FR3109134A1 - Trailer for transporting and packaging material goods - Google Patents

Abstract

Trailer (100) equipped with a coupling head (330) suitable for being hitched to a vehicle, equipped with a chassis on which is mounted a storage and distribution conditioning device (200) of goods, said storage and dispensing package (200) comprising a goods storage portion (202) comprising a plurality of compartments for storing goods and a dispensing portion disposed opposite said goods storage portion, said portion distribution of the goods being provided to present a locked position in which the distribution part prohibits access to the goods stored in the storage part and an unlocked position in which the distribution part authorizes access to said stored goods, fixed on said frame, said interface part and said storage part being and mechanically independent. Figure 1

Description

Trailer for transporting and packaging material goods

Field of invention

The field of the invention is that of the transport and packaging of products, in particular foodstuffs.

State of the prior art

Local consumption is favored by 72% of French people, but only 41% consume locally at least once a year. The initial aspiration is to eat better and local, local being synonymous with confidence, freshness and taste.

In the perspective of a more responsible and therefore more frugal consumption (imperative vis-à-vis limited resources and climate change), existing and future local services must develop.

The factors limiting the accessibility and development of the local offer are in particular:

• a lack of knowledge or their non-existence, in particular for the services,
• reduced communication or even confidentiality for local products
• a complexity for households to supply a complete basket (fruits, vegetables, fish, meat, groceries, dairy products),
• the significant time needed to devote to this process.

We know of proposals for solutions such as specialized stores, producer stores, or markets. These proposals present a solution for local procurement. But none completely satisfies the expectations of breadth of range (e.g. fresh fish), local products, local access, wide opening hours. Given their limited sales space, these stores and markets cannot offer all the local products existing in a territory. Operating from stock, they also cannot experiment with all the products not knowing in advance if the product will sell to them. In addition, the running time via these solutions is not reduced, but often increased to cover all needs.

It can be noted that these solutions present numerous breaks in load synonymous with additional costs and potential deterioration of the products, a unidirectionality of service (diffusion from the supplier to a customer), a certain rigidity due to the limits of presence in time and in the space.

There is therefore a need for a device making it possible to respond to all or part of the aforementioned drawbacks.

According to a first aspect of the invention, there is proposed a trailer equipped with a coupling head suitable for being hitched to a vehicle, provided with a chassis on which is mounted a device for packaging, storing and distributing goods , for consumption, food or not, the storage and distribution packaging device comprising a part for storing goods comprising a plurality of compartments for storing goods and a distribution part arranged opposite said storage part goods.

The goods distribution part is designed to have a locked position in which the distribution part prohibits access to the goods stored in the storage part and an unlocked position in which the distribution part authorizes access to said stored goods.

Each of the parts is fixed to the frame.

The interface part and the storage part are mechanically independent.

Preferably, each of the compartments is formed from a composite material with a sandwich structure, the core of the composite material being an organic material or organic polymer, preferably a plastic material. It is thus possible to lighten the trailer by offering a composite material with a sandwich structure with a light core. Furthermore an organic material or organic polymer is almost always a thermal and electrical insulator.

The core of the composite material is advantageously made of polyurethane, or expanded polystyrene or extruded polystyrene or of vegetable origin. These materials allow good thermal insulation, are light and resistant.

Preferably, the skins of the composite material are made of high density polyethylene (HDPE). This material is useful for good hygiene, and to prevent buckling of the core.

Advantageously, the trailer can be equipped with a central unit configured to control and record trailer maintenance and compartment filling operations.

The dispensing part may comprise doors, frame and/or leaf, having an external surface made of metallic material.

According to one possibility, the compartments are closed by individual doors made of composite material with a sandwich structure, an outer skin of which is made of metallic material (preferably aluminum), an inner skin of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) or plastic, and a polyurethane core. Polyurethane is a good thermal insulator.

According to one possibility, a compartment is equipped with a eutectic plate, preferably mounted prisoner of the compartment (for example by adapting the size). It is thus possible to obtain an energy passivity for the thermal regulation of food.

Still advantageously, a compartment may include a slope for cleaning and a level adjustment grid preferably mounted prisoner of the compartment (by adapting the size). This makes it easier to clean the compartment.

The trailer can be equipped with opening panels rotatably mounted on a frame, the doors being carried by the panels by being rotatably mounted therein. This makes it easier to access multiple compartments simultaneously.

The panels and the frame can be made of metallic material, preferably aluminum, for reasons of weight.

The storage and distribution packaging device may comprise canopies (preferably motorized) having a closed position in which access to the external surface of the doors is blocked by covering said canopies.

The trailer is preferably equipped with imaging means, for example cameras, provided to image a predetermined physical target area. When such a camera is connected to a storage unit, such as a hard disk or cloud storage, a property deposit transaction by means of the property distribution part can be stored. This storage can allow a subsequent verification of the conformity of the transaction. The cameras can be coupled with an anomaly detection system controlled by artificial intelligence.

According to a second aspect of the invention, there is proposed a kit comprising a trailer according to the first aspect, or one or more of its improvements, and a removable mechanical attachment system arranged to be locked on the coupling head of the trailer and on an anchor mast.

According to a third aspect of the invention, there is proposed a vehicle and trailer assembly according to the first aspect of the invention, or one or more of its improvements, the sum of the total laden weights of which is less than 3.5 tons.

Thus, with a trailer according to the invention and the distinct design of storage parts and distribution parts, it is possible to propose a light device which can be hitched to a vehicle, which can be moved by the majority of vehicle drivers, in particular those who only have a license authorizing the driving of a vehicle and a trailer whose total laden weight is less than 3.5 tonnes, which is the case with category B driving licenses in France.

Description of figures

Other characteristics and advantages of the invention will appear during the reading of the detailed description which will follow for the understanding of which reference will be made to the appended drawings in which:

• [Fig. 1] Figure 1 is a perspective view from the front on the right of a trailer according to one embodiment of the invention, in a displacement configuration,
• [Fig. 2] Figure 2 is a perspective view from behind to the right of the trailer of Figure 1,
• [Fig. 3] Figure 3 is a perspective view from the front on the right of a mechanical attachment system for the trailer shown in Figure 1 around a mast,
• [Fig. 4] Figure 4 is a perspective view from the front to the right of a coupling head of the trailer shown in Figure 1 on the coupling device shown in Figure 4,
• [Fig. 5] Figure 5 is a left side perspective view of the coupling head equipped with a padlock,
• [Fig. 6] figure 6 is a right side perspective view of the trailer of figure 1 in a distribution configuration,
• [Fig. 7] figure 7 is a side perspective view of a detail of a side face of the trailer of figure 6,
• [Fig. 8] figure 8 is a side perspective view of part of a side face of the trailer of figure 6,
• [Fig. 9] Figure 9 is a section of the side face shown in Figure 8.

General description of the invention

The invention is a trailer 100 which has a chassis 300 on which is mounted a packaging device 200 for storage and distribution.

The device 200 rests on the chassis 300, allowing it to be towed by a vehicle equipped with a coupling device and driven by a person having only a type B license. For this, the vehicle- loaded trailer must weigh less than 3.5 tons. Mass measuring elements (not shown) can be fitted to the trailer to guarantee its loading level.

The frame 300 can be a tray with wheels 310,320 arranged underneath to maximize the useful width of the tray. Indeed, the width of the plate is at least that of the track between the wheels since the plate is located above the wheels. This configuration also makes it possible to have a completely flat top. The chassis has a single axle to limit weight. The wheels are fitted with 311,321 tires equipped with an anti-puncture device called " Runflat ", allowing it to roll even if the tire is deflated.

The trailer is fitted with a 330 hitch head allowing it to be hitched to a towing vehicle fitted with a hitching device.

In addition, the trailer has a 12 Volt socket (not shown) allowing electrical connection to the towing vehicle, to supply electricity to the various electrical devices of the latter, for example display lights 341,342, shown in Figure 2, and other accessories, for example a license plate light.

Trailer 100 also has a slot 343 provided for installing a license plate. A tracking sheet used to identify each trailer is placed on one of the sides 361,362.

The 100 trailer also has a 350 motorized jockey wheel or equivalent device such as a pair of motorized rollers that can drive the trailer wheels, making it easier to maneuver the trailer when unhitched. The jockey wheel 350 is adjustable in height allowing it to no longer touch the ground when the trailer is towed by a vehicle or to keep the trailer horizontal when it is unhitched from said vehicle.

With reference to Figure 3, there is illustrated a mechanical attachment system 400 intended to be fixed around an anchor mast 410, for example a lamppost, which makes it possible to secure the trailer 100. Indeed, this system attachment comprises a coupling device 420 to which the trailer is hitched thanks to its coupling head 330. The mechanical attachment system 400 is also provided to cooperate with that of the vehicle. This mechanical attachment system both secures the trailer by blocking the coupling head and secures the attachment around the anchor mast 410 by locking the opening. Securing around the anchor mast 410 is ensured by a cover 430 of the mechanical attachment system 400, lockable to the attachment system 400 by a padlock 431, guaranteeing ease of use and protecting the trailer from theft.

The product packaging device 200 is installed on the chassis 300 of the trailer 100.

The storage and dispensing packaging device 200 comprises a goods storage part 202 (FIG. 8) provided for storing goods and a dispensing part 204 arranged opposite the goods storage part. The storage part and the distribution part, also called the interface part, are mechanically independent.

The goods storage part 202 comprises a plurality of individual compartments 500 (visible in Figure 7).

In the example shown, the compartments 500 are of the same size, located on each of the side faces 10 (visible in Figure 2), 20 of the packaging device. The so-called front face of the conditioning device is the face where the coupling head 330 is located and the rear face is the face opposite the front face, along the longitudinal axis of the conditioning device 200.

The individual compartments 500 can be of several categories depending on their use and their type of container. Among these different categories of compartments, a distinction can be made between food, non-food, organic and conventional compartments. These categories are identifiable and distinguishable visually.

Depending on their category, some 500 compartments can be tempered and monitored in temperature. The compartments with temperature monitoring are equipped with temperature sensors which send a message to the central unit of the trailer. If a predetermined threshold temperature is exceeded by a current temperature measured by a temperature sensor, the central unit of the trailer prohibits the opening of said compartment. The trailer's central unit is in radio communication with a remote trailer fleet supervision computer server (if applicable). This status information (compartment temperature threshold exceeded) is transmitted to the supervision unit in real time.

For this, the compartments result from the assembly of horizontal plates 550 and vertical plates 560 (visible in Figure 9). Each plate has a sandwich structure, that is to say composed of two thin but rigid outer 570 skins and a light but thick 580 core. This structure mainly saves weight.

External 570 skins reinforce the core by keeping weight and thickness to a minimum.

The skins are preferably made of high density polyethylene (HDPE). However, other skin materials can be considered such as metallic materials, laminated composite materials or other possibly biobased plastics.

The core 580 is preferably an organic material or an organic polymer in the form of a foam. For example, the core can be polyurethane, polyvinyl chloride, polystyrene, polyethylene or even balsa wood, cork, mycelium foam or syntactic foams.

Other shapes can be considered such as honeycombs or wavy structures. For these shapes, the materials can be paper, glass fabric, aramid fabric or polypropylene.

The honeycomb shape can also be combined with foam.

These materials and shapes make it possible to have a solid and light structure as well as good thermal insulation.

Each 500 compartment is designed to be cleaned with an appropriate aqueous solution using a pressurized jet and possibly a soft brush. One of the objectives of the device being the packaging of foodstuffs, the compartment 500 must be impeccably clean while resisting cleaning.

To this end, as seen in Figure 9, each vertical plate 560 has a cleaning slope formed by a face inclined downwards towards the outside of the compartment. Thus, the cleaning liquids can flow easily by gravity to the outside.

Compartments 500 can be fitted with accessories such as level catch-up grids 510 (Figures 7) located horizontally at the bottom of said compartments, above the cleaning slope. The protective grids can be non-slip, thus preventing the control from tipping over during transport.

The compartments can also include eutectic plates 515 which equip the compartments to keep products cool or hot depending on the type of products to be stored.

Depending on the embodiment, the compartments 500 can also individually receive a waterproof 520 lighting system.

Each compartment 500 of the storage part corresponds to an individual door 610 with side opening belonging to the interface part. The door is lockable by an electromechanical system 640, which can be controlled by a central unit (not shown) to block it in the closed position. Means (not shown) make it possible to detect whether the door is in the open position or in the closed position. If open doors 610 need to be closed, automatic closing means (not shown) can be installed.

Each 610 door also has a sandwich structure to guarantee sufficient thermal insulation.

The core 680 of the door 610 can be made of the same material used for the core 580 of the plates (550,560) of the storage part.

The skin 670 located on the side of the storage part can be made of the same material used for the skins 570 of the plates (550,560) of the storage part.

The skin 675 located on the side opposite the storage part, that is to say towards the outside, is preferably made of metallic material, for example aluminum.

On this side facing the user is:

• a visible identification number (not shown) allowing the user to subsequently find the locker in which his order is stored
• a light (not shown) indicating whether the door is open, closed or locked.

According to a variant, the skins can be made of the same material.

All 640 electromechanical systems can be remotely controlled by the central unit to unlock or lock the 610 doors in order to check that they are working properly, for example. In addition, in order to improve safety, each electromechanical system 640 can be equipped with a force measurement means (not shown) making it possible, when the compartment 500 is closed, to check whether a door 640 is in the process of being opened. be forced.

It may be necessary to have access to several 500 compartments at the same time, for example during cleaning or packaging. For this, the distribution part 204 comprises panels 600 (Figure 8 and Figure 9) supporting a plurality of individual doors 610 and their locking system 640.

The panels 600 are preferably made of metallic material, for example aluminum.

The opening of a panel 600 provides access to all the compartments corresponding to all the doors supported by said panel. These panels rest on a frame (not shown) fixed to the frame 300. The frame is preferably made of metallic material, for example aluminum.

The 600 panels open laterally, taking with them the individual 610 doors fitted with their 640 locking system.

It is understood that when all the doors 610 are closed and when the panels 600 are in the closed position, the distribution part 204 has a locked position in which the distribution part prohibits access to the goods stored in the compartments 500.

These panels can only be used by persons authorized to do so.

According to one embodiment, a panel can contain all the individual doors of the same side face of the device 100 or can contain the doors of the same housing category. For example, if there are 3 housing categories on one surface of the device, there will be 3 panels on this surface allowing access to each of these categories.

According to another embodiment, the panels 600 can have access openings with a surface area smaller than the opening surface of the compartments 500 so as to trap the level adjustment grids 510 and the eutectic plates 515. way, only people authorized to open the panels can position and remove these elements.

The exterior surface of the individual doors have numbers inscribed. During loading, for example, when the 600 panels are in the open position, it is not possible to easily view the numbers entered while loading or unloading the 500 compartments.

To identify the lockers and assign them to orders, numbers or barcodes are written on labels placed inside each of the lockers, thus facilitating the work of identification for the order picker. Labels with numbers or barcodes are waterproof to withstand cleaning.

During transport, the individual doors and panels are automatically locked in the closed position.

According to a variant of the distribution part not comprising panels 600, when all the compartments 500 are closed, the distribution part 204 has a locked position in which the distribution part prohibits access to the stored goods.

According to the embodiment shown, to protect the doors from projections from the road or bad weather, the trailer has awnings 710 (FIG. 6) mounted in rotation about a horizontal axis arranged at the top of a side face of the device and panels 720 subsequently called "bottom panels" because mounted in rotation around a horizontal axis arranged at the bottom of a side face of the device. When the canopies 710 and the bottom panels 720 are in a so-called closed position, all of the side surfaces of the device are covered. Canopies and bottom panels are locked during transport.

According to an embodiment not shown, the opening and closing of the awnings can be motorized.

These awnings and low panels can be deployed, during delivery for example. The awnings deployed in this way protect users from bad weather by allowing suitable water drainage. Lateral awnings 730 pivoting around the vertical edges of the device also making it possible to protect against bad weather.

According to another embodiment not shown, the awnings may have a horizontal folding opening and may be associated with one or more previous embodiments.

In addition, the device has other elements to guarantee a better quality of use and better security, among these, we find:

• cameras (not shown) allowing continuous monitoring and recording around the device. These cameras are coupled to an anomaly detection system controlled by artificial intelligence.
• During a product deposit operation by a user, these same cameras or other specific ones will make it possible to record the deposit transaction. It will thus be possible to subsequently check the conformity of the deposited product.
• lighting 740 (visible in Figure 2) of the device, automatically adjustable according to the outside brightness.
• a geolocation system (not shown), allowing users and the company to know the position of the device.
• a telecommunications system (not shown) allowing communication via WiFi or a 4G network. The telecommunications system with the trailer fleet supervision server is used to load the databases containing information relating to user orders. It also allows, coupled with the geolocation system, to communicate with:
  • a logistics base which will then notify the user that his order has arrived, by sending him an SMS for example,
  • the user directly by sending him an SMS for example.
  • The device further comprises an on-board computer (not shown) configured to analyze the GPS position of the trailer 100 to detect its arrival at a previously recorded distribution point.

The arrival of the trailer at the distribution point triggers the sending of a message to a fleet supervision server to generate an SMS broadcast to users. A server timeout is set up to alert a logistics technician in the event of non-receipt of SMS arrival confirmations.

The device may also include other elements, among which are:

• means of deterrence when abnormal behavior is detected. One of these means can be the emission of a voice message inviting to contact the support or a message reminding the video surveillance.
• an audible and visual alarm (not shown), triggered in the event of anomalies or detection of a forced door.
• a simple, ergonomic and minimalist customer interface with a waterproof backlit 750 alphanumeric keyboard, a protected and waterproof 760 screen that can integrate the keyboard by being touch sensitive and a bank card reader.

The interface displays via a screen 760 a prompt message requesting the identification of a user. Indeed, the user has an alphanumeric code that he received after paying for his order. When the user enters this code on the 750 keypad, the central unit checks the correspondence in the database and gives access to the compartment containing the user's order. The number of compartment 500 is then displayed on screen 760 and the light located on door 610 of the corresponding compartment 500 comes on. If several compartments are allocated for a user's order, a single alphanumeric code allows the sequential unlocking of these compartments.

The interface then prompts the user to validate the recovery of his order and then to properly close door 610 of compartment 500.

Digital elements such as screens, touch screens, keyboard are reinforced to resist vandalism and have IP54 sealing according to standard EN60529.

Finally, to operate, all these elements are supplied with electrical energy. The electrical autonomy of the device is ensured by an on-board battery (not shown), protected by an accumulator battery control system (BMS: Battery Management System). A charger, also on board, allows the battery to be recharged using a standard 230V, 16A socket. A solar panel (not shown) can also be placed on the roof of the device to maintain the charge or charge the battery.

The on-board electrical, electronic and computer equipment such as the central unit, the battery, and various control systems are blocked from access by a door 800 (visible in Figure 2), located at the rear of the device, locked by a electromechanical lock.

The trailer's central unit incorporates software for controlling and recording trailer maintenance and rack filling operations. Depending on the life phases of the trailer (example: trailer to be cleaned, tow to be loaded, trailer to be transported, etc.) the operations to be carried out are displayed on the HMI screens. To illustrate the supervision provided by the software, the following example is cited. In order to respect the cold chain and to record the quality of operations, the opening of the doors is carried out sequentially, one by one according to a precise order, by the central unit according to the progress of the operations to be carried out. after confirmation of each loading step by the operator. This software guarantees the application and strict compliance with work procedures.

Of course, the invention is not limited to the examples which have just been described and many adjustments can be made to these examples without departing from the scope of the invention. In addition, the different features, forms, variants and embodiments of the invention may be associated with each other in various combinations insofar as they are not incompatible or exclusive of each other.

Claims (10)

Trailer equipped with a hitching head (330) suitable for being hitched to a vehicle, provided with a frame on which is mounted a storage and distribution conditioning device (200) of goods (consumer, food or not ),
said storage and dispensing packaging device (200) comprising a goods storage part (202) comprising a plurality of compartments (500) for storing goods and a dispensing part (204) arranged opposite said goods storage part,
said part for distributing goods being designed to present a locked position in which the part for distributing prohibits access to the goods stored in the storage part and an unlocked position in which the part for distributing allows access to said goods stored,
each of the parts being fixed on said frame,
said interface part and said storage part being mechanically independent. Trailer according to the preceding claim, in which a compartment (500) is equipped with a eutectic plate, preferably mounted prisoner of the compartment. A trailer according to any preceding claim, further comprising imaging means arranged to image a predetermined physical target area of the goods dispensing part. Trailer according to any one of the preceding claims, further comprising a central unit configured to control and record trailer maintenance and compartment filling operations (500). Trailer according to any one of the preceding claims, in which each of the compartments is formed of composite material with a sandwich structure, the core of the composite material being an organic material or organic polymer, preferably a plastic material, and in which the core of the composite material is made of polyurethane, or expanded polystyrene or extruded polystyrene or of vegetable origin. Trailer according to any one of the preceding claims, in which the compartments (500) are closed by individual doors (610) formed of composite material with a sandwich structure, an outer skin of which is made of metallic material, an inner skin of polyvinyl chloride or plastic, and a polyurethane core. A trailer according to any preceding claim, wherein a compartment (500) has a slope for cleaning and a leveling grid preferably mounted captive in the compartment. Trailer according to any one of the preceding claims, comprising opening panels (600) rotatably mounted on a frame, the doors (610) being rotatably mounted on said panels. Trailer according to any one of the preceding claims, comprising (preferably motorized) canopies (710, 720) presenting a closed position in which access to the external surface of the doors (610) is blocked by overlapping of said canopies. Kit comprising a trailer according to any one of the preceding claims and a removable mechanical attachment system (400) arranged to be locked on the hitching head (330) of the trailer and on an anchor mast (410).