EP1744966A1

EP1744966A1 - Foam block

Info

Publication number: EP1744966A1
Application number: EP05735140A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Peter Hartwall; Olivier Orset; Nicolas Sourdais
Original assignee: Arca Systems International AB
Current assignee: Arca Systems International AB
Priority date: 2004-04-23
Filing date: 2005-04-22
Publication date: 2007-01-24
Anticipated expiration: 2025-04-22
Also published as: SE527343C3; SE0401081D0; ES2317222T3; SE0401081L; SE527343C2; ATE417790T1; EP1744966B1; DE602005011787D1; WO2005102853A1

Abstract

A pallet (10) to be handled by fork trucks comprises at least one upper load deck part (20), at least one lower part (30, 40) for supporting the upper load deck part on a distance from the ground so that the underside of the upper load deck part (30) is accessible by truck forks, and at least one cavity (20a, 30a, 40a) in at least one of the pallet parts (20, 30, 40). The pallet (10) also comprising at least one support element (50) being arranged at least partly inside the cavity (20a, 30a, 40a).

Description

FOAM BLOCK

Technical Field The present invention relates to a pallet/container to be handled by fork trucks according to the preamble of claim 1 and support means to be used in the pallet according to the preamble of claim 6. Description of Prior Art Pallets or containers with skids for supporting, storing and transporting items or goods have two main functions. The skids create a distance between the underside of the pallet and the ground or floor so that pallet/piler or fork trucks can introduce their forks in the clearance between the pallet and the ground and then lift the pallets with goods on the pallet loading deck and the pallet as a whole support, hold and protect the goods when lifted and transported by fork trucks. Such pallets are often cast moulded in plastic with mainly hollow body parts, e.g. sandwich constructions, for minimizing the transport weight and the consumption of plastic. Plastic pallets are often manufactured by welding a mainly hollow base or support member with detachable mainly hollow skids forming the floor or ground engaging lower pallet part onto an upper mainly hollow member forming the load engaging upper pallet part . The above-mentioned functions for pallets in combination with the handling of pallets by fork trucks often being rough mean that the commercial need of such pallets has increased because the mainly hollow pallet parts and their outer envelope surface exposed to the truck forks often are broken, wrecked or smashed by the fork trucks hitting these external pallet surfaces, and have to be replaced or repaired to a high cost. Prior art pallets also have a disadvantage in that heavy loads in the vertical direction, especially when stacking pallets with heavy loads on top of each other, may break the pallet, e.g. the bottom pallet in a stack, due to the high buckling load/strain causing shell buckling in the lateral direction for the thin shells in the envelope surface of the weight optimized pallet. Summary of the Invention An object of the present invention is to provide a solution to the above mentioned problems by presenting an improved pallet with means for making the pallet more durable against impacts when handled by fork trucks and with a higher stability/durability against heavy loads in the vertical direction for reducing the risk of breaking, collapsing and/or buckling the pallet while, at the same time, minimizing the weight of the pallet. According to the invention, this object is achieved by a pallet and a device of the type stated by way of introduction having the features defined in claim 1 and 6, preferred embodiments being defined in the appended claims 2-5 and 7-16. By the improved pallet of the invention, several advantages are obtained. This pallet has a good ability to withstand heavier loads in the vertical direction by the support element bearing against the inside of the pallet envelope surface before collapsing and it has an increased durability against vertical and lateral loads and therefore an increased useful life. By providing a pallet with a support element according to preferred embodiments of the invention, the following advantages are obtained. The support element reinforces the lateral feets of the pallet giving them a high resistance against lateral collisions/impacts from fork trucks, especially the forks, and also give the feet and associated pallet parts a good ability to withstand heavy loads in the vertical direction by the support against the inside of the associated thin envelope surface before collapsing/buckling. The loose separate insertable support elements can be located or used optionally only where they are required, in most cases, in the feet and the corner areas of the pallet, and only in pallets that have to be reinforced, e.g. in heavy load applications. The clipping and dismantling of the skid is also easier to perform. Furthermore, a support element in the form of a foam plastic, rubber, wood or light metal insert or thin elastic projections in the form of tongues and/or flanges with a spring function and a dampening effect of collision energy only marginally increase the weight of the pallet. Brief Description of the Drawings The present invention will now be described in more detail with reference to the enclosed drawings, in which: Fig 1 is a view in perspective of a transparent pallet according to the invention, Fig 2 is a view in perspective of a corner area of the pallet in fig 1 showing support means according to a first embodiment of the invention just before insertion into an inner pallet corner cavity, Fig 3 is a view in perspective of the pallet corner area in fig 2 showing the inserted support means with broken/dashed lines, Fig 4 is a view in perspective of the pallet corner area in fig 3 with a cut-out part showing the support means in fig 2 inserted, Fig 5 shows different embodiments of the support means according to the invention, Fig 6 is an exploded view in perspective of the incorporated parts of the pallet in fig 1 before assembly with means according to another embodiment of the invention for insertion into the pallet corners, Fig 7 is a cut-away view of a corner area of the partly assembled pallet in fig 6 showing one of the means partly inserted into the associated pallet corner, Fig 8 is a cut-away view of the corner area of the partly assembled pallet in fig 6 showing the skid during assembly with the pallet support means, and Fig 9 is a cut-away view of the corner area of the assembled pallet in fig 6 showing the assembled skid. Detailed Description of the Invention Figs 1-9 illustrate a pallet or container 10 according to the invention to be handled by a fork truck (not shown) . The pallet 10 comprises an upper part 20 in the form of a loading deck with short side walls (the load deck may also be totally flat without side walls) , a first bottom part 30 in the form of a base for attachment against the upper load deck part 20, this attachment can be achieved by welding, detachable snap fittings or the like, a second bottom part 40 in the form of a skid that is releasably attached to the pallet by known snap fittings, and at least one inner support member or element 50 shown with dashed lines or shadowed inside the upper load deck part 20 as projections, flanges or tongues, e.g rolled in a helix shape, in this embodiment. The pallet 10 is cast moulded in plastic and has therefore an essentially hollow body, i.e. its parts 20, 30, 40 also being essentially hollow, with an inner sandwich structure/construction with at least some vertical edges having the same function as the support elements 50, this being known engineering for a skilled person. The detachable skid 40 creates a distance or clearance between the pallet and the ground, so that a fork truck can introduce its forks therebetween and lift and lower the pallet as desired, as readily understood by a skilled person. The support member 50 has a shape fitting at least partly into cavities 20a, 30a, 40a at the inside of the lower peripheral areas, i.e. the outer envelope surfaces 20b, 30b, 40b, e.g. the corner areas, pallet feet 60 and the intermediate areas between the pallet corners as shown in figs 1 and 6-11, adjoining the upper pallet part 20, the lower pallet part 30 and the skid 40, which areas 20b, 30b, 40b face and are exposed to the forks of the fork truck. One or more support element 50 for each pallet 10 reinforces and supports at least one of the pallet parts 20, 30, 40 and/or parts of and/or the whole lower outer pallet envelope surfaces 20b, 30b, 40b from the pallet interior 20a, 30a, 40a, so that the forks from a fork lift truck bumping into/colliding with the pallet during handling will not break the associated parts of the outer lower surface of the upper pallet part 20, the lower pallet part 30, or the skid 40 so easily as the support element 50 on the inside of the associated pallet part partly or wholly absorbs the shock energy from the truck forks. The support element 50 also abut at least a part of the inside of the envelope or shell surface 20b, 30b, 4b on at least one of the pallet parts 20, 30, 40 for supporting the pallet so that loads/strain from goods or other pallets stacked upon each other in the vertical direction of the pallet shell surfaces do not break or buckle the shell surfaces 20b, 30b, 40b and the pallet 10. In fig 3, the support element 50 is shown with two different heights in broken lines so that it is easily understood that this support element may extend through all three pallet parts 20, 30, 40 or be inserted for supporting only one pallet part with a shorter support element length or supporting two pallet parts with a somewhat longer support element length. The support element 50 is preferably formed in e.g. foam plastic, rubber, wood or light metal or has a shape similar to a protruding edge rolled as a helix shape that acts as a inner spring or tongue abutting against the inside of the pallet envelope surface and at least partly fills out the associated cavity 20a, 30a, 40a and at least partly bears against/abut the inside of at least a part of the outer pallet envelope surface 20b, 30b, 40b. When manufacturing the plastic pallet 10 the upper part 20 and the lower part 30 may be separately cast- moulded or the lower part be snap fitted into the upper part after the support member 50 is inserted into an inner cavity 20a, 30a in the upper pallet part 20 or the lower pallet part 30, this is clearly seen in figs 1-4 and 6. Then, the upper pallet part 20 and the lower pallet part 30 are assembled together and interact when holding the support member 50 in place at least partly inside the pallet 10. After this, the skid 40 are releasably attached to the underside of the pallet, i.e. the lower pallet part 30 by means of projections, e.g. snap means (not shown) on the underside of the pallet fitting into holes, cavities, or recesses 40a on the skid 40 or vice versa. In another embodiment of the invention, the support member 50 has one upper end or section 50a at least partly inside the pallet 10, in one embodiment fully inside the cavities 20a, 30a, 40a, or in other embodiments at least partly inside the upper pallet part 20 or the lower pallet part 30 or in yet another embodiment at least partly inside both the upper pallet part and the lower pallet part when assembled together, and one lower/bottom end or section 50b at least partly inside the pallet 10, in one embodiment fully inside the cavities 20a, 30a, 40a, or in other embodiments at least partly inside the upper pallet part 20 or the lower pallet part 30 or in yet another embodiment at least partly inside both the upper pallet part and the lower pallet part when assembled together, protruding at least partly out of openings in the underside of the pallet in one embodiment, i.e. the lower pallet part 30, downwards as shown in fig 7. All of these embodiments are shown in fig 5. The lower support member section 50b may releasably hold the skid 40, i.e. the second lower pallet part 40 against the pallet parts 20 and 30 by being provided with bevelled/chamfered projections, barbs, or hooks 51 so that when the bottom section 50b with its projections 51 is inserted into the cavity 40a in the skid 40 (shown in fig 8) with corresponding recesses or openings 41 for receiving the projections, the projections 51 slide into the skid recesses 41 when the support member end 50b abut or bottoms against the skid 40 (shown in fig 9) . In this embodiment, the support element 50 is held by means of a form grip in that the joined upper pallet part 20 and the lower pallet part 30 surround the support element after being welded together but may instead be held in place by adhesive/glue, shrinkage fit or by screws, rivets or nails. As seen in fig 1, a number of support elements 50 are located intermittently around the inside of the envelope surface 20b, 30b, 40b for the pallet 10 but may of course be one continuous support element 50 with a certain height or width similar to an inner encompassing flange. In fig 5, there is only four support elements 50, one in each pallet corner but additional support elements 50, in this embodiment at least two support elements, could be placed at the middle section of each of the skids 40. The number of support elements 50 for each pallet 10 depends on the size of the pallet, how many cavities there are in the pallet, the loads on the pallet, and if the handling of the pallet is more or less rough. Fig 5 shows nine different embodiments of the support element 50 according to the invention. The upper left view in fig 5 shows the support element with tongues 52 protruding upwards for insertion in the pallet and the view just below it shows the support element with tongues protruding downwards. These two support elements could be combined into one element with top and bottom tongues protruding in different/opposite directions. These tongues abut against the inside of the associated envelope surface 20b, 30b, 40b when inserted in a pallet 10. The tongues 52 could also be integrated in one or more of the pallet parts 20, 30, 40 instead of being separate elements for insertion into the pallet. The upper right view in fig 5 shows the support element with two different heights, one small height shown with solid lines and one larger height shown with dashed lines. The height is adapted to the size of the cavity 20a, 30a, 40a and the pallet 10 to be fitted into. The view just below the upper right view in fig 5 shows a T-shaped support element 50 that has at least one section, either the upper section 50a or the lower section 50b at least partly protruding out of the pallet when inserted into anyone of the pallet parts 20, 30, or 40 for fitting into any other pallet part 20, 30, or 40. This support element 50 is a combination of two other support elements shown in the views to the left of this one. This also means that the openings 41 or projections 51 can be arranged at any section 50a or 50b for releasably attaching the associated pallet part 20, 30, or 40 when assembling the pallet. The two bottom views in fig 5 are examples of support elements 50 having one thicker section 50a or 50b and one thinner section 50a or 50b, wherein the main function of the thicker section is to support a larger inside area of the associated pallet part 20, 30, or 40 and the main function of the thinner section is to be held in place in any pallet part 20, 30, or 40 but also to support a smaller inside area of this pallet part 20, 30, or 40. By integrating or inserting the novel support means 50 in one pallet part, e.g. the lower pallet part 30, 40 and introducing this pallet part into the upper pallet part 20, the support means fits into the cavity 20a in the upper part and its shell surface or volume and the shell/envelope surface 20b of the upper pallet part contribute/work together and enhance the durability of the pallet 10 compared to prior pallets having only stiff and non-yieldable thin ribs with a small support surface.

Claims

1. A pallet (10) to be handled by fork trucks comprising at least one upper load deck part (20) , at least one lower part (30,40) for supporting the upper load deck part on a distance from the ground so that the underside of the upper load deck part is accessible by truck forks, and at least one cavity (20a, 30a, 40a) in at least one of the pallet parts (20,30,40), c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that the pallet (10) comprises at least one support element (50) being arranged in at least one of the pallet parts (20,30,40) at least partly inside the cavity (20a, 30a, 40a) at outer sections of the pallet that at least partly adjoin at least one pallet envelope surface (20b, 30b, 40b) exposed to the truck forks for supporting at least a part of this envelope surface .

2. A pallet (10) according to claim 1, wherein the support element (50) is suitable for at least partly abutting at least a part of the inside (20a, 30a, 40a) of the envelope surface (20b, 30b, 40b) exposed to the truck forks .

3. A pallet (10) according to claim 2, wherein the support element (50) is suitable for at least partly abutting at least a part of the inside (20a, 30a, 40a) of the envelope surface (20b, 30b, 40b) exposed to the truck forks on both the upper and the lower pallet part (20,30,40) .

4. A pallet (10) according to claim 3, wherein the support element (50) comprises an upper section (50a) , the upper section being at least partly located and secured inside the upper pallet part (20,30).

5. A pallet (10) according to claim 4, wherein the support element (50) comprises an lower section (50b), the lower section projecting at least partly out of the upper pallet part (20,30) into the lower pallet part (30,40) for releasably securing the lower pallet part.

6. Support means (50) for use in a pallet (10) being handled by fork trucks, the pallet comprising at least one cavity (20a, 30a, 40a) , c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that the support means (50) is at least one support element being arranged at least partly inside the cavity (20a, 30a, 40a) at outer pallet sections which at least partly adjoin at least one pallet envelope surface (20b, 30b, 40b) exposed to the truck forks for supporting at least a part of this envelope surface.

7. Support means (50) according to claim 6, wherein the support element (50) is suitable for at least partly abutting at least a part of the inside (20a, 30a, 40a) of the envelope surface (20b, 30b, 40b) exposed to the truck forks .

8. Support means (50) according to claim 7, wherein the support element (50) is suitable for at least partly abutting at least a part of the inside (20a, 30a, 40a) of the envelope surface (20b, 30b, 40b) exposed to the truck forks on both an upper and a lower part (20, 30, 40) of the pallet (10) .

9. Support means (50) according to claim 8, wherein the support element (50) comprises at least one upper section (50a) , the upper section being at least partly located and secured inside the upper pallet part (20,30).

10. Support means (50) according to claim 9, wherein the support element (50) comprises at least one lower section (50b) , the lower section projecting at least partly out of the upper pallet part (20, 30) into the lower pallet part (30, 40) for releasably securing the lower pallet part.

11. Support means (50) according to any of the claims 1-10, wherein the support element (50) is elastic and abuts at least a part of the inside (20a, 30a, 40a) of the associated envelope surface (20b, 30b, 40b) .

12. Support means (50) according to claim 11, wherein the support element (50) is an insert of foam plastic in the pallet (10) abutting at least a part of the inside (20a, 30a, 40a) of the associated envelope surface (20b, 30b, 40b) .

13. Support means (50) according to claim 11, wherein the support element (50) is an insert of rubber in the pallet (10) abutting at least a part of the inside (20a, 30a, 40a) of the associated envelope surface (20b, 30b, 40b) .

14. Support means (50) according to any of the claims 1-10 in the form of at least one spring device abutting at least^" a part of the inside (20a, 30a, 40a) of the associated envelope surface (20b, 30b, 40b) .

15. Support means (50) according to any of the claims 1-10, wherein the support element (50) is an insert of wood in the pallet (10) abutting at least a part of the inside (20a, 30a, 40a) of the associated envelope surface (20b, 30b, 40b) .

16. Support means (50) according to any of the claims 1-10, wherein the support element (50) is an insert of light metal in the pallet (10) abutting at least a part of the inside (20a, 30a, 40a) of the associated envelope surface (20b, 30b, 40b) .