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(11) | EP 0 266 721 A2 |
| (12) | EUROPEAN PATENT APPLICATION |
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| (54) | Universal base particularly for wheel-mounted containers |
| (57) The wheel-mounted base (1) allows the insertion therein of the widest range of walls
(2,3), with or without tabs arranged in any manner, and substantially comprises, on
each of the two parallel sides for the accommodation of a wall (2,3), a plate (13)
which is provided with a plurality of holes (15) along its main axis, and with two
raised transverse shoulders (14) at its ends. Two parallel and transversely spaced
rods (16,17) are welded to the plate (13) for a major portion and have raised portions
(20,22,21,23) at their ends. Preferably, at a middle portion, the parallel rods (16,17)
form an arc (26), where an eccentric (27) for locking the wall (2,3) is mounted on
one of the rods (16) so as to be rotatable on a transverse plane. |
[0001] The present invention relates to a universal base, particularly for wheel-mounted containers consisting of two walls, which are formed by horizontal and vertical metallic rods welded to one another and which are insertable in seats provided along two parallel lateral borders of said base.
[0002] Wheel-mounted containers of widely different types are known. Particularly, a typical container is usually constituted by a wheel-mounted base which is formed by a plurality of ribs and cross-members and by a plurality of rods orthogonal thereto, and which is provided, on two of its borders, for example parallel to the rods, with seats for inserting two removable walls. Several types of containers of this kind are currently available on the market, each type having its own kind of wall and therefore a seat structure substantially adapted to only one type of wall.
[0003] The abovesaid walls end with a large bottom rod to be inserted in the seat of the base and may have feet or tabs which insert in corresponding holes provided in the borders of the base.
[0004] In the absence of those feet or tabs, the seat must have a very complicated structure in order to accommodate the lower (legless) part of the wall to prevent the collapse or excessive play thereof. In order to simplify this structure, walls having at least two lower tabs, which insert in as many holes provided on the borders of the base, are coming into widespread use. On some commercial walls, these feet are present only at the ends, on others they are instead more or less central. To summarize, currently there are several types of walls and therefore a plurality of bases incompatible with one another. This entails considerable waste in prodution, use, storage and transportation means.
[0005] The aim of the present invention is to provide a universal base particularly for wheel-mounted containers, that is to say capable of accommodating substantially all types of walls.
[0006] An object of the invention is to provide a base which, besides being capable of supporting any type of wall, is furthermore provided with particularly simple and effective means for releasably locking the walls.
[0007] This aim, as well as this object and others which will become apparent hereinafter, are achieved by a universal base, particularly for wheel-mounted containers, characterized in that, on each border engaged by the lower portion of a wall of said container, it comprises: a plate having a plurality of holes, shoulders provided at the ends of said plate, and two parallel rods rigidly associated with said plate and having raised portions at said shoulders; said parallel rods defining a seat for said lower portion of said wall.
[0008] The two rods are also raised from the plate in a middle portion thereof, where they form an arc, on one of the rods there being inserted an eccentric having a position of engagement of the lower rod of said wall so as to lock it, and a position of disengagement so as to release it.
[0009] The various aspects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description of the preferred, but not limitative, embodiments illustrated in the drawings, wherein:
Figure 1 is a partial perspective view of a wheel-mounted container provided with a base according to the invention and with conventional walls;
Figure 2 is a perspective view of a base according to the invention;
Figure 3 is a partial perspective view of the means for locking the wall in the locking condition;
Figure 4 is the same view of fig. 3 in the release condition;
Figure 5 is a perspective view of two stacked bases; and
Figure 6 is a perspective view of the position of the wheels of the two stacked bases of fig. 5.
[0010] Figure 1 shows a container of the wheel-mounted type, consisting of a base 1 and of two vertical removable and parallel walls 2 and 3. The base 1 consists of two pieces 1,5 of L-shaped sheet metal, of a series of ribs 6 parallel to said pieces 4,5, and of a series of rods 7 arranged in the horizontal plane defined by the lower portions of the pieces 4 and 5 and by the tops of the ribs 6.
[0011] Each of the vertical walls 2 and 3 consists of two large end rods 8, to which is welded a series of horizontal rods 9, while the vertical rods 10 are downwardly associated to a large rod 11 and upwardly to another large rod (not illustrated) parallel and identical to the rod 11. The vertical rods 10 are associated at the crossing points 12 to the horizontal rods 9, which are fixed to the end rods 8.
[0012] The above described elements are substantially conventional and therefore do not require more detailed descriptions.
[0013] The lower portion of the walls 2,3, which is constituted by the rod 11, accommodates at the borders of the base 1; each border is provided with a structure comprising a plate 13 having two protrusions or shoulders 14 at its ends and a plurality of holes 15.
[0014] Two parallel rods 16,17 lie along the two edges of the plate 13 and are preferably welded to it along a major portion of their extension. At their ends the rods 16,17 have raised and inclined portions respectively 18,19 which extend from a last welded point 20,21, to the top 22,23 of the shoulders 14. Preferably, the two rods 16,17 are joined to one another at their ends 22,23 by means of connections or links 24,25 (also welded to the shoulders 14).
[0015] Conveniently, the number of holes 15 on the plate 13 and their mutual spacing are such as to accommodate any wall having two (or even more) protruding legs. For example, in the case of walls having legs only at the two ends of the rod 11, the legs engage the end holes, while walls having central legs may engage the holes in the middle of the plate 13.
[0016] Walls 2,3 having no legs or extensions, that is to say having the rod 11 entirely horizontal without any downward protrusion, can be removably secured, since the distance between the two parallel rods 16,17 and the diameter of the rod 11 is substantially correlated; for example, the distance between the parallel rods 16,17 is identical or slightly smaller than the diameter of the horizontal bottom rod 11, which is thus inserted (preferably with slight forcing) between them. Moreover, the height of the shoulders 14 and the length of the raised portions 20,22 and 21,23 of the rods 16,17 is such as to avoid any collapse (outwards or inwards) or excessive play of the walls.
[0017] Preferably at their middle portion the rods 16,17 are raised above the plate 13 and form an arc or hump 26 (for example semielliptical). An eccentric 27 is inserted on only one of the two rods, for example on the outer one 16, and its hole 28 is keyed to the top of the arc 26 of the rod 16 so as to be rotatable on a plane which is orthogonal to the plate 13 and to the rod 11 and naturally passes through the hole 28, as indicated by the arrow 60. The eccentric 27 has a rounded external profile 70 and has a notch 29 between the points 71 and 72. The distance 30 of the hole 28 from the bottom 73 of the border 31 of the eccentric 27 corresponds to the maximum camber 32 of the arc 26; furthermore, the notch 29 between the points 71 and 72 has a radius of curvature which corresponds to the radius of the rod 11 so as to engage approximately half of the external cylindrical surface of the rod 11.
[0018] Figure 3 illustrates the locked condition of the wall 2 with the eccentric 27 rotated backwards in the direction of the arrow 61, so as to have its notch 29 completely engaged on the surface of the rod 11. In such conditions, the wall 2 has no play and cannot collapse (prevented by the legs inserted in the holes 15, by the shoulders 14 and by the raised portions 20,22 and 21,23), and is not even removable.
[0019] Figure 4 illustrates the condition in which the eccentric 27 is rotated in the direction of the arrow 60 and the rod 11 is disengaged from the notch 29. The wall 2 can thus be extracted from its base, that is to say, the rod 11 can be removed from the slot created by the parallel rods 16,17.
[0020] Figure 5 illustrates a base 1a on which a base 1b of another container has been stacked. By virtue of the fact that the horizontal rods 7 have a distance between one another which is greater than the width of the wheel 33, in stacking the bases, each wheel inserts itself between a pair of rods 7 and rests against the plate 34a (fig. 6) to which the wheel 33 is fixed in an articulated manner, for example as a caster. In this case the stacking no longer occurs by resting the lower faces of the plate 13 of the base 1b on the tops 22,23 of the shoulders 14, but by resting a wheel 33 (passing through pairs of rods 7) on the plate 34a of the underlying wheel. It is thus achieved a better distribution of weights, a smaller bulk, and no danger of slippage or sliding of one base with respect to the other by effect of the inserted wheels.
1. Universal base, particularly for wheel-mounted containers, characterized in that,
on each border engaged by the lower portion (11) of a wall (2,3) of said container,
it comprises: a plate (13) having a plurality of holes (15), shoulders (14) provided
at the ends of said plate (13), and two parallel rods (16,17) rigidly associated with
said plate (13) and having raised portions (20,22,21,23) at said shoulders (14); said
parallel rods (16,17) defining a seat for said lower portion (11) of said wall (2,3).
2. Base, according to claim 1, characterized in that the said parallel rods (16,17)
are joined to one another at the top of said shoulders (14).
3. Base, according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that said
parallel rods (16,17) are raised from said plate (13) at a middle portion thereof,
forming an arc (26), on one of said rods (16,17) there being inserted an eccentric
(27) having a position of engagement of said lower portion (11) of said wall (2,3)
and a position of disengagement of said lower portion (11).
4. Base, according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that it
comprises horizontal rods (7) and wheels (33), the distance between each of said rods
(7) being greater than the size of said wheels (33), so that in stacking a first base
(1b) on a second one (1a) said wheels (33) of said first base (1b) insert between
said rods (7) of said second base (1a) and rest on wheel-bearing plates (34a) of said
second base (1a).