WO2007025673A2

WO2007025673A2 - Load bearing element, supporting leg for a load bearing element, profiled member for producing a supporting leg, and method for the production of a profiled member

Info

Publication number: WO2007025673A2
Application number: PCT/EP2006/008305
Authority: WO
Inventors: Nikolaus Jacob
Original assignee: Nikolaus Jacob
Priority date: 2005-08-30
Filing date: 2006-08-24
Publication date: 2007-03-08
Also published as: DE102005041165A1; WO2007025673A3

Abstract

Disclosed is a load bearing element comprising a bottom which is mounted on a plurality of supporting legs and on which a load can be stored. Prongs of a lifting fork can be directed between the supporting legs underneath the bottom from one side of the load bearing element in such a way that the load bearing element can be raised by means of the lifting fork. A contactlessly readable data carrier (12) is disposed in a prefabricated supporting leg (1) that is mounted into the load bearing element. Also disclosed are a supporting leg (1) for such a load bearing element, a profiled member (4) for producing such a supporting leg (1), and a method for producing such a profiled member. The supporting leg is made from an extruded profiled member. The supporting leg (1) can be cut out of the profiled member (4) perpendicular to a direction of extrusion (5) once the profiled member (4) has been extruded. The profiled member (4) encompasses at least one hollow space (9) that extends in the direction of extrusion (5) and is provided with a concave contact surface (10) such that an antenna (14) of the data carrier (12) can be fixed on the contact surface (10). Furthermore, the data carrier is cast into the profiled member, said data carrier being mounted on a continuous supporting strip, being introduced into an extrusion head of a screw-type extruding machine along with the supporting strip directly upstream from a nozzle from which an extrudate is discharged in the form of the profiled member, and being entrained by the extrudate that flows in the screw-type extruding machine.

Description

Load carrier, support for a load carrier, profile for the production of a support leg and method for producing a profile

The invention firstly relates to a load carrier having a base mounted on a plurality of support feet, on which a load can be stored, with tines of a lifting fork being able to be guided under one side of the load carrier under the floor between the support feet in such a way that the load carrier can be raised by means of the lifting fork and wherein a non-contact readable data carrier is arranged in a prefabricated and mounted in the carrier support leg. The invention further relates to a support foot for such a load carrier and a profile for producing such a support leg and a method for producing such a profile.

Load carriers of the aforementioned type are generally known as aids for the storage and transport of goods, for example under the name Europoolpalette (or "Europalette" for short) with the string "EUR" in the oval, which is protected as an internationally registered trademark by the Austrian Federal Railways. These European pallet pool wooden returnable containers, standardized in accordance with UIC leaflet 435-2 of the International Union of Railways, have a length of 120 cm, a width of 80 cm, a height of 14.4 cm and a load-bearing capacity of 24 kg , 5 t and consist of three parallel floor boards, each with three support legs, on which three cross boards are mounted transversely to the floor boards and on these parallel to the floor boards five deck boards. Europool pallets can be moved and raised with a forklift from the two narrow sides. As variants of the same design principle is a variety of load carriers made of wood or pressboard, plastic or metal, in different sizes and with or without structures, for example in the form of grid boxes known.

For identification purposes, such charge carriers are also provided, for example, with self-adhesive labels or with labels in viewing pockets in a likewise generally known manner. Depending on requirements, these data carriers have identification features of the load carrier (for example manufacturer, date of manufacture, dimensions and carrying capacity, owner and identification number) and / or data of the load in plain text, in machine-readable font, bar code or matrix code or in a combination of different identifications. The well-known marking with printed labels is basically at risk in storage and by mechanical handling, damaged by abrasion or tearing or destroyed or lost. In addition, such a tag, since it is accessible from the outside, also be slightly distorted, for example, by replacing or pasting.

Increasingly, data carriers (so-called RFID tags) are used to identify the known charge carriers, which use transponder technology to activate by means of induction or by means of an electromagnetic far field make the data contained therein readable via radio waves - ie even without direct visual contact. For example, PPPC (www.pppc.cn) has disclosed such a load carrier with non-contact data carrier, namely a plastic reusable pallet of the dimensions of the Europool range, into which an RFID chip has been cast.

The well-known plastic pallets with encapsulated RFID chip solve the problem of endangerment and lack of forgery-proof labeling with printed labels, but deviate significantly from the specification - and thus from the technical characteristics - of the Europool range and are thus suitable for use in combination the disk pool unsuitable.

From FR 2 697 801 Al and FR 2 706 422 Al such charge carriers are known, each having a space provided for receiving a data carrier cavity in a support leg. The known charge carriers essentially meet the specification of Europoolpalette, at the same time the disk safely and forgery-proof and in the support - except during assembly and repair of the carrier - not accessible and thus against accidental damage, destruction or loss, against deliberate alteration or falsification, and is attached sufficiently protected against the effects of weather (in particular moisture) and generally against shock and pressure influences.

US 2003/0112143 A1 discloses, as a further background of the invention, a pallet with a plurality of RFID tags superficially mounted on the support feet. task

The invention has for its object to provide a low-cost to be manufactured carrier of the aforementioned type

solution

Starting from the known charge carriers is proposed according to the invention that the support leg consists of an extruded profile. The technical characteristics of the charge carrier according to the invention thus differ only in terms of the characteristics of the support foot provided with the charge carrier from a known charge carrier with conventional support foot. The deviation is therefore negligible.

The data carrier is preferably arranged on a load carrier according to the invention in a support foot mounted centrally below the floor. A central support foot is - apart from weight overloading the load carrier - virtually no risk of wear, since the tines of a lifting fork can not contact him in normal operation. The disk is therefore particularly well protected in this embodiment of the charge carrier according to the invention not only against accidental damage, but also against sabotage.

In a preferred embodiment of the charge carrier according to the invention, the data carrier can be written without contact. In particular, if required, data of the respective load can be stored and readable on such a data carrier.

Particularly preferably, the data carrier of a charge carrier according to the invention is an RFID chip. RFID chips and the infrastructure required for reading (and, where appropriate, writing) are available inexpensively in the market in a variety of mass-produced designs.

Starting from the known support feet is proposed according to the invention that this is made of an extruded profile. An inventive support foot allows for the original assembly or repair the production of the previously described charge carrier. Advantageously, the support leg according to the invention is made of plastic. Compared to the usual way made of wood support feet Europool pallet, the support leg according to the invention then has a significantly improved conductivity for radio waves. An RFID chip arranged in the interior of such a support foot, for example made of a synthetic resin, can then be activated and read from a greater distance for the same transmission and reception power.

The plastic of such a support foot is particularly preferably a composite material mixed with wood. In particular, the material may consist of three quarters of broken wood or wood fibers. Alternatively, the use of other fibers - such as glass or ceramic fibers - to reinforce the material is possible.

In a further advantageous embodiment of the support leg according to the invention, the latter has at least one region of higher density on which the bottom of the charge carrier can be supported and at least one region of lower density, which essentially fulfills no support function. Since the type of mounting of the support feet of Europoolpaletten is given in the standard up to the position and size of the nails used, the areas of the support leg according to the invention, which are not nailed, can be performed in a lower density. Such a support foot according to the invention not only has a reduced material requirement and reduced costs. The areas of lower density, in turn, also have an improved patency for radio waves.

Starting from the known profiles is proposed according to the invention that the support leg is cut after extrusion of the profile transversely to an extrusion direction from the profile and the profile has at least one extending in the extrusion direction cavity with such a concave curved contact surface that on the contact surface an antenna of the data carrier is fixable. Such a profile allows a particularly simple production of a support leg according to the invention.

Particularly preferably, a profile according to the invention has two concave contact surfaces, wherein the contact surfaces are connected by a transverse to the extrusion direction breakthrough such that in each case one antenna of the data carrier is fixable on each of the contact surfaces. In a support foot from such a profile, in particular, an RFID chip with paired antennas particularly simply be inserted in such a way that it requires no further attachment in the support leg.

Furthermore, according to the invention of a profile, wherein the data carrier is poured into the profile, such a support leg after extrusion of the profile transversely to an extrusion direction from the profile can be cut. The profile according to the invention allows a particularly simple and cost-effective production of the support foot described above.

For producing such a profile according to the invention the data carrier is preferably mounted on an endless carrier tape, with the carrier tape immediately before a nozzle from which emerges an extrudate in the form of the profile, introduced into an extruder head of a screw extruder and carried by the extrudate flowing therein. The arrangement of the data carrier for a plurality of inventive support feet in a row on an endless carrier tape in turn, the production is particularly simplified.

embodiment

The invention will be explained below with reference to exemplary embodiments. Show it

Fig. Ia a first support foot according to the invention in profile and

FIG. 1b shows a section through the first support foot, FIG.

2 shows a second support foot according to the invention in profile,

Fig. 3 shows a third support leg according to the invention in profile and

Fig. 4 shows an extruder assembly and

Fig. 5 is a carrier tape for a method according to the invention.

The support leg 1 according to the invention shown in FIGS. 1a and 1b is a so-called

"Repair block" for a load carrier, not shown, namely a Europool pallet according to UIC leaflet 435-2 / 435-4 (DIN 15 146) The load carrier is constructed according to this standard on two parallel side Bodenrandbrettem with 1200 x 100 and in between a broader middle ground board 1200 x 145 mm

Bottom edge boards are each three parallelepiped outer support feet with 145 x 100 and on the bottom center board three (inner) support legs with square cross section with a Edge length 2 of 145 mm nailed. Three side boards with 800 x 145 mm and parallel to the floor boards two side deck boards and a deck center board with 1200 x 145, as well as between them two deck boards with 1200 x 100 mm are nailed to the bottom boards. The boards each have a thickness of 22 mm, the Stützruße a height 3 of 78 mm.

To produce the support leg 1, its profile 4 is extruded in one piece from a composite material of one part of epoxy resin and three parts of wood fibers and then cut into the support leg with the required height 3. Compared to wood, this material has an order of magnitude lower water absorption and, because radio waves are largely shielded by water, is therefore well suited for the encapsulation of RFED chips. The profile 4 has in the extrusion direction 5 two connected to a breakthrough 6, to the outside 7 by a respective continuous wall 8 closed cavities 9. The cavities 9 each have a concavely curved, 10 to the outer wall 8 opening contact surface.

In the support foot 1, an H-shaped label 11 made of a flexible plastic film with a centrally arranged on this disk 12, namely a passive RFID chip inserted. Arranged on the four arms 13 of the label 11 are the antennas 14 of the data carrier 12, in which an electric current is induced under a (electro) magnetic field generated by an unillustrated reading device, which activates the data carrier 12. The data carrier 12 "responds" to the field of the reader by transmitting the data stored therein of the charge carrier by means of modulation of the field.Alternatively, the use of an active RFED chip with its own integrated power supply and the option to change given data fields - for example, for description the charge stored on the load carrier - possible.

The arms 13 of the antennas 14 rest on the abutment surfaces 10 and terminate in the extrusion direction 5 extending grooves 15 of the support leg 1. The location of the label 11, the data carrier 12 and the antennas 14 is so clear and above all permanently fixed. A change in the transmission and reception quality of the data carrier 12 over its lifetime is - at least due to change in position of the label 11 - not to be expected. Figure 2 shows a second support leg 16 according to the invention, which differs from the first support leg 1 according to Figure Ia and Ib only by the circular profile 17. The second support leg 16 is a "repair pad" for use with a (again not shown) carrier according to an alternative standard.

FIG. 3 shows a third support leg 18 according to the invention with the same outer dimensions as the first support leg 1 according to FIGS. 1a and 1b. The profile 19 of the third support leg 18 has a cavity 20 which extends substantially parallel to two adjoining outer sides 21 of the third support leg 18. A concave contact surface 23 which opens toward the middle 22 of the third support leg 18 is interrupted by a groove 25 milled in the extrusion direction 24, through which in turn a label 26 with a data carrier 27 (the RFID chip) is inserted into the support leg 18. In addition, the third support leg 18 has two further inner cavities 28, which essentially serve to save material.

The label 26 is fixed in the cavity 20 by means of a plug 29. The plug 29 has an injection-molded double clamp 30, which hook by means of two lugs 31 in the material of the support leg 18 and the plug 29 and thus secure the label 26 against unintentional release from the support leg 18 and the other to the groove 25 to seal against penetrating water. With the help of two screwdrivers can if necessary - even without disassembly of the carrier - pressed the lugs 31 and the plug 29 are removed from the groove 25 so that the label 26 can be replaced with the disk 27.

The third support leg 18 has a first region 32 of higher density, in which the support leg 18 is nailed to the boards of the load carrier and for saving material, a second region 33 of lower density, which essentially does not contribute to the support function of the support leg 18. The different densities of the regions 32, 33, which are also represented by the different hatching, are produced on the basis of the same composite material by pins inserted into the extrusion head, not shown, in the extrusion direction 24: The regions 32, 33 thereby have a tubular shape not shown in the extrusion direction 24 Cavities up. FIG. 4 shows an extruder arrangement 34 with an extruder 35, to which raw material not shown via a funnel 36 can be fed. The raw material is melted by means of heaters 37 and guided at a feed rate of 30 m / min by means of a melt or spin pump 38 in a helical distributor 39 and mixed.

In the extruder head 40, a carrier tape 41 is guided (shown in Figure 5) data carriers 42 in the melt, not shown, and taken by their flow. In the endless profile 44 according to the invention exiting from the nozzle 43 of the extruder head 40, the carrier tape 41 with the data carriers 42 mounted thereon is "extruded".

The profile 44, which has emerged from the nozzle 43, is guided into a calibration table, not shown, so that it does not "collapse" and deform before it cools down.The heart of the calibration table is the calibration sleeve which is mounted directly behind the nozzle 43 of the extruder assembly 34 a metal block having the inside of the cross-section of the profile 44. Inside the Kalibrierhülse the extruded profile 44 is sucked by vacuum and rinsed to cool water.

FIG. 5 shows two successive sections 45 of the carrier band 41, each with one data carrier 42 glued to the carrier strip 41. The carrier strip 41 has a width 46 of 40 mm and is thus significantly narrower than the edge length of the profile 44 of 100 or 145, not shown mm. The sections 45 (corresponding to the height 3 of the support feet according to the figures Ia and Ib) each have a length 47 of 78 mm. As an indication of the separation of the sections 45, the carrier tape 41 has between them on both sides a notch 48 and a perforation 49. The data carriers are so-called "RFID tags" with four antennas each 50 of the "stretched" length not shown exactly λ / 2. Figures are

Support foot

edge length

height

profile

extrusion direction

breakthrough

Outside

wall

cavity

contact surface

label

disk

poor

antenna

groove

Support foot

profile

Support foot

profile

cavity

outside

center

contact surface

extrusion direction

groove

label

disk

cavity

Plug

clip Nose area area extruder arrangement extruder hopper heating melt or spin pump spiral distributor extruder head carrier tape data carrier nozzle profile section width length notch perforation antenna

Claims

claims

1. A load carrier with a mounted on a plurality of support legs ground on which a charge is storable, wherein tines of a lifting fork from one side of the load carrier under the ground between the support legs are feasible, that the carrier is liftable by means of the lifting fork, and wherein a contactless readable data carrier (12, 27) is arranged in a prefabricated support foot (1, 16, 18) mounted in the load carrier, characterized in that the support leg consists of an extruded profile.

Second charge carrier according to the preceding claim, characterized in that the data carrier (12, 27) mounted in a center under the floor

Support foot (1, 16, 18) is arranged.

3. The charge carrier according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the data carrier (12, 27) is contactless writable.

4. The charge carrier according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the data carrier (12, 27) is an RFID chip.

5. supporting foot (1, 16, 18) for a load carrier according to the preamble of claim 1, characterized in that is made of an extruded profile.

6. support leg (1, 16, 18) according to the preceding claim, characterized in that the support foot (1, 16, 18) is made of a plastic.

7. support foot (1, 16, 18) according to the preceding claim, characterized in that the plastic is mixed with wood.

8. support leg (18) according to one of claims 5 to 7, characterized by at least one region (32) of higher density, on which the bottom of the charge carrier is supportable and by at least one region (33) of lower density, which essentially fulfills no support function ,

9. profile (4, 17, 19) for producing a support foot (1, 16, 18) according to the preamble of claim 5, characterized in that the support foot (1, 16, 18) after extrusion of the profile (4, 17, 19) can be cut transversely to an extrusion direction (5, 24) from the profile (4, 17, 19), wherein the profile (4, 17, 19) has at least one cavity (9, 9, 19) extending in the extrusion direction (5, 24). 20) with such a concave curved contact surface (10, 23) that on the

Contact surface (10, 23) an antenna (14) of the data carrier (12, 27) is fixable.

10. Profile (4, 17) according to the preceding claim, characterized by two concave contact surfaces (10, 23), wherein the contact surfaces (10, 23) by a transverse to the extrusion direction (5, 24) extending breakthrough (6) are connected, that in each case one antenna (14) of the data carrier (12, 27) is fixable on each of the contact surfaces (10, 23).

11. Profile for producing a support leg according to the preamble of claim 5, characterized in that the support leg after extrusion of the profile transversely to an extrusion direction from the profile can be cut, wherein the data carrier is poured into the profile.

12. A method for producing a profile according to the preceding claim, characterized in that the data carrier mounted on an endless carrier tape, with the carrier tape immediately in front of a nozzle from which emerges an extrudate in the form of the profile, introduced into an extruder head of a screw extruder and of the entrained therein extrudate is carried.