WO2006048586A1 - Trolley-type rolling device for transport, distribution and collection of waste - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a trolley-type rolling device (1) which is used for the transport and distribution of products, such as food trays, and the collection of refuse. The inventive device comprises a base (2) which is equipped with means (21) that can roll on the ground and which is topped with a cabinet (3) that is closed by walls (40, 30, 32, 33, 34) (20). The aforementioned cabinet is equipped with a front door that provides access to the interior comprising a tiered set of pairs of rails on two opposing lateral walls, which enable the above-mentioned products to be maintained in an essentially-horizontal, tiered arrangement prior to distribution. Moreover, the base, along with the rolling means, and the cabinet are two distinct units that can be removably-connected to one another for transport, distribution and collection purposes. In addition, the cabinet is made from an essentially-non-metallic material such as disposable plastic or cardboard. In this way, once the waste has been collected, the cabinet is separated from the base such that the base can receive a new cabinet and be re-used. Furthermore, a collection container (43) that is connected to an upper wall can be opened for waste collection purposes.

Description

 Trolley-type trolley for the transport, distribution and recovery of waste

The present invention relates to a trolley-type rolling device for transporting, dispensing products, especially meal trays, and recovering waste, in particular residues, which is disposable and which has various applications in the field of transport, in particular particular aeronautical, hospital, school, prison or other fields. Conventionally product distribution devices, such as, in particular, meal trays, trolley type are relatively heavy metal structures, closed, and having internally racks or rails on the side walls, for transport substantially horizontally of trays made accessible by a door giving access to the interior of the trolley. Because these structures are reusable, the recovery of food waste and trays by these same structures can be problematic for reasons of hygiene and / or require cleaning between services. It is therefore often necessary to use other means to recover the waste and trays at the end of the service, which requires to have the corresponding place for firstly the trolley and, secondly, the means of recovery. It may also be the question of the weight of these devices and means in certain fields such as aviation and more generally transport.

It may therefore be desirable to have trolleys that allow the recovery of waste and trays after the service (distribution) without the constraints conventionally encountered and which allow an optimization of these services, including meal trays service.

This object is achieved by a disposable device which has the additional advantage of being able to be produced in substantially non-metallic materials, in particular Particularly made of cardboard and / or plastic (or composite metal and / or cardboard / paper and / or plastic) and therefore of reduced weight and cost. The use of this type of material also makes possible a particular manufacturing method by assembling prefabricated panels thus further reducing costs and storage problems, the panels before assembly being stored flat.

The invention therefore relates to a trolley type of trolley for transporting, dispensing products, including meal trays or the like, and waste recovery, comprising a base with rolling means on the floor surmounted by a cabinet closed by walls and provided with a front access door allowing access to the interior of said cabinet, said interior comprising a floor assembly of pairs of rails on at least two opposite side walls for maintaining substantially horizontal floor of said products , until distribution.

According to the invention, the base with its rolling means and the cabinet are preferably two distinct entities that can be secured together in a removable manner for transport, distribution and recovery and the cabinet is made in a essentially non-metallic material made of cardboard and / or plastic disposable so that once recovery is performed, said cabinet is separated from the base for disposal, said base may be reusable to receive a new cabinet.

In various embodiments of the invention, the following means can be used alone or in any technically feasible combination, are employed:

- The products are meal trays or equivalent, (box / meal box for example)

the trays are reused, the trays are disposable, - the waste is left on the trays and trays placed in the cabinet during the recovery,

the base comprises metal parts,

the base is essentially made of metal, the base is essentially in a non-metallic material,

the base is essentially in a plastic material,

the material forming the base is thermally insulating,

- the base is in a water repellent material, anti-smoke and fireproof,

the base is made of an essentially non-metallic material made of cardboard and / or plastic material,

- the base is reusable or not,

the base is preferably in a water-repellent, anti-fire and anti-smoke material,

the upper part of the cabinet internally comprises a container folded under a reduced thickness and able to be unfolded inside the cabinet, the container being placed under an upper wall that can be opened by pressure on the upper wall of the cabinet; exterior to the bottom and the inside, the opening of the upper wall causing the unfolding of the container, the container being intended, for example, to recover at least the waste,

the waste is separated from the trays, the trays placed in the cabinet and the waste in the container during the recovery,

the trays and the waste are thrown together in the container during the recovery,

the upper wall comprises embrittlement means intended to facilitate opening,

the weakening means are weakening lines made in the material of the upper wall,

a portion of the upper wall falls into the receptacle during the opening of said upper wall, - A removable partition wall is disposed under the folded container, the folded container being sandwiched between the upper wall and the partition wall, the partition wall separating from the upper part of the cabinet when unfolding the container when the opening of the upper wall,

the device comprises means for securing the partition wall on an outer surface of the upper part to close the said upper wall once the latter has been opened,

- The securing means of the partition wall at the upper surface of the upper part are in particular a peelable adhesive or a glue for repositioning, disposed on the partition wall and / or the upper surface of the upper part,

- The height of the container once unfolded is such that there is down to the bottom of the cabinet, internally, a free space that can receive the trays cleared of the remains and directly stacked on each other, - the container is a bag. flexible material,

the container is a bag made of flexible material of the trash bag type,

- the bag is made of plastic,

- the bag is made of paper, - the bag is a paper and plastic composite,

the container is a paper-plastic composite bag of the trash bag type,

- the container is waterproof,

the container is a container comprising accordion bellows walls,

the bottom of the container is substantially plane,

- the container is extractable from the cabinet by the front access door,

the container comprises means for closing its opening for introducing the remains, the material forming the cabinet is water-repellent,

- the material forming the cabinet is smoke-free,

- the material forming the cabinet is fireproof,

- the material forming the cabinet is water-repellent, anti-smoke and fireproof,

the material forming the cabinet is thermally insulating,

the material forming the cabinet is composite and formed of a stack of at least two layers,

the layers are chosen from plastics in substantially rigid plates, cardboard, paper, metal films, plastic films,

the base comprises at least three castors articulated or not,

- The base comprises four wheels, at least two of which comprises braking means and / or locking, - at least two wheels are articulated,

the means for releasably securing between the base and the cabinet are constituted by an interlocking device,

- The interlocking device corresponds to a mutual engagement of two end portions bent U (or V), inverted between them, the free end of the bent portion of one being introduced to the bottom of the U (or V ) on the other and vice versa,

- Removable securing means between the base and the cabinet are constituted by a device hooks and loops type VELCRO® or equivalent,

- Removable securing means between the base and the cabinet are obtained by gluing,

- Removable securing means between the base and the cabinet are obtained by stapling, - Removable securing means between the base and the cabinet are obtained by welding,

the access door comprises a locking means closing allowing the establishment of a single-use opening control indicator, said witness being unable to not be put back into a closed condition once the door is opened,

- the witness is a lead with security lead,

the locking means is a magnetic closure; the locking means is a VELCRO® closure or equivalent,

the cabinet is assembled by folding and assembly of pre-cut flat panels and with preformed fold lines, (the preforming of the fold lines corresponds to a means allowing the panel to fold preferentially along said lines, in particular by thinning the material along the line, dotted perforating or other means)

- The cabinet is assembled by folding and assembly:

- a bottom panel, arranged downwards and intended to rest on the base,

- an upper part panel, arranged upwards and comprising the upper wall,

- two side panels, the first side panel having the first side wall with its rails and a wall forming the front access door, the second side panel having the second side wall with its rails and a wall forming a rear wall,

a panel comprising the removable dividing wall; the rear wall comprises rails;

- the assembly of the panels between them is maintained by one or more of the following means:

- welding,

- bonding, - mechanical fastening with a VELCRO® hook and loop device or equivalent,

- Mechanical fastening with a type of tenon-mortise device by tabs engaging in corresponding slots, mechanical fastening by an interlocking device, - stapling,

- the cabinet has externally informative or decorative visual patterns,

- the device is of shape and dimensions compatible with aeronautical use,

- the device can hold up to fourteen meal trays,

- the device is compatible with hospital use. The present invention will now be exemplified without being limited thereto with the description which follows in relation to the following figures:

1 represents a front-side perspective view of a trolley according to the invention, FIG. 2 which represents the trolley of FIG. 1 but in an exploded view,

- Figure 3 which shows a rolling base seen from its front,

FIG. 4, which represents part of a pedestal seen laterally,

- Figure 5 which shows a base from below,

FIG. 6, which represents a bottom base viewed from below,

FIGS. 7 and 8 which show examples of cutting sheets of a material to form certain parts of the cabinet,

FIG. 9 which schematically represents the implementation of elements of the trolley of the invention,

- Figure 10 which shows a perspective view of the braking / locking mechanism of the wheels.

The trolley example 1 according to the invention shown in FIG. 1 is of generally parallelepipedal shape and of dimensions adapted to the use made of it. The trolley

1 comprises a base 2 with rolling means on a floor with wheels 21, a cabinet 3 or body intended for store meal trays before and during the distribution then the remains and trays after and finally an upper part 4 or lid closing up the cabinet 3.

The base is formed of several parts including a base 26 and a bottom 20. The base 26 is substantially extended and elongated and has connecting members 27 to the wheels 21 by the intermediate axis 25. The bottom 20 is also substantially extended and elongate and with substantially vertically upstanding side edges to, in this embodiment, be able to removably receive the cabinet 3 as will be seen later in connection with FIG. 2. Four wheels 21 and two connecting members 27 are implemented, one at each end of the base 26. Preferably, the connecting members 27 and the base 26 are a single piece, for example metal or, preferably, molded plastic. Braking / locking means of the rolling means is also implemented on at least one pair of wheels, preferably the pair of wheels towards the front of the trolley which corresponds to the front wall 30 comprising the door. This braking / locking means allows the application of brake shoes 22 on said wheels 21 by the action of a control rod 23 mounted on a bistable spring-loaded rocking device 24 integral with the corresponding connecting member 27, the device 21 can switch from a braking / locking position to an unlocking position in particular following an action of the foot of a user. In a variant, the braking / locking means is local and acts independently on each wheel, one, two or four wheels. In another variant, a single command can act on all four wheels at once instead of two as described above. It is also expected that the brake control can be offset by a transmission means to be accessible to the hand of a user instead of the foot. Finally, in variants not shown, some or all of the wheels may be rendered directional, that is to say that they further have the axis of rotation in the horizontal plane for rolling, an axis of rotation in a vertical plane for the orientation of the bearing. In a variant similar to that shown in Figure 1, the two wheels that can be braked / blocked at the front of the trolley are fixed axis and the two wheels at the rear of the trolley, directional.

The cabinet 3 which is closed when not in use, has a front wall 30 with a door allowing access to the interior of said cabinet, two side walls 32, 34 of which only one 32 is visible on the Figure 1, and a rear wall 33 not visible in this same figure 1, an upper portion 4 and, preferably, a bottom wall or bottom. The door which is a part of the front wall 30 because at least the bottom 20 of the base has a rising edge, opens from the front and is articulated on a side wall along the vertical edge joining the front wall and corresponding lateral. Means for gripping and closing / locking 31 of the door are accessible on the front for manipulation by a user. Subsequently, the cabinet comprises horizontal rails or rails regularly staged at least in pairs and along the side walls for a floor maintenance meal trays during storage before meal service. The upper part 4 forms the upper wall of the cabinet 3. Its structure will be specified in connection with Figure 2. It comprises a gripping means 45 allowing a user to move the trolley. In a variant, removable fastening means are provided on the upper part for removable attachment of a beverage tray or the like, said tray being then removed after the meal service to allow direct access to the upper part and its opening for the waste recovery stage. Figure 2 provides a better view of the distribution of the elements of the trolley between them.

The base 26 and the bottom 20 of the base 2, which are two independent elements joined together are here shown separately. In a variant, the base and the base are one and the same element, that is to say that the base then has the upwardly vertically upstanding side edges to be able to removably receive the cabinet 3. Several variants are possible as regards the relationship between the lower part of the cabinet 3 and the base 2 and the structure of the latter. The cabinet 3 may in fact have a clean bottom that is integral with it, the cabinet separated from the base after recovery of the waste having then or not a clean bottom, the bottom 20 of the base remaining secured to the base 26, the base 2 being thus formed of a base 26 and a bottom 20 integral. In a variant, the bottom 20 is integral with the cabinet 3 and closes it downwards, and in this case, after separation, the base 2 has only the base 26. Preferably in order to limit the number of elements , the lower part of the cabinet is closed by the bottom 20 which is secured thereto and the base, once the cabinet is separated, comprises only the base 26, a removable fastening means, for example of the VELCRO® type or equivalent , being disposed between the base 26 and the bottom 20. Still in this figure 2, we can see towards the rear of the cabinet the rear wall 33 and the side wall 34. Note that the door is only a part of the front wall, two strips of material, one at the top and one at the bottom, remaining integral with the side walls because they are covered by vertical edges of the bottom 20 and the upper part 4.

The upper part 4 comprises from top to bottom, firstly, an upper wall 40 having embrittlement means 41 in the form of weakening lines of the material allowing pressure upwards, to inside the cabinet, the opening of said upper part, then, preferably, a perforated plate 42, then a container

43 folded and finally a back plate 44. The weakening lines are such that the opening obtained gives wide access to the interior of the deployed container. Preferably, when opening, the folded portions of the upper wall are detached and fall into the container. In a variant, the folded portions of the opening remain at least partly attached to the remainder of the upper wall. In a variant other than the X-shaped cut-out represented by embrittlement means 41, it is possible to make a central part of the upper wall come off and fall into the container 43 during the breaking up and folding of said upper wall and the others. folded portions remain integral at least in part with the remainder of the upper wall forming opening edges.

Preferably, the folded container 43 is a trash bag type bag whose thickness when folded is less than or equal to the thickness of the perforated plate 42 so that when mounting the upper part, the plate against 44 being against the perforated plate 42, the latter against the upper wall 40, the bag can fit in the perforated portion of the perforated plate 42. Preferably, the periphery of the opening of the container 43 is fixed on the perforated plate 42 it - even firmly attached to the upper wall 40 and the counterplate

44 can be detached from the perforated plate 42 in order to fall towards the bottom of the cabinet to form a partition wall when a user pushes the top wall 40 by pressure. The bottom of the container can also be fixed to the counterplate 44 so that it unfolds automatically when the latter falls. It is understood that the opening of the upper part 4 and the deployment of the container 43 are of interest only when the meal trays have been distributed and the cabinet is empty. Alternatively, the counterplate 44 and / or the perforated plate 42 may be omitted, the container being able to be fixed directly to a non-knockout portion of the top wall 40 and / or a means for maintaining the folding of the container 43 being implemented, means disappearing by the cutting of the upper wall 40. Preferably, the trays being recovered and stored down the cabinet during the recovery of the remains, the unfolded bag does not reach the bottom of the cabinet. It can be provided that a pair of rails or slides down the cabinet is wider than all the others or other means of stopping to block the plate against-plate 44 when it falls, the against-plate having a width less than that of the trays to be able to fall into the cabinet without hindering the rails or slides.

In a variant, the counter-plate 44 forming the partition wall is intended to close the upper wall of the cabinet and will therefore be removed by the door of said cabinet once fallen and, in this case, it will be left free to fall down. at the bottom and left independent of the container. In this variant, a peelable adhesive for solid attachment of the backing plate on the top wall is preferably implemented for effective closure.

The braking / locking means of the base 2 is seen from the front in FIG. 3 and the brake pads 22 can be seen to bear on the wheels 21, the pads of two adjacent wheels being controlled simultaneously by a common control rod 23. Bistable actuated by spring biasing means 24, the structure of which can be seen in Figure 4 in a side view where the wheels have been removed to facilitate vision.

FIG. 5 shows the elements of the base previously indicated and FIG. 6 gives a view of the base 26 of the base 2 with its two connecting members 27 intended to carry the axes 25 of the wheels 21. The different parts of the trolley are made separately and assembled together, including mortise tenons. Solid fixing means, for example bonding, welding, stapling, etc. can be implemented in order to reinforce the structure. Preferably, for fixing the backing plate 44, a weak glue is used to detach it when the upper wall 40 is broken.

FIGS. 7 and 8 are examples of blanks of the trolley elements in the form of panels in a sheet of a substantially rigid material such as cardboard, plastic, composite of these types, and / or with paper and / or metal film and / or plastic film. The materials are chosen so that the various walls are substantially rigid and the base / cabinet assembly does not collapse. In general, in the case where metal is used, the non-metallic layer or layers are at least in majority in thickness relative to the metal film or films. It is understood that the cuts will be a compromise between the reduction of lost material and the ease of construction of the trolley, including the cabinet which is disposable. The use of panels allows storage of a large number of trolleys under a small volume before mounting. FIG. 9 makes it possible to understand schematically the implementation of the trolley of the invention and only exploded part of the elements of the trolley and in particular the cabinet 3 seen in transparency with part of its rails 35 and from the inside of which a meal tray 5 is extracted by the open door during the distribution of meal trays. The upper wall 40 has also been shown with its embrittlement means 41 open, the perforated plate 42 with the container 43 deployed attached thereto and the partition wall forming plate 44 which has been detached from the upper part 4 by the opening of the wall upper 40. A peelable adhesive shown as a dotted line 46 has been shown on the back plate 44 which, once the collection of waste is complete, will be fixed by the adhesive on the upper wall 40 to close it. FIG. 10 represents a variant of the braking / locking means of the wheels of the base 2 which operates according to the same principle as that represented in the previous figures, ie a rocking spring makes it possible to obtain a bistable position of the skids 22 brake, either against the wheels (braking position / stable lock), or away from the wheels (stable unlocked position). When the braking / locking means is in the unlocked position, a pressure on said means makes it possible to bring said means into a stable locking / braking position and once in this position, a new pressure on said means makes it possible to bring it to the unlocked stable position, the spring being tipped during these changes of position. The tilting spring is in relation with the device 24 integral with the connecting member of the base, that of the front wheels, by gluing, riveting, welding or screwing. Preferably, the elements of the braking / locking means are made of plastic material with the exception of the rubber and notched pads and the preferably metal rocking spring.

It is understood that the principle of the upper wall that can open to give access to a foldable container, including garbage bag, can be applied to known trolleys, even of the metal type conventionally used especially in aviation. In this case the opening may be a flap (one or more flaps), preferably in two stable positions, open or closed, the opening requiring a significant effort of the user and causing the deployment of the container inside. trolley which will have previously distributed meal trays. In an improved variant, a mechanical locking means can block the opening of the trap as a meal tray remains undistributed on the rails in the trolley. In such a type of trolley, the perforated plate and the backplate are of no interest. It is understood that with this type of trolley must be reusable it must be possible to remove the container deployed in the trolley and containing the remains. It can be done from above, ie through the hatch but it can be relatively difficult because the hatch has tilted to the opening to the inside of the trolley. We can therefore provide a means of opening the door to the outside. Alternatively we can provide recovery of the container from the inside through the trolley door. In the latter case, means for automatically closing the opening of the container during its extraction can be implemented, in particular by a sliding lace tightening said opening and fixed to the trolley at a free end, the traction on the container causing the tightening and once it obtained, the subsequent traction of the container to detach the lace trolley. A gripping means of the container from the inside of the trolley can be provided as, for example, a flexible handle fixed towards the bottom of the container.

It is understood that these examples are purely indicative and that the invention can be declined in various other obvious ways, without that the technician has to do work of inventiveness and without departing from its general framework.

Claims

1. Trolley-type rolling device (1) for transporting, distributing products, especially meal trays (5) or the like, and waste recovery, comprising a base (2) with rolling means (21) on the ground surmounted by a cabinet (3) closed by walls (40, 30, 32, 33, 34) (20) and provided with a front access door allowing access to the interior of said cabinet, said interior comprising a set stage pairs of rails (35) on two opposite side walls for maintaining substantially horizontal floor of said products, to distribution, the base with its rolling means and the cabinet preferably being two separate entities that can be secured together in a removable manner for transport, distribution and recovery, characterized in that the cabinet is made of a substantially non-metallic material of cardboard and / or plastic material for single use so that once the re cuperation performed, said cabinet is separated from the base for disposal, said base being reusable to receive a new cabinet. 2. Device according to claim 1, characterized in that the base is made of a substantially non-metallic material made of cardboard and / or plastic reusable or not, and is preferably water-repellent, fireproof and smoke-free. 3. Device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the upper part of the cabinet internally comprises a container (43) folded to a reduced thickness and can be unfolded within said cabinet, said container being disposed under an upper wall (40) which can be open by pressure on said upper wall from the outside to the bottom and the inside, said opening of the upper wall causing the unfolding of said container, said container being intended, for example, to recover at least the waste. 4. Device according to claim 3, characterized in that a removable partition wall (44) is disposed under the folded container, said folded container being sandwiched between the upper wall (40) and said partition wall (44) said separating wall separating from the upper part of the cabinet during unfolding of said container upon opening of said upper wall. 5. Device according to claim 4, characterized in that it comprises means for securing the partition wall (44) on an outer surface of the upper part to close said upper wall (40) once the latter open. 6. Device according to claim 5, characterized in that the securing means of the partition wall to the upper surface of the upper part are in particular a peelable adhesive or a glue for repositioning, disposed on the partition wall and / or the upper surface of the upper part. 7. Device according to any one of claims 2 to 6, characterized in that the height of the container once unfolded is such that there is towards the bottom of the cabinet, internally, a free space that can receive the trays cleared of the left over and directly stacked on top of each other. 8. Device according to any one of claims 2 to 7, characterized in that the container (43) is a bag of flexible material of the garbage bag type. 9. Device according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the material forming the cabinet is thermally insulating and that, preferably, the cabinet is water repellent, fireproof and smoke-free. 10. Device according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the access door comprises closure locking means enabling the establishment of a single use opening control indicator, said witness can not be placed in a closed condition once the opening of the door is performed. 1 1. Device according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the cabinet is mounted by folding and assembling pre-cut flat panels and with preformed fold lines. 12. Device according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it is of shape and dimensions compatible with aeronautical use. 13. Device according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the material forming the cabinet is composite and formed of a stack of at least two layers. 14. Device according to claim 13, characterized in that the layers are chosen from plastics in substantially rigid plates, cardboard, paper, metal films, films of plastics.