CA1065681A - Transporting system - Google Patents

Abstract

ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE

A vehicle has a bed divided into a plurality of bays by means of dividers. Article carriers are constructed to be positioned in the bays by means of a loader-unloader such as a lift truck. Each article carrier is provided with at least one locking mechanism which automatically unlocks when engaged by a loader-unloader, and automatically locks into the bed of a truck when released by the loader-unloader after being positioned in a chosen bay.

Description

106568~
The use of palletized trucking systems is not new. Such a system includes a vehicle having a bed, a nu~ber of pallets removably positioned on the bed, and a forklift truck for placing the pallets on the bed and taking them off the bed.
Such a system is used by individually loading pallets with articles such as gas-filled tanks under pressure. A forklift truck is ; then operated to transport each pallet individually to the vehicle and - then load them onto its bed.
- It has been found that the employment of such a system has resulted in substantial savings in time and reduced personnel to load and unload. A plurality of tanks can be loaded onto each pallet in the dis- , tributor's plant. The vehicle may then be loaded with the pallets very quickly. This is in distinction to the older practice of individually -~
loading tanks onto the truck bed. While the vehicle is then travelling to a customer, additional pallets may be loaded at the distributor's plant for future shipment. A given vehicle can make many more deliveries per day. At the destination, a forklift truck rapidly unloads the loaded pallèts from the truck and delivers them into the customer's plant. Full . .
tanks are used by the customer as needed and are replaced on the pallets

2~ by empty tanks. Again, the time for unloading is substantially reduced over that required individually to roll off tanks from a truck bed. Also, employment of such a system reduces handling of the tanks.
While this development is not new, presently known spstems ~
have not been entirely satisfactory. First, the operator of the forklift -~ .
truck must become rather skilled in loading the pallets onto the truck.
Even with such skill, he must exercise care so as to align the pallet with a chosen bay, and then lower the pallet into such bay. If he is not ~
careful, the pallet will strike the dividers provided between adjacent -bays, and he will then have to shift the truck and try again. Such a -30 procedure is both time-consuming and because not designed to strike the ¦`
; dividers~ the pallets and the articles carried thereby may become damaged. I

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Another shortcoming of pre,ently available systems is the requirement that the pallet be substantially horizontal as it is being - lowered into a chosen bay. Otherwlse, it would be most difficu't for -- the operator to align the pallet vertically. In other words, the operator must align all four corners of the pallet respectively with the four cor-ners of the bay.
`~ Since the pallets are carried by a moving vehicle, they are subject to being jostled during transportation to the destination. The pallets of certain systems are not sufficiently secured in place while the t~uck is in motion to prevent them from being dislodged as the result of a sharp turn. Should a pallet fall off the truck, both the pallet and the articles carried thereon will be subjected to damage and, of course, `-~
serious injury to a passer-by or damage to another vehicle could result.
Sometimes a latching means has been provided to protect I against unintentional dislodgement. However, these mechanisms are manually actuated, so that a forgetful operator or a lazy operator may simply not latch the latching mechanism. `~
The vehicles of presently known systems often have a solid - bed so as to collect sn~w and, add additional weight to the vehicle. Also, such beds undesirably furnish but a single level of support for the pal-- lets.
It is, therefore, an important object of the present invention to provide a transporting system comprising a vehicle bed and article car-riers which may be rapidly loaded thereon with a minimum of care exercised by the operator. ;
- Damage to either the pallets or the vehicle bed during load--- ing on the bed is minimi~ed.
The transporting system can also include a vehicle bed and a plurality of article carriers removably disposed thereon and latched thereto by means of latching mechani~s which are automatically unlatched when carried by the loader-unloader, the operator not having to perform any , - 10656~
positive step other than simply positioning the article carrier on the ~;
bed.
A strong, light-weight pallet is also produced by following the teachings of this invention.
'' For the purpose of facilitat:Lng an understanding of the invention, there is illustrated in the accompanying drawings a preferred embodiment thereof, from an inspection of which, when considered in con~
nection with the following description, the invention, its mode of con-struction, assembly and its operation, and many of its advantages should be readily understood and appreciated.
Fig. 1 illustrates a transporting system incorporating the features of the present invention, which comprises a vehicle bed, ' and a plurality'of pallets, the trailer for the bed and the vehicle cab '~ '' being shown in fragmentary form;
Fi8. 2 is a top plan view of the transporting system of `- Fig. 1 with portions of some of the pallets being cut away to expose the underlying frame of the bed;
Fig. 3 is a rear elevational view of the transporting system of Fig. l; ~' Fig. 4 is a top plan view, on an enlarged scale of two later- j ' ' ally adjacent pallets on the vehicle, with a portion of each of the pallets' top plates being cut away to expose the struts and slats of the pallets, and another portion of a pallet being cut away to expose one of the beams '' forming the bed;
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Fig. 5 is a view in vertical cross section taken along the - line 5 - 5 of Fig. 4;
Fig. 6 located on the same sheet as Fig. 2 is a perspective view of a fragmentary portion of a pallet and a fragmentary portion of the vehicle bed, with the latching mechanism deleted;
Fig. 7 is an enlarged front elevational view of the lower portion of the pallet and the manner in which it is seated on the vehicle ' ~ 'bed, the latching mechanisms being shown in the latchin~ conditions there- ' of; ~.

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Fig, 8 is a view similar to Flg, 7 illustrating the left-hand - side latching mechanism in the unlatching condition thereof;
Fig, 9 is a view in vertlcal section taken along the line 9 - 9 of Fig, 8;
Fig~ 10 is a view in vertical section taken along the line 10,- 10 of Fig, 8;
Fig, 11 located on the same sheet as Fig, 3, is an enlarged view in horizontal section taken along the line 11 - 11 of Fig, 7; and Fig, 12 located on the same sheet as Fig, 1, is a partly 10 schematic view of a pallet and the manner in which it is positioned on the 1 -vehicle bed, .
Referring to the drawings, there i9 illustrated a transporting system comprising a vehicle 20, which vehicle includes a cab 21 and a trailer 22, The trailer 22 is of basically standard construction and has a pair of longitudinally extending main beams 23, spaced by crossbeams 24, Two spacer !
beams 2S are respectively carried by the main beams 23, Springs 26 carry an axle 27, on which are mounted the wheels 2~, The vehicle 20 includes a -- load-supporting bed 30 made up of a pair of longitudinally extending side beams 31 and a longitudinally extending center beam 32 which is substantially cylindrical in lateral cross section, Each side beam 31 has a load-supporting upper surface 31a, The bed 30 also include= five laterally extending cross-; beams 33 and four laterally extending crossbeams 34, only one of which is shown in ~ig,~-2, The crossbeams 33 are equidistantly spaced apart, and one ~- crossbeam 34 is arranged centrally between two adjacent crossbeams 33, In the embodiment shown, each crossbeam 34 is substantially narrower than each crossbeam 33, The crossbeams 33 respectively have load-supporting upper surfaces 33a which are substantially coplanar at a first level, The top of the cylindrical surface of the center beam 32 substantially lies in the plane - defined by the load-supporting surfaces 33a, The upper surfaces 34a of the crossbeams 34 are also coplanar, but are at a second level below the level of the surfaces 33a, for reasons to be explained hereinafter, The upper surfaces 34a of the crossbeams 34 are substantially coplanar with the sur---- faces 31a of the side beams 31, ~ ` ' - .
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In one form of the inventi~n which was constructedS each of the side beams 31 had a transverse cross section of 2 inches x 6 inches, the center beam 32 had a diameter of2~ inches, each of the crossbeams 33 had transverse dimensions of5 inches x 7 inches, and each of the cross-beams 34 had transverse dimensions of 2 inches x 3 inches.
On each end of each crossbeam 33 is a divider 40 supported by a base 41, as is best seen in Fig. 6. Each divider 40 is very short compared to the width of the bed 30. The divider 40 includes a pair of spaced-apart, substantially parallel side walls 42, a top wall 43, and a bottom wall 44. In each side wall 42 there is provided a keeper 45 which, in the form illustrated, is simply a hole. The keeper 45 is near the outer end of each of the side walls 42 and closer to the top wall 43 than the : ¦
bottom wall 44. At the forward end of the base 41 is a pair of oppositely directed abutments 46 extending parallel to the longitudinal axis of the vehicle 20. The dividers 40 divide the bed 30 into a plurality of eight bays 47 arranged in two columns. Each bay 47 is rectangular in outline and in the embodiment shown is essentially square in outline. Each bay 47 is defined approximately by adjacent dividers 40, associated abutments 46, -and the center line of the center beam 32.
The transporting system further comprises a plurality of rec-; ~ - ,.
tangular pallets 50 corresponding in number to the number of bays 47, in the example illustrated, eight. Referring to Figs. 4 and 5, each pallet 50 includes a platform 51 having an inner end to be disposed toward the ~5 ' ' ` center beam 32, and an outer end to be disposed toward a side beam 31. The platform 51 has an upper plate 52 with a lower surface whicll defines a - bearlng surface 52a, and with an upper surface which defines an article-- supporting surface 52b on which articles such as the tanks 26 are disposed.
~- Each platform 51 includes an inner slat 53, an outer slat 54, and two slats 55 between the 61ats 53 and 54. The slats 53, 54 and 55 are equidistantly spaced and extend longltudinally with respect to the direction nf the platform 51. The slats 55 are slightly narrower than the slats 53 and 54.

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65~81 Five equidistantly spaced struts 56 extend laterally with respect -` to the direction of the platform 51 and are welded to the slats 53, 54 and 55 and to the plate 52. The outer edge of the slat 54 is substantially coplanar wlth the outer edge of the plate 52 , the outer ends of the struts 56 being substantially coplanar with the outer side of the slat 54. Also, there is provided a laterally extending strut 56 adjacent the inner end of the platform Sl which strut 56 is perpendicular to the plate 52 and to the inner slat 53. As is best seen in Fig. 12, the inner end of the plate 52 and the inner end of the inner slat 53 are substantially coplanar.

The slats 53 and 55 are substantially the same length and are offset in-wardly with respect to the sides of the plate 52. Two side walls 58 are welded to the slats 53, 54, and 55 and to the plate 52, and converge down-wardly, that is, away from the article-supporting surface 52b. The oute~
slat 54 is offset outwardly with respect to the sides of the plate 52 as is seen in Fig. 5. The pallets 50 are light weight, yet strong, by virtue of the construction described. A rather thin, sheet metal plate of, for example, three-sixteenths inches can be employed without sacrificing strength, It should be noted that in the preferred form illustrated, all of the elements of the pallet 50 are ~elded together.
Each pallet 50 also includes a fence 60 mounted at the outer end of the platform 51. The fence 60 has two posts 61 which are outwardly facing channels and rest respectively on the end portions of the outer slat 54 to which they are welded. The posts 61 are also welded to the sides of the top plate 52. Referring to Fig. 11, a guide surface 62 i9 formed on the inner flange of each post 61. The guide surfaces 62 of the post 61 converge toward the inner end of the platform 51.
The fence 60 also includes three parallel cross members 63 and a fourth cross ~ember 64 welded to the posts 61 and substantially equi-distantly spaced. ~ne cross member 64 is the lowermost, and includes a web 65 and flanges 66. The cross member 64 rests on the outer end of the top plate 52 and may be welded thereto. A chain may be secured to the fence ~06S681 60 near the top thereof, which chain 67 is used to hold the tanks 29 in place. The chain 67 is provided with the usual tightening mechanism 68 to ensure that the tanks 26 are bound tightly against the fence 60.
-- Turning now to Figs. 4 ana 5, the manner in which the pallets 50 seat in the bays 47 will be described. As previously explained, the underside of the plate 52, around the periphery thereof, defines a bearing surface 52a. The bearing surface 52a, in the region of the inner end of the pallet 50, rests on the center beam 32 (see also Fig. 12). The bearing surface 52a, in the region of the sides of the pallet 50, rests on the load-supporting surfaces 33a of the crossbeams 33. The undersides of the slats 53, 54, and 55 respectively define bearing surfaces (the bearing sur-- faces 54a and 55a are shown in Fig. 5), the center regions of such bearing '~
surfaces resting on the load-supporting surface 34a of the crossbeam 34.
Also, the underside of the slat 54 defines a bearing surface 54a which rests I on the load-supporting surface 31a of the side beam 31. Thus, the pallet 50 is supported by the bed 30 at two levels. The first level is defined by - the load-supporting surfaces 33a and the corresponding portion of the sur-face of the center beam 32. The second level is defined by the surfaces 31a and 34a. The distance between these two levels is substantially equal to the distance between the plane defined by the bearing surface 52a and the plane defined by the bearing surfaces 53a, 54a and 55a.
-~ Each pallet 50 is arranged in lts associated bay 47 in a similar fashion and is also supported at dual levels, thereby giving rise - to a highly reliable and st-Lucturally sound system.
As is best seen in Fig. 2, the eight pallets 50 arranged on the bed 30 define substantially the entire floor for the vehicle upon which one may walk and upon which the tanks 29 may be disposed. In the embodiment illustrated there is only a very slight space, preferably less than an inch between laterally adjacent pallets 50 and no more than 6 inches between longitudinally adjacent pallets 50. If desired, a strip may be provided , ' '" ':`' 6~6~1 in each such space. In the embodiment illustrated, a distance of 5 inches separate longitudinally adjacent 2allets 50. However, by suitable cutouts in the top plate 52 and/or other modifications, that distance could be reduced substantially. The open frame construction of tlle bed 30 and the use of pallets 50 to define substantially the entire floor of the bed is desirable, first, bec~use it reduces the weight of the bed 30 and thereby renders it less expensive. Also, less snow can collect on the bed 30 when it is not loaded with pallets 50. Moreover, the pallets 50 can be larger since no fixed portion of the bed 30 is devoted to aisles.
- 10 Further contributing to the reduced wei~ht of the bed 30, yet high strength thereof, is the hollow, box-like construction of the beams 31, 33 and 34 and the hollow tube construction of the center beam 32. To prevent cor-rosion, these beams may be coated on their interior by a suitable oil.
Located in the channel defined by the cross member 64, at each end thereof, is a latching mechanism 70 tsee Fig. 7 specifically).
The latching mechanism 70 includes a pair of longitudinally spaced-apart bushings 71 and 72 welded to the web 65 of the cross member 64. Recipro-cally carried by the bushings 71 and 72 is a bolt 73 having an outer end 74 which is rounded as shown. The bolt 73 is movable between a latching condition, illustrated in Fig. 7 , and an unlatching condition when it is retracted as shown in Fig. 8. A sleeve 75 is fixedly mounted on the bolt 73 near the end 74 of the bolt 73. A spring 76 in compression is carried by the bolt 73 between the bushing 71 and the sleeve 75, thereby urging the bolt 73 outwardly to its latching condition.
There is also provided an actuator 80 associated with each of the latching mechanisms 70, the actuator 80 including a pair of spaced-apart rails 81 arranged at an incline, so that the gideway defined by the rails 81 is also inclined. A carriage plate ~2 has a thickness approxi-mating the thickness of the rails 81. The plate 82 has a width slightly less than the distance between the rails 81 and is slidably disposed there-~ between. A strip 83 is welded to the inner surface of the carriage plate - 82 and has a length so as to protrude outwardly from the sides thereof.
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The uppermost corner 84 of the strip 83 defines a shoulder which is capable of abuting against the upper flange 66 of the cross mem-ber 64. The lowermost corner 85 of the strip 83 also defines a shoulder which is adapted to abut against the lower flange 66 of the cross ~ember 64. Thus, the corners 84 and 85 limit movement of the carriage plate 82.
Welded to the lower end of the carriage plate 82 is a diverter 86 which is an elongated member being V-shaped in transverse cross section. The lower - surface 87 of the diverter 86 constitutes a diverting surface to guidP the fork 88 of the lift truck to a position beneath the carriage plate 82. The l -outer surface of the carriage plate 82 in the upper region thereof may - have warning indicia 89 which may take the form of a red paint, for example.
Such indicia apprise the operator of the condition of the latching mechanism 70, as will be described.
- There is also provided a link ~0 which, in the embodiment ! being described, takes the form of a substantially rectangular plate having welded to opposite sides thereof a pair of depending pins 91. One of the pins 9I is rotatably received in a hole in the inner end of the bolt 73, and the other of the pins 91 is rotatably received in a hole in the strip 83 adjacent to the corner 84 thereof. The outer ends of the pins 91 may be -peened to provide a permanent connection.
- Turning now specifically to Fig. 7, the manner of operation of each latching mechanism 70 will be described. The bolt 73 is illustrated as being in a latching condition, that is, the end 74 protrudes outwardly - and through the keeper 45 in one side wall 42 of the adjacent divider 40.
The action of the spring 76 urges the sleeve 75 outwardly with respect to the bushing 71, thereby biasing such bolt 73 to such latching condition.
Tlle engagement of the shoulder defined by the corner 85 of the strip 83 with the lower flange 66 limits the outward movement of the bolt 73. The latch- L
ing mechanism 70 on the right-hand side of the pallet 50 illustrated in Fig. 7 is similarly in its latching condition.
The spacing between adjacent struts 56 of a pallet 50 is sub-stantially greater than the width of the fork 88 of a lift truck, and also _9_ 06~68~
the two diverters 86 of a pallet 50 are respectively spaced apart a distance corresponding to the usual dis~ance between a pair of forks on a lift truck, Accordingly, a lift truck 20 may approach the pallet 50 and insert its forks 88 into the space between adjacent pairs of struts 56 as illustrated. After the operator aligns the forks 88 with the space between the bottom of the diverter 86 and the slats 53 - 55, he drives forwardly and then causes the forks 88 to be raised. If he strikes the diverting surface 87 of the diverter 86, the forks 88 will be guided to a position beneath the diverter 86, as illustrated in Fig. 9, and/or the diverter ~6 will be raised to accomodate the insertion of the forks 88.
The distance between adjacent struts 56 is selected to insure that as long as the operator aligns his forks 88 therebetween, they will be in position to engage a substantial portion of the diverter 86, and he need not bac~
up to align the forks 88 more nearly in the middle of adjacent struts 56.
Thus, it can be seen that the distance between adjacent struts 56 and the ,~ use of the diverter 86 facilitates placement of the forks 88 in position with a minimum amount of effort and time expended by the operator. Also noteworthy is the fact that the forks 88 need not enter straight - they can enter at an angle with respect to the horizontal or the vertical.
Once the forks 88 are in the position illustrated in Fig. 7, the latching mechanism 70 may be unlatched.
Turning now to Fig. 8, the details as to the manner in which - each latching mechanism 70 is unlatched will be explained. The -~perator - causes the forks 88 to be raised, thereby causing the carriage plate 82 to move upwardly and toward the right (the left-hand mechanism moves to the left) in accordance with the guide-way of the rails 81. Such upward motion is limited by virtue of the corner 84 engaging the upper flange 6~
of the cross member 63. The link 90 is thus caused to rotate counterclock-wise, as illustrated in Fig. 8, to retract the bolt 73 along the bushings 71 and 72. This action is performed against the biasing furnished by the spring 76. The bolt 73 is, therefore, placed in its unlatching con-dition, that is, it is withdrawn from the keeper 45 in the divider 40.

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6S68~L
The other fork 88 of the lift truck will perform in a substantially iden-tical fashion in respect to the latching mechanism on the other side of the pallet 50. The pallet 50 may then be taken off of the bed 30 and trans-ported by the lift truck to its intended destination. It is to be under-stood, however, that the above-described unlatching procedure can be per-formed in one fluid motion, that is, the operator is able to insert the forks 88 of his lift truck readily as previously explained, whereupon he causes the forks 88 to be raised, causing the latching mechanisms 70 to be- ~-come unlatched, whereupon the forks 88 are free to raise the pallets 50.
It should be appreciated that the unlatching procedure is completely auto-matic. The forklift truck operator need only cause insertion of the forks 88 of his lift truck into appropriate spaces in the pallet 50 and then cause the forks 88 to be raised in the usual way. The latching mechanisms 70 are automatically unlocked with no further steps required of the operator.
In loading a pallet 50 onto the bed 30 of the vehicle 20, the lift truck approaches the pallet 50 so that its forks 88 are aligned witl the appropriate spaces oetween adjacent struts 56. The forks 88 are then caused to be inserted, which is accomplished readily and rapidly in accord-ance with the previous description on this point. The operator causes the forks 88 to raise in preparation for transporting the pallet 50 to the vehicle bed 30. Again, as previously described, the simple elevatlon of the forks 88 causes both latching mechanisms 70 automatically to unlock without any further actions required of the operator. The operator then drives the lift truck to the vehicle 20 to place it on the bed 30 thereof.
- Referring to Fig. 12, a preferred procedure of loading the pallet 50 will now be described. The operator chooses a bay 47 in which to deposit the pallet 50 and then roughly aligns the pallet 50 horizontally. The operator then causes the mast of the lift truck to tilt forwardly, thereby placing the pallet 50 at an acute angle with respect to the vehicle bed 30. The lift truck then moves forwardly until the inner end of the plate 52 rests on the center beam 32. Such forward motion is limited by virtue of the inner ends of the struts 57 and the side walls 58 engaging the side of the .
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~ 1065681 center beam 3Z. Then, the forks 88 are caused to be lowered until the pal-let 50 rests on the bed 30.
When the pallet 50 is delivered into the selected bay 47 at such acute angle, the leading element is the inner slat 53. The length of that slat is substantially less than the clistance between the cross beams 33. For example, the length of the slat 53 may be about 41 inches and the distance between the beams 33, 46 inches, thus allowing a tolerance of about 5 inches. If the operator is misaligned to the left, for example, by as much as 5 inches in the example illustrated, the side wall 58 on the left side of the pallet 50 will engage the beam 33 which because of the inclin-- ation of such side wall, will guide the pallet 50 downwardly and to the right as the pallet 50 is lowered by the lift truck, until the innermost end of the plate 52 rests on the center beam 32, whereupon the pallet 50 may be rotated as previously described in respect to Fig. 12 to seat the pallet 50, in its bay 47. As the pallet 50 is being lowered the side wall 58 may con-tinue to engage the left-hand beam 33. The portion of the left side wall 58 near the outer end of the pallet 50 may engage the left hand divider 40, and thereby guide the pallet 50 more to the right and seat it in the position illustrated. Of course, if the pallet 50 is misaligned to the right, a corresponding series of events will take place to move the pallet 50 to the left by virtue of the engagement by the right-hand side wall 58 with the adjacent beam 33 and the adjacent right-hand divider 40.
It should be noted that the width of the pallet 50 in the region of the leading end, that is, the slat 53, is substantially narrower than the width of the pallet 50 in the region of the trailing end, that is, ;
the length of the fence 60. As an example, the le~cing end defined by the slat 53 may be 41 inches in length and the width of the trailing end may be - 50 inches in length or about 4~ inches wider on each side.
Thus, the operator of the lift truck needs to be moderately careful in a]igning the pallet 50 in the chosen bay, since alignment of the pallet 50 in the chosen bay 47 is substantially automatic.

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` ~065~8il Because the forks 88 hold the latching mechanism 70 in theirunlatched condition, the pallet may then be finally dropped lnto place.
When the outer slat 54 is resting on the side beam 31, the operator causes the forks 88 to be withdrawn, whereupon the biasing furnished by the sprlngs 76 urge the bolts 73 outwardly and into the aligned keepers 45, thereby latching the latching mechanisms 70 and securing the pallet 50 in place.
The motion of the bolt 73 is transmitted by the respective links 90 to the actuators 80, so that they are returned to the positions illustrated in Fig. 7. The forks 88 are thereafter withdrawn, after the pallets 50 have been locked into place until they are later removed as previously described.
It should be appreciated that the latching procedure is completely automatic. "3 '' The fork-lift truck operator need only cause withdrawal of the forks 88 of the lift truck out of the pallet 50. The latching mechanisms 70 are auto-matically locked with no further steps required of the operator.
- As is best seen in Fig. 10, the bottom end of the posts 61 and the outer slat 54 secured thereto are disposed inwardly of the abutment 46.
Accordingly, the abutment 46 serves as an additional stop to preclude move-ment of the pallet outwardly even if the latching mechanism 70 should fail to latch. In this regard, the warning indicia 89 at the top of eacll carriage plate 82 is very apparent if ihe latching mechanism 70 is not latched. If the operator, upon making a cursory examination, sees any of the warning indicia 89 protruding, he will realize that the associated latching mechanism 70 is - unlatched and he can correct the problem.
Referring to Fig. 11, the pallet 50 may be loaded into the -~ chosen bay 47 by approaching it at a much smaller angle. The lift truck moves forwardly to carry the pallet 50 toward the center beam 32. If the pallet 50 were misaligned to the left, the guide surface 62 on the left-- handpost 61 would strike the outer end of a divider 40 which would shift the pallet 50 to the right and thereby align the pallet 50. Alternatively, if the pallet 50 were misaligned to the right, the guide surface 62 on the right-hand post 61 would strike the adjacent divider 40 and shift the pallet :

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d ~ 5681 50 to the left, thereby aligning the sa~e. The pallet can then be pushed rearwardly by the lift truck until the inner end of the plate 52 rests on the center beam 32, whereupon the front of the pallet 50 can be lowered and seated on the bed 30, all as previously described. Although, preferred methods of loading the vehicle 20 have been described it is to be understood that other methods can be employed.
While the above description refers to pallets consisting of a platform and a fence, it is to be understood that various other kinds of article carriers may be employed. For example, a simple pallet with no fence may be utilized in a particular environment. Also, the article car-riers may be containers which have a base incorporating the features of the present invention. The loader-unloader may be something other than a lift j`
truck; for example it could be a crane having suitable structure to perform in accordance with the features of the present invention. Of course, the description of tanks with pressuri~ed gas is merely exemplary -articles of almost any type can be transported. Also, the locking structure is merely an example of a variety of mechanisms which could be employed and still in-corporate the feature of automatic operation. The beams 31, 32, 33, and 34 need not have a hollow box-like shape; for example, th2y could be extrusions.
The vehicle 20 may be provided with a deck at its rear end that can be raised and lowered. Such a deck would be used to remove fewer tanks than are carried by a single pallet. For example, one customer may require one or two or three tanks in which case it is more practical to loosen the chain 67 and remove the requisite number of tanks, roll them onto the deck, lower the deck, and roll the tanks to their destination.
~~ The fact that the pallets 50 themselves create the floor for the vehicle 20 is particularly important in this regard where the tanks must be rolled on such floor. Because the plates 52 are relatively thin, for example, three-sixteenths inches, the space between longitudinally ad-jacent pallets 50 is not critical.
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It is believed that the invention, its mode of construction and assembly, and many of its advantages should be raadily understood from the foregoing without further description, and it should also be manifest that, while the preferred embodiment of the invention has been shown and described for illustrative purposes, structural details, are, nevertheless, capable of wide variation within the purview of the invention as described in the appended claims.

This application is a divisional application of Application Serial No. 247,097, filed March 4, 1976.

Claims (3)

1. A transporting system comprising a load-supporting bed forming part of a vehicle, said bed having a pair of longitudinally extending sides and a pair of laterally extending ends, said bed including longitudinally extending beams and laterally extending beams so as to be of substantially open con-struction, a plurality of longitudinally spaced-apart dividers on said bed adjacent to said sides and arranged to divide said bed into a plurality of bays, a corresponding plurality of pallets arranged to be carried by a loader-unloader respectively into and out of said bays, each of said pallets including an article-supporting plate which has a substantially flat outer surface, the outer surfaces respectively of said pallets being substan-tially coplanar so as to define substantially the entire floor upon which one may walk and upon which articles may be disposed, there being no dividers on said bed on the interior thereof so that the floor defined by said pallets is not interrupted by dividers, and a plurality of latching mechanisms on said dividers and respectively on said pallets and each having a latching condition to secure the associated pallet in the associated bay and having an unlatching condition to enable such pallet to be removed from its bay.

2. The transporting system set forth in claim 1, wherein said longitudinally extending beams are welded to adja-cent laterally extending beams.

3. The transporting system set forth in claim 1, wherein said beams have closed hollow cross sections.