ITTO20010606A1 - STORAGE AND STORAGE BOX FOR BOTTLES CONTAINING A WINE LIKELY TO BE SUBJECTED TO A TREATMENT ACCORDING TO THE ME - Google Patents

Description

DESCRIPTION

of the Patent for Industrial Invention

The present invention refers to a crate that can be used for arranging and storing bottles containing a wine that can be subjected to a treatment according to the champenois method.

These cases, described for example in documents FR-A-2 .456.776, 2.562.508 and 2.614.007, are generally structured to accommodate a single type of bottle, bottles intended for champagne and only for champagne.

These bottles are arranged in the case being positioned horizontally on a bottom that is equipped with strips, and the necks of the first series of bottles are arranged on a second bottom, perpendicular to the first, equipped with ribs or channels which channel bottom supports the bottles when they are vertical at the end of the shaking operation, before the pouring operation.

The present invention proposes a case of the same type as the cases described in the aforementioned documents, with the great advantage that it is better adapted to the variations in the dimensions of the bottles and in particular in their diameter, which also allows to accept bottles of substantially different types such as for example bottles of the light champenois type.

The box according to the invention comprises:

- a first bottom in the shape of a paddle equipped with strips for arranging the bottles lying down, and a second bottom perpendicular to the first, also structured in the shape of a paddle and equipped with channels for arranging the necks of said bottles, the whole forming a dihedral associated with side walls and, in this dihedral, the channels are arranged perpendicularly in relation to the bottom equipped with strips, which channels are centered on the median planes of the pairs of strips which serve for the arrangement of the bottles on the said first equipped bottom of strips.

Still according to the invention, the channels are delimited by wires and in particular a base wire which serves as a support, and two wires between which the neck of the bottle is positioned.

According to the invention, the channels form a real wall made of wires, which wall is fixed to the structure of the second bottom and, from side to side, base wires fit into the crosspiece of the first bottom which is located at its end, in correspondence with the said second bottom, the said second bottom structure is made up of folded sheet metal profiles, with a U-shaped section.

Always according to the invention, the bottom equipped with strips and the bottom with the channels are presented in the form of a pallet and each comprise at its adjacent ends a crosspiece which allows their assembly by means of bolts, the said bottom with channels being supported on said bottom equipped with strips and the latter comprises feet which extend in the extension of those of said bottom with channels.

According to another arrangement of the invention, the walls of the box comprise, on their contours in correspondence with the bottoms, angles whose wings cover two sides of the longitudinal members of the said bottoms, allowing their assembly by means of bolts on the said longitudinal members.

To carry out an effective arrangement of the bottles and avoid their movements during the shaking operation, the case includes a wall called the fifth face which constitutes the upper wall when the case is in a position such that the bottles are arranged horizontally / horizontally on the bottom with the strips, whose fifth face is parallel to said bottom with the strips and comprises means that allow it to be fixed on the longitudinal members of the side walls, blocked on these longitudinal members by self-locking under the effect of locking means of the inflatable cushion (s) type ( i) interposed between said fifth face and the last layer of bottles.

Always according to the invention, the box can comprise a sixth face, parallel to the bottom with the raceways, also equipped with fixing means on the uprights or longitudinal members of the side walls and its locking is carried out as for the fifth face, by self-locking. under the effect of locking means constituted for example by an inflatable cushion (s) interposed between the butts of the last bottles and said sixth face.

Always according to the invention, the coupling of the fifth or sixth face on the longitudinal members or uprights of the side walls is carried out by means of hooks arranged on the edges of the said faces, and of notches obtained on the said longitudinal members or uprights with, moreover, level of each notch, a wedge cooperating with each of said hooks to eliminate the play in order to fix and lock the different faces, thus realizing a true assembly of the said faces together.

According to another arrangement of the invention, the fifth face is preferably constituted by two panels each comprising on its edge, a pair of hooks, which panels provide selective access to the different layers of bottles when the case is positioned on its bottom. with raceways.

Always according to the invention, the longitudinal members or uprights of the side walls are made of folded sheet metal profiles, with C-section, comprising a flat wing that forms the internal face and square edges with returns, all assembled by mechanical welding around to a trellis, which trellis consists on the one hand of profiles parallel to the bottom with strips and, on the other hand, of profiles perpendicular to the latter, distributed in such a way as to position themselves in correspondence with the bodies of the bottles.

Always according to the invention, the notches for fixing the hooks of the fifth face consist of notches in the wing of the profiles that form the longitudinal members or uprights of the side walls, which notches are U-shaped with asymmetrical arms with on the end of the main arm a notch made on the edge of said profile, which allows the introduction of the corresponding hook.

According to another arrangement of the invention, the minor arm of the U which forms the notch, stops in the lower part of the locking wedge, which wedge is located in the thickness of the profile which forms the longitudinal member or the upright of the walls, under the edge of this profile, welded for example on the wing of this profile, on the external side.

According to another arrangement of the invention, the sixth face can also consist of a simple safety fixing grid, with snap hooks and / or pawls which allow its fixing on the uprights of the side walls.

The invention will be further detailed with the help of the following description and the annexed drawings, provided as an indication, and in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view showing the essential elements of the case according to the invention;

figure 2 shows the positioning of the bottles in the corner of the dihedral;

Figure 3 is a partial top view of the bottles positioned on the bottom with strips and whose necks are fixed on the bottom equipped with channels;

- figure 4 is a schematic view of the means for arranging and locking the fifth and sixth faces;

- figure 5 represents the laying of the fifth or sixth face, on the side walls, to carry out its positioning and its locking, or to carry out its removal.

As shown in Figure 1, the box consists of a first bottom with reference 1, on which the bottles 2 are positioned horizontally and a second bottom with reference 3 perpendicular to said first bottom 1, on which the bottles rest by means of the neck and in particular their stopper or capsule, when the case is positioned so that the bottles are in a vertical position.

The bottoms 1 and 3 are made in the shape of pallets to allow maintenance of the box by means of lift trucks, ie they comprise feet 1 'and 3' respectively.

The bottom 1 comprises strips 4 which allow the first layer of bottles positioned horizontally to be locked in a precise manner. These strips consist of wires welded to the bottom structure 1.

The bottom 3 comprises a locking system for the bottle necks. In fact, it includes channels 5 detailed in figures 2 and 3, which allow a vertical alignment of the necks and which allow, especially when the bottles have different dimensions, to absorb the level variations of the necks in relation to the first bottom 1 while maintaining a guide and a locking of these necks.

The channels 5 are therefore perpendicular to the bottom with strips 1.

The box includes side walls: the side wall 6 located to the left of the entrance is represented normally and the side wall 7 is simply sketched in broken lines to avoid overloading the figure.

These side walls 6 and 7 comprise longitudinal members or uprights according to the position of the box. Thus there is a longitudinal member 8 parallel to the bottom 1 in the upper part of the wall 6 and an upright 9 parallel to the bottom 3, at the entrance to the box.

These side members and uprights are made up of profiles made of folded sheet metal and will be detailed later.

The bottoms 1 and 3 and the walls 6 and 7 form individual elements which are for example assembled by means of bolts.

Thus the bottom 1 comprises at its end, on the side of the bottom 3, a crosspiece 10. This crosspiece 10 and the adjacent crosspiece 11 of the bottom 3 are assembled by means of bolts.

It is noted that the feet 1 'of the bottom 1 extend under the feet 3' of the bottom 3. In fact, the side members 12 of the bottom 1 have a length significantly greater than the length of the strips 4 while the side members (or uprights) 13 of the bottom 3 have a length equal to that of the raceways 5.

The side walls 6 and 7 comprise, on their ends in contact with the bottoms 1 and 3 respectively, angular elements 14 which cover two sides of the longitudinal members 12 and 13 of the said bottoms and allow their assembly on the said longitudinal members.

The bottom 1 and the bottom 3 form a dihedral consisting of two square planes and this dihedral is made rigid by side walls 6 and 7.

These side walls are formed by a lattice consisting of profiles 15 parallel to the bottom 1 and of profiles 16 perpendicular to the bottom 1, arranged in correspondence with the bodies of the bottles 2. These profiles 15 and 16 are for example made of folded sheet metal with a cross-section U.

To allow the boxes to be stacked, the longitudinal members 6 and the uprights 9 comprise ears 17 and 18 which allow to center and fix the adjacent box.

These ears are for example made with wire, U-shaped, welded on the outside.

The box is closed by an upper wall parallel to the bottom 1 currently called the fifth face. This fifth face 21 is, in the embodiment shown in Figure 1, made up of two panels which are fixed on the longitudinal members 8 of the side walls 6 and 7. This fixing is carried out by means of a pair of hooks 22 arranged on each side of the panels, which hooks cooperate with notches 23 obtained on the side members 8.

This fifth face 21 is automatically blocked on the side walls 6 and 7 by means of cushions 24. A cushion 24 is shown in figure 1. It is presented in the form of a padded sheet, for example made of paper, equipped with a valve 25 which allows its inflation, which inflation causes a self-locking of the fifth face on the side walls 6 and 7. The cushion 24, inflating, exerts a pressure on the last layer of bottles 2 and on the fifth face 21 constituted by the two panels, making this rigid face 21 and consequently the whole chest. At the same time, the bottles are fixed and immobilized, which allows the shaking operation to be carried out in complete safety.

The detail of the coupling means of the fifth face 21 on the side walls 6 and 7 will be completed later in connection with figures 4 and 5.

Still on figure 1, there is also the sixth face 26 which is for example constituted by a frame equipped with a lattice consisting of wires or profiles perpendicular to each other.

This sixth face also comprises hooks 27 which cooperate with notches 29 located in the uprights 9 of the side walls 6 and 7.

This sixth face can take the form of a simple safety grid or, as shown in Figure 1, be used in association with a cushion 30, to help fix and lock the bottles 2, especially during the shaking phase of the method. champenois.

Figures 2 and 3 show in a more detailed way the fixing means of the bottles 2. These bottles 2 are positioned on the strips 4, which strips are actually welded on transversal wires 31 and form a kind of grid positioned and assembled on the bottom structure 1. These strips are arranged in pairs with a pitch that corresponds to the size of the champagne or light champagne bottles as appropriate.

On the bottom 1, the bottles are arranged in line and all in the same direction, with the neck of the first bottle resting on the bottom 3.

The bottom structure 1 consists of cross members 32 which extend between the side members 12. These cross members 32 are parallel to the end cross member 10 and are made of folded sheet metal.

The bottom 3, as shown in Figures 2 and 3, comprises a structure for fixing the packages. This structure is presented in the form of channels 5 which consist of a base wire 35 and lateral wires 36 arranged on both sides to block the neck. The base wire 35 serves as a support for the bottles when the case is resting on the bottom 3. The side wires 36 allow to maintain the alignment of the bottles when, for example, the case rotates on its sides 6 or 7 during the operation of shaking.

The wires 35 and 36 are assembled on transverse wires 37 and the whole forms a kind of grid structure, assembled on the bottom 3.

On figures 2 and 3, the crosspieces 10 of the bottom 1 and 11 of the bottom 3 are found. It is these crosspieces that allow the assembly of the two bottoms by means of bolts.

The positioning of the bottom 3 on the crosspiece 10 of the bottom 1 can also be carried out by means of the ends 38 of certain base threads 35 which can fit into orifices 39 obtained on the said crosspiece 10.

The wires 35 as well as the wires 36 are perpendicular to the bottom 1 and the channels formed by these wires are located in planes perpendicular to the bottoms 1 and 3. These channels are aligned on the pairs of locking strips 4; the raceways and the pairs of strips are in the same median plane.

Figures 4 and 5 show in more detail the assembly of the fifth and sixth face of the case between the side walls 6 and 7 and in the examples shown, on the side wall 7.

On this side wall 7, at the level of the longitudinal member 8 and of the upright 9, the notches 23 and 29 respectively are found. These notches both appear in the shape of an L or rather a U with asymmetrical arms. These notches are obtained in the constitutive profiles of the longitudinal members and uprights, which profiles have a C-section with a wing 40 which forms the internal wall of the box and edges 41 for the outside and 42 for the inside, each equipped with a return 43, 44 respectively.

The notches are formed by notches or cuts made in the wings 40 and in the edges 41. The cut in the edge 41 allows the passage of the corresponding hook 22 for the fifth face or of the corresponding hook 27 if it is the sixth face 26.

The minor arm of the U stops at the end of the wedge 50. This wedge 50 is housed in the profile of the side members and uprights, duct the edge 41, welded for example on the wing 40.

This wedge 50 acts as a wedge. It has a slope p, visible on figure 5, identical to that of the hooks 22 and 27 according to the case to eliminate the play at the level of the hooks between the fifth face and the side member 8 and between the sixth face 26 and the upright 9. Yes thus obtains a true assembly of the fifth and sixth faces on the side walls, under the effect of the locking cushions, the cushions 24 and 26 according to the case, which cushions lock the said faces and in particular their hooks on the wedges 50.

The positioning movement of the fifth and sixth face is illustrated in figure 5. First of all, for the fifth face for example, the hooks 22 are inserted vertically into the notches 23 and in particular into the notch 51 made on the edge 41, then the hook descends into the notch 52 made in the wing 40 of the side member 8. Subsequently, this fifth face is pushed horizontally into the notch 53 which corresponds to the bottom of the notch, thus being located in front of the minor arm 54 of the U, and in front of the locking wedge 50. Subsequently, when the cushion 24 is inflated, the fifth face 21 is automatically locked under the effect of the hooks 22 which rise in the minor arm 54, which hooks 22 thus carry out an assembly by self-locking of the fifth face on the side walls 6 and 7.

This operation is carried out in the same way for the sixth face with the added advantage of positioning by gravity.

For the disassembly of the fifth and sixth face, it is sufficient to deflate the cushions 24 and 30, which allows their release in relation to the side members and uprights of the sides 6 and 7. The movement in the notches, of the hooks 22 and 27 according to the case, it allows later to free these fifth or sixth faces.

This case allows to carry out the treatment of the bottles and it also allows to store these bottles for the aging treatment. These crates have a character of versatility and universality which avoids producers having to have special crates for treatment according to the champenois method and crates for aging treatment.

Claims (1)

CLAIMS 1.- Case for wine bottles which can for example be subjected to a treatment according to the champenois method, of the type comprising: - a first bottom (1) in the shape of a paddle, equipped with strips (4) for fixing the bottles lying down, and - a second bottom (3) perpendicular to the first bottom, structured in turn in the shape of a scoop and equipped with channels (5) for fixing the necks of said bottles, the whole thus forming a right-angled dihedral, completed by walls side (6 and 7), characterized in that the said channels (5) are arranged perpendicularly to the said strip bottom (1). 2.- Cash box according to Claim 1, characterized by the fact that the channels (5) are delimited by wires and in particular a base wire (35) which serves as a support for the end of the neck of the first bottles and two lateral wires ( 36) to achieve the centering of said package and its support when the box is overturned on one or the other of the side walls (6, 7). 3.- Case according to any one of Claims 1 or 2, characterized in that the bottom with strips (1) and the bottom (3) with grooves are in the form of a pallet, which bottoms comprise at their adjacent ends, a crosspiece (10) for the bottom (1), (11) for the bottom (3), which allow them to be assembled by means of bolts, the said groove bottom being placed on the said strip bottom, the latter comprising feet which extend in the extension of those of the said bottom to channels. 4.- Body according to Claim 3, characterized in that the side walls (6 and 7) comprise, on their contour, in correspondence with the bottoms (1 and 3), corner pieces (14) which cover the longitudinal members of said walls, allowing their assembly by means of bolts on the longitudinal members of said bottoms. 5.- Body according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the upper wall (21) called the fifth face, parallel to the first strip bottom (1), comprises means that allow it to be fixed on the side members (8) of the side walls (6 and 7), which upper wall is blocked on these side members, by self-locking under the effect of locking means of the type inflatable cushion (s) (24), interposed between said fifth face and the last layer of bottles. 6.- Box according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the sixth face (26), parallel to the bottom (4) with channels, comprises fastening means on the uprights (9) or longitudinal members of the side walls (6 , 7), and locking means by self-locking under the effect of locking means consisting of an inflatable cushion (s) (30) interposed (i) between the bottoms of the bottles and said sixth face. 7.- Body according to any one of claims 5 or 6, characterized in that the coupling between the fifth face (21) and / or the sixth face (26) on the side members (8) or uprights (9) of the side walls ( 6, 7), is carried out by means of hooks (22, 27) respectively, arranged on the edges of said faces, and notches (23, 29) respectively, obtained on said longitudinal members or uprights with the addition, at the level of each notch , a wedge-shaped wedge (50) cooperating with each of said hooks to eliminate play and block said faces on said walls. 8. A case according to Claim 5, characterized in that the fifth face (21) consists of two panels each comprising, on their sides, a pair of hooks (22). 9.- body according to any one of claims 5 to 8, characterized in that the longitudinal members (8) or uprights (9) of the side walls (6, 7) are made of folded sheet metal profiles, with C-section, comprising a flat wing (40) which forms the internal face of said walls and edges (41, 42) squarely with returns (43, 44) and by the fact that the notches (23, 29) for fixing the hooks (22, 27 ) respectively, are constituted by notches in the said plane (40) of said profiles which form longitudinal members (8) or uprights (9) of the walls (6, 7), which notches are U-shaped with asymmetrical wings with, on the the extremity of the greater arm of the U, a notch for introducing the hook, which notch is made on a part of the width of the outer edge (41) of the profile. 10.- Case according to Claim 9, characterized by the fact that the minor arm of the U that forms the notch (23, 27) stops in the lower part of the wedge (50), which wedge is located in the thickness of the profile that forms the side member or side wall upright, under the edge (41) of this profile, against the wing (40). 11.- Case according to any one of claims 1 to 10, characterized by the fact that the sixth face (26) consists of a simple safety locking grid with hooks (27) and / or snap pawls which allow it to be fixed on the uprights (9) of the side walls (6, 7).