Adaptive storage rack

Abstract

To provide a rack for storing and / or transporting elements, in particular glazing elements.SOLUTION: The adaptive storage rack is a rack of the type comprising a receiving structure for these elements, the upper part of the structure comprising receiving means (18) and fastening means (22, 23) for an additional upper rack to be stacked thereon, and the lower part of the structure comprising complementary means enabling it to cooperate with the receiving means (18) and fastening means (22, 23) of the additional lower rack to be stacked thereon. The rack is characterized in that the fastening means comprise at least two members (22, 23) separated from each other laterally by a pitch value corresponding to the lateral difference in dimensions of the racks to be stacked.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a rack intended for storing and / or transporting glazing elements, in particular glazing intended for motor vehicles, such as for example windscreens, rear windows or side windows. [Background technology]

[0002] This type of rack generally consists of mechanically welded tubular elements forming a storage cradle inside which the glazing elements are placed with their edges parallel to one another.

[0003] Such racks usually have standard dimensions, occupy a ground surface area that is substantially rectangular, with the glazing elements distributed in the longitudinal direction, and are furthermore stackable, and at their ends are provided with receiving means intended for their exact positioning relative to one another, and with fastening means for securely connecting them both longitudinally and laterally after they have been stacked.

[0004] These fixing means usually consist of cylindrical blocks terminating in a cone placed at the top of the racks on each side, and orifices at their base aligned with these blocks, so that when two racks of the same dimensions are superimposed, the two blocks of the lowermost rack are received in the respective orifices of the rack on the top.

[0005] It is understood that under these conditions it is possible to stack only racks having exactly the same base surface area. Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] Difficulties arise when one wishes to fill such racks with transport vehicles, whether road or rail vehicles, unless the receiving surface area is a multiple of the basic dimensions of the rack, which in many cases is not a multiple of the basic dimensions of the rack, and therefore the unused volume represents a significant loss for the user. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] The invention aims to allow the user to get closer to optimal filling of the selected transport means while increasing the amount of transported elements compared to what is usually present in known standard racks.

[0008] The subject of the present invention is therefore a rack for storing and / or transporting elements, in particular glazing elements, of the type that comprises a receiving structure for these elements, the upper part of which comprises receiving means and fastening means for an additional upper rack to be stacked on it, and the lower part of which comprises complementary means that enable it to cooperate with the receiving means and fastening means of the additional lower rack to be stacked on it.

[0009] This rack is characterized in that the fastening means comprises at least two members laterally separated from one another by a value corresponding to the lateral difference in dimension of the racks to be stacked.

[0010] Preferably, the fixing means may comprise two members, which may consist of a protrusion and the complementary means may consist of an orifice formed in the front base of the structure. The protrusion may comprise a cylindrical base surmounted by a conical portion.

[0011] Embodiments of the invention will now be described, by way of non-limiting example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: [Brief description of the drawings]

[0012] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a rack with receiving means and fastening means according to the invention. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a partial plan view of the rack shown in FIG. [Diagram 3] FIG. 3 shows an enlarged cross-sectional view of the receiving means and the fastening means of a rack according to the invention. [Figure 3a] FIG. 3a is a vertical cross-sectional view of the base of the front vertical upright of a rack according to the invention. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a partial vertical sectional view of the rack taken along line IV-IV in FIG. [Diagram 5] FIG. 5 is a partial front view of the rack shown in FIGS. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a partial cross-sectional view taken along line IV-IV in FIG. 2, showing two racks of the same horizontal dimension stacked together; [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is an enlarged, fragmentary schematic view of the encircled portion of FIG. [Figure 8] FIG. 8 is a partial cross-sectional view along line IV-IV in FIG. 2 of a stack of two racks of different lateral dimensions. [Figure 9] FIG. 9 is an enlarged, fragmentary schematic view of the encircled portion of FIG. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of a variant embodiment of the receiving means and fastening means of a rack according to the invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0013] Throughout the description, the rack 1 according to the invention is considered to rest on a support ready for loading / unloading, which makes it possible to define its "bottom" and "top" parts. The openings for accessing the glazing elements are carved in a longitudinal plane and are located in the front part of the rack 1, i.e. close to the operator required for loading / unloading the glazing elements. In contrast, the rear part of the rack 1 is the part furthest from the operator. The glazing elements are therefore loaded laterally from the rear part of the rack 1 to the front part of the rack 1, being for each of them substantially oriented longitudinally. The expressions "bottom", "top", "front", "rear", "longitudinal" and "transverse" should therefore be taken into account with respect to this orientation.

[0014] In this embodiment, the rack 1 according to the invention, made from mechanically welded tubes, comprises a frame 3, the base of which is substantially rectangular in shape, the front of which is provided with a pedestal 5a which is slightly wider than the frame 3, and the side of which is provided with a pedestal 5b.

[0015] The pedestals 5a and 5b are provided with two openings 7a and 7b, respectively, intended to allow the passage of the arms of a pallet truck type lifting operator. The front part 3a of the frame 3 and the part of the front pedestal 5a located between the two openings 7a are interrupted to form an access controlled space 6 opening into the interior of the rack 1.

[0016] The two ends of the front base 5a terminate in front vertical uprights 11a whose tops are joined by cross members 13 to the tops of two vertical uprights 11b standing at the rear corners of the frame. Furthermore, the tops of the two rear vertical struts 11b are joined to each other by transversely oriented cross members 14.

[0017] The base frame 3 is provided with two transverse longitudinal members 15, the upper surface of which is provided with transverse notches 17 over its entire length, which are intended to receive the edges of glazing elements 16 intended to be stored / transported, in particular the windshield or rear window of a vehicle, and to hold these elements in a substantially vertical position.

[0018] The access controlled space 6 of the rack 1 comprises means which make it possible to close it during transport or storage, ensuring the protection of the glazing element 16, and also to open it during loading / unloading operations, improving access to the glazing elements, in particular those glazing elements stored at the rear of the rack, i.e. those glazing elements which are away from the operator.

[0019] The racks according to the invention are intended to be stacked one on top of the other and, for this purpose, are provided with receiving or guiding means capable of facilitating the performance of this stacking, as well as with fixing means capable of preventing the rack from moving when it is placed in position.

[0020] As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the receiving means consists of two front guides 18 and two rear guides 20.

[0021] Each front guide 18 located at the front part of the cross member 13 comprises a base 18a with two wings inclined from the top to the bottom and from the outside to the inside of the guide, a lateral wing 18b and a longitudinal wing 18c. The inclination of these wings gives them a deflection function that allows the rack to be turned and pushed back into the correct position when stacking one rack on another, if the rack is not perfectly centered with respect to the receiving rack, as will be explained below.

[0022] Similarly, each rear guide 20 disposed on the rear cross member 14 has a base 20a with two wings sloping from top to bottom and from the outside to the inside of the guide, namely a lateral wing 20b and a longitudinal wing 20c.

[0023] The fixing means arranged in the front guide 18 comprises two lugs, a front lug 22 and a rear lug 23, which are aligned laterally, as shown in Figures 3, 7 and 9. The lugs comprise a cylindrical base 22a topped by a cone 22b. The base 22a is provided with a bottom boss 22c which is intended to be recessed in a hole in the base 18a of the guide to which it is welded.

[0024] The projections 22 and 23 have a diameter such that they can be introduced into a hole 25 provided in the lower end of the front vertical post 11a, as shown in FIG. 3a.

[0025] Figure 6 shows a standard rack of the prior art, i.e. a stack of two identical racks, the upper rack 1' having a width a or transverse dimension greater than the width a' or transverse dimension of the bottom rack 1 on which it is placed, which arrangement allows a significant increase in the number of elements to be transported. In such an embodiment of the invention, the front projections 22 of the guides 18 of the lower rack 1 fit into holes 25 in the base of the front vertical uprights 11a of the upper rack 1', as shown in Figure 7.

[0026] Figures 8 and 9 show a stack of two racks of different lateral dimensions, namely a lower rack 1 of width a placed next to an upper rack 1' of a relatively small width a' corresponding to that of the prior art rack. In this arrangement, as shown in Figure 9, the rear projections 23 of the guides 18 of the lower rack fit into holes 25 in the base of the front vertical uprights 11a of the upper rack.

[0027] The present invention is particularly advantageous in that it allows for the stacking of identical racks, such as those shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, as well as racks of different lateral dimensions, such as those shown in FIGS.

[0028] Thus, the invention allows the user to combine a rack of width a' of conventional type with a rack of a larger width a, based on the surface area available on the transport medium, so as to occupy all of the available space. It is understood that the separation e occurring between the projections 22 and 23 corresponds to the difference existing between the lateral dimensions a and a' of the racks 1 and 1'.

[0029] Obviously, according to the present invention, the guide can include a larger number of pins. Thus, in Fig. 10, the front guide 18' includes three protrusions, namely, the front protrusion 22, the middle protrusion 24, and the rear protrusion 23, all three of which are laterally aligned. As shown in Fig. 10, the distance separating two adjacent protrusions can be different, such that the front 22 and middle 24 protrusions are separated by a length e', and the middle 24 and rear 23 protrusions are separated by a larger distance e.

[0030] Such an arrangement makes it possible to further increase the combination of arrangements available to the user in order to enable the user to carry out optimal loading of the means for transporting his racks.

[0031] Finally, it is known that the number of racks that a transport medium can transport may be limited by its weight.

[0032] It is understood here that the weight of the racks can vary as a function of the glazing elements to be transported. The invention, by making it possible to combine racks of different dimensions and therefore different weights, allows the carrier to best adjust the total weight of the racks placed in the transport medium with its weight capacity.

Claims

1. 1. A rack for storing and / or transporting elements (16), in particular glazing elements, of the type having a structure (3) for storing these elements (16), the upper part of which has receiving means (18, 20) and fastening means (22, 23, 24) for an additional upper rack (1') to be stacked on top of said rack, and the bottom of said structure (3) has complementary means (25) enabling them to cooperate with the receiving means (18, 20) and fastening means (22, 23, 24) of a bottom rack (1) on which said rack is stacked, characterized in that said fastening means comprise at least two members (22, 23, 24) separated from one another in the transverse direction by a value (e, e') corresponding to the difference in the transverse dimensions of the racks to be stacked.

2. 2. A storage and / or transport rack according to claim 1, characterised in that the fastening means comprise two of said members (22, 24).

3. 3. A storage and / or transport rack according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that said members consist of projections (22, 23, 24) and said complementary means consist of orifices (25) formed in the front base of said structure (3).

4. 4. A storage and / or transport rack according to claim 3, characterized in that the projections (22, 23, 24) comprise a cylindrical base (22a) surmounted by a conical portion (22b).

5. 5. A storage and / or transport rack according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that at least one of said receiving means (18, 20) comprises a base 18a with two wings inclined from top to bottom and from outside to inside, namely lateral wings 18b and longitudinal wings 18c.

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