Cover for closing a container and system comprising a container and a cover

Abstract

The invention relates to a cover for closing a container, wherein connectors are arranged on the cover, which are movably mounted in relation to the lateral edge and are guided through a guide, and to a system comprising a cover and a container.

Description

Area:

[0001] The invention relates to a lid for closing a container and a system consisting of a lid and a container. State of the art:

[0002] Small parts or assemblies are ideally transported in reusable containers for transport to their assembly site in series production. To protect these components or assemblies, the containers are normally closed with a lid. The lid's job is to protect the small parts or assemblies contained in the container from external influences. Small parts or assemblies can also constitute hazardous goods. In this case, the lid or the combination of lid and container must shield the environment from the hazardous goods. This applies particularly in the event of handling errors, such as a fall or overheating of the closed container. The UN standards and / or the GGVS-ADR-RiD define the necessary minimum requirements. Various lids and container lid combinations that meet these requirements are known from practice.

[0003] A lid, for example, is inserted into a container's receptacles from above. A circumferential support edge on the container's side walls positions the lid so that it does not protrude above the upper edge of the container's sides. Four connectors for closing the container are attached to the surface and can rotate about an axis perpendicular to the lid surface. Each connector has a hook on its closing side. When the connector is rotated into the closing position, the hook engages a slot in the side panel of the container. Two such connectors are arranged on opposite sides of the lid, and the container has the corresponding slots on these side panels. With the lid inserted and all four connectors hooked into place, a lid cannot come loose from the container.

[0004] Another option for closing a container with a lid is using one or more tensioning straps. For this purpose, a hook and a tension clamp are attached to opposite sides of the container, each with a tensioning strap. To close the lid, place it on an inner, circumferential edge of the container and, once inserted, do not protrude beyond the side edges of the container. The tensioning strap is hooked onto the hook and then guided over the lid into the tension clamp. By pulling on the tensioning strap, the lid is pressed against the circumferential edge. Typically, at least two tensioning straps are used per container.

[0005] A disadvantage of both designs of the lid or the system comprising the lid and container is the laborious manual work required to open and close such a system. Particularly in industrial applications of the container in series production with tight time schedules, reducing the handling effort can be used to increase efficiency. A lid according to the preamble of independent claim 1 is known from DE 197 18 348 A1. Object of the invention:

[0006] The object of the invention is therefore to reduce the number of necessary manual steps for opening and closing a system consisting of a lid and a container. In particular, the locking and unlocking of the lid should be enabled with a single manual step. Invention:

[0007] The object of the invention is achieved by a lid having the features of claim 1 and a system comprising a container and the lid having the features according to claim 15.

[0008] A lid for closing a container, in particular a container for explosive hazardous materials, has at least one connector on at least two opposite side edges. At least one connector arranged on a side edge is mounted for movement largely perpendicular to the side edge and largely parallel to the ceiling plane.

[0009] The lid has a joint on its top and / or bottom side for guiding the movable connector and preventing a largely perpendicular movement of the connector to the lid plane. According to the invention, a largely perpendicular or largely parallel movement allows a deviation of ± 20°, preferably ± 15°, from the corresponding direction of movement. The connectors are dimensioned such that they can transfer acting loads from the lid to the container and / or from the container to the lid. The guide attached to the lid is also dimensioned accordingly. The inventive vertical or parallel movement of the connector with respect to the lid plane enables faster and easier operation of the lid's locking mechanism.

[0010] Further preferred embodiments of the lid are set out in dependent claims 2 to 14. Preferred embodiments of the system comprising the lid and container are described in dependent claims 16 to 19.

[0011] According to claim 2, the movable connector is movable between a parking position within the lid plane and a closing position, in which the movable connector protrudes from the side edge. This allows a sized lid according to the invention to be inserted into existing or known containers and connected to the container by the connectors.

[0012] According to claim 3, at least one connector located on the side edge opposite the movable connector is preferably rigidly connected to the lid with respect to the side edge. Positioning the movable connectors on the lid on a side edge reduces handling effort, especially with large containers, since a user does not have to walk around the container, for example.

[0013] According to claim 4, at least one rigid connector is preferably designed as a hinge connector. This allows the lid to be inserted into a receptacle in the container, preferably with a rotational movement relative to the side wall of the container. Inserting the lid with a rotational movement simplifies handling and facilitates positioning the lid relative to the container.

[0014] Preferably, according to claim 5, a component is arranged on the top and / or bottom of the lid plane, preferably on the top, even more preferably a component in the form of an actuating element on the top, and at least two of the movable connectors are movable by a common component, preferably the actuating element. The use of at least two movable connectors increases the transferable forces between the lid and the container. The fact that the movable connectors are movable together by a common component, preferably an actuating element, reduces the effort required to handle the lid. Attaching the actuating element to the top enables a closed lid plane. This allows the lid to tightly close a container.

[0015] According to claim 6, the component preferably has at least one spring, preferably a spring formed by the component itself, for preloading the movable connectors into a position projecting beyond the side edge. Such a snap mechanism increases the security of the closure process.

[0016] The spring connected to the component, preferably formed by the component, can, according to claim 7, preferably be reinforced by an additional spring mounted between the component and the spring. This allows the spring force to be adapted to different requirements without changing the basic design.

[0017] According to claim 8, the component, the spring, and / or the movable connector are preferably manufactured as a single assembly. This reduces the unit costs of the cover compared to an assembly from individual parts. Manufacturing as a single assembly also includes the production of the assembly using multi-component injection molding.

[0018] The component and / or assembly, according to claim 9, preferably consists of a plastic, preferably polypropylene, polyethylene, and / or ESD-compatible plastics. The use of plastic, in particular an injection-molded material, enables cost-effective, lightweight, injection-molded covers, components, assemblies, and connections. Plastics within the meaning of the invention also include plastics produced by biological processes. Within the meaning of the invention, the cover, components, and / or assemblies can also be reinforced by the introduction of fibers. This also includes woven fibers, rods, bars, or composite structures consisting of these.

[0019] According to claim 10, the lid ideally comprises at least two components, preferably two components each with two connectors associated with a common side edge. The use of two components, each with two connectors, enables secure closure of containers with a large base area relative to the height of the container, designed for appropriate forces.

[0020] The movable connector has an at least partially circumferential groove in the area of ​​the connector, which protrudes beyond the side edge in the closed position. The circumferential groove can engage with the container or the container holder when subjected to a load, increasing the transferable forces. For this purpose, a hook is at least partially inserted into the corresponding holder.

[0021] At least one side edge without a connector has at least one hook. The hook improves the positioning of the lid relative to the container and increases the transferable loads acting on the lid from the outside.

[0022] According to claim 11, it is preferred that at least one side edge without a connector has at least one hook. The hook can be used as a positioning aid or to transfer forces acting on the lid. The protruding lateral hooks or surfaces preferably have a rib structure that dips into the receptacle. In the case of a load, larger forces can therefore be absorbed. The upper side of the lid preferably has, according to claim 12, at least one reinforcing rib to prevent the lid from bending. This design increases the resistance of the lid to forces acting on the lid plane. By analyzing the bending lines under load, taking into account the material properties of the lid material used, the reinforcing rib can be positioned on the lid plane. To reduce weight, it may be necessary to form a honeycomb structure using reinforcing ribs and, if necessary, to weld these.by closing it with an additional cover layer. Foaming a cavity formed by the two cover layers and reinforcing ribs can further increase the flexural rigidity.

[0023] According to claim 13, the connector guide is preferably formed by at least one reinforcing rib. These preferred embodiments divert forces from the connector to specially designed parts of the cover.

[0024] According to claim 14, the hook, the reinforcing rib, and / or the lid plane ideally consist of a coherent assembly. This embodiment enables simplified lid production while simultaneously increasing the lid's stability.

[0025] Furthermore, the object of the invention, according to the independent claim 15, is achieved by a system comprising a container, having a base and side walls, and the lid. For each connector of the lid, a complementary receptacle, preferably an opening, is provided in the side wall of the container to accommodate the connector. The corresponding receptacles or openings enable the targeted positioning of the force introduction points on the side walls of the container. This can improve the resilience of the system comprising the lid and container.

[0026] To position the lid and absorb forces acting on the top side of the lid, according to claim 16, a complementary support surface is preferably provided in the side wall of the container for each hook of the lid. The combination of the hooks with the support surface enables precise positioning of the lid relative to the container. This simplifies handling. Incorrect positioning of the lid is avoided if the hooks and complementary support surfaces on the side walls of the container are positioned such that the lid can only be inserted into the container in one position. This can be achieved, for example, by an asymmetrical distribution of the support surfaces on the side wall.

[0027] According to claim 17, the lid plane is ideally smaller than the area defined by the side walls of the container. This allows the lid to be inserted into the container without protruding beyond the side edges of the container. This allows the container to be stacked without exerting any force on the lid.

[0028] According to claim 18, it is preferred that at least the center of the complementary receptacles or openings in the side wall has a distance a of ≥ 5%, preferably ≥ 10%, of the length of the side wall from the edge between two side walls of the container. This spacing increases the resilience of the system. For containers according to the VDA 4500 / VDA 4504 standard, the optimal force introduction points are at this distance.

[0029] According to claim 19, the container, which is closed with a lid, ideally meets at least the requirements for a drop height and internal pressure load standardized with UN dangerous goods approval. This particularly meets the requirements for the transport of dangerous goods, such as airbags or seat belt pretensioner systems. In particular, achieving approval class UN 4H2 / X (X = packaging groups 1 to 3) and / or UN 4H2 / Y (Y = packaging groups 2 to 3) is preferred.

[0030] The following five figures are attached to the description: Fig. 1:View of the lid Fig. 2: a) Section of the lid of the Figure 1 , and b) Section through this section Fig. 3: Control element Fig. 4: View of container with lid Fig. 5: Section through container with closed lid Character description:

[0031] The invention is described in detail below in terms of form and exemplary embodiments with reference to the figures mentioned. In all figures, identical technical elements are provided with identical reference numerals.

[0032] Figure 1 shows a lid 1 according to the invention with four rigid connectors 122 assigned to a side edge 113 and four movable connectors 121 assigned to an opposite side edge 113. Furthermore, two hooks 14 are provided on each of two side edges 113. Two components 16 in the form of actuating elements 17 are attached to the upper side 111 of the lid plane 11. These act on two associated movable connectors 121 each. The upper side 111 of the lid plane 11 is reinforced by a plurality of reinforcing ribs 15 parallel to the side edges 113 and forms a honeycomb-like, here rectangular, structure.

[0033] In the Figure 2 a) is a section of the cover 1 of the Figure 1 and in Figure 2 b) A section through this section is shown. It shows an actuating element 17 with a connector 12. The connector 12 has a partially circumferential groove 123. When the actuating element 17 moves in the direction of the arrow, the connector 12 moves back and forth perpendicularly to the side edge 113 of the lid plane 11. A certain amount of play between the guide 13 of the connector 12 and the connector 12 itself can compensate for a positioning error of the lid 1 or the connector 12 relative to a receptacle 21 or opening 22 in a side wall 24 of a container 2.

[0034] Figure 3shows an assembly 162, consisting of the connector 12, the actuating element 17, and two springs 18 formed by the assembly 162 or component 16. Furthermore, two mounting points 161 for additional springs are attached to the actuating element 17. The additional spring, not shown here, can be attached between the leaf spring formed by the actuating element and the mounting point 161. In addition, the actuating element 17 has an additional pin 163 on its side facing away from the connectors 12. This pin 163 can be connected to the cover 1 by means of a lead seal 19 through an opening in a reinforcing rib 15 and an opening in the pin 163. When the actuating element 17 or the connector 12 moves relative to the reinforcing rib 15, the lead seal 19 is broken.

[0035] In Figure 4A system consisting of a container 2 and a lid 1 according to the invention is shown. The lid 1 is hooked into the complementary receptacles on a side wall 24 of the container 2 by means of the rigid connectors 122 and can be inserted into the container 2 by a pivoting movement (arrow). After the lid 1 is inserted, the movable connectors 121 are returned to the closed position 124, and the container 2 is thereby closed with the lid 1.

[0036] Figure 5 shows a section through a Figure 4 shown container 2 closed with the lid 1. Both the rigid connectors 122 and the movable connectors 121 prevent movement of the lid 1 perpendicular to the lid plane 11 relative to the container 2. When the lid 1 or the lid plane 11 is loaded from its underside 112, the grooves 123 in the connectors 12 engage with the side walls 24 of the container 2. Table 1: Designations in figures Description 1 Lid 11 Cover level 111 Top 112 bottom 113 side edge 12 connector 121 Movable connector 122 Rigid connector 123 Nut 124 Closing position 125 Parking position 13 guide 14 Hook 15 Reinforcing rib 16 component 161 Pickup point 162 module 163 Pen 17 Actuating element 18 Feather 19 seal 2 container 21 Recording 22 breakthrough 23 Support surface 24 side wall 25 Floor a Distance

Claims

1. A cover (1) for closing a container (2), particularly a container (2) for hazardous materials, having a cover plane (11) with an upper side (111), an underside (112) and at least four lateral edges (113), wherein at least one connector (12) is respectively arranged on at least two opposing lateral edges (113), wherein at least one connector (121) arranged on a lateral edge (113) is mounted so as to be movable in relation to the lateral edge (113) largely perpendicular and largely parallel to the cover plane (11); and wherein the cover (1) has a guide for guiding the movable connector (121) and for preventing a largely perpendicular movement of the movable connector (121) in relation to the cover plane (11) on its upper side and / or underside, characterized in that the movable connector (121) has an at least partially circumferential groove (123) in the region of the connector (12), which protrudes beyond the lateral edge (113) in the closing position (124).

2. The cover according to claim 1, characterized in that the movable connector (121) can be moved between a parking position (125) within the cover (1) and the closing position (124), in which the movable connector (121) protrudes from the lateral edge (113).

3. The cover according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that at least one connector (12), which is arranged on the lateral edge (113) lying opposite of the movable connector (121), is connected to the cover (1) rigidly in relation to the lateral edge (113).

4. The cover according to claim 3, characterized in that at least one rigid connector (122) is realized in the form of a hinged connector.

5. The cover according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that - a component, preferably an actuating element (17), is arranged on the upper side of the cover plane; and in that - at least two of the movable connectors (121) can be moved by a common component (16).

6. The cover according to claim 5, characterized in that the component (16) has at least one spring (18), preferably a spring (18) that is formed by the component (16) itself, in order to pretension the movable connector (121) into a position, in which it protrudes beyond the lateral edge (113) of the cover (1) .

7. The cover according to claim 6, characterized in that the spring (18) formed by the component (16) can be strengthened by means of an additional spring (181) arranged between the component and the spring (18).

8. The cover according to one of claims 5 to 7, characterized in that the component (16), the spring (18) and / or the movable connector (121) are produced in the form of an assembly.

9. The cover according to one of claims 5 to 8, characterized in that the component (16) and / or the assembly consists of plastic, preferably of polypropylene, polyethylene and / or ESD-capable plastics.

10. The cover according to one of claims 5 to 9, characterized in that the cover (1) has at least two components (16) that are assigned to a common lateral edge (113), preferably two components (16) with two respective movable connectors (121).

11. The cover according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that at least one lateral edge (113) without connector (12) has at least one hook (14), preferably laterally.

12. The cover according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the upper side (111) and / or the underside of the cover (1) has at least one reinforcing rib (15) for preventing or impeding a deflection of the cover.

13. The cover according to claim 12, characterized in that the guide (13) of the movable connector (121) is formed by a reinforcing rib (15).

14. The cover according to one of claims 12 or 13, characterized in that the hook (14), the reinforcing rib (15) and / or the cover plane (11) consists of a coherent assembly.

15. A system comprising a container (2) with a bottom (25) and sidewalls (24) and a cover (1) according to one of claims 1 to 14, characterized in that a complementary receptacle (21), preferably an opening (22), is provided for each connector (12) of the cover (1) in the sidewall (24) of the container (2) in order to receive the connector (12).

16. The system comprising a container (2) and a cover (1) according to claim 15, characterized in that a complementary supporting surface (23) is provided for each hook (14) of the cover (1) in the sidewall (24) of the container (2) in order to position the cover (1) and to absorb forces acting upon the upper side (111) of the cover (1).

17. The system comprising a container (2) and a cover (1) according to one of claims 15 or 16, characterized in that the cover plane (11) is smaller than the area delimited by the sidewalls (24) of the container (2).

18. The system comprising a container (2) and a cover (1) according to one of claims 15 to 17, characterized in that at least the center of the complementary receptacle (21) or the opening (22) in the sidewall (24) is spaced apart from the edge between two sidewalls (24) of the container by a distance (a) ≥ 5%, preferably ≥ 10%, of the length of the sidewall (24).

19. The system comprising a container (2) and a cover (1) according to one of claims 15 to 18, characterized in that the container in the form of hazardous materials packaging complies with UN-standards for hazardous material packaging GGVS-ADR-RiD, preferably with authorization categories UN 4H2 / X and / or UN 4H2 / Y.

Images