AU631626B2 - Turf basket - Google Patents

Description

CI 631626 COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA The Patents Act 1952 Name of Applicant(s): Address of Applicant(s): Actual Inventor(s): 0 o SIMON MARTIN FRASER and TREVOR ROBERT HENDERSON Mundoolun, Connection Road, Tamborine, Queensalnd, Australia and 121 Larch Tamborine, Queensland, Australia, respectively SIMON MARTIN FRASER TREVOR ROBERT HENDERSON DOUGLAS ROSS FRASER 4270, Road, 4270 S 0o 0 Address for Service: 0 0 0e 0 G.R. CULLEN COMPANY, Patent Trade Mark Attorneys, 79 Eagle Street, Brisbane, Qld. 4000, Australia.

COMPLETE SPECIFICATION FOR THE INVENTION ENTITLED: 0 r* TURF BASKET The following statement is a full description of the invention including the best method of performing it known to us: 2 THIS INVENTION relates to receptacles and pallets for goods and, in particular, to transportable containers and pallets for use on rail and road vehicles such as trucks and other heavy duty transport veH-.cles. The invention is particularly concerned with the transportation of turf for laying instant lawns and it will be described primarily in that context. It is to be understood however that such description is purely for the purpose of exemplification and that a wide range of other types of products may be similarly 16. transported in slightly modified containers and pallets.

o a 4 Turf is a popular product for the construction of 0 o instant lawns. It is normally sold in long strips which are 9, rolled into tight rolls for handling and transportation purposes. The handling of such rolls is very labour intensive. In practice, after cutting and rolling, the rolls of turf are either manually stacked onto the tray of the o 0 o*4o delivery truck or onto wooden pallets, and transported to the 09 laying site where they are then either manually off loaded 4:6 4 one-by-one from the truck or lifted off on their pallets holus-bolus by means of a hoist or mobile forklift, The manual off-loading is time consuming and not cost-effective.

The off-loading on pallets generally means that the pallets must either be unloaded manually before the truck departs, which once again can be time consuming, or left for pick-up at a later date, which is inconvenient and time consuming, as well as also being cost-ineffective.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a receptacle or novel pallet in or on which turf can be transported and which permits the turf to be readily unloaded therefrom in a minimal amount of time.

Accordingly, in jits most broadest form, the present invention provides a receptacle comprising a planar polygonal support frame and a plurality of detachably connected ties traversing said support frame and adapted to provide a base upon which goods can be stowed, said ties being removable from the support frame without the need to first remove the goods therefrom, the said receptacle including at least two side walls extending from the frame.

The planar polygonal support frame may be f any convenient shape ranging from substantially circular to square. Generally, it is substantially square or rectangular in shape as this is the most convenient shape for transportation on the tray of a conventional standard size general purpose truck. The actual size will preferably be approximately 1.2 metres square so that two pallets or receptacles can be loaded side-by-side across the tray of a standaird width truck tray (which is approximately 2.5 metres wide).

o 4, 4 4t :e i 'Q U 44 The planar polygonal support frame will be -II~ I;-iLi i 4 constructed from a suitable rigid high strength material such as box or channel iron, or the like. In some applications, it will also be possible to employ lower strength materials such as high density plastics materials H.D.

polybutylene or H.D. polypropylene) or timber, but metal structures are generally preferred for most situations, particularly for the transport of turf. The structure may be such that its base is adapted to sit flat upon a surface, such as the tray of a truck or it may be designed so that its o O °10° base is raised slightly from the surface, depending upon the 0 00 0 0 D °00 nature of the ties which are to be used in association 0 000000 00 n0 therewith. Alternatively, a portion of the base structure Do o may be adapted to rest on a surface while another portion is 0 a 0 raised above the underlying surface. In practice, this later embodiment is preferred since it enables housings to be o* fitted to the undersurface of the support frame for the o° retention of the ties while still enabling a very stable and 00 well supported arrangement. Thus, in the case of an open 0*tI rectangular support frame, one or two opposing edges could be adapted to rest upon a surface while the other two edges are raised therefrom. These raised edges may include the S* housings for the ties to be inserted so that the ties extend from one side of the support structure to the other, thereby providing support for the goods contained on the: -pllo- in the receptacle.

The ties may be in the form of bars, flats, rods, 1 I i I ii ~rrr pipes, tape or any other similar members or materials adapted to extend in strips or lengths across the open planar polygonal support frame. The ties will preferably be such that they provide minimal regions of contact with the goods which rest upon them so that the ties may be withdrawn from their respective housings without too much effort due to the weight of the goods thereon and the frictional contact therewith. For this reason, tubular or rod-shaped ties are particularly suitable. The preferred type of tubular tie is °0100" a high strength iron or steel galvanized pipe. Such a pipe 0 0ae may be retained in housings in aligned opposite sides of the 9 0 00 o polygonal support frame. Removal may be effected by the 0*o provision of a metal loop on one end of the pipe to enable a hooked T-bar to engage therewith for manual extraction.

As an alternatively preferred tie, a strap of coo resiliently flexible material such as high strength packing tape or nylon strapping tape, is adapted to extend in a 0 0 continuous length from side-to-side of the polygonal support eo frame. Such a strap may be retained in a taut arrangement by means of a rod or bar fitted to opposite sides of the *allab 0 -s receptacle and around which the strap is secured.

6 0 The 1 receptacle is preferably provided with means to enable it to be lifted by a mechanical lifting device such as a hoist of the type commonly found on trucks used to transport pallets of house bricks and the like. This means may comprise a looped metal rod extending from one side 6 of the receptacle to the other, with cross-bar with a midsectional loop. Suitably, the means is hingedly connected to one side of the receptacle so that it can be pivoted out of the way when the receptacle is being loaded.

The receptacle will preferably include smooth inwardly facing surfaces on the walls so that when the ties are removed and the contained turf is off-loaded by hoisting the open support structure about the turf, the turf will not tend to cling to the side walls and be. damaged. In the case of a rectangular container, which is preferred for turf, the side walls will preferably be "tin plate" which is supported by an appropriate steel framework extending on the exterior thereof and connected at its lower perimeter to the base o structure. Most preferably, three of the four walls are 8 permanently fixed to the base structure by welding, rivetting or like means, while the fourth wall is a hinged gate to o enable removal for loading or, if necessary in certain circumstances, unloading.

o\i The preferred ties for turf comprises a plurality 0 0 9.

7 of tubular galvanized iron pipes which are arranged so that there is or are one or two pipes supporting each turf roll in the base of the container.

A preferred embodiment of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:- Figure 1 is a side-on perspective of a closed receptacle according to one aspect of the present invention; Figure 2 is a side-on perspective of an open 010" receptacle according to one aspect of the present invention; Figure 3 is a close-up view showing a portion of a 0 4 o the planar polygonal support frame and ties of the container 9 depicted in Figures 1 and 2; Figure 4 is a partial interior view of an open receptacle illustrating how turf may be stacked therein.

,o@04, Referring to all the drawings simultaneously, in which like numbering indicates like parts, the receptacle comprises an open rectangular planar support frame, indicated @0* generally at 10, fabricated from rectangular section pipe, with five tl.bular ties 11 of galvanised pipe extending 9o 0o between opposite sides thereof and three permanently fixed 4o walls 12, 13, 14. The fourth side has a hingedly connected gate 15 which can be completely removed as shown in Figure 2.

The container walls are manufactured from galvanised sheet metal and they are reinforced with box iron members welded to the base support structure in the pattern L i iii;^.r*r ;i.n r. r; i- -r I I 8 illustrated in the drawings.

The rectangular planar support frame 10 includes ten housings 16 in the form of U-shaped brackets, five depending from each side of the bottom thereof (see Figure by which the tubular ties 11 are retained. The tubular ties include metal loops on one end thereof so that they may be manually withdrawn from their respective housings by a hooked extractor 17 which includes a T-bar handle (see Figure The tubular ties are spaced in the particular manner a41 0 illustrated to enable the most efficient packing of 4* to o conventional sized turf rolls 18, as shown in Figure 4, while providing minimal surface contact with the turf. This ensures easy removal of the base members when the receptacle is fully loaded with turf.

The arrangement is completed by a solid metal *,ro0 lifting bar 19 which includes a solid metal loop 20 for 9 connecting to a hoist hook to enable the receptacle to be 0 raised or lowered. The lifting bar 19 is pivotal at one end about hinge pin 21 when the locking pin 22 is removed.

The receptacle illustrated is specifically designed to be used with a number of similar receptacles which fit two 0 abreast on the tray of a truck. The arrangement will be such that the gate 15 faces to one side of the truck should for any reason manual loading or unloading from the truck be required, The rectangular planar support frame is further provided with a lip or recessed portion 23 so that the edge 9 of the receptacle can sit on the combing of the truck and thereby retain the receptacle firmly in position. A gap of about 5 cm is also allowed between the receptacles when loaded to prevent jamming of the receptacles against one another.

In use, the gate 15 is removed and the lifting bar 19 is pivoted to the side as illustrated in Figure 2. With the tubular ties 11 in their housings, turf is stacked in the manner shown in Figure 4 until the receptacle is filled to 44 4 '0 10 the desired height. The gate 15 is then secured by lifting i its upper end over peg supports 24 and slotting pins 25 on the lower end into mating holes 26 in the rectangular bar.

The lifting bar is pivoted over the receptacle and locked with locking pin 22 as illustrated in Figure 1.

The receptacle can now be lifted onto a suitable transport vehicle for delivery of turf to the laying site.

0 At the site the receptacle is lowered to the ground and the five tubular base members ii are removed from their housings a 16 by manual extraction with the extractor 17. The receptacle is then raised leaving the turf on site.

The receptacle thus provides a cost-effective means for delivering and off-loading turf at a laying site and overcomos the problems of prior art handling.

Whilst the above has been given by way of illustrative example of the invention, many modifications and variations may be made thereto by persons skilled in the art without departing from the broad scope and ambit of the invention as herein set forth in the following claims.

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Claims (9)

1. A receptacle comprising a planar polygonal support frame and a plurality of detachably connected ties traversing said support frame and adapted to provide a base upon which goods can be stowed, said ties being removable from the support frame without the need to first remove the goods therefrom, the said receptacle including at least two side walls extending from the frame.

2. A receptacle as claimed in claim 1, wherein the polygonal support frame is square or rectangular.

3. A receptacle as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein the support frame is fabricated from a rigid high strength material.

4. A receptacle as claimed in claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein the ties arc in the form of bars, flats, rods, pipes, straps or tape. 0 Q0 o

5. A receptacle as claimed in claim 4 wherein the bars, flats, rods or pipes are retained in substantially U-shaped •00. housings on opposite sides of the support frame, and the 0 0 t 0 straps or tape are retained by a rod or bar fitted to opposite 0* sides of the support frame.

6. A receptacla as claimed in any one of the preceding claims and including means to enable the receptacle to be raised by a mechanical lifting device.

7. 1 A receptacle as claimed in any one of the preceding claims and including four side walls, one of which is removable.

A receptacle as claimed in any one of the preceding 12 claims, wherein the walls are fabricated from "tin plate" reinforced with a steel framework.

9. A receptacle substantially as herein described with reference to any one or more of the accompanying drawings. DATED this 25th day of August 1992 SIMON MARTIN FRASER and TREVOR ROBERT HENDERSON By their Patent Attorneys CULLEN CO. n 0 a, o-. e 0j