EP1614633A1

EP1614633A1 - Pallet provided with visual indications

Info

Publication number: EP1614633A1
Application number: EP04076953A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Francis Isenborghs
Original assignee: D W Plastics NV
Current assignee: D W Plastics NV
Priority date: 2004-07-06
Filing date: 2004-07-06
Publication date: 2006-01-11

Abstract

A pallet (1) formed of a plastic material comprises a substantially planar top deck (2) for carrying articles and support elements (3) for supporting the top deck. The support elements (3) are spaced apart so as to form openings (4) for accepting the prongs of a fork lift. The pallet is provided with visual indications (5) for indicating the openings (4) so as to avoid damage caused by an incorrect insertion of the prongs. The visual indications (5) may comprise areas of a contrasting colour on the outer surface of the support elements (3) or around the perimeter of the openings. The visual indications (5) may be fluorescent or phosphorescent.

Description

The present invention relates to pallets or like platforms, with or without side walls, for supporting loads to be lifted or lowered. More in particular, the present invention relates to a pallet formed of a plastic material comprising a substantially planar top deck for carrying articles and support elements for supporting the top deck, the support elements being spaced apart so as to form openings for accepting the prongs of a fork lift. A pallet of this type is disclosed in, for example, European Patent Application EP 1 382 533 A2 (D W Plastics).
Pallets are typically handled by fork lifts having a pair of prongs or tines. These prongs, which together constitute a fork-like structure, can be inserted into the openings of the pallet, thus allowing the pallet to be lifted by the fork lift. However, it often happens that the prongs are inserted at the wrong angle or the wrong height, causing damage to the pallet. This is in many instances caused by the fact that fork lift drivers misjudge the position of the openings and accordingly aim the prongs incorrectly. This may happen in particular when visibility is reduced, for example in outdoor situations at night-time and in poorly lit warehouses.
United States Patent US 4 292 899 discloses a wooden pallet provided with metal plates for protecting the leading stringer against damage by the prongs of a fork lift. The metal plates are nailed to the outside of the wooden pallet. Although such protective plates are useful, they are less suitable for plastic pallets. One of the great advantages of plastic pallets is that they can easily be recycled: the plastic can be ground and may be used again to make new plastic articles. Providing a pallet with metal parts, such as metal protective plates, will obviously make recycling much more difficult. In addition, nailing or screwing the metal plates to a pallet is labour-intensive, making the pallet less economical.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to overcome these and other problems of the Prior Art and to provide a pallet having a reduced risk of being damaged by the prongs of a fork lift while avoiding the use of metal parts.
Accordingly, the present invention provides a pallet formed of a plastic material, the pallet comprising a substantially planar top deck for carrying articles and support elements for supporting the top deck, the support elements being spaced apart so as to form openings for accepting the prongs of a fork lift, which pallet is characterized by visual indications for indicating the openings.
The present invention provides a preventive measure by indicating the openings, rather than a protective measure as in the Prior Art mentioned above. Of course it is possible in a pallet of the present invention to add reinforcements of the openings, for example a thicker plastic layer, or reinforcing ribs. However, the present invention primarily aims to avoid damage by making the positions of the openings better visible. This allows fork lift drivers to better position the fork-lift relative to the pallet, in particular in situations where little light is available, such as in outdoor storage areas at night. Visual indications of the prong-receiving openings further provide the possibility of making the pallets of a relatively dark plastic, as the overall visibility of the pallet will be ensured by the visual indications of the invention.
The metal protection plates of US 4 292 899 have the additional disadvantage that they increase the dimensions of the pallet. This is undesirable as a pallet which is thus enlarged may no longer fit in a specific space, for example in the loading area of a truck. In the packing industry, pallets having standard dimensions are often used, to the exclusion of pallets having atypical dimensions. Accordingly, in a preferred embodiment of the pallet of the present invention, the visual indications do not extend beyond the perimeter of the pallet. Thus the dimensions of the pallet are not altered by the visual indications, in contrast to the protection plates of the Prior Art.
In a further advantageous embodiment, the visual indications are even recessed relative to an outer surface of the pallet, said outer surface typically but not necessarily constituting the outer perimeter. In this way the outer dimensions of the pallet remain unaltered and visual indications are protected against mechanical damage caused by abrasion, thus prolonging the effective service life of the visual indications.
Although the visual indications may be recessed by providing a channel in an outer surface of the pallet, in a further embodiment the visual indications are recessed by being accommodated in the openings, preferably at or near the edge of the openings. In this way, a direct indication of the openings is provided, as an alternative or in addition to an indirect indication applied on surfaces near the openings.
To facilitate recycling, the visual indications are preferably constituted by a plastic material, more preferably the same material of which the pallet is made. The visual indications may therefore be constituted by a plastic strip, such as a length of plastic tape. This tape may advantageously be self-adhesive.
Alternatively, the visual indications may be made of a small quantity of a different material, the quantity being small enough to still allow recycling without the need for the prior removal of the visual indications. In such an embodiment, the visual indications may be constituted by paint.
It is preferred that the visual indications have a contrasting colour, that is, a colour contrasting to the colour of the surface on which they are applied. Typically a pallet has a single colour, in which case the visual indications will have a colour contrasting to the pallet.
In a particularly preferred embodiment, the visual indications are fluorescent or phosphorescent. This allows the visual indications to be seen in circumstances where little or no ambient light is available. Alternatively, or additionally, the visual indications may be reflective.
The present invention will further be explained below with reference to exemplary embodiments illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 schematically shows, in perspective, a first embodiment of a pallet according to the present invention.
Fig. 2 schematically shows, in perspective, a second embodiment of a pallet according to the present invention.

The pallet 1 shown merely by way of non-limiting example in Fig. 1 comprises a(n upper) deck 2 supported by support elements 3 which define openings 4 between them. These openings 4 are designed for receiving the prongs of a fork lift. In the embodiment shown, the lower ends of the support elements 3 are mutually connected by connecting elements 7, such that the openings 4 have a closed edge. This is, however, not essential and embodiments can be envisaged in which the connecting elements 7 are not present and the openings 4 are open to the lower side of the pallet 1. Alternatively, the connecting elements 7 could be part of a lower deck.
The pallet 1 is made of a plastic material, preferably a thermoplastic or polymeric material. HDPE (High Density PolyEthylene) is particularly suitable but other materials, such as polypropylene, may also be used. The pallet 1 is preferably manufactured using injection moulding techniques.
In the embodiment shown, each side of the pallet 1 is provided with two openings 4, thus allowing a fork truck to lift the pallet from all four sides. Although the openings 4 in the embodiments shown are substantially funnel-shaped, having a gradually narrowing width so as to guide the prongs of the fork lift, damaging the support elements 3 can often not be avoided, in particular when visibility is not optimal. The present invention seeks to avoid this damage by providing visual indications 5 which indicate the positions of the openings 4 and aid the driver of a fork lift when inserting the prongs into the openings.
In the embodiment of Fig. 1, the visual indications 5 are constituted by a horizontal stripe which extends substantially around the perimeter of the pallet 1, at approximately half the height of the openings 4. It will be understood that the perimeter of the pallet is, at this height, formed by the support elements 3. In the exemplary embodiment shown, the visual indications 5 are not provided at the corners 6 as these corners may easily be damaged. However, a stripe or other visual indication continuing around a corner 6 can also be envisaged.
The height of the stripe forming the visual indications 5 in Fig. 1 is about 20% of the height of the pallet. In this way, a highly visible indication is achieved using a limited amount of material. Of course other height ratios may also be used, for example 10%, 30%, 50% or more.
Arranging the visual indications 5 at about half the height of the openings 4 (irrespective of the height ratio mentioned above) offers the advantage that the visual indications are indicative of the (approximate) height at which the fork lift prongs have to be inserted. That is, the visual indications in this embodiment also indicate the desired height of the prongs.
The visual indications 5 may be applied on an outer surface of the pallet 1, in particular on the outer surface of the support elements 3. A channel (not shown) may be provided in this surface to provide a recess in which the visual indications 5 may be applied. A recessed position provides protection against damage and prolongs the effective service life of the visual indications.
The visual indications 5 may for example consist of paint, tape, or in-moulded plastic. Paint may be applied, for example, by spray-painting. A layer of plastic, typically accommodated in a suitable groove, may be applied using an "over-moulding" technique known per se: the pallet is first injection moulded in a first mould, and subsequently second (typically smaller) moulds are placed over the areas where the visual indications are to be applied. The plastic material of these integrated visual indications may then be injection moulded in situ. Alternatively, the visual indications may be constituted by separately formed pieces of (preferably plastic) material which are then applied on the pallet by gluing, clamping, shrink-fitting, or other suitable techniques.
The visual indications 5 may have any suitable colour but preferably have a contrasting colour, that is, a colour that forms a contrast with the colour of the pallet. If the pallet is black, for example, the visual indications 5 can suitably be yellow, white, (bright) green, (light) blue, or a combination of these and other colours. In order to enhance visibility in the dark, the visual indications may be fluorescent, phosphorescent, and/or reflecting.
Instead of the stripe shown in Fig. 1, symbols can be used, such as arrows pointing to the openings 4. Other markings or indicia may also be used. In the embodiment of Fig. 2, for example, the visual indications 5 are arranged inside the openings 4, at their edges. The visual indications 5 of this embodiment therefore directly indicate the positions of the openings, in contrast to the visual indications shown in Fig. 1 that indirectly indicate these positions. The rounded funnel shape of the openings 4 not only assists in the insertion of the prongs, but also better shows the visual indications arranged in these openings.
It is noted that instead of the connecting elements 7, a lower deck may be present that connects the support elements 3. Preferably, the entire pallet 1 is integrally formed, including the upper deck 2, the support elements 3, and the connecting elements 7 or the lower deck. The visual indications 5 may also be integrally formed with the pallet, but can be produced separately.
It is further noted that any of the features of the first embodiment may be combined with any of the features of the second embodiment. It will therefore be understood by those skilled in the art that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments illustrated above and that many modifications and additions may be made without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the appending claims.

Claims

A pallet (1) formed of a plastic material, the pallet comprising a substantially planar top deck (2) for carrying articles and support elements (3) for supporting the top deck, the support elements (3) being spaced apart so as to form openings (4) for accepting the prongs of a fork lift, characterized by visual indications (5) for indicating the openings (4).
The pallet according to claim 1, wherein the visual indications (5) do not extend beyond the perimeter of the pallet.
The pallet according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the visual indications (5) are recessed relative to an outer surface of the pallet.
The pallet according to claim 3, wherein the visual indications (5) are accommodated in the openings (4).
The pallet according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the visual indications (5) are constituted by a plastic strip.
The pallet according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the visual indications (5) are constituted by paint.
The pallet according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the visual indications (5) have a contrasting colour.
The pallet according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the visual indications (5) are fluorescent or phosphorescent.
The pallet according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the visual indications (5) are reflective.
The pallet according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the visual indications (5) are yellow.