GB2484549A

GB2484549A - A nesting roll container with a pivoting floor

Info

Publication number: GB2484549A
Application number: GB1017503.2A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Jack Gronholm; John Hartwall
Original assignee: K Hartwall Oy AB
Current assignee: K Hartwall Oy AB
Priority date: 2010-10-15
Filing date: 2010-10-15
Publication date: 2012-04-18
Also published as: GB201017503D0

Abstract

The present invention provides a nesting roll container, which comprises a back frame section (50, figure 1) defining the rear end of the roll container (1) and an A-frame chassis 20 opening towards the rear of the roll container while being substantially per pendicular to the back frame section. The roll container further comprises a floor (10) for receiving the contents of the roll container and pivoting means (40) connecting an end of the floor pivotably to the rear of the roll container so that the floor is pivotable to a load-bearing position sub stantially parallel to the A-frame chassis and to an elevated nesting position substantially parallel to the back frame section, wherein said end of the floor is elevated above the A-frame chassis. The pivoting means may comprise a hinge pin 11 attached to the floor, where said pin moves upwards in a slot provided in a plate 44 attached to the roll container. The hinge pin may be secured in its elevated position by means of locking pin 12 dropping into an upper recess in the plate. The end of the floor is elevated when stored so as to avoid damage from contact with a nested container.

Description

Nesting rolJ container with a liftable floor

Field of the invention

The present invention relates to logistics equipment. In particular, the invention relates to nestable roll containers having an A-frame chassis and a liftable floor. Specifically, the present invention relates to a roll container according to the preamble portion of claim 1.

Background art

Roll containers are a popular means of moving and temporary storage of goods. Roll containers comprise a chassis, which is fitted with fixed or swivel castors or both, and a vertical back frame section provided with integral side pieces, which are known as trom-bones, Roll containers further comprise side frame sections, which are hinged to the back section, more specifically to the trombones. The side frame sections are turned 90 de-grees to be parallel to the back frame section, when a plurality of roll containers is nested within each other. Depending on the use of the roll container, it may also comprise fur-ther accessories such as gates, shelves, lids etc. There is a variety of different types of roll containers, but a nesting type has achieved great popularity. A particularly popular type of a nesting roll container is the so called UK style A-frame roll container, which has an A-shaped chassis in plan view. The con-tainer further comprises a vertical back frame section, which is fixed to the horizontal chassis, and trombones, which are fixed to the back frame section and said side frame sections. Most A-frame chassis roll containers also comprise a liftable floor, which is hinged to the rear of the container so that the floor can be in a horizontal position, where- in it is able to receive and provide support for the contents of the container, or in a verti-cal position, wherein it is folded parallel to the back frame section for accommodating efficient nesting. In the vertical position, the rear end of the floor is aligned horizontally with the rear frame section of the roll container. The nesting of these A-frame chassis roll containers may also require folding possible auxiliary structures, such as gates and sides, into the fixed back frame section. The projecting A-frame chassis can then be rolled un-der a similar nesting unit.

Roll containers and specifically the so called UK style A-frame chassis roll containers are described with greater detail in the European standard for roll containers EN 12674-1, particularly in figures 5a and 5b.

However, traditional nesting A-frame roll containers have been found vulnerable to dam-ages that occur in nesting situations. Particularly, traditional liftable floors are prone to bend as a result of rough handling during the nesting of roll containers.

Aim of the invention The aim of the present invention is therefore to remove at least some of the disadvan-tages associated with traditional roll containers and to provide an improved and robust roll container being less vulnerable to damages in nesting.

Summary

The aim of the invention is achieved with a novel nesting roll container, which comprises a back frame section defining the rear end of the roll container and an A-frame chassis opening towards the rear of the roll container while being substantially perpendicular to the back frame section. The roll container ftirther comprises a floor for receiving the con-tents of the roll container and pivoting means connecting an end of the floor pivotably to the rear of the roll container so that the floor is pivotable to a load-bearing position sub-stantially parallel to the A-frame chassis and to an elevated nesting position substantially parallel to the back frame section, wherein said end of the floor is elevated above the A-frame chassis.

More specifically the nesting roll container according to the present invention is charac-terized by what is stated in the characterizing portion of claim 1.

Considerable benefits can be gained with aid of the present invention. Because the floor can be rotated into an elevated nesting position, the most vulnerable part of the roll con-tamer is lifted away from being damaged by an entering A-frame chassis of another roll container. This makes the structure less likely to fail under rough handling thus extending the life span of the product.

Brief description of drawings

In the following, certain embodiments of the invention are described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Fig. I presents an isometric side view of a nesting roll container according to one em-bodiment of the invention, Fig. Ia presents a folded roll container of Fig. 1, Fig. 2 presents a detailed side view of the pivoting means for the floor of the roll con-tamer of Fig. 1, Fig. 3 presents a side view of the roll container of Fig. 1 having the floor in a horizontal load bearing position, Fig. 4 presents a side view of the roll container of Fig. 1 having the floor in an intermedi-ate angled position, Fig. 5 presents a side view of the roll container of Fig. I having the floor in a vertical elevated nesting position, Fig. 6 presents a detailed side view of the pivoting means of the roll container of Fig. 5 and particularly of the elevation of the floor, Fig 7 presents an elevated view of a floor according to one embodiment and having a uniform rear hinge pin and two opposing front locking pins, Fig. 8 presents an isometric view of a floor according to another embodiment and having a single uniform rear floor hinge pin equipped with a cam sleeve and a front locking pin, Fig. 9 presents an elevated view of the floor of Fig. 8 equipped with a front locking pin pin, Fig. 10 presents an isometric view of the cam sleeve of the floor of Fig. 9 in a load-bearing position, Fig. 11 presents an isometric view of the cam sleeve of the floor of Fig. 9 in an interme-diate position, Fig. 12 presents an isometric view of the relationship between the rear and front locking pin and the plate in the intermediate position of Fig. 11, and Fig. 13 presents a detailed side view of the pivoting means of Fig. 6 exhibiting the hinge pin of the floor in three different positions.

Detailed description ofpreferred embodiments

As illustrated in Fig. 1, the roll container 1 according to the invention comprises a back frame section 50, which defines the rear end of the roll container 1. The essentially verti- cal back frame section 50 is fixed to an A-frame chassis 20, which is arranged substan- tially perpendicular to the back frame section 50. The A-frame chassis 20 is a typical A-frame structure, which is equipped with fixed castors 30 and has a horizontal orientation in typical operating conditions. The A-frame chassis 20 opens towards the back frame section 20 and thus points to the front of the container 1, where swivel castors have been provided.

Trombones 60 have been provided to the back frame section 50 so that the trombones 60 are perpendicular to both the back frame section 50 and the chassis 20. In other words, the trombones 60 are integral rear side walls fixed to the back frame section 50 forming part of the rigid structure of the roll container I. The trombones 60 also act as fastening points for other components of the container 1. For example, Figs. 1 and I a further illus-trate side frames 61, which are removably hinged to the fixed trombones 60. When the roll container 1 is in operating state (Fig. 1), the side frames 61 are parallel to the trom- bones 60, wherein a space is created for the contents of the container 1. When the con-tainer 1 is empty and not needed for transport of objects, the floor 10 is lifted up parallel to the back frame section 50 (Fig. Ia) and the side frames 61 are pivoted parallel to the back frame section 60, i.e. perpendicular to the trombones 60, As is apparent from Figs. I and 1 a, the roll container 1 comprises a floor 10 for receiving and providing support for the contents (not shown) of the roll container I. Different pref-erable floor types are discussed in greater detail hereafter. Generally speaking, however, the floor 10 is a flat wall section having a rectangular frame 14 and a mesh 15 provided within the frame 14. The floor 10 may alternatively be a plastic plate with similar proper-ties. The floor 10 is hinged to the rear of the roll container 1 with pivoting means 40, which connect an end 16, preferably a terminal end, of the floor 10 and to the rear of the roll container 1. With aid of the pivoting means 40 the floor 10 is pivotable to a load-bearing position and to a nesting position. In the load-bearing position, the floor 10 is substantially parallel to the A-frame chassis 20 above thereof, i.e. substantially horizon-tal, wherein the floor 10 is able to receive the contents of the container 1 and wherein the floor 10 rests against the main structures of the roll container, e.g. the chassis 20 or back frame section 50 or both. In the nesting position, the floor 10 is substantially parallel to the back frame section 50, i.e. substantially vertical, wherein the floor 10 is able to fold flat with the back frame section 50 for contributing to the nesting of roll containers 1. In the nesting position the floor 10 is removed from above the A-frame chassis 20 so that the roll container I may be nested within another roll container, wherein the frontal part of the chassis 20 is embedded inside the chassis and underneath the back frame section of a subsequent roll container. Respectively, the roll container 1 is thereby able to receive the frontal part of the chassis of a following roll container inside its chassis 20 and un-derneath its back frame section 50.

In contrast to traditional roll containers, which feature vertically stationary hinges be-tween the floor and back frame section, the pivoting means 40 according to the present invention is adapted to guide the floor 10 into an elevated nesting position. In the ele-vated nesting position, an end 16 -preferably the terminal back end -of the floor 10 is elevated above the A-frame chassis 20. The pivoting means 40 is thereby preferably adapted to lock the floor 10 into a position, in which the A-frame chassis 20 of a subse-quent nesting roll container 1 is able to fit underneath the elevated and locked floor 10 so that there is a gap between the top surface of the chassis 20 and the rear terminal end 16 of the floor 10.

According to one embodiment illustrated in Fig. 2, the pivoting means 40 comprise at least one plate 44 having a vertical elevating groove 41 for receiving and allowing the end 16 of the floor 10 to be moved vertically above the terminal front end of the A-frame chassis 20. The first plate 44 is equipped with a locking recess 42 for locking the floor 10 into the elevated nesting position. The pivoting means 40 is adapted to cooperate with respective members of the floor 10. The floor 10 is therefore equipped with a comprises a rear hinge pin 11 (Fig. 7) is provided to the vicinity of the rear end of the floor 10, pref- erably to the terminal end 16 thereof, and adapted slidably into the groove 41 of the piv- oting means 40 to act as a vertically movable hinge. While the hinge pin 11 may be pro-vided to vicinity of the rear end of the floor 10, it is preferable to provide the hinge pin 11 to the very terminal rear end of the floor 10 so that the floor has minimal or no over-hang in the elevated nesting position. The floor 10 comprises also a front locking pin 12, which is provided at a distance from the hinge pin 11 toward the front of the floor 10, i.e. away from the rear end 16 of the floor 10 and therefore away from the rear frame section 50 of the roll container 1.

Referring back to Figs. 2 to 5, the pivoting means 40, particularly the first plate 44 the-reof, comprises a guiding surface 43 for guiding the locking pin 12 from the load bearing position (Fig. 3), wherein the locking pin 12 is adjacent to the A-frame chassis 20, to the nesting position (Fig. 5), wherein the locking pin 12 is at least partly embedded into the locking recess 42 of the pivoting member plate 44. The guiding surface 43 is designed so that the pivoting motion of the locking pin 12 about hinge pin 11 is as smooth as possible (Fig. 4). The guiding surface 43 may therefore be rounded or chamfered. The first plate 44 is aligned with the trombones 60, i.e. perpendicular to the back frame section 50 and the end 16 of the floor 10, whereby a hinge is established. In other words the first plate 44 is aligned with the nesting direction of the roll container 1, i.e. with the direction in which subsequent roll containers are embedded within each other. Furthermore, the first plate 44 is preferably provided outside of the trombone 60 or within the profile of the trombone 60 (cf. Fig 10). The elevating hinge is therefore provided outside the portion of the back frame section 50, under which a nesting subsequent roll container is inserted.

According to one embodiment illustrated in Fig. 8, the floor 10 can be equipped with means for assisting the elevation thereof. Particularly the hinge pin 11 of the floor 10 is provided with at least one cam sleeve 17. In this embodiment the hinge pin 11 is a uni-form rod extending across the terminal rear end 16 of the floor 10 and projecting there from perpendicularly to the nesting direction. The cam sleeve 17 of Fig. 8 is adapted on the projection opposite to the projection, which is to be adapted into the vertical groove 41 of the first plate 44 (Fig. 2).

According to a further embodiment illustrated in Fig. 9, the floor 10 is provided with at least one locking pin 12) which is provided at a distance from the hinge pin 11 toward the front of the floor 10, i.e. away from the rear end 16 of the floor 10 and therefore away from the rear frame section 50 of the roll container 1. The locking pin 12 is provided on the same side of the floor 10 as the pin projection 11 which is to be adapted into the ver-tical groove 41 of the first plate 44 (Fig. 2).

As can be seen in greater detail in Fig. 10, the cam sleeve 17 has an eccentric shape so that in the load-bearing position, the frame 14 of the floor 10 is substantially parallel to the A-frame chassis 20. The hinge pin 11 in its lowest position within the vertical groove 46 of the second plate 45 provided inside the frame profile of the trombone 60. Such a second plate 45 is preferably used as an assisting piece of pivoting means 40 to control the movement of the floor 10. The hinge pin 11 is also in its lowest position "L" in the vertical groove 41 of the first plate 44 (Fig. 13) when the floor is in the load-bearing po-sition. The long section of the cam sleeve 17 is thus aligned with the chassis 20.

When the floor 10 is pivoted towards the nesting position, the pin 11 rotates within the vertical groove 46 (Fig. 11). The rotation is assisted by the earn sleeve 17, the protruding portion of which pushes against the chassis 20, whereby the pin 11 and indeed the termi-nal rear end 16 of the floor 10 become elevated from the chassis 20. In the intermediate position, the pin 11 has travelled to the topmost position in the vertical groove 46 of the second plate 45. More specifically, the portion of the floor 10 between the rear castors 30 of the roll container 1 and the top surface of the chassis 20 are separated by a vertical gap. On the other side of the roll container I (Fig. 12), the locking pin 12 is rotated about the hinge pin 11, wherein the locking pin 12 has travelled across the guiding surface 43 and is about to be embedded into the locking recess 42, whereas the hinge pin 11 has reached the high point "I" in the vertical groove 41 (Fig. 13). As can be seen from Figs. 2, 6 and 10, the floor 10 is preferably locked into the elevated nesting position such that the hinge pin 11 of the floor 10 is by the back frame section 50. More precisely, the hori- zontal beam 51 at the terminal lower end of the back frame section 50 is adapted to pro-vide protection to the floor 10 in the elevated nesting position against rear impacts.

As the floor 10 is further rotated from the intermediate position (Figs. 4, 11 and 12) into the nesting position (Figs. 5 and 6), the locking pin 12 drops into the locking recess 42 and the hinge pin 11 assumes an elevated position "N", wherein there is a gap X between the pin 11 and the chassis 20 (Fig. 13). The gap X is preferably 5 to 15 mm, most pref-erably about 10 mm. In the elevated nesting position the floor 10 is aligned with the back frame section 50.

Such pivoting means 40 may also be constructed with designs deviating from the above- described embodiment, but performing a similar function. For example, instead of a uni-form rear hinge pin II equipped with an eccentric sleeve (Fig. 8), the floor 10 may have a uniform hinge pin 11 and a uniform locking pin 12 protruding to both sides of the floor (not shown). Alternatively, two locking pins 12 may be employed on both lateral sides of the floor 10 (Fig. 12). The floor 10 and indeed the roll container I may also be any combination of the embodiments described above.

Table 1: List of reference numbers. -, I

I roll container 40 pjvoting means floor 41 elevating groove 11 rear hinge pin 42 locking recess 12 -lockingpin 44 te 14 floor frame 45 second piate floor mesh 46_ -vertical groove 16 floor end -50 back frame section 17 cam sleeve -51 rearbeam A-frame chassis 60 trombone [ -side frame section

Claims

Claims 1. A nesting roll container (I) comprising: -a back frame section (50) defining the rear end of the roll container (1), -an A-frame chassis (20) opening towards the rear of the roll container (1) and being substantially perpendicular to the back frame section (50), -a floor (10) for receiving the contents of the roll container (1), and -pivoting means (40) connecting an end of the floor (10) pivotably to the rear of the roll container (1) so that the floor (10) is pivotable to a load-bearing position substantially parallel to the A-frame chassis (20) and to a nesting position substantially parallel to the back frame section (50), characterized in that the pivoting means (40) is adapted to guide the floor (10) into an elevated nesting position, in which said end of the floor (10) is elevated above the A-frame chassis (20).
2. A nesting roll container (1) according to claim 1, wherein said end of the floor (10) is the terminal end (16) thereof.
3. A nesting roll container (1) according to claim 2, wherein in said elevated nesting position, there is a gap (X) between the top surface of the frame (20) and the termi-nal end (16) of the floor (10).
4. A nesting roll container (1) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the pivoting means (40) is adapted to lock the floor (10) into the elevated nesting posi-tion such that the hinge pin (11) of the floor (10) is protected by the back frame section (50).
5. A nesting roll container (1) according to claim 4, wherein the back frame section (50) comprises a horizontal beam (51) at the terminal lower end thereof, which ho-rizontal beam (51) is adapted to provide protection to the floor (10) in the elevated nesting position from rear impacts.
6. A nesting roll container (1) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the pivoting means (40) comprises at least a first plate (44) having a vertical elevating groove (41) for receiving and allowing said end (16) of the floor (10) to be moved vertically above the top surface of the A-frame chassis (20).
7. A nesting roll container (1) according to claim 6, wherein the floor (10) comprises a hinge pin (11) provided to the terminal end (16) of the floor and adapted slidably into the groove (41) of the pivoting means (40) to act as a hinge.
8. A nesting roll container (1) according to claim 6 or 7, wherein the first plate (44) comprises a locking recess (42) for locking the floor (10) into the elevated nesting position.
9. A nesting roll container (1) according to claim 6, 7 or 8, wherein the first plate (44) is aligned to the nesting direction of the roll container (1)
10. A nesting roll container (1) according to claim 7, 8 or 9, wherein the floor (10) comprises at least one locking pin (12) provided at a distance from the hinge pin (11) away from said end (16) of the floor (10).
11. A nesting roll container (1) according to claim 10, wherein the locking pin (12) is adapted to be inserted at least partially into the locking recess (42) of the first plate (44) of the pivoting means (40).
12. A nesting roll container (1) according to claim 10 or 11, wherein the first plate (44) comprises a guiding surface (43) for guiding the locking pin (12) from the load bearing position, wherein the locking pin (12) is adjacent to the A-frame chassis (20), to the nesting position, wherein the locking pin (12) is at least partly embed-ded into the locking recess (42) of the pivoting member plate (44).
13. A nesting roll container (I) according to any of claims 7 or 12, wherein the hinge pin (11) is provided with a cam sleeve (17), which has an eccentric shape and is adapted to create a gap (x) between the pin (11) and the chassis (20) upon moving the floor (10) from the load-bearing position into the nesting position.
14. A nesting roll container (1) according to any of claims 6 or 12, wherein the pivoting means (40) comprises a second plate (45) provided to the opposite side at the vicin- ity of the rear end of the roll container (I) and having a vertical groove (46) for re-ceiving a hinge pin (11).
15. A nesting roll container (1) according to any of claims 6 or 12, wherein the pivot-ing means (40) comprises a second first plate (44) provided to the opposite side of the first plate (44).