GB1588914A - Pallet or stacking device - Google Patents

Description

(54) PELLET OR STACKING DEVICE (71) We, CONTINENTAL GUMMI WERKE AKTIENGESELLSCHAFT, Königsworther Platz 1, 3000 Hannover, Germany. (Federal Republic); a German body corporate do hereby declare the invention, for which we pray that a patent may be granted to us, and the method by which it is to be performed, to be particularly described in and by the following statement: The present invention relates to a pallet or stacking device having a frame, preferably formed of rolled sections, enclosing its base surface and provided with support members to retain the frame spaced from the supported surface.

Pallets and the like stacking devices are extensively used in a variety of embodiments for storing and/or transportation of piece goods of all kinds, whereby the structures made wholly or predominantly of metal, generally of steel plate and steel elements for higher stresses and generally also in consideration of their long life compared with timber pallets and other materials are mostly given preference. The selection of the given expedient method of construction and important details in design is determined by the partly contradicting requirements of a high degree of natural stability and a low weight on the one hand and economical production and a low proneness to breakdown on the other.

Finally, also of importance is the type and property of the material to be stored, which in turn effects the obtainable loading capacity.

Since, for example, in industrial plants and storage depots for internal turnover and the storage of fuels always a large number of pallets are required, minor displacements in the distribution of the incurred costs could have an adverse effect on the economy in toto of the conveying or storage system concerned by a cumulative effect. Also for reasons of economy the aim is to keep the number of pallets in circulation as low as possible, but on the other hand also to employ existing pallets with greater efficiency and to avoid the occurrence of excess capacities charged with the disadvantages of dead capital.This danger in narticular, however, occurs to a great extent always when the material conveyed is composed of identical articles which, however, differ in type and categories of size, for example, of bundled or coiled thin filament-like material such as wire lashings, cable drums or hose reels, paper, sheet and sheet metal packages or rolls and the like or of wheels, pneumatic tyres for automotive vehicles and the like torus-shaped bodies.

The object of the invention thus consists in the novel configuration of pallets and generally of rigid stacking devices in an embracing sense with the object to render these universally usable, taking into account the requirements resulting from the rough permanent usage in practice having a smaller structural expenditure for the accommodation of articles to be conveyed of varied dimension in more units than hitherto and therewith indirectly quite decisively improving the economy of the conveying or storage system concerned.

According to the present invention there is provided a pallet or stacking device having a rectangular frame enclosing its base surface and provided with supports spacing it from the supporting surface, the frame having an open recess extending in the central region of the base surface over its entire length and framed on each longitudinal side by an additional frame member extending parallel to the frame longitudinal side members, in which the device is adaptable for different size loads by means of a reversible filler member insertable into the recess and covering same.

Preferably, the recess has a width of an order of magnitude corresponding to half the width of the base surface; nevertheless, deviations therefrom are possible depending upon the order of size of the articles to be transported.

The filler member is preferably adapted as a flat-surfaced plate with angled lateral edges and insertable optionally into the recess with lateral edges facing upwards or downwards. To exhaust fully all the possibilities resulting therefrom, it is advisable for the lateral edges to be of an order of magnitude corresponding to the level of the additional frame side members.

With a relatively low expenditure, the in vention provides a pallet of manifold uses,.

the loading surface of which, due to the ndaptability to loads of highly fluctuation of category in the frame of the entire within the framework of the entire internal transport system, may be better utilised than with hitherto usual designs and limitations. Thus, for example, for the preferred transportation of pneumatic tyres and similar torus or discshaped articles, it is possible to stack tyres of the upper category such as tractor or lorry tyres in the filler member inserted in the longitudinal recess in a trough-like manner with its lateral edges facing upwards as to be positively retained with a simple support by conventional supporting handles on the end faces of the pallet, whilst on the other hand to accommodate substantially smaller passenger vehicle tyres in two or more interlocked stacks in juxtaposition and one above the other the recess being covered by insertion of the filler member and then the base surface of the pallet as a whole being available as a flat-surfaced supporting surface.

For transportation in an empty state of the pallets in accordance with the invention in turn there is used the filler member, in this case reversed, i.e. inserted in the recess trough-like with the lateral edges facing upwards undetachably receiving the existing support handles. With the use of such standard pallets it is possible to considerably reduce the frame requirement for a predetermined storage turnover, and as a result thereof considerably reduces investment costs. Moreover, the organisation of the storage operation with the adaptation of the necessary transportation routes to one another is simpler, wherefrom, besides the direct advantages, further savings in costs result.

The present invention will be further illustrated, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Fig. 1 is an end perspective view of a pallet for transportation of large pneumatic tyres; Fig. 2 is a side perspective view of the pallet of Fig. 1, having a plurality of large pneumatic tyres stacked thereon; Fig. 3 is a side perspective view of the pallet of Fig. 1, modified to accommodate smaller pneumatic tyres; Fig. 4 is a cut-away view of the pallet of Fig. 3 partly loaded; Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the pallet of Fig. 3 completely loaded with small pneu matic tyres; and Fig. 5a shows a cross-sectional detail of the pallet of the invention on an enlarged scale.

The pallet shown in the drawings is of an all metal design and is constructed substan tially from a rectangular frame 6 of U-shaped steel sections or any other rolled sections having four supports 7 mounted at its four corners, whereby the necessary connections are produced by welding. The supports 7, which are formed from tubular members of conventional dimensions with attached enlarged feet, on the one hand serve for the setting down of the pallet whilst still leaving sufficient space above the supporting surface to allow the lifting forks of a fork-lift truck to engage from below, and on the other hand also for loosely inserting supporting handles 8 or 9, which in turn, depending upon the articles loaded and the stacking height attained, may be selected to vary in length and design.

As illustrated, the frame 6 has two additional frame members 10 extending parallel to the frame longitudinal side members and spaced therefrom, such additional members being inserted and welded at rhe end faces to the shorter end frame members. The additional frame members 10, which are expediently made of the same rolled sections as the frame 6, form the lateral definition of a central longitudinal recess 11. Although not shown, a filler member, similar to member 14 of Fig. 3, is inserted in the recess 11 in the manner illustrated in Fig. 5a. As illustrated in Fig. 2, large pneumatic tyres 12 may be stored in serial arrangement in the member 14 in the recess 11.The substantially positive retention of the tyres 12, however, renders unnecessary any further transportation safeguard except for the short support handles 8 located at the end faces.

To accommodate small size tyres, for example, passenger vehicle tyres 13, the recess 11 is covered by a suitably dimensioned filler member 14 made, for example, of sheet steel.

On the so-formed cohesive base area, the tyres 13 may be stacked in two juxtaposed rows in the conventional interlinked arrangement, whereby the greater stack height in this case has to be taken into account by support handles 9 of suitably greater length.

The filler member 14, in the cross-sectional view shown in Fig. 5a is shaped as a flattened U-shape and in its position of use, in accordance with Figs. 3 to 5, abuts with the angled lateral edges on stops 15 provided on the underside of the additional frame members 10. For transportation of the pallet in an empty state, the filler member 14 is inserted reversed in the recess 11, see Fig. 5a, so that it forms a kind of hollow for stowing away the support handles or rods 9 not required.

The spaces 16 between side frame members 6 and the additional frame members 10 in the embodiment of the pallet shown do not interfere with stowing tyres of difference types and categories. Depending upon the nature of the articles to be loaded, however, they may be closed by covering or bridging in any manner, when this should be necessary or desired.

WHAT WE CLAIM JS:- 1. A pallet or stacking device having a rectangular frame enclosing its base surface and provided with supports spacing it from the supporting surface, the frame having an open recess extending in the central region of the base surface over its entire length, and framed on each longitudinal side by an additional frame member extending parallel to the frame longitudinal side members, in which the device is adaptable for different size loads by means of a reversible filler member insertable into the recess and covering same.

2. A pallet or stacking device as claimed in claim 1, in which the recess has a width of an order of magnitude corresponding to half the width of the base surface.

3. A pallet or stacking device as claimed in claim 1 or 2, in which the filler member is adapted as a flat-surfaced plate having angled side edges and alternately insertable, with upwardly or downwardly facing lateral edges, into the recess.

4. A pallet or stacking device as claimed in claim 3, in which the lateral edges of the filler member are of an order of magnitude corresponding to the height of the additional frame members.

5. A pallet or stacking device as claimed in any preceding claim, in which substantially open spaces are provided between the frame longitudinal side members and the additional frame members.

6. A pallet or stacking device as claimed in any preceding claim, in which the additional frame members are provided with stops at their lower edge for retaining the filler member in an installed position.

7. A pallet or stacking device, substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

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

Claims (7)

**WARNING** start of CLMS field may overlap end of DESC **. may be closed by covering or bridging in any manner, when this should be necessary or desired. WHAT WE CLAIM JS:-

1. A pallet or stacking device having a rectangular frame enclosing its base surface and provided with supports spacing it from the supporting surface, the frame having an open recess extending in the central region of the base surface over its entire length, and framed on each longitudinal side by an additional frame member extending parallel to the frame longitudinal side members, in which the device is adaptable for different size loads by means of a reversible filler member insertable into the recess and covering same.

2. A pallet or stacking device as claimed in claim 1, in which the recess has a width of an order of magnitude corresponding to half the width of the base surface.

3. A pallet or stacking device as claimed in claim 1 or 2, in which the filler member is adapted as a flat-surfaced plate having angled side edges and alternately insertable, with upwardly or downwardly facing lateral edges, into the recess.

4. A pallet or stacking device as claimed in claim 3, in which the lateral edges of the filler member are of an order of magnitude corresponding to the height of the additional frame members.

5. A pallet or stacking device as claimed in any preceding claim, in which substantially open spaces are provided between the frame longitudinal side members and the additional frame members.

6. A pallet or stacking device as claimed in any preceding claim, in which the additional frame members are provided with stops at their lower edge for retaining the filler member in an installed position.

7. A pallet or stacking device, substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.