HEAVY LOAD CARRIER

Abstract

The invention relates to a heavy load carrier comprising plastics material and including a base part, comprising a number of feet and four side walls, wherein the side walls have positioning surfaces for receiving the feet of an identically designed heavy load carrier in a stack, wherein the positioning surfaces are arranged in a recessed state in relation to protrusions of the side walls, and wherein the protrusions at least partially surround the feet of an identically designed heavy load carrier in the stack circumferentially, wherein a first protrusion may at least partially surround a foot of the identically configured heavy load carrier in the stack on the inside of the foot, and a second protrusion may at least partially surround the foot of an identically configured heavy load carrier in the stack on the end side of the foot.

Claims

1.-15. (canceled)

16. A large load carrier comprising a synthetic material, comprising: a base part that includes a number of feet and four side walls, wherein the side walls include support surfaces configured to receive the number of feet of a similarly configured large load carrier in a stack, wherein the support surfaces are arranged recessed relative to projections of the side walls, wherein the projections are dimensioned and arranged such that the projections at least partially surround the feet of a similarly configured large load carrier in the stack on the circumferential side; wherein a first projection of the projections is dimensioned and arranged such that the first projection at least partially surrounds a foot of the number of feet of the similarly configured large load carrier in the stack on a foot inner side, and a second projection of the projections is dimensioned and arranged such that the second projection at least partially surrounds the foot of the number of feet of the similarly configured large load carrier in the stack on a foot end face side.

17. The large load carrier according to claim 16, wherein the first and second projections are connected to one another in one piece in an L-shaped cross-section.

18. (canceled)

19. The large load carrier according to claim 16, wherein a recess is provided between the support surfaces and the second projection.

20. The large load carrier according to claim 16, wherein the second projections are arranged in alignment with a side wall plane.

21. The large load carrier according to claim 16, wherein the base part comprises shoulders in a longitudinal direction, such that an upper area of the large load carrier has a larger cross-section than a lower area of the large load, and wherein the shoulders are only in the longitudinal direction.

22. (canceled)

23. The large load carrier according to claim 16, wherein the support surface comprises a material-reinforced area for receiving the foot of the number of feet, and wherein the support surface is steel reinforced.

24. (canceled)

25. The large load carrier according to claim 23, wherein the material-reinforced area is at least partially enclosed by the projections.

26. The large load carrier according to claim 16, wherein, in the stack of similarly designed large load carriers, wherein the support surfaces are load-transmitting and the projections are load-free within the stack of similarly configured large load carriers.

27. The large load carrier according to claim 16, wherein the support surfaces are configured to accommodate pallets with support dimensions of a standard size and the number of feet of the large load carrier form a support dimension in the standard size, and, wherein the support surfaces are configured to accommodate a Euro pallet that is standardised in accordance with EN 13698-1 with the support dimensions 1200 mm800 mm.

28. (canceled)

29. The large load carrier according to claim 16, wherein external and internal dimensions of the large load carrier are compatible with external and internal dimensions of a lattice box pallet standardised in accordance with DIN 15155/8-UIC435-3, such that the large load carriers and lattice box pallets can be nested within one another in the stack of large load carriers and lattice box pallets.

30. The large load carrier according to claim 16, wherein the projections taper upwards in the cross-sectional profile, and wherein the projections are bevelled with respect to a side wall plane.

31. The large load carrier according to claim 16, wherein the side walls are configured to be folded by via hinge devices.

32. The large load carrier according to claim 16, wherein some or all of the number of feet are connected to one another by via runners.

33. The large load carrier according to claim 16, wherein the base part comprises further support surfaces and further projections on the upper side which are configured and arranged in the same way as the support surfaces and projections of the side walls.

34. An arrangement of at least two of the large load carrier according to claim 16 stacked on top of one another.

Description

SHORT DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

[0042] Examples of embodiments of the invention are explained in more detail below with the aid of schematic drawings.

[0043] In the drawings:

[0044] FIG. 1 illustrates a perspective view of a large load carrier according to one embodiment of the invention;

[0045] FIG. 2 illustrates a side view of the large load carrier illustrated in FIG. 1;

[0046] FIG. 3 illustrates a further side view of the large load carrier illustrated in FIG. 1;

[0047] FIG. 4 illustrates a perspective view of a corner area of the large load carrier according to FIG. 1 from the outside;

[0048] FIG. 5 illustrates the corner area from FIG. 4 from a further perspective from the outside;

[0049] FIG. 6 illustrates the corner area from FIG. 4 from a perspective from the inside;

[0050] FIG. 7 illustrates a sectional view of a contact area of two stacked large load carriers from FIG. 1;

[0051] FIG. 8 illustrates a sectional view of a contact area in the stack of the large load carrier from FIG. 1 with a Euro pallet; and

[0052] FIG. 9 illustrates a sectional view of a contact area in the stack of the large load carrier illustrated in FIG. 1 on a lattice box pallet.

EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

[0053] In the following, identical elements are labelled with identical reference numerals. Identical elements are not described repeatedly in the individual figures.

[0054] FIG. 1 illustrates a large load carrier 2 according to one embodiment of the invention.

[0055] The large load carrier 2 comprises two first side walls 4 and two second side walls 6, wherein the first side walls 4 form transverse sides of the large load carrier 2 and the second side walls 6 form longitudinal sides of the large load carrier 2.

[0056] The second side walls 6 each contain side wall flaps 8, which are hinged to the second side walls 6 via hinge devices 10 purely by way of example here. One side wall flap 8 can be opened manually via a latching and adjusting mechanism and a handle opening 18, so that access to the interior of the large load carrier 2 is possible from the outside. In embodiments that are not illustrated, removable side wall flaps 8 can be provided.

[0057] The side walls 4, 6 are essentially closed-walled towards the outside and towards the inside, although this is not limiting for the invention. The side walls 4, 6 can also comprise an open ribbed structure, in particular towards the outside and/or inside, as is known in the prior art.

[0058] FIG. 1 therefore illustrates a closed state of the large load carrier 2, wherein the side walls 4, 6 in particular are erected and hooked into one another by means of a latching mechanism 16, which is not to be described in more detail. The side wall flap 8 is illustrated here in the closed state.

[0059] FIGS. 2 and 3 illustrate the large load carrier 2 from FIG. 1 in the respective side views on the transverse side and on the longitudinal side.

[0060] In the lower area, the large load carrier 2 comprises feet 20, namely purely as an example four feet 20 arranged on the corner side in the illustrated exemplary embodiment, wherein this is not limiting for the invention.

[0061] The feet 20 are attached to a surrounding base part 14, for example by screwing or clipping. The side walls 4, 6 are hinged to the base part 14 in a foldable manner by means of further hinge devices, whereby complete foldability is achieved by varying the height of the base part 14 in the area of the hinges.

[0062] The base part 14 comprises four circumferential side walls, which extend upwards perpendicular to a support surface of the large load carrier 2, said support surface being formed by the underside of the feet 20. The base part 14 also comprises an inner base surface (not shown), which can be closed-walled or have a ribbed structure.

[0063] Below the first side wall 4, the base part 14 has a shoulder 42 on the end face and said shoulder can be approximately 15 mm in size, for example, but not limiting for the invention. Due to the shoulder 42, the cross-section of the large load carrier 2 is larger towards the top than the standard size 1200 mm800 mm of the Euro pallet, as will be explained in more detail with reference to FIG. 3.

[0064] In the illustrated embodiment, which is however not limiting for the invention, the large load carrier 2 comprises four corner feet 20, as well as a further foot 20 on the centre of each of the side surfaces, in other words a total of eight or nine feet 20, depending on whether a further foot 20 is provided in the centre of the interior of the large load carrier. The feet 20 on the second side wall 6 are connected to one another by means of runners 26. The runners 26 extend over the entire length of the second side wall 6. As an example, the runners 26 are arranged here coplanar with the feet 20 of the large load carrier 2, but are not limiting for the invention. In embodiments that are not illustrated, the runners 26 can have indentations and the like, which is known to the person with specialised knowledge.

[0065] The runners 26 and the feet 20 form recesses 28 for forks of an industrial truck between them in a known manner, so that the large load carrier 2 has an overall pallet-like substructure.

[0066] The break in the module dimension in the longitudinal direction can be clearly recognised in FIG. 3. The shoulder 42 is formed here in the longitudinal dimension of the large load carrier 2, in both directions. The shoulder 42 in the base part 14 results in an upper area 44 of the large load carrier with an enlarged cross-sectional area and a lower area 46 of the large load carrier 2 with a reduced cross-sectional area. The reduced cross-sectional area corresponds here, for example and preferably, to the Euro pallet module dimensions of 1200 mm800 mm. The enlarged cross-sectional area in the upper area 44 is, for example, but not limiting for the invention, 1230 mm800 mm.

[0067] The feet 20 in the corner area of the large load carrier 2 are assigned an inner foot side 22 and a foot end face side 24. In the illustrated and preferred embodiment, the foot end face side 24 is coplanar with the side wall plane 12 of the first side wall 4, albeit offset inwards and parallel due to the shoulder 42.

[0068] The foot end face side 24 can be approximately 105 mm wide. The foot inner side 22 can be approximately 220 mm wide.

[0069] FIG. 1 also illustrates the support surface 36, which is surrounded by projections 30. The projections 30 form elevations of the side walls 4, 6. The projections 30 and the support surface 36 are described in more detail below in FIGS. 4 to 9.

[0070] FIG. 2 illustrates the foot end face side 24 and the foot inner side 22. The width of the foot end face 24 is coordinated with the support surface 36 and the projections 30 that surround the support surface 36, so that the foot can come to rest on the support surface 36 and can be at least partially surrounded by the projections 30.

[0071] FIG. 4 illustrates a perspective view of a corner area of the large load carrier 2 from FIG. 1. FIG. 5 illustrates a further perspective from a different angle of the corner area from FIG. 4. FIG. 6 illustrates a view of the corner area from FIG. 4 from the view of the inside of the large load carrier 2.

[0072] As illustrated in FIGS. 4 to 6, the first projections 30 comprise a first projection 32, which at least partially surrounds the foot 20 of a similarly designed large load carrier 2 in the stack on the foot inner side 22, and a second projection 34, which at least partially surrounds the foot of a similarly designed large load carrier 2 in the stack on the foot end face side 24.

[0073] The first projection 32 extends substantially over the width of the side wall 4, but this is not limiting for the invention.

[0074] In this case, the second projection 34 extends over an area starting from the corner of the large load carrier 2, so that the first projection 32 can surround the foot of a second large load carrier 2 that is standing above it in the stack on the foot inner side. The second projection 34 is arranged coplanar with the side wall plane 12 of the first side wall 4.

[0075] In the illustrated embodiment, the first and second projections 32, 34 are connected to one another in one piece, which is not limiting for the invention. In particular, the first and second projections 32, 34 are L-shaped in cross-section, which is also not limiting for the invention.

[0076] As illustrated in FIG. 6, for example, the support area 36 comprises a material-reinforced area 38, for example in the form of a moulded steel part. In this case, the material-reinforced area 38 is clipped onto the first side wall 4, for example. The material-reinforced area 38 will be discussed in more detail in relation to FIG. 7.

[0077] The first and second projections 32, 34 taper upwards in the cross-sectional profile and are bevelled in particular with respect to the side wall plane 12.

[0078] As illustrated in FIG. 7, two similarly designed large load carriers 2 according to FIG. 1 can be nested inside one another in the stack. The feet 20 of a large load carrier 2 that is arranged at the top are partially recessed into the interior of the large load carrier 2 that is arranged at the bottom.

[0079] FIG. 7 illustrates a sectional view of a contact area of the two stacked large load carriers 2. The foot 20 of the large load carrier 2 that is arranged at the top is positioned on a support surface 36 of the large load carrier 2 that is arranged at the bottom. For this purpose, the side wall 4 comprises the upper side of the support surface 36 with the adjoining second projection 34, which flanks the end face of the foot 20 of a large load carrier 2 positioned thereon. This prevents the large load carriers 2 from slipping in the stack. It can be seen that in the stack, the support surface 36 is load- bearing and the second projection 34 is load-free.

[0080] FIG. 7 also illustrates the material-reinforced area 38, which extends over a third projection 48, which is formed on the inside of the first side wall 4, and a recess 40. An upper area of the material-reinforced area 38 forms part of the support surface 36. The function of the recess 40 is particularly apparent with reference to FIG. 9.

[0081] FIG. 8 illustrates a stacking of a Euro pallet 50 on the large load carrier 2. By coordinating the external dimensions of the feet 20 of the large load carrier 2 with the dimensions of the Euro pallet 50 and correspondingly coordinating the support surface 36, mixed stacking of large load carriers 2 and Euro pallets 50 is possible here.

[0082] A corner foot 52 of the Euro pallet 50 is surrounded on the end face by the second projection 34. The battens 54, which form runners on the underside of the Euro pallet 50, rest on the support surface 36, in particular on a section of the material- reinforced area 38.

[0083] FIG. 9 illustrates a stacking of a large load carrier 2 with a lattice box pallet 60, wherein the foot 20 of the large load carrier 2 rests on a corresponding support surface 36. The fact that the lattice box pallet 60 is standardised means that stable stacking can be achieved in the mixed stack with the large load carrier 2.

[0084] The lattice box pallet 60 comprises a base surface 62, which generally and preferably does not come to rest on the large load carrier 2. Rather, a linkage 64 of the lattice box pallet 60 forms the support area of the lattice box pallet 60. In this case a linkage 64 that is provided at the edge is designed in order to be received in the recess 42. A further part of the linkage 64 rests on the material-reinforced area 38, which extends over the third projection 48. A further section of the material-reinforced area 38 is located in the recess 40. The contact surfaces between the large load carrier 2 and the lattice box pallet 60 are preferably formed here entirely by the material-reinforced area 38, so that in practice no wear of the large load carrier 2 occurs when the lattice box pallet 60 is in place.

[0085] As illustrated in FIG. 1, for example, in advantageous embodiments the base part 14 also has a support surface and projections on the upper side, which can be designed and dimensioned in the same way as the support surface 36 and the projections 30 of the unfolded side walls 4, 6. For a further large load carrier 2 that is placed on top of the large load carrier 2, a Euro pallet 50 placed on top of it or a lattice box pallet 60 placed on top of it, this results in the same base in the case of unfolded and folded side walls 4, 6.

[0086] The invention is not limited to the exemplary embodiments described here. Rather, a large number of variations are possible within the scope of the specialised knowledge.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMERALS

[0087] 2 Large load carrier; 4 First side wall; 6 Second side wall; 8 Side wall flap; 10 Hinge device; 12 Side wall plane; 14 Base part; 16 Latching mechanism; 18 Handle opening; 20 Foot; 22 Foot inner side; 24 Foot end face side; 26 Runner; 28 Recess for forks of an industrial truck; 30 Projection; 32 First projection; 34 Second projection; 36 Support surface; 38 Material-reinforced area; 40 Recess; 42 Shoulder; 44 Upper area; 46 Lower area; 48 Third projection; 50 Euro pallet; 52 Corner foot; 54 Battening; 60 Lattice box pallet, 62 Base surface; 64 Linkage