EP0681965B1 - Merchandise support - Google Patents

Abstract

The goods carrier has a flat base surface (5) of the size of a standard pallet (2), around which are arranged vertically directed side surfaces (3,4). The side surfaces formed as one-piece with the base surface engage directly and telescopically in one another, whereby at least one of the side surfaces of the goods carrier is directed downwards. Corner guides are provided which engage in a goods carrier following in a vertical direction. The side surfaces have view windows. <IMAGE>

Description

The invention relates to a goods carrier with a flat bottom surface corresponding to the size of a standard pallet and circumferential, essentially vertically directed side surfaces.

Pallets have increasingly been used to combine transport units and their easy transportation for around 30 years, which in particular enables unloaded transport and an improvement in storage technology. When using a pallet as a flat pallet, which according to the standard has a size of 80 x 120 cm, the goods, for example cans or hard packs, are stacked on the pallet up to a height of approximately one meter. To secure it, either straps are then pulled over the goods or films are often wrapped around the entire pallet today, so that a stable unit is created.

Although transport and storage are unproblematic in this way, handling problems arise when emptying the pallet. To do this, the straps or foils used must first be removed from the pallet so that the goods are accessible. There are also disposal problems for the foils. Furthermore, there is the problem that the goods have to be removed from the pallet in layers and z. B. must be transferred to other sales areas when sold in a department store by other means of transport. If the goods are permanently transferred to the sales area on the pallet, the straps or films can only be removed in the sales room, so that problems with the disposal of the films or tether straps arise. The exempted stack of goods is also sensitive to the side impact of shopping carts, so that only certain goods can be placed on a pallet in a sales area as a stack of goods.

The invention is based on the object of specifying a goods carrier which, in conjunction with a pallet, enables the goods to be transported safely, does not require any disposal effort, and enables easy access to the goods. The invention relates to the use of such a product carrier.

This object is achieved by an article carrier according to the invention as claimed in claim 1.

The following advantages of the invention result. Since each product carrier is hood-shaped, it overlaps the side surfaces of the product carrier located below it in such a way that its vertical position is defined by the product arranged on the lower product carrier. There is therefore no free space between the goods and the goods carrier, so that the total height of the goods stack is determined by the number of layers of goods stacked one on top of the other plus the commuted thickness of the floor surfaces of the goods carriers plus the height of the pallet. The telescopically interlocking side surfaces of the goods carriers offer lateral guidance, so that an additional side stabilization of the goods stack is not necessary. The side surfaces also offer protection of the goods, so that the risk of damage to the side packaging or bottles is considerably reduced. The vertical position of a goods carrier results directly from the height of the stacked goods, so that the position of the goods carrier adjusts itself automatically without its function being impaired.

The entire stack of goods can be used directly as a sales area, since after the uppermost product carrier has been removed, the uppermost layer of a product can easily be removed from the next product carrier. As soon as the layer is completely removed, the next goods carrier is removed, so that the next layer of goods is immediately accessible. This has the advantage that each layer must be completely removed before the next product carrier can be removed. This effectively prevents goods from being removed from an intermediate layer and does not endanger the stability of the stack of goods.

The side surfaces of the product carrier can all be directed exclusively downwards from the base surface, so that there is a flat, laterally free base surface from which the product can be removed from all sides. However, it is also possible that at least one of the side faces is only directed upwards from the bottom face and the other side faces are only directed downwards. Therefore, if two sides face up and two sides face down, unhindered access from two sides of the stack of goods is possible. This not only has advantages for the removal of the goods, but also allows easier loading of the goods carrier, since this is usually done by pushing the goods on from the side.

To avoid canting of goods carriers placed one on top of the other, corner guides can also be provided, each of which is designed to engage in a goods carrier that follows in the vertical direction. By using such corner guides, the tolerance of the overlapping side surfaces can be increased.

The side surfaces can also have viewing windows to enable customers to immediately see the contents of the stack of goods.

To build up a stack of goods on a pallet, a goods carrier is preferably placed on a first layer of goods arranged on the pallet and a further layer of goods is applied to this goods carrier. The goods carriers and layers are then alternately arranged in height until the specified total height is reached. To secure the stack, one or two straps can still be used.

A stack of goods built up with the product carriers according to the invention on a pallet can be used directly as a sales area, since the top product carrier in each case forms a flat base area.

The invention makes it possible to simplify the construction of a stack of goods, since the finished stack of goods does not require any additional security measures, such as film wrapping. This also eliminates the need to dispose of the film at the place where the pallet is emptied.

The product carrier according to the invention is particularly suitable for the transport and storage of cans, hard packs and bottles. To secure the mutual position of bottles, the base of a product carrier can be structured in a grid-like manner or special inserts provided with grid-like openings can be used, which Have the advantage that the product carrier itself is only required in a single embodiment.

Although it is provided that the size of a product carrier corresponds to the size of a pallet, it can also be provided that two or more smaller product carriers share the area of a pallet.

Fig. 1

einen fertiggestellten Warenstapel mit auf einer Palette aufgesetzten Warenträgern,

Fig. 2

eine Anordnung zur Darstellung der Beladung einer Palette,

Fig. 3

eine Seitenansicht zur Darstellung der Beladung einer Palette,

Fig. 4

eine Ausführungsform eines Warenstapels mit Warenträgern,

Fig. 5

eine alternative Ausführungsform von Fig. 4,

Fig. 6

eine Darstellung eines Warenträgers oberhalb einer Palette, und

Fig. 7

eine Darstellung eines alternativen Warenträgers oberhalb einer Palette.

The invention is explained in more detail below using an exemplary embodiment. Show it.

Fig. 1

a finished stack of goods with goods carriers placed on a pallet,

Fig. 2

an arrangement for displaying the loading of a pallet,

Fig. 3

a side view to show the loading of a pallet,

Fig. 4

one embodiment of a stack of goods with product carriers,

Fig. 5

an alternative embodiment of Fig. 4,

Fig. 6

a representation of a goods carrier above a pallet, and

Fig. 7

a representation of an alternative goods carrier above a pallet.

The arrangement shown in Fig. 1 shows a stack of goods 1, which is built on a pallet 2. A lower goods carrier is placed on the pallet 2, which has a flat bottom surface 5 and four side areas 4 with a first mutual distance, to which four hood areas 3 connect with a second mutual distance. The distances are chosen such that the hood areas 3 of goods carriers stacked one above the other can each be fitted onto the side areas 4 of an underlying goods carrier. The height of the hood areas corresponds approximately to the height of the side areas, so that the vertical distance between two product carriers is approximately equal to the height of the side or. Hood areas can be changed without the telescopic engagement of two stacked goods carriers being canceled.

The lowest goods carrier overlaps the pallet. So that there is no space between the goods and the goods carrier placed over them, the height of the side areas should not be greater than the height of the goods. The goods carrier is made of aluminum or plastic, and its surfaces can also be designed in a lattice shape, on the one hand to save weight and on the other hand to be able to recognize the goods in the goods stack.

Fig. 2 shows an arrangement for loading a product carrier. For this purpose, the goods 7 are pushed laterally onto the bottom surface 5 of the goods carrier by means of a slide 8. At a right angle to the sliding direction, a new goods carrier 6 is fed, which is placed on the deferred layer of goods.

Fig. 3 shows the structure of a stack of goods in side view. Several goods carriers are already stacked one above the other on a pallet 2, the structure being located in a frame 9, 14. On the uppermost goods carrier 10, which covers the goods 12 of the layer underneath, the goods 7 are pushed from the side 15 from the frame 15 onto its bottom surface 13. The next following position of goods 11 is also shown.

Since the supply of the goods should take place in a single plane if possible, the stack of goods can be lowered between the stands 9, 14, so that the surface 13 of a goods carrier 10 is located in the plane of the goods supply plane.

4 shows a stack of product carriers 16 which are stacked on a pallet 2. FIG. 6 shows a single goods carrier. This has three side surfaces 18, 19, 20 which are directed vertically from the bottom surface only upwards and a side surface 25 which is directed only downwards from the bottom surface. The downward-facing side surface 25 allows the goods to be pushed laterally onto the floor surface of the goods carrier without hindrance. Furthermore, this side surface makes it easier for the goods to be removed from the side. In this case, corner guides 21-24 are provided, each of which can engage in matching guides of a product carrier arranged below, in order to achieve improved lateral stability. In this case there is no special overlap of the Side surfaces of stacked goods carriers are required, since the side surfaces here only require the function of securing the goods on the side, but not the side of the goods carriers themselves.

While FIGS. 4 and 6 have a downwardly directed side surface 25 in the broad side region, FIGS. 5 and 7 show a corresponding arrangement of a downwardly directed side surface 25 in the narrow side region.

Instead of a side surface 25 pulled down, two or three sides can also be pulled down, while the remaining sides are directed upwards. This enables multiple-sided access to the product carrier.

Reference list

1

Stack of goods

2nd

palette

3rd

Hood area

4th

Side area

5

Floor area

6

Goods carrier

7

Would

8th

Slider

9

framework

10th

Goods carrier

11

Would

12th

Would

13

Floor area

14

framework

15

frame

16

Goods carrier

17th

Goods carrier

18-20

Side faces

21-24

Telescopic supports

25th

Side surface

Claims (7)

1. Goods carrier, particularly for holding a plurality of goods of the same kind, such as boxes or suchlike, with a flat base surface (5, 13) corresponding in size to a standard pallet (2) and circumferential side surfaces (3, 4) which are of an essentially vertical alignment, the side surfaces (3, 4), which are formed as a single piece with the base surface, being realized so that two goods carriers (6, 10) stacked one on top of the other interengage directly and telescopically and at least one of the side surfaces of the goods carrier is aligned exclusively downwards.
2. Goods carrier according to Claim 1, characterized in that, starting from the base surface (5, 13), at least one of the side surfaces (3, 4) is aligned only upwards and the remaining side surfaces are aligned only downwards.
3. Goods carrier according to Claim 1, characterized in that, starting from the base surface (5, 13), all side surfaces (3, 4) of the goods carrier are aligned only downwards.
4. Goods carrier according to Claim 1, 2 or 3, characterized in that corner guides (21 - 24) are provided which are each designed to engage in a vertically successive goods carrier.
5. Goods carrier according to one of Claims 1 - 4, characterized in that the side surfaces have viewing windows.
6. Use of a goods carrier (5, 13) according to Claim 1 for the construction of a goods stack on a pallet (2), characterized in that a goods carrier is placed upon a first tier of goods disposed in one plane on the pallet and that on this goods carrier there is placed a further tier of goods, upon which are placed upwardly alternating further goods carriers and tiers of goods.
7. Use of a series of goods carriers according to Claim 1 disposed on a pallet and alternating upwards with tiers of goods, as a sales surface for the goods.

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