GB2033345A - Flat with a pivotally mounted corner support - Google Patents

Abstract

A flat with a horizontal load beaming surface has at least one pivotally mounted corner post (3) which can be located in an upright position by a slidable bolt (26). The bolt (26) is slidably mounted on the lower end of the corner post (3) and extends lengthwise of the post. The lower end of the bolt cooperates with a stop (41) provided on the frame (4) of the flat. The pivot axis 5 of the corner post is disposed in a plane above the stop. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Flat with a pivotally mounted corner support The invention relates to a flat with at least one corner support mounted to pivot about a -horizontal pivot on a frame of the flat, which corner support can be locked in an upright position by a slidably guided bolt.

A flat of this type is known from German Auslegesschrift 1 7 86 054. In flats of this type, the corner supports serve for stacking several loaded flats one above the other. In view of current regulations, the corner supports must be able to withstand forces acting horizontally on their upper ends, which forces are-of the order of several thousand daN, for example 7,000daN and the upper end of a corner support should undergo defiections of only several centimetres as a result of elastic deformation and as a result of existing play in the mounting and locking system.In the case of the afore-mentioned known flat, locking of the corner support in the erect position is undertaken by a bolt guided to slide horizontally on the frame, which bolt is guided through a bore in a plate welded to the corner support and through aligned bores in two mounting parts receiving the plate therebetween, which mounting parts are attached to the frame, the pivot point of the corner support being located at approximately the same height as the bores. Two shearing points thus exist and since an attempt is made to prevent the clearance between the bolt and the recesses in which it is guided from becoming too great, in order to restrict the pivotal movements of the corner support at its upper end, the possibility cannot be excluded that as a result of slight deformations, the passage of the bolt through the recesses is made difficult or prevented.Also, in the case of the known flat, the distance required for the travel of the bolt depends on the thickness of the part of the corner support penetrated by the bolt and this may be a disadvantage in particular in the case of relatively long distances required for the travel of the bolt.

The invention obviates the afore-described drawbacks due to the fact that in a flat of the afore-described type, the bolt is slidably guided on the corner support, in the lower end region of the latter, substantially in its longitudinal direction and co-operates by means of its lower end region with a stop located on the frame and that the pivot point is located in a plane above the stop. Since the pivot point and stop are located at different heights, when the corner support is locked and when tilting moments act on the corner support, the bolt attempts to escape laterally by its lower end region. This withdrawing movement is prevented by the stop and the corner support is thus locked in its upright position.The advantage of the invention consists in that the stop against which the bolt bears, may have the largest possible spacing from the pivot point so that the forces to be absorbed by the stop and bolt and determined by the leverage of a corner support forming a two-armed lever can be kept lower than in the known flat and therefore, in the invention, greater forces can be absorbed than in the case of the known flat, or in the case of equal forces, a lighter construction is possible. Furthermore, on account of the relatively large distance from the pivot point, a clearance acting between the bolt and stop leads to a lesser possibility of tilting of the upper end of the corner support than a clearance of equal size in the prior art.Therefore, in the invention, the danger of undesirable deformations of the bolt on account of the smaller forces acting on the latter is less than in the prior art and the clearance between the bolt and parts co-operating with the latter can be made greater than in the prior art without increasing the tilting angle of the corner support for preventing difficulties with the locking operation. Also, it is not necessary for the end of the bolt to be guided through aligned bores, but the stop may be a projection having a suitable shape and the possibility exists of effecting locking with a short movement of the bolt.

In one embodiment of the invention, the bolt is located substantially within the corner support.

This facilitates simple robust mounting of the bolt.

In this case, only its lower section, which comes into engagement with the stop, preferably projects from the corner support.

In one embodiment of the invention, the bolt is pre-tensioned by a spring in the locked position. In this case, the advantage lies in the fact that this spring prevents an accidental release of the bolt, for example as a result of vibrations.

According to one embodiment of the invention, an actuating lever connected to the bolt is provided, with the assistance of which lever the corner support can be released. In one embodiment of the invention, which can be realised in a particularly simple manner, the actuating lever is thus connected to the bolt by a crank drive. In this case, the term crank drive is intended to mean an eccentric drive or a toggle linkage.

In one embodiment of the invention, the bolt can be locked in the released position. Due to this, particularly when two corner supports can only be folded down together, because they are part of a single folding end wall of the flat, the folding down operation is facilitated and can be carried out by one man particularly when, as is known per se in flats of this type, relief is provided for the weight of the end wall.

According to one embodiment of the invention, locking is achieved due to the fact that the actuating lever is connected to the bolt in a manner such that for the purpose of locking in the released position, it can be pushed across the position corresponding to the upper dead centre position of the bolt. In this case, the spring has the effect that the actuating lever cannot move unintentionally in the opposite direction and a suitable stop co-operating with the actuating lever or a part connected thereto prevents the bolt from re-assuming its locked position after passing through the upper dead centre position.

In one embodiment of the invention, a guide surface is provided which shifts the bolt located in the locked position against the force of the spring, upon erecting the corner support. It is thus advantageously achieved that when, with the corner support folded down, the bolt is located in the locked position, there is no necessity to actuate the bolt when the corner support is put into the upright position, but the bolt is pushed back by the guide surface against the force of the spring and when the corner support has reached its upright position, it engages behind the stop serving for locking the corner support, under the effect of the spring. This automatic engagement of the bolt also serves for preventing accidents.

The guide surface may be located on the bolt, thus, the latter may have a suitable bevel, or the guide surface is located on the frame and may then be provided on a part which simultaneously forms the stop. In one embodiment of the invention, in which the bolt can be locked in the released position, a further stop is provided, against which, when the corner support is folded down, the actuating lever locked in the released position or a part connected thereto strikes and is moved into the released position. This provides the advantage that after unlocking, on folding the corner support down, the bolt is once more automatically moved into the released position, which may be advantageous if automatic locking is provided in the manner afore-described.

In one embodiment of the invention, the stop with which the bolt co-operates, is located on a corner fitting of the frame. In this case, the stop may be located on a plate welded to the comer fitting, thus resulting in a simple robust connection of the stop to the frame, in which case it is very simple to give the stop a desired shape. In one embodiment of the invention, the stop is constructed such that it allows a reinforcement of the corner support as regards a tilting movement about two different pivot points and for this the stop is preferably formed by an end face and two side faces of a recess located in a plate.

Further features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the ensuing description of embodiments of the invention with reference to the drawings which show details which are essential to the invention and from the claims. The individual features may be used individually or together in any combination in one embodiment of the invention:: Figure 1 is a side view of a flat according to the invention, partly cut away, one corner support being shown in the upright position and another corner support being shown folded down, Figure 2 is an end view of the flat shown in figure 1, Figure 3 shows the detail III in figure 1 to an enlarged scale, on line Ill-Ill of figure 4, partly in section, Figure 4 is a section on line IV-IV of figure 3, Figure 5 is an illustration corresponding to figure 3, the corner support being folded down, Figure 6 is a view in the direction of arrow VI of figure 5 and Figure 7 shows a detail of another embodiment of the invention in an illustration corresponding to figure 3.

On its two narrow sides, the flat 1 of basic rectangular shape comprises two folding end walls 2, which are defined laterally by corner supports 3, which in the upright position allow several flats to be stacked one on the other.

The corner supports 3 are mounted to pivot on a frame 4 of the flat 1 respectively about a pivot 5 extending horizontally and parallel to the transverse direction of the flat. The frame 4 comprises four corner fittings 6, which comprise recesses 7 and 8 for the engagement of lifting appliances or for anchoring the flat onto a base.

The corner fittings 6 are located substantially below the erect corner support associated therewith. The frame 4 comprises planking (not shown), which forms the loading surface of the flat.

In its lower region, the support 3 comprises mounting plates 11 and 12 located parallel to each other and at a distance apart, whose inside spacing corresponds to the thickness of a bearing block 13, which is welded to the frame 4 in the vicinity of the corner fitting 6. The bearing block 13 and mounting plates 11 and 12 have aligned recesses, through which the pivot 5 is guided. The mounting plates 11 and 12 are connected in their upper regions by a thick plate 14, whose surface corresponds approximately to the area of the corner support 3 and in their end region facing the narrow side of the flat 1 , the mounting plates 11 and 12 are connected by a vertical connecting plate 15, which in its lower region comprises a recess 1 6 which is intended for the engagement of a lifting appliance.At a distance from the connecting plate 1 5 and between the mounting plates 11 and 12, two guide members 19 and 20 are inserted one above the other at a distance apart, which members comprise bores in which a bolt 25 is guided to slide in the longitudinal direction of the corner support 3. In its lower region, which is guided in the guide member 20, the bolt 25 comprises a cylindrical section 26, whose diameter is somewhat larger than the diameter of the upper section 27, which is guided with its upper end region in the guide member 19.

Supported on the step between the two sections 26 and 27 is a ring 28, on which the lower end of a helical spring 29 is in turn supported, which bears with its upper end on the underside of the guide member 19 and pre-tensions the bolt 25 in its locked position, i.e. downwards in the illustration of figures 3 and 4. The distance between the guide members 1 9 and 20 and the connecting plate 1 5 is so great that the engagement of a lifting appliance in the recess 1 6 is not prevented. The shape of the parts described hitherto in detail is apparent from the drawings, in particular from figures 3 and 4. The individual parts are interconnected by welding, as shown in the drawings. In the view of figure 3, the section 26 is located at a level below the pivot 5 and in particular diagonally below this pivot.

At its upper end, the upper section 27 of the bolt 25 comprises a slot 31, through which a pin 32 passes, in which a metal eyelet 33 is suspended. The upper end of the eyelet 33 is suspended in a rod 34, which extends parallel to two further rods 35 and 36 extending coaxially with respect to each other and is welded to the latter, which are mounted to rotate in bearing bushes 37 in the mounting plates 11 and 1 2. At its free end, the rod 35 supports a hand lever 38, by which the rod 34 can be rotated about the axis of rotation of the rods 35 and 36. It is thus possible to raise the bolt 25 by actuating the hand lever 38 against the force of the spring 29.

Together with the metal eyelet 33, the rods 35, 36, 34 form a crank drive for raising the bolt 25. In the position shown in figures 3 and 4, in which the bolt 25 assumes its deepest position, the hand lever 38 points directly downwards.

The exact vertical position of the corner support 3 is ensured on the one hand due to the fact that the lower end face 39 of the connecting plate 1 5 comes to bear against the upper side 40 of the corner fitting 6 and consequently limits tilting of the corner support 3 outwards, i.e. in counterclockwise direction in figure 3 and on the other hand, due to the fact that the lower section 26 of the bolt 25 strikes against a stop face 41 of a plate 42, which prevents tilting of the corner support 3 inwards, i.e. in clockwise direction in figure 3, because it prevents a tilting movement of the lower end of the bolt 25 to the left in figure 3.

The plate 42 is welded to the upper side 40 of the corner fitting 6. As shown in figure 6, the stop face 41 is adapted to the cylindrical shape of the lower section 26 of the bolt 25. The forces transmitted from the plate 42 to the bolt 25 are absorbed by the guide members 19 and 20.

To unlock the corner support 3, in the illustration of figure 3, where it is not generally visible, the hand lever 38 is swung upwards in clockwise direction. When the hand lever 38 points exactly verticaliy upwards, then the bolt 25 has reached its upper dead centre position. The hand lever 38 is now swung somewhat further in clockwise direction, until it has reached the position indicated by dot-dash lines in figure 3, in which its free end strikes against a plate 45 which is welded to a connecting strut 46 connecting two corner supports. In this position, the hand lever 38 is secure against undesirable changes of position, because the rod 34 of the crank drive has exceeded its upper dead centre position and therefore has urged the spring 29 to rotate the hand lever 38 further in clockwise direction, however, a further rotation of this type is prevented by the plate 45.In this raised position, the lower end of the bolt 25 no ionger prevents the tilting movement of the corner support 3, as shown at 48 in figure 3 in dot-dash lines, so that when the two corner supports of an end wall 2 are unlocked, the end wall can be folded inwards, as illustrated in the right-hand part of figure 1.

Welded to the bearing block 1 3 is a bent rod 49, whose free end extends close to the hand lever 38 bearing on the plate 45, as shown in figures 3 and 4 and is located in the path of this hand lever 38, when the corner support 3 is folded down. The end face of the rod 49 thus forms a further stop 50, against which the hand lever 38 strikes when the corner support 3, starting from the upright position, has been tilted through several degrees. If the corner support 3 is then tilted further, the hand lever 38 is unable to follow this movement and is tilted relative to the corner support 3, until it has once more exceeded the upper dead centre position. The spring 29 is then able to move the bolt 25 back in the locking direction, the hand lever 38 moving therewith in a corresponding manner.In the embodiment, the bolt 25 is not able to reach its lower dead centre position immediately, which position is shown in figures 3,4 and 5, because the lower end of the bolt still comes to bear against the plate 42. If the corner support 3 is then folded down further, the lower end of the bolt 25 slides along the upper side of the plate 42 and the bolt 25 thus gradually reaches its lower dead centre position. The movement of the bolt into its locked position is thus retarded.

If the end wall 2 which has been folded down is once more brought into the upright position, then the bolt 25 of each corner support 3 once more engages in the position shown in figure 3 without special actuation of the hand lever 38, because on coming into contact with the plate 42, the bolt 25 is pushed back against the force of the spring 29 to such an extent that the corner support 3 can be brought back into the position shown in figure 3, in which the bolt 25 can be moved by the spring 29 back into the locked position. Thus, after manual unlocking by actuating the hand lever during folding down of the corner support, the bolt is automatically released by the further stop 50, so that automatic locking is possible upon further erection of the end wall.

As shown in figure 6, the stop face 41 is part of the wall of a U-shaped cut-out in the plate 42. The spacing of the straight wall sections 52 from each other is greater than the diameter of the section 26 of the bolt 25 solely by the necessary clearance. The walls 52 therefore form a reinforcement for the corner support with regard to tilting movements, which extend approximately about an imaginary horizontal axis, which extends at right-angles to the pivot 5. The corner supports are thus reinforced as regards tilting movements both in the longitudinal direction of the flat as well as in the transverse direction by way of the bolt 25.

During assembly of the flat, the plate 42 is firstly placed only loosely on the corner fitting 6 and the corner support is then brought into its upright position. The plate 42 can then be brought close to the bolt 25, so that it assumes its correct position and the plate is then secured in the correct position through the recess 1 6 with several welding points. The bolt is then raised and the corner support is folded down and the plate 42 is welded to the corner fitting 6 by means of heavy duty welding seams. In the afore-described operation, by inserting suitable spacer members, it is also possible to ensure that when the corner support 3 is completely upright, slight clearance still exists between the bolt 25 and the stop face 41.

Figure 7 shows a detail of another embodiment of the invention. The latter differs from the aforedescribed embodiment solely due to the fact that the plate 42 is replaced by a plate 42' whose stop face 41' is not cylindrical, but conical, as is apparent from figure 7, in contrast to the stop face 41 of the afore-described embodiment.

Accordingly the surface of the lower section 26' of the bolt facing the stop face 41 tapers conically, as shown in figure 7. Furthermore, the arrangement is such that in the locked position, the lower end of the bolt is still at a distance from the upper side of the comer fitting 6. This embodiment makes it possible to completely eliminate any clearance between the bolt and the stop face 41' in the locked position. The angle of the conical taper must be chosen careficlly, in order that the bolt cannot release itsel automatically when loads are applied. The bolt 25 is located between the two mounting plates 11 and 12 and in particular symmetrically, so that the two bearings of the corner support are loaded uniformly when forces act on the bolt by way of the corner support.

The afore-described flat has a length of approximately 590cm, a width of approximately 244cm and when the corner supports are upright, a height of approximately 244cm, With forces of approximately 7,000daN, forces of approximately 1 00,000daN occur at the bolt and these forces, which act substantially as shearing forces, since the guide member 20 has solely a very small 'spacing from the plate 42, require a very strong construction of the bolt 25. In its lower region 26, the latter therefore has a diameter of 6cm and consists of high tensile 42CrMo4V steel. In the locked position, the bolt 25 with its lower end extends as far as the upper side of the corner fitting 6.The vertical spacing between the centre lirie of the pivot 5 and the upper side of the comer fitting 6 is relatively great and amounts to 224mm, the horizontal spacing between the centre line of the pivot 5 and the centre line of the bolt 25 is smaller and amounts to 96mm, the height of the guide member 20 amounts to 30mm and the height of the guide member 19 to 20mm, the width of the guide members 19 and 20 visible in figure 3 amounts overall to 120mm and the inside spacing between the guide members 19 and 20 is 80mm and the inside spacing between the mounting plate 11 and 12 amounts to 120mm. The plate 42 has a thickness of 35mm.

Since the drawings are to scale, other dimensions which are not given can be taken from the drawings.

In place of the stop 50, which comes into engagement with the actuating lever 38, according to another embodiment, which is shown solely in dot-dash lines in figure 3, a stop 60 may also be provided, which is attached to the bearing block 13 and extends vertically upwards. This stop 60 is attached in the axial direction of the pivot 5 to the bearing block 13, shifted from the central plane of the latter, so that the stop 60 cannot collide with the metal eyelet 33, but strikes against the rod 34 shortly before the corner support 3 has reached the horizontal position at the time of being folded down. Thus, as described above with reference to the stop 50, the rod 34 is pushed beyond its upper dead centre position, so that the spring 29 can move the bolt 25 back into its locked position. If the stop 60 is used in the form illustrated, then in the specifically described embodiment, the plate 14 must be provided with a slot in its region pointing towards the right in figure 3, in order that it does not collide with the stop 60.

The arrangement according to the invention is very compact and requires a short travel of the bolt 25, so that despite manual actuation by way of the actuating lever 38, a powerful spring 29 can be provided.

Claims (14)

1. A flat with at least one corner support mounted to pivot about a horizontal axis on a frame of the flat, which corner support can be locked in an upright position by a slidably guided bolt, wherein the bolt is guided to slide on the corner support in its lower end region, substantially in the longitudinal direction of the latter, and cooperates by its lower end region with a stop provided on the frame, and the pivot is located in a plane above the stop.

2. A flat as claimed in claim 1, wherein the bolt is located substantially within the corner support.

3. A flat as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein the bolt is biased into the locking position by a spring.

4. A flat as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein an actuating lever connected to the bolt is provided.

5. A flat as claimed in claim 4, wherein the actuating lever is connected to the bolt by way of a crank drive.

6. A flat as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the bolt can be locked in the released position.

7. A flat as claimed in claim 4 and 6, wherein the actuating lever is connected to the bolt in a manner such that in order to be locked in the released position, it can be pushed beyond the position corresponding to the top dead centre position of the bolt.

8. A flat as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein a guide surface is provided moving the bolt located in the locked position, against the force of the spring, when the corner support is placed in the upright position.

9. A flat as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein a further stop is provided, against which the actuating lever locked in the released position or a part connected thereto strikes when the corner support is folded down and is moved into the released position.

10. A flat as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the stop cooperating with the bolt is located on a corner fitting of the frame.

11. A flat as claimed in claim 10, wherein the stop is located on a plate welded to the corner fitting.

12. A flat as claimed in claim 10 or 11, wherein the corner support is supported by the bolt at the stop with regard to tilting movements about two different axes.

13. A flat as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the bolt is located between two mounting plates of the corner support, comprising tilting bearings.

14. A flat, substantially as herein described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.