EP0957039A1 - Cadre rapporté d'une seule pièce - Google Patents

Cadre rapporté d'une seule pièce Download PDF

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Publication number
EP0957039A1
EP0957039A1 EP98201572A EP98201572A EP0957039A1 EP 0957039 A1 EP0957039 A1 EP 0957039A1 EP 98201572 A EP98201572 A EP 98201572A EP 98201572 A EP98201572 A EP 98201572A EP 0957039 A1 EP0957039 A1 EP 0957039A1
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
top frame
unitary top
rectangular frame
frames
plastic profile
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Withdrawn
Application number
EP98201572A
Other languages
German (de)
English (en)
Inventor
Maurice J. Pigott
Peter S. Pigott
Schuyler F. Pigott
Brandon L. Pigott
Michel Trapp
Eric Stofferis
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Nucon Europe NV
Nv Injextru Plastics
Original Assignee
Nucon Europe NV
Nv Injextru Plastics
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Nucon Europe NV, Nv Injextru Plastics filed Critical Nucon Europe NV
Priority to EP98201572A priority Critical patent/EP0957039A1/fr
Priority to PCT/EP1999/003260 priority patent/WO1999058420A1/fr
Priority to AU41422/99A priority patent/AU4142299A/en
Publication of EP0957039A1 publication Critical patent/EP0957039A1/fr
Withdrawn legal-status Critical Current

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Classifications

    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
    • B65D—CONTAINERS FOR STORAGE OR TRANSPORT OF ARTICLES OR MATERIALS, e.g. BAGS, BARRELS, BOTTLES, BOXES, CANS, CARTONS, CRATES, DRUMS, JARS, TANKS, HOPPERS, FORWARDING CONTAINERS; ACCESSORIES, CLOSURES, OR FITTINGS THEREFOR; PACKAGING ELEMENTS; PACKAGES
    • B65D71/00—Bundles of articles held together by packaging elements for convenience of storage or transport, e.g. portable segregating carrier for plural receptacles such as beer cans or pop bottles; Bales of material
    • B65D71/0088—Palletisable loads, i.e. loads intended to be transported by means of a fork-lift truck
    • B65D71/0092—Palletisable loads, i.e. loads intended to be transported by means of a fork-lift truck provided with one or more rigid supports, at least one dimension of the supports corresponding to a dimension of the load, e.g. skids
    • B65D71/0096—Palletisable loads, i.e. loads intended to be transported by means of a fork-lift truck provided with one or more rigid supports, at least one dimension of the supports corresponding to a dimension of the load, e.g. skids the dimensions of the supports corresponding to the periphery of the load, e.g. pallets
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
    • B65D—CONTAINERS FOR STORAGE OR TRANSPORT OF ARTICLES OR MATERIALS, e.g. BAGS, BARRELS, BOTTLES, BOXES, CANS, CARTONS, CRATES, DRUMS, JARS, TANKS, HOPPERS, FORWARDING CONTAINERS; ACCESSORIES, CLOSURES, OR FITTINGS THEREFOR; PACKAGING ELEMENTS; PACKAGES
    • B65D2571/00—Bundles of articles held together by packaging elements for convenience of storage or transport, e.g. portable segregating carrier for plural receptacles such as beer cans, pop bottles; Bales of material
    • B65D2571/00006—Palletisable loads, i.e. loads intended to be transported by means of a fork-lift truck
    • B65D2571/00055—Clapping elements, also placed on the side

Definitions

  • the invention relates to frames used in conjunction with pallets, and more in particular to top frame or protective cover devices for use on top of goods resting on a pallet.
  • the goods on the pallet may thus be more properly protected or more adequately held together and a further pallet may be placed on top of such top frame.
  • US patent 5,160,029 describes a moulded plastic unitary top frame which has a substantially flat first surface and a second surface with a reinforcement structure projecting outwardly.
  • US patent 5,577,608 discloses a protective cover for palletized materials which includes a first and a second member of laminated paper composite, each comprising two hinged legs having a substantially L-shaped profile, which two members are assembled into a rectangular frame.
  • top frames of the known art present a number of drawbacks in that they are still rather difficult to manufacture and/or still rather heavy, or that they are insufficiently durable and/or not sufficiently easily reversible, and that at least some of their surfaces are non-smooth which becomes less and less acceptable in view of increasingly stringent requirements in respect of hygiene and dirt-proofness.
  • top frames which avoid these drawbacks of the known devices and which are more appropriate in respect of weight, durability, reversability and ease of manufacture, as well as a simplified process for producing such top frames from intermediate elements that are easy and cheap to manufacture.
  • the invention provides a plastic unitary top frame for use with palletized goods, comprising substantially parallel side members and substantially parallel end members substantially perpendicular to said side members, forming a rectangular frame, wherein said side and end members and said rectangular frame have a substantially flat upper surface and a substantially flat lower surface.
  • the completely closed and smooth surface of the top frames according to the invention provide a considerable progress in respect of cleanlyness and cleanability of the frames, and in view of the very strict hygiene requirements in the food industry in particular.
  • the side and/or end members of the unitary top frame comprise anti-slip devices on at least one of their flat surfaces.
  • anti-slip device may suitably be selected from anti-slip strips (such as adhesive anti-slip strips), anti-slip dots or bumps (sticked or otherwise attached to the frame surface), mechanical locking means (such as rims or ribs, interlocking dovetail means, etc), or any device, provided to the surface of the side and/or end members of the unitary top frames, which prevents said unitary frames from slipping away from the goods on a pallet on top of which the frames are placed, and/or from slipping away from each other when piled up on each other, or which may even hold the frames together (in case of appropriate mechanical locking means).
  • anti-slip strips such as adhesive anti-slip strips
  • anti-slip dots or bumps sticked or otherwise attached to the frame surface
  • mechanical locking means such as rims or ribs, interlocking dovetail means, etc
  • said side and end members of the unitary top frame are made up of portions of extruded hollow plastic profile having a flat upper surface and a flat lower surface, assembled into a rectangular frame with a substantially flat upper and lower surface.
  • the extruded hollow plastic profile will in particular, in accordance with the invention, comprise one or more continuous strips of soft anti-slip material, co ⁇ xtruded with the extruded profile on at least one of its flat surfaces, i.e. only on the upper surface, or only on the lowe surface, or on both surfaces.
  • the extruded plastic profile may consist of one or more thermoplastic materials selected from rigid PVC, acrylonitril-butadiene-styrene polymers (ABS), polypropylene (PP), reinforced polypropylene (R-PP), high density polyethylene (HDPE), polystyrene (PS), acrylonitril-styrene-acrylesters (ASA), polycarbonate (PC), polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA), polyphenyleneoxide (PPO), ABS-Polycarbonate blends, and similar materials.
  • Particularly suitable materials comprise PVC, PP, R-PP, HDPE, ABS, PC, ABS/PC-blends.
  • Most preferred materials are rigid PVC ("hard” PVC) including recycled PVC, polypropylene, talc-reinforced PP, HDPE and/or ABS.
  • the co ⁇ xtruded soft anti-slip strip may consist of one or more thermoplastic materials selected from soft PVC, low density polyethylene (LDPE), thermoplastic polyurethane (PU), ethylene-vinylacetate copolymer (EVA), thermoplastic elastomer (TPE), vulcanised elastomers such as vulcanised TP, and similar types of polymers.
  • thermoplastic materials selected from soft PVC, low density polyethylene (LDPE), thermoplastic polyurethane (PU), ethylene-vinylacetate copolymer (EVA), thermoplastic elastomer (TPE), vulcanised elastomers such as vulcanised TP, and similar types of polymers.
  • Particularly suitable materials comprise ultra high molecular weight soft PVC (UHMW S PVC), PU-rubber (PUR), EVA, and/or TPE. Most preferred materials are PUR, EVA, TPE and vulcanised TP.
  • the extruded plastic profile may suitably comprise inner reinforcement ribs, in particular longitudinal inner reinforcement ribs.
  • the extruded hollow plastic profile may furthermore very suitably comprise at least one rounded side rim, used as the inner rim of the assembled rectangular frame.
  • a rounded inner rim of the top frame is very appropriate for using (more or less conventionnal) automated mechanical means for liftig the top covers.
  • the extruded hollow plastic profile may also comprise a flattening or downward lip (or flush) along one side rim, used as the outer rim of the assembled rectangular frame.
  • a flattening or downward lip or flush can be very convenient for applying identification tapes or name indications.
  • a downward extending lip may also assist in hitching the frames into each other when piling them up for separate transport.
  • the extruded plastic profiles may be attached to one another in one of several ways. Attachment may be by heat welding, sonic welding, conventional fasteners or with separate corner members. Such corner members would include corner members made of thermoplastic material which fit into the extruded profile, at the corners of the rectangular frame, with or without supplementary welding or glueing. All external sides of the corner members have a closed surface.
  • the material for such corner part may suitably be selected from soft PVC, low density polyethylene (LDPE), thermoplastic polyurethane (PU), ethylene-vinylacetate copolymer (EVA), thermoplastic elastomer (TPE), vulcanised elastomers such as vulcanised TP, and similar types of polymers.
  • LDPE low density polyethylene
  • PU thermoplastic polyurethane
  • EVA ethylene-vinylacetate copolymer
  • TPE thermoplastic elastomer
  • vulcanised elastomers such as vulcanised TP, and similar types of polymers.
  • the inner and/or outer rims of the frame may be adapted to allow mechanical lifting of the frames.
  • at least one portion of the upper surface of the frames is sufficiently smooth to allow pneumatic lifting of the frames, and/or the frames are provided at their upper surface with metal plates to allow magnetic lifting of the frames.
  • the invention also provides a process for manufacturing unitary top frames for use with palletized goods, by asssembling side and end members having a substantially flat upper surface into a rectangular frame, wherein portions of extruded hollow plastic profile having a flat upper surface and a flat lower surface are assembled into a rectangular frame.
  • portions of plastic profile may, in accordance with the invention, be welded together at the corners of the rectangular frame, or they may be assembled by means of corner members fitting into the profile ends at the corners of the rectangular frame.
  • the extruded hollow plastic profiles used for the manufacturing process of this invention may be any type of flat hollow plastic profile with closed surface. Profiles showing the features described above in setting forth the preferred top frame devices according to the invention are preferred.
  • Metal plates/strips can be secured to the upper surfaces of the profiles. This can be accomplished by direct adhesion, material permitting, or by channels build into the upper surface of the profile.
  • the profile can be extruded with a longitudinal channel, e.g., dovetail mortise, formed into the upper surface.
  • a longitudinal metal plaste can thus be slid into the channel and secured into place by either conventional means, such as rivets, or friction.
  • FIG. 1 shows a first preferred embodiment of a top frame according to the invention, designated as a whole with reference numeral 1.
  • the top frame 1 is made up of four portions of an extruded hollow plastic profile (shown in cross section at 10 and more in detail on figure 2) constituting the two parallel "side" members 2, 3 and the two parallel "end” members 4, 5 of the rectangular frame.
  • the profile shows a rounded side rim 6 on the inner rim of the rectangular frame, and a flattened side rim 7 on the outer rim of the rectangular frame.
  • the flattened side rims shown in figure 1 are provided with name and date indications 13.
  • the profile of the example is furthermore provided with two strips 8, 9 of soft anti-slip material at the upper surface 14 of the frame and with two strips 11, 12 of soft anti-slip material at the lower surface of the frame.
  • the two strips 8, 9 of soft anti-slip material at the upper surface of the frame and two strips 11, 12 of soft anti-slip material at the lower surface of the frame are attached to the frame by coextrusion, by a separate heat sealing process or by employing an adhesive.
  • the upper strips 8, 9 are not vertically aligned with the lower strips 11, 12.
  • the strips will not contact one another. More particularly, the strips will not adversely affect the alignment and seating of abutting frames; rather the strips will form parallel stops or bumpers reducing slippage between abutting frames.
  • Appropriate results may however also be achieved by suitably providing the anti-slip devices on only the upper surface of the frames, for instance.
  • the cross section of the profile (represented at 10 on figure 1 and more in detail on figure 2) shows the closed surface of the profile consisting of the flat surfaces 14 (upper) and 15 (lower), and the longitudinal reinforcing ribs.
  • top frame Another preferred embodiment of a top frame according to the invention is designated as a whole with reference numeral 1 on figure 3.
  • the top frame shown on this figure comprises a downward lip 17.
  • the cross section of the profile used for this embodiment of the top frame is represented at 10 on figure 3 and in more detail on figure 4. All other parts and details of the top frame shown on figures 3 and 4 correspond to those shown on figures 1 and 2 and are designated with the same referense numerals.
  • the downward lip 17 shown in the profile of Figure 4 is extruded of the same material and with the rest of the profile.
  • the lip 17 can be removed (by cutting) and recycled if the lip is not desired.
  • the extruder's die configuration can also be changed so that one die produces an extruded profile with a lip and one without a lip.
  • the Figures show the rounded side rim 6 on the inner rim of the rectangular frame and a flattened side rim 7 on the outer rim of the rectangular frame it is appreciated that during construction of the frame, these rims may be reversed if so desired.
  • the roundel side rim 6 can be the outer rim of the rectangular frame and the flattened side rim 7 can be the inner rim of the rectangular frame.

Landscapes

  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
  • Pallets (AREA)
EP98201572A 1998-05-12 1998-05-12 Cadre rapporté d'une seule pièce Withdrawn EP0957039A1 (fr)

Priority Applications (3)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
EP98201572A EP0957039A1 (fr) 1998-05-12 1998-05-12 Cadre rapporté d'une seule pièce
PCT/EP1999/003260 WO1999058420A1 (fr) 1998-05-12 1999-05-07 Cadre superieur unitaire
AU41422/99A AU4142299A (en) 1998-05-12 1999-05-07 Unitary top frame

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
EP98201572A EP0957039A1 (fr) 1998-05-12 1998-05-12 Cadre rapporté d'une seule pièce

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
EP0957039A1 true EP0957039A1 (fr) 1999-11-17

Family

ID=8233717

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
EP98201572A Withdrawn EP0957039A1 (fr) 1998-05-12 1998-05-12 Cadre rapporté d'une seule pièce

Country Status (3)

Country Link
EP (1) EP0957039A1 (fr)
AU (1) AU4142299A (fr)
WO (1) WO1999058420A1 (fr)

Cited By (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
WO2002034640A1 (fr) * 2000-09-29 2002-05-02 Materials Handling Systems Australia Pty Limited Systeme d'empilage
EP1320490A1 (fr) * 2000-05-22 2003-06-25 Rehrig Pacific Company Cadre superieur
US6644219B2 (en) 1998-07-01 2003-11-11 Rehrig Pacific Company Pallet assembly
WO2022140738A1 (fr) * 2020-12-23 2022-06-30 Orbis Corporation Cadre supérieur ayant des éléments de verrouillage

Citations (8)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
FR2111680A1 (fr) * 1970-10-17 1972-06-09 Basf Ag
DE2837659A1 (de) * 1978-08-29 1980-03-06 Zewawell Ag & Co Kg Verpackungseinheit aus mehreren uebereinander angeordneten schichten aus gegenstaenden, insbesondere dosen o.dgl.
GB2036912A (en) * 1978-09-04 1980-07-02 Lb Ltd Window Frame
US4840824A (en) * 1986-10-14 1989-06-20 Ferodo, Inc. Stairtread facings and a co-extrusion method for their manufacture
EP0405852A1 (fr) * 1989-06-23 1991-01-02 Signode Corporation Emballage empilable compact pour rouleaux de tissus
US5160029A (en) * 1990-11-16 1992-11-03 Nucon Corporation Unitary top frame
FR2689999A1 (fr) * 1992-04-13 1993-10-15 Chibane Smail Objet destiné à la publicité et à la décoration intérieure.
WO1996012863A1 (fr) * 1994-10-19 1996-05-02 Andersen Corporation Structure d'assemblage et son procede de production

Family Cites Families (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3917066A (en) 1973-03-22 1975-11-04 Nosco Plastics Palletized load with compression frame
GB2280654A (en) * 1993-07-26 1995-02-08 Kenneth Stephen Eddin Orpen Lightweight pressure frame for securing stacks of articles
US5577608A (en) 1995-08-07 1996-11-26 Great Northern Corporation Protective cover for palletized materials and method

Patent Citations (8)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
FR2111680A1 (fr) * 1970-10-17 1972-06-09 Basf Ag
DE2837659A1 (de) * 1978-08-29 1980-03-06 Zewawell Ag & Co Kg Verpackungseinheit aus mehreren uebereinander angeordneten schichten aus gegenstaenden, insbesondere dosen o.dgl.
GB2036912A (en) * 1978-09-04 1980-07-02 Lb Ltd Window Frame
US4840824A (en) * 1986-10-14 1989-06-20 Ferodo, Inc. Stairtread facings and a co-extrusion method for their manufacture
EP0405852A1 (fr) * 1989-06-23 1991-01-02 Signode Corporation Emballage empilable compact pour rouleaux de tissus
US5160029A (en) * 1990-11-16 1992-11-03 Nucon Corporation Unitary top frame
FR2689999A1 (fr) * 1992-04-13 1993-10-15 Chibane Smail Objet destiné à la publicité et à la décoration intérieure.
WO1996012863A1 (fr) * 1994-10-19 1996-05-02 Andersen Corporation Structure d'assemblage et son procede de production

Cited By (7)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US6644219B2 (en) 1998-07-01 2003-11-11 Rehrig Pacific Company Pallet assembly
EP1320490A1 (fr) * 2000-05-22 2003-06-25 Rehrig Pacific Company Cadre superieur
US6651815B1 (en) 2000-05-22 2003-11-25 Rehrig Pacific Company Top frame assembly
US6983846B2 (en) 2000-05-22 2006-01-10 Rehrig Pacific Company Top frame assembly
EP1320490A4 (fr) * 2000-05-22 2009-04-01 Rehrig Pacific Co Cadre superieur
WO2002034640A1 (fr) * 2000-09-29 2002-05-02 Materials Handling Systems Australia Pty Limited Systeme d'empilage
WO2022140738A1 (fr) * 2020-12-23 2022-06-30 Orbis Corporation Cadre supérieur ayant des éléments de verrouillage

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
WO1999058420A1 (fr) 1999-11-18
AU4142299A (en) 1999-11-29

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