PALLET FOR TRANSFERRING GLASS PLATE

Abstract

A pallet for transferring a glass plate includes: a lower frame; an upper frame seated on a top of the lower frame to allow a glass plate to be seated; and a side clamp comprising: a fixating plate provided on a side of the upper frame to prevent horizontal shaking of the glass plate; and a distance adjusting part making the fixating plate approach or move away from the glass plate at a predetermined distance.

Claims

1. A pallet for transferring a glass plate comprising: a lower frame; an upper frame seated on a top of the lower frame to allow a glass plate to be seated; and a side clamp comprising: a fixating plate provided on a side of the upper frame to prevent horizontal shaking of the glass plate; and a distance adjusting part making the fixating plate approach or move away from the glass plate at a predetermined distance, wherein the distance adjusting part comprises: a base plate detachably attached to a side of a glass seating part and having a through-hole at a center thereof; a washer inserted into the through-hole of the base plate; an operation part joined to the washer; an elastic part provided to come into contact with a surface of the washer and maintaining a released or compressed state by operation of the operation part; and a linear shaft linearly moving toward the through-hole of the base plate by operating the operation part and by releasing and compressing the elastic part, thus adjusting a distance between the side clamp and the upper frame.

2. The pallet of claim 1, wherein the operation part comprises: a pair of support parts protruding from a surface of the base plate to face each other; a rotating shaft passing through the pair of support parts; and a lever part provided to be rotatable about the rotating shaft, and having a cam shape at a portion to which the rotating shaft is connected, thus compressing the elastic part according to a rotating angle.

3. The pallet of claim 2, further comprising: a washer provided between the lever part and the elastic part, a surface thereof coming into contact with the lever part being formed in a curved surface.

4. The pallet of claim 1, wherein the operation part comprises a one-touch button.

5. The pallet of claim 1, wherein the elastic part is a leaf spring or a plate spring.

6. The pallet of claim 1, wherein the fixing plate further comprises an elastic plate on a surface coming into contact with the glass plate.

7. The pallet of claim 1, wherein a plurality of distance adjusting parts is provided.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0021] The accompanying drawings are intended to illustrate the preferred embodiments of the invention, and aid in understanding the technical spirit of the invention when reading the following description. It is to be interpreted that the invention is not limited to embodiments shown in the drawings.

[0022] FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating a pallet for transferring a glass plate according to the present invention;

[0023] FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating a side clamp according to the present invention;

[0024] FIG. 3 is a side view illustrating the side clamp according to the present invention; and

[0025] FIGS. 4 and 5 are views illustrating the use of a distance adjusting part according to the present invention.

BEST MODE FOR THE INVENTION

[0026] Exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described below in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0027] FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating a pallet for transferring a glass plate according to the present invention. As illustrated in FIG. 1, the pallet 10 for transferring the glass plate according to the present invention mainly includes a lower frame 100 and an upper frame 200.

[0028] The upper frame 200 is a device that is detachably attached to the top of the lower frame 100, and defines a space on the top to accommodate a plurality of glass plates that are to be stacked up. In order to minimize the shaking of the upper frame when the upper frame 200 is seated on the lower frame 100, the upper frame is fixed to the lower frame via a fixing protrusion or the like. Such an upper frame 200 may be variously formed depending on an area of the glass plate seated thereon. Since a detailed configuration of the upper frame is usually used in the art, its description will be omitted herein.

[0029] A side clamp 300 is provided on any one of sides of the upper frame 200 to suppress the horizontal motion or shaking of the plurality of stacked glass plates.

[0030] FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating the side clamp according to the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a side view illustrating the side clamp according to the present invention. As illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 3, the side clamp 300 includes a fixing plate 310 and a distance adjusting part 320.

[0031] The fixing plate 300 is a device that is attached to the side of the upper frame 200 to protrude from the top of the upper frame 200 by a predetermined length and supports the sides of the plurality of stacked glass plates. Such a fixing plate 300 has on a surface coming into contact with the glass plate an elastic plate 311 to absorb shocks. The elastic plate 311 may be made of any material as long as it has a predetermined elastic force and absorbs shocks when coming into contact with the glass plate. However, the elastic plate is preferably made of a rubber plate.

[0032] An interleaf is inserted between the plurality of stacked glass plates to prevent the glass plates from coming into contact with each other. Since an area of the interleaf is larger than that of the glass plate, the interleaf protruding out from the glass plate prevents the side clamp 300 from coming into direct contact with the glass plate. However, if the side clamp 300 is strongly compressed, the glass plate may be damaged. In order to prevent the glass plate from being damaged, the elastic plate 311 is provided.

[0033] The side clamp 300 is provided to reduce a gap between the side clamp and the side of the glass plate as small as possible, in consideration of the areas of the upper frame 200 and the glass plate. However, a certain gap may inevitably occur to allow the glass plate to be inserted. As such, if there is a gap between the side clamp 300 and the side of the glass plate, shocks may be transmitted, if any, to the glass plate due to vibrations and external shocks. In order to solve the problem, the distance adjusting part 320 is provided, which makes the side clamp 300 approach the glass plate as near as possible after the glass plates have been stacked up, thus minimizing the gap between the glass plate and the side clamp 300. Thus, in order to adjust the distance between the fixing plate 300 and the glass plate by the distance adjusting part 320, the fixing plate 300 is fixed to be movable horizontally while having a predetermined gap between the fixing plate and the side of the upper frame 200, by a linear shaft 328 that will be described later.

[0034] Such a distance adjusting part 320 will be described below in detail.

[0035] The distance adjusting part 320 is a device that is provided on a lower portion of the fixing plate 300, preferably, a predetermined position of a surface of the fixing plate 300 that is opposite to the other surface of the fixing plate 300 coming into contact with the upper frame 200 to cause the fixing plate 300 to approach or move away from the glass plate.

[0036] Such a distance adjusting part 320 mainly includes a base plate 321, a washer 323, an operation part, a curved washer, an elastic part 327, and a linear shaft 328.

[0037] The base plate 321 is a device that is provided on a lower portion of a surface that is opposite to the other surface of the fixing plate 300 coupled to the upper frame 200 to define a space for accommodating components of the distance adjusting part 320. Such a base plate 321 is formed in the shape of a flat plate, and has at a central portion thereof a through-hole to allow the linear shaft 328 to pass therethrough.

[0038] The washer 323 is a device that is inserted into the through-hole formed in the central portion of the base plate 321 and defines a space to allow the curved washer or the like to be stably seated therein. Such a washer 323 may be a flat washer, but preferably may be a recessed washer to allow the inserted curved washer to be fixed without being changed in position by the operation of the operation part.

[0039] The elastic part 327 is a device that is provided on a predetermined portion of a lower surface or an upper surface of the washer 323 to make the fixing plate 300 approach or move away from the glass plate while being kept compressed or released by the operation of the operation part. Such an elastic part 327 may be made of any material as long as it has a predetermined elastic force. However, the elastic part may be preferably a spring, and more preferably a leaf spring or a plate spring.

[0040] Further, the elastic part 327 may be provided on the lower surface of the washer 323 to be entirely compressed by the compression of the washer 323, thus allowing external force to be evenly transmitted from the operation part to the elastic part.

[0041] The operation part is a device that applies or removes external force to or from the elastic part 327 by a user's operation, thus compressing or releasing the elastic part 327. The operation part may employ any device as long as it achieves an intended purpose. The configuration of the operation part according to an embodiment will be described in more detail.

[0042] By way of example, the operation part may include a support part 322, a rotating shaft 324, and a lever part 325.

[0043] The support part 322 is a pair of plate-shaped members that protrude from a surface of the base plate 321 to face each other. In this regard, the pair of support parts 322 is provided to be symmetric with respect to a center of the through-hole formed at the center of the base plate 321.

[0044] The rotating shaft 324 passes through the pair of support parts 322 and then is fixed, thus serving as the rotation center of the lever part 325.

[0045] FIGS. 4 and 5 are views illustrating the use of the distance adjusting part according to the present invention. The lever part 325 is provided to be rotatable about the rotating shaft 324, and has on a portion coupled with the rotating shaft 324 a cam shape to adjust the compression and release of the elastic part 327 depending on the rotating angle. As such, since the portion of the lever part coupled with the rotating shaft 324 has the cam shape, it is possible to compress or release the elastic part 327 by operating the lever part 325, as illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5. The driving of the elastic part 327 and the driving of the fixing plate 300 by the operation part will be described below in more detail.

[0046] Here, the curved washer having on a surface thereof a curved surface, like a neck washer 326, may be provided between the lever part 325 and the washer 323 to more easily and evenly transmit external force transmitted by the cam shape of the lever part 325 to the washer 323 and the elastic part 327. Since the surface of the curved washer has the curved surface corresponding to the cam shape of the lever part 325, like the neck washer 326, it is easy to operate the lever part 325, and it is possible to evenly transmit the external force transmitted by the cam shape to the washer 323 and the elastic part 327. According to an intended use, it is possible to use a plate-shaped member made of an elastic material that may be flexibly deformed in conformity with the cam shape of the lever part 325, instead of the neck washer 326.

[0047] One end of the linear shaft 328 passes through the fixing plate 300 to be inserted into the side of the upper frame 200, while the other end is fixed to the elastic part 327 or the rotating shaft 324 of the operation part. Thus, as the operation part is operated, the linear shaft causes the fixing plate 300 to approach or move away from the glass plate.

[0048] Although it is shown in the drawings that one end of the linear shaft 328 is fixed to the rotating shaft 324 of the operation part, the linear shaft may be fixed to a side of the elastic part 327 according to an intended use.

[0049] As illustrated in FIG. 4, in a stand-by state before the operation part is driven, the elastic part 327 is kept released. Thus, the fixing plate 300 is spaced apart from the side of the glass plate by a predetermined distance, thus allowing the glass plate to be easily seated and stacked on the upper frame 200.

[0050] Subsequently, if the stacking of the glass plates has been completed, as illustrated in FIG. 5, the lever part 325 of the operation part is rotated in one direction. Then, as the external force is transmitted to the neck washer 326, the washer 323 and the elastic part 327 by the cam shape of the lever part 325, the elastic part 327 is compressed and the linear shaft 328 is pulled out from the upper frame 200. If the linear shaft 328 is pulled out from the upper frame 200 as such, the fixing plate 300 approaches the upper frame 200 and comes into close contact with the side of the glass plate, thus preventing the glass plate from being shaken and vibrated. In the state where the side clamp 300 is compressed, the glass plate is stably fixed by the elasticity of the rubber plate provided inside the fixing plate 300, and vibrations and shocks transmitted to the glass plate are minimized.

[0051] Thereafter, when one desires to unload the glass plate from the upper frame 200, the lever part 325 is rotated in the other direction. Then, the elastic part 327 is released and the linear shaft 328 moves inwards relative to the upper frame 200, and the fixing plate 300 generates the gap between it and the upper frame 200. As such, the gap is generated between the fixing plate 300 and the glass plate, thus making it easy to unload the glass plate.

[0052] Although it has been described that the elastic part 327 is controlled by the lever part 325 having the cam-shaped connecting part, a one-touch button may be employed to compress and release the elastic part 327, instead of the lever part, according to an intended use. Further, devices other than the one-touch button may be used as long as they fulfill the intended use.

[0053] A plurality of distance adjusting parts 320 configured as described above may be provided on a side of the fixing plate 300 to allow the fixing plate 300 to stably and uniformly approach or move away from the glass plate. Although it is shown in the drawings that two distance adjusting parts 320 are provided on one fixing plate 300, it is apparent that a single distance adjusting part 320 or two or more distance adjusting parts 320 may be provided according to an intended use.

[0054] In order to transfer the lower frame 100 via a transferring apparatus or the like, a side of the lower frame 100 may be fixed and then lifted and transferred by a transfer arm. The lower frame 100 has on a side thereof a plurality of support columns to stack the plurality of pallets 10 while separating them from each other at a predetermined interval, thus allowing a great number of glass plates to be simultaneously conveyed. Since such a lower frame 100 is usually used in the art, a detailed description thereof will be omitted herein.

[0055] A plurality of shock absorbers may be provided between the lower frame 100 and the upper frame 200 to mitigate external shocks and vibrations. As long as the shock absorber may easily mitigate external shocks and vibrations, it may be made of any material and may have any shape.

[0056] While the invention has been shown and described with reference to exemplary embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. Therefore, it is to be understood that the scope of the invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and all changes that fall within meets and bounds of the claims, or equivalence of such meets and bounds are intended to be embraced by the claims.