TRANSPORT AND STORAGE CONTAINER FOR LIQUIDS

Description

[0001] The present invention relates to a transport and storage container for liquids with a pallet-like base for an inner container made of plastic and a grid shell with horizontal and vertical metal bars for receiving the inner container, wherein the ends of the vertical bars, which are designed as hollow profiles, are welded to a lower and an upper circumferential edge profile of the grid shell, wherein at least the lower ends of the vertical bars have a connecting section for the welded connection with the lower edge profile, with a connecting cross-section formed by forming, wherein the connecting section has a trough-like depression with a trough opening formed on the outer side of the vertical bars facing away from the inner container and a trough bottom formed by a flattening of the hollow profile, wherein the trough opening is bounded by two edge ribs extending in the direction of the longitudinal axis of the vertical bars.which serve to form a welded connection with the lower edge profile.

[0002] Transport and storage containers of the type mentioned above are used for transporting and storing liquids, which are often classified as hazardous materials. Therefore, special requirements must be placed on these containers to ensure the safe transport and storage of these liquids. In particular, measures must be in place to prevent the plastic inner container from being perforated by a deformed or destroyed mesh shell in the event of damage to the transport and storage container, thus preventing hazardous materials from escaping from the inner container into the environment.

[0003] It is therefore known to provide particularly vulnerable areas of the inner container, such as the lower corner areas of the inner container, with additional corner reinforcements, which are designed in a shell shape and are arranged in the corner areas between the mesh shell and the inner container, thus preventing a mesh shell deformed in the relevant areas from acting directly on the inner container.

[0004] From EP 2 604 545 A1, a transport and storage container for liquids with a pallet-like underframe is known, wherein a grid shell receiving an inner container made of plastic has vertical buckling bars which have increased buckling resistance due to a trough-like depression.

[0005] US Patent 6,857,532 B2 discloses a transport and storage container for liquids with a grid shell, which has vertical tubular bars with a reduction in the tube cross-section designed as a bending point, wherein indentations are formed in the vertical tubular bars of the two longer side walls in a direction parallel to the longer side walls to create the bending points.

[0006] The present invention is based on the objective of proposing a transport and storage container which has increased protection against damage to the inner container in the lower corner areas of the transport and storage container without the additional use of corner reinforcements.

[0007] To solve this problem, the transport and storage container according to the invention has the features of claim 1.

[0008] According to the invention, the vertical bars have a further recess adjacent to the connecting section to define a bending section, with a trough opening formed on the inside of the vertical bars facing the inner container and a trough bottom formed by a flattening of the hollow profile.

[0009] Drop tests conducted with conventional transport and storage containers revealed that the design of the connecting section, with its flattened cross-section and a recess on the side facing away from the inner container, creates a bending point above the connecting section. This depression features two longitudinal ribs extending along the vertical bar, forming a welded connection with the lower edge profile. When the transport and storage container impacts the undercarriage, causing vertical bars, particularly those located in the corners of the mesh shell, to buckle towards the inner container, the inner container is frequently damaged by a buckling vertical bar. To date, such damage to the inner container has only been effectively prevented by the aforementioned corner reinforcements.

[0010] By designing the transport and storage container with a bending section according to the invention adjacent to the connecting section, such that the bending section has a further recess which is arranged on the side of the vertical rod facing the inner container, a bending of the vertical rod in a direction away from the inner container occurs when a compressive force is formed in the vertical rod.The opposing arrangement of the depressions, in which the depression for forming the connecting section is located on the side facing away from the inner container and the depression for the buckling section is located on the side of the vertical rod facing the inner container, enables the formation of a force flow in the vertical rod which, with an essentially straight design of the vertical rod, allows the formation of a buckling moment with a defined direction of action in the event of an impact of the transport and storage container.

[0011] The inventive design of the transport and storage container thus makes it possible to dispense with the known corner reinforcements without affecting the external dimensions of the transport and storage container.

[0012] It is particularly advantageous if the depression of the buckling section is formed as a dent extending in the direction of the longitudinal axis of the vertical bars, which has edges extending in the direction of the longitudinal axis of the vertical bars and designed as edge webs, so that the cross-sectional geometry of the edge webs, which is decisive for the buckling stiffness, can be determined in a simple way via the depth of the dent impressed into the vertical bars to form the buckling section.

[0013] Preferably, the recesses in the connecting section and in the bending section have edge ribs of different lengths, wherein the edge ribs formed in the bending section particularly preferably have a greater edge rib length than the edge ribs of the connecting section, so that the edge rib length in the bending section can be selected in particular according to the desired deformation behavior in the bending section.

[0014] If a transition section formed between the connecting section and the bending section creates a profile ramp in a longitudinal section running along the longitudinal axis of the member at the transition from the depression of the connecting section to the depression of the bending section, this can also significantly influence the deformation behavior of the vertical members in the bending section. Depending on the design of the transition section, and especially on the contour or length of the profile ramp, the bending section can be located close to or further away from the connecting section, but in any case, it will be situated above the connecting section.

[0015] A preferred embodiment of the invention is explained in more detail below with reference to the drawings.

[0016] They show: Fig. 1 a perspective view of a transport and storage container with a grid shell having an upper and lower edge profile connected by vertical bars; Fig. 2 a vertical bar which has at its upper end an upper connecting section for connection with an upper edge profile of the grid shell and at its lower end a lower connecting section for connection with a lower edge profile of the grid shell; Fig. 3 the in Fig. 2 upper end of the vertical rod shown; Fig. 4 the in Fig. 2 lower end of the vertical rod shown; Fig. 5 the in Fig. 4 lower end of the vertical rod shown in view V in Fig. 4 ; Fig. 6 the in Fig. 2 The lower end of the vertical rod is shown in isolated view; Fig. 7 the in Fig. 4 lower end of the vertical rod shown in view VII; Fig. 8 a top view of the in Fig. 4 lower end of the vertical rod shown; Fig. 9 a cross-sectional view of the in Fig. 8 The vertical bar shown corresponds to the section line IX-IX.

[0017] Fig. 1 Figure 1 shows a transport and storage container 10 for liquids, usable as a single-use and reusable container. The container comprises an inner container 11 made of plastic with four side walls 12, 13, 14, and 15, as well as a lower and an upper bottom 16, 17. It also features a filling spout 19 molded onto the upper bottom 17 and closable with a lid 18, and a discharge spout 20 molded onto a lower section of the side wall, with a dispensing valve 21. Furthermore, it has an outer mesh shell 22 made of intersecting horizontal bars 23 and vertical bars 24 made of metal for receiving the inner container 11. The vertical bars 24 are welded at an upper end 25 to an upper edge profile 26 and at a lower end 27 to a lower edge profile 28 of the mesh shell 22. The mesh shell 22 is also connected to a pallet-like base 29 via its lower edge profile 28.

[0018] The pallet-like base 29 has a base 30 on which the inner container 11 is arranged and which rests on corner feet 31, a rear central foot (not shown in detail), a front central foot 33 formed from the base 30, and two lateral central feet 34. In this case, the corner feet 31 and the central feet 33, 34 are arranged on a base frame 36 of the pallet-like base 29 such that they project outwards beyond the base frame 36 with stacking extensions 37, which are arranged or designed such that several transport and storage containers 10 can be stacked one above the other in a stacking arrangement (not shown in detail here), with the stacking extensions 37 of the corner feet 31 and central feet 33, 34 of the upper transport and storage container 10 resting on the upper edge profile 26 of the mesh shell 22 of the lower transport and storage container.

[0019] Fig. 2 Figure 1 shows a vertical bar 24 with differently shaped upper and lower ends 25, 27, which are connected to each other via a substantially straight longitudinal section 38. Both the upper end 25 and the lower end 27 have a flattened connecting section 39, 40 for connection with the upper edge profile 26 and the lower edge profile 28 of the grid shell 22, respectively.

[0020] As can be seen particularly from a synthesis of the Fig. 2 and 3 As can be seen, the connecting section 39 at the upper end 25 of the vertical rod 24 is connected to the longitudinal section 38 via an arc section 41, wherein the arc section 41 is provided on the outer side 35 of the vertical rod 24 facing away from the inner container 11 with a channel-shaped recess 43 which extends from the connecting section 39 over the arc section 41 into the longitudinal section 38.

[0021] Both the in Fig. 3 the upper connecting section 39 shown, as well as the one in Fig. 4 The lower connecting section 40 shown, as can be seen in particular from a review of the lower connecting section 40, is characterized by Fig. 2 , 6 and 9 It becomes clear that a trough-like depression 43 is formed, which has a trough opening 44 on the outer side 35 facing away from the inner container and a hollow profile 45 formed by a flattening of a vertical bar 24 ( Fig. 8 ) formed depression bottom 46 has. In the case of the in Fig. 9 In the illustrated embodiment, the flattening is designed such that opposing wall sections 47, 48 of the outer surface 35 and the inner surface 32 of the hollow profile 45 ( Fig. 8 ) are opposed to each other.

[0022] As can be seen particularly from a synthesis of the Fig. 6 and 9As becomes clear, the trough-shaped depression 43 formed in the connecting section 40 serves to form two edge webs 49, 50 extending in the direction of a longitudinal axis 63 of the vertical rod 24, which form a Fig. 2 The welded connection shown with the lower edge profile 28 with mutually parallel edge webs 51, 52 of a connecting section 53 of the lower edge profile 28 is arranged such that a total of four contact points 54 to 57 are formed between the edge webs 49, 50 of the connecting section 40 of the vertical bar 24 and the edge webs 51, 52 of the connecting section 53 of the lower edge profile 28, at which the connecting sections 40, 53 are spot welded together.

[0023] As can be seen particularly from a synthesis of the Fig. 2 , 7 und 9 As can be clearly seen, a bend section 58 is provided adjacent to the connecting section 40 of the vertical rod 24, which has a trough-like depression 59, which, unlike the trough-like depression 43 of the connecting section 40, is arranged in such a way that a trough opening 60 is formed on the inner side 32 of the vertical rod 24 facing the inner container 11, so that a trough bottom 62 formed by a flattening of the hollow profile 45 is arranged offset from the trough bottom 46 to the outer side 35 of the vertical rod 24.

[0024] To illustrate the effect of the trough-like depressions 43 and 59 formed in opposite directions at the lower end of the vertical grid bar 24, which point in different directions with their respective trough openings 44, 60, namely away from the inner container 11 in the case of trough opening 44 and towards the inner container 11 in the case of trough opening 60, the forces acting on the vertical bar 24 when subjected to compressive stress, i.e. a compressive force F and a corresponding reaction force R, are shown in Fig 9 The opposite arrangement of the depressions 43 and 49 results in an arrangement of the basin bottoms 46, 62 such that, as shown in Fig. 9 shown, at the lower end 27 of the vertical rod 24 in the transition from the bend section to the connecting section 40, a [missing information] in the case of the [missing information]. Fig. 8 In the depicted configuration, a left-handed reaction moment MR is generated, which causes the vertical rod 24 to buckle away from the inner container 11 in the direction of K in the area of ​​the buckling section 58. Thus, damage to the inner container due to deformation of the vertical rod 24 in the area of ​​the lower end 27 can be essentially ruled out.

[0025] As can be seen from the presentation in Fig. 9 As is also clearly evident, the opposing arrangement of the trough-shaped depressions 43, 59 at the lower end 27 of the vertical bar 24, such that the depression 43 in the connecting section 40 with its trough opening 44 points away from the inner container 11 and the trough opening 60 of the trough-shaped depression 59 formed in the bend section 58 points towards the inner container 11, enables, on the one hand, the creation of a welded connection between the connecting section 40 of the vertical bar 24 and the connecting section 53 of the lower edge profile 28 on an inner side 64 of the lower edge profile 28 facing the inner container 11, and, on the other hand, prevents deformation of the vertical grid bar 24 as a result of a compressive load, i.e., a load that is typical for an impact of the transport and storage container 10 when falling from a stack of containers or a means of transport, in the area of ​​the bend section 58 towards the outer side 65 of the edge profile 28. there,so from the inner container 11, this takes place.

[0026] As especially from Fig. 4 As is clearly evident, the depression 59 of the bend section 58 is formed as a spoon-shaped indentation extending in the direction of the longitudinal axis 63 of the vertical rod 24, which has edges running in the direction of the longitudinal axis 63 and formed as rim webs 66, 67. As also shown from Fig. 4 As can be clearly seen, the edge webs 66, 67 of the bending section 58 have a significantly greater length than the edge webs 49, 50 of the connecting section 40 and, due to the dent-like shape of the recess 59, transition continuously into the longitudinal section 38 of the grid bar 24, so that the buckling behavior, i.e. the type of deformation of the vertical grid bar 24 in the area of ​​the bending section 58, can be adjusted via the length of the edge webs 66, 67 as well as via their cross-sectional profile.

[0027] In order to largely prevent component failure or breakage of the grid bar 24 in the immediate transition from the buckling section 28 to the connecting section 40 in the event of buckling of the grid bar 24 in the buckling section 58, a transition section 68 is provided between the connecting section 40 and the buckling section 58 ( Fig. 9 ) formed, which in a longitudinal section running along the longitudinal axis 63 of the rod is formed as a profile ramp 69, which enables a continuous transition between the trough bottoms 46, 62 of the adjacent depressions 43, 59.

Claims

1. A transport and storage container (10) for liquids comprising a pallet-type understructure (29) for a plastic inner container (11) and a cage (22) having horizontal bars (23) and vertical bars (24) made of metal for housing the inner container, ends (25, 27) of the vertical bars (24), which are hollow profiles (45), being welded to lower and upper circumferential edge profiles (28, 26) of the cage, the lower ends (27) of the vertical bars having a connecting portion (40), which is formed by deformation, for being welded to the lower edge profile, the connecting portion having a trough-shaped recess (43) with a trough opening (44) formed on the outside (35) of the vertical bars (24), which faces away from the inner container (11), and a trough bottom (46) formed by a flattened portion of the hollow profile, the trough opening (44) being limited by two edge webs (49, 50) extending in the direction of the longitudinal bar axis (63) of the vertical bars and serving to form a welded connection with the lower edge profile (28), characterized in that to define a bending portion (58), the vertical bars (24) have another trough-shaped recess (59), which is disposed adjacent to the connecting portion (40) and which has a trough opening (60) formed on the inside (32) of the vertical bars (24), which faces the inner container (11), and a trough bottom (62) formed by a flattened portion of the hollow profile (45).

2. The transport and storage container according to claim 1, characterized in that the recess (59) of the bending portion (58) is formed as a spoon-shaped dent which extends in the direction of the longitudinal bar axis (63) of the vertical bars (24) and which has edges formed as edge webs (66, 67) and extending in the direction of the longitudinal bar axis (63) of the vertical bars (24).

3. The transport and storage container according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the recesses (43, 59) in the connecting portion (40) and in the bending portion (58) have edge webs (49, 50; 66, 67) of different lengths.

4. The transport and storage container according to claim 3, characterized in that the edge webs (66, 67) formed in the bending portion (58) have a greater length than the edge webs (49, 50) of the connecting portion (40).

5. The transport and storage container according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that a transitional portion (68) formed between the connecting portion (40) and the bending portion (58) forms a profile ramp (69) in the area of transition from the recess (43) of the connecting portion (40) to the recess (59) of the bending portion (58) in a longitudinal section along the longitudinal bar axis (63).