Device for adapting the spacing between two plate-shaped bearing elements for storing containers

Abstract

A device for adapting the spacing between two board-type bearing elements for the vertical storage of barrels, comprising a number of supporting rods for insertion between the two bearing elements as well as structure for individually and infinitely variably adjusting the length of the supporting rods depending on the height of the barrels for locally varying the spacing between the two bearing elements. The structure for adjusting the length of each supporting rod comprise either two partial rods connected via a screw thread or a height-adjustment element, which is connected to one end of the supporting rod via a screw thread. Alternatively, the supporting rod can also be formed as a hydraulically or pneumatically length-adjustable telescopic rod.

Claims

1. A method for storing barrels vertically, comprising: a. providing a system for storing barrels comprising a first board-type bearing element, a second board-type bearing element arranged over the first board-type bearing element and a plurality of supporting rods inserted between said first board-type bearing element and said second board-type bearing element; b. storing at least one barrel in said system between said first and second board-type bearing elements; wherein said method further comprises: c. contacting an upper side of said at least one barrel with an under side of said second board-type bearing element allowing a part of the weight to be distributed between said at least one barrel and said plurality of supporting rods.

2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising distributing said weight so said part of said weight that is applied on said at least one barrel is below a predefined tolerance threshold of said barrel.

3. The method according to claim 1, further comprising connecting adapters for fixing the supporting rods on the first and second board-type bearing elements.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein said adapters are selected from the group consisting of cramps, clamps, screws, and nails.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein said plurality of supporting rods includes at least three supporting rods.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein said first board-type bearing element and said second board-type bearing element are designed as a plastic, wooden, metal or composite pallet.

7. The method according to claim 1, further comprising providing and actuating a motor-driven actuating drive configured to adjust the lengths of the supporting rods.

8. The method according to claim 1, further comprising providing force sensors and an evaluation unit; and perform the following actions: i. measuring by means of said force sensors a bearing force of said second bearing element on said at least one barrel; and ii. reading, displaying and/or processing, values measured by the force sensors by means of said evaluation unit.

9. The system according to claim 8, further providing a controller and perform the following actions: i. regulating individual adjustment of each of the lengths of the supporting rods depending on the values measured by the force sensors and on predefined tolerance values.

10. The method according to claim 9, further comprising varying said lengths of said plurality of supporting rods so that said weight is distributed between said at least one barrel and said plurality of supporting rods within said predefined tolerance threshold.

11. The method according to claim 1, further comprising providing to said system for storing barrels: a third board-type bearing element designed as a plastic, wooden, metal or composite pallet, the third board-type bearing element arranged over the second board-type bearing element; a plurality of supporting rods inserted between the second board-type bearing element and the third board-type bearing element, and a plurality of spacing adjusters for individually and infinitely variably lengths of each of the plurality of supporting rods based on a height of the barrel for locally varying a spacing between the second and third board-type bearing elements.

12. The method of claim 1, further comprising providing a plurality of spacing adjusters for individually and infinitely variably lengths of each of the plurality of supporting rods based on a height of the barrel for locally varying a spacing between the first and second board-type bearing elements.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING(S)

(1) The invention is explained in even more detail below by way of example with reference to the attached drawings, which also disclose features essential to the invention. There are shown in:

(2) FIG. 1 a first embodiment of the invention with three supporting rods,

(3) FIG. 2 a second embodiment of the invention,

(4) FIGS. 3a, 3b an illustration of the height adjustment,

(5) FIG. 4 an embodiment of the invention with four supporting rods,

(6) FIGS. 5a, 5b a further view of the device with a detail of the height adjustment,

(7) FIGS. 6a, 6b an embodiment in which force sensors are used, and

(8) FIGS. 7a, 7b an example of a device coupled to a control.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(9) FIG. 1 shows firstly the basic structure of a device for adapting the spacing between a first board-type bearing element, here a plastic pallet 1, which can also be designed as a composite pallet, i.e., with supporting inserts for example made of concrete, stone or wood to better distribute the loading, and a second board-type bearing element, here a wooden pallet 2, arranged above it. Both bearing elements are suitable and provided for storing containers, in particular bulk containers. Indentations 3 can be seen on the plastic pallet 1, these mark areas for depositing the containers, for example barrels. The device moreover comprises a number of supporting rods 4 for insertion between the first and second bearing elements, in the present case they are inserted between the plastic pallet 1 and the wooden pallet 2. In the example shown three supporting rods 4 are used, this is the minimum number of supporting rods 4 needed to enable a stable storage, unless the containers on the first bearing element are factored in for support. The device moreover comprises means for individually adjusting the length of the supporting rods 4 depending on the height of the containers for locally varying the spacing between the two bearing elements. These means are preferably provided for infinitely variable adaptation of the length, and the adjustability is symbolized by the double arrows on the supporting rods 4.

(10) The means for adjusting the length of each supporting rod 4 can be designed differently. For example, the supporting rod 4 can be formed as a hydraulically or pneumatically length-adjustable telescopic rod; the supporting rod 4 can also be composed of two partial rods connected via a screw thread, which can then be rotated against each other in order to adjust the length. In the case represented the means for adjusting the length of each supporting rod 4 comprise, per supporting rod 4, at least one height-adjustment element 5, which is connected to one end of the supporting rod 4 via a screw thread. In the present case, height-adjustment elements 5 are connected to the supporting rods 4 in each case at the lower ends of the supporting rods 4. For example, the supporting rods 4 can have an internal screw thread and the height-adjustment elements 5 can have a matching external screw thread, with the result that the supporting rods are screwed onto the height-adjustment elements. A corresponding height-adjustment element 5 can also be attached to the upper ends of the supporting rods, which have two ends in each case.

(11) The device in the example shown moreover comprises means for fixing the supporting rods 4 on the bearing elements. In the present case the means for fixing comprise fixing clamps 6, which are connected to the height-adjustment elements 5 and engage in or grip around corresponding recesses in the plastic pallet 1 or edges of such recesses. The fixing clamps 6 need not produce a friction-locking connection to the plastic pallet 1 or the first bearing element, a positive-locking connection which prevents a slipping in the lateral direction is sufficient. In particular in the case of wooden pallets 2, however, fixing means can also be used which connect to the wood in the manner of a nail or a cramp and which are thus driven into the wood.

(12) The number of supporting rods 4 here is three, but depending on the size of the bearing element and the containers to be stored thereon more than three supporting rods 4 can also be used. Via the individual adjustment of the length of the supporting rods 4, the spacing of the second bearing element, here the wooden pallet 2, from the first bearing element can be adjusted locally and individually, symbolized here by the double arrows on the left and right of the wooden pallet 2.

(13) If a height-adjustment element 5 is used only on one side of the supporting rod 4, then at the other end of the rod a mechanism is expediently provided which allows a rotation of the rod without adjusting the height when a second bearing element is lying on the supporting rods. It can be, for example, a rotating element, which is constructed outwardly similarly to the height-adjustment element 5, but does not have a screw thread, with the result that the supporting rod 4 is simply fitted on there and can rotate about its axis sufficiently frictionlessly.

(14) At their upper ends and/or at their lower ends in each case the supporting rods 4 can be connected via a frame structure, not shown here, in a plane perpendicular to the normal direction of a large surface of the plastic pallet 1 or the wooden pallet 2, i.e., the two board-type bearing elements, which reduces the loading at isolated points of the bearing elements. The device can moreover comprise motor-driven actuating drives for the length adjustment of the supporting rod.

(15) FIG. 2 shows a similar design of the device to that in FIG. 1, but here with two wooden pallets 2 as first and second bearing elements, wherein supporting rods 4 with height-adjustment elements 5 and fixing clamps 6 are arranged in each corner of the wooden pallets 2. The height adjustability is again indicated by double arrows, to symbolize a container a barrel 7 stands on the lower wooden pallet 2 as the first bearing element.

(16) FIGS. 3a and 3b illustrate the height adjustment. Whereas in the situation shown in FIG. 3a the upper wooden pallet 2, i.e., the second bearing element, lies on the barrel 7, in the situation shown in FIG. 3b it has been raised upwards by an amount X, with the result that there is now an air gap X between the upper side of the barrel 7 and the under side of the upper wooden pallet 2, the adjustment here is effected via a screw thread 8.

(17) FIG. 4 shows a similar situation to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, but with two plastic pallets 1 and six supporting rods 4.

(18) FIG. 5a shows a situation in which the first and second bearing elements in each case are formed as a plastic pallet 1. By way of example, six barrels 7 are stored vertically on each of the plastic pallets, in each case the length of six supporting rods 4 can be adjusted individually, with the result that the spacing between the two plastic pallets 1 can be varied locally. The section indicated with a circle in FIG. 5a is represented in detail in FIG. 5b. The screw thread 8 can be clearly seen on the height-adjustment element 5, likewise the fixing clamps 6.

(19) The arrangement shown in FIG. 5a consisting of two bearing elements with barrels 7 arranged thereon is represented in a side view from the longer side in FIG. 6a. The section indicated with a circle in FIG. 6a is represented enlarged in FIG. 6b, the length of the supporting rods 4 here is adjusted such that the second bearing element, the upper plastic pallet 2, at no point lies on any of the barrels 7, but is borne exclusively by the supporting rods 4.

(20) Finally, FIG. 7 shows a schematic diagram of a further development of a device such as has been described above, which comprises among other things motor-driven actuating drives 9 for the length adjustment of the supporting rods 4. FIG. 7b shows the section circled in FIG. 7a enlarged. Force sensors 10 which serve to measure the bearing force of the second bearing element on the container are here arranged between the under side of the second bearing element, for example a wooden pallet 2 or a plastic pallet 1, and the upper side of the container, for example the barrel 7. The force sensors can be designed loose, but can also be secured, for example adhesively, either to the upper side of the barrel 7 or to the under side of the second bearing element. The force sensors 10 are connected to an evaluation unit 11, which reads, displays and/or processes the values measured by the force sensors 10. The evaluation unit 11 for its part is connected to a controller 12, which triggers the individual adjustment of the length of the supporting rods 4 depending on the values measured by the force sensors 10 and on predefined tolerance values, for example a maximum and minimum loading. For this, the controller 12 is connected to the motor-driven actuating drives 9. In this way an almost completely automated monitoring of the stored barrels can be ensured, if necessary the regulation can independently alter the length of the supporting rods 4, both to longer and to shorter values. The supporting rods are then preferably hydraulically or pneumatically length-adjustable.

(21) The device described above for adapting the spacing between two bearing elements which are constructed substantially board-type enables a storage while making the best possible use of the available space in terms of the height, wherein at the same time it is possible to cater for individual deviations in container heights and too strong a loading of containers stored on the bearing elements by bearing elements lying above them can be avoided.

(22) All publications, patents and patent applications mentioned in this specification are herein incorporated in their entirety by reference into the specification, to the same extent as if each individual publication, patent or patent application was specifically and individually indicated to be incorporated herein by reference. In addition, citation or identification of any reference in this application shall not be construed as an admission that such reference is available as prior art to the present invention. To the extent that section headings are used, they should not be construed as necessarily limiting. In addition, any priority document(s) of this application is/are hereby incorporated herein by reference in its/their entirety.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMBERS

(23) 1 plastic pallet 2 wooden pallet 3 indentation 4 supporting rod 5 height-adjustment element 6 fixing clamp 7 barrel 8 screw thread 9 actuating drive 10 force sensor 11 evaluation unit 12 controller