EP4045429B1 - Pallet container - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a pallet container for storing and transporting liquid or free-flowing goods with a thin-walled rigid inner container made of thermoplastic material, with a tubular lattice frame tightly enclosing the plastic inner container as a supporting jacket and made of horizontal and vertical tubular bars welded together, and with a floor pallet on which the plastic inner container rests and to which the tubular lattice frame is firmly connected, with two rod-shaped crossbars being provided above the plastic inner container, which are connected at both ends via a screw connection using threaded screws on two opposite side walls in the upper area of the tubular trellis frame,

The rod-shaped crossbeams are intended to prevent excessive bulging of the plastic inner container or its top floor with a central screw cap, especially in the event of transport shocks and dynamic vibrations, and also serve, among other things, to secure the plastic inner container in the tubular lattice frame on the floor pallet in the event of the pallet container accidentally tipping over and to prevent it from slipping out of the tubular lattice frame. To enable easy replacement of the plastic inner container for multiple use of the pallet container, the crossbars are detachably attached at both ends in the upper area of the tubular lattice frame, usually screwed.

Such a pallet container with two parallel crossbeams is z. B. from the publication WO 2012085940 A2 known. More pallet containers are out DE102016000072 A1 and DE9202045 U1 known. At one in print DE 4425630 A1 In the pallet container described, four crossbeams are provided, with two diagonally crossing crossbeams each covering one half of the plastic inner container.

problem :

Filled pallet containers with a total weight of often more than 1 t are z. B. handled when unloading from a truck or when storing in a high-bay warehouse using forklift vehicles. If pallet containers only travel short distances, e.g. B. from a warehouse to an emptying station or the place of use of the filling material are to be transported, then pallet trucks are often used. However, empty pallet containers are also often manipulated by hand, e.g. B. tilted or pulled a piece. In doing so, the pallet container is always gripped with the fingers or by hand in the upper area of the tubular lattice frame and in particular on the topmost horizontal tubular bar. Very often, the ends of the crossbeams and their screw connections are also touched. The ends of the crossbeams are usually flattened, placed once around the topmost horizontal tubular bar and screwed against themselves underneath. The ends of the crossbeams usually have sharp-edged punched edges and the ends of the threaded screws that protrude inward are often overlooked. This can - even when wearing protective gloves - disadvantageously lead to severe cuts or lacerations.

Task :

Accordingly, it is the object of the present invention to make the handling of such pallet containers with manual gripping in the upper area of the tubular lattice frame safer and to reduce possible risks of injury.

Solution :

The intended reduction in the risk of injury is achieved in a safe manner by the fact that the crossbars are screwed at their attachment points at both ends to two opposite tubular bars in the upper area of the tubular lattice frame and the threaded screws are axially screwed into the ends of the crossbars that are provided with an internal thread flow in.

This inventive structural design of the crossbar attachment with axial confluence of the threaded screws in the ends of the crossbars has the effect that the screw connections of the crossbars are designed to be completely covered and no free ends of the threaded screws can protrude from the components.

In an embodiment of the invention it is provided that in each case a screw nut with an internal thread is permanently inserted into the two ends of each crossbeam with a hollow tube profile and the crossbeams are fixed but releasably to an upper horizontal or vertical by means of the threaded screws screwed into the front side tubular bar of the tubular lattice frame are screwed on. The screw nut, which is fixed and inseparable, can simply be pressed in, crimped or welded in.

A preferred embodiment of the invention provides that the respective ends of the crossbeams are strongly pinched and an internal thread is formed directly in these pinched areas, with the crossbeams being fixed but detachable again to an upper horizontal or vertical tubular bar of the tubular lattice frame by means of the threaded screws screwed in at the front are screwed on.

For these design variants, the procedure is that two adjacent ends of the crossbeams are each screwed to the front of the upper end of two adjacent vertical tubular bars in the flattened area just below the uppermost horizontally encircling tubular bar.

The two ends of the crossbeams are screwed on in the completely flattened area of the vertical tubular bars. In order to create a level contact point for the ends of the crossbars, the flattened areas of the vertical tubular bars for the screwed-on crossbars are designed to be flattened longer and thus longer than the flattened areas of the other vertical tubular bars.

In a particular embodiment of the invention, the crossbeams are designed as elastic spring elements, whereby they are not designed to run linearly between their two attachment points, but rather in an arc shape and have one or more arcuate sections.

In a preferred embodiment, the crossbars screwed on in the completely flattened area of the vertical tubular rods each have a comparatively large arc curved in the horizontal plane, with the arched crossbars lying flat on the top of the plastic inner container and the large arcs of the two crossbars pointing away from each other are.

In a modified embodiment, it is provided that the crossbars are not linear between their two attachment points, but are each provided with a small downwardly shaped arc at both ends, and are screwed tight at the front from below against the uppermost circumferential horizontal tubular bar.

The crossbeams designed as elastic spring elements can be designed as rod-shaped hollow tubes with a rectangular, square, oval or round tube profile, with the length of the crossbeams bolted to the front side between their two attachment points being greater than the direct distance between the two attachment points of the crossbeams .

Due to the expedient design of the two crossbeams with an arched shape as a connection of the two opposite long side walls of the tubular lattice frame, the tensile forces occurring in the upper area of the tubular lattice frame are significantly reduced by the crossbeams designed as elastic spring elements and the loads on the attachment points or The screw connections of the crossbeams noticeably reduced.

During a vibration test, the arched crossbeam acts like an elastic spring. During the vibration, the top floor of the inner container vibrates up and down. At their upper and lower end points, these vibrations cause the straight crossbeams that have been customary up to now to bend elastically upwards and downwards, which is directly translated into a shortening of the distance between the attachment points. Due to this reduction in distance, the tubular lattice frame is pulled significantly inwards in the upper area with each lift. With the new "spring solution", which is also flexible in the longitudinal direction, a significantly reduced deformation and thus a reduced load on the components of the pallet container is achieved at the upper edge of the tubular lattice frame.

Figur 1

in perspektivischer Ansicht einen erfindungsgemäßen Palettencontainer,

Figur 2

eine vergrößerte Teil-Ansicht auf den oberen Bereich des erfindungsgemäßen Palettencontainers gemäß Figur 1,

Figur 3

eine Draufsicht auf eine als Federelement ausgebildete Quertraverse,

Figur 4

eine Seitenansicht auf eine andere Ausführungsform einer Quertraverse,

Figur 5

in vergrößerter Teil-Ansicht den rechten Endbereich einer Quertraverse mit eingesetzter Schraubmutter,

Figur 6

eine vergrößerte Teil-Ansicht auf den linken Endbereich der Quertraverse gemäß Figur 4,

Figur 7

eine vergrößerte Teil-Ansicht mit Anbindung einer Quertraverse an den oberen Bereich eines Rohr-Gitterrahmens,

Figur 8

eine vergrößerte Querschnitts-Teilansicht mit einer stirnseitigen Verschraubung einer Quertraverse an den oberen Bereich des Rohr-Gitterrahmens,

Figur 9

eine andere vergrößerte Seiten-Teilansicht einer stirnseitigen Verschraubung einer Quertraverse,

Figur 10

eine vergrößerte Querschnitts-Teilansicht mit stirnseitiger Verschraubung der Quertraverse gem. Fig. 9 und

Figur 11

eine perspektivische Teilansicht der stirnseitigen Verschraubung der Quertraverse gem. Fig. 9

The invention is explained and described in more detail below with reference to exemplary embodiments shown schematically in the drawings. Show it:

figure 1

a perspective view of a pallet container according to the invention,

figure 2

according to an enlarged partial view of the upper area of the pallet container according to the invention figure 1 ,

figure 3

a top view of a crossbar designed as a spring element,

figure 4

a side view of another embodiment of a cross member,

figure 5

in an enlarged partial view the right end area of a crossbeam with the screw nut inserted,

figure 6

according to an enlarged partial view of the left end area of the crossbeam figure 4 ,

figure 7

an enlarged partial view with connection of a crossbeam to the upper area of a tubular lattice frame,

figure 8

an enlarged partial cross-sectional view with a front screw connection of a crossbeam to the upper area of the tubular lattice frame,

figure 9

another enlarged partial side view of a front screw connection of a crossbeam,

figure 10

according to an enlarged cross-sectional partial view with frontal screwing of the crossbeam. 9 and

figure 11

a perspective partial view of the frontal screwing of the crossbeam acc. 9

In figure 1 an inventive pallet container 10 (also referred to as "IBC" = Intermediate Bulk Container) is shown for storing and transporting liquid or free-flowing filling goods. The pallet container 10 includes a thin-walled rigid plastic inner container 12 made of thermoplastic material such. g. made of HDPE, a tubular lattice frame 14 tightly enclosing the plastic inner container 12 as a support jacket and made of horizontal and vertical tubular rods 18, 20 welded together, and a floor pallet 16 on which the plastic inner container 12 rests and with which the tubular lattice frame 14 is firmly connected. Provided above the plastic inner container 12 are two rod-shaped crossbeams 22 which are attached at both ends to two opposite side walls of the upper tubular lattice frame 14 . The two crossbeams 22 are designed as elastic spring elements 24 in a curved shape. A special structural design of the crossbeams 22 is characterized in that they are screwed in their attachment points 26, 28 at the front with both ends against two opposite tubular rods 18, 20 in the upper area of the tubular lattice frame 14 but can be removed again and the threaded screws 48 flow axially into the ends of the cross members 22, 42 provided with an internal thread 44, 46.

The crossbeams 22, 42 are not straight or linear between their two attachment points 26, 28 but arc-shaped and have a comparatively large arc 34 on. The length of the crossbeams 22 is between the two of them Fastening points 26, 28 are designed larger in a completely unusual way than the direct distance between the two fastening points 26, 28 at the ends of the cross members 22.

In order to obtain an optimal elasticity and spring effect of the crossbars 22, 42, it is provided that the length of the crossbars according to their curved line between their two attachment points is between 1% and 5% greater than the direct distance (corresponding to a chord) between the two attachment points. As a result, the size of the arch and the arched shape of the crossbars are realized as an elastic spring element.

For standard pallet containers with a capacity of 600, 1000 or 1200 liters, which have the same width and length dimensions, the distance between the two attachment points 26, 28 from each other is approximately 960 mm and the effective length of the crossbeams 22 is approximately 993 mm. For the same standard pallet container, the arched crossbeams 22 should have a large arc radius of between 300 mm and 700 mm, preferably 500 mm.

The structural design of the invention described above is figure 2 can be seen in more detail in an enlarged section. It is clear that the arched crossbars 22 - in the installed state - lie flat on the top floor 38 of the plastic inner container 12 in the horizontal plane, with the large curves 34 of the two crossbars 22 being aligned pointing away from one another. The arcuately curved crossbars 22 are each guided through a retaining eyelet 40 formed from the top floor 38 of the plastic inner container 12, the retaining eyelets 40 being arranged overlapping in the middle of the built-in arcuate crossbars 22. When handling and in particular when transporting pallet containers according to the invention and the resulting loads, the crossbeams with their arcuately curved shape can, on the one hand, with a bulging of the top floor up and down - z. B. also in an internal pressure or drop test - yield elastically in the vertical direction and adapt to the bulging, they "follow" the shape of the topsoil, so to speak.

The two ends of the crossbeams 22 are screwed by means of the threaded screws 48 in the attachment points 26, 28 in each case at the front at the upper end of two adjacent vertical tubular rods 20 in the flattened area just below the uppermost horizontal tubular rod. The attachment points 26, 28 of the curved arcuate crossbars 22 - in Compared to the straight crossbeams that have been customary up to now - moved further towards the middle of the upper area of the tubular lattice frame, where the largest bulges with the greatest tensile loads occur and are to be intercepted. In this advantageous manner, the attachment points 26, 28 of the two crossbeams 22 are at the upper end of two directly adjacent vertical tube rods 20. Such a central connection would not be possible with the usual linear crossbeams.

figure 3 shows a plan view of a curved crossbeam 22 designed as a spring element and having a large radius of curvature of approximately 500 mm. In a preferred embodiment, the crossbars 22, 42 have a round tubular profile with a diameter of between 14 mm and 22 mm, preferably 16 mm, and a wall thickness of between 0.7 mm and 1.2 mm, preferably 0.8 mm.

According to another type of construction, the transverse members 22, 42 can also have a square tube profile with a side length of between 14 mm and 20 mm, preferably 16 mm, and a wall thickness of between 0.7 mm and 1.2 mm, preferably 0.8 mm .

In figure 4 a side view of another embodiment of a crossbeam 42 is shown with 2 arches, which in their end regions - viewed in the installed state - each have a small arch 36 formed downwards with a comparatively small radius and ends pointing upwards and (as in figure 8 can be seen in detail) are each screwed at the front from below against the uppermost circumferential horizontal tubular bar 18 . One end of the crossbar 42 with 2 small radius arches 36 formed downwards is shown in an enlarged partial view in FIG figure 6 shown. A screw nut 30 with an internal thread 44 (e.g. M8 or M10) is firmly and permanently inserted into the open ends of the hollow tube profile of the crossbeam 42 with 2 arches 36 . The screw nut 30 that is permanently inserted can simply be pressed in, crimped or welded in.

The enlarged view in figure 5 shows the right-hand end of a crossbeam 22 (with a large arc) with an inserted nut 30, which can also be permanently pressed, pinched or welded.

A fastening option in which a threaded screw 48 is screwed into the end of the hollow tube profile of the crossbar 22 is shown in figure 7 evident.

The crossbeam 22 is fixed just below the uppermost horizontal tubular rod 18 by means of the threaded screws 48 screwed in at the front side from the outside—in the horizontal direction—at the upper flattened ends of two opposite vertical tubular rods 20 .

Another fastening option with front-side screwing of the crossbar 42 with 2 small bends 36 is shown in an enlarged view in figure 8 shown. The two ends of the crossbars 42 are severely squeezed in the radial direction, with a corresponding internal thread 46 being formed directly in the squeezed portions 32 . The crossbeams 42 with the smaller arcs 36 at their end regions are fixed at the front from below against the uppermost horizontal tubular rod 18 by means of a threaded screw 48 screwed in from above—in the vertical direction. Appropriately, the uppermost horizontal pipe rod 18 is slightly countersunk at the top of the borehole and the threaded screw 48 is designed as a flat head, countersunk head or pan head screw so that it does not protrude upwards. The constrictions 32 with a correspondingly formed internal thread 46 can of course also be realized in the crossbar 22 (with only one large arc), as will be explained below.

The horizontal or vertical tubular rods 18, 20 of the tubular lattice frame 14 are provided with a corresponding bore for the threaded screws 48 in the ends of the cross members 22, 42 for screwing the threaded screws 48.

The front screw connections of the crossbeams have the great advantage that the screw tips of the threaded screws sit completely in the hollow tube profile of the crossbeams 22, 42 and are covered, so that injuries can no longer occur when handling pallet containers according to the invention, as was the case with previously was often the case with the usual open screw connections with protruding screw tips.

Straight crossbeams that have been customary up to now can only be screwed directly into the central axis with screws on the face side with difficulty. When tightening the screws, the crossbar rotates and it would have to be fixed for assembly. This fixation is eliminated in an advantageous manner with the arched shape of the crossbeams according to the invention.

In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the cross members 22, 42, the two ends of the cross members 22, 42 are strongly pinched in the radial direction, wherein a corresponding internal thread, e.g. B. M8 is formed.

In figure 9 is shown in a side view the screwing of a crossbar 22 with pinching 32 in an enlarged view. The crossbeam 22 is screwed to a vertical tubular rod 20 of the tubular lattice frame just below the uppermost circumferential horizontal tubular rod 18 on the face side. The vertical tubular rod 20 is pressed flat in the region of the attachment point and has a through bore for the screwed-in threaded screw 48 which is screwed axially into the pinch 32 which is provided with an internal thread. In order to ensure good, full-surface contact of the cross members 22 with the corresponding vertical tube rods 20 at the front, the flattened area of these vertical tube rods 20 is longer than that of the adjacent vertical tube rods (without cross members), the free length of the completely flattened area 50 of the vertical tube rods 20 below the uppermost horizontally rotating tube rod 18 should be between 18 mm and 45 mm, preferably 32 mm. In a specific embodiment, the total length of the fully flattened portion 50 is approximately 48mm, +/- 2mm, with the center of the through hole for the threaded screw 48 being approximately 38mm, +/- 2mm from the upper edge of the flattened portion 50 is.

figure 10 shows a sectional view of the crossbar screw connection 9 . The threaded screw 48 is here provided with an integral oversized washer for increased contact area with the flattened portion 50 of the vertical tubular rod 20 . Below the flattened area 50 there is a transition area up to the square-shaped basic profile of the hollow tubular rod 20 (with a cross-sectional profile of 16×16 mm). Due to the extension of the flattened area 50 downwards, the transition area also shifts downwards by a corresponding amount in comparison to the adjacent vertical tube rods.

Finally shows figure 11 Another perspective partial view of the top of the plastic inner container 12 with a central screw cap. Here again the extended flattened area 50 of the vertical tubular rod 20 with the attached crossbar 22 becomes clear. In this preferred embodiment, it is provided that the crossbars 22, (42) have a round or oval tubular profile with a diameter between 14 mm and 22 mm, preferably 16 mm, and a wall thickness between 0.7 mm and 1.2 mm, preferably 0.8 mm. With this type of screw connection, the threaded screws that are screwed axially into the crossbars on the face side disappear completely in the hollow tube profile of the crossbars.

In all variants shown, the two ends of the cross members 22, 42 are screwed to the top horizontal tube 18 or to four vertical tubes 20 of the tubular lattice frame but can be removed again for the purpose of replacing the plastic inner container 12.

The various curved versions of the crossbars 22, 42 as spring elements enable different designs of attachment with horizontal or vertical screwing of the two ends of the crossbars 22, 42 on the upper tubular lattice frame 14.

Within the scope of the present invention, the described embodiments of the crossbeams and the fastening options can easily be combined with one another and interchanged with one another.

Conclusion: Due to the inventive screw connection of the crossbeams 22, 42 on the face side with completely covered threaded screws - which practically disappear in the ends of the crossbeams - the upper area of the tubular lattice frame 14 in a pallet container 10 can be protected in a comparatively simple manner with regard to the risk of injury made safer and the operational safety when handling filled pallet containers is significantly increased.

reference number list

10

pallet container

12

Plastic inner container

14

tubular lattice frame

16

floor pallet

18

horizontal tube bars (14)

20

Vertical Tube Bars (14)

22

crossbeam

24

spring element (22)

26

attachment point (22)

28

opposite attachment point (22)

30

nut (22)

32

crushing (22)

34

big bow (22)

36

small bow (22)

38

top floor (12)

40

retaining eyelet (38)

42

Crossbeam 2 arches

44

internal thread (30)

46

internal thread (32)

48

threaded screw (30, 32)

50

Extended Flattened Area (20)

Claims (12)

1. A pallet container (10) for storing and transporting fluid or flowable filling materials, having a thin-walled, rigid plastics inner container (12) made from thermoplastic plastics material, having a tubular grid frame (14) which tightly surrounds the plastics inner container (12) as a supporting covering and which comprises horizontal and vertical tubular rods (18, 20) which are welded to each other, and having a base pallet (16) on which the plastics inner container (12) is positioned and to which the tubular grid frame (14) is securely connected, wherein two rod-shaped transverse cross-members (22) are provided above the plastics inner container (12) and are fixed with the two ends thereof via a screw connection by means of threaded screws (48) to two mutually opposite side walls in the upper region of the tubular grid frame (14),
   characterized in that
   the transverse cross-members (22, 42) are screwed at their fastening points (26, 28) on the end face of their two ends against two mutually opposite tubular rods (18, 20) in the upper region of the tubular grid frame (14) and the threaded screws (48) axially lead into the ends (52) of the transverse cross-members (22, 42).
2. The pallet container (10) as claimed in claim 1,
   characterized in that
   a screw nut (30) with an internal thread (44) is inserted in a non-releasably secure manner in both ends of the transverse cross-members (22, 42) having a hollow tubular profile and the transverse cross-members (22, 42) are screwed firmly but releasably to an upper horizontal or vertical tubular rod (18, 20) of the tubular grid frame (14) by means of the threaded screws (48) which are screwed in on the end face.
3. The pallet container (10) as claimed in claim 1,
   characterized in that
   the two ends of the transverse cross-members (22, 42) are strongly compressed and an internal thread (46) is directly formed in these compressed portions (32), wherein the transverse cross-members (22, 42) are screwed firmly but releasably to an upper horizontal or vertical tubular rod (18, 20) of the tubular grid frame (14) by means of the threaded screws (48) screwed in at the end face.
4. The pallet container (10) as claimed in claim 1, 2 or 3,
   characterized in that
   the two ends of the transverse cross-members (22, 42) are each screwed at two mutually opposite vertical tubular rods (20) closely underneath the uppermost horizontally extending tubular rod (18).
5. The pallet container (10) as claimed in claim 1, 2, 3 or 4,
   characterized in that
   the two ends of the transverse cross-members (22, 42) are screwed in the completely flattened region of the vertical tubular rods (20).
6. The pallet container (10) as claimed in claim 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5,
   characterized in that
   the flattened regions (50) of the vertical tubular rods (20) with the screwed-in transverse cross-members (22, 42) are designed to be flattened longer than the flattened regions of the remaining vertical tubular rods (20).
7. The pallet container (10) as claimed in claim 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 or 6,
   characterized in that
   the free length of the completely flattened region (50) of the vertical tubular rods (20) is between 18 mm and 45 mm, preferably 32 mm, below the uppermost horizontally extending tubular rod (18).
8. The pallet container (10) as claimed in claim 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 or 7,
   characterized in that
   the two transverse cross-members (22, 42), which are screwed on their end faces are constructed not to be linear between the two fastening points (26, 28) thereof, but instead curved in the form of resilient spring elements (24) and to this end have one or more curved portions.
9. The pallet container (10) as claimed in one of claims 1 to 8,
   characterized in that
   the two transverse cross-members (22, 42) which are screwed on their end faces have a length between their two fastening points (26, 28) of between 1 % and 5%, preferably 3%, greater than the direct spacing between the two fastening points (26, 28).
10. The pallet container (10) as claimed in one of claims 1 to 9,
    characterized in that
    the transverse cross-members (22) which are screwed-in in the completely flattened region of the vertical tubular rods (20) each have a comparatively large curve (34) which is bent in the horizontal plane, wherein the arcuately curved transverse cross-members (22) are positioned flat on the upper base (38) of the plastics inner container (12) and the large curves (34) of the two transverse cross-members (22) are orientated so as to be directed away from each other.
11. The pallet container (10) as claimed in one of claims 1 to 10,
    characterized in that
    the transverse cross-members are constructed not to be linear between the two fastening points (26, 28) thereof, but are each provided at their two ends with a small, downwardly formed curve (36) and are each screwed with their end faces from below against the uppermost circumferential horizontal tubular rod (18).
12. The pallet container (10) as claimed in one of claims 1 to 10,
    characterized in that
    the transverse cross-members (22, 42) have a round or oval tubular profile with a diameter between 14 mm and 22 mm, preferably 16 mm, and a wall thickness between 0.7 mm and 1.2 mm, preferably 0.8 mm.

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