PT1403189E - Bottle container - Google Patents

Description

DESCRIPTION

Bottle Container

OBJECT OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a bottle container of the type formed by a rectangular prismatic metal casing with a rigid angular structure on which metal grids are formed, thus forming the faces of the container, the latter, when suitably loaded with bottles, is able to adopt two working positions in which the bottles are placed horizontally or vertically, with supports for both positions, allowing the containers to be placed on the floor or stacked.

The object of the invention is to improve the structure of such containers in order to avoid handling problems which occur when carried out by robots.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This applicant holds the Spanish utility model ES 103679'U which describes a bottle container module having the general characteristics described in the preceding paragraph and in the preamble of claim 1, namely a sturdy metal structure corresponding to the angles of the prism formed by the container, which is the support of a series of interlaced rods which, in turn, form the closed faces of the container, while a hanging door is disposed on one of these faces, namely one of the side faces, affecting the upper half of this container. which has an upper grille which functions as a cover for securing the bottles when the container is moved laterally, which is also tightened with screws which, like those mentioned above, tend to remain closed due to effect of the respective springs.

Furthermore, at the base of the container and also on one of its side faces, which is opposite the door, there are skids supporting the sliding and displacing of the container on the floor or on the transport platforms, so that independently of the position adopted by the container, ie whether the bottles are horizontal or vertical, always be supported by the aforementioned skates, which also create a convenient distance between the container and the floor, allowing the fork of a forklift to be inserted.

However, this type of bottle container, which presents excellent functional characteristics from the theoretical point of view, presents structural and handling problems in practice, which are mainly based on the following aspects: - Although the use of fork arms in the the length of which should be at least the same as the width of the container, in practice and in many cases, the arms or fittings that are used are considerably shorter, which although do not place the container at risk of to fall upon being handled means that the metal grate on which they are supported is deformed, meaning that the container loses its theoretical geometry and when the bottles are being handled by a robotic system, since they are moved slightly further on the side than they should , handling errors occur when the fittings of the robot 2 close without supporting the bottleneck of the bottles and become functionally inop erants. The container is loaded with the opening facing upwards, position in which it is supported by a pair of skates, and is then turned 90 °, so that it is now supported by the skates which are situated on one of its faces, which it opposes to the side door, so that from this position, in which the bottles are lying down, the container is then handled on roller platforms which facilitate the displacement of the container. The existence of only two skids on this face of the container allows it to be displaced correctly on the roller platform when in position, but this movement is impossible if, for any reason, the support position on the platform is turned 90 °, since in this case the skates are parallel to the rollers and these elements are blocked. - Since the bolts remain in the closed position due to the effect of the springs, one of the springs could break accidentally or the bolt could retract in the event of a blow or other cause, accidentally releasing the grill cover or even own side door.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The bottle container proposed by this invention is based on the utility model mentioned above and includes a number of improvements which fully solve the above-mentioned problems. This is achieved by means of a bottle container according to the appended claim 1.

To this end, more specifically and in accordance with one of the features of the invention, diagonal reinforcing bars are placed on the side wall of the container opposite the door, on which, in each case, the arms or forks of the fork rest, either short or long, so that the reinforcing bars will support the weight of the container load and undesirable deformation of the metal grille, which constitutes the closure of this face, will be avoided.

According to another feature of the invention, in this same side face of the container and, in addition to the two classic skates situated in parallel edges, there are two more skids in the other two edges of the same face, so that the container can be displaceable on a roller platform in any position, regardless of how the container is placed on the roller platform.

Finally, and in accordance with a further feature of the invention, a substantial modification has been proposed for the cap locking mechanism, including modifications to the cap itself and to the container sidewalls to which the cap is attached.

More specifically, and in keeping with the aforementioned screw system, which can be adapted to cases where the bottlenecks of the bottles pass through the cap, it is proposed that the rods which receive the aforementioned screw rods must include, in addition to at least a vertical line of holes for selectively receiving the screws, an intermediate line of transverse grooves for selectively receiving the bars sliding over the cover, more specifically, each of which will be guided between a pair of bars, at equal intervals of the bars forming a guide which is closed at the bottom by the grid of the lid itself and above with the aid of a pair of transverse cylinders which also act as sliding stop stops for the bars, which includes in the intermediate area between both stops a locking element which determines that the bar is alternately locked in the open or closed position, dep depending on which side of the grid bars is located.

More specifically, the outer end of the sliding bar is double and orthogonally elbowed, first downwardly and then outwardly, so that the free end engages one of the slots of the bar corresponding to the side wall of the container, thus allowing adjustment the height of the cap to suit different sizes of bottles and make the bottle container a " universal " element.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In order to complete the description and in order to enable a better understanding of the features of this invention, according to an example of the preferred embodiment thereof, a set of drawings is included as an integral part of this description, representing the following, for illustrative and non-restrictive purposes:

Figure 1 shows a perspective view of a bottle container produced in accordance with the aim of this invention with the cap loose.

Figure 2.- Shows an enlarged detail of the bars that reinforce the side face that supports the container.

Figure 3.- Shows a perspective detail of the bottle container lid with the two sliding bars and in an inoperative or open condition thereof. 5

Figure 4.- Shows a detail that is similar to Figure 3, in which the sliding bars are shown in the locking position.

Figure 5.- Shows a partial detail of the bottle container as a whole, with the lid also in the closed position.

PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

In the above-mentioned figures and especially in Figure 1, it can be seen that the bottle container in question is conventionally structured on the basis of a metal structure (1) forming the angles of an imaginary rectangular prism open at the top, the bottom and side walls of which are closed by means of the respective metal grates (2), the lower base of which rests on two side and parallel skids (3) which facilitate the movement of the container on the floor and at the same time conveniently raise the base in order to allow (4) on one of the side walls, which affects approximately the upper half thereof and which is held in a stable closed position by means of screws (5), incorporated therein on the side wall which opposes said door (4), two further lateral and parallel skids (6), in the same plane as the above-mentioned skates (3), which in turn allow sliding (7) similarly produced in a metal grid with screws (8) which are identical or similar to the aforementioned screws (5) and which in this case cross the bars (9), suitably welded to the side walls of the container next to the door (4), while the two types of screws are retractable by tensioning the respective springs which tend to hold them in the closed position.

According to the invention, the side wall 10 of the container opposite the door 4 includes sturdy diagonal bars 11 placed between their corners which, with the aid of an intermediate cross bar 12, ensure maximum structural rigidity on this face, thus preventing when the grooves or arms in a forklift operate, even when short, to deform the metal grate enclosing the bottles in this side wall 10.

Furthermore, in the same side wall 10, in addition to the two traditional parallel skids 6, there are two more similar skates 13 corresponding to the two other edges so that, independently of the position in the which container is placed on a roller platform, there are always skids (6-13) on this transverse side of the platform rollers, which facilitate the movement of the container.

Instead of the cap 7 with the traditional bolts 8, specifically when the bottle necks should not pass through this cap and in order to allow positioning of this cap according to the different sizes of bottles, a second cap with a grid (14) can be fixed to the container, with rods which are considerably closer to each other, with the particularity in this case that the cover includes, in correspondence with each of its closing edges, a beam (15), substantially deflected outwardly and upwardly, to which the ends of a series of transverse bars (16) are attached, which are superimposed on and attached to the cover itself, preferably forming 7 are two pairs in which the transverse bars substantially close to one (17-17 '), form a guide or rail for a sliding bar (18), the outer end of which is orthogonal and descendingly angled, determining a large vertical descending section (19), and a second outwardly directed angle, determining an end section (20) which functions as a locking element in the corresponding bar (9), which in this case is like the holes (21) for (8) if the cap (7) is in use, it includes a vertical line of grooves (21) capable of selectively receiving the operative end (20) of the sliding bar (18), as may be seen in particularly in Figure 5, allowing in turn to adjust the height of the cap (14).

Accordingly, the operative end 20 of the sliding bar 18 is able to adopt two limit positions, one in which it is retracted relative to the beam 15, as can be seen in Figure 3, and another in which (22) mounted on the bar (18) itself and capable of accommodating both sides of the beam (17). by locking it, as can also be seen in the aforementioned figures 3 and 4.

Each pair of crossbars 16 is also reinforced by a pair of upper rollers 23, which can act as stops for the locking element 22, although in the example shown in the figures, the displacement of the sliding bar (18) is limited by the incidence of its first elbow, either on the nearest beam (17) or on the outer beam (15). In the example of the practical embodiment shown in the figures, the cap 14 includes four sliding bars 18 corresponding to four locking points for this cap relative to the container body, but of course this number may vary and be higher or lower without affecting the essence of the invention. 9

Claims (4)

A bottle container, of the type formed by a rectangular prismatic metal body, open at the top and with a pair of skates (3) at its base, a door hanging at one of its side walls and the opposite side wall, a second pair of skates (6) which, like the lower skates (3), separate the corresponding face from the bottom or support plane; a body which is complemented by a cover (7) in the form of a metal grid which can be fixed to the opening of the body with the aid of retractable screws (8), characterized in that in the side wall opposite that of the hanging door there are strong diagonal reinforcing bars 11 which preferably are attached on an intermediate crossbar 12 to form a rigid support structure for the forks or arms of the stacker when these are short, measuring less than the width of the container, and in the same side wall which supports the second pair of shoes (6) there are two further skates (13), corresponding to the two other edges, which guarantee optimum movement of the container on a roller platform, regardless of the position the container on the platform. A container of bottles according to claim 1, characterized in that the cap (7) includes, in correspondence with each pair of perforated side bars (9) which receive the screws (8) closing the cap (7), two pairs of transverse bars (16) which act as sliding rails for sliding bars (18), with a double orthogonal elbow (19-20) at respective outer ends, the first pointing downwards (19) and the second pointing outwards (20) such that the free end of each of the sliding bars (18) is capable of selectively engaging a transverse groove (21) in the corresponding side bar (9) in the container body, along which a line of grooves has also been established in longitudinal alignment, in order to adjust the height of the lid (7) in the closed position as required. A container of bottles according to claim 2, characterized in that the above-mentioned cross-bars (16) acting as rails for the sliding bars (18) have two beams (15) at their outer ends, for the outer movement of these bars 18, while under these transverse bars there is another beam 17, significantly behind that, which in turn constitutes the stop when retracting the slide bars 18. A bottle container according to claim 2, characterized in that each sliding bar (18) includes a locking element (22) disposed thereon, capable of acting on both sides of a third beam (17) arranged in the lid, locking this bar (18) in the open or closed position to the operative end thereof. 2