FR2836454A1 - Pallet has feet made by folding strips of corrugated cardboard into boxes with diagonal bracing strips, cardboard load-bearing sheet being attached to tops of feet - Google Patents

Abstract

The pallet has feet (2) made by folding strips of corrugated cardboard into boxes with diagonal bracing strips. A cardboard load-bearing sheet (1) is attached to the tops of the feet. An Independent claim is included for a set of components for making the pallet comprising the feet and load-bearing sheet

Description

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 New handling pallet in semi-rigid material.

 The present invention relates to a new handling pallet made of a semi-rigid material, such as cardboard or corrugated cardboard.

 It has already been proposed for a long time to produce corrugated cardboard pallets or the like (see, for example, EP-B-0 456 961 and the numerous prior documents cited in the Background of the Invention section of this European patent).

 Such pallets include, for example, longitudinal members arranged in parallel, joined by crosspieces arranged perpendicular to them and engaged in openings made transversely in these longitudinal members. The side members and the cross members can respectively be made from a single piece of corrugated cardboard or the like, suitably folded so as to form a structure with a trapezoidal section, and they can be assembled by simple interlocking, without using adhesive or elements of locking (see, again, EP-B-0 456 961).

 Corrugated cardboard or similar pallets are also known which include parallel longitudinal members of rectangular or trapezoidal section, on two parallel faces of which bear parallel plates, one lower and the other upper, which have flaps applied against the face external of these beams and adhering to this face (see EP-B-0 639 142 and the prior art which is described therein under the Background of the Invention).

 In the case of the corrugated cardboard pallet which is the subject of EP-B-0 639 142, openings are formed laterally in the longitudinal members and in the flaps of the lower plate applied against these longitudinal members, in order to allow the passage of the elements of a fork of a forklift.

 In a pallet of this type, the use of two corrugated cardboard plates each comprising flaps leads to a significant consumption of corrugated cardboard or other similar semi-rigid material and, consequently, an increase in the cost of manufacturing such pallets. It is however not possible to modify the structure of this pallet in order to reduce the costs of raw material, because the openings provided for the passage of the teeth of a fork of a

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 handling vehicle considerably weaken the mechanical resistance of the pallet at these locations.

 There are however handling activities which do not require the use of pallets allowing the passage of fork tines in two perpendicular directions and for which one can dispense with support structures stiffened by two parallel plates of the prior art, intended for heavy and bulky loads.

 This is particularly the case, for example, for pallets used to prepare orders for small batches of products intended for the same delivery location, for example a few superimposed layers of products intended to be displayed for sale on a shelf. It is clear that, for such a use, it is not necessary to have recourse to a pallet having a great mechanical resistance and lending itself to an accessibility of the fork of a handling machine according to two perpendicular directions.

 It is for such use that the pallet according to the invention is intended more particularly and it has been designed to be in a particularly simple form, with a view to reducing the cost of raw material and being able to be possibly delivered to users in the form of separate elements, which can then be assembled at the place of use.

 The invention also aims to propose a pallet of this type, the various constituents of which can be made of a single semi-rigid material, so as to be able to compact the worn pallets and to recycle the semi-rigid material of which they are made.

 To this end, the subject of the invention is a handling pallet comprising at least two longitudinal members each obtained by folding a panel of a first semi-rigid material such as corrugated cardboard following parallel upsets and assembly by gluing of parts. in mutual contact at the end of this folding, these beams being arranged in parallel and each comprising two parallel faces, one of which is intended to bear on the ground or on a support, this pallet being characterized in that the said side members have no lateral openings allowing the passage of a handling tool parallel to their parallel faces and in that it comprises a plate made of a second semi-rigid material such as corrugated cardboard,

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 identical or not to the previous one, glued only on that of the two parallel faces of the side members not intended to bear on the ground or on a support.

 As indicated above, the pallet which has just been defined can be delivered unassembled to users, the longitudinal members and the plate made of semi-rigid material then being independent and assembled on site, by gluing, at the time of l 'employment.

 The invention therefore also relates to an assembly comprising in combination: - at least two longitudinal members produced by folding a panel of a first semi-rigid material such as corrugated cardboard following parallel upsets and assembly by bonding of faces in mutual contact at the end of this folding, these beams comprising two parallel faces; - And a single plate in a second rigid material, identical or not to the previous one; the side members and the plate being independent of each other and being intended to be secured at the place of use of the pallet by bonding the plate to that of the two parallel faces of the side members arranged in parallel which is not intended to take support on the ground or on a support.

 Preferably, the first and second semi-rigid materials are one and the same material.

 The pallet can naturally comprise more than two beams, a third beam, preferably identical to the other two, being for example arranged between two other beams, equidistant from each of them, with that of its two faces not intended to bear. on the floor or on a support glued against the pallet plate.

 This plate can be of simple thickness. It can also be formed of a laminated structure and be constituted for example of several sheets of corrugated cardboard assembled together by gluing, with the grooves of the corrugated cardboard of the successive sheets oriented in directions perpendicular to each other, in order to increase the rigidity of the composite plate thus produced.

 The side members preferably have four external walls and, in cross section, have a rectangular, square or trapezoidal section, preferably an isosceles trapezoid shape. In the case of a section

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 trapezoidal, it is the face corresponding to that of the two parallel sides of the larger trapezoid which is glued against the plate, while the opposite face, corresponding to that of the two parallel sides of the smaller width, is intended to lean on the ground or on a support.

 In order to increase the mechanical resistance of these beams, each of them is advantageously produced by folding around parallel upsets between them of a single panel of semi-rigid material, that of the two parallel walls of these beams of greater width being connected by two upsets to the two side walls of the beam, these side walls themselves being articulated each by a upsetting to a separate half from that of the two parallel walls of smaller width, each of the two halves being connected by a upsetting to a part straightened perpendicular to it and laminated against the similar part connected to the other half, the two straightened parts extending to the wall of greater width to come into contact with it and form an internal partition of double thickness, the two straightened parts each being articulated by a discharge on a partition extending obliquely between the associated straightened part and the corresponding half of the wall of smaller width, where it is connected by a discharge to a partition applied and glued against the internal face of the contiguous side wall of the spar, so as to constitute a side wall d double thickness.

 Other characteristics and advantages of the invention will emerge from the detailed description which follows of an embodiment. In this description, reference will be made to the accompanying drawings, in which: FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the pallet; Figure 2 is a partial view on a larger scale of the end of one of the side rails of this pallet.

 As can be seen in FIG. 1, the pallet shown comprises, in this embodiment, a single rectangular plate 1 of corrugated cardboard, bearing on three identical longitudinal members 2, arranged parallel to the longer sides of the plate 1. These beams have a cross section in the form of an isosceles trapezium and it is only on the face of each of them corresponding to the largest base of the trapezium that the plate 1 is applied and glued.

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 The two side members 2 furthest from each other support the lateral parts of the plate, which are glued to them, while the third side member 2 is located equidistant from the other two and supports the central part of the plate , also glued against this spar.

 The lateral parts of the side members 2 have no opening intended for the passage of a tooth of a fork of a handling machine and the pallet can therefore be moved by such a machine only by engaging the teeth of the fork between the stringers 2.

 As shown in FIG. 2, each spar 2 comes from a single corrugated cardboard plate, folded in the manner shown around parallel upsets, in order to give it optimum mechanical resistance, in particular to compression.

 Each spar has a trapezoidal section and the upper face 4, corresponding to the largest base of the trapezoid and intended to support the plate 1, is laterally connected to two side walls 5, themselves articulated on two bands 6 of equal width, arranged in the same plane and corresponding to one half of the small base of the trapezoid.

 Two partitions 7, articulated on the strips 6, are straightened in mutual contact perpendicular to these and glued against each other, to form a central partition of double thickness, which extends to the face 4 .

 On these partitions 7 are articulated oblique partitions 8, extending diagonally in the direction of the angle formed by the adjoining parts 5 and 6, where they are connected to a strip 9 applied and glued against the corresponding wall 5, to form with it a wall of double thickness.

 A spar 2 of this type, with its side walls 5.9, of double thickness, its central partition 6.7, also of double thickness and its oblique internal partitions 8, has excellent mechanical strength.

 It is clear that the plate 1 and the side members 2 can be delivered separate from each other to the users and that they can be easily assembled by them at the places of use.

 The pallet according to the invention is distinguished from the prior art by its great simplicity, due to the fact that it is intended for

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 applications which do not require an aptitude for handling in two perpendicular directions by fork vehicles.

 It does not exhibit less, because of the side members with which it is equipped, an excellent mechanical resistance and its manufacturing cost is much lower than that of the anterior pallets made of a semi-rigid material, due to the use of a quantity strongly reduced of this material.

Claims (9)

1. Pallet handling comprising at least two beams (2) each obtained by folding a panel of a first semi-rigid material such as corrugated cardboard following parallel upsets and assembly by gluing of parts in mutual contact with the resulting from this folding, these beams (2) being arranged in parallel and each comprising two parallel faces, one of which is intended to bear on the ground or on a support, this pallet being characterized in that the said beams (2 ) have no side openings allowing the passage of a handling tool parallel to their parallel faces and in that it comprises a plate (1) of a second semi-rigid material such as corrugated cardboard, identical or not to the previous, glued only on that of the two parallel faces of the side members (2) not intended to bear on the ground or on a support.  2. Pallet according to claim 1, characterized in that the first material from which the side members (2) are made and the second material from which the plate (1) is made are one and the same material.  3. Pallet according to one of claims 1 and 2, characterized in that the plate (1) is a plate of simple thickness made of a single material.  4. Pallet according to one of claims 1 and 2, characterized in that the plate (1) consists of a laminated structure.  5. Pallet according to claim 4, characterized in that the plate (1) comprises several sheets of corrugated cardboard assembled together by gluing, with the grooves of the corrugated cardboard of successive sheets oriented in directions perpendicular to each other.  6. Pallet according to one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the side members (2) have four external walls and, in cross section, have a rectangular, square or trapezoidal section, preferably in the form of an isosceles trapezoid.  7. Pallet according to claim 6, in which the side members (2) have in cross section an isosceles trapezoidal section, characterized in that the wall of the side members (2) supporting the plate (1) corresponds to the base more large width of the section trapezoid. <Desc / Clms Page number 8>  8. Pallet according to claim 7, in which the side members (2) are produced by folding around parallel upsets between them from a single panel of semi-rigid material, characterized in that that (4) of the two more parallel walls large width of these beams is connected by two upsets to the two side walls (5) of the beam, these side walls (5) themselves being articulated each by a upsetting to a half (6) distinct from that of the two more parallel walls small width, each of the two halves (6) being connected by an upsetting to a part (7) straightened perpendicular thereto and laminated against the similar part (7) connected to the other half, the two parts (7 ) straightened extending to the wall (4) of greater width to come into contact with the latter and form an internal partition of double thickness, the two straightened parts being each articulated by a delivery on a c lawon (8) extending obliquely between the associated straightened part (7) and the corresponding half (6) of the wall of smaller width, where it is connected by a backflow to a partition (8) applied and glued against the face internal side wall (5) contiguous to the beam (2), so as to constitute a side wall of double thickness.  9. An assembly for producing a pallet according to one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that it comprises in combination: - at least two beams (2) produced by folding a panel of a first material semi-rigid such as corrugated cardboard following parallel upsets and assembly by bonding of faces in mutual contact at the end of this folding, these beams (2) comprising two parallel faces; - And a single plate (1) made of a second rigid material, identical or not to the previous one; the side rails (2) and the plate (1) being independent of each other and being intended to be secured at the place of use of the pallet by gluing the plate only on that of the two parallel faces of the side rails (2) arranged in parallel which is not intended to rest on the ground or on a support.