SE527894C2 - Locking system for a container and a container with such locking system - Google Patents

Abstract

A locking system (10) to be used in a container (20) comprising walls (30, 40) and a base (50), wherein at least a section (34, 44) of at least one wall (30, 40) is movable attached to the container. The locking system comprises at least one locking device (10) having at least one lock lever arm (11, 12) rotatable about at least one pivot axis (13) and at least one latch (14) interacting with at least one lock recess (15). The lock lever arm is yieldable biased by a spring (60) into engagement with the lock recess for releasably attaching the wall section to the container.

Description

25 30 35 (II Fx) “<1 CI) \ O .read 2 et on the container so that they can be folded from an upright or vertical position to a substantially horizontal flat position or other suitable angle in relation to its upright position to provide a sufficiently large opening in the container which provides access to its inside.

In order to ensure that the walls, for example side walls in previously known containers, are firmly held in their upright position, they often have locking / locking and holding mechanisms which are operated manually by using prestressed handles, a pair of handles often being mounted at a first side wall and another pair of handles are mounted at a second side wall opposite the first. The locks are often moved in a translational motion against the biasing force by manually gripping the handles by means of the fingertips or thumb and pulling them sharply when the side walls are locked together. One end of each handle with a latch which engages a locking opening in the adjacent side wall is then moved away from this side wall out of engagement with the locking opening and releases the side walls from each other for folding and / or removal.

WO 03/055753 describes a collapsible container with a deck, four collapsible side walls and a locking mechanism in the form of a prestressed, rotatable locking lever which locks the side walls in the upright position. The lever is prestressed by means of a strong spring which acts on the pivot point of the locking lever.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The main object of the present invention is to provide a locking system for containers and a container with such a locking system having at least one handle, which is easy to reach and accessible from both the inside and outside of the container, minimizes the effort of an operator which counteracts the biasing force in the handle when maneuvering the handle to move one or more walls or wall sections relative to the container and is ergonomically designed 10 15 20 25 30 35 U'1 Ps) * sl Cr: \ C> 4 :. 3 and placed at a more ergonomic position on the container.

These objects are achieved by means of a locking system to be used in a container comprising walls and a bottom, wherein at least one section of at least one wall is movably mounted against the container. The locking system comprises at least one locking device in the form of a handle having at least one locking lever, which is rotatable about at least one pivot shaft and at least one latch which cooperates with at least one locking opening, which locking lever is resiliently biased by means of a resilient spring. to engage with the locking opening to releasably mount the wall section against the container. The spring is adapted to engage with the locking lever at a distance from the locking lever pivot.

In one embodiment of the locking system and container according to the invention, the locking lever is a double-armed control lever / lever / lever with a first spring engaging arm and a second arm supporting or constituting the latch, and in other embodiments of the locking system the locking lever is a single-arm lever in which the spring is adapted. to act on the locking lever between its two ends, preferably at its center section.

The spring-acting distance from the locking lever pivot is at least 10% to 100% of the locking lever length, preferably at least 50% of the locking lever length.

The spring in yet another embodiment is a leaf spring.

The locking device in another embodiment is arranged on the movable wall section and the locking opening is arranged on the adjacent wall section or in yet another embodiment the locking opening is arranged on the movable wall section and the locking device is arranged on the adjacent wall section.

In a further embodiment the spring is mounted against and adapted to engage with the free end of the first arm and in another embodiment the spring 10 is adapted to act on the locking lever at its middle section.

In a preferred embodiment of the locking system and the container, the reading lever, ie the handle, has a U-shaped cross section similar to a U-profile for branching at least a part of an edge of the wall section. In a second preferred embodiment, the locking lever is countersunk in a recess at the wall section edge.

By means of the improved handle according to the invention to be used for pivoting / turning / moving and / or removing at least one section of the walls of a container and locking the same in their upright position, several advantages are achieved.

By arranging the spring so that it engages the locking lever at a distance from the pivot point of the locking lever, the required spring force is reduced compared with previously known locking mechanisms and the stress or force on an operator operating the handle is reduced. This is especially the case when the operator uses his / her thumb as an abutment that adjoins / abuts the container and the other fingers grip the handle to work against the spring force and only the fingers and associated muscles are used.

In the preferred embodiment, the outside of the operator's hands faces upwards so that their inside, i.e. the inner surface of the operator's wrists / hands, faces downwards and abuts the upper side or surface of the handles inside the wall section cantilever with the fingers inside the container, thereby for the hands in relation to the forearms is more ergonomic and the operator can use the body weight to maneuver the handles and reduce the effort for the operator and the strain on the hands, wrists and arms even more.

This also means that the thumb and other fingers are mainly relieved by the operator working against a stable support, ie the container with a main part of the inside of the hand without explicitly using the muscles in the hand. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The present invention will now be described in greater detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a container with the handles according to a first embodiment of the invention, Fig. 2 is an enlarged, cut-out view of one of the handles of Fig. 1, Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a container with the handles according to a second embodiment of the invention, Fig. 4 is an enlarged, cut-out view of a corner area of the container with one of the handles of Fig. 3; Fig. 5 is an enlarged, cut-out view of a corner area of a container with a handle similar to the handles of Fig. 3; Fig. 6 is a view top view of the handle of Fig. 5, Fig. 7 is a side view partly in section along line AA showing the handle of Fig. 6 in its locking position, Fig. 8 is an enlarged, cut-out view of a corner area of a container with a handle according to a third embodiment. deform of the invention, Fig. 9 is an enlarged, cut-out view of the handle of Fig. 8, and Fig. 10 is an enlarged, cut-away top view of the handle of Fig. 9.

Detailed Description of the Invention Figs. 1-10 show a container 20 comprising walls 30, 40, a deck 50 and locking system 10 having at least one locking device comprising a biased handle 10 according to the invention for releasably locking entire walls and / or or sections of the container walls.

Furthermore, one or more lids / covers not shown can also be mounted releasably and / or removably by means of the locking system 10 against the container, for example by fitting it / them in suitable grooves on the upper edges 33, 43 of the container or mounting them pivotally by means of hinges adjacent to at least one edge of the lid 10 15 20 25 30 35 U1 ND \ J OD W) .Fa 6 with a container edge. The handles 10 can be placed on a removable lid or on the container 20. The container also comprises at least one supporting part, in this case slides 80, even if these slides are not necessary, which is easily understood by a person skilled in the art, each member having a width W.

The container is described as having a rectangular shape with four side walls, two first side walls 30 and two second side walls 40 and four locking systems 10 but can of course only have three triangular side walls with a triangular deck 50 forming a closed pyramid or more than four walls with for example a pentagonal / ~ sided, hexagonal or octagonal shaped tire that results in a corresponding container shape.

As shown in Fig. 3, the container walls 30, 40 can also be equipped with one or more wall sections 34, 44, in this case, two wall sections, i.e. two doors or doors 34, 44 compared to the container in Fig. 1 without doors, and / or one or more locking systems 10. The doors are movable inwards or outwards relative to the container and are movable relative to the walls, whereby the walls 30, 40 are moved relative to the container or its bottom 50. The movable wall sections 34 , 44 may be part of the associated wall 30, 40 or the entire wall and may be opened to give access to the inside of the container and / or to be removed or mounted separately or together with the walls.

The handles 10 in Figs. 1-10 lock the four side walls 30, 40 together in the upright / vertical position but can of course also be arranged on the doors 34, 44 as shown schematically with dashed lines in Fig. 3.

The walls can be inclined in relation to each other, for example as a pyramid. The handle 10 comprises at least one pivotable / rotatable locking lever 11, 12 which is rotatably attached to a first end 11a, 12a against a wall 30, 40 by means of a pivot 13 at an upper end 32, 42 on each wall and means 60 in 10 20 25 30 35 7 shape of a spring for biasing the lever. each of the walls 30, 40 is pivotally mounted at a lower end 31, 41 against the deck 50 but can of course be pivotally mounted at their upper edges 32, 42 or their side edges, if desired. The locking lever 11, 12 has a second end 11b, 12b which is adapted to engage the adjacent second wall 30, 40 with a latch or tip 14, which fits into a locking opening / recess 15 on the adjacent wall for to hold this wall at the same time.

As shown in Figs. 2 and 4-7, the latch 14 is an integral part of the locking lever 11, 12. In Figs. direction towards the locking opening 15 by means of a second spring 70 which is integrated in the latch 14. This separate latch 14 can of course also be integrated in the locking lever.

The handles 10 are shown mounted in pairs against the two opposite first side walls 30 but may instead be mounted against the other two side walls 40 on the inside or outside of the container 20 or in combination with an inner pair and an outer pair of handles or even two inner pairs. . The handles do not have to be arranged in pairs but instead only one handle per side wall 30 or 40 can be used by placing a first handle 10 on a first side wall 30, a second handle 10 diagonally across the second opposite side wall 30 , a third handle on a second side wall 40 at the opposite corner of the first handle and a fourth handle diagonally across from the third handle on the opposite second side wall 40.

The handles 10 can also be connected by means of link or wire systems not shown so that when a handle in each pair is actuated, ie pulled or pressed by an operator, the second handle in the handle pair follows the movement of the first handle "passively" by the links or wires pulls or presses the other handle. The pairwise arrangement of the handles 10 on each side wall 30 or 40 10 15 20 25 30 35 Q fi NJ * Q CÛ ¶> .PL 8 is preferred and it is most preferred to place the handles on the short sides of the container 20.

The walls 30, 40 or the wall sections 34, 44 can also be pivotally mounted against the container 20 and each other in the vertical direction at their adjacent corner areas, i.e. their side edges, instead of the horizontal direction shown. The walls can also be slidably mounted without the possibility of rotational / rotational movement by displacing a pair of two opposite walls with their edges into grooves at the adjacent edges of the second pair of walls and / or the deck 50 and then lock the walls together with a suitable number of locking systems l0.

A first embodiment of the handle 10 according to the invention is shown in Figs. 1 and 2. In Fig. 1, a pair of handles 10 are placed on the outside of the first side wall 30 and the second pair of handles are placed on the inside of the opposite side wall 30. facing the inside of the container 20. By using an outer pair of handles and an inner pair of handles opposite the first pair of containers 20, an operator folding the sidewalls 30, 40 can lower the sidewall with the outer handles 10 first and then step inside. the container 20 if a larger container is used or only extend across the container deck 50 if a smaller container is used to operate the inner handles on the opposite side wall so that the operator does not have to go around the container to the other opposite side.

In Fig. 1, the handles 10 are located at the upper end 32 of the first container side wall 30 or the upper end 42 of the second container side wall 40 at a distance seen in the vertical direction from an upper edge 33 or 43 of the first or the second the side wall 30, 40 and from the lower side wall ends 31, 41 so that each handle is easy to reach and maneuver without any extra effort by means of a thumb when placing the inside of the fingers or the inside of the hand, i.e. the palm, on the upper side wall edge 33, 43. The first embodiment of 10 15 20 25 30 35 01 ha -J 00 xn ms 9 the handle in Fig. 2 is a double-armed lever with a first arm 11 and a second arm 12 which extend substantially at right angles to each other and are interconnected at level 13 extending in a direction substantially perpendicular to the plane of the associated side wall 30, 40.

In the position of the side walls 30, 40 which are locked together as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the first locking lever 11 extends substantially horizontally and the second locking lever 12 extends substantially vertically. Each 12 has its first end 11a, 12a rotatably connected to the pivot 13 by means of a snap fastener but may be releasably attached to the pivot by other suitable means. The second lever 12 has the hook-like latch 14 at its other end 12b for engagement with a locking opening 15 in the second side wall 40. The biasing means 60 is arranged on the free second end 11b of the first lock lever 11 and acts thereon at a distance from the pivot 13. which is approximately 100% of the locking lever length.

Fig. 2 shows the biasing spring 60 in the form of an arm 11, leaf spring attached to the uppermost surface or front of the handle 10, i.e. the first locking lever 11, with one end 60a connected to the tip of the free second end 11b of the first locking lever 11 with the second free end 60b extending in the direction of the pivot 13, wherein this free spring end can also extend in the opposite direction, i.e. away from the pivot. The free spring end 60b acts in the upward direction against a support 16 on the side wall 30 and pushes the hook 14 into the hook recess or opening 15 in the side wall 40 as it locks it against the first side wall 30. By attaching the spring 60 at this point of the lever 11, it acts on the handle 10 at a distance which is as far away as possible from the pivot 13 and the axis of rotation, whereby the spring force can be as small as possible depending on its longest possible lever arm length. This is taken into account in all three embodiments of the handle 10 and minimizes the required handle release force from the operator and also optimizes the dimensions of the handle because the shorter the spring action length is the handle 10 and spring 60 must be stronger or firmer.

Figs. 3-7 show a second embodiment of the handle 10 according to the invention. The handle is recessed in a recess 35 at the upper end 32, 42 of the side walls 30, 40 with a shape and a length L which substantially corresponds to the handle contour and is slightly larger so that a clearance around the handle is achieved to enable sufficient movement / displacement of the handle. In Fig. 4, the handle 10 is arranged with its upper surface 10a slightly below the upper surface of the side wall edge 33, 43 so that if another second container 20 (not shown) is placed or stacked on top of the first container and has any dirt or the like protruding in the downward direction from its deck 50, this protrusion will not inadvertently push the handle 10 from above and release the side walls 30, 40. Furthermore, the width W of the communicators 80 on a container 20 stacked on top of another container is always greater than the length L of each edge recess 35 so that the runners on the upper container can never come into contact with the handle 10 and push it in the downward direction and accidentally release the walls 30, 40 or wall sections 34, 44 from each other. In Fig. 5, the upper surface 10a of the handle 10 is shown substantially flush with the side wall edge 33, 43, whereby the container 20 with this second type of handle in Fig. 5 is not intended for stacking.

Fig. 6 shows the second type of handle 10 from above and Fig. 7 shows a side view of this handle partly in section along line A-A with the latch 14 and the pivot 13 connected to the first wall 30 to the right with the second wall 40 to the left. The spring 60 is mounted on the underside of the handle at the first end 11a of the lever 11 with the free second lever end 11b extending away from the pivot 13 and acting in a downward direction on the side wall 30.

At the same time, the spring 60 pushes / acts in the upward direction towards a support 16 on the locking lever 11, in this embodiment an edge extending in a downward direction, so that the hook / reading tip 14 and the handle 10 are forced in the upward direction. The support edge 16 is located at a distance from the barrel 13 and the axis of rotation of the locking lever 11 is at least 50% of the locking lever length and provides a sufficient snapping force for the handle when it automatically engages the wall sections 30, 34, 40, 44.

The handle 10 in Figs. 4, 5 and 6 covers a part of the upper edge 33, 43 of the associated side wall 30, 40 from two sides, i.e. the handle has a U-shaped cross-section and the legs of the Uzet with the corresponding surfaces forming a U-profile extends in downward direction over the two sides of the wall, ie the U-profile branches at least a part of the upper edge 33, 43 on the associated wall 30, 34, 40, 44.

Figs. 8-10 show a third embodiment of a handle 10 according to the invention placed in a recess 35 substantially flush with or slightly recessed in the surface of the wall 30, 40. a direction which is substantially parallel to the plane of In this embodiment the pivot shaft 13 extends in the wall section 30, 34, 40, 44 and the latch 14 is a separate movable element which is biased by means of the locking lever 11 by means of the second spring 70 into engagement with the locking recess 15.

The handle 10 in Figs. 8-10 is actuated in a manner similar to a "push button" by pushing the locking lever 11 in the direction of the wall 30 or 40 on the container 20 in the direction shown by an arrow in Fig. 8 and against the spring force from the the first spring 60 acting on the locking lever 11 and the support 16. Then the first end 11a which pushes the latch 14 is moved in a direction which is substantially perpendicular to the pivot shaft 13 for engagement with the locking recess 15 on the left in Fig. 10 and releases the latch or decreases the biasing force at least until the force from the operator pressing the wall 30, 40 exceeds / overcomes the spring force and the latch goes free from the locking recess 15. 10 15 20 25 30 35 CH FJ \ J OO \ Û .Du 12 In some cases the whole locking lever 11 functions as a spring together with the two springs 60, 70 to improve the operation of the handle 10.

Other positions of the locking handles 10 according to the invention are shown schematically in pairs with dashed lines on the upper edges of the two doors 34, 44 in Fig. 3. The connecting handle according to the second embodiment can also be mounted against the container without any level 13 and instead be displaceable fitted with its edges in grooves in the associated wall 30, 34, 40, 44 and the recess 35 defines only a translational movement of the handle so that when the handle is operated a separately connected latch 14 is pulled or pushed in or out of the locking recess 15.

These handles 10 according to the invention do not need to be pre-tensioned by means of springs 60, 70 as they can be moved between a locking position to a release position and back manually but a pre-tensioned handle is preferable.

The level 13 for each handle 10 according to the invention can also be located in any suitable position within the limit / dimension / extent of the handle or even beyond its extent. The handles can also be placed relatively far from a separate latch 14 and actuate it by means of wires or link systems or an integrated latch can be relatively long to reach into the locking opening 15. The wall sections 34, 44 can also be pivotally connected with their upper edges adjacent even on the upper edges 33, 43 of the walls 30, 40 instead of being mounted with hinges at a distance from the upper wall edges 33, 43. A wall 30 may also be pivotally mounted with its upper edge 32 against the upper edge 42 on adjacent fixed walls.

In Figs. 3 and 4, the handle 10 is spaced from the adjacent walls 40 with a portion of the wall 30 separating the handle and the adjacent wall 40, L fl hà \ J oc: - xo 4 :. 13 and in Fig. 5, the handle is placed close to the adjacent wall.

The container 20 may have the movable lid (not shown) with the locking opening 15 arranged on the container and the locking device 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 60 arranged on the lid for releasably connecting it to the container. Alternatively, the locking device 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 60 can be arranged on the container and the locking opening 15 can be arranged on the lid.

Claims (22)

10 15 20 25 30 35 Cr! BJ \ J G) \ Cø ä) 14 PATENT CLAIMS Locking system (10) for use in a container (20) comprising walls (30, 40) and a bottom (50), wherein at least one section (34, 44) of at least one wall (30, 40) is movably connected to the container, which locking system comprises at least one locking device (10) having at least one locking lever (11, 12), which is rotatable around the (13) and at least one latch (14) (15), which locking lever is resiliently biased by means of a spring (60) for engaging the locking opening for releasably connecting the wall section to the container, in that the spring (60) is adapted to engage with the locking lever (11, 12) on at least one pivot shaft which cooperates with at least one locking opening. distance from the lock lever lever (13). A locking system (10) according to claim 1, wherein the locking lever (11, (60) engaging arm (11) and a second arm (12) supporting 12) is a double-armed lever with a first spring or clamp (14). The locking system (10) of claim 1, wherein the locking lever (11, 12) is a single lever and the spring (60) is adapted to act on the locking lever (11, 12) between its two ends (11a, 12a, 11b). , l2b). Locking system (10) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the distance from the locking lever pivot (13) is at least (11, 12) Locking system (10) according to one of the preceding claims 10% to 100% of the length of the locking lever. vein, the spring (60) being a leaf spring. Locking system (10) according to any one of the preceding claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 60) is arranged on the releasable wall section (34, 44) and vein, the locking device the locking opening (15) being arranged on the container (20). Locking system (10) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the locking opening (15) is arranged on the releasable wall section (34, 44) and the locking device (10, 60) is arranged on the container (20). ll, 12, 13, 14, 10 15 20 25 30 35 (11 P \> -I Oo \ &> ppb 15 The locking system (10) of claim 2, wherein the spring (60) is connected to and adapted to engage the free end (11b) of the first arm (11). A locking system (10) according to claim 3, wherein the spring (60) is adapted to act on the locking lever (11, 12) at its center section. Locking system (10) according to claim 3, wherein the locking lever (11, 12) has a U-shaped cross section similar to a U-profile for branching at least a part of an edge (33, 43) on the wall section (30, 34, 40). , 44). A locking system (10) according to claim 10, wherein the locking lever (11, 12) is countersunk in a recess (35) at the wall sec (33, 43). The locking system (10) of claim 1, wherein the release edge ringable wall section (30, 34, 40, 44) is pivotally connected to the bottom (50) and the locking device (10) is arranged at a distance from the bottom in a corner area between the pivoting and releasable wall section and an adjacent wall (30, 34, 40, 44). A locking system (10) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the pivot shaft (13) extends in a direction which is substantially perpendicular to the plane of the wall section (30, 34, 40, 44). Locking system (10) according to any one of claims 1-12, wherein the pivot shaft (13) extends in a direction which is substantially parallel to the plane of the wall section (30, 34, 40, 44). A locking system (10) according to claim 3, wherein the latch (14) is biased by the locking lever (11, 12) by means of a second (70). A locking system (10) according to claim 3, wherein the latch spring (14) is a separate movable element. Locking system (10) according to claim 16, wherein the latch (14) is a ring which is substantially perpendicular to the pivot shaft (13) for prestressing by means of the locking lever (11, 12) in a directional engagement with the locking opening (15). 10 15 20 25 C11 hc) ~ J G3 D .pa 16 Container (20) or a bottom (50), wherein at least one section (34, 44) of a side wall (30, 40) is pivotally connected to the bottom, characterized in that the container (20) comprises at least one locking system (10). ) according to any one of the preceding claims for releasably connecting the wall section (30, 34, 40, 44) to the container. A container (20) according to claim 18, wherein the container comprises four locking systems (10). A container (20) according to claim 18, wherein the container comprises a movable lid, and the locking opening (15) comprises walls (30, 40) arranged on the container and the locking device (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 60) is arranged on the lid to releasably connect it to the container. A container (20) according to claim 18, wherein the container comprises a movable lid, and the locking device (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 60) is arranged on the container and the locking opening (15) is arranged on the lid for releasably connect it to the container. A container (20) system (10) according to claim 11, wherein the bottom (50) comprises at least one loading at least one supporting member (80) having a width (W) greater than the length (L) (35). ). for the wall section edge opening