Pallet container

Abstract

To improve safety of manual handling of a pallet container for storage and conveyance of a filling material in a liquid state or with fluidity, and to reduce a possibility of a risk of injury.SOLUTION: A pallet container includes a grating frame densely enclosing a plastic inner container, and a bottom pallet placed with the plastic inner container and firmly connected to the grating frame. At least two rod-like cross members (22) are provided at the upper side of the plastic inner container, and these cross members (22) are fixed to facing two side walls in the upper region of the grating frame via one screw fixing part, respectively, at their both end parts. Since the screw enters the end part of the cross member in an axial direction, the screw fixing part is completely covered, and the free end part of the screw does not protrude, so that injures can be reduced.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The invention relates to a pallet container for the storage and transport of liquid or flowable filling materials, which comprises a thin-walled, rigid inner container made of thermoplastic plastic, a tube grid frame made of horizontal and vertical tube rods welded to one another and tightly surrounding the plastic inner container as a supporting cover, and a bottom pallet on which the plastic inner container rests and to which the tube grid frame is rigidly connected, in which two rod-shaped cross members are provided on the upper side of the plastic inner container, which are attached at their two ends via a respective screw fastening by screws to two opposite side walls in the upper region of the tube grid frame. The rod-shaped cross members should prevent the plastic inner container or its upper surface with a central screw cap from swelling excessively, in particular during transport vibrations and dynamic vibrations, and should in particular also serve to hold the plastic inner container in the tube grid frame on the bottom pallet and to prevent it from sliding out of the tube grid frame in the event of undesired tilting of the pallet container. In order to allow the plastic inner container to be easily replaced for multiple uses of the pallet container, both ends of the cross member are removably attached to the upper area of ​​the tube grid frame and are usually screwed in. A pallet container of this type with two parallel running cross members is known, for example, from WO 2012 / 085940. In the pallet container described in DE 44 25 630 A4, four identical cross members are provided, with each two cross members crossing each other diagonally covering one half of the plastic inner container.

[0002] Problem: Filled pallet containers, which often have a total weight of more than 1 t, are handled by forklifts, for example when unloading from trucks or when storing in high storage shelves. If pallet containers are to be transported only short distances, for example from a warehouse to a discharge station or to the place of use of the filling, lift trucks are also often used. However, empty pallet containers are often also handled manually, i.e. for example tilted or slightly pulled. In this case, the pallet container is always gripped by fingers or hands in the upper area of ​​the tube grid frame, in particular at the top horizontal tube rod that runs all around. In this case, very often the ends of the cross members and the screw fastenings of the cross members are gripped together. The ends of the cross members are usually compressed flat and are placed once around the top horizontal tube rod that runs all around and screwed below it towards the cross member itself. In this case, the ends of the cross members usually have sharp punched edges and the free ends of the screws that protrude towards the inside are also often overlooked. Unfortunately, this can result in serious cuts or minor injuries - even when protective gloves are worn.

[0003] assignment: It is therefore an object of the present invention to make the handling of such type of pallet containers which are manually gripped in the upper region of the tube grid frame safe and to reduce the potential risk of injury.

[0004] Solution: The cross member is screwed at its two end faces at both attachment points to two opposing tube rods in the upper region of the tube grid frame, with the screws penetrating axially into the female-threaded ends of the cross member, thereby intentionally reducing the risk of injury in a safe manner. Due to this inventive structural configuration of the cross member attachment by axially penetrating the screws into the cross member ends, the screw fastenings of the cross member are configured to be completely covered, and the free ends of the screws cannot protrude from the component.

[0005] In the present invention, it is assumed that a respective threaded nut with an internal thread is permanently and securely attached in both ends of each cross member with hollow tube profiles, and the cross members are fixed firmly, but again removably, by means of screws threaded into the end faces to the upper horizontal or vertical tube rods of the tube grid frame. The firmly and permanently attached threaded nuts can be simply pressed in, crushed or welded.

[0006] In a preferred embodiment of the invention, it is provided that the ends of the cross-member are significantly pressed in, an internal thread is formed directly in the pressed in, and the cross-member is firmly but removably screwed to the upper horizontal or vertical tube rods of the tube grid frame by means of a screw threaded into the end face. With regard to this embodiment of the invention, it is provided that two adjacent ends of the cross-member are screwed to the upper ends of two adjacent vertical tube rods at their end faces, respectively, in flattened compressed areas immediately below the uppermost horizontal tube rod that extends over the entire circumference. In this case, both ends of the cross-member are screwed to the completely flattened compressed areas of the vertical tube rods. In order to provide a flat contact point for the end of the cross-member, the flattened compressed areas of the vertical tube rods for the screwed cross-member are extended and formed flattened, and thus longer than the flattened compressed areas of the other vertical tube rods.

[0007] In a special embodiment of the invention, the cross member is formed as an elastic spring element, which is not linear but extends in an arc between the two mounting points and has one or more arc sections. In a preferred embodiment, the cross members screwed in the completely flattened compressed area of ​​the vertical tube rods each have a relatively large curvature in the horizontal plane, the arc-shaped cross members rest flat on the upper surface of the plastic inner container, the large curvatures of the two cross members being directed away from each other. In a variant, it is provided that the cross members are not linear between the two mounting points, but have a small curvature at each end of the cross member, which is formed downwards and is firmly screwed on the end side against the uppermost horizontal tube rod that runs all around from below.

[0008] The cross-members formed as elastic spring elements can be formed as rod-shaped hollow tubes with rectangular, square, elliptical or circular tube cross-sections, in which case the length of the cross-members screwed at the end faces between their two attachment points is formed so that it is greater than the direct distance between the two attachment points of the cross-members. Due to the preferred design of the two cross-members with a curved arc shape as a connection of the opposing long side walls of the tube grid frame, the tensile forces occurring in the upper region of the tube grid frame are thus significantly absorbed by the cross-members formed as elastic spring elements, and the loads on the attachment points or screw fastenings of the cross-members are significantly reduced. In vibration tests, the curved arc cross-members act like elastic springs. During vibration, the top surface of the inner container vibrates up and down. These vibrations elastically bend the previously normally straight cross-members upwards and downwards at their upper and lower end points, which is directly translated into a shortening of the distance between the attachment points. Due to this reduction in distance, the tube grid frame is pulled significantly inwards with each stroke in the upper region, whereas the novel "spring means", which also flex in the longitudinal direction, results in significantly less deformation at the upper edge of the tube grid frame and thus a reduced load on the components of the pallet container.

[0009] The invention will be explained in more detail below on the basis of a diagrammatically illustrated embodiment. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a pallet container according to the present invention; [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is an enlarged partial view showing the upper area of ​​the pallet container according to the invention of FIG. 1; [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 shows a cross member formed as a spring element in plan view. [Figure 4] FIG. 13 is a side view showing another embodiment of the cross member. [Diagram 5]FIG. 13 is a partial enlarged view showing the right end region of the cross member with the threaded nut attached. [Figure 6] 5 is a partial enlarged view showing the left end region of the cross member of FIG. 4. [Figure 7] FIG. 13 is an enlarged partial view showing the attachment of the cross members in the upper region of the tube grid frame. [Figure 8] FIG. 4 is an enlarged partial cross-sectional view showing the screw fastenings on the end faces of the cross members in the region above the tube grid frame; [Figure 9] 13 is another partially enlarged side view showing the screw fixing portion on the end face side of the cross member. FIG. [Figure 10] 10 is a partially enlarged cross-sectional view showing a screw fixing portion on an end face side of the cross member in FIG. 9. [Figure 11] 10 is a partial perspective view showing a screw fixing portion on an end face side of the cross member in FIG. 9. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0011] In Fig. 1, a pallet container 10 (also called "IBC" = Intermediate Bulk Container) according to the invention for the storage and transport of liquid or flowable materials is shown. The pallet container 10 comprises a thin-walled, rigid plastic inner container 12 made of a thermoplastic, for example HDPE, a tube grid frame 14 made of horizontal tube rods 18 and vertical tube rods 20 welded together and tightly surrounding the plastic inner container 12 as a supporting cover, and a bottom pallet 16 on which the plastic inner container 12 rests and to which the tube grid frame 14 is rigidly connected. On the upper side of the plastic inner container 12, two rod-shaped cross members 22 are provided which are attached at their both ends to two opposite side walls of the upper tube grid frame 14. The two cross members 22 are in this case formed as elastic spring elements 24 with a curved arc shape. The special structural configuration of the cross member 22 is characterized in that both ends of the cross member are firmly, but again removably, screwed at their end faces at their two mounting points 26, 28 to two opposing tube rods 18, 20 in the upper region of the tube grid frame 14, with screws 48 axially penetrating into the ends of the cross members 22, 42 which are provided with internal threads 44, 46.

[0012] Between its two attachment points 26, 28, the cross member 22, 42 is not formed straight or linear, but in an arc, and has a relatively large curvature 34. In this case, the length of the cross member 22 between the two attachment points 26, 28 is formed in a completely unusual manner, which is larger than the direct distance between the two attachment points 26, 28 at the end of the cross member 22. In order to obtain an optimal elastic and spring effect of the cross member 22, 42, it is provided that the length of the cross member corresponding to the curved line between the two attachment points is formed 1% to 5% larger than the direct distance between the two attachment points (corresponding to the chord of a circle). This allows the magnitude of the curvature and the arc-shaped curved shape of the cross member to be realized as an elastic spring element. For a standard pallet container with a filling volume of 600 liters, 1000 liters or 1200 liters with the same width and length dimensions, the distance between the two attachment points 26, 28 from each other is about 960 mm, and the effective length of the cross member 22 is about 993 mm. In a similar standard pallet container, it is desirable that the cross member 22 formed in an arc has a large arc radius of 300 mm to 700 mm, preferably 500 mm.

[0013] The above-mentioned structural arrangement of the invention is shown in more detail in the enlarged partial view in Fig. 2. It is clear from this view that the arc-shaped cross-members 22 rest - in the assembled state - flat in a horizontal plane on the upper surface 38 of the plastic inner container 12, with the large curvatures 34 of both cross-members 22 oriented in such a way that they point away from each other. In this case, the arc-shaped cross-members 22 are each guided by a retaining ring 40 molded externally from the upper surface 38 of the plastic inner container 12, which is arranged to engage from above in the middle of the assembled arc-shaped cross-member 22. During handling of the pallet container according to the invention, in particular during transportation and when loads are generated in this case, the cross-members with an arc-shaped shape can on the one hand bend elastically in the vertical direction when the upper surface bulges upwards and downwards - for example also during an internal pressure test or a drop test - and can so to speak "follow" the shape of the upper surface.

[0014] The two ends of the cross member 22 are screwed at the attachment points 26, 28 at the end sides respectively to the flattened compressed areas of the upper ends of two adjacent vertical tube rods 20, just below the uppermost horizontal tube rod extending over the entire circumference, by means of screws 48. In this case, the attachment points 26, 28 of the curved arc-shaped cross member 22 are - in comparison with the conventional straight cross members - moved further towards the middle of the upper area of ​​the tube grid frame, where the maximum tensile loads cause the maximum swelling and must be absorbed. In this way, the attachment points 26, 28 of both cross members 22 are advantageously located at the upper ends of two directly adjacent vertical tube rods 20. With conventional straight cross members, such a central connection is not possible.

[0015] 3 shows a plan view of the arc-shaped cross member 22 formed as a spring element with a large arc radius of about 500 mm. In a preferred embodiment, the cross member 22, 42 has a circular tube profile with a diameter of 14 mm to 22 mm, preferably 16 mm, and a wall thickness of 0.7 mm to 1.2 mm, preferably 0.8 mm. However, according to another design type, the cross member 22, 42 may also have a square tube profile with a side length of 14 mm to 20 mm, preferably 16 mm, and a wall thickness of 0.7 mm to 1.2 mm, preferably 0.8 mm.

[0016] In Fig. 4, a side view of another embodiment of a cross member 42 with two bends is shown, which in their end region each have - seen in the assembled state - a small bend 36 with a relatively small radius formed downwards, which has an end pointing upwards, and which are screwed at their end side from below to the uppermost horizontal tube rod 18 extending all around (as shown in detail in Fig. 8). The end of the cross member 42 with two small bends 36 with a small radius formed downwards is shown in Fig. 6 in a partially enlarged view. In the open end of the hollow tube profile of the cross member 42 with two bends 36, a screw nut 30 with an internal thread 44 (for example M8 or M10) is firmly and non-removably fitted. The non-removably fitted screw nut 30 can be simply press-fitted, crushed or welded. The enlarged view of FIG. 5 shows the right end of the cross member 22 (with the large curvature) with an attached threaded nut 30 which may also be permanently press-fit, crushed or welded.

[0017] An attachment possibility in which one screw 48 is screwed into each end of the hollow tube profile of the cross-member 22 on the end side is shown in Figure 7. In this case, the cross-member 22 is fixed to the flattened, compressed upper ends of two opposite vertical tube rods 20 by means of screws 48 which are screwed - horizontally - from the outside on the end side, just below the top horizontal tube rod 18.

[0018] Another mounting possibility of the screw fastening on the end side of the cross member 42 with two small bends 36 is shown in the enlarged view of FIG. 8. In this case, both ends of the cross member 42 are pressed in significantly in the radial direction, and a corresponding internal thread 46 is formed directly in the press-in 32. The cross member 42 with the small bend 36 in the end region is in this case fixed on the end side by a screw 48 which is screwed in from above - vertically - from below into the uppermost horizontal tube rod 18. Advantageously, the uppermost horizontal tube rod 18 is slightly recessed above the threaded hole and the screw 48 is formed as a flat, countersunk or rounded screw, so that it does not protrude upwards. The press-in 32 with the corresponding internally formed internal thread 46 can of course also be formed in the cross member 22 (with only one large bend), as will be explained further below. The horizontal tube rods 18 or the vertical tube rods 20 of the tube grid frame 14 are provided with corresponding holes for the screws 48 to thread into the ends of the cross members 22,42.

[0019] The screw fastenings at the end faces of the cross members have the great advantage that, since the thread tips of the screws are completely inserted and covered in the hollow tube profiles of the cross members 22, 42, injuries can no longer occur when handling the pallet container according to the invention, as was often the case up to now with open screw fastenings with normally protruding thread tips. Conventional cross members, which are normally straight, can only be insufficiently fastened at the end faces by means of screws directly on the central axis. When tightening the screws, the cross members rotate together and must be fixed for assembly. Such fastening is preferably omitted with the cross members according to the invention, which have a curved shape in the shape of a circular arc.

[0020] In the preferred embodiment of the cross members 22, 42 according to the invention, both ends of the cross members 22, 42 are radially pressed in significantly, and a corresponding internal thread, for example M8, is formed directly into the pressed in section 32.

[0021] 9 shows an enlarged side view of the screw fastening of the cross member 22 with the press-in section 32. In this case, the cross member 22 is screwed at its end side directly below the circumferentially extending uppermost horizontal tube rod 18 to the vertical tube rod 20 of the tube lattice frame. The vertical tube rod 20 is pressed flat in the region of the attachment point and has a through hole for the screwed-in screw 48, which is screwed axially into the internally threaded press-in section 32. In order to ensure good end-to-end contact between the cross-member 22 and the corresponding vertical tube rod 20, the flattened compressed area is longer than the area of ​​the adjacent vertical tube rod (without cross-member), and the free length of the completely flattened compressed area 50 of the vertical tube rod 20 is preferably 18 mm to 45 mm, preferably 32 mm, under the uppermost horizontal tube rod 18 which extends all the way around. In a specific configuration, the total length of the completely flattened compressed area 50 is about 48 mm ± 2 mm, with the center of the through hole for the screw 48 being about 38 mm ± 2 mm away from the upper edge of the flattened compressed area 50.

[0022] In figure 10, the cross-section of the cross-member screw fastening of figure 9 is again shown. The screw 48 is in this case provided with an integral diameter enlarged disk for a larger contact surface with the flattened compressed area 50 of the vertical tube rod 20. Below the flattened compressed area 50, a transition area continues to the rectangular base profile of the hollow tube rod 20 (with a cross-sectional profile of 16 x 16 mm). By extending the flattened compressed area 50 downwards, the transition area is also offset downwards by a corresponding amount compared to the adjacent vertical tube rod.

[0023] Finally, in Fig. 11, a partial perspective view of the top of the plastic inner container 12 with a central screw cap is again shown. In this case, the extended flattened compressed area 50 of the vertical tube rod 20 is again clearly visible together with the mounted cross member 22. In this preferred embodiment, it is assumed that the cross member 22, (42) has a circular or elliptical tube profile with a diameter of 14 mm to 22 mm, preferably 16 mm, and a wall thickness of 0.7 mm to 1.2 mm, preferably 0.8 mm. The screw threaded axially into the cross member at the end side is completely hidden in the hollow tube profile of the cross member in this type of screw fastening.

[0024] In all illustrated embodiments, both ends of the cross members 22, 42 are screwed at their end sides to the top horizontal tube rod 18 or to the four vertical tube rods 20 of the tube grid frame, firmly but removably again for the purpose of replacing the plastic inner container 12.

[0025] The various arc-shaped configurations of the cross members 22, 42 as spring elements allow various types of mounting by horizontal or vertical screw fixing of both ends of the cross members 22, 42 in the upper tube grid frame 14. The described configurations of the cross members and mounting possibilities can be easily combined with one another and interchanged within the scope of the invention.

[0026] Summary: By screwing the cross-members 22, 42 on their end sides with screws that are completely covered according to the invention - hidden, so to speak, within the ends of the cross-members - in the pallet container 10, the upper area of ​​the tube grid frame 14 can be made safer in a relatively simple manner with regard to the risk of injury, thereby significantly increasing the operational safety when handling filled pallet containers. [Explanation of symbols]

[0027] 10 pallet container 12 Plastic inner container 14 Tube Lattice Frame 16 Bottom Palette 18 Horizontal tube rods (14) 20 Vertical tube rods (14) 22 Cross member 24 Spring element (22) 26 Mounting Points (22) 28 Opposite mounting points (22) 30 Screw Nuts(22) 32 Push-in part (22) 34 Large Curve (22) 36 Small Curve (22) 38 Top (12) 40 Retaining ring(38) 42 Cross member with two curves 44 Female thread(30) 46 Female thread(32) 48 Screws(30,32) 50 Extended flattened compressed area (20)

Claims

1. A pallet container (10) for the storage and transport of liquid or flowable materials, comprising a thin-walled, rigid plastic inner container (12) made of thermoplastic plastic, a tube grid frame (14) which tightly surrounds the plastic inner container (12) as a supporting cover and which consists of horizontal tube rods (18) and vertical tube rods (20) welded to one another, and a bottom pallet (16) on which the plastic inner container (12) rests and to which the tube grid frame (14) is rigidly connected, wherein two rod-shaped cross members (22) are provided on the upper side of the plastic inner container (12), which cross members are attached at their two ends to two opposite side walls in the upper region of the tube grid frame (14) via respective screw fastenings by screws (48), 1. A pallet container (10) comprising: a cross member (22, 42) having two end portions, at both attachment points (26, 28) at end faces, screwed to two opposing tube rods (18, 20) in the upper region of the tube lattice frame (14), the screws (48) extending axially into the ends (52) of the cross members (22, 42).

2. 2. A pallet container (10) according to claim 1, characterized in that the cross members (22, 42) having hollow tube profiles have at their both ends a respective screw nut (30) with an internal thread (44) which is permanently and firmly attached, and the cross members (22, 42) are fixed firmly, but again removably, to the upper horizontal tube rods (18) or to the vertical tube rods (20) of the tube grid frame (14) by means of screws (48) which are screwed into the end faces.

3. 2. A pallet container (10) according to claim 1, characterized in that the cross members (22, 42) have both ends which are significantly pressed in, into which internal threads (46) are formed directly, and the cross members (22, 42) are firmly but removably screwed to the upper horizontal tube rods (18) or to the vertical tube rods (20) of the tube grid frame (14) by means of screws (48) which are screwed into the end faces.

4. 4. A pallet container (10) according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the opposite ends of the cross members (22, 42) are screwed to two opposing vertical tube rods (20) immediately below the uppermost horizontal tube rod (18) that extends around the entire periphery.

5. 5. A pallet container (10) according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the ends of the cross members (22, 42) are screwed into the fully flattened compressed areas of the vertical tube rods (20).

6. 6. A pallet container (10) as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the flattened compressed area (50) of the vertical tube rod (20) having the cross member (22, 42) screwed thereto is formed to be elongated and flattened more than the flattened compressed areas of the other vertical tube rods (20).

7. The pallet container (10) according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the free length of the completely flattened compressed area (50) of the vertical tube rods (20) below the uppermost horizontal tube rod (18) extending all around is between 18 mm and 45 mm, preferably 32 mm.

8. 8. A pallet container (10) according to claim 1, wherein the two cross members (22, 42) which are screwed at their end sides are not formed straight between the two mounting points (26, 28) but are formed arcuately as an elastic spring element (24) and for this purpose have one or more arcuate sections.

9. A pallet container (10) according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the length of the two cross members (22, 42) screwed at their end faces between the two mounting points (26, 28) is formed to be 1% to 5%, preferably 3% greater than the direct distance between the two mounting points (26, 28).

10. 10. A pallet container (10) according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the cross members (22) screwed to the completely flattened compressed area of ​​the vertical tube rods (20) each have a relatively large curvature (34) curving in a horizontal plane, the arc-shaped cross members (22) resting flat on the upper surface (38) of the plastic inner container (12), and the large curvatures (34) of both cross members (22) being oriented so as to point away from each other.

11. 11. A pallet container (10) according to claim 1, wherein the cross member is not formed straight between the two mounting points (26, 28), but has a small downwardly shaped curvature (36) at both ends of the cross member, and is firmly screwed to the uppermost horizontal tube rod (18) extending around the entire circumference, at its end face side, in contact with the uppermost horizontal tube rod (18) from below.

12. The pallet container (10) according to any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein the cross members (22, 42) comprise circular or elliptical tubular profiles having a diameter of 14 mm to 22 mm, preferably 16 mm, and a wall thickness of 0.7 mm to 1.2 mm, preferably 0.8 mm.

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