FR2841228A1 - Transport box for piece goods which absorb moisture has rectangular walls, floor and opening lid and has T-section or dovetail section grooves holding strips of moisture absorbing material - Google Patents

Abstract

The box has a flat rectangular floor (1) and flat rectangular side walls (4) and end walls (3). There is a hinged lid (2) at the top and there may be an opening (5) near the top of one of the side walls. Strips of corrosion prevention and moisture absorbing material (11,21) are fitted into vertical grooves (10) in the side walls and horizontal grooves (20) in the end walls. The grooves may be of T-section or dovetail section to securely hold the edges of the strips.

Description

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 The present invention relates to transport containers for moisture-sensitive goods, of the type comprising a bottom wall, an upper wall and side walls, a sealed opening being provided for loading and unloading of goods.

 Such containers are used for example for the transport of ready-to-use mechanical parts, from the manufacturing site to another factory where they are mounted in a machine. It can be, for example, shafts for gearboxes, an engine block for a vehicle or a disassembled vehicle intended to be reassembled across the Atlantic (CKD concept).

 It is customary today that each part of all the goods transported, more precisely each of the parts, is packed separately, together with a pouch containing a hygroscopic material or an anti-corrosion material, and is stacked in the container of transport in the form of layers between which are formed or formed dividers. This requires a lot of time (especially in the case of small parts), requires a large amount of hygroscopic material (then to be thrown on the site), and also risks dirtying the goods. All this is particularly troublesome for the automatic handling of a large number of parts in mass production.

 It is true that the hygroscopic material or the anticorrosion material in the form of a plate substrate is known and commercially available, where it is sold under the name VCI ("Volatile Corrosion Inhibiter" for Anglo-Saxons). i.e. volatile corrosion inhibitor) or more simply under

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 the name of the anti-corrosion label. Such a product is manufactured for example in Germany by the companies Flotter GmbH and Branopac GmbH, and it is intended for specific uses, such as fixed mounting in large fragile machines.

 The object of the invention is to improve the transport containers of the aforementioned type, so that, with costs as low as possible, it is possible to reduce the time as well as the unloading and loading work.

 This problem is solved in accordance with the invention by the fact that, on the inner face of at least one of the walls, there is provided at least one support in the form of a dovetail groove or T-groove, into which can be inserted platelet-shaped substrates containing hygroscopic material or anticorrosion material.

 The relatively thin, and therefore somewhat flexible, platelet-shaped substrates can thus, depending on the arrangement of the goods, be arranged over a relatively long distance, or even over the entire depth of the transport container, so that neither separate packaging of the goods and the appropriate pouch are still required. In addition, when the substrate material is used up, the substrate can be easily replaced. Finally, as the current transport containers are most often made of plastic, it is possible at the time of injection molding of the container to mold several supports at the same time for only a small additional expense.

 In a preferred embodiment, the platelet-shaped substrates are formed by strips of

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 insert in their longitudinal direction. Thus, platelet-shaped substrates, regardless of their category, order and quantity, can be easily inserted and removed again. This is particularly easy if the dovetail groove or the T-groove is also open towards the opening for loading and unloading.

 In an advantageous embodiment of the invention, the abutment-shaped edges of the dovetail groove or of the T-groove are arranged flush with the interior face of the wall concerned or they are linked without detachment with said inner face of the wall concerned.

 The dovetail or T-shaped grooves can be made in any number and extend in different directions. Advantageously, they extend either vertically or horizontally.

In the first case, they extend over several superimposed layers of the transported goods, and in the second case, they extend over longitudinal goods arranged in vertical layers.

 The invention will be explained and described below in detail with reference to the figures of the appended drawing, which represent: - Figure 1: a perspective view of a transport container according to the invention; - Figure 2: a section on a larger scale taken along the line II-II of Figure 1; - Figure 3: a section on a larger scale taken along line III-III of Figure 1.

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 Figure 1 shows a particularly simple form of a transport container according to the invention. This content consists of a bottom wall 1, an upper wall 2, which is formed here for example by a cover to be opened for loading and unloading of the goods to be transported, and side walls whose walls referenced 3,4 . A variant of a door-shaped opening 5, through which the transport container can also be unloaded from the side, is sketched by a broken line.

 Inside the transport container are made a first vertical support 10 and a second horizontal support 20. Such supports can be made in any number and with any arrangement and orientation on each of the walls. If the transport container is made of plastic or another injection moldable material, the supports 10, 20 can be molded directly during the injection molding process. In these supports 10.20 are inserted platelet-shaped substrates respectively 11.21.

Since these are elastically flexible, they lock in the associated grooves, so that they cannot fall out of them. A wafer-shaped substrate may consist of several successive wafers or strips, or by a strip which extends over the entire depth. They preferably have a thickness of between 2 mm and 10 mm (depending on the dimensions and the volume of the transport container), and are produced either in a substance including an impregnated material, or totally or in part by a hygroscopic substance and / or a

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 corrosion-inhibiting and slowly evaporating substance.

 In FIG. 2, it can be seen that the support 10 is constituted by a T-shaped groove 13, the marginal portions of which in the form of a stop 14 are arranged flush with the internal face 15 of the wall 4 concerned, so that the loaded goods cannot be damaged.

The substrate 11 is then inserted into the T-groove 13 perpendicular to the plane of the drawing. This vertical support 10 preferably ends at the upper edge of the side wall 4, from which the platelet-shaped substrates can thus be easily inserted into the T-groove 13 when the cover 2 is open.

 FIG. 3 represents a dovetail groove 23, the marginal portions of which in the form of an abutment 24 are connected without detachment with the internal face 25 of the wall 3.

 Alternatively, a dovetail groove may be provided, the marginal parts of which are arranged flush with the interior face of the wall concerned.

 The invention is not limited to the embodiments which have just been described, but on the contrary encompasses any variant incorporating, with equivalent means, the characteristics set out above.

Claims (8)

1. Transport container for moisture-sensitive goods, comprising a bottom wall (1), an upper wall (2) and side walls (3,4), a sealed opening being provided for loading and unloading goods, characterized in that there is provided on the inner face of at least one of the walls (1,2, 3,4) at least one support (10; 20) in the form of a dovetail groove or T-shaped groove (13; 23), into which can be inserted platelet-shaped substrates (11; 21) containing hygroscopic material or anticorrosion material.  2. Transport container according to claim 1, characterized in that the platelet-shaped substrates (21) are formed by strips to be inserted in their longitudinal direction.  3. Transport container according to claim 1, characterized in that the dovetail groove or the T-groove (13; 23) is open in the direction of the opening for loading and unloading.  4. Transport container according to claim 1, characterized in that the edges (14; 24) in the form of an abutment of the dovetail groove or of the T-groove (13; 23) are arranged flush with the inner face (15) of the wall concerned.  5. Transport container according to claim 2, characterized in that the edges (14; 24) in the form of an abutment of the dovetail groove or of the T-groove (13; 23) are linked without detachment with the inner face (25) of the wall concerned. <Desc / Clms Page number 7>  6. Transport container according to claim 2, characterized in that the dovetail groove or the T-groove (13; 23) extends vertically.  7. Transport container according to claim 2, characterized in that the dovetail groove or the T-groove (13; 23) extends horizontally.  8. Transport container according to claim 2, characterized in that it comprises several dovetail grooves or T-grooves (13; 23) arranged in different orientations.