FR2599341A1 - Supports and associated containers for loading objects - Google Patents

Abstract

The said supports and containers are used, for example, for bringing hams from a loading station to a cooking cell and from the latter to an unloading station. The support comprises two first bars 2, 3 in a lower horizontal plane and two second parallel bars 8, 9 in an upper horizontal plane and perpendicular to the bars 2, 3. The bars 2, 3, 8 and 9 are joined together by legs 4 to 7. The support is provided for carrying containers in the form of channels 14 resting on the bars 2, 3. The loaded support is stackable on an identical support and comprises guidance means 10 to 13 for the stacking.

Description

 The present invention relates to supports associated with containers that are used for loading and grouping together, with a view to subjecting them to a treatment operation, and then discharging a large quantity of objects, and more particularly, supports and containers. associated to bring food products, such as vacuum cured hams, from a loading station to a cooking cell and from this to an unloading station.

 The cooking of hams under vacuum is generally done in cells of relatively large volume in which the heat transfer fluid is hot air. The hams are arranged on trays in stages, generally carried on a trolley. To load the hams, they are first put in individual containers which are then stored on the trays. These loading and unloading operations are long and ill-suited to industrial production units. On the other hand, the material needs are significant.

 n simpler loading and unloading process has been devised, in which each stage is presented individually to the loading or unloading stations. This process is implemented by organizing a loading and / or unloading chain comprising manipulators and conveyors. The tiered supports are individual and can stack on top of each other.

 An object of the present invention is to provide supports and associated containers suitable for this loading process; and unloading.

 According to a characteristic of the invention, said support comprises two first parallel bars in a lower horizontal plane and two second bars also parallel, in an upper horizontal plane, and perpendicular to the first bars, the distance between said lower horizontal plane and said horizontal plane upper being greater than the height of the associated containers, these resting on said first bars, the first and second bars being joined by four feet two by two in the vertical planes of each first bar, the four feet also being inclined so to approach two by two upwards, the upper ends of the feet being welded to the underside of said second bars, the ends of the first bars being welded to the feet, at a certain distance above their lower end, each second bar comprising at its ends, on its upper face, two stops the edges of which gaze move upwards, the support being stackable on another identical support, the second bars of the lower support being housed without play in the angles formed by the first bars and the lower parts of the feet of the upper support, the second stops bars of the lower support then prohibiting any play of the upper support in the direction of said second bars.

 According to another characteristic of the invention, the containers are longitudinal troughs with U-shaped profile and flat bottom.

 According to another characteristic of the invention, the length of the troughs is less than that of said second bars.

 According to another characteristic of the invention, said troughs have stops under their horizontal face, making it possible to wedge them longitudinally on said first bars.

 According to another characteristic of the invention, said troughs comprise several transverse partitions.

 According to another characteristic of the invention, said troughs have end walls partially closing said ends.

 According to another characteristic of the invention, said second bars have a circular section.

The characteristics of the invention mentioned above, as well as others, will appear more clearly on reading the following description of an exemplary embodiment, said description being made in relation to the accompanying drawings, among which:
Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a support according to the invention,
Fig. 2 is a side view of supports such as that of the
Fig. 1 stacked, and
Fig. 3 is a view perpendicular to the view in FIG. 2.

 The support 1, Fig. 1, comprises two lower bars, of the same length and parallel 2 and 3, defining a lower horizontal plane. The bar 2 is welded at its ends to two straight feet 4 and 5. The bar 2 and the feet 4 and 5 are in the same vertical plane. feet 4 and 5 protrude slightly below bar 2 and more clearly upwards.

 In the vertical plane of the bar 2, the feet 4 and 5 are also inclined so as to approach each other upwards. As will be seen below, the inclination of the feet 4 and 5 is a function of their length upwards from the bar 2.

 Like the bar 2, the bar 3 is welded to feet 6 and 7 identical to feet 4 and 5. The feet 4 and 6, and 5 and 7, are two by two parallel.

 By their upper ends, the legs 4 and 6 are welded to the same bar 8. Likewise, the legs 5 and 7 are welded to a bar 9.

The bars 8 and 9 are parallel, of the same lengths and define an upper horizontal plane. They are perpendicular to bars 2 and 3. Bars 8 and 9 protrude slightly from feet 4 to 7, of constant length. Preferably, they have a circular section whose diameter is equal to the width of the feet 4 to 7.

 As an indication, in a preferred embodiment of the invention, the bars 2, 3, 8 and 9 have a length of approximately 1 m.

 The bars 8 and 9 respectively have two stops 10, 11 and 12, 13 at their ends. The stops 10 to 13 are small substantially vertical plates welded to the upper generatrices of the bars 8 and 9. The inner edges of the stops 10 to 13 are inclined and rise towards the outside. The lower edges of the internal edges of the stops 10 and 12 lie substantially in the vertical plane defined by the external faces of the legs 4 and 5 and of the bar 2. Similarly, the lower edges of the internal edges of the stops 11 and 13 are located substantially in the vertical plane of the external faces of the feet 6 and 7 and of the bar 3.

 The containers associated with the supports 1 are visible in Figs. 2 and 3. These are longitudinal troughs 14 with a U-shaped profile and a flat bottom. Each chute 14 is designed to rest on the two lower bars 2 and 3 of a support 1. Its height is less than the distance from the plane of the bars 2 and 3 to the plane of the bars 8 and 9. The chutes 14 have a shorter length to that of bars 8 and 9.

Under their lower face, they may include stops 15 serving to wedge them on the bars 2 and 3.

 The troughs 14 may include several transverse partitions such as 16, FIG. 2. They may also have walls 17 which only partially close their ends, to allow access to the products which they contain during the treatment operation. In the case of hams during cooking, it can thus be determined whether they are cooked through.

 Depending on usage, we can provide chutes of different widths. In practice, provision is made to have three or four troughs per support, a non-negligible space being left between neighboring troughs so that there is good circulation of the heat transfer fluid. The troughs 14 are made of a material which is a good conductor of heat such as stainless steel sheet.

 Of course, other containers can be used with the supports 1, provided that they are long enough to rest on the two bars 2 and 3.

 The supports 1 are stackable on top of each other, whether loaded or not. The inclination of the legs 4 to 7 and their height above the bars 2 and 3 are combined in such a way that in a stack, the bars 8 and 9 of a support fit without play in the angles formed by the lower parts feet 4 and 5 with bar 2 and those formed by the lower parts of feet 6 and 7 with bar 7, in the upper support. In the perpendicular direction, a setting also without play is ensured by the stops 10 to 14 whose bases of the internal edges are in contact with the external faces of the feet of the immediately upper support.

 These precise settings of the supports 1 to the stack are necessary so that the gripping operations performed by manipulators take place without incident. The supports 1 are gripped by the bars 8 and 9.

 We will now explain how the supports and containers of the invention are used in a chalne to bring hams under vacuum into a cooking cell and remove them therefrom.

 At one end of the channel, there is a station to which is precisely positioned a stack of supports 1 loaded with empty spouts 14. From this station, the supports 1 are discharged by a first manipulator which grips the upper support by its bars 8 and 9, to transfer it from a conveyor on the way to which the chutes are loaded with hams. At the arrival point of the conveyor, the support is gripped by a second manipulator who transfers it to a stacking station. It should be noted that the inclination of the feet 4 to 7 and that of the internal edges of the stops 10 to 13 constitute guides which make it possible to correct inevitable positioning deviations of the manipulator. The stack of loaded supports is then brought inside the cooking cell by any means. This means can be a forklift which does not require the stack to be mounted on a pallet. In fact, the bars 2 and 3 of the lower support of the stack resting on the ground are at a certain height, sufficient for the forks of the carriage to penetrate below.

 once the cooking operation is finished, the stack of supports 1 loaded with cooked ham follows the reverse path on the chain. The supports 1 are discharged by the second manipulator, unloaded along the conveyor and stacked again by the first manipulator.

 In practice, such an installation makes it possible to handle 1,500 hams per day.

Claims (9)

 1) Support and associated containers that are used to load and group together, with a view to subjecting them to a treatment operation, and then to unload a large quantity of objects, characterized in that the support (1) comprises two first bars (2, 3) - parallel in a lower horizontal plane, by means of which the associated receptacles are held, and two second bars (8, 9) also parallel, in an upper horizontal plane, and perpendicular to the bars (2, 3), the first and second bars (2, 3, 8, 9) being joined by four feet (4 to 7) forming two pairs respectively in the vertical planes of each first bar (2, 3), the four feet (4 to 7) also being inclined so as to approach two by two upwards, the feet having on their opposite faces in each pair of the first stops oriented downwards at a certain distance from their bases, the upper ends of the feet being welded to the face inferior ure bars (8, 9), the ends of the first bars (2, 3) being welded to the feet, at a certain distance above their lower end, each second bar (8, 9) having on its upper face two second stops (10, 11 or 12, 13), the support being stackable on another identical support, the second bars (8, 9) of the lower support being housed without play in the angles formed by the lower parts of the feet of the upper support and said first stops, the second stops (10 to 13) of the second bars (8, 9) of the lower support then preventing any play of the first stops and, consequently, of the upper support in the direction of the second bars (8, 9) .  2) Support according to claim 1, characterized in that said first stops are formed by the lower edge of the first bars (2, 3).  3) Support according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the active edges of said second stops (10 to 13) are inclined so as to gradually eliminate the play in stacking.  4) Support and associated containers according to one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that said associated containers rest on said first bars (2, 3), said second bars (8, 9) projecting relative to the feet and having a length at least equal to that of said containers, the height of said containers being less than the distance separating the respective planes of the first and second bars.  5) Container according to one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that it has the shape of a longitudinal chute (14) with U-shaped profile and flat bottom.  6) Container according to one of claims i to 5, characterized in that it comprises stops (15) under its horizontal face, making it possible to wedge it longitudinally on the bars (2, 3).  7) A container according to claim 5, characterized in that it comprises several transverse partitions (16),  8) Container according to claims 5 or 7, characterized in that it comprises end walls (17) partially closing said ends.  9) Support according to one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the second bars (8, 9) have a circular section.