FR2783506A1 - Support for sheets of glass in storage and in transit - Google Patents

Abstract

The support has two inclined planes (10,12) joined at the top to form an isosceles triangle, which is supported on a horizontal base, with horizontal borders (16,18) supporting the edge of glass sheets lying on the inclined planes. Transverse rails (20,22,24) at intervals under the base allow lifting by a hoist. The planes and the base are made of cardboard with a honeycomb structure.

Description

The present invention relates to the storage and transport of plates of

  glass and in particular a device for supporting glass plates capable of performing

such operations.

  The storage or transport of glass plates or other fragile plate materials is generally done using trolleys having two frames slightly inclined with respect to the vertical on which the glass plates are supported, the weight of which is supported by two generally horizontal sidewalks on each side

of the two frames.

  As the handling of the glass plates is not easy, the trolleys are mainly used to store the glass plates at the same time as to transport them to

inside a workshop.

  Consequently, these trolleys are heavy because of their metal frames and therefore it is not always easy to move them. In addition, they are expensive and storage of glass plates using such carts

involves a significant cost.

  This is why an object of the invention is to have devices for supporting glass plates which are

light and inexpensive.

  Another object of the invention is to provide a device for supporting glass plates of the consumable type. Yet another object of the invention is to provide a device for supporting glass plates comprising the possibility of monitoring on the economic chain both of the support device itself and of glass plates

stored on the device.

  The object of the invention is therefore a device intended to support glass plates mainly comprising two planes inclined with respect to the vertical and joined by their summit edge so as to form an isosceles triangle on which the glass plates rest and two sidewalks intended to support glass plates, inclines and sidewalks being of corrugated cardboard or of the honeycomb type. Another object of the invention is a support device intended for transporting and storing glass plates and comprising a radio label comprising a chip having a memory and capable of communicating information with a reader capable of reading and / or the writing of said information so as to serve for the identification and monitoring of the support device or

  glass plates stored there.

  According to a preferred embodiment, the support device comprises studs, also made of cardboard, fixed under the sidewalks and intended to avoid the contact of the sidewalks on the ground, to maintain the spacing of the two inclined planes in certain embodiments, to allow the introduction of the forks of a trolley under the sidewalks

  lift or suspension slings of an overhead crane.

  Other objects, objects or characteristics of the invention will appear more clearly on reading the

  description which follows made with reference to the drawings in

  which: FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic representation of the support device according to the invention, FIG. 2 is a section of the cardboard plates in honeycomb structure constituting the inclined planes, the sidewalks and the studs of an embodiment preferred embodiment of the support device according to the invention, FIG. 3 shows the fixing of the two inclined planes in an alternative embodiment of the support device according to the invention, FIG. 4 schematically shows the assembly of the inclined planes on the sidewalks in a alternative embodiment of the support device according to the invention, FIG. 5 represents a shoe that can be mounted under the studs of the support device according to the invention, FIG. 6 represents one of the bearing assemblies that can be mounted at the outer corners of the studs of the support device to be able to move it and, Figure 7 shows the trapezoidal element that can be placed inside the inclined planes to increase

  the rigidity of the support device according to the invention.

  The support device according to the invention illustrated in FIG. 1 is essentially formed by two inclined planes 10 and 12 made of cardboard joined by their top edge 14 and by two horizontal sidewalks 16 and 18 also made of cardboard. The glass plates transported by the device of the invention are supported on the two inclined planes and are supported by the sidewalks. So that the horizontal component of the weight of the plates is relatively small, the angle of inclination of the inclined planes relative to the vertical is small,

preferably about 5.

  The support device preferably comprises at least two, and in this case 3 studs 20, 22 and 24 of parallelepiped shape and a sufficient height to be able to introduce under the sidewalks 16 and 18 the forks of a forklift or the slings of suspension of an overhead crane when it is desired to transport the support device, for example to place it in a transport truck. Of course, the support device according to the invention can have any dimensions depending on

  in particular glass plates to be transported.

  However, these dimensions are limited on the one hand by the maximum resistance of the material used, the cardboard, and on the other hand by the fact that too large dimensions allowing a high load, would prevent any manual movement of the device as mentioned below . This is why, the device preferably has a length of between 1m and 2m, a useful height of between 1.3m and 1.8m and sidewalks of 0.2m in width. A support device having such dimensions weighs only 12 to 15 kg but is suitable for

  support a maximum load of 250kg per sidewalk.

  The cardboard used for both the inclined planes and 12 as for the sidewalks 16 and 18 preferably has a thickness of about 10 to 12mm. It can consist of one or more layers and, in particular of two

thicknesses of corrugated cardboard.

  According to a preferred embodiment, the elements are made of honeycomb cardboard as shown in section in FIG. 2, the cells 26, 28 of hexagonal shape then constituting a frame of greater resistance and making it possible to support greater weights for a

less thickness.

  Inclined planes and sidewalks can be independent or not. Also, the two inclined planes can be two cardboard plates assembled at their top edge by a fold 30 of the plane 10 as illustrated in FIG. 3. In this case the fold 30 is fixed to the inclined plane

12 by gluing or stapling.

  In a preferred embodiment, all of the two inclined planes 10, 12 and the two sidewalks 16, 18 form a single unit, the final shape of which is obtained by simple folding, and therefore does not require fixing by gluing or stapling. . Note that in this case, the studs

are not essential.

  The inclined planes can also be connected to the sidewalks according to the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 4. In this case, the two sidewalks form a single horizontal plane 32 comprising notches 34 and 36 in which the legs 38 are inserted respectively.

  and 39 formed at the lower end of the inclined plane 10.

  The pads 20, 22, 24 are made of cardboard, preferably honeycomb as illustrated in FIG. 2. They are secured to the sidewalks 16 and 18 either by stapling, or by means of sleeves fixed in the factory on the (or) cardboard plate (s) used to form the sidewalks. They serve to avoid the contact of the sidewalks on the ground and also to ensure the separation of the two inclined planes in certain embodiment, in particular when

  inclines and sidewalks form a single unit.

  In order to be able to manually transport the support device according to the invention, it is wise to adapt sliding or rolling means under the studs. These sliding means can be constituted for example by pads of the type of that illustrated in FIG. 5. Such a pad comprises a head 40 of pyramidal or semi-spherical shape and a threaded rod 42 intended to be fixed by screwing under the stud . Even if it is not moved, the support device having these pads is therefore isolated from the ground and avoids a deterioration of the studs which could occur due to

  that glass work takes place in wet workshops.

  Adequate rolling means can be constituted by assemblies of the type illustrated in FIG. 6. This assembly consists of a metal angle which is fixed on the end corner of the stud 24 for example, and a wheel 46 self-orientable according to the direction of travel. It is therefore necessary to provide 4 sets of this type placed at the end corners of the studs 20 and 24. It should be noted that in the case where the support device according to the invention does not include studs, which can occur in the embodiment where the two sidewalks form a single horizontal plane, the pads or the rolling means are fixed directly to the plane

  horizontal cardboard serving as a base for the device.

  Of course, any other type of rolling means can be used so as to adapt to the environment in which the support device according to the invention is used. Although the component of the load placed on the support device is small since the angle of inclination of the inclined planes 10 and 12 is small, it may be advisable to reinforce the rigidity of the triangle formed by the inclined planes by a trapezoidal element 48 placed inside the planes

  tilted as shown in Figure 7.

  Another way to strengthen the rigidity of the triangle

  formed by the inclined planes is illustrated in FIG. 8.

  It consists in fixing at each end a triangular element 50 of cardboard having strips 52, 54 and 56 of small width, parallel respectively to the two inclined planes 10, 12 and to the sidewalks 16 or 18, these triangular elements being adapted to be inserted inside the inclined planes. After insertion of triangle 48, the

  bands 52, 54 and 56 are fixed by gluing or stapling.

  The support device which has just been described has enormous advantages compared to a prior device used for the storage or the transport of glass plates insofar as it is less heavy since it weighs 12 kg instead of 100 kg, significantly less expensive since it costs around 80 francs instead of 2,000 to 3,000 francs, and this latter advantage makes it be considered as a consumable product which can be assimilated to a lost packaging unlike

previous devices.

  In order to optimize the production and monitoring of the support devices according to the invention, it is advisable

  to fix (by gluing) a radio label on the support.

  Such a radio tag can be fixed in the upper part of one of the inclined planes as is the case for the tag 58 in FIG. 8, or also on one of the end triangles 50 described above as it is the case for the label 60 affixed on the triangle 50 of the

figure 8.

  The radio label 58 or 60 is in the form of an approximately square module of approximately 14mm side (may be larger) and less than a millimeter thick, integrating a chip and an antenna. The label is activated by a radio frequency signal determined by a label reader behaving like a transmitter / receiver which reads and writes (when the label also works in writing) information in the chip. Thus there are commercially available radio tags with a memory between 64 bits and 2 kilobits and communicating using a frequency that can range from 125KHz to several tens of MHz with the reader. The information recorded in the label can be used to identify the device or the glass plates, for example the date of manufacture, the type of glazing stored on the support device, the date of delivery, the economic data of the business of

  manufacturing, but also customer references.

  Thus, the support device or the panes stored on this device can be monitored throughout the economic chain from the stages of manufacture of the support device according to the invention to the window manufacturers using the device support for placing glass there, the transformers who cut, assemble and compose different types of glass and the integrators who incorporate the glass products transformed into other products. Modifications and arrangements can of course be made to the support device without departing from the scope of the invention. For example, by using connecting elements, two or more devices according to the invention can be coupled end to end in order to transport and store long glass plates, the glass plates ensuring the rigidity of

all.

Claims (13)

  1. Device intended to support glass plates comprising two inclined planes (10, 12) with respect to the vertical joined by their top edge (14) so as to form an isosceles triangle and on which the glass plates and two sidewalks rest horizontal (16, 18) at the base of said inclined planes and intended to support said glass plates; said device being characterized in that said   inclined planes and said sidewalks are made of cardboard.   2. Device according to claim 1, further comprising at least two blocks of parallelepiped shape (20, 22, 24) fixed under said sidewalks (16, 18), said pads being of cardboard and of sufficient thickness to allow introduce under said sidewalks the forks of a forklift or the suspension slings of an overhead crane to transport the device from one place to another.   3. Device according to claim 1 or 2, in which pads with a pyramidal or semi-spherical head (40) are fixed under the device so as to isolate it from the contact with the ground.   4. Device according to claim 1 or 2, in which rolling assemblies (44, 46) are fixed under the device so that it can be moved manually.   5. Device according to one of claims 1 to 4,   wherein said inclined planes (10, 12) and said   sidewalks (16, 18) are made of corrugated cardboard.   6. Device according to one of claims 2, 3 or   4, in which said inclined planes (10, 12), said sidewalks (16, 18) and said studs (20, 22, 24) are made of cardboard of the honeycomb type.   7. Device according to one of claims 1 to 6,   wherein said inclined planes (10, 12) and said sidewalks (16, 18) form a single cardboard unit of which   the final shape is obtained by folding.   8. Device according to one of claims 1 to 6,   wherein said inclined planes (10, 12) are two cardboard plates joined at their top edge (14) by a fold (30) of one of said inclined planes fixed to the other of said inclined planes.   9. Device according to one of claims 1 to 6   in which said sidewalks (16, 18) form a single horizontal plane (32) comprising notches (34, 36) into which are inserted legs (38, 39) formed at the end   lower of said inclined planes (10, 12).   10. Device according to one of claims 1 to 9,   in which a trapezoidal element (48) is placed inside said inclined planes (10, 12) so as to reinforce the rigidity of the triangle formed by said inclined planes.   11. Device according to one of claims 1 to 9,   comprising triangular elements (50) at each end, each triangular element being inserted between said inclined planes and comprising strips (52, 54, 56) which are fixed by gluing or stapling, this so   to strengthen the rigidity of the triangle formed by said inclined planes.   12. Device according to one of claims 1 to 10,   further comprising a radio tag (58) fixed to one of said inclined planes and comprising a chip having a memory and capable of communicating information with a reader capable of reading and / or writing said information so as to be used for the identification and monitoring of the support device or the plates glass stored there.   13. Device according to claim 11, further comprising a radio tag (60) fixed to one of said triangular end elements (50) and comprising a chip having a memory and capable of communicating information with a reader capable of performing the reading and / or writing of said information so as to serve for the identification and monitoring of the support device or   glass plates stored there.