Hazardous goods container

Abstract

In the case of a hazardous goods container (1) having a pallet base (4), a folding-wall ring (3) and a cover (2), wherein, in the set-up functional state, the folding-wall ring can be releasably connected, with the aid of locking devices (5) arranged on the cover or on the pallet base, on the upper side to the cover and on the underside to the pallet base, and wherein each locking device has a movably mounted catch (9) which, in the locked state, passes through a complementary catch aperture (8) in the folding-wall ring, each catch aperture is surrounded on the outside by a reinforcing ring (12), which is embedded in the plastics material of the folding-wall ring.

Description

[0001] Dangerous goods containers

[0002] The invention relates to a hazardous goods container with a pallet base which is produced as a twin-sheet component from a thermoplastic material, with a folding wall ring made of a thermoplastic material, and with a lid which is produced as a twin-sheet component from a thermoplastic material, wherein the folding wall ring, in the erected functional state, can be detachably connected to the lid on the top side and to the pallet base on the bottom side by means of locking devices arranged on the lid or on the pallet base, wherein each locking device has a movably mounted bolt which, in the locked state, penetrates a complementary bolt recess of the folding wall ring.

[0003] Such hazardous goods containers are generally known. Each hazardous goods container comprises a pallet base formed from two plastic shells made of thermoplastic material using a deep-drawing process to form closed cavities. A lid is also provided, similarly constructed from two plastic shells, forming cavities between these plastic shells, as a twin-sheet component made of thermoplastic material. The lid can be placed on one edge of the pallet base. A folding wall ring is also provided, made from a thermoplastic material with one or two shells. When in its upright position, it encloses a transport space for storing and transporting hazardous goods such as airbags, batteries, or similar items. When folded, the folding wall ring is placed on the pallet base and covered by the lid.When in its assembled state, the folding wall ring is inserted into the area near the edge of the pallet base and is closed at its top by the lid, which is placed on top of the folding wall ring. To secure the folding wall ring to the pallet base and to secure the lid to the top of the folding wall ring, locking devices are provided on the pallet base on the one hand and on the lid on the other. The folding wall ring has several slot-like locking recesses on both its underside and its top side, into which the locking device bolts can be inserted when the folding wall ring is to be locked to the pallet base and the lid. For this purpose, the locking device bolts are mounted in the pallet base or lid for linear movement, so that they can be inserted into or moved out of the locking recesses.The object of the invention is to create a dangerous goods container of the type mentioned above which provides increased safety for the storage and transport of dangerous goods.

[0004] This object is achieved in that each locking recess is enclosed on the outside by a reinforcing ring that is embedded in the plastic material of the folding wall ring. The reinforcing ring is preferably designed as a closed ring. The external enclosure of the locking recess by the reinforcing ring means that the reinforcing ring surrounds the locking recess on the outside - viewed in the plane of the locking recess - radially to a locking axis along which the locking bolt penetrates through the respective locking recess. The reinforcing ring is therefore laid around corresponding edge regions of the locking recess and integrated into the plastic material of the folding wall ring. If the folding wall ring is manufactured as a twin-sheet component, the reinforcing ring is embedded between an outer shell and an inner shell of the folding wall ring.This preferably already occurs during the deep-drawing process of the twin-sheet component. The solution according to the invention is particularly well-suited for packaging hazardous goods in the form of batteries or airbags, both for the automotive sector. Thanks to the solution according to the invention, the hazardous goods packaging withstands drop tests, including a corner drop test, without the hazardous goods container opening and thus the hazardous goods being ejected. The solution according to the invention avoids the additional clamping of the hazardous goods container with straps that would have to be cut open manually. According to the invention, the locking devices can be opened automatically by robots without the need to first manually loosen straps that enclose the hazardous goods container on the outside.

[0005] In an embodiment of the invention in which each locking device has a cover plate for covering a guide space for the bolt, at least one securing element is provided which covers the cover plate on the outside at least in sections in a form-fitting manner. This prevents the cover plate from becoming loose under heavy loads and exposing the guide space, so that the bolt can emerge from the guide space and also detach from the pallet base or the lid. The at least one securing element is made of plastic or metal and is firmly connected to a surface of the pallet base or the lid. The securing element extends over the cover plate in such a way that the securing element forms a form-fitting retainer for the cover plate in its position as a wall of the guide space for the bolt.In a further embodiment of the invention, a metal sheet is provided as the securing element. This sheet covers the cover plate and is attached to the pallet base or lid by means of mechanical fastening elements on the sides of the cover plate. A metal sheet strip is preferably provided as the securing element. Screws are preferably provided as mechanical fastening elements, which are screwed into threaded receptacles in the pallet base or lid. The metal sheet has corresponding openings through which the screws are inserted to be screwed into the threaded receptacles.

[0006] In a further embodiment of the invention, the latch is made of metal or a material that is stronger than the plastic material of the twin-sheet components. The latch can be made of steel or a light metal alloy. Alternatively, the latch is made of a material that is stronger than the plastic material of the twin-sheet components, in particular a high-strength plastic, a light metal alloy, or a steel part, advantageously a steel sheet.

[0007] In a further embodiment of the invention, the reinforcement ring is rectangular, with adjacent ring sides aligned parallel to the edges of the rectangular locking recess. The ring sides are formed by the four legs of the reinforcement ring, which merge into one another at the four corners of the reinforcement ring. Thus, the reinforcement ring is a single-piece, closed-ring component.

[0008] In a further embodiment of the invention, the reinforcement ring is made of a material that is stronger than the material of the folding wall ring, in particular of metal or a fiber-reinforced plastic material. In all variants, the reinforcement ring is manufactured separately from the folding wall ring and embedded in the plastic material of the folding wall ring—preferably during the production of the folding wall ring. The reinforcement ring is preferably designed as a closed metal wire ring and is inserted into a corresponding deep-drawing tool as a wire insert during the production of the folding wall ring.

[0009] In a further embodiment, the reinforcement ring is designed to be continuous and closed. The reinforcement ring is advantageously provided with a round or square cross-section. With a round cross-section, the cross-section can be circular, elliptical, or similar. With a square cross-section, the cross-section can be triangular, square, pentagonal, or hexagonal. The reinforcement ring can also be provided with a solid or hollow cross-section, i.e., it can be designed as a solid ring or as a sleeve- or tubular ring.

[0010] Further advantages and features of the invention emerge from the claims and from the following description of a preferred embodiment of the invention, which is illustrated by the drawings.

[0011] Fig. 1 shows a perspective view obliquely from above of an embodiment of a dangerous goods container according to the invention,

[0012] Fig. 2 the dangerous goods container according to Fig. 1 in a different perspective, diagonally from below,

[0013] Fig. 3 shows an enlarged perspective view of a folding wall ring of the

[0014] Dangerous goods container according to Fig. 1 and 2,

[0015] Fig. 4 in perspective view an underside of a cover of the

[0016] Dangerous goods container according to Fig. 1 and 2,

[0017] Fig. 5 shows an enlarged section V of the lid of the dangerous goods container according to Fig. 1,

[0018] Fig. 6 shows a perspective view of the underside of a pallet base of the dangerous goods container according to Figs. 1 and 2,

[0019] Fig. 7 is a further perspective view, but from a top side, of the pallet base according to Fig. 6,

[0020] Fig. 8 shows an enlarged view of section VIII of the pallet base according to Fig. 7,

[0021] Fig. 9 shows an enlarged section IX of the cover according to Fig. 4,

[0022] Fig. 10 shows an enlarged section X of the pallet base according to Fig. 6,

[0023] Fig. 11 shows an enlarged section XI in the region of a lower edge of the folding wall ring according to Fig. 3 and Fig. 12 shows a further, enlarged section XII of the folding wall ring according to Fig. 3.

[0024] A hazardous goods container 1 according to Figs. 1 to 12 comprises a pallet base 4, a folding wall ring 3, and a lid 2. The three components of the hazardous goods container 1 are separated from each other. Figs. 1 and 2 show the three components stacked on top of each other during transport and storage.

[0025] The pallet base 4 is manufactured as a single piece twin-sheet component from two thermoplastic sheets which are deep-drawn together to form a double-walled component with cavities in between.

[0026] The folding wall ring 3 is a foldable component made of a thermoplastic material. In its upright functional position as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the folding wall ring 3 has four side walls that are integrally connected to one another via film hinges. The film hinges form fold lines, whereby the folding wall ring 3, together with additional fold lines in the area of ​​the short side walls, can be folded to an area smaller than the base area of ​​the pallet base 4. The folding wall ring 3 can therefore be placed on top of the pallet base 4 in the folded state.

[0027] A lid 2 is placed on the upper side of the folding wall ring 3. Similar to the pallet base 4, the lid 2 is manufactured as a one-piece twin-sheet component made of thermoplastic material. The lid 2 is also formed by two plastic sheets that are deep-drawn together to form cavities, forming a two-shell body with correspondingly closed cavities between them.

[0028] In its functional state, the folding wall ring 3 is inserted into a circumferential receiving groove on the top side of the pallet base. The pallet base 4 has a circumferential edge that flanks the folding wall ring 3 on the outside. The lid 2 also has a circumferential edge that, when the lid 2 is placed on the folding wall ring 3, overlaps an upper edge of the folding wall ring 3 on the outside.

[0029] In order to secure the lid, the folding wall ring 3, and the pallet base 4 against one another during storage and transport, several locking devices 5 are provided. Each locking device 5 has a latch 9, which is mounted in a guide space of the lid 2 or the pallet base 4 for linear movement between a release position and a locking position. In the locking position, the respective latch 9 protrudes through a latch recess 8 of the folding wall ring 3. The latch recesses 8 are provided as slot-like, rectangular passages in the folding wall ring 3. A total of four latch recesses 8 are provided at an upper edge region of the folding wall ring 3 and four further latch recesses 8 at a lower edge region of the folding wall ring 3.Complementing this, a total of four locking devices 5 are provided in the area of ​​the cover 2 and four further locking devices 5 in the area of ​​the pallet base 4. Each latch 9 is provided on an outer side, i.e., from the top side in the case of the cover 2 and from the bottom side in the case of the pallet base 4, with a sleeve-shaped tool engagement surface that can be gripped by hand or by a robot tool in order to move the latch 9 between the locked position and the release position. A housing of the guide space for the latch 9 is provided in the area of ​​the outer side with an elongated hole that limits the displaceability of the sleeve-shaped tool engagement surface and thus the displaceability of the latch 9.In the illustrated embodiment, the latch 9, including the sleeve-shaped tool engagement surface, is made of a material that is stronger than the plastic material of the cover 2 and the pallet base 4, in this case a light metal alloy. On a rear side opposite the sleeve-shaped tool engagement surface, the guide space for the respective latch 9 is closed by a cover plate 10. In the area where the latch 9 exits the guide space, the cover plate 10 is assigned an additional tear-out protection in the form of a securing element 11 designed as a sheet metal strip, which extends transversely to the direction of displacement of the latch 9 over the cover plate 10 and is firmly connected to the plastic material of the cover 2 or the pallet base 4 by mechanical fastening elements, in each case laterally adjacent to an edge region of the cover plate.In the illustrated embodiment, rivets are provided as suitable mechanical fastening elements. Figure 8 shows the tear-out protection of the cover plate 10 and the latch 9 in the area of ​​the lid 2, and Figure 9 shows the tear-out protection for the cover plate 10 and the latch 9 in the area of ​​the pallet base 4. The mounting and securing of the latches 9 is identical for all locking devices 5. Instead of sheet metal strips, the securing elements 11 can also be formed by other high-strength flat securing elements, in particular by strips or plates made of a fiber-reinforced plastic material.

[0030] In order to prevent corresponding edges of the locking recesses 8 from tearing out, the edges of the locking recesses 8 are additionally provided with reinforcing rings 12, which in the illustrated embodiment are designed as wire inserts. Each reinforcing ring 12 is a closed, rectangular ring, with a round wire cross-section in the illustrated embodiment. In other embodiments, angular cross-sections can be provided instead of a round cross-section. In the illustrated embodiment, solid material cross-sections are provided. In other embodiments not shown, tubular or sleeve-shaped cross-sections can be provided. Instead of a metallic reinforcing ring, a reinforcing ring made of another high-strength material, in particular of a fiber-reinforced plastic material, can also be provided. The rectangular reinforcing ring 12 according to Figs. 11 and 12 is designed to be endlessly closed.This means that in the metal wire ring design, especially in the steel wire ring design, the corresponding ends of the metal wire are welded together or connected in another form by continuous material bonding. Alternatively, it is also possible to produce a corresponding reinforcement ring in tubular form by extrusion and then separate it in discs from the extruded tube, which inevitably results in a continuous, circumferentially closed design.

[0031] The reinforcement rings 12 are embedded in the plastic material of the folding wall ring 3. If the folding wall ring 3 is manufactured as a twin-sheet component from a thermoplastic material, the reinforcement rings 8 can be inserted into the deep-drawing tool during the production of the folding wall ring 3, which inevitably results in the embedding of the respective reinforcement ring 12. Alternatively, if the folding wall ring 3 is manufactured as a single-shell, the respective reinforcement ring 12 can be pressed into the still-formable plastic material during the production of the folding wall ring 3, which similarly results in the embedding of the reinforcement ring 12 after cooling and stiffening.

[0032] From Figs. 11 and 12, it can be seen that corresponding side legs of the reinforcement ring 12 extend parallel to edge regions of the rectangular locking recess 8, wherein the reinforcement rings 12 have a significantly greater height than the height of the slot-like locking recesses 8, viewed in the vertical direction of the hazardous goods container 1. The area defined by each reinforcement ring 12 is therefore at least three times as large as the free cross-sectional area defined by the edge region of the respective locking recess 8.

[0033] In the functionally ready transport and storage state, the lid 2 of the hazardous goods container 1 is locked to the four locking recesses 8 at the upper edge of the folding wall ring 3 via the latches 9 of the four locking devices 5. The pallet base 4 is locked to the lower locking recesses 8 via the locking devices 5 and the associated latches 9 in the area of ​​the lower edge of the folding wall ring 3, with the latches 9 each penetrating the latch recesses 8. If the hazardous goods container 1 falls downward in this locked state, the additional reinforcement rings 12 prevent the edge areas of the latch recesses 8, through which the latches 9 penetrate, from tearing out. This means that neither the lid 2 nor the pallet base 4 can separate from the folding wall ring 3, so that the dangerous goods transported in the dangerous goods container 1 cannot be thrown out of the transport space within the dangerous goods container 1.

Claims

Patent claims 1. Dangerous goods container (1) with a pallet base (4) made as a twin-sheet component from a thermoplastic material, with a folding wall ring (3) made of a thermoplastic material, and with a lid (2) made as a twin-sheet component from a thermoplastic material, wherein the folding wall ring (3), in the erected functional state, can be detachably connected to the lid (2) on the top side and to the pallet base (4) on the bottom side by means of locking devices (5) arranged on the lid (2) or on the pallet base (4), wherein each locking device (5) has a movably mounted bolt (9) which, in the locked state, penetrates a complementary bolt recess (8) in the folding wall ring (3), characterized in that each bolt recess (8) is enclosed on the outside by a reinforcing ring (12) which is embedded in the plastic material of the folding wall ring (3).

2. Dangerous goods container (1) according to claim 1, wherein each locking device (5) has a cover plate (10) for covering a guide space for the bolt (9), characterized in that at least one securing element (11) is provided which covers the cover plate (10) on the outside at least in sections in a form-fitting manner.

3. Dangerous goods container (1) according to claim 2, characterized in that a metal sheet is provided as the securing element (11), which covers the cover plate (10) and is fastened to the pallet base (4) or the lid (2) laterally of the cover plate (10) by means of mechanical fastening elements.

4. Dangerous goods container (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the latch (9) is made of a material, in particular of metal, which is stronger than the plastic materials of the folding wall ring (3), the lid (2) or the pallet base (4).

5. Dangerous goods container (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the reinforcing ring (12) is rectangular, with adjacent ring sides being aligned parallel to edges of the rectangular locking recess (8).

6. Dangerous goods container (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the reinforcing ring (12) is made of a material which is different from the material of the Folding wall ring (3) is made of a stronger material, in particular of metal or of a fiber-reinforced plastic material.

7. Dangerous goods container (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the reinforcing ring (12) is designed to be endless and closed.

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