Tension lock

Abstract

The invention relates to a tension lock (5) for a transport container (1) delimited by container walls and a lid (4), wherein the tension lock (5), which can be displaced beyond a dead centre in a pressure direction (D) from an open position into a closed position, has an actuating strip (6), comprising a detachable pivot connection (14) for the lid (4), and a tensioning lever (7). In order to enable sustained functionality despite possible impact effects on the actuating strips, which are very difficult to prevent in the context of transport logistics, it is proposed that the actuating strip (6) has a stop (17) for a container wall (10), and that the tensioning lever (7) is hinged via tensioning bearings (8, 9) on the actuating strip (6) on the one hand and on the container wall (10) on the other hand, wherein the tensioning bearing (8) of the actuating strip (6) is set back from the stop (17) for the container wall (10) in relation to the pressure direction (D).

Description

[0001]

[0002] Technical area

[0003] The invention relates to a tension lock for a transport container delimited by container walls and a lid, wherein the tension lock, which can be displaced via a dead center from an open position in a pressure direction into a closed position, has an actuating bar comprising a detachable pivot connection for the lid, and a tension lever.

[0004] State of the art

[0005] For the detachable fastening of a transport container to a lid or intermediate frame resting thereon, it is known from EP0669441 A1 that a tension lock is provided on each of two opposing container walls of the transport container. Each tension lock has an actuating bar and a tensioning lever, which together form a toggle lever that can be moved via a dead center from an open position in a pressure direction to a closed position. In addition, the actuating bar comprises a pivot connection formed by a connecting hook on the actuating bar that engages a pivot shaft of the lid. As a result, when only one tension lock is open, the lid or intermediate frame attached to the transport container can be pivoted relative to the transport container in the manner of a hinge about a pivot axis running parallel to the longitudinal direction of the container wall.

[0006] The actuating bar is hinged to the tension lever via a connecting bar extending transversely from the actuating bar and using a bearing pin connection. In the closed position, the tension lever is covered by the actuating bar and secured between the connecting bar and the transport container wall with such a tight fit that, when external forces are applied via the actuating bar, the resulting compressive forces are inevitably dissipated via the bearing pin connections. Due to the design, there is a risk during normal handling of such transport containers that impacts or shocks on the actuating bars could damage the bearing pin connections, ultimately rendering the tension locks inoperable.

[0007] Description of the invention

[0008] The invention is therefore based on the object of designing a tension lock of the type described at the outset in such a way that the tension lock remains permanently functional despite any impact on the actuating strips, which is hardly avoidable, especially in the context of transport logistics.

[0009] The invention achieves the stated object in that the actuating bar has a stop for a container wall, and in that the clamping lever is articulated via clamping bearings on the one hand to the actuating bar and on the other hand to the container wall, wherein the clamping bearing of the actuating bar is set back relative to the stop for the container wall with respect to the pressure direction.

[0010] As a result of these features, in the closed position, when external forces act on the actuating bar, for example due to shock or impact, the force flow is transferred via the stop of the actuating bar into the container wall, whereby the clamping bearing of the actuating bar remains outside the force flow path in such a case due to its arrangement set back from the stop. In the closed position, the clamping bearing is therefore covered by the actuating bar itself, without any external forces acting on the actuating bar being transferred to the clamping bearing, so that the risk of damage to the clamping bearing due to shock or impact in the closed position is reduced. Preferably, a stop web protrudes from the actuating bar in terms of its depth direction and forms a receiving area for the clamping lever that extends in the depth direction.In the closed position, the depth direction essentially coincides with the pressure direction. In the closed position, the tension lever is thus completely received in the receiving area of ​​the actuating bar, i.e. the effective depth of the tension lever is less than the length of the stop web extending in the depth direction. Since it has been shown according to the invention that generally even a slight overextension of the toggle lever formed by the tension lever and actuating bar is sufficient to secure the tension lock in the closed position, the receiving area or the stop web of the actuating bar can be dimensioned relatively compactly. Due to the fact that, due to these features, the depth of the tension lock in the closed position only depends on the depth of the actuating bar, a more compact size of the tension lock in the closed position is advantageously achieved.As a result, the overall space requirement of the transport containers can be reduced, which in turn creates favorable conditions for use in transport and warehouse logistics.

[0011] Due to the only slight overextension of the toggle lever beyond its dead center according to the invention, it is often difficult for the user to determine whether the tension lock is properly secured in the closed position. To make this easier, it is proposed that the actuating bar have a viewing window for the clamping bearing of the container wall. This makes it easy to determine by visual inspection whether the tension lock is actually fully locked in the closed position. Preferably, the viewing windows are such that the clamping bearing receptacles, which usually protrude from the container wall, at least partially penetrate the respective viewing windows in the closed position, with the clamping bearings of the container wall and the actuating bar being flush with one another, particularly towards the outside. This also creates the prerequisite that the clamping bearing can be dimensioned larger and thus turned out to be more robust.Not least in connection with freight, it is regularly necessary for quality assurance reasons to ensure the proper closure of the transport container until it is actually opened at its destination. Against this background, it is proposed that a closure seal have at least one plug-in section forming a predetermined breaking point, which, in the closed position, penetrates the actuating bar and the tensioning lever and is secured against withdrawal against the direction of pressure. The closure seal, which is preferably formed in one piece, for example as an injection-molded part, has in particular plug-in sections similar to the snap-hook principle, so that the plug-in sections form, on the one hand, a contact surface enabling insertion in the direction of pressure and, on the other hand, stops that engage behind the actuating bar against the direction of pressure.The latter means that the closure seal can no longer be removed without damaging it against the direction of pressure. Therefore, if the actuating bar is moved against the direction of pressure to open the toggle lock, the plug-in sections break off at their respective predetermined breaking points, causing the closure seal to fall off and allowing the toggle lock to be moved into the open position. Furthermore, the actuating bar can generally also be provided with a viewing window for an indicator section of the closure seal, making it easy to see whether the transport container has remained properly sealed.

[0012] For a compact design, it is recommended that the actuating bar, the container wall, and the clamping lever run essentially parallel to each other in the closed position. This reduces the effective depth of the clamping lock in the closed position and thus depends essentially only on the material thickness and the dimensions of the stop or stop bar of the actuating bar.

[0013] Favorable design conditions and the longest possible construction of the tension lock are achieved when at least one of the tension bearings forms a guide socket for a sliding pin of the tension lever, forming a guide joint. The sliding pin is rotatable relative to the guide socket about a rotation axis running parallel to the container wall and is displaceable on its sliding section opposite the rotation axis along an arcuate guide track formed by the guide socket. Due to these features, the design results in a particularly favorable force transmission during the displacement movements of the tension lock between open and closed positions compared to, for example, conventional bolt connections. This creates advantageous conditions with regard to the bearing forces occurring and thus a particularly robust articulated connection.Furthermore, these features also make it possible to easily form the respective guide receptacles or sliding pins as one piece with the actuating bar, the clamping lever, or the container wall. For the design of the guide joint, it is fundamentally irrelevant whether, for example, the sliding pin is assigned to the clamping lever and the guide receptacle to the actuating bar or the container wall, or vice versa.

[0014] Against this background, particularly favorable handling conditions for the tension lock arise if the guide receptacle forms a stop for the sliding pin, acting as a rotation limiter, both in the closed and open positions. For this purpose, the guide receptacle preferably has a cross-section essentially shaped like a circular sector, in particular a quarter-circle sector, so that the circular arc defines the guide path and the circular radii delimiting the sector define the stops. Depending on the clamping angle between the tension lever and the actuating bar or the container wall, which is predetermined by the rotation limiter, the tension lock elements are already favorably pre-positioned relative to one another in the open position.This eliminates the need to ensure the exact alignment of the clamping lever, especially with respect to the actuating bar, when the latter establishes the pivoting connection to the cover before the actuating bar is finally pushed in the direction of pressure and the clamp lock is moved into the closed position. As a result, the clamp lock can usually be easily operated one-handed or with the aid of automation.

[0015] In order to provide additional security for the clamp lock in the closed position in a structurally advantageous manner, thus reducing the risk of accidental opening of the clamp lock even in the event of careless handling of a transport container, it is recommended that the actuating bar and the container wall have locking recesses that interact with these locking recesses to secure the actuating bar in the closed position. For example, it can be provided that at the free end of the actuating bar, at each of its end sections, a locking pin protrudes outward relative to the longitudinal direction of the bar, which engages force-fittingly in a corresponding groove in the container wall.

[0016] The invention also relates to a transport container defined by container walls and a lid, and comprising a transport container according to the invention. The transport container preferably comprises a tension lock on each of two opposing container walls. To form the pivoting connection between the actuating bar and the lid, the latter, in the simplest case, can have a pivoting shaft forming a hinge axis, into which the actuating bar engages, for example, via a connecting hook.

[0017] In this context, the toggle fastener is secured even more reliably in the closed position if the pivoting connection of the actuating bar forms a connecting hook for a hinge axis of the lid, and if the transport container has a hook receptacle which, in the closed position, forms a stop for the connecting hook to pre-tension the toggle fastener in the direction of pressure. In the simplest case, the hook receptacle is formed by a bead recessed in the upper edge of the container wall, into which the free end of the connecting hook engages after the pivoting connection has been established, so that in the closed position, the hook end section is pressed under pre-tension against the bead wall facing away from the container wall.

[0018] Brief description of the invention

[0019] The drawing shows an example of the subject matter of the invention.

[0020] Fig. 1 is a schematic oblique view of a transport container according to the invention with tension locks according to the invention,

[0021] Fig. 2 is a front view of a tension lock according to the invention on a larger scale,

[0022] Fig.3a a section along the line III-III with the swivel connection released, on a larger scale,

[0023] Fig.3b a representation of the tension lock in the open position corresponding to Fig. 3a,

[0024] Fig.3c a representation of the tension lock in the closed position corresponding to Fig. 3a and 3b and

[0025] Fig. 4 is a sectional oblique view of a tension lock having a locking seal.

[0026] Ways to implement the invention

[0027] A transport container 1 comprises, for example, a base part 2 comprising a container bottom, as well as an intermediate frame 3 resting on the base part 2 as a height extension. The transport container also has a lid 4 which rests on the intermediate frame 3. Both the intermediate frame 3 and the base part 2, and the lid 4 and the intermediate frame 3 are detachably connected via respective tension fasteners 5 according to the invention. It goes without saying that the transport container 1 can also comprise several intermediate frames 3 stacked on top of one another. However, it can also be provided that the transport container 1 comprises only a base part 2, on which the lid 4 rests directly and is detachably connected via tension fasteners 5. The tension fastener 5 provided for the connection between the intermediate frame 3 and the lid 4 is shown partially cut away in Fig. 1 in the area of ​​the lid 4.Figure 2, however, shows a detailed view of a partially opened clamp fastener 5 for connecting the base part 2 to the intermediate frame 3 indicated by dash-dotted lines. In addition to an actuating bar 6, the clamp fasteners 5 also have several clamping levers 7 and can be moved from an open position to a closed position via a dead center. The clamping levers 7 are each hinged to the actuating bar 6 via clamping bearings 8 and to the container wall 10 via clamping bearings 9. In addition, the actuating bar 6 has locking bodies 11, and the container wall 10 has locking recesses 12 that interact with these locking bodies 11 to additionally secure the actuating bar 6 in the closed position.

[0028] In order to be able to easily determine by visual inspection whether the tension lock

[0029] 5 is actually fully locked in the closed position, the operating bar

[0030] 6 a viewing window 13 for the clamping bearing 9 of the container wall 10.

[0031] The clamping lock 5 can be moved via a dead center from an open position (Fig. 3b) in a pressure direction D to a closed position (Fig. 3c). The corresponding toggle lever kinematics is illustrated by the dot-dash connecting lines of the respective rotation axes. In the closed position (Fig. 3c), the actuating bar 6, the container wall 10, and the clamping lever 7 run essentially parallel to one another.

[0032] The operating bar 6 comprises a detachable pivot connection 14, wherein for this purpose a connecting hook 15 of the operating bar 6 engages in a pivot shaft 16 forming a hinge axis, which is arranged on the cover 4 or on the intermediate frame 3

[0033] In addition, the actuating bar 6 has a stop 17 designed as a stop web for the container wall 10, wherein the clamping bearing 8 of the actuating bar 6 is set back from the stop 17 for the container wall 10 with respect to the pressure direction D. As can be seen in Figs. 3a to 3c, the clamping bearings 8, 9 each have guide receptacles 18 for corresponding sliding pins 19 of the clamping lever 7. The sliding pins 19 are rotatable relative to the respective guide receptacle 18 about a rotational axis running parallel to the longitudinal extent of the container wall 10, and are displaceable at their sliding sections opposite the respective rotational axis along an arcuate guide path formed by the respective guide receptacle 18. Thus, the sliding pins 19, together with the corresponding guide receptacles 18, each form a guide joint as a clamping bearing 8, 9.The guide receptacles 18 also have a cross-section essentially in the shape of a quarter-circle sector, so that the circular arc defines the guide path and the circular radii delimiting the sector define stops for the guide pins 19 which act as rotation limiters.

[0034] In order to enable particularly reliable securing of the tension lock 5 in the closed position, the transport container 1 has a hook receptacle 20 which, in the closed position, forms a stop 21 for the connecting hook 15 for pre-tensioning the connecting hook 15 in the pressure direction D.

[0035] As can be seen from Fig. 4, a closure seal 22 can be provided which has two plug-in sections 23 forming a respective predetermined breaking point, which in the closed position penetrate the actuating bar 6 and the tensioning lever 7. Because the plug-in sections 23 engage behind the tensioning lever 7 via, for example, snap hooks, the closure seal 22 is secured against withdrawal against the direction of pressure D. The actuating bar 6 also has a viewing window 24 for an indicator section 25 of the closure seal 22. If the actuating bar 6 is moved against the direction of pressure D to open the tension lock 5, the plug-in sections 23 break off at their corresponding predetermined breaking points, so that the closure seal 22 falls off and the tension lock 5 is released for movement into the open position.

Claims

Patent claims 1. Tension lock (5) for a transport container (1) delimited by container walls and a lid (4), wherein the tension lock (5) which can be displaced via a dead center from an open position in a pressure direction (D) into a closed position has an actuating bar (6) comprising a detachable pivot connection (14) for the lid (4), and a tension lever (7), characterized in that the actuating bar (6) has a stop (17) for a container wall (10), and in that the tension lever (7) is articulated via tension bearings (8, 9) on the one hand to the actuating bar (6) and on the other hand to the container wall (10), wherein the tension bearing (8) of the actuating bar (6) is set back relative to the stop (17) for the container wall (10) with respect to the pressure direction (D).

2. Tension lock (5) according to claim 1, characterized in that the actuating bar (6) has a viewing window (13) for the tension bearing (9) of the container wall (10).

3. Tension lock (5) according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that a closure seal (22) has at least one plug-in section (23) forming a predetermined breaking point, which in the closed position passes through the actuating bar (6) and the tensioning lever (7) and is secured against extraction against the pressure direction (D).

4. Tension lock (5) according to claim 3, characterized in that the actuating bar (6) has a viewing window (24) for a display section (25) of the closure seal (22).

5. Tension closure according to one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that in the closed position the actuating bar (6), the container wall (10) and the tension lever (7) run substantially parallel to one another.

6. Tension lock according to one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that at least one of the tension bearings (8, 9) forms a guide receptacle (18) for a sliding pin (19) of the tension lever (7) by forming a guide joint, wherein the sliding pin (19) is rotatable relative to the guide receptacle (18) about an axis of rotation running parallel to the container wall (10) and is displaceable on its sliding section opposite the axis of rotation along an arcuate guide track formed by the guide receptacle (18).

7. Tension lock according to claim 6, characterized in that the guide receptacle (18) forms a stop for the sliding pin (19) acting as a rotation limiter both in the closed position and in the open position.

8. Tension lock according to one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that the actuating bar (6) has locking bodies (11) and the container wall (10) has locking recesses (12) cooperating with these locking bodies (11) for securing the actuating bar (6) in the closed position.

9. Transport container (1) with a tension lock (5) according to one of claims 1 to 8.

10. Transport container (1) according to claim 9, characterized in that the pivot connection (14) of the actuating strip (6) forms a connecting hook (15) for a hinge axis of the lid (4), and in that the transport container (1) has a hook receptacle (20) which, in the closed position, forms a stop (21) for the connecting hook (15) for pre-tensioning the connecting hook (15) in the pressure direction (D).

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