AU4505600A - Pallet castor attachment - Google Patents

Description

AUSTRALIA

PATENTS ACT 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION STANDARD PATENT 0 :0: "PALLET CASTOR ATTACHMENT" The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to me: This invention relates to a clip-on bracket attachment designed to attach to the underside corners of a conventional timber pallet to facilitate attachment of wheels/castors to the pallet, thereby rendering the pallet mobile, whether loaded or unloaded.

Conventionally, pallets are loaded and unloaded from a road or rail vehicle, or moved from one location to another, by means of a fork-lift. In situations where many pallets are to be handled and only one fork-lift is available, the handling procedure is very inefficient in terms of time, cost and productivity.

The present inventor has recognised a need therefore for a system which will render conventional timber pallets mobile in a simple, safe and cost effective manner.

It is the main object of the present invention therefore to provide a castor 15 bracket attachment which can be quickly and easily attached to each of the four corners of a conventional timber pallet in order to render it mobile.

It is another object of the present invention to provide an improved castor bracket device for attachment to a conventional timber pallet which is of extremely 20 simple, robust and relatively inexpensive construction.

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0 0It is a still further object of the present invention to provide a removable 0 0 castor attachment system which can be readily attached to the four corners of a S' conventional timber pallet and which in conjunction with a handle attachment allows 25 the loaded pallet to be conveniently moved from one location to another.

.t00 Broadly according to this invention therefore, there is provided a castor bracket attachment adapted for releasable attachment to a corner of a conventional timber pallet of the kind comprising a plurality of transversely spaced longitudinal bearers which are interconnected by means of a plurality of upper and lower decking members, said bracket attachment comprising a generally right angle bracket having walls defining a first bearer locating channel and a second lower decking member locating channel extending at right angles to said first channel, said second channel having a horizontal inturned flange extending along the upper edge of its outer side wall, said second channel being adapted to interlock with a respective said lower decking member, the base of said second channel being located below the base of said first channel, and means for attaching a fixed or swivelable castor to the underside of said second channel.

Preferably there is provided a removable handle unit which includes a frame having a pair of outwardly directed legs which are arranged to releasably attach to the second channels of two of said brackets mounted on the pallet at one end thereof, so as to provide a connection between the corners at either the front or rear of the pallet, thereby giving positive steering control when the pallet is mobile.

Preferably the inner side wall of said second channel is provided with an 15 inwardly opening transversely extending tubular socket for receiving the free end of a respective said leg of the handle frame.

!Preferably each bracket is releasably locked to a respective pallet comer by means of a removable locking pin which passes through aligned holes in a pair of transversely spaced apart lugs which project upwardly from the opposite side walls of the first channel.

Preferably the bracket attachments at the front of the pallet are provided with steering castors while the rear bracket attachments are provided with fixed castors.

S The castor wheel units can be mounted to the underside of the second channel base wall by means of fasteners, eg bolts, or by welding.

A more detailed description of a preferred embodiment of the invention is given hereunder with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings wherein: Figure 1 is an underside perspective view of a conventional timber pallet showing the castor bracket units attached to the four corners of the pallet; Figure 2 is a top perspective view of one of the corner bracket units shown in Figure 1; while Figure 3 is a perspective view showing a pair of corner bracket units to which is connected a handle assembly for assisting its manoeuvrability.

Referring to Figure 1, there is shown a conventional timber pallet 10 which has attached to each of its four corners on the underside thereof a castor bracket attachment 11, each of the bracket attachments 11 comprising a rigid bracket 12 which has a pallet bearer locating channel 13 and a lower decking member locating channel 14 extending at right angles to the channel 13. The channel 14 is provided with an inwardly directed flange 15 which extends along the upper edge of its outer side wall 16 and is designed so that the bracket 12 can be readily clipped onto an 15 outermost lower decking member 18.

0 0 Since the bearer 19 and decking member 18 lie in different horizontal planes, the base wall 20 of the first channel 13 is located above the base wall 21 of the second channel 14.

The first channel 13 can be locked to the bearer 19 by means of a removable transverse locking pin 22 which locates through a pair of aligned holes formed in opposing lugs 23 which project upwardly from the opposite sides of the first channel 13 adjacent the inner end thereof. The pin 22, when in its locked position, locates slightly above the upper edge surface of the bearer 19.

Each of the brackets 12 is provided with a wheel or castor 25 which can be of the fixed, or swivel type and may, for example, include directional or rolling brakes suitable for various floor surfaces or rough terrain applications. In this embodiment, the castor is supported from a mounting plate 26 which is bolted to the underside of the base 21 of the channel 14.

As shown in Figure 3, the inner side wall 27 of each of the brackets 12 is provided with a horizontal tubular socket 28 which is arranged to receive an end spigot portion of an outwardly directed frame member 29, 29' of a handle assembly The handle 30, when attached to a pair of brackets 12, provides a connection between the corners of the pallet at either the front or rear thereof, and gives positive steering control of the pallet. One of the handle frame members 29 is movably mounted on the handle so that it can move towards or away from the oppositely directed fixed frame member 29'. In order to attach the handle 30, the frame member 29' is first located in its associated socket, followed by the engagement of the frame member 29 which is then locked in place so that the members 29, 29' are fixed with respect to one another.

The shape and dimensions of the bracket attachment and its many facets are designed to accommodate the tolerances applicable to ISO and ASO standard pallet specifications. With simple variations, the device can be adapted to fit almost any type of pallet construction.

Attaching or detaching the brackets 12 to or from a pallet is a simple, manual operation which can be done at ground level or when elevated on a fork-lift or pallet 20 jack, requires no tools or other means of fixing, and does not damage the pallet in any way.

S* The invention provides a simple readily attachable castor system which will provide all pallet users with instant mobility and flexibility in a safe, cost effective 25 manner.

With this invention, loaded pallets having the castor attachments fitted thereto can be readily moved by production line operators without waiting for a fork-lift.

When detached from the pallets, each of the castor attachments is robust, small, light-weight, can be readily stored arid easily handled.

Claims (7)

1. A pallet castor attachment device which makes use of multi faceted planes, channels, walls, plates, flanges and lugs to fit in and around and engage the various longitudinal and horizontal bearers, supports and decking members of each corner of a pallet, without causing damage or requiring alterations to existing pallets.

2. A pallet castor attachment device which clips or snaps onto/into each corner of a pallet, each independent of the other, without the need for tools or other means of fixing.

3. A pallet castor attachment device which when fitted to the corners of the pallet facilitate the connection of a handle between the devices at the front and/or rear of the pallet.

4. The pallet castor attachment device of claim 1 wherein the dimensions of the planes, channels, walls, plates, flanges and lugs adapt to varying tolerances to accommodate a wide variance in pallet types and construction.

The pallet castor attachment device of claim 2 wherein the transverse locking pin and opposing lugs assist the engagement and retention of the device with/on a pallet.

6. The pallet castor attachment device of claim 3 wherein horizontal tubular sockets are arranged to receive an end spigot of a handle assembly in either or both the upper or lower tubular sockets.

7. A pallet castor attachment device substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings. DOUGLAS MCEWEN 4 6 4V6&UUef 6TH JULY 2000 S *4 *0 S S *009 S.6. S. 0 4