DE20102840U1 - Containers for liquids, in particular for washing liquids - Google Patents

Description

Containers for liquids, especially for washing liquids

Description

The invention relates to a container for liquids, in particular for washing liquids, such as mop buckets or the like, according to the preamble of claim 1.

The invention is described using a mop bucket, as such a bucket is known to everyone and is or can be used by everyone. Of course, the use is also applicable to all other containers in which utensils, tools, etc. are washed out, such as containers for cleaning brushes, for washing tools, for various machine components. The most varied applications are conceivable and obvious here and are therefore not mentioned further.

There are mop buckets of various sizes and shapes, which also contain a wide variety of devices for separating the contaminants in the form of suspended matter and lint that are contained in the mop water or that have been introduced via mops or rags, for example.

For example, DE 94 07 711 111 and GB 2 39 388 A each disclose a bucket or container for liquids for cleaning purposes, in which an insert with openings in the form of a sieve, a perforated plate or a grate or grid is arranged in the bucket at a distance from the bottom. The sieve or perforated plate can therefore only be used in conjunction with a specially designed container or bucket. In addition, the active part of the container, i.e. the part in which cleaning can take place, is significantly reduced by arranging the insert at a relatively high distance from the bottom of the container.

Furthermore, JP 07-231 871 A shows a sludge separator with passages arranged at a distance from the bottom of a container for cleaning water, which can be used as an independent element in any container.

This known grate has A-shaped or roof-shaped bars spaced parallel to one another inside a ring which has foot-shaped spacers;

elements with which it stands on the bottom of the container. There are several

half division offset from each other and partially in the respective spaces j

A-bar plates are provided which, together with the spacer feet, result in an extremely high and at the same time complex construction. This device can also only be set up facing one direction on the slab floor as it is not side-symmetrical.

Finally, WO 99/18837 discloses a container for cleaning fluids in which a removable storage grate rests directly on the container floor inside the container, said storage grate consisting of at least one grating that rests directly on the container floor. In order to achieve an optimal leveling height, the grate is made up of three gratings that lie directly on top of each other, with the grating of the middle grate being offset by half a pitch from the other two gratings. This results in a very complex design that is expensive to manufacture, and the three rows of gratings also make cleaning the grate insert itself somewhat more complex. In addition, when this known grate insert is made entirely of plastic, additional weighting materials such as metal parts must be used, as otherwise the storage grate will not remain sufficiently secure on the floor and will float up in the cleaning fluid.

The object of the invention is to provide a container of the above-mentioned type which ensures more cost-effective production and easier cleaning and handling.

This object is achieved by a container of the above-mentioned type with the characterizing features of claim 1. Further advantageous embodiments are characterized in the subclaims.

Accordingly, a plate-shaped insert grate with vertical openings is mounted on the bottom of the container and can be removed.

which consists of at least two grate plates that are arranged one above the other at a parallel distance from one another and are connected to one another by at least one spacer such as bolts, sleeves, walls or wall sections. In comparison to the known grate insert, which consists of three grate plates arranged one above the other, the middle grate plate is omitted, so that practically only the two outer plates are present. These can also advantageously be designed identically. If the grate plates are made from plastic using an injection molding process, for example, then only one tool is required for the two identical plates, which has a significant cost-saving effect. The lack of a middle plate, i.e. the two grate plates are spaced apart with free space between them, also makes it easier to clean the insert grate, particularly since lint, hair, etc. cannot get caught or entangled as easily as with walls that are directly on top of one another and have staggered divisions.

Depending on the design of the plate, the spacers can be round, oval or square, as a grating or as a perforated plate, and can be designed and/or arranged differently in relation to one another.

It is particularly advantageous if, for example, in a round design, only one central spacer, consisting of a bolt or a sleeve, is provided. This design is optimal both in terms of production and cleaning of the insert, since on the one hand only one bolt has to be pressed or glued in and on the other hand - for cleaning the insert - the space between the plates, apart from the one central bolt, is completely free.

Depending on the design, whether round, oval or rectangular, two, three or four spacers can be evenly distributed around the circumference of the plate. If these spacers are designed as bolts, it is advantageous if their respective ends, preferably pin ends, reach into corresponding blind holes in the plates and are glued and/or pressed into them. The respective ends of the spacer bolts can, however, also reach through corresponding through holes in the plates and protrude from the plates.

-A-

tenstim sides protrude by at least 2 mm. This provides support elements, e.g. three feet evenly arranged directly on the periphery of the plate, on which the storage grate stands on the tank floor. This foot design is particularly recommended when the grate plates are relatively thin, e.g. as perforated plates where there is a risk that the plate openings in the bottom plate lying directly on the tank floor will not be able to adequately absorb the sediment in a way that prevents it from moving. The additional feet then allow the sediment particles to trickle through under the lower, relatively thin plate, so that there is sufficient protection against these sediments being stirred up again.

Two wall sections can also be provided as spacers, in tangential or radial plate extension, which are connected by gluing or via tenons to two plates arranged one above the other. Of course, the spacer walls could be connecting walls between axially aligned plate walls, e.g. sections of the peripheral walls, whereby a common peripheral wall section with the entire insert grate height is present. This would provide a one-piece insert grate, but its manufacture is somewhat more complex.

According to the invention, the storage grate can be made entirely of plastic or metal, but also of a combination of plastic and metal.

It is particularly advantageous if the grate plates are made of plastic and the spacers are made of metal. The weight of the spacers should be such that the weight of the entire storage grate is greater than the volume of liquid displaced by it. This means that the storage grate rests securely on the bottom of the tank and there is no danger of it floating up in the washing liquid and on top.

If the storage grate is made entirely of plastic, then care must be taken to ensure that either metal parts are incorporated or that a known plastic mixed with weighting fillers is used.

In an advantageous embodiment, two gratings are provided as grate plates, with a plate thickness of 5 to 30 mm, preferably 15 mm, a wall thickness of 0.5 to 2 mm, preferably 1 mm, a distance between the grate walls of approx. 3 to 20 mm, preferably 15 mm and a distance between the two plates of approx. 5 to 40 mm, preferably 10 mm. With the preferred embodiment with a plate thickness of approx. 15 mm, wall thickness of approx. 1 mm, grid spacing of approx. 10 mm and a plate spacing of approx. 15 mm, a relatively compact bucket insert grate with a height of approx. 45 mm is obtained, which ensures optimal movement stabilization in the immediate vicinity of the container bottom without noticeably reducing the container height and thus the available volume of the washing liquid.

When the grate plates are designed as perforated plates, they are advantageously provided with a plate thickness of 1 to 10 mm, preferably 5 mm, a plate spacing of approx. 15 to 50 mm, preferably approx. 30 mm, a perforation with hole diameters of 3 to 20 mm, preferably 8 mm, whereby the holes are arranged so close to one another that there are only wall thicknesses of 0.5 to 2 mm, preferably 1 mm, between the holes.

When the grate plates are designed as perforated plates with a plate thickness of approx. 5 mm, a hole pattern of approx. 8 mm and a distance between two perforated plates of approx. 20 mm, it is, as already mentioned, advantageous if the spacers protrude at least 2 to 10 mm in length beyond the respective front side of the plates, forming support feet. However, the plates themselves can also have corresponding elevations on the front side forming support feet or have peripheral edges pointing axially outwards, which form a corrugated support edge, for example, which gives the plates a double pot or bowl shape.

Particularly in the case of the perforated plate design, it is advisable to provide at least three retaining strips that can be pushed radially onto the plates and that grip the plates in order to secure the plates at a distance from one another. The plates can have a corresponding number of radial groove-shaped incisions evenly distributed around their circumference, while the retaining strips also have groove-shaped transverse incisions on one side for the interlocking, sliding engagement of the grate plates with the retaining strips. The retaining strips and the plates can be clamped or glued together when pushed together. However, a snap-in positive connection can also be provided by corresponding lugs on the strip and/or plate incisions and corresponding recesses in the plate and/or strip surfaces. Of course, only the retaining strips can have receiving grooves and grip the grate plates in a corresponding manner. However, they then protrude radially beyond the plate diameters at least by the amount of material that is above the groove base of the strips. However, this means that there is a ring gap of at least this protruding strip width between the plates and the container wall, which only slightly reduces the efficiency of the storage grid. The respective groove cuts in the plates and retaining strips should therefore be selected so that the retaining strips can be pushed radially far enough between the plates that, when installed, the radially outer vertical walls of the retaining strips are flush with the peripheral walls of the plates.

Finally, it is particularly advantageous if at least one grip hole is provided in each of the plates of the storage grate to make it easier to remove the grate from the bucket. In the case of a central arrangement of a spacer in the form of a bolt or a bushing or a cylindrical ring, two grip holes can preferably be provided that are equally spaced from the centre of the plate. If there is a central spacer bushing with a larger diameter, this can also have a step on the front side that reduces the through opening of the bushing, which allows safe gripping into and behind the bushing opening and thus easy gripping of the storage grate. In an embodiment with an arrangement of several

• * 1

■ For spacers near the perimeter of the panels, it is recommended to provide a grip hole in the middle of each panel, through which the upper panel can be gripped and the storage grid can be handled safely.

The invention is explained in more detail below using several embodiments with reference to the drawing. It shows:

Fig. 1: a perspective view with partial section of a container according to the invention in the assembled state, with a grate insert in a first embodiment;

Fig. 2: a plan view of the grate insert according to Fig. 1;

Fig. 3: a side view of the grate insert according to Fig. 1 and 2, with partial section, showing the fastening method of a spacer bolt;

Fig. 4: a perspective view of a storage grate in a second design, with spacer wall parts;

Fig. 5: a perspective exploded view of another embodiment with two spacer wall parts;

Fig. 6: a radial section in perspective view through an embodiment with two gratings and a centric spacer sleeve;

Fig. 7: a partial vertical section along the lines VII - VII of Fig. 8, showing a rear-engaging spacer bolt connection;

Fig. 8: a plan view of the plate connection from Fig. 7;

Fig. 9: a perspective view of a perforated plate embodiment with base spacer bolts;

Fig. 10: an axial section through a perforated plate design with spacer bolts and wave-shaped support rings;

Fig. 11 is an axial section in perspective view of a perforated plate embodiment with radially pushed-on retaining strips; and

Fig. 12: a plan view of the storage grid according to Fig. 9.

Fig. 1 shows a container assembly 1 according to the invention, which essentially consists of a conventional container 2, e.g. a mop bucket, and an insert grate 10 inserted therein. The container 2, as far as can be seen from Fig.

1, has a round horizontal cross-section and is equipped with a lower, horizontal base 3, a slightly slanted wall 4 and an upper, bent or flanged container rim 5. Any possible handles are not shown.

The insert grate 10 resting on the container floor consists of two grating plates 9 with mutually perpendicular grating walls 7, which are surrounded by a cylindrical peripheral wall 6. The two grating plates 9 are connected to one another via three spacer bolts 8. A continuous grip hole 11 is provided centrally in each plate 9.

From Fig. 2 it can be seen how the grid walls 7 in a grid plate 9 are arranged relative to one another and are closed off to the outside via the peripheral wall 6 and how the handle hole 11 is also provided with a peripheral wall. Finally, it can be seen that three reinforcements 14 are provided on the peripheral wall, projecting inwards and evenly distributed, which serve to attach the spacer bolts, as can be seen in particular from Fig. 3.

Fig. 3 shows how the two grating plates 9 are connected to one another via the spacer bolts 8. It can be seen that the bolts 8 each have a pin 12 at their two ends and are inserted into corresponding blind holes 13 of the reinforcement eyes 14 and are firmly pressed and/or glued therein.

In the insert grate shown in Fig. 4, the two grating plates 9 are connected to one another via three circumferential spacer walls 16 that are evenly distributed around the circumference. These spacer walls are separate manufacturing parts that can be connected to the plates via pins or the like provided on both sides.

The embodiment shown in Fig. 5 is constructed similarly to that of Fig. 4, except that here only two diagonally opposite circumferential spacer walls 16 are provided. In each case, one of the spacer walls

16 is manufactured in one piece together with a plate 9, while a wall reinforcement 14 is provided on the respective diagonally opposite plate part, with at least one blind hole 13 into which the at least one pin 12 of the spacer walls 16 is pressed and/or glued. In terms of production, this is a relatively inexpensive embodiment, since only two identical parts are provided, which are arranged in mirror images, pivoted by 180° to one another and can be connected to one another by pressing them together.

The further embodiment shown in Fig. 6 consists of two identical grating plates 9, which are held together by a spacer sleeve 17. At both sleeve ends, pins 18 are provided, of a slightly smaller diameter and approximately the same length as the plate height, which serve for the quick, central fastening of the plates.

Fig. 7 and 8 show a connection between two grating plates 9 using spacer bolts 8, the pins 12 of which are clamped through the gap between the grating walls 7. At their respective outer ends, the pins each have a head 15, the inner face of which surrounds the walls 7, so that the walls 7 are held in place with axial support between the middle part of the bolt and the head. During assembly, the bolts simply have to be pushed over the heads 15 through a gap between the walls of the plates until the head on the other side of the plate snaps out and grips behind the walls, which it has elastically pushed apart when pushed through.

Fig. 9 shows an embodiment in which the plates of the insert grate are designed as perforated plates 19. The relatively thin perforated plates 19, with a thickness of e.g. 2 mm, are provided with holes 20 that are close to one another in the manner of a perforated sieve. Of course, a handle hole 11 that is significantly larger than the plate holes 20 can be provided centrally in the plates 19. Here too, as shown in Fig. 1 to 3, the two plates are held together by spacer bolts. Here, however, the pins of the bolts protrude from the front of the perforated plates, so that three feet 21 are formed at the same time.

In the embodiment shown in Fig. 10, the perforated plates 19 are also held together by spacer bolts 8. Here, however, the peripheral walls 6 of the plates 19 are extended axially on one side, projecting out of the plate plane, forming a base ring 22 which has a corrugated profile 23 on its front side for safe standing on the container floor. It can be seen that the plates 19, which appear to be pot-shaped due to the base ring 12, are identical in design and are arranged mirror-symmetrically to one another.

Finally, Fig. 11 and 12 show an embodiment with perforated plates 19 that are held together by retaining strips 24. It can be seen that the plates 19 have grooves 25 on their circumference that correspond to grooves 26 of the retaining strips 24. As a result, when the retaining strips 24 are placed radially, the parts interlock and the outer surface of the plates 19 are flush with the outer longitudinal wall 28 of the retaining strips 24. It can also be seen that the retaining strips protrude beyond the plate faces at both ends, which means that standing strips 27 are present.

List of reference symbols

1. Container assembly **···· ** *
······ · * * *
·■ · ·· · · · · 2. Container (mop bucket) 3. Container bottom 4. Container wall 5. Container edge 6. Perimeter wall 7. Grid wall 8th. Spacer bolts 9. Grating plate 10. Insert grate 11. Grip hole 12. cone 13. blind hole 14. Reinforcement 15. Head 16. Perimeter spacer wall 17. Spacer sleeve 18. cone 19. Perforated plate 20. Hole 21. Stand 22. Stand ring 23. Wave profile 24. Retaining bar 25. Circumferential groove 26. Cross groove 27. Stand bar 28. Longitudinal wall ··»··· · · ·· · · · **
• * ·#···· ····
»·· *■·· ···· ·· ··· ·· ····

Claims (15)

1. Container for liquids, in particular for washing liquids, such as mop buckets or the like, in which a plate-shaped insert grate with vertical openings is arranged in the interior of the container so as to rest on the container base in a removable manner, characterized in that the insert grate ( 10 ) consists of at least two grate plates ( 9 , 19 ) which are arranged one above the other at a distance from one another and are connected to one another via at least one spacer such as bolts ( 8 ), sleeves ( 17 ), walls ( 16 ) or wall sections. 2. Container according to claim 1, characterized in that two identical grate plates ( 9 , 19 ) are present, which are connected to one another in a mirror-image arrangement. 3. Container according to claim 1, characterized in that only one central spacer such as a bolt or sleeve ( 17 ) is provided. 4. Container according to claim 1, characterized in that, depending on the plate design, round, oval or rectangular, two, three or four spacers ( 8 , 16 ) are provided evenly distributed around the circumference. 5. Container according to claim 4, characterized in that the spacers are bolts ( 8 ) which extend with their respective ends into corresponding blind holes ( 13 ) of the plates ( 9 ) and are glued and/or pressed into them. 6. Container according to claim 4, characterized in that the spacers are bolts ( 8 ) which have pins at both ends, which each pass through through holes in the plates ( 19 ) and protrude from the plate end faces by at least 2 mm, simultaneously forming feet ( 21 ). 7. Container according to claim 1, characterized in that at least two wall parts ( 16 ) are provided as spacers, in a tangential or radial arrangement and are connected to the plates ( 9 ) by gluing and/or via pins ( 12 ). 8. Container according to claim 1, characterized in that when the grate plates ( 9 , 19 ) are made of plastic, the spacers are made of metal, the weight of the spacers being designed such that the weight of the entire storage grate is greater than the weight of the volume of liquid displaced by the grate. 9. Container according to claim 1, characterized in that the grate insert is made entirely of plastic material with heavy filling material with a specific gravity greater than that of the washing liquid. 10. Container according to claim 1, characterized in that two gratings ( 9 ) are provided as grate plates, with a plate thickness of 3 to 20 mm, preferably 15 mm, a wall thickness of 0.5 to 2 mm, preferably 1 mm, a distance between the mutually perpendicular grating walls ( 7 ) of approximately 5 to 40 mm, preferably 10 mm and a distance between the two plates of approximately 5 to 30 mm, preferably 10 mm. 11. Container according to claim 1, characterized in that the grate plates are perforated plates ( 19 ) with a plate thickness of 1 to 10 mm, preferably 5 mm, a very narrow perforation with hole diameters of 3 to 20 mm, preferably 8 mm and a plate spacing of approximately 5 to 50 mm, preferably 30 mm. 12. Container according to claim 11, characterized in that the insert grate ( 1 ) consists entirely of metal. 13. Container according to at least one of the preceding claims, characterized in that at least three holding strips ( 24 ) are provided as spacers, which can be pushed radially onto the plates ( 19 ) and simultaneously hold the plates in place, the plates having radial circumferential grooves ( 25 ) evenly distributed around their circumference and the holding strips having transverse grooves ( 26 ) on one side for the telescoping, engaging reception of the grate plates ( 19 ) in the holding strips ( 24 ), a clamping or snapping positive connection being provided between them. 14. Container according to at least one of the preceding claims, characterized in that at least one handle hole ( 11 ) is provided in the plates of the storage grid, preferably a central handle hole or two diagonally opposite handle holes symmetrically spaced from the center by approximately 25 mm. 15. Container according to claim 4, characterized in that the spacers are bolts ( 8 ) which have pins at both ends which are each guided through the spaces between the grid walls ( 7 ) of the plates ( 19 ) in a clamping or spreading manner and that preferably at the ends of the pins ( 12 ) a head ( 15 ) is provided which engages behind the grid walls on the outside.