GB2120608A - Positioning and accommodating loads in vehicles - Google Patents

Abstract

A load carrying vehicle includes support means bearing at least one additional loading surface substantially parallel with the normal loading surface; the support means are adjustable such that the height of the additional surface may be varied. In addition there is disclosed a vehicle having a loading surface comprising a plurality of rolling elements enabling ready positioning of loads deposited on the said surface. Preferably, the rolling elements are in the form of rods or balls.

Description

SPECIFICATION Load transporting arrangement The present invention relates to a load transporting arrangement and is particularly applicable to road vehicles and containers used in conjunction with such vehicles.

There are many types of vehicles which are susceptible to inefficient use of their load carrying capacity especially if the load to be transported comprises a number of relatively fragile units.

Many goods are encased in relatively small units of a relatively fragile nature, such as carboard boxes. It is a common requirement that such units should not be subjected to a pressure exceeding that produced by stacking the boxes 3 or 4 high.

Often this results in vehicles, particularly road vehicles such as lorries, carrying only 3 or 4 layers of goods whereas the height of the vehicle may be able to accommodate more than twice this number of layers of goods.

With a view to mitigating this disadvantage the present invention provides, in a first aspect, a load transporting arrangement adapted to be supported by a vehicle having a loading surface, comprising support means presenting at least one additional loading surface substantially parallel with the said loading surface. Preferably, the support means are adjustable such that the height of the additional loading surface is variable by adjustment of the support means.

A further disadvantage of conventional loading of goods is the manipulation of goods to their optimum position subsequent to their being deposited on or in the vehicle. This problem has to some extent been mitigated by flat top tilts, open top trailers and, more recently, curtain sided lorries. However, the use of such vehicles is not suitable for certain types of goods and their advantage is lost if loading and/or unloading has to be conducted with a restricted clearance adjacent the sides of the vehicle.

According to a second aspect of the present invention there is provided a load transporting arrangement consisting of a vehicle having a loading surface comprising a plurality of rolling elements retained by the said surface, thereby enabling ready positioning of loads deposited on the said surface. Preferably, the rolling elements are in the form of rods or bails. Uni-directional or omni-directional rolling balls may be provided.

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described by way of example only.

The embodiments to be described are particularly concerned with the maximisation of loads carried by lorries, containers, box vans, flat top tilts and trailers. Two aspects of the present invention are described and embodiments of these aspects of the invention may be utilised separately or in conjunction with each other.

A load transporting arrangement is provided for the inside of lorries, containers and box vans. The load transporting arrangement comprises rack like structures which create an additional surface or additional surfaces on which goods can be loaded.

Often the goods will be pre-stacked on pallets and the use of a rack system so that several pallets may be stored one above another is particularly beneficial.

A similar construction may be effected to the top side of flat top tilts and trailers so as to provide an additional loading surface or additional loading surfaces in the same manner as the lorries and containers.

Where a vehicle is used solely for one application then it would be feasible for the load transporting arrangement to be permanently fixed so as to provide an additional loading surface or additional loading surfaces only at the height, above the main loading surface of the vehicle, required by that particular application. However, such an arrangement maybe impracticle where the vehicle is not dedicated to one specific application. The provision of loading surfaces at fixed levels could cause the number of layers of goods per loading surface to be reduced.

Consequently, the present load transporting arrangement comprises adjustable support means so that the height of the additional surface or surfaces can be varied by adjustment of the support means.

The support means may be of any suitable form and conventional rack arrangements can be adapted for forming the present load transporting arrangement. The support means should be formed of as light a material as possible having regard to the potential weight to be loaded on the additional loading surfaces. This will often be dictated by the size and type of vehicle on which the load transporting arrangement is supported.

The load transporting arrangement enables optimum use to be made of the full internal height of a vehicle such as a lorry. Consequently, as compared with conventional loading techniques, the load transporting arrangement enables the load capacity of the lorry to be significantly increased and this can provide the advantages of reducing the number of vehicles required to transport a specific quantity of goods and this will of course in turn result in savings of fuei and manpower.

Use of the load transporting arrangement provides the possibility of increasing the height of lorries so that further additional loading surfaces can be provided by the load transporting arrangement. This will again increase the load capacity and ensure further improved savings of fuel and man-power.

In the particular form of the load transporting arrangement in which the support means is similar to that of known pallet racks used in warehouses a number of specific advantages accrue. The pallets can be loaded with merchandise to a lower height than previously, since more than one pallet is stored per unit area above the main loading surface of the vehicle. The result of lower loading on each pallet is that there is less danger of movement of the merchandise on the pallet while in transit. Whether the goods are stacked on a pallet or otherwise, and even when consignments of different goods are carried by the same vehicle, the weight of the goods vertically is shared by two or more surfaces instead of just the main loading surface of the vehicle.This greatly reduces the possibility of goods nearest the main loading surface of the vehicle being crushed by those above. A further problem inherent in the conventional technique of loading palletised goods onto a lorry is that if a pallet of goods is to be stacked on top of another pallet of goods, then the lower pallet must have the goods stacked so as to ensure that the top of the stack is absolutely level. The present load transporting arrangement obviates this necessity.

The load transporting arrangement does not require strong walls and can conveniently be in the form of a skeleton pallet rack system.

Conseqently, the vehicle can be open sided on both of the lateral sides of the vehicle and the arrangement is therefore especially beneficial for curtain sided type lorries. Two or more tiers of independently supported goods are available when the weather and security covers of the vehicle are removed. This results in a lorry being able to be loaded and unloaded from both sides simultaneously, if required. The independent support of tiers of goods, particularly if used in conjunction with an open sided or curtain sided lorry, results in a reduction in time necessary to load or unload the vehicle.

When a vehicle is provided with the load transporting arrangement it need not be necessary to provide walls for the lorry and this can be used to provide a lorry having a more rigid construction, using very little extra metal, if any. The cost involved in constructing such a vehicle could well be reduced with regard to the conventional lorry having side walls.

By creating the availability of different levels of loading platforms in the lorry and therefore dramatically increasing the number of different pallet loads or bulk stored loads of goods that can be carried by the lorry, the segregation of goods for different destinations can be greatly facilitated.

Claims (8)

1. A load transporting arrangement adapted to be supported by a vehicle having a loading surface, comprising support means presenting at least one additional loading surface substantially parallel with the said loading surface.

2. A load transporting arrangement as claimed in claim 1, wherein the height of the additional loading surface above the loading surface is variable by adjustment of the support means.

3. A load transporting arrangement as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein the support means presents a plurality of additional loading surfaces all substantially parallel with the said loading surface and wherein the spacings between the additional loading surfaces are variable by adjustment of the support means.

4. A load transporting arrangement consisting of a vehicle having a loading surface comprising a plurality of rolling elements retained by the said surface, thereby enabling ready positioning of loads deposited on the said surface.

5. A load transporting arrangement as claimed in claim 4, wherein the rolling elements are in the form of rods.

6. A load transporting arrangement as claimed in claim 4, wherein the rolling elements are in the form of balls.

7. A load transporting arrangement as claimed in claim 6, wherein the balls are omni-directional rolling balls.

8. A load transporting arrangement presenting at least one additional loading surface, substantially as hereinbefore described.