JPH0113100Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] (Field of Industrial Application) This invention relates to a container connecting device that connects and secures containers when they are stacked one above the other.

(Prior art) As a conventional container coupling device, the
As shown in Publication No. 48432, a diagonal groove is formed in the shaft rod, a ring is inserted between the inner surface of the main body and the shaft rod, and a protrusion is inserted inward from the ring and locked outward. There is known a structure in which the rods are respectively protruded, the protrusions are engaged with the diagonal grooves, and the locking rods are engaged with the peripheral edge of the engagement hole of the container.

(Problem to be solved by the invention) In the case of such a container coupling device, a groove must be formed on the circumferential surface of the shaft rod, and a locking rod is required in addition to the operating lever, making it difficult to manufacture. There is a problem in that the locking rod, which is a protruding portion at the top, is easily damaged. Moreover, the lower engaging portion must be rotated in advance to a position overlapping with the engaging hole of the container, which has the drawback of complicating the work.

This invention was made in response to the above points,
To provide a container connecting device which has a simple structure and can easily connect and secure upper and lower containers.

(Means for Solving the Problems) The present invention is a container connecting device for connecting an upper container and a lower container each having engagement holes at opposing positions, and the container connecting device has a connecting device main body and a lower container. , a shaft rod rotatably supported by the coupling device main body and having the engagement hole and the removable engagement portion integrally fixed to the upper and lower ends thereof, and an axis perpendicular to the rotation axis of the shaft rod; The shaft is rotatably supported by the coupling device main body as a rotating shaft, and comprises an operating lever for rotating the shaft rod, and the shaft rod has a lower engagement portion engaged with the engagement hole through a spring means. The engaging portions are biased in a direction to
At least the lower engaging portion has a pair of ridge lines or an inclined surface including the ridge lines formed from one diagonal position to the apex, and a slope different from the slope of the ridge line or inclined surface from the other diagonal position to the apex. A pair of rotation guide ridge lines having a shape or a rotation guide surface including the rotation guide ridge lines are formed point-symmetrically with respect to the rotation axis of the shaft rod, and the upper engagement portion is engaged with the engagement hole of the upper container. When the lower engaging part touches the engaging hole of the lower container at the position where it engages with the engaging hole, a couple that rotates the engaging part along the rotation guide ridge line or the rotation guide surface is generated. At the same time, when the operating lever is rotated, the shaft rod is rotated to a position where the lower engaging portion is aligned with the engaging hole.

(Function) The upper and lower engaging portions are urged by spring means to a position intersecting the engaging hole of the container, and are provided so as to be displaced at a certain angle so as to intersect with each other.

Then, when the lower engaging part is brought into contact with the engaging hole of the lower container while the upper engaging part is engaged with the engaging hole of the upper container, the point is symmetrical to the engaging part. A component force (couple) of the weight of the container acts along the rotation guide ridge line or rotation guide surface formed in the rotation guide, and this couple applies a rotational force to the engaging portion. When the engaging portion rotates at a predetermined angle against the biasing force of the spring means, that is, to a position where it matches the engaging hole, the engaging portion fits into the engaging hole. When the engaging portion is completely fitted into the engaging hole, it returns to its original position and engages due to the biasing force of the spring means, and the upper and lower containers are connected and secured.

On the other hand, to release the connected and locked state, the operating lever is rotated about an axis perpendicular to the rotation axis of the shaft rod, that is, in the vertical direction. At this time, the shaft rod rotates to the position where the engaging part matches the engaging hole, so that if the upper container is lifted by a crane or the like, the container coupling device remains attached to the upper container and connects to the lower container. More disconnected.

(Embodiments) Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described based on the drawings. A container coupling device according to the present invention is shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. As shown in FIG. 7, this container connecting device 1 is interposed between the upper container 2 and the lower container 3 to connect and secure both containers 2 and 3 when stacking the containers 2 and 3 vertically. The connecting device main body 4 is rotatably combined with a shaft rod 7 that integrally has an upper engaging portion 5 and a lower engaging portion (hereinafter referred to as a cone) 6 on the upper and lower sides.

The coupling device main body 4 is provided with an upper fitting part 8 and a lower fitting part 9 at the upper and lower sides, respectively. The upper fitting part 8 fits into the engagement hole 10 of the upper container 2 and functions to position the coupling device main body 4 with respect to the upper container 2, while the lower fitting part 9 fits into the engagement hole 11 of the lower container 3. The coupling device body 4 is fitted into the lower container 3 to position it with respect to the lower container 3, and has a planar shape and height corresponding to the engagement holes 10 and 11, respectively. The connecting device main body 4 includes a shaft rod 7.
passes vertically through the center portions of both fitting portions 8 and 9 and is rotatably supported.

The upper engagement part 5 engages with the engagement hole 10 of the upper container 2, and has a planar shape corresponding to the upper engagement part 8, that is, a planar shape corresponding to the engagement hole 10, and also has a planar shape corresponding to the engagement hole 10. As the upper fitting part 8 rotates,
It is installed so that it can slide and rotate on the top surface of the. Further, in the upper engaging portion 5, the shaft rod 7 is at the first rotational position A.
(the position shown in FIG. 8) and the second rotation position B (the position shown in FIG. 10), when it is at the intermediate rotational position C (the position shown in FIG. 9), it matches the upper fitting part 8 and engages the upper container 2 It is removable and does not engage with the mating hole 10, and on the other hand, engages with the mating hole 10 when the shaft rod 7 is in the first rotation position A or the second rotation position B.

The cone 6 engages with the engagement hole 11 of the lower container 3, is displaced at a certain angle so as to intersect with the upper engagement part, and has a planar shape corresponding to the lower engagement part 9, that is, It has a planar shape corresponding to the engagement hole 11 and is provided so as to slide and rotate on the lower surface of the lower fitting part 9 as the shaft rod 7 rotates. In this cone 6, the shaft rod 7 is at the first rotational position A.
(position shown in Figure 8) or third rotational position D (position 11)
When the shaft rod 7 is in the second rotation position B (the position shown in the figure), it matches the lower fitting part 9 and is removable but does not engage with the engagement hole 11 of the lower container 3. position), it engages with the engagement hole 11.

Further, when the cone 6 is inserted into the engagement hole 11, the cone 6 is formed in a shape that allows the insertion to be performed smoothly and to apply a rotational force to the cone 6. That is, as shown in FIGS. 3 to 5, the cone 6 has two rotation guide ridge lines 12 and 13 that are guided into the engagement hole 11, and each of these has two rotation guide ridge lines 12 and 13.
two inclined surfaces 14a, 14b and 15a, 15b
It is formed from. The inclined surfaces 14a and 15a are formed into tapered inclined surfaces that taper from the base end 16 toward the distal end 17 on both front and rear sides. Inclined surface 14b
is provided in approximately the front half of the cone 6, and is formed into a left downward slope that slopes from both the right base end portions 18 to the left side tip 19. In addition, the inclined surface 15
b is provided at approximately the rear half of the cone 6, and is formed into a right-down slope that slopes from both left base end portions 20 to right side ends 21, opposite to the above-mentioned slope surface 14b. As a result, the intersection line of the inclined surfaces 14a and 14b, that is, the ridgeline, becomes the rotational guide ridgeline 12, while the ridgeline of the inclined surfaces 15a and 15b becomes the rotational guide ridgeline 13, and both of these rotational guide ridgelines 12 and 13 form the shaft axis. The position is point symmetrical about the rotation axis of 7.

Then, when the cone 6 is brought into contact with the engagement hole 11 from above and pressed while the shaft rod 7 is in the second rotation position B, the cone 6 crosses the engagement hole 11, that is, the second It is contacted at a position B' (see FIG. 5) corresponding to the rotational position B (in the direction toward the front of the page). In this state, a component of the pressing force (container weight) acts along the rotation guide ridge lines 12 and 13, and this component becomes a couple of equal magnitude but opposite directions, so this coupling The rotational force in the counterclockwise direction is applied to the cone 6 in FIG.
will be given to As a result, the cone 6 is guided while slidingly contacting the edge 11a of the engagement hole 11, and when it rotates in the direction of arrow X to position D' and matches the engagement hole 11, the shaft rod 7 integrated with the cone 6 is adapted to rotate to a third rotational position D. This third rotational position D is located at a position rotated by 180 degrees with respect to the first rotational position A.

Note that the direction and angle of inclination of the rotation guide ridge lines 12 and 13 are the same as those of the inclined surfaces 14a, 14b, 15.
The optimum value is set by adjusting the inclination angles of a and 15b, and this optimum value is determined by taking into consideration the balance with the engagement hole 11 and the rotation angle of the shaft rod 7 to be rotated. Furthermore, since the rotation guide ridge lines 12 and 13 are worn and chamfered with use, they may be formed in advance into rotation guide surfaces that smoothly connect the sloped surface and the tapered slope.

By the way, as shown in FIG. 6, inside the coupling device main body 4, an insertion hole 22 perpendicular to the shaft rod 7 and a sliding portion 23 surrounding the shaft rod 7 are formed.

A drive shaft rod 24 is rotatably supported in the insertion hole 22 around a rotation axis perpendicular to the rotation axis of the shaft rod 7.
The distal end portion 24a protrudes to the outside of the coupling device main body 4, and an operating lever 25 is integrally fixed thereto. As shown in FIG. 2, this operating lever 25 is
It is rotatable between a release position E and an engagement position F. Note that these positional restrictions are performed by a stopper pin 26 provided on the coupling device main body 4 and a locking pin 27 (described later) on the shaft rod 7.

A rotation transmission means 28 is provided between the shaft rod 7 and the drive shaft rod 24. The rotation transmission means 28 is
It consists of a drive gear 29 provided on the drive shaft 24 and a driven gear 30 provided on the shaft 7, and these gears 29 and 30 are helical gears. The drive gear 29 has a toothless portion 2.
9a, and when the operating lever 25 is in the engagement position F, it does not mesh with the driven gear 30 and the shaft rod 7 can rotate freely. Further, a locking protrusion 31 is provided at the end of the toothless portion 29a, and a toothless portion 30a corresponding to the locking protrusion 31 is provided on a part of the driven gear 30, so that the shaft rod is The free rotation range of 7 is restricted.

That is, when the shaft rod 7 is in the second rotational position B, one end 32 of the toothless portion 30a engages with the locking protrusion 31 to prevent further free rotation in the Y direction. Note that by rotating the operating lever 25 from the release position E to the engagement position F, the shaft rod 7 moves from the first rotation position A to the second rotation position B.
rotated until.

A compression spring 33 serving as a spring means is slidably provided on the sliding portion 23, and a tip 33a of the compression spring 33 is engaged with a locking pin 27 integrated with the shaft rod 7, so that the compression spring 33 is attached to the shaft rod 7. is designed to be biased in the direction of the arrow Y. Note that the locking pin 27
is provided so as to abut and lock on the drive shaft rod 24 when the shaft rod 7 is in the first rotational position A.

Next, the operating procedure for connecting the containers 2 and 3 using the container connecting device 1 will be explained.

The operating lever 25 of the container coupling device 1 is operated to an intermediate position G between the release position E and the engagement position F (see FIG. 2), and the shaft rod 7 is brought to the intermediate rotation position C (see FIG. 9). At this time, the upper engaging part 5 is in a position overlapping the upper fitting part 8.

In this state, connect the upper engaging part 5 to the upper container 2.
When the lever 25 is rotated to the engagement position F, the shaft 7 is rotated to the second rotation position B, and the upper engagement part 5 is engaged with the engagement hole 10. (See Figure 10). At this time,
The driven gear 30 and the drive gear 29 are disengaged, and the shaft rod 7 can freely rotate in the direction of arrow X.

When the upper container 2 is placed on the lower container 3, the cone 6 fits into the engagement hole 1 of the lower container 3.
At this time, the cone 6 has its rotation guide ridges 12 and 13 due to the weight of the container 2.
A component force acts along the cone 6, that is, while being guided to the engagement hole 11 by this component force.
The shaft rod 7 is rotated in the direction of arrow X (see FIG. 10) against the elastic force of the compression spring 33.

When the cone 6 is inserted into the engagement hole 11 by the above operation, the shaft rod 7 is rotated to the third rotational position D (see Fig. 11), and when the cone 6 is completely inserted, the cone 6 is inserted into the engagement hole 11. 11 is released and becomes freely rotatable. That is, after the shaft rod 7 rotates to the third rotational position D, it is rotated in the opposite direction (arrow Y direction) by the restoring force of the compression spring 33, and rotated back to the second rotational position B, where the cone 6 engages with the engagement hole 11.

To release the connected and locked state, the operating lever 25 is rotated from the engagement position F to the release position E using an operating rod (not shown). Then, the shaft rod 7 rotates in the direction of arrow Y and returns to the first rotation position A, and the cone 6 is inserted into the engagement hole 1 of the lower container 3.
1 and can leave at will.

In the above embodiment, the cone 6 is configured to rotate in the direction of the arrow X, but may be configured to rotate in the direction of the arrow Y depending on the container coupling device 1 to which it is applied. In this case, the inclined surface 14b,
The direction of inclination of 15b may be reversed.

Further, although the shaft rod is configured to be rotated from the engagement position to the release position by rotating the operating lever 25 clockwise, it is possible to rotate the shaft rod from the engagement position to the release position by rotating the operation lever 25 clockwise. It is also possible to activate it.

(Effect of the invention) As described above, according to the container coupling device according to the present invention, the operation of engaging the cone with the engagement hole of the lower container is performed while the coupling device is engaged with the upper container. Since this is done automatically by placing the engagement part on the engagement hole, there is no need to rotate the engagement part in advance, making the operation easy.

Further, since the rotation guide ridge line of the cone or the rotation guide surface including the rotation guide ridge line is formed of two inclined surfaces, its shape is simple and manufacturing is easy.

Furthermore, since it is only necessary to rotate the operating lever in the vertical direction to release the connected lashing state of the upper and lower containers, even when stacking large and small containers, work can be carried out on the ground without being hindered by large containers. It can be done from the side.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

The drawings illustrate the embodiments of the present invention.
The figure is a perspective view of the container coupling device according to the present invention viewed from below, FIG. 2 is a front view thereof, FIG. 3 is a front view of the cone, FIG. 4 is a side view thereof, and FIG. 5 is a bottom view thereof.
FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along the line -- in FIG. 1, FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing how the container coupling device is used, and FIGS. 8 to 11 are sectional views of main parts for explaining the operation. 1... Container connection device, 2, 3... Container, 6... Cone (lower engagement part), 7... Axis rod,
10, 11...Engagement hole, 12, 13...Rotation guide ridge line, 14a, 15a...Tapered inclined surface, 14b,
15b...Slope surface.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] A container coupling device for coupling an upper container and a lower container each having engagement holes at opposing positions, the container coupling device comprising a coupling device main body and a coupling device main body rotatably supported by the coupling device main body. , a shaft rod having the engagement hole and a removable engagement portion integrally fixed to the upper and lower ends thereof, and a shaft support rotatably on the coupling device main body with an axis perpendicular to the rotation axis of the shaft rod as the rotation axis. and an operating lever for rotating the shaft rod, the shaft rod being biased by a spring means in a direction in which the lower engaging portion engages with the engaging hole, and
The engaging portions have a planar shape corresponding to the engaging hole of the container, and are provided at a certain angle displacement so as to intersect with each other, and furthermore, at least the lower engaging portion is located at the apex from one diagonal position. A pair of ridge lines or an inclined surface including the ridge lines are formed, and a pair of rotation guide ridge lines or a rotation guide ridge line including the rotation guide ridge line has a slope different from that of the ridge line or the inclined surface from the diagonal position of the other to the apex. The guide surface is formed point-symmetrically with respect to the rotation axis of the shaft rod, and the upper engaging part is engaged with the engaging hole of the upper container, and the lower engaging part is engaged with the engaging hole of the lower container. When the engagement hole is touched at the engagement position, a force couple is generated that rotates the engagement portion along the rotation guide ridge line or the rotation guide surface, and the rotation operation of the operation lever causes the downward engagement. 1. A container connecting device, characterized in that the shaft rod is configured to rotate to a position where the portion coincides with the engagement hole.