Drawer rack for long material

Abstract

Drawer rack (1) for long material, • with a frame (2), • and with drawers (7) arranged one above the other, each of which is movable between a storage position and a loading position allowing access to the drawer (7) from above, • and with a drive unit which is designed to move a selected one of the drawers (7) optionally into the storage position or into the loading position when actuated, ◯ wherein the drive unit has a plurality of drives, each of which is assigned to a specific drawer (7) ◯ and wherein the drive unit has drive shafts (10), which are each connected to a drive and driven by it, which each extend from a drive in the longitudinal direction of the drawer (7) associated with the drive and act on the respective drawer (7) at two spaced-apart points on the frame (2), such that the rotary movement of the drive shaft (10) moves the drawer (7) transversely to the shaft axis, characterized by that the drive unit has tubular motors (11) as drives, and that the tubular motors (11) are arranged in axial extension of the drive shaft (10) connected thereto.

Description

[0001] The invention relates to a drawer rack for long material, wherein the long material can be in the form of pipes, flat iron, or profiles. The drawer rack has a frame and drawers arranged one above the other. The drawers are each movable between a storage position and a loading position allowing access to the drawer from above, so that loading and unloading operations can be carried out by means of a crane. The drawer rack further comprises a drive unit which, when actuated, is designed to move a selected one of the drawers either into the storage position or into the loading position. The drive unit has several drives, each of which is assigned to a specific drawer, so that a specific drawer can be selected to be opened – i.e., moved into its loading position – or closed – i.e., moved into its storage position.The drive unit also has drive shafts, each connected to a drive and driven by the drive. The drive shafts each extend from a drive in the longitudinal direction of the drawer assigned to the drive. When the drawer is full, they run in the same longitudinal direction as the long material stored therein. At two spaced-apart locations on the frame, the drive shafts each point toward the respective drawer, such that the rotational movement of the drive shaft moves the drawer transversely to the shaft axis.

[0002] Such drawer racks are well-known in practice and can be seen, for example, on the YouTube video platform under the title "Pull-out rack as long goods storage." See "https: / / www.youtube.com / results?search_query=schubfachregal+f%C3%BCr+langgut." The long material is semi-finished metal several meters long, so the individual drawers are loaded with considerable weight when filled. The load capacity of each drawer can be in the range of 1 to 2 tons.

[0003] The drives are designed as cranks, whereby in practice drawer racks with multiple force applications are known and a single crank can be optionally inserted into the desired force application in order to move a specific drawer. The crank can advantageously be designed to be long in order to enable the drawer to be operated as easily as possible using the correspondingly large lever. By using a single crank, which is switched to the respective force application to be used, collisions with cranks of adjacent force applications are reliably avoided. Alternatively, it is known for each drive to have its own crank. By means of gearing means inside the frame, the operating forces can be kept low, even if the cranks are arranged at a comparatively short distance and their diameter must therefore be limited.

[0004] Regardless of whether only the power handles or also the cranks are mounted on the drawer unit frame, gearing can be used to position the power handles or cranks at a different height than the respective drawer they are intended to act on. Accordingly, the cranks for all drawers can be positioned at a height that is ergonomically most suitable for operating the cranks.

[0005] Drawer racks of a different type do not have a drive unit; the drawers are moved manually. The drawers, which are also called cassettes depending on their design, can either be gripped directly by the wheel or have handles. Given the heavy weight of the drawers, handling the individual drawers can be laborious, especially if the drawer in question is located at an ergonomically disadvantageous height, for example, particularly low or particularly high. It is possible that certain drawers are out of reach for certain people working in a company who need to access the long material, thus disrupting or complicating operational processes.

[0006] The invention is based on the object of improving a drawer rack of this type in such a way that it can be manufactured as economically as possible and can be operated as ergonomically as possible.

[0007] Features of the invention are defined in claim 1. Embodiments are the subject of the dependent claims.

[0008] The invention proposes that the drive unit comprise tubular motors as drives, and that the tubular motors are arranged in an axial extension of the respective connected drive shaft. Surprisingly, it has been found that tubular motors are commercially available at such prices that, despite the increased comfort offered by the motorized drives, the drive unit of the drawer unit can be manufactured economically. By arranging the tubular motors in an axial extension of the respective drive shaft, gearing can be eliminated, which would otherwise be necessary in favor of good ergonomics.The transmission means, designed as a gear cascade, chain drive, toothed belt drive, or the like, not only incur costs due to the components used, but also require a housing for accident prevention reasons, for example in the form of a support of the frame, which is designed as a hollow profile and has a particularly large cross-section in order to accommodate the transmission means inside. In comparison, the elements of the frame of a drawer unit according to the invention do not have to fulfill a dual function and can be optimally designed for their load-bearing capacity and accordingly economically designed to keep the manufacturing costs of the drawer unit as low as possible.

[0009] The tubular motors are controlled via switches, minimizing the operating force required. Even though the switches are located directly on the tubular motors and are therefore positioned at the different heights where the drawer drive shafts run, the minimal operating force required ensures excellent ergonomics when operating the drives.

[0010] The vertical distances between the drawers can be different so that different materials can be stored in the most suitable drawer in order to fill the drawer shelf with the best possible use of space, given a defined maximum load that the drawer can bear.

[0011] A further improvement in the ergonomics of drive operation can be achieved through an operating terminal that is connected to all drives via signal transmission and is designed to transmit control commands to a selected tubular motor. These commands affect the on / off state and the direction of rotation of the tubular motor. The aforementioned switches can be combined into a terminal that is arranged in an ergonomically optimal position so that the drives of all drawers can be controlled from this easily accessible, ergonomically optimal position. Furthermore, it is possible to mount the terminal in a movable manner so that it can be adjusted, for example, in height and / or inclination, and if necessary also horizontally, so that it can be optimally adapted and adjusted to the specific needs of different users.

[0012] In one design, all drawers extend to the same, single side of the rack. This allows the drawer rack to be set up and used even in confined spaces, such as narrow aisles. However, the drawer rack can also be designed so that two drawers are arranged on one level and can be moved in opposite directions to their respective loading positions on opposite sides of the rack. This allows the storage capacity of the drawer rack to be doubled.

[0013] The rotary motion of the drive shafts can be implemented in various ways to move the drawers from their storage position to the loading position and back. This can be achieved, for example, using friction rollers, gears arranged on the drive shafts and toothed rails arranged on the drawers, or in a similar way. A particularly simple design and particularly cost-effective manufacturing approach for the drawer rack is to have each drawer resting on a drive shaft, with the drive shafts being roughened by means of a profile in the areas where a drawer rests on them.The respective weight of the drawers, especially when loaded, ensures sufficient frictional connection with the respective drive shaft, so that the rotation of the drive shaft ensures the desired movement of the drawer resting on the drive shaft. To ensure a virtually slip-free drive, the drive shafts are roughened by means of a profile where they come into contact with the drawer.

[0014] Such a drawer unit can be designed in such a way that the profile is designed as knurling, running in the longitudinal direction of the drive shaft. The grooves and ribs of the knurling thus run perpendicular to the direction in which the drawer is to be moved, thus supporting optimal power transmission from the drive shaft to the drawer.

[0015] The frame of the drawer unit can be deep enough so that each drawer is guided in a different way, extending over the entire adjustment range of the respective drawer, thus supporting the drawer both in its retracted storage position and in its extended loading position. However, the drawer unit can also be designed so that the drawers have telescopic rails. When all the drawers are in their storage position, the drawer unit takes up a comparatively small amount of space, so that walkways or routes directly in front of the drawer unit can be used. Only when a drawer is opened, i.e. extended into its loading position, does the drawer unit temporarily take up a comparatively larger amount of space, which temporarily restricts the width of a walkway or route in front of the drawer unit.This variable required floor space will expand the selection of possible locations for installing the drawer rack.

[0016] Further features, details, and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the wording of the claims and from the following description of an embodiment based on the purely schematic drawings. They show: Fig. 1 a front view of an embodiment of a drawer rack, Fig, 2 a perspective view of the drawer rack, Fig. 3 a top view of the drawer unit, and Fig. 4 a front view of the drawer unit.

[0017] Fig. 1 shows a drawer unit 1 comprising a frame 2 with upright supports 3, horizontal struts 4, a cross bracing 5, and base plates 6. In the frame 2, drawers 7 are arranged one above the other in four levels, with the drawers 7 each having horizontally extending telescopic rails 8 and upright end pieces 9. The telescopic rails 8 of each drawer 7 each rest on a drive shaft 10, which can be rotated by a tubular motor 11, the tubular motor 11 being arranged in the axial extension of the drive shaft 10.

[0018] The tubular motors 11 can be controlled from an operating terminal 12, allowing them to be selectively switched on or off, and their direction of rotation to be determined. The operating terminal 12 is arranged at an ergonomically advantageous height and is held at the end of a cantilever arm 13 attached to the frame 2. In the illustrated embodiment, the cantilever arm 13 is designed to be rigid and fixedly attached to the frame 2. Alternatively, the cantilever arm 13 can be designed to be flexible, for example in the manner of a gooseneck, and / or adjustable, in particular height-adjustable, on the frame 2, so that different operators can adjust the operating terminal 12 to their personal needs.

[0019] The drawer rack 1 is used to accommodate semi-finished products in the form of long materials such as pipes, flat iron, or profiled bars. Depending on the wall thickness, material, and cross-sectional dimensions, as well as the orientation in which they are stored in the respective drawer 7, the different long materials can exhibit varying degrees of downward deflection due to their own weight. In the illustrated embodiment, the second-to-lowest drawer 7 is provided with an insert 14, which is designed like a ladder with longitudinal and transverse struts and serves to support long materials against undesirably large deflection.

[0020] Fig. Figure 2 shows the drawer rack 1 in a perspective view, from which it can be seen that the frame 2 has a total of five levels for accommodating long material. The four lower levels are each formed by the movable drawers 7, and the frame itself, with an upper strut 4 having end pieces 9 at both ends, forms the uppermost, fifth level for accommodating long material. Furthermore, Fig. 2 that the drawer rack 1 has two drawers 7 in each of the four lower levels, which can be extended from the frame 2 to opposite sides of the frame 2. Accordingly, the drawer rack 1 has two drive shafts 10 and two tubular motors 11 in each of these four lower levels.

[0021] For example and illustration purposes only, the two lower drawers 7 on the Fig. 2 on the left side of the drawer rack 1 are extended into their respective loading positions, while all other drawers 7 are in their storage position retracted into the frame 2. Finally, in Fig. 2 also shows the design of the insert 14 with its longitudinal and transverse struts.

[0022] Unlike the two end pieces 9 of the top, fifth level of the drawer rack 1, the end pieces 9 of the drawers 7 are designed as plug-in, interchangeable elements. Since the telescopic rails can be attached to the supports 3 of the frame 2 at different heights, the usable height of each drawer 7 can be adapted to the respective operational needs, e.g., to the dimensions and / or the number of long materials to be stored. Appropriately dimensioned end pieces 9 are used to adapt to the height of the respective drawer 7 in order to securely hold the respective long material in the respective drawer 7. All eight tubular motors 11 can be controlled via the operating terminal 12.

[0023] Fig. Figure 3 shows a top view of the drawer rack 1. It can be seen that the telescopic rails 8 each have two telescopic sections, with the outer telescopic section having the larger cross-sectional dimensions being attached to the frame 2. The inner telescopic section, guided in the outer telescopic section, rests on a drive shaft 10, which is circumferentially knurled in this contact area. The profile of this knurling extends in the longitudinal direction of the drive shaft 10, with ribs and grooves of the knurling extending in the longitudinal direction of the drive shaft 10.

[0024] Fig. 4 shows a front view of the drawer rack 1, from which the different space requirements of the drawer rack 1 can be seen depending on whether the drawers 7 are in their retracted storage position or in their extended loading position.

[0025] The invention is not limited to one of the above-described embodiments, but can be modified in a variety of ways. All features and advantages apparent from the claims, the description, and the drawings, including structural details, spatial arrangements, and method steps, may be essential to the invention both individually and in a wide variety of combinations. List of reference symbols 1 drawer shelf 2 frames 3 Support 4 struts 5 Cross bracing 6 Footplate 7 drawers 8 telescopic rail 9 End piece 10 Drive shaft 11 Tubular motor 12 Operating terminal 13 cantilever 14 deployment QUOTES CONTAINED IN THE DESCRIPTION

[0000] This list of documents submitted by the applicant was generated automatically and is included solely for the convenience of the reader. This list is not part of the German patent or utility model application. The DPMA assumes no liability for any errors or omissions. Cited non-patent literature

[0000] Pull-out shelving as long goods storage" can be seen on the video platform YouTube. See "https: / / www.youtube.com / results?search_query=schubfachregal+f%C3%BCr+langgut

[0002]

Claims

[1] Drawer rack (1) for long material, • with a frame (2), • and with drawers (7) arranged one above the other, each of which is movable between a storage position and a loading position allowing access to the drawer (7) from above, • and with a drive unit which is designed to move a selected one of the drawers (7) optionally into the storage position or into the loading position when actuated, ◯ wherein the drive unit has a plurality of drives, each of which is assigned to a specific drawer (7) ◯ and wherein the drive unit has drive shafts (10), which are each connected to a drive and driven by it, which each extend from a drive in the longitudinal direction of the drawer (7) associated with the drive and act on the respective drawer (7) at two spaced-apart points on the frame (2), such that the rotary movement of the drive shaft (10) moves the drawer (7) transversely to the shaft axis, characterized by , that the drive unit has tubular motors (11) as drives, and that the tubular motors (11) are arranged in axial extension of the drive shaft (10) connected thereto. [2] Drawer rack according to claim 1, characterized by an operating terminal (12) which is connected to all tubular motors (11) for signal transmission, and is designed to transmit control commands relating to the on or off state and the direction of rotation of the tubular motor (11) to a selected tubular motor (11). [3] Drawer rack according to claim 1 or 2, characterized bythat two drawers (7) are arranged on one level and are movable in opposite directions to opposite sides of the frame (2) into their respective loading positions. [4] Drawer rack according to one of the preceding claims, characterized by that the drawers (7) each rest on a drive shaft (10), wherein the drive shafts (10) are each roughened by means of a profiling in the areas in which a drawer (7) rests on them. [5] Drawer rack according to claim 4, characterized by that the profiling is designed as knurling and the profiling runs in the longitudinal direction of the drive shaft (10). [6] Drawer rack according to one of the preceding claims, characterized by that the drawers (7) have telescopic rails (8).

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