GB1579430A - Pallet - Google Patents

Description

(54) PALLET (71) I, ROBERT ALAN GREEN, a British Subject, formerly of 7, Arrow Close, Knowle, Solihull, West Midlands, now residing at 6, St. Austell Road, Park Hall, Walsall, West Midlands, do hereby declare the invention, for which I pray that a patent may be granted to me, and the method by which it is to be performed, to be particularly described in and by the following statement: - This invention concerns pallets.

Traditionally, general purpose pallets are made of wood and provide a platform, for goods, and a space beneath the platform to accommodate the fork of a fork-lift truck, and some of the designs of such pallets are of the kind known as " four-way entry" so as to permit the fork to be inserted into the space from either end of the pallet as well as from the sides of the pallet.

An object of the invention is to provide an improved form of pallet which can be constructed to provide at least one advantage over such traditional general purpose pallets.

According to the present invention there is provided a support constructed and arranged to support a platform to form a pallet, the support comprising two elongate metal members mid-portions of which are connected by a linkage so that the members are movable from a collapsed position, in which said members extend closely adjacent to each other, to an in use position in which one of said members extend transversely across the other of said members; wherein each said member comprises two arms which extend in opposite directions; wherein each said arm has an upper platform supporting surface and has an outer end portion which is remote from the midportion and which is provided with a downwardly directed leg; and wherein the arrangement of said members and linkage is such that in the in use position the platform supporting surfaces are disposed substantially in a common plane.

The invention includes a pallet comprising a platform and the support.

The platform preferably comprises a board of a stiff material such as fibreboard, plywood or reinforced plastics, but a sheet metal board or pressing may be used.

The outer end portions of the arms are preferably cranked to form the legs such that each leg is of U-shape, each leg may be strengthened by a central or side crossmembers, and the central linkage may be supported by a further leg.

Further arms, extending from the central linkage, or stays, extending between the arms, may be provided to support other portions of the platform.

The elongate members are preferably formed by bending from strip steel.

The invention will be described further, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying diagrammatic drawings, wherein: - Figure 1 shows an exploded perspective view of a pallet of the invention, with a support of the pallet in an in use position; Figure 2 is a perspective view of the support in a collapsed position; Figure 3 shows an enlarged detail of a central portion of the support of Figure 1; Figure 4 is a perspective view of the support of Figure 1 as modified to incorporate stays; Figures 5 and 6 show enlarged exploded details of two modifications applicable to the central portion shown in Figure 3.

As shown in Figure 1, the pallet includes the support 10 and a platform 11.

The platform 11 comprises a substantially rectangular board 12 of plywood or like touch material, and may be hinged so as to be foldable, e.g. along lines 13.

The support comprises two elongate metal members 14 and 15 each of which provides two oppositely directed arms each having an upper platform supporting surface 16. Each arm extends outwards from a central linkage 17, shown in more detail in Figure 3, to an outer end portion 18.

Each outer end portion 18 has an upturned terminal flange 19 which serves as a locator, and is downwardly cranked to provide a U-shaped leg 20 adjacent to the locator 19. The legs 20 are of substantially equal height so that the surfaces 16 are disposed substantially in a common plane in the in use position shown in Figure 1, but the legs on the member 14 are slightly shorter than the others so as to fit thereinto when the support 10 is in a collapsed position with the member 14 superimposed on the member 15, as shown in Figure 2.

The central linkage is supported by an optional centre leg 21, and may have one or two armed supplementary members 22 (shown in broken lines) secured thereto, the arms of which members 22 may have legs constituted by downturned terminal flanges 23.

In use, the platform is superimposed upon the support when the latter is in the condition shown in Figure 1, so that each corner portion 24 of the platform is supported by a respective end portion 18 and is located by a respective locator 19, whilst the surfaces 16 provide support for the rest of the platform. It will be readily appreciated that the pallet provides four-way entry for the fork 25 or 26 (shown diagrammatically and not to scale in broken lines) of a fork-lift truck, even when the optional centre leg 21 and further members are present. Furthermore by calculated location of the cranked legs access may be made to enable the forks to pass through the open cranks of the legs in the direction represented by arrows 27 in Figure 1, thus enabling the platform and/or load to be lifted clear of, and independently of, the pallet support.

When the pallet is to be stored or transported empty, the platform can be removed (and optionally folded) and the support collapsed to the condition shown in Figure 2 so as to minimise the volume occupied by the pallet.

The form of the central linkage 17 and the manner of securing the arms together can be varied greatly from the form shown in Figure 3, wherein a central portion of the member 15 has a transverse depression 30 in which the member 14 is located by a pivot pin 31 and a captive peg 32 which extend through holes in said members, the peg 32 being removable to allow the member 14 and pin 31 to be lifted and the member 14 swung about the pin axis into the collapsed condition.

An alternative form is shown in Figure 5, wherein the pivot pin 33 is fixed and the member 14 has a keyhole opening 34, so that the members 14 and 15 can be secured together in use, and separated for placing alongside each other when the support is to be collapsed.

Instead of using a captive peg, other means may be used to locate the members 14 and 15 in the in use condition. For example as shown in Figure 6, a locator member 35, having locator lugs 36 to engage the members 14, may be welded to the other member 15. Alternatively, the side walls of the depression may be angled to locate the member 14 correctly in the in use position.

Instead of being welded to the member 15, the locator member 35 may be superimposed in an inverted condition upon the member 14 and retained by the pivot pin 31, so that the locator member can be raised to lift the lugs 36 clear of the member 15 to allow the support to be collapsed.

Other modifications are possible to the support. For example as shown in Figure 4, stays 37 may be provided so as to extend between the arms 16 and be anchored to the arms adjacent to the end portions 18, whereby to locate the arms and support portions of the platform between said corner portions 24.

Stiffening members such as side strips 38 or central bars 39 may be provided transversely across the legs, as shown in Figure 4. This Figure also shows sockets 40 provided in the outer portions of the arms to receive corner posts or corner pegs or fasteners securing much posts or pegs of a pallet cage (not shown) and further slots or sockets may be provided in the arms or corner portions of the platform to accept said corner posts or pegs. Alternatively, the sockets 40 may be used to locate on or secure to the support locators or a carrying device or devices to locate or carry articles, such as pipes or barrels, e.g. a pair of parallel beam and post locators 41, one of which is shown in broken lines in Figures 4, for carrying pipes.

Any suitable materials may be used depending upon the nature of the loads to be supported. For example, the platform may be made from thick cardboard or hardboard where the loads are light but bulky, and the material varied to provide increased strength as the load density increases up to the case wherein metal sheet or mesh is employed to provide or to strengthen the platform. Oversize platforms may be used with corner portions slotted to accept the locators. The materials used for making the support may also be selected to suit the load.For example, aluminium alloy strip, wire or bar may be used for light loads, but it is envisaged that mild steel or medium grade steel will be the most useful material for the two armed members as the width and thickness can be varied to suit the load, e.g. " by 1" steel strip may be suitable for light loads, but heavier sections up to -1" by 2", or even 3-" by 3", may be required for heavier loads.

It will be readily appreciated that the pallet can be constructed simply from readily available materials so as to be easily stored, transported, assembled, and repaired, and so as to be durable.

WHAT I CLAIM IS: - 1. A support constructed and arranged to support a platform to form a pallet, the support comprising two elongate metal members mid-portions of which are connected by a linkage so that the members are movable from a collapsed position, in which said members extend closely adjacent to each other, to and in use position in which one of said members extend transversely across the other of said members; wherein each said member comprises two arms which extend in opposite directions; wherein each said arm has an upper platform supporting surface and has an outer end portion which is remote from the midportion and which is provided with a downwardly directed leg; and wherein the arrangement of said members and linkages is such that in the in use position the platform supporting surfaces are disposed substantially in a common plane.

2. A support as claimed in claim 1 wherein the central linkage is supported by a further leg.

3. A support as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein the outer end portions of the arms are cranked to form the legs such that each leg is of U-shape.

4. A support as claimed in claim 3, wherein the legs are strengthened by crossmembers.

5. A support as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein further arms are provided to support other portions of the platform.

6. A support as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the central linkage connects the elongate members, so that, in a collapsed condition, each arm extends from the central linkage closely parallel with another of the arms.

7. A support as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the central linkage comprises a pivot connecting said elongate members.

8. A support as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the central linkage comprises a central member to which the elongate members are pivotally connected.

9. A support as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein said arms are provided with or are adapted to have secured thereto corner posts, corner pegs, locators or a carrying device or devices.

10. A support as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the elongate members are formed by bending from strip steel.

11. A support substantially as hereinbefore described with refernce to Figure 1, 2, 3 or 4 or any one of these Figures as modified by Figure 5 or 6.

12. A pallet comprising a support as claimed in any preceding claim together with a platform.

13. A pallet as claimed in claim 12, wherein the platform is detachable from the support.

14. A pallet as claimed in claim 12 or 13, wherein the platform comprises a board of a stiff material.

**WARNING** end of DESC field may overlap start of CLMS **.

Claims (14)

**WARNING** start of CLMS field may overlap end of DESC **. alloy strip, wire or bar may be used for light loads, but it is envisaged that mild steel or medium grade steel will be the most useful material for the two armed members as the width and thickness can be varied to suit the load, e.g. " by 1" steel strip may be suitable for light loads, but heavier sections up to -1" by 2", or even 3-" by 3", may be required for heavier loads. It will be readily appreciated that the pallet can be constructed simply from readily available materials so as to be easily stored, transported, assembled, and repaired, and so as to be durable. WHAT I CLAIM IS: -

1. A support constructed and arranged to support a platform to form a pallet, the support comprising two elongate metal members mid-portions of which are connected by a linkage so that the members are movable from a collapsed position, in which said members extend closely adjacent to each other, to and in use position in which one of said members extend transversely across the other of said members; wherein each said member comprises two arms which extend in opposite directions; wherein each said arm has an upper platform supporting surface and has an outer end portion which is remote from the midportion and which is provided with a downwardly directed leg; and wherein the arrangement of said members and linkages is such that in the in use position the platform supporting surfaces are disposed substantially in a common plane.

2. A support as claimed in claim 1 wherein the central linkage is supported by a further leg.

3. A support as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein the outer end portions of the arms are cranked to form the legs such that each leg is of U-shape.

4. A support as claimed in claim 3, wherein the legs are strengthened by crossmembers.

5. A support as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein further arms are provided to support other portions of the platform.

6. A support as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the central linkage connects the elongate members, so that, in a collapsed condition, each arm extends from the central linkage closely parallel with another of the arms.

7. A support as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the central linkage comprises a pivot connecting said elongate members.

8. A support as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the central linkage comprises a central member to which the elongate members are pivotally connected.

9. A support as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein said arms are provided with or are adapted to have secured thereto corner posts, corner pegs, locators or a carrying device or devices.

10. A support as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the elongate members are formed by bending from strip steel.

11. A support substantially as hereinbefore described with refernce to Figure 1, 2, 3 or 4 or any one of these Figures as modified by Figure 5 or 6.

12. A pallet comprising a support as claimed in any preceding claim together with a platform.

13. A pallet as claimed in claim 12, wherein the platform is detachable from the support.

14. A pallet as claimed in claim 12 or 13, wherein the platform comprises a board of a stiff material.