the carrying legs (50, 60) is increased in such a way that the mounting of the carrying handle (48) in the groove (16) has an axial play, which means the mounting of the carrying handle (48) on the holding body (10). Handle device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the material is removed by sawing, punching and / or milling at the ends of the holding body (10). Container with a handle device according to one of the preceding claims.

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