Container support device and fluid content transfer method

Abstract

To facilitate the work of transferring fluid contents of a container to another container. [Solution] A container support device used to transfer fluid contents from one container to another includes a base 1 and a holder 5 that holds a container 100 and is rotatably supported on the base 1. The base 1 is grounded in a first position and a second position that is inverted 90 degrees from the first position. When the base 1 is in the first position, the holder 5 is rotatably supported at the front of the base 1. A plurality of first legs 21 are provided at the bottom of the base 1 in the first position, and a plurality of second legs 22 are provided at the rear. When the base 1 is in the first position, the tips 21a (first grounding portions) of the first legs 21 contact the ground surface G. When the base 1 is in the second position, the tips 22a (second grounding portions) of the second legs 22 contact the ground surface G. When the base 1 is inverted from the first position to the second position, the position of the rotation axis L of the holder 5 is raised, and the holder 5 can be rotated from this higher position to transfer the contents to another container.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a container support device used when transferring fluid contents such as liquid or powder contained in a container to another container, and a method for transferring fluid contents using this container support device. [Background technology]

[0002] The task of manually transferring a container containing a fluid content into another container places a significant burden on the worker, especially when the fluid content is large in volume. For this reason, as disclosed in Patent Document 1, a container support device has been developed that includes a lifting mechanism for lifting the container and a rotation drive mechanism for rotating the lifted container to transfer the fluid content into another container. The container support device disclosed in Patent Document 2 includes a base and a holder supported rotatably on the upper part of the base. A container is placed on the holder, and the fluid contents are transferred by manually rotating the holder. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 3-200628 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2015-101463 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] The container support device of Patent Document 1 requires a drive source and a mechanism for transmitting the power of the drive source. In the container support device of Patent Document 2, the work of lifting the container onto the holder is a heavy burden. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and provides a container support device used for transferring fluid contents of a container to another container, comprising: The device comprises a base and a holding base that holds the container and is supported on the base so as to be rotatable around a rotation axis, wherein the base has a first grounding portion that contacts the ground surface in a first position and a second grounding portion that contacts the ground surface in a second position that is inverted 90 degrees from the first position, and wherein the height of the rotation axis from the second grounding portion when the base is in the second position is higher than the height of the rotation axis from the first grounding portion when the base is in the first position. This configuration allows the container to be moved to a higher position and held there by inverting the base, thereby reducing the burden of transferring the fluid contents of the container.In addition, no power is required, making it low cost.

[0006] In a specific embodiment, the support base is rotatably supported at the front of the base in the first position, a plurality of first legs are provided at the bottom of the base in the first position, a plurality of second legs are provided at the rear of the base in the first position, and the tips of the first legs are provided as the first ground contact parts and the tips of the second legs are provided as the second ground contact parts.

[0007] Preferably, a handle protruding forward is provided below the support stand at the front of the base in the first position for lifting the front of the base and tipping it over to the second position. According to this configuration, the base can be smoothly overturned.

[0008] Preferably, the base has a pair of rectangular sides and a rectangular bottom in the first position, the pair of sides and bottom including a framework constructed by connecting pipes, and the front, rear and top of the base in the first position are open. With this configuration, the base is lightweight and can be easily tipped from the first position to the second position. Furthermore, with the base tipped to the second position, another container can be smoothly carried in from the rear of the base.

[0009] Preferably, the holder has a horizontal receiving portion for receiving the bottom of the container and a vertical receiving portion for receiving the rear of the container, and the front and top sides of the holder are open. According to this configuration, the container can be placed on the holder from the front of the holder, making the placement work easy.

[0010] In one aspect, the holding base has a pressing member provided at the front of the horizontal receiving portion for pressing the lower end of the front of the container, and a pressing lever provided at the upper end of the vertical receiving portion so as to be rotatable around a vertical axis for pressing the upper end surface of the rear of the container. This configuration allows the container to be stably supported. In a more specific embodiment, the container has a cubic or rectangular parallelepiped shape with a square cross section, the horizontal receiving portion of the holding base is square, two opposing corner portions of the horizontal receiving portion are arranged front to back and the other two opposing corner portions are arranged left to right, the vertical receiving portion has two side edges that are perpendicular to each other and inclined with respect to the rotation axis, and the two side edges press down on the two rear side surfaces of the container, and the holding base further has a pressing member that is provided at the front corner portion of the horizontal receiving portion and presses down on the lower end of the front corner portion of the container, and a pair of pressing levers that are rotatably provided at the upper ends of the two side edges around the vertical axis and press down on the upper surface of the container. This configuration allows a cubic or rectangular parallelepiped container to be stably supported.

[0011] Preferably, the vertical receiving portion of the holding base is provided with a rotation operating member extending upward. According to this configuration, when transferring fluid contents, the container can be rotated by grasping the rotation operating member, making the transfer operation easier.

[0012] Another aspect of the present invention is a method for transferring fluid contents of a container to another container using the container support device, comprising: The method comprises the steps of placing the container on the holding table when the base is in the first position, inverting the base 90 degrees from the first position to the second position, placing another container below the holding table when the base is in the second position, and rotating the holding table to transfer the fluid contents of the container to the other container. [Effects of the Invention]

[0013] According to the present invention, the fluid content of a container can be easily transferred to another container. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0014] [Figure 1] 1 is a schematic side view of a container support device according to an embodiment of the present invention, showing a state in which a base is in a first position. [Figure 2] 3 is a schematic side view showing only the base of the container support device, omitting the holder; FIG. [Figure 3] 1 and 2. FIG. 4 is a view equivalent to FIG. 1 showing a state in which a container is placed on a holder of the container support device. [Figure 4] 1, showing a state in which the base of the container support device is inverted by 90 degrees from a first position to a second position. [Figure 5] 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line VV in FIG. 1, showing an enlarged view of the holder. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a view equivalent to FIG. 5, illustrating a state in which a container is placed on a holder. [Figure 7] FIG. 2 is an enlarged side view showing the support columns and the holder base of the base in the first position. [Figure 8] FIG. 8 is a view equivalent to FIG. 7, showing a state in which a container is placed on a holder. [Figure 9] 8 is a view equivalent to FIG. 7 showing the state in which the base is turned over by 90 degrees to assume the second position. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0015] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A container support device according to an embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to the drawings. <General configuration of container support device> As shown in Fig. 1, the container support device includes a base 1 and a holding table 5 rotatably supported on the base 1. In the container support device, the side where an operator first performs the container installation work (the left side in Fig. 1) is referred to as the "front," and the opposite side (the right side in Fig. 1) is referred to as the "rear." As will be described later, the base 1 is placed on the ground in a first position shown in Figs. 1 and 3, and in a second position shown in Fig. 4, which is inverted 90 degrees from the first position.

[0016] <Base configuration> As shown in Fig. 2, the base 1 has a base body 10 and accessory members, which will be described later. The base body 10 has a pair of rectangular vertical side portions 10a and a rectangular horizontal bottom portion 10b. The base body 10 has a substantially U-shaped front shape (shape when viewed from the front), and the front, rear, and top of the base body 10 are open.

[0017] The side 10a of the base body 10 has a framework 15 and a cover plate 17 that covers the framework 15. The bottom 10b has a framework 16 and a cover plate 18 that covers the framework 16. These rectangular frameworks 15, 16 are formed by connecting pipes made of aluminum alloy or the like vertically and horizontally. Therefore, the base body 10 is lightweight. Note that the accessories of the base 1 and the holding base 5, which will be described later, are also similarly formed from pipes. The cover plate 17 serves to prevent the fluid contents from scattering widely during the fluid contents transfer operation, which will be described later.

[0018] The vertical pipes located at the front ends of the pair of side frames 15 have a special role to be described later, and will be hereinafter referred to as pillars and given the reference numeral 11.

[0019] The accessories of the base 10 will be described with reference to Fig. 1, in which the base 1 is in a first position. Two (plural) first legs 21 extending vertically downward are provided at the left and right ends of the bottom frame 16, spaced apart from each other in the front and rear, and three (plural) second legs 22 extending horizontally rearward are provided at the rear ends of the pair of side frames 15, spaced apart from each other in the top and bottom. Furthermore, a roller 25 is rotatably supported at the rear end of the side frame 15, positioned between the legs 21, 22. The tip 21a of the first leg 21 serves as a first ground contact portion, and the tip 22a of the second leg 22 serves as a second ground contact portion.

[0020] A bracket 19 for rotatably supporting the support base 5 is fixed to the middle of the pair of left and right support columns 11 . Both ends of a roughly U-shaped handle 31 that protrudes horizontally are fixed to the lower ends (below the bracket 19) of the pair of left and right support columns 11. Both ends of a similar handle 32 are fixed near the upper ends of the pair of left and right support columns 11.

[0021] <Configuration of the support table> The holder 5 is supported by brackets 19 fixed to a pair of left and right support columns 11 of the base 1 so as to be rotatable about a rotation axis L (see FIG. 5). The holder 5 has a holder main body 50 and accessory members, which will be described later. In FIG. 1, the accessory members of the holder 5 are omitted for simplicity.

[0022] The holder body 50 will be described with reference to Figures 1, 5, and 7. The holder body 50 has a square planar shape (see Figure 5). A straight line connecting two corners of this square extends in the direction of the rotation axis L, and a straight line connecting the other two corners extends in a direction perpendicular to the rotation axis L.

[0023] The support base main body 50 has a vertical receiving portion 50a and a horizontal receiving portion 50b. The vertical receiving part 50a has two pillars 51, one on the left and one on the right, arranged on the rotation axis L, one pillar 52 arranged behind the rotation axis L, and two beams 53 fixed between the upper ends of the left and right pillars 51 and the rear pillar 52. The vertical receiving part 50a has two side edges along the beams 53, and these side edges are perpendicular to each other, so that the planar shape of the vertical receiving part 50a is "L" shaped.

[0024] The horizontal support 50b has four beams 55 arranged in a square and fixed between the lower ends of the three pillars 51, 52 and the lower end of a short pillar 54 located forward of the rotation axis L. Two corners of the square of the horizontal support 50b are located left and right, and the other two corners are located front and rear. The rear corner is located at the intersection of the side edges of the vertical support 50a. The horizontal support 50b further has load receiving portions 56 fixed between two adjacent beams 55 at each corner. The support base main body 50 having the above-mentioned vertical receiving portion 50a and horizontal receiving portion 50b is open at the front and top to allow the placement of a container 100, which will be described later.

[0025] A horizontally extending shaft member 59 is fixed to the middle of a pair of left and right pillars 51 of the holder body 50, and this shaft member 59 is supported through brackets 19 fixed to a pair of left and right supports 11 of the base 1, so that the holder body 51 is supported on the base 1 so as to be rotatable around the rotation axis L.

[0026] The position of the rotation axis L relative to the holder 5 is above the center of gravity of the entire holder 5. This allows the holder 5 to maintain a posture with the front and top sides open when in a standby state before the container 100 is placed. Note that the holder 5 is slightly tilted due to the weight balance between the front and rear, but is shown in a non-tilted state in Figures 1 and 7.

[0027] The position of the rotation axis L relative to the base 1 will now be described. As shown in Fig. 1, a distance H2 from the rotation axis L to the tip 22a (second ground contact portion) of the second leg 22 of the base 1 is larger than a distance H1 from the rotation axis L to the tip 21a (first ground contact portion) of the first leg 21 of the base 1. For example, the distance H2 is 1.5 to 2.5 times the distance H1.

[0028] Next, we will explain the accessories of the holder 5. A pressing member 60 for holding the lower end of the corner of the container 100 (described later) is provided at the front corner of the horizontal support 50b of the holder main body 50. This pressing member 60 is inclined in a U-shape, with both ends fixed to two adjacent beams 55 of the horizontal support 50b and the top fixed to the short pillar 54.

[0029] A support 65 stands upright at each of the upper ends of the two beams 53 of the vertical receiving portion 50a of the holder body 50, and a presser lever 66 for pressing down the upper end surface of a container 100 (described later) is provided at the upper end of each support 65 so as to be rotatable about a vertical axis. As shown in Fig. 5, when the holder 5 is in a standby state before the container 100 is installed, the presser lever 66 is located, for example, along the beams 53. In other words, it is located away from the open upper part of the holder body 50 so as not to interfere with the installation work of the container 100.

[0030] A rotation operation member 70 is fixed to at least one of the pillars 51 of the vertical receiving portion 50a of the holder body 50. This rotation operation member 70 has a lever 71 that extends obliquely forward and upward from the pillar 51 and further extends upward. A handle portion 72 is fixed to the upward extending portion of this lever 71.

[0031] <Operation of the container support device> Next, the operation of the container support device having the above-described structure will be described. First, the upper handle 32 is grasped to place the base 1 in an oblique position, and the container support device is carried to the transfer operation position with only the roller 25 in contact with the ground, and then the base 1 is placed in the first position as shown in Figures 3, 6, and 8. With the base 1 in the first position, a container 100 containing a fluid content such as liquid or powder is placed on the holder 5. The front and top of the holder main body 50 are open, and the horizontal receiving portion 50b of the holder main body 50 is positioned at a low position, making it easy to place the container 100.

[0032] Container 100 of this embodiment has a vertically elongated rectangular parallelepiped shape with a square cross section, and is installed so that the rotation axis L passes through two corners of container 100 and the line connecting the other two corners is perpendicular to rotation axis L. Opening 101 of container 100 is formed near one corner, and container 100 is installed so that this corner is located behind rotation axis L. Opening 101 is closed by cap 105 until immediately before the transfer operation of the fluid contents, which will be described later.

[0033] The lower ends of the four corners of the container 100 rest on the load receiving portions 56 of the horizontal receiving portion 50b of the holder body 50, thereby supporting the weight of the container 100. The two rear side surfaces of the container 100 are pressed against the two side edges of the vertical receiving portion 50a of the holder body 50, and the lower ends of the front corners of the container 100 are pressed against the U-shaped pressing members 60, thereby preventing the container 100 from moving laterally in any direction. Furthermore, by rotating the pair of presser levers 66 by 90 degrees, the upper surface of the container 100 can be pressed down by these presser levers 66 .

[0034] When the container 100 is placed on the holder 5 as described above, the center of gravity of the container 100 and the holder 5 combined is below the rotation axis L. However, the distance between the rotation axis L and the center of gravity is kept within a predetermined range so that the rotational torque required to rotate the holder 5 holding the container 100 when transferring the fluid content is not excessive, as will be described later. The support table 5 on which the container 100 is placed is slightly tilted due to the weight balance between the front and rear, but is shown in a non-tilted state in FIGS.

[0035] FIG. 3 shows a state in which the base 1 is in a first position and the container 100 is placed on the support base 5. In this state, the tip 21a of the first leg 21 provided on the bottom of the base 1 is in contact with the ground or floor surface G (ground surface). When the lower handle 31 of the base 10 is grasped and lifted, the base 1 rotates around the tip 21a of the rear first leg 21 as a fulcrum P, and assumes a second position in which the base 1 is inverted 90 degrees as shown in FIG. 4, with the tip 22a of the second leg 22 provided on the rear end of the base 1 in contact with the ground G. Note that the base 1 can be stabilized by grasping the upper handle 32 while it is being tilted.

[0036] The holder 5 is rotatably supported relative to the base 1, and the combined center of gravity of the holder 5 and the container 100 is below the rotation axis L, so that the position of the holder 5 hardly changes even when the base 1 is tipping over from the first position in Figure 3 to the second position in Figure 4.

[0037] The height of the rotation axis L of the support base 5 of the base 1 from the ground G can be increased from a height H1 before tipping shown in Fig. 3 to a height H2 after tipping shown in Fig. 4. In this way, the container 100 can be raised to a required height by tipping the base 1 without having to directly lift the container 100. Moreover, since the framework of the base 1 is made of pipes and the base 1 is lightweight, the burden of the tipping operation can be reduced.

[0038] Next, the separate container 200 is carried, for example, by a dolly 300, and placed inside the base 1. The open upper part of the base 1 in the first position becomes the rear part in the second position after the above-mentioned tipping, and the separate container 200 can be easily carried in via this open rear part.

[0039] Next, as shown in Figure 9, by grasping the handle portion 72 of the rotation operation member 70 and pushing it in the direction of the arrow, the holder 5 rotates as shown by the arrow in Figures 4 and 9, and the fluid contents can be transferred to another container 200 through the opening 101 of the container 100, whose lid 105 has been removed in advance. During this rotation of the holder 5, the upper surface of the container 100 is held down by the holding lever 66, so that it can be prevented from shifting.

[0040] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, but can adopt various other forms. The present invention can be applied to a support device for containers of various shapes. When the container is cubic, the container can be supported on the support base using the vertical support portion 50a, horizontal support portion 50b, pressing member 60, and pressing lever 66 similar to those in the above-described embodiment. When the container is cylindrical, the vertical receiving portion is semi-cylindrical, the horizontal receiving portion is circular, a pressing member for pressing the lower end of the front of the container is provided at the front of the horizontal receiving portion, for example in the shape of an arc, and one or more pressing levers for pressing the upper end surface of the rear of the container are provided at the upper end of the vertical receiving portion so as to be rotatable around a vertical axis. [Industrial Applicability]

[0041] The present invention can be applied to a container support device used when transferring fluid contents from one container to another container. [Explanation of symbols]

[0042] 1 base 5 Holding stand 10 Base body 10a Side of base 10b Bottom of the base 21 1st leg 21a Tip of the first leg (first ground contact part) 22 Second leg 22a Tip of second leg (second ground contact part) 31 Handle 50 Holding stand body 50a Vertical receiving part 50b Horizontal receiver 60 Retaining member 66 Presser lever 70 Rotation operating member L rotation axis

Claims

1. A container support device used to transfer fluid contents from one container to another, a base; and a holder that holds the container and is supported on the base so as to be rotatable about a rotation axis, the base has a first grounding portion that is in contact with a ground surface in a first orientation, and a second grounding portion that is in contact with the ground surface in a second orientation that is inverted 90 degrees with respect to the first orientation, A container support device characterized in that the height of the rotation axis from the second ground portion when the base is in the second position is higher than the height of the rotation axis from the first ground portion when the base is in the first position.

2. The container support device described in claim 1, characterized in that the holding table is rotatably supported at the front part of the base in the first position, a plurality of first legs are provided at the bottom part of the base in the first position, a plurality of second legs are provided at the rear part of the base in the first position, and the tips of the first legs are provided as the first grounding parts and the tips of the second legs are provided as the second grounding parts.

3. The container support device described in claim 2, characterized in that a handle protruding forward is provided below the holding table at the front of the base in the first position for lifting the front of the base and tipping it over to the second position.

4. The container support device described in claim 2, characterized in that the base has a pair of rectangular sides and a rectangular bottom in the first position, the pair of sides and bottom including a framework constructed by connecting pipes, and the front, rear and top of the base in the first position are open.

5. 3. The container support device according to claim 2, wherein the support table has a horizontal receiving portion for receiving the bottom of the container and a vertical receiving portion for receiving the rear of the container, and the front and upper sides of the support table are open.

6. The container support device described in claim 5, characterized in that the holding base has a pressing member provided at the front of the horizontal receiving portion and pressing the lower end of the front of the container, and a pressing lever provided at the upper end of the vertical receiving portion and rotatable around a vertical axis and pressing the upper end surface of the rear of the container.

7. The container has a cubic or rectangular parallelepiped shape with a square cross section, The horizontal receiving portion of the support base is square, and two opposing corner portions of the horizontal receiving portion are arranged in front and rear, and other two opposing corner portions are arranged in left and right, the vertical receiving portion has two side edges that are perpendicular to each other and inclined with respect to the rotation axis, and the two side edges press two rear side surfaces of the container; The container support device described in claim 5, further characterized in that the holding base has a pressing member provided at the front corner portion of the horizontal support portion and pressing the lower end of the front corner portion of the container, and a pair of pressing levers provided at the upper ends of the two side portions and rotatable around a vertical axis and pressing the upper end surface of the container.

8. 6. The container support device according to claim 5, wherein the vertical receiving portion of the support table is provided with a rotation operating member extending upward.

9. A method for transferring fluid contents of a container to another container using the container support device according to any one of claims 1 to 8, placing the container on the support table when the base is in the first position; inverting the base by 90 degrees from the first position to the second position; placing another container below the holding table when the base is in the second position; rotating the support base to transfer the fluid content of the container to the other container; A method for transferring fluid contents, comprising:

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