AU2011100241A4

AU2011100241A4 - Pallet rack bund

Info

Publication number: AU2011100241A4
Application number: AU2011100241A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Andrew Laurence Gooden
Original assignee: Anstey Australia Pty Ltd
Current assignee: Anstey Australia Pty Ltd
Priority date: 2011-02-25
Filing date: 2011-03-04
Publication date: 2011-04-07
Anticipated expiration: 2019-03-04
Also published as: AU2011100241B4

Description

1 Pallet rack bund FIELD OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to a bund, in particular a bund suitable for use in a pallet rack. 5 BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION Pallet bunds serve to catch liquid leaking from items placed on a pallet. This keeps storage areas clean as well as preventing toxic liquids from entering the environment through the soil or drains. Bunds are particularly useful for pallets in racks as they prevent liquids 10 from "raining down" on pallets lower down in a rack, thus preventing damage to or contamination of the goods on the lower pallets. There are many bunds available for use in a pallet rack, however these invariably have shortcomings in their design leading to the bunds breaking when heavy loads are placed upon them, compromising their prime function 15 of containing liquid spillages and leaks. Pallets are typically constructed of hardwood and comprise 3 bearers in a first direction with a series of spaced apart planks at right angles to the bearers. On top of the bearers the planks form a deck for accepting a load. Underneath the bearers the planks form a base for supporting the pallet on 20 a flat surface. The weight of the load acts on the top planks which in turn is transferred to the bearers, then through the bottom planks to the surface below. For pallets placed on a rack the rack beams are arranged such that the bearers of the pallet sit directly on the beams which take the load. The bottom planks in such a situation do not take any load, but merely provide 25 lateral rigidity to the pallet. Conventional pallet rack bunds comprise a liquid storage tray mounted between the pallet rack beams with a planar catchment apron extending from the tray, over the rack beams and outwards to the extremities of where 2 a pallet will sit. Any liquid leaking from a pallet will fall directly into the storage tray or onto the apron from whence it will flow into the storage tray. When a pallet is placed on to a conventional bund in a pallet rack the bottom planks, not the bearers, of the pallet will sit on the catchment apron. 5 The load from the bearers will act through the bottom planks and through the apron to the rack beams. As the bottom planks sit on the apron outside of the beams there will be a tendency for the aprons to bend under the load, ultimately failing and rendering the bund ineffective. The object of this invention is to provide a bund that alleviates the above 10 problems, or at least provides the public with a useful alternative. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Therefore in one form of the invention there is proposed a bund comprising comprising: a rectangular planar bottom member having opposing side edges and 15 opposing end edges; first and second vertical side walls each having opposing side edges and top and bottom edges, said side wall bottom edges being attached to said bottom member side edges; first and second vertical end walls each having opposing side edges and top 20 and bottom edges, said end wall bottom edges being attached to said bottom member end edges; and first and second rectangular planar end members each having opposing side edges and opposing first and second end edges, said first end member first end edge being attached to said first end wall top edge and said second 25 end member second end edge being attached to said second end wall top edge, wherein: said bottom member, side walls and end walls form a fluid retaining tub; said end members extend outwards from said tub; said first end member further comprises a rectangular recess spaced apart from and parallel to 30 said first end member first end edge; 3 and said second end member further comprises a rectangular recess spaced apart from and parallel to said second end member second end edge. In preference the bund comprises: 5 a rectangular tub having a planar bottom member, first and second opposing side walls and first and second opposing end walls; and two rectangular planar end members, wherein: attachment edges of said end members are attached to top edges of said end walls; 10 said end members extend outwards from said tub; and said side members further comprise a rectangular recess spaced apart from and parallel to said attachment edges. Advantageously the bund is for use with a pallet of the type having a plurality of bottom planks, said bund including a floor and a plurality of 15 recesses to accommodate said bottom planks. preferably said floor comprises: a central recess that is adapted to contain fluids, said central recess accommodating inner bottom planks of said pallet; and outer recesses, said outer recess accommodating outer bottom planks of said pallet. 20 Preferably the recesses are of a depth so that the bottom planks of a pallet are suspended within them. It should be noted that any one of the aspects mentioned above may include any of the features of any of the other aspects mentioned above and may include any of the features of any of the embodiments described below 25 as appropriate. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate various implementations of the invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the advantages and 30 principles of the invention. In the drawings: 4 Figure 1 is a perspective view from above of a bund according to a preferred embodiment of the invention; Figure 2 is a perspective view of the bund from below; Figure 3 is a top perspective view of a pallet which the bund is designed 5 to accept; Figure 4 is a bottom perspective view of the pallet; Figure 5 is a perspective view of the bund located on 2 beams of a pallet rack; Figure 6 is a perspective view of the bund located on 2 beams of a 10 pallet rack and holding a pallet; Figure 7 is a side view of side view of the arrangement of Figure 6; and Figure 8 is a cutaway side view of the arrangement of Figure 6. LIST OF COMPONENTS 10 bund 15 20 pallet 22 pallet bearers 24 pallet top planks 26 pallet bottom planks 30 rack beams 20 40 liquid storage tray 42 liquid catchment aprons 44 peripheral lip 50 tray bottom 52 end walls 25 54 side walls 56 stacking recesses 58 apron walls 60 plank recesses 5 62 support members DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The following detailed description of the invention refers to the accompanying drawings. Wherever possible, the same reference numbers 5 will be used throughout the drawings and the following description to refer to the same and like parts. Dimensions of certain parts shown in the drawings may have been modified and/or exaggerated for the purposes of clarity or illustration. Referring to the drawings now in greater detail where there is provided a 10 bund shown generally as 10. Figures 1 and 2 are perspective views of the bund 10 viewed from above and below respectively. The bund 10 comprises a liquid storage tray 40, liquid catchment aprons 42 and a peripheral lip 44. The liquid storage tray 40 comprises a rectangular planar tray bottom 50 15 from which extend end walls 52 and side walls 54. The side walls 54 have stacking recesses 56 allowing multiple bunds 10 to nest together when stacked. The aprons 42 are rectangular planar members extending from the top of the end walls 52 to apron walls 58. The aprons 42 have common side 20 walls 54 with the tray 40. Spaced in from the periphery of the aprons 42 are plank recesses 60. The peripheral lip 44 sits atop the side walls 54 and the apron walls 58 giving structural rigidity to the bund 10. Support members 62 extend between the end walls 52 and the plank 25 recesses 60 on which the bearers 22 of a pallet 20 sit and which in turn sit upon spaced apart horizontal rack beams 30 of a pallet rack. Figures 3 and 4 are perspective views of a pallet 20 which the bund 10 is designed to accommodate viewed from above and below respectively.

6 The pallet 20 as shown is a standard hardwood pallet as used in Australia, the dimensions of which are dictated by Australian Standard AS4068. The pallet 20 comprises 3 parallel bearers 22, perpendicular to which are mounted top planks 24 to form a top deck and bottom planks 26 5 to form a bottom deck. The bottom deck has fewer planks than the top deck, leaving the bearer 22 accessible from below. When a pallet is placed in a pallet rack the bearers 22 sit upon spaced apart horizontal panel rack beams 30. Figure 5 illustrates in perspective view a bund 10 mounted on two 10 horizontal spaced apart pallet rack beams 30. Figure 6 further illustrates the same view with a pallet 20 placed within the bund 10. Figure 7 is a side view of Figure 6 with Figure 8 being the same view with a side wall 5 of the bund cut away to reveal the side of the pallet 20. The support members 62 of the bund 10 sit on top of the beams 30. 15 The liquid storage tray 40 sits between the beams 30 and the plank recesses 60 sit outside of the beams 30. The bearers 22 of the pallet 20 in turn sit on the support members 62. The bottom planks 26 of the pallet 20 do not come in contact with the bund 10, but sit within the tray 40 and the recesses 60. With this arrangement the load from the pallet 20 and any 20 articles upon it is applied via the bearers 22 to the support members 62 and in turn to the beams 30; no load is placed upon the remainder of the bund 10. This arrangement is in contrast with prior art bunds in which the bottom planks of a pallet sit on the catchment aprons away from the pallet rack 25 beams, causing the bund to bend and ultimately fail. In the preferred embodiment the bund is sized and proportioned to correspond to Australian standard pallets. Quite obviously further embodiments to suit pallets made to other standards can be made by suitable adjustments to component sizes and proportions.

7 Further advantages and improvements may very well be made to the present invention without deviating from its scope. Although the invention has been shown and described in what is conceived to be the most practical and preferred embodiment, it is recognized that departures may be made 5 therefrom within the scope and spirit of the invention, which is not to be limited to the details disclosed herein but is to be accorded the full scope of the claims so as to embrace any and all equivalent devices and apparatus. Any discussion of the prior art throughout the specification should in no way be considered as an admission that such prior art is widely known or forms 10 part of the common general knowledge in this field. In the summary of the invention, except where the context requires otherwise due to express language or necessary implication, the word "comprising" is used in the sense of "including", i.e. the features specified may be associated with further features in various embodiments of the 15 invention.

Claims

1. A bund comprising: a rectangular planar bottom member having opposing side edges and opposing end edges; 5 first and second vertical side walls each having opposing side edges and top and bottom edges, said side wall bottom edges being attached to said bottom member side edges ; first and second vertical end walls each having opposing side edges and top and bottom edges, said end wall bottom edges being attached 10 to said bottom member end edges; and first and second rectangular planar end members each having opposing side edges and opposing first and second end edges, said first end member first end edge being attached to said first end wall top edge and said second end member second end edge being attached 15 to said second end wall top edge, wherein: said bottom member, side walls and end walls form a fluid retaining tub; said end members extend outwards from said tub; said first end member further comprises a rectangular recess spaced apart from and 20 parallel to said first end member first end edge; and said second end member further comprises a rectangular recess spaced apart from and parallel to said second end member second end edge.

2. A bund comprising: 25 a rectangular tub having a planar bottom member, first and second opposing side walls and first and second opposing end walls; and two rectangular planar end members, wherein: attachment edges of said end members are attached to top edges of 30 said end walls; said end members extend outwards from said tub; and 9 said side members further comprise a rectangular recess spaced apart from and parallel to said attachment edges.

3. A bund for use with a pallet of the type having a plurality of bottom planks, said bund including a floor and a plurality of recesses to 5 accommodate said bottom planks.

4. A bund as in any claim 3, said floor comprising: a central recess that is adapted to contain fluids, said central recess accommodating inner bottom planks of said pallet; and outer recesses, said outer recess accommodating outer bottom planks of said pallet. 10

5. A bund as in any one of the above claims wherein the recesses are of a depth so that the bottom planks of a pallet are suspended within them.