GB2541957A

GB2541957A - Welfare unit

Info

Publication number: GB2541957A
Application number: GB1521414.1A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Samsa Jav
Original assignee: Ajc Retail Solutions Ltd
Current assignee: Ajc Retail Solutions Ltd
Priority date: 2015-12-04
Filing date: 2015-12-04
Publication date: 2017-03-08
Anticipated expiration: 2035-12-04
Also published as: GB2541957B; GB201521414D0

Abstract

A welfare unit 1 comprising a self-contained housing 2 comprising a water tank 3, a water boiler 4 and a generator 5. The housing 2 is mountable on a rail trolley. The housing 2 may have a footprint no greater than 0.75m and width no greater than 1.75m. The water tank 3 and/or generator 5 may be removably mounted to allow the weight of the welfare unit 1 to be reduced. The housing 2 may comprise three compartments 6, 7, 8, two 6, 7 in a lower section (2a figure 2) for housing the water tank 3 and generator 5 and one 8 in an upper section (2b figure 2) for housing the water boiler 4. A water pump may be provided. The lower and upper sections (2a, 2b figure 2) may be cuboidal. The upper section (2b figure 2) may be centrally mounted on the lower section (2a figure 2). The compartments 6, 7, 8 may be closed by doors 11, 12. The generator compartment 7 may be open. The housing 2 may be formed from polypropylene panels. The panels may be joined together by welding or gluing.

Description

Welfare Unit

The present disclosure relates to a welfare unit. In particular to such a unit that is suitable for use in the rail industry and is mountable upon a conventional manually propelled rail trolley.

For conformance with health and safety legislation, virtually all outside work sites have to provide temporary accommodation and/or welfare facilities for site personnel. To this end, welfare units have been provided. Such units are movable enclosures providing temporary accommodation and welfare facilities, such as basic sanitary and kitchen facilities, to site personnel at work locations where no other accommodation or welfare facilities may be provided.

Such welfare units were traditionally provided in the form of steel containers, similar in form to modified shipping containers. More recently lighter weight constructions have been proposed. Whilst these units have provided suitable welfare facilities, they are bulky and require lifting equipment for their relocation.

In the context of workers operating along a rail line there is an issue that the welfare facilities are provided at a fixed track side location. The problem arises that as work proceeds along the rail line, the distance of the workers from the welfare facilities increases. Among a number of problems caused by this distancing of the workers from the welfare facilities is a loss in productivity as workers have to travel along the track by foot to reach the welfare facilities during stops for refreshments.

The present invention arose in a bid to provide a highly mobile welfare unit that allows for ready relocation as required and without the requirement for lifting equipment.

According to the present invention in a first aspect, there is provided a welfare unit comprising a housing, a water tank, a water boiler and a generator, the housing defining a self-contained unit that houses the water tank, the water boiler and the generator and is mountable on a rail trolley.

Further, preferred, features of the welfare unit are presented in the dependent claims.

According to the present invention in a further aspect, there is provided a manually-propelled welfare system comprising a welfare unit as described above and a manually propelled rail trolley, the welfare trolley comprising a platform for supporting the welfare unit and a plurality of wheels for engaging the tracks of a rail line.

According to the present invention in a yet further aspect, there is provided a manually-propelled welfare system comprising a welfare unit, which comprises a water boiler, and a manually propelled rail trolley, the welfare trolley comprising a platform for supporting the welfare unit and a plurality of wheels for engaging the tracks of a rail line, the welfare unit being removably mounted to the rail trolley.

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 shows a perspective front view of a welfare unit according to a first embodiment;

Figure 2 shows a perspective rear view of the welfare unit; and

Figure 3 shows a perspective front view of the welfare unit in wireframe with the internal details shown.

With reference to the figures, there is shown a welfare unit 1 comprising a housing 2, a water tank 3, a water boiler 4 and a generator 5. The housing 2 defines a self-contained unit that houses the water tank 3, the water boiler 4 and the generator 5, and is mountable on a rail trolley.

The welfare unit represents a self-supporting unit that can, by virtue of its size and lightweight construction (as discussed below) be lifted and relocated manually.

It should be noted that whilst there is much discussion of rail trolleys herein, no rail trolley is shown in the figures. The term rail trolley as used herein is intended to cover any manually propelled, stand-alone load-bearing rolling platform for use on rail tracks. An exemplary trolley in accordance with this definition is the Link Trolley manufactured by Permaquip. The arrangement of the welfare unit is such that it may be manually lifted on and off a rail trolley as necessary, wherein a manually-propelled welfare unit comprising the welfare unit and the rail trolley may readily be placed on, or removed from, a track by workers at a desired starting location and then moved along the track with the workers (using the rail trolley) as work moves along the rail line. Whilst rail trolleys vary in size, it is preferable that the welfare unit may be supported by a rail trolley with a platform having a length of 750mm and a width of 1675mm, such as the LinkTrolley mentioned above. In such case the housing of the welfare unit has a footprint of length no greater than 0.75m and width no greater than 1.675m. In any event, the housing preferably has a footprint of length no greater than lm and width no greater than 2m.

The water tank 3 and/or the generator 5 are preferably removably mounted within the housing. The removal of these elements offers an effective means of reducing the weight of the welfare unit for manual lifting. The water tank may take any conventional form of appropriate volume. It may compise a metal or plastic container. The generator, again may take any conventional form. In the present arrangement it comprises a portable petrol generator, specifically a Stephill RT5000HMC. Clearly numerous suitable alternative generators exist and may be used.

The water tank and generator, as may be seen, are mounted within the housing at a vertical level below the water boiler in use. By such an arrangement, a highly stable arrangement is provided, with a low centre of gravity. Moreover, issues of providing a water source above electrical components and circuitry is avoided. For pumping water from the water tank to the water boiler, a suitable electric pump is provided (not shown), which is powered by the generator.

The water boiler may take any conventional form. In the present arrangement, a Cecilware HWD-2 water boiler is used. Clearly numerous suitable alternative water boilers exist and may be used.

It is preferable, as is the case with the present arrangement, that the housing comprises three compartments 6, 7, 8, two compartments 6, 7 being provided in a lower section 2a of the housing for respectively housing the water tank 3 and the generator 5 and a further compartment 8 being provided in an upper section 2b for housing the water boiler 5.

The compartment housing the generator may be provided with a drip tray (not shown), which may be formed from stainless steel or similar. The compartment housing the water tank may additionally house a fridge (not shown) for storing cold drinks, milk or otherwise. An upper surface of either of the lower compartments may be provided with an opening 9 for a waste receptacle within the respective compartment. The compartment housing the water boiler may comprise cup dispensers 10, a light source (not shown) and/or storage units (not shown).

The upper and lower portions are substantially cuboidal, although could take other forms. The upper and lower portions of the housing are both preferably formed from plastic panels. The panels may be polypropylene or any other suitably rigid and durable material. The wall panels may have a wall thickness of around 9mm. Of course, alternative materials may be used, including metal and wood. For weight and durability purposes a plastic construction is preferred. When formed from plastic, the panels are preferably glued or welded together. It is possible, however, that the upper and lower portions are formed unitarily by rotational moulding, extrusion or otherwise. The upper portion may be formed separately and fixed to the upper surface of the lower portion. Alternatively, there may be arrangements where the upper and lower portions are formed together. The upper portion is preferably centrally mounted on the lower portion, as shown. With such an arrangement there is a good weight balance and stability and useful surfaces are provided either side of the upper portion for placing cups, trays or other items thereon. The lower portion may comprise upper and lower and front and back sides to provide a single open ended compartment that is split into two by the introduction of a suitable partition member, which partition member may be provided with any necessary openings for cabling or connectors.

One or more or all of the compartments may be closed by a door. In the present arrangement, the doors 11,12 are provided on the compartments that house the water boiler and the water tank and the compartment for the generator is left open. The doors may be lockable to provide secure storage. The doors are preferably hinged to pivot through 270 degrees so that when open they may lie against a face of the housing in an unobtrusive manner. Means may be provided for retaining the doors in open positions. With an open face for the generator compartment there is a suitable exit for exhaust gases from the generator.

Alternative arrangements may be possible in which the generator and/or water tank are not mounted with the welfare unit but are rather provided externally to the housing.

For example, the welfare unit may be provided with the water boiler and water tank mounted therein with a socket for connecting power from an external generator provided on the housing, whereby the generator and the welfare unit may be provided adjacent to one another on a rail trolley. It should be noted, however, that the most preferred arrangements include provision for the accommodation of the water tank and generator within the welfare unit, to define a self-contained unit in accordance with the depicted arrangement.

As discussed, the welfare unit is arranged such that it is mountable on a rail trolley. By the mounting of the welfare unit on a rail trolley, there is provided a manually-propelled welfare system.

Since the welfare unit is of lightweight construction (and is particularly lightweight when the generator and possibly also the water tank have been removed), the welfare unit may be readily de-mounted from the trolley and manually carried to the side of the track or otherwise moved. To allow the welfare unit to be manually carried, two pairs of axially aligned through holes IB are provided in opposed sidewalls of the housing, which aligned pairs of holes may each receive a pole or rod therethrough, which pole or rod has a greater length than the spacing between the outer faces of the opposed sidewalls to provide four carrying handles. The rods or poles may have a suitable notches or indentations adjacent their ends for receiving respective edges of the openings therein to provide a positive engagement. The rods or poles may be mounted within the housing or may be clipped or otherwise fixed to a rear face of the housing when not in use. As will be appreciated, numerous alternative handle or carrying arrangements may be integrated into the welfare unit.

Claims

1. A welfare unit comprising a housing, a water tank, a water boiler and a generator, the housing defining a self-contained unit that houses the water tank, the water boiler and the generator and is mountable on a rail trolley.

2. A welfare unit as claimed in Claim 1, wherein the housing has a footprint of length no greater than lm and width no greater than 2m.

3. A welfare unit as claimed in Claim 1 or 2, wherein the housing has a footprint of length no greater than 0.75m and width no greater than 1.75m.

4. A welfare unit as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the water tank and/or generator are removably mounted within the housing to allow the weight of the welfare unit to be reduced by their removal for manual lifting.

5. A welfare unit as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the water tank and generator are mounted within the housing at a vertical level below the water boiler in use.

6. A welfare unit as claimed in Claim 5, wherein a water pump is provided for pumping water from the water tank to the water boiler.

7. A welfare unit as claimed in Claim 5 or 6, wherein the housing comprises three compartments, two compartments being provided in a lower section of the housing for respectively housing the water tank and the generator and a further compartment being provided in an upper section for housing the water boiler.

8. A welfare unit as claimed in Claim 7, wherein the upper and lower portions are substantially cuboidal.

9. A welfare unit as claimed in Claim 7 or 8, wherein the upper portion is fixed to an upper surface of the lower portion.

10. A welfare unit as claimed in any of Claims 7 to 9, wherein the upper portion is centrally mounted on the lower portion.

11. A welfare unit as claimed in any of Claims 7 to 10, wherein one or more or all of the compartments is closed by a door.

12. A welfare unit as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the compartment housing the generator is open.

13. A welfare unit as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the housing is formed from plastic panels.

14. A welfare unit as claimed in Claim 13, wherein the panels are polypropylene.

15. A manually-propelled welfare system comprising a welfare unit as described in any preceding claim and a rail trolley, the rail trolley comprising a platform for supporting the welfare unit and a plurality of wheels for engaging the tracks of a rail line.

15. A welfare unit as claimed in Claim 13 or 14, wherein the panels are joined together by welding or gluing.

16. A manually-propelled welfare system comprising a welfare unit as described in any preceding claim and a rail trolley, the welfare trolley comprising a platform for supporting the welfare unit and a plurality of wheels for engaging the tracks of a rail line.

17. A welfare unit as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying figures.

18. A manually-propelled welfare system as hereinbefore described. Amendments to the claims have been filed as follows Claims

1. A welfare unit comprising a housing, a water tank, a water boiler and a generator, the housing defining a self-contained unit that houses the water tank, the water boiler and the generator and is mountable on a rail trolley, wherein the housing has a footprint of length no greater than lm and width no greater than 2m.

2. A welfare unit as claimed in Claim 1, wherein the housing has a footprint of length no greater than 0.75m and width no greater than 1.75m.

3. A welfare unit as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the water tank and/or generator are removably mounted within the housing to allow the weight of the welfare unit to be reduced by their removal for manual lifting.

4. A welfare unit as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the water tank and generator are mounted within the housing at a vertical level below the water boiler in use.

5. A welfare unit as claimed in Claim 4, wherein a water pump is provided for pumping water from the water tank to the water boiler.

6. A welfare unit as claimed in Claim 4 or 5, wherein the housing comprises three compartments, two compartments being provided in a lower section of the housing for respectively housing the water tank and the generator and a further compartment being provided in an upper section for housing the water boiler.

7. A welfare unit as claimed in Claim 6, wherein the upper and lower portions are substantially cuboidal.

8. A welfare unit as claimed in Claim 6 or 7, wherein the upper portion is fixed to an upper surface of the lower portion.

9. A welfare unit as claimed in any of Claims 6 to 8, wherein the upper portion is centrally mounted on the lower portion.

10. A welfare unit as claimed in any of Claims 6 to 9, wherein one or more or all of the compartments is closed by a door.

11. A welfare unit as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the compartment housing the generator is open.

12. A welfare unit as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the housing is formed from plastic panels.

13. A welfare unit as claimed in Claim 12, wherein the panels are polypropylene.

14. A welfare unit as claimed in Claim 12 or 13, wherein the panels are joined together by welding or gluing.