WO1991006735A1

WO1991006735A1 - A releasable locking bolt assembly

Info

Publication number: WO1991006735A1
Application number: PCT/AU1990/000524
Authority: WO
Inventors: Ladislav Stephan Karpisek
Original assignee: Ladislav Stephan Karpisek
Priority date: 1989-11-01
Filing date: 1990-10-31
Publication date: 1991-05-16

Abstract

A releasable locking bolt assembly to connect a first member (10) to a second member (23), the assembly comprises a connector (11) rotatable and slidable in a housing (9) on the first member (10) with a radially extending lug (12) at one end of the connector (11) and a radially extending handle (13) at the other end of the connector (11), and a pivotal latch (18) on the first member (10) and a latch engageable means (21) on the handle (13).

Description

A RELEASAB E LOCKING BOLT ASSEMBLY

This invention relates to a four sided enclosure adapted to be mounted on a pallet. The combined pallet-enclosure assembly provides a container for objects and substances.

In general terms the enclosure comprises two pairs of panels, each pair comprises a fixing panel (adapted o be secured to a pallet) and a door panel hinged to the fixing panel. Releasable locking bolts are provided to couple the door panel of each pair to the fixing panel of the adjacent pair so as to connect the two panel pairs together as a four sided enclosure.

This invention is primarily concerned with improvements in the design of the releasable locking bolts referred to above.

Broadly, the invention can be said to provide a releasable locking bolt assembly to connect a first member to a second member, said assembly comprises a connector housing for mounting on said first member, bearing means in the connector housing, an elongated connector mounted in said bearing means with clearance allowing said connector to move axially and rotationally relative to the connector housing, said connector has two end portions extending in opposite directions beyond the bearing means, lug means on one connector end portion with said lug means extending substantially radially with respect to the length axis of the connector, a contact face on the lug means facing said connector housing, said one connector end portion and its lug means are dimensioned to pass through a slot in said second member so that on rotation of the connector to achieve a lock condition said contact face overlies a part of said second member which is disposed between said lug means and said connector housing, an elongated handle fixed "to the other connector end portion and extending substantially radially with respect to the length axis of the connector, the relative directions of the radial extension of said lug means and said handle being such that when the connector is in the lock condition the handle is in a predetermined planar relationship with respect to said first member, and releasable latch means to prevent rotation of the connector, said latch means comprises a pivotal latch on the first member and a latch engagable means on the handle.

Preferred embodiments of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Fig.l is a perspective view of a container comprised of an enclosure mounted on a pallet,

Fig.2 is an enlarged elevation of a releasable locking bolt assembly according to the invention, Fig.3 is a side view of the locking bolt assembly of Fig.2, Fig.4 is a top view of the locking bolt assembly of Figs.2 and 3 forming part of a door panel (a first member) and engaged with a fixing panel (a second member) , and Fig.5 is a side view of a second embodiment of the invention.

Referring to Fig.l, there is illustrated a pallet 1 comprised of bearers 2 and bottom battens 3 and top battens 4, which is a convention construction for a pallet. Door panels 5 are connected through hinge means 6 to fixing panels 7 to provide two panel pairs. The fixing panels 7 ^are coupled to the pallet top battens 4 in conventional manner by means of cleats 8.

Fig.2 illustrates the bolt assembly as comprising a connector housing in the form of a bush 9 fixed in one wall of the door panel upright 10 (which is illustrated as being made of a square steel tube) and the bore of the bush 9 is aligned with a hole in the opposite (outer) wall of the upright 10. Mounted in the bush 9 there is a connector in the form of a bar 11. The connector is able to rotate and move axially in the bore of the bush 9.

The connector bar 11 extends beyond the bush 9 to provide two parts one to each end of the bush. One part extends through'the outer upright wall and has a lug 12 fixed thereto so as to project substantially radially with respect to the axis of the connector. There is a contact face 27 on the lug 12 and the face 27 is preferably curved for a reason to be explained.

At the end of the other part of the connector bar 11 there is fixed a handle 13 which is of angle cross-section, but this form of handle is optional. The shape of the member 13 is best seen in side view Fig.3 where it will be seen that the outer leg 14 of the angle member 13 is cut away at an angle at 15 to produce a hand grip portion 16.

Latch means is provided in the form of a bar 18 pivotally connected at 19 to a bracket 20 fixed to the door panel upright 10. At the lowest extremity of the member 13 the leg 14 is shaped to provide a catch slot 21 for the arm 18 and there is a ramped face 22 to facilitate the raising of the arm 18 as part of the latching operation when the member 13 is moved in the direction of the arrow A in Fig.3 to achieve a predetermined planar relationship of the handle with respect to the door panel, a locked condition. In this way the member 13 is retained in a locked condition irrespective of any movement of the door panel (when mounted _on or uncoupled from the associated fixing panel) which might otherwise cause the member 13 to move to another position.

The locking of the door panel upright 10 to the adjacent upright 23 of the associated fixing panel 24 is achieved by entering the lug 12 and the associtated portion of the connector bar 11 through a slot in the upright 23, which slot is elongated vertically. The slot could however be laterally oriented in the upright 23.

The handle 13 lies at 90 degrees to the lug (as illustrated) but with other orientations of the slot in the upright 23 the angular relationship between the lug and the handle could vary. There is however a need for there to be a difference in angular or directional orientation in order to achieve the required locked condition for the handle (where it occupies a predetermined planar relationship with resepct to the door panel) when the lug is in its locked condition. The lug 12 when located within the upright 23 is then rotated by means of the handle 13 to cause it to engage behind the inner face of the upright 23 adjacent the hole therein to achieve its locked condition. This engagement is facilitated by the contact surface 27 on the lug 12. In this way a catching effect is achieved with the wall of the upright 23 disposed between the lug 12 and the connector housing 9. When the latch bar 18 engages in the slot 21 the coupling of the uprights 10 and 23 is complete and secured.

One other aspect is the provision of means to cause the uprights 10 and 23 to be drawn tightly together as the member 13 is rotated to the closed condition. This is achieved by having matching cam faces on the end of the bush 9 and on the inner face of the leg 14 of the member 13, as indicated generally by the arrow 25. Any form of quarter turn cam arrangement would be suitable but a preferred form is one of wave form where two diametrically opposed peaks 28 and two corresponding valleys 29 are formed on faces of annular configuration. With such an arrangement the height of the peaks above the valleys will need to exceed the thickness of the wall of the upright 23 (to allow free entry of the lug 12 into the upright 23) and the member 13 in moving a quarter turn will axially move the connector bar 11 sufficiently to cause the peaks to ride one onto the other and the uprights 10 and 23 will be forced into abutting relationship.

Fig.5 is an alternate arrangement wherein the bracket 20 is raised and the ramped face 22 is raised on the member 13. This provides a hand gripping end 26 for the member 13 which is more accessible than that of the first embodiment.

Claims

I CLAIM:

1. A releasable locking bolt assembly to connect a first member to a second member, said assembly comprises a connector housing for mounting on said first member, bearing means in the connector housing, an elongated connector mounted in said bearing means with clearance allowing said connector to move axially and rotationally relative to the connector housing, said connector has two end portions extending in opposite directions beyond the bearing means, lug means on one connector end portion with said lug means extending substantially radially with respect to the length axis of the connector, a contact face on the lug means facing said connector housing, said one connector end portion and its lug means are dimensioned to pass through a slot in said second member so that on rotation of the connector to achieve a lock condition said contact face overlies a part of said second member which is disposed between said lug means and said connector housing, an elongated handle fixed to the other connector end portion and extending substantially radially with respect to the length axis of the connector, the relative directions of the radial extension of said lug means and said handle being such that when the connector is in the lock condition the handle is in a predetermined planar relationship with respect to said first member, and releasable latch means to prevent rotation of the connector, said latch means comprises a pivotal latch on the first member and a latch engagable means on the handle.

2. A releasable locking bolt assembly as claimed in claim 1 including cam means comprised of co-operating parts on said connector housing and on said handle to provide axial movement of said connector as it is rotated to achieve said predetermined relationship with said first member and. thereby to move said contact face towards said housing.

3. A releasable locking bolt assembly as claimed in claim 1 wherein said lug means and said handle are directed away from the axis of said connector in directions which are substantially at right angle each to the other.

4. A releasable locking bolt assembly as claimed in claim 2 wherein said cam means co-operating parts each includes a face with at least one upstanding portion and said upstanding portions are in engagement when said handle is in said predetermined planar relationship with respect to said first member, and wherein the spacing between said lug contact face and the upstanding portion on the cam means part is such that when the connector is in engagement with said second member and said handle is in said predetermined' planar relationship with respect to said first member said contact face bears tightly against said second member and said second member and said first member are in abutting engagement.

5. A releasable locking bolt assembly as claimed in claim 1 wherein said latch engagable means includes a ramped face and a notch and said pivotal latch is a bar which climbs said ramp as said handle approaches said predetermined planar relationship with respect to said first member and enters into said notch when said handle achieves said relationship thereby to retain said handle in said relationship.