EP3753857B1 - Wall element of a pallet stacking frame and pallet stacking frame - Google Patents

Description

The invention relates to a wall element of a pallet attachment frame according to the preamble of claim 1 and a pallet attachment frame having such wall elements.

From the WO 2004/043802 A2 , which represents the closest prior art, a pallet attachment frame with wall elements is known that have hollow chamber profiles made of plastic. Each hollow chamber profile is closed at its two front ends by a cover strip, which has an approximately U-shaped cross section and surrounds the respective front end of the hollow chamber profile on the outside, i.e. rests on the outside of both the inner wall and the outer wall of the hollow chamber profile.

From the SE 513 510 C2 a pallet attachment frame with wall elements is known. Adjacent wall elements are connected to each other by hinge elements. There is a cover strip on both sides of the hinge, which closes off the adjacent front end of the wall element and has a resilient, two-legged insertion tab. The two legs of the insertion tab are against the spring action pressed together to push the insertion tab into the wall element. The insertion tab can relax in the area of two opposite windows, which are provided in the inner wall and the outer wall of the wall element. Projections that are arranged on the two legs can engage in the windows and thus secure the cover strip to the wall element in a form-fitting manner. While the wall elements stand on the top of the pallet, retaining tabs are molded onto the two cover strips, which protrude downwards beyond the lower edge of the wall elements, rest against the outside of the pallet and thus secure the pallet attachment frame on the pallet in a form-fitting manner. Also from the ES 2 374 240 A1 or from the JP S51 81241 U Such pallet attachment frames are known. With the pallet attachment frame ES 2 374 240 A1 Hinge elements are arranged not only at the four corners of the attachment frame, but also in the middle of two opposite wall elements, which also have a downwardly projecting retaining lug that rests on the outside of the pallet.

Also from the DE 10 2018 102 960 A1 a pallet attachment frame with wall elements is known. The wall elements are manufactured by first producing two molded parts each from a plastic film and then joining them together to create a hollow chamber panel. The wall elements preferably have stiffening profiles, which can be designed as ribs, beads or indentations in the wall elements.

A pallet attachment frame that has wall elements is also known from practice, for example at "https://shop-kiga-gmbh.de/de/aufsatzaufnahme-aus-kunststoff-2.html". A total of six wall elements are used to create an attachment frame that is rectangular in its position of use and can be placed on a pallet that is also rectangular. This is how an open top pallet container becomes created that is suitable for holding bulk goods, which can, for example, be in the form of a large number of individual bags and are held securely on the pallet by means of the attachment frame. By using a lid that is placed on the attachment frame, a pallet container that is closed on all sides can be created, which offers optimal product protection, for example from the effects of the weather, for the goods to be transported in the pallet container.

Two longitudinal walls of the attachment frame each consist of a wall element, and two end walls each consist of two wall elements, with adjacent wall elements each being connected to one another in an articulated manner via hinges. The attachment frame can be folded approximately in a W shape in the area of its two front ends until the two sections of an end wall lie on top of each other and the two longitudinal walls run parallel to one another at a minimum distance, so that the attachment frame occupies a rest position that is as space-saving as possible, for example for empty journeys or return transport.

From the DE 103 45 285 A1 a pallet attachment frame is known with wall elements that are designed as hollow chamber panels and are manufactured by a combination of injection molding and thermoforming. By means of essentially L-shaped tabs at their ends, which are aligned differently in adjacent wall elements, the wall elements at the corners of the pallet attachment frame can be connected to one another in a form-fitting manner in the manner of a hook lock and can be separated from one another if necessary.

From the DE 29 36 258 A1 a pallet collar with wall elements is known which is designed as hollow chamber panels and is produced by blow molding. Adjacent wall elements are connected to one another in an articulated manner using tubular hinges, so that the initially unfolded pallet collar Can be folded up when not in use. Inwardly projecting support strips make it possible to insert a shelf into the unfolded pallet collar.

From the DE 94 15 551 U1 A pallet frame is known, the wall elements of which are partially hollow in order to form receiving pockets which are used to hold tongues of an adjacent component. Two U-shaped assemblies each have a wall element and then two sections of the two adjacent wall elements, so that the pallet frame is created by combining both assemblies.

The invention is based on the object of improving a generic wall element in such a way that it has a high level of mechanical stability and enables the creation of a pallet attachment frame which can be used with a large number of different types of pallets. Furthermore, the invention is based on the object of creating a pallet attachment frame that has these advantages.

This task is achieved by a wall element according to claim 1 and by a pallet attachment frame according to claim 8. Advantageous embodiments are described in the subclaims.

In other words, the invention proposes to design the wall elements to be stable, in particular with regard to their flexural rigidity, in that the wall elements each have an extruded hollow chamber profile, with the inner wall directed towards the inside of the container as well as the outer wall directed towards the outside of the container being designed to be closed and thereby in addition to the mechanical Stability is also hygienically advantageous and easy to clean.

The hollow chamber profile is closed at both ends by a cover strip. Firstly, this is also advantageous for hygienic reasons and secondly, it serves to improve the mechanical stability of the wall element, because at least one insertion tab extends from a cover strip into a cavity of the cavity profile. A fastening element extends through the hollow chamber profile and into the insertion tab, so that this fastening element can be anchored in a larger amount of material than where there is no insertion tab inside the hollow chamber profile.

The fastening element is therefore particularly well protected against becoming loose in the wall element or being pulled out of the wall element. For example, the fastening element can only be used to secure the cover strip to the hollow chamber profile. This can be the case, for example, if the cover strip itself is designed as part of a hinge in order to connect two adjacent wall elements to one another in an articulated manner. However, the fastening element can also serve to fasten additional components to the hollow chamber profile or to the cover strip, for example if a separate component is to be fastened as a hinge element to the front side of the wall element.

The fastening element can, for example, extend from the cover strip in the longitudinal direction of the hollow chamber profile and, for example, be designed as a screw which interacts with a threaded hole, the circumference of which is formed in sections partly by the insertion tab and partly by the hollow chamber profile, so that the insertion tab and the hollow chamber profile be positively connected to each other by the screw. Alternatively, it can be provided that the fastening element extends transversely into the hollow chamber profile, either only into the insertion tab, or by completely penetrating the insertion tab and extending into extends the opposite wall of the hollow chamber profile or completely penetrates the hollow chamber profile over its entire width.

Finally, the wall element has a downwardly projecting retaining strip which adjoins the outer wall. In this way, the attachment frame can be mounted on pallets of almost any design, provided that the pallets have a certain base area, because regardless of the contouring or profiling of the pallet deck, the attachment frame according to the invention can be placed on these different pallets. It is secured against horizontal displacements because it grips the outside of the pallet with the retaining strips of the wall elements that protrude downwards.

It is known to allow the hinge elements, which are made of a different material than the wall elements, for example metal, to reach deeper than the wall elements, so that holding tabs are created there, by means of which a conventional pallet attachment frame grips over the outside of the pallet. Due to the comparatively narrow design of the hinge elements and accordingly also the retaining tabs, the retaining tabs are exposed to comparatively large forces. However, since the wall element according to the invention is manufactured using the extrusion process, the retaining strip initially extends automatically over the entire length of the wall element, provided that the wall element is not reworked and the retaining strip is shortened in some areas. The supporting effect of the retaining strip can therefore be distributed over a much larger area in the wall element according to the invention than is the case with the retaining tab of a hinge element of a conventional pallet attachment frame.

Another advantage of producing the wall element according to the invention using the extrusion process is that a practically endless hollow chamber profile strand is used as the base body of the wall element will be produced. In this way, the hollow chamber profile is provided, the two end faces of which are then provided with the cover strips. Accordingly, wall elements of any length can be produced in a simple and very economical manner by cutting a section of the desired length from the endless profile strand. Adaptations to a large number of different pallet sizes, namely to any number of different pallet sizes in terms of both the length and the width of the pallet, can be achieved within a very short time by simply changing the length of the sections that are separated from the endless profile strand . In particular, no new molds are required for this, as would be required, for example, with injection molding, thermoforming or blow molding processes. The adaptation to different pallet sizes can therefore not only be made possible with little financial outlay, but in particular also in a quick change that does not require long set-up times for changing the production systems, so that the production of wall elements according to the invention or pallet support frames according to the invention with a high flexibility and rapid adaptation to customer requirements is possible.

The hollow chamber profile can advantageously not only have a single, large cavity, but rather have an intermediate wall in its interior between the inner wall and the outer wall. Furthermore, connecting webs are provided which extend from the intermediate wall to the inner wall and connecting webs which extend from the intermediate wall to the outer wall, so that on both sides of the intermediate wall the cavity of the hollow chamber profile has two or more chambers, which act as channels through the hollow chamber profile in its longitudinal direction get lost. The design of the hollow chamber profile with the intermediate wall and the connecting webs improves the mechanical stability of the hollow chamber profile. The insertion tabs of the cover strips can also be used can be made comparatively small, since they only have to fill the cross section of one of the channels and do not have to fill the entire cavity cross section in order to be supported all around. Accordingly, in the structural design of the cavity profile, the individual chambers or channels can be provided where fastening elements are to be arranged, so that an insertion tab of a cover strip then protrudes into the respective channel at these points.

It can be economically advantageous to be able to arrange two or more attachment frames one above the other in order to be able to produce a pallet container of the desired size without the need for adapted attachment frames of different heights. For this purpose, the hollow chamber profile can advantageously have complementary projections and recesses on its upper and lower edges in order to create a connection between the wall elements arranged one on top of the other, for example in the manner of a tongue-and-groove connection. This embodiment also includes a recess in the upper region of the outer wall, which serves to accommodate the downwardly projecting retaining strip of a wall element arranged above it.

In the aforementioned embodiment, a longitudinal rib can advantageously be provided on the upper edge of the wall element and the complementary groove can be provided on the lower edge. In this way, the widest possible contact area on the underside of the attachment frame or its wall elements is made possible with correspondingly reduced surface pressures, so that the wall element itself, but also the pallet underneath, is protected.

In one embodiment, the cover strip can consist of a mechanically resilient material in such a way that it has a hinge element made of the same material and in one piece.

Surprisingly, tests have shown that even when plastic is used as the material for such a cover strip, the hinge can withstand the loads, so that advantageously both the hollow chamber profile and the cover strips and the hinges of a pallet attachment frame designed as parts of the cover strips are made of the same Material can be made which makes later further use or recycling easier. The fastening elements, which extend through the hollow chamber profile and into the insertion tabs of the cover strips or completely penetrate the hollow chamber profile and the insertion tab arranged therein, can be made of metal, or advantageously of the same plastic.

In another embodiment, it can be provided to use metal elements as a hinge element in a manner known per se and proven in practice, such as those used, for example, in pallet attachment frames whose wall elements are made of wood.

The outer wall of the wall element can advantageously run essentially flat, i.e. in one plane. This not only makes cleaning easier and is therefore hygienically advantageous, but it also enables problem-free printing for logistical reasons or for advertising purposes, as well as problem-free and durable labeling.

Fig. 1

einen Vertikalschnitt durch ein Wandelement,

Fig. 2

einen Abschnitt eines Hohlkammerprofils des Wandelements aus Fig. 1 in perspektivischer Ansicht,

Fig. 3

eine Draufsicht auf eine Deckleiste von deren Rückseite her, und

Fig. 4

einen Schnitt durch die Deckleiste von Fig. 3 entlang der abgewinkelt verlaufenden Linie A - A.

An exemplary embodiment of the invention is explained in more detail below using the purely schematic illustrations. This shows

Fig. 1

a vertical section through a wall element,

Fig. 2

a section of a hollow chamber profile of the wall element Fig. 1 in perspective view,

Fig. 3

a top view of a cover strip from the back, and

Fig. 4

a cut through the cover strip Fig. 3 along the angled line A - A.

Fig. 1 shows a wall element 1 in vertical section, the wall surface of the wall element 1 being formed by a hollow chamber profile 2. Fig. 2 shows a section of this hollow chamber profile 2 in a perspective view.

The hollow chamber profile 2 is extruded from plastic and has an outer wall 3, an inner wall 4 and an intermediate wall 5 in between, with connecting webs 6 extending from the intermediate wall 5 to both the outer wall 3 and the inner wall 4. In the exemplary embodiment shown, two connecting webs 6 lie opposite each other. Through the intermediate wall 5 and the connecting webs 6, the cavity of the hollow chamber profile 2 is divided between the two outer and inner walls 3 and 4 into a plurality of channels 7, which extend over the entire length of the hollow chamber profile 2.

On its lower edge, the hollow chamber profile 2 is provided with a longitudinal groove 8 which extends over the entire length of the hollow chamber profile 2. In addition, the upper edge of the hollow chamber profile 2 has a longitudinal rib 9, so that two hollow chamber profiles 2 can be stacked on top of one another and thereby form a composite.

Furthermore, the outer wall 3 is adjoined by a downwardly projecting retaining strip 10, which has a greater wall thickness than the outer wall 3. Complementary to the retaining strip 10, a recess 11 is provided in the corner area between the upper edge and the outer wall 3 of the hollow chamber profile 2, into which a retaining strip 10 of a similar hollow chamber profile 2 stacked above can engage. The dimensions of the pallet attachment frame formed as a whole correspond to the dimensions of the pallets interacting with it adapted so that the pallets are enclosed on the outside by the retaining strips 10 of the respective pallet attachment frames and the attachment frames are held on the pallet in such a way that they cannot move.

Fig. 3 shows a top view of a cover strip 12 from its contact side, i.e. from the side with which the cover strip 12 lies against the hollow chamber profile 2. On this contact side, the cover strip 12 is provided with a large number of insertion tabs 14, the arrangement and cross-sectional shape of which are adapted to the channels 7. The cover strip 14 is designed as an injection molded part made of plastic.

Fig. 4 shows a section through the cover strip 12 along the line A - A Fig. 3 . It can be seen that some of the insertion tabs 14 are designed to be hollow in such a way that they have an annular cross section. Others of the insertion tabs 14 are designed differently as special insertion tabs 14 and are therefore also referred to as mounting tabs 15. The mounting tabs 15 have a solid material cross section and serve to improve the hold of a fastening element which extends into the hollow chamber profile 2 and such a mounting tab 15.

Out of Fig. 3 It can also be seen that the cover strip 12 has a recess 16 which corresponds to the recess 11 of the hollow chamber profile 2. Accordingly, 2 different, symmetrical cover strips 12 are provided, which are mounted on the two front ends of the hollow chamber profile 2 and whose recesses 16 each continue the recess 11 of the hollow chamber profile 2. The recess 16 prevents a disruptive protrusion that the cover strip 12 would otherwise create at the end of the recess 11 of the hollow chamber profile 2 and which would damage the cover strip 12 or could undesirably promote their removal from the hollow chamber profile 2. Reference symbol: 1 Wall element 2 Hollow chamber profile 3 external wall 4 Interior wall 5 partition wall 6 connecting bridge 7 channel 8th Longitudinal groove 9 Longitudinal rib 10 retaining bar 11 recess 12 Cover strip 14 Insert tab 15 Mounting tab 16 recess

Claims (8)

1. Wall element (1) of a pallet stacking frame,

   • where the wall element (1) is made from plastic and incorporates at each of its two front ends a hinge element for attachment to an adjacent wall element (1), in such a way that a number of wall elements (1) can be joined together in the form of a closed ring,

   • and where the wall element (1) incorporates an extruded hollow section (2),

   • having a closed inner wall (4) that faces towards the interior of the ring and a closed outer wall (3) that faces towards the outside,

   • and where the hollow section (2) is closed at each of its two front ends by a cover strip (12) that is itself designed to form part of a hinge or incorporates a hinge element as a separate component part,

   • and where the hollow section (2) forms a retaining strip (10) that is joined to the outer wall (3) and protrudes downwards and is designed to grip the outside of the pallet,
   characterised in

   • that at least one insertable tab (14) projects from the cover strip (12) into a cavity in the hollow section (2),

   • where a fastening element extends through the hollow section (2) and into the insertable tab (14).
2. Wall element in accordance with claim 1, characterised in

   that the hollow section (2) incorporates between the outer wall (3) and the inner wall (4) a partition wall (5),

   and that connecting pieces (6) extend from the partition wall (5) to both the inner wall (4) and the outer wall (3) in such a way that a number of apertures (7) is formed along the length of the hollow section (2).
3. Wall element in accordance with claim 1 or 2, characterised in
   that the hollow section (2) incorporates on its upper and lower edges corresponding projections and recesses, including a recess on the upper edge that is designed to correspond to the retaining strip (10) on the lower edge in such a way that two identical wall elements (1) that are arranged one on top of the other form a positively bonded structure.
4. Wall element in accordance with claim 3, characterised in
   that the upper edge incorporates a rib (9) extending along its length and the lower edge a corresponding groove (8) extending along its length.
5. Wall element in accordance with any one of claims 1 to 4, characterised in that the cover strip (12) incorporates a hinge element formed integrally from the same material,
   where two adjacent wall elements (1) incorporate two co-acting hinge elements that form a joint.
6. Wall element in accordance with any one of claims 1 to 4, characterised in that the wall element (1) incorporates a metal hinge element,
   where the fastening element also extends through a section of the hinge element.
7. Wall element in accordance with any one of the foregoing claims, characterised in that the outer wall (3) of the wall element (1) extends essentially in one plane.
8. Pallet stacking frame,
   having wall elements (1) that are each designed in accordance with any one of claims 1 to 7 and are hinged together and arranged in the form of a ring.

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