EP1309493B1

EP1309493B1 - Transport unit for rock wool products, in particular rock wool insulation panels, arranged in a stack

Info

Publication number: EP1309493B1
Application number: EP01971913A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Manfred Armbrust; Michael Becker; Lothar Bihy; Clemens Keller; Jürgen Trappmann
Original assignee: Saint Gobain Isover SA France
Current assignee: Saint Gobain Isover SA France
Priority date: 2000-08-14
Filing date: 2001-08-14
Publication date: 2007-03-07
Anticipated expiration: 2021-08-14
Also published as: EA004337B1; WO2002016223A1; AU2001291765A1; DE60127135D1; ATE356046T1; EP1671895A3; HUP0303717A2; DE10039662A1; EP1309493A1; EP1671895A2; PL360884A1; DE60127135T2; UA75887C2; DK1309493T3; EA200300130A1

Abstract

In a transport unit (1) for rock wool products (2) arranged in a stack, the stack has on its principal surfaces receptacles (5) for handling by mechanical means of transport, such as fork-lift trucks, lifting equipment and the like.

Description

The invention relates to a transport unit for insulation panels made of fibres, in particular rock wool insulation panels, arranged in a stack according to the describing part of claim 1.
Insulation panels of this kind are used in considerable quantities for the construction trade, in particular for roof insulation and facade insulation. For the purposes of transport and storage, rock wool insulation panels of this kind are arranged in a stack, in which the insulation panels are usually arranged superposed with respect to their principal surfaces. For stabilisation, such stacks of superposed insulation panels are very often covered with sheeting, which is provided both as weather protection and protection against damage during transport.
The problem with the transport and storage of rock wool insulation products consists principally in the fact that these are products with comparatively large volumes, which proportionally may also have a relatively high weight. For example, insulation panels in bulk density ranges from 10kg/m³ to 200 kg/m³ at an area size of up to 2000 x 1200mm in thicknesses of, for example, 50mm to 200mm, so that with a stacked superposition of such panels, transport units of considerable dimensions are produced, which leads to a correspondingly high space requirement for transport and storage. On account of the size and weight alone, it is hardly possible to handle transport units of this kind manually, instead it is necessary to fall back on mechanical means of transport, such as fork-lift trucks and the like.
Since, in view of the circumstance that considerable amounts of insulation material per year are required in the Federal Republic of Germany alone, the insulation market is also very intensively served by competitors, there is inevitably a considerable cost pressure, which leads to the need for transport units to be optimised in all aspects. This also means that the transport units must be packaged or designed such that they can be handled by conventional means of transport, in particular fork-lift trucks without the risk of damage.
Conventionally, such stacks of insulation panels are arranged on wood pallets for the purposes of transport and storage, which, although they can be readily handled by fork-lift trucks, carry the disadvantage that they are heavy and voluminous for return of the empty packaging, and also relatively expensive. For this reason, there are efforts in the insulation industry to develop substitutes for these conventional pallets which allow easier return and in particular recycling.
In this context, it is already known (DE-A42 18 354) to form a transport unit, in which the stack of superposed insulation panels is mounted on support bodies, which are formed of a material that can be used for insulation purposes. The support body and insulation panels are in this case joined to one another by wrapping with a sheeting to form a transport unit. By virtue of the offset arrangement of the support body below the stack, empty spaces or receptacles for the engagement of lifting devices of mechanical means of transport, such as the tines of fork-lift trucks, are produced. However, these transport units carry the risk that, in consequence of damage of the sheeting envelope, in the region of the support body as a result of handling by the mechanical means of transport, the sheeting envelope of the stack as a whole can inevitably be damaged, as a result of which the stability of the stack, which is essential for transport and storage, is endangered and, in particular during transport, collapse of the stack is possible. This problem also occurs in the case of transport units according to DE-U-296 20 646, in which the stack of insulation panels is supported by support bodies and the entirety comprising stack and support bodies is enveloped by means of a sheeting. In the rough conditions during reloading of such large transport units by means of mechanical means of transport, however damage to the sheeting envelope may very often occur in the region of the support body, for example by incision, tearing and the like, which does not necessarily immediately lead to a damage of the sheeting envelope as a whole, but during transport can lead to damage of the sheeting envelope overall by further tearing, with the harmful consequences described above.
Further, to prevent this risk of damaging of the envelope as a whole, it is known (DE-A 198 42 721) to provide a transport unit comprised of a stack of superposed insulation panels, in which the stack as a whole is enveloped by means of a sheeting, not however the support bodies. The latter, however, are not made from a material suitable for insulation purposes. The support bodies are in this case adhesively bonded to the lower base surface of the stack. However it was regarded as necessary, particularly with consideration to obtaining stable bundles, to connect the individual insulation panels within the stack to each other by means of an adhesion bond, which however involves additional outlay. As a further disadvantage, it is to be noted that the hot-melt adhesive usually used in this context can easily penetrate into the surface of the rock wool insulation panels, and as a result the properties of the insulation product can be negatively affected, in particular in the event of excessive adhesive application. In particular, this is disadvantageous in the case of insulation panels for which particular fire resistance requirements must be observed. The application of the adhesive to insulation panels for the adhesive bonding is also subject to disadvantageous from the point of view of efficient production.
Lastly, it is known from EP-A 0 987 192 to provide a transport unit comprised of a stack of superposed insulation panels, in which again the stack as a whole is enveloped by means of a sheeting, not however the support body. The support body is made of insulation material. For providing receptacles for handling by mechanical transport means the support body is formed as a frame, which enfolds a part of the bottom of the stack. The support body has a complex figuration and is not useable for any insulation purposes due to its forming with several narrow insulation parts. Furthermore, due to its complex figuration, this support body is disadvantageous in view of efficient production.
The object of the invention is to provide a transport unit for rock wool products, in particular insulation panels, which is particularly well adapted to the criterion of handleability by means of mechanical transport means, main attention also being paid to the fact that as little waste material as possible ought to occur for environmental protection reasons. Furthermore, it is necessary for a transport unit developed in this manner to meet the latent cost pressure on the insulating materials industry, that is to say be comparatively uncomplicated in construction and inexpensive.
This object is achieved according to the invention by the features contained in the characterising part of claim 1, expedient further developments being characterised by the features contained in the subclaims.
According to the invention, on the stack of superposed insulation panels, which is preferably entirely or partly wrapped with an envelope, receptacles for handling by mechanical transport means are provided, at least on one of the principal surfaces of the stack.
These receptacles are designed by means of recesses of a lamellar panel, which is arranged below the stack as support for the stack. The lamellar panel is carried out by cutting lamellar-like blocks of fibre insulation panels, which are then turned through 90°, fastened in a row to one another and fastened together to a planar support material, such that the fibre orientation of the lamellar panel is principally perpendicular to the two principal surfaces of the lamellar panel. The lamellar panel, by virtue of the manufacture and because of the special fibre alignment essentially perpendicular to the principal surface, is characterised by elevated compressive strength, so that a support in the form of a lamellar panel is very suitable for example for transport in a harsh environment and in the case of voluminous stacks, in particular stacks of heavy weight. Since the lamellar panel is also formed of rock wool, and in particular can be formed of uniform material with the insulation panel, such a support is also suitable for use as insulation material in situ, that is to say on the construction site. In this case, return as empty packaging is no longer necessary. As a consequence of the compression-resistant design of the lamellar panel, such a support, which may in particular be constructed in the manner of a pallet, can also be used as a reusable means of transport and can accordingly be frequently used. In this case, it is of particular advantage that such a lamellar panel support can be wound to form a roll, which is again of advantage for return of the empty packaging. The receptacles within a lamellar panel can in this case be formed such that lamellar elements with different lamellar lengths can be used, so that hollows are formed by recesses, which form the receptacles for the means of transport.
Typical embodiments of the invention are described below with reference to the drawing, wherein

Fig. 1: shows a side view of a stack of rock wool insulation panels on a pallet formed as a lamellar panel.

In the transport unit shown in Figure 1 and generally designated 1, a stack of superposed rock wool insulation panels 2 is enveloped with a sheeting 3 and received on a support 4 designed in the manner of a pallet. The sheeting packaging of the stack according to Figure 1 only envelopes the stack of insulation panels 2 at four peripheral sides, but leaves the two end faces free, the front one of which is visible in this view. Naturally, a sheeting packaging can also alternatively be provided in which the end faces also can be completely, or where a shrink film is used only partially, covered in the outer regions.
The sheeting used is in particular a plastic film, such as a heat-shrink film, a packaging of sheeting, however, also being expedient in which the ends are wrapped one over the other and joined by bonding, welding or the like. In this case it is also expedient from case to case to subject the stack of insulation panels to compression, then wrap over the sheeting, so that, after release, the finished sheeting envelope is tensioned by virtue of the resilient property of the previously compressed insulation panels. Since, however, the invention is not concerned with the type of enveloping per se, the various possibility for enveloping a stack with a sheeting, e.g. also with a sheeting colour and the like, do not need to be discussed here. The object of enveloping is the confinement of the insulation panels superposed in the stack for transport and storage and as protection of the insulation panels against the effects of weather and against damage and the like. Furthermore, the modular envelopment of a stack of insulation panels also allows the superposition of several such stacks to obtain a so-called large bundle.
In the illustrated embodiment, the support 4 is constructed by a pallet-like construction of lamellar pieces with different lamellar length, so that receptacles 5 result, which can be used for the engagement of mechanical means of transport, in particular the tines of fork-lift trucks.
To this end, the support 4 is, in the example, constructed from three lamellar elements 6 with the same lamellar length, between which lamellar elements 7 with shorter lamellar length are arranged. This results in corresponding recesses with respect to the base area of the longer lamellar elements 6, by means of which the hollows 5 for the engagement of the means of transport are delimited.
In the case of the lamellar panels, these are comparatively compression-resistant structures by virtue of the special fibre alignment. If, in the case of conventional insulation panels, the fibres are aligned essentially in the longitudinal direction of the two principal surfaces, principally by virtue of the production process of the rock wool insulation panels, the fibre orientation of the lamellar panels, which are known per se, is principally perpendicular to the two principal surfaces, which results in an increased compression resistance compared to the insulation panel with fibres aligned parallel to the principal surfaces. The production of lamellar panels of this kind is carried out by cutting lamellar-like blocks of conventional insulation panels, which are then turned through 90° and fastened to a planar support material, such as aluminium foil or glass or plastics fabric by adhesive bonding to form the lamellar panel. In Figure 1, the lamination is designated 8 and consists of a fabric-reinforced aluminium foil. This forms, so to speak, the upper support surface of the support 4, on which the stack of insulation panels 2 is arranged, and simultaneously serves as barrier for possible rising moisture.
Although the support 4 constructed of lamellar panels 6 and 7 is a compression-resistant pallet-like panel, after use it can be readily rolled up into a reel, facilitating the return of the empty pallet.
Naturally, it is also possible to form the pallet-like support panel shown in Figure 1 from only two longer lamellar panels 6, which are arranged at the edges and between them form a hollow 5 by virtue of the recessed lamellar panel 7, which is used for access by the tines of the fork-lift truck. However the central arrangement of the further lamellar panel 6 forms a more stable structure, which prevents sagging of the support panel 4 in the inner region.
This is in particular expedient in the context of high stacks constructed from a multiplicity of superposed insulation panels, and for stacks with very large-area insulation panels.
In particular when the transport unit is used in regions where poor weather conditions prevail, the pallet-like support 4 can be wrapped with a sheeting, so that even if the transport unit is placed on damp terrain or exposed to rain, a correspondingly long service life of the support 4, formed as a reusable pallet, is ensured. It is also possible, to treat the support 4 with water-repellent agents, so that it is resistant to water, which may occur in situ on the construction site in the form of puddles.

Claims

Transport unit for insulation panels made of fibres, in particular rock wool insulation panels (2) arranged in a stack, the stack having on at least one of it's principal surfaces receptacles for handling by mechanical means of transport, such as fork-lift trucks, lifting equipment and like, wherein the receptacles are formed by support bodies made of fibre insulation material arranged below the stack, characterised in that the receptacles are formed by recesses of a lamellar panel being used as a support body, wherein the lamellar panel carried out by cutting lamellar-like blocks of fiber insulation panels, which are then turned through 90°, fastened in a row to one another and fastened together to a planar support material, such that the fiber orientation of the lamellar panel is perpendicular to the two principal surfaces of the lamellar panel, whereby increasing the compression resistance.
Transport unit according to claim 1, characterised in that the lamellar panel (6, 7) is designed in the manner of a pallet, and has a width and length of at least the width and length of the stack, and that the receptacles (5) are designed as recesses in the lamellar panel (6, 7), which extend continuously over the length.
Transport unit according to claim 1 or 2, characterised in that the pallet-like lamellar panel is formed from three projecting longitudinal members (6), between which the recesses are arranged, which are formed by longitudinal members (7) of the lamellar panel with lower height than the projecting longitudinal members.