Abstract:
A carriage for transporting and storing doctor blades including a frame and wheels at a bottom of the frame. The carriage is movable on support of the wheels into different positions throughout the paper machine. Storage boxes for doctor blades are arranged in an interior spare of the carriage. In use, the doctor blades are discharged from the storage boxes. The carriage also includes a cover which can be opened and closed to access the interior space.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to a carriage for transporting and storing doctor blades. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Conventionally, doctor blades are kept and stored in paper mills on long shelves. In such a case, there is a risk that their blade edges are damaged because the doctor blades may become exposed and unprotected. 
     OBJECTS AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     It is an object of the present invention to provide a carriage for transporting and storing doctor blades. 
     It is another object of the present invention to provide an apparatus for transporting and storing doctor blades while preventing contamination and damage to the doctor blades. 
     In order to achieve these objects and others, in accordance with the invention, doctor blades are arranged in storage boxes and the storage boxes are arranged in the separate carriage which includes compartments for doctor blades of different types. The carriage is provided with wheels, or other comparable displacement systems, so that it can be readily moved in the paper mill to different positions of the paper machine. 
     In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the carriage comprises a movable cover which can be opened and closed. The cover is preferably made of a transparent material so that the storage boxes placed in the carriage and the labels on the boxes can be seen through the cover. When the carriage is provided with a cover that can be opened and closed, contamination of and damage to the doctor blade storage boxes, which are made of cardboard, and the doctor blades contained in the boxes are prevented. The cover can also be locked by suitable locking means in order to ensure that only authorized persons have access to the doctor blades. In connection with the top cover of the carriage, there are preferably index labels indicating the compartments in the carriage, and the different compartments contain doctor blades of different widths different lengths made of different materials. 
     Thus, a carriage for transporting and storing doctor blades in accordance with the invention comprises a frame defining an interior space, wheels arranged on the frame for enabling movement of the frame, at least one doctor blade storage box for storing a respective doctor blade and which is arranged in the interior space of the frame, and a cover movably as mounted to the frame for movement between a closed position in which access to the interior space is prevented and an open position in which access to the interior space is permitted. The cover may be hingedly mounted to the frame such as by hinge means including a hinge shaft about which the cover is pivotable. The cover may be made of a transparent and/or plastic material. The cover comprises a first planar portion, a second planar portion placed at an oblique angle in relation to the first planar portion, and lateral portions alongside the first and second planar portions. The first planar portion overlies an opening defined in the frame. 
     The frame may comprises a bottom wall, a top wall and side wall extending between the bottom wall and the top wall, the wheels being mounted to the bottom wall. The interior space is defined by the bottom wall, the top wall and the side walls. The first planar portion of the cover extending substantially planar to the top wall and a second planar portion extends at an angle to the first planar portion and at an angle to one of the side walls. The lateral portions of the cover extend over opposed side walls of the frame. 
     The invention will be described in detail with reference to some preferred embodiments of the invention illustrated in the figures in the accompanying drawings. However, the invention is not confined to the illustrated embodiments alone. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     Additional objects of the invention will be apparent from the following description of the preferred embodiment thereof taken in conjunction with the accompanying non-limiting drawings, in which: 
     FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a carriage in accordance with the invention for receiving storage boxes for doctor blades; 
     FIG. 2 is a separate illustration of a cover of the carriage of FIG. 1 which can be opened and closed; 
     FIG. 3 illustrates a storage box for a roll of doctor blades to be arranged in the carriage of FIG. 1; and 
     FIG. 4 illustrates the carriage of FIG. 1 viewed from the front with the cover and the front wall of the frame opened. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     Referring to the drawings wherein corresponding reference numerals refer to the same or similar elements, FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a carriage in accordance with the invention designated generally as 10. The carriage 10 comprises a frame 11 having walls or plates 11a 1 , 11a 2 , . . . , 11a 6  and in connection with the bottom wall 11a 5 , wheels 12a 1 , 12a 2 , 12a 3  and 12a 4  are mounted. The walls 11a 1 , 11a 2  . . . , 11a 6  define an interior space D for receiving one or more doctor blade boxes P while maintaining an opening. In view of the presence of the wheels 12a 1 , 12a 2 , 12a 3  and 12a 4 , the carriage 10 can be moved readily into different locations throughout a paper machine hall. 
     The carriage 10 also comprises a movable cover 13 coupled to the frame 11 in a position over the opening and which can be opened and closed. Cover 13 is preferably made of a transparent material, preferably a plastic material. The cover 13 comprises locking means 16 at its front edge which enable the cover 13 to be lock in engagement with the frame 11, whereby it can be ensured that only authorized persons can open the cover 13. To provide for rotation relative to the frame 11, cover 13 also comprises a hinge shaft 13b at its forward edge adjacent top wall 11a 4  of the frame 11 and the locking means 16 are arranged at the rearward edge opposite to the hinge shaft 13b adjacent side wall 11a 1 . The cover 13 further comprises a first substantially planar portion 13a 1  adjoining the rearward edge at which the locking means 16 are arranged and a second planar portion 13a 2  adjoining the forward edge at which the hinge shaft 13b is arranged. First planar portion 13a 1  is arranged obliquely in relation to the second planar portion 13a 2 . Cover 13 also comprises triangle-shaped lateral portions 13a 3  and 13a 4 , which are placed along the side walls 11a 2 , 11a 3  of the frame part of the carriage 10 when the cover 13 is closed. The pivoting movement of the cover 13 about hinge shaft 13b is denoted by arrow L 1 . 
     The interior space D is partitioned into several compartments 14a 1 , 14a 2 , . . . Each compartment 14a 1 , 14a 2  . . . in the carriage 10 is provided with index labels for the different storage box to be placed therein by providing the compartment with a separate symbol or index f 1 , f 2 , . . . in the vicinity of the hinge shaft 13b of the openable cover 13 at the top wall 11a 4  of the carriage frame 11. The carriage 10 also includes a handle m connected to one or more of the walls 11a 1 , 11a 2 , . . . , 11a 6  and by whose means the carriage 10 can be moved. 
     FIG. 2 is a separate illustration of the cover 13, which can be selectively opened and closed. The cover 13, or at least planar portion 13a 1  thereof, is made of transparent plastic and comprises the hinge shaft 13b at its forward edge and the locking means 16 at the opposite edge. The locking means 16 may be any type of locking device. The cover 13 includes a lifting handle j mounted on the first planar portion 13a 1 . The hinge shaft 13b may also be placed in a lateral portion 13a 3  or 13a 4  in which case, the direction in which the cover rotates would be changed. 
     FIG. 3 shows a storage box P for doctor blades, which box is preferably an octagonal box, which can be arranged in the compartments 14a 1 , 14a 2  . . . , in the carriage 10. The doctor blades t 1 , t 2  . . . can be discharged from the interior of the storage box P from a roll R formed by the doctor blades t 1 , t 2  . . . 
     As shown in FIG. 4, each storage box P stands in the interior space D of the carriage 10 on the bottom wall 11a 6  of the frame, i.e., one of the edge planes Pa 1  of the storage box P lies on the bottom wall 11a 6 . The interior space D of the carriage 10 is provided with partition walls e 1 , e 2  . . . , in which case, the compartments 14a 1 , 14a 2  . . . are formed between the partition walls e 1 , e 2  . . . , each for receiving a different doctor blade storage box P. As shown in FIG. 4, the front wall 11a 1  of the carriage 10 frame has been opened. The front wall 11a 1  is also provided with hinge means n, in which case, the front wall 11a 1  can be opened when the carriage is being filled with storage boxes P for doctor blades. 
     When the cover 13 is opened, the blades t 1 , t 2  . . . can be discharged from the respective doctor blade storage box P, which is placed in the respective compartment 14a 1 , 14a 2  . . . in the carriage. After a blade t 1 , t 2  or t 3  . . . has been taken from the roll R and its end been separated from the adjacent other blade, the carriage 10 can be closed by pivoting the cover 13 into the closed position. After this, the cover 13 can also be locked by means of the locking means 16 in relation to the frame 11. 
     Above, some preferred embodiments of the invention have been described, and it is obvious to a person skilled in the art that numerous modifications can be made to these embodiments within the scope of the inventive idea defined in the accompanying patent claims. As such, the examples provided above are not meant to be exclusive. Many other variations of the present invention would be obvious to those skilled in the art, and are contemplated to be within the scope of the appended claims.