GB2465398A

GB2465398A - Wheeled dolly positioning unit

Info

Publication number: GB2465398A
Application number: GB0821014A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Leslie John Groves
Original assignee: Smurfit Kappa Corrugated UK Ltd
Current assignee: Smurfit Kappa Corrugated UK Ltd
Priority date: 2008-11-17
Filing date: 2008-11-17
Publication date: 2010-05-19
Anticipated expiration: 2028-11-17
Also published as: GB0821014D0; GB2465398B

Abstract

A dolly positioning unit comprises one or more panels 16a, 16b of foldable sheet material to at least partly cover a load bearing surface of a pallet (fig 3), the panels including a plurality of spaced apertures 28-32a-d for reception of the wheels of one or more wheeled dollies. The unit may be folded from a single blank or comprise separately formed spacers fastened to the panels (fig 6). Various folded configurations are disclosed. A plurality of such positioning units, pallets and dollies may be secured together to form a stack.

Description

DOLLY POSITONING UNIT

Field of the Invention

This invention relates to securing wheeled dollies in transit. Such wheeled dollies may be used for example for the handling of stock in the supply chain between a manufacturer or wholesale supplier and a retailer such as a supermarket or department store.

Invention Background

Dollies of this kind may simply comprise a wheeled chassis or base inserted beneath a load (for example a carton of goods) to enable it to be easily moved around. One commonly used form of dolly includes a base panel, side panels, a rear panel and an openable front panel, each formed by a tubular metal frame with a wire mesh infill. The interior of the resulting cage may be filled with goods or cartons of goods. The dolly is mounted on wheels to enable it to be easily pushed by hand when full, from a delivery truck to a retailer's stockroom, and then wheeled about the retailer's premises as required for shelf stacking and the like. "Empties" likewise can be easily wheeled about the store for collection and return through the supply chain.

The product manufacturer or wholesale supplier places, by hand, a group of dollies onto a timber pallet. The dollies are usually sized so that four (1/4 pallet dollies) or five (1/5 pallet dollies) will fit together on the pallet. Transit packages containing the product or different kinds of products are then placed into the dollies, again usually by hand, until each dolly is filled and the palletised unit so formed is complete. The completed unit is then shrink-wrapped to secure the dollies in position on the pallet and to prevent the dolly wheels from rolling. The palletised unit of dollies can then be transported on a standard truck to a distribution warehouse. Once there, the retailer can deconstruct the palletised unit using specially adapted "long fork" fork lift trucks manufactured to handle individual dollies.

Thus the dollies can be pickedlsorted and delivered unpalletised (again by truck) from the distribution warehouse to the supermarket or retail store.

Difficulties arise in the palletised part of the supply chain, particularly with relatively heavy goods, in that robust shrink wrapping is required to retain the dollies on the pallet. This adds to material costs, and to time/labour costs when both applying and removing the shrink wrapping. Palletised loads containing more than one layer of dollies have not been used hitherto, since a lower layer of dollies would have to be secured by at least partial shrink wrapping, before a pallet and an upper layer of dollies can be placed on top and consolidated by shrink wrapping to form a double layered palletised unit. This has proved to be impractical. Increasing the number of dollies in a given palletised unit is desirable for reducing labour and transport costs in this part of the supply chain.

GB24 16527 shows a ramped pallet specially adapted for use with wheeled dollies.

W002/2 8731 concerns an attachment for use with a standard pallet so as to provide guide tracks and rollproof parking areas for wheeled trolleys loaded onto the pallet. The attachment is formed from wood, moulded (e.g. vacuum formed) plastics or steel. There is a need for a simpler and cheaper means for retaining dollies and similar wheeled loads in position on a pallet.

Summary of the Invention

Accordingly the present invention provides a dolly positioning unit comprising one or more panels of foldable sheet material such as cardboard, paperboard, corrugated cardboard or the like, configured in use to at least partly cover a load bearing surface of a pallet; the panels containing a plurality of apertures spaced apart for reception of the wheels of a wheeled dolly in use. The dolly or preferably several dollies can therefore be retained in correct position or relative positions on the pallet, with the wheels restrained against rolling. The dollies and the positioning unit may be secured to the pallet by any suitable means, for example strapping or shrink wrapping applied around the pallet and dollies. One pallet, positioning unit and dolly or set of dollies supported on the pallet may be stacked and secured on top of another pallet, positioning unit and dolly or set of dollies, to form a stack or multi-layered assembly, containing a larger number of dollies than would be possible with a single pallet and layer of dollies. Such stacking may be performed relatively easily, as the positioning unit helps to retain the dolly or dollies in their correct positions on the pallet before the securing means such as strapping or shrink wrapping is applied.

The positioning unit also helps to prevent the dolly wheels from rolling on the pallet in transit, so the strapping or shrink wrapping does not need to be as robust as would be the case without the positioning unit. This can save in material costs as the foldable sheet material (e.g. corrugated cardboard) of the securing unit can be cheaper than the shrink wrapping or strapping material. Time and labour are also saved as there is less shrink wrapping, strapping material or similar securing means to apply and remove.

The positioning unit may comprise spacer means to support the panel or panels above the load bearing surface of the pallet. Here the apertures are more effective in retaining the dolly wheels in the correct relative positions, as the edges of the apertures then present a higher obstacle to resist rolling of the wheels out of position.

The spacer means may comprise apertures in alignment with the panel apertures, for reception of the dolly wheels, at the same time providing effective support for at least the region of the panels immediately surrounding the panel apertures. The panel apertures and support means apertures thus form sockets for the reception of the dolly wheels.

The spacer means may be formed from any suitable material, preferably a lightweight material such as foamed plastics, for example PU foam or expanded polystyrene. More preferably however, the spacer means may comprise one or more further layers of foldable sheet material. The positioning unit may thus be formed from a unitary blank of foldable sheet material. In one preferred form, the positioning unit comprises a unitary base panel, having opposite edges, to each of which is connected a respective intermediate panel, an upper panel being connected to each intermediate panel. The intermediate panels may be folded inwardly and the upper panels may be folded outwardly in zigzag fashion to overlie the base panel, so that the base panel and intermediate panels support the upper panels spaced above the pallet load supporting surface in use. Apertures are formed in the base, intermediate and upper panels which are brought into register with each other when the blank is folded in this way, and which are disposed in a pattern to retain wheels of a dolly or set of dollies at the correct position / spacing on the pallet in use.

Other blank configurations are of course possible: for example a series of panels interconnected end-to-end and which are rolled up to form a flattened coil; one end panel thereby being supported spaced above the load supporting surface of a pallet by the remaining panels in use. Alternatively, the series of panels may be folded in zigzag fashion.

In another alternative, the spacer means may comprise one or more initially separate further pieces of the foldable sheet material, adhesively or otherwise secured to the upper panel or panels. Yet further arrangements for producing multiple thicknesses of the foldable sheet material in the dolly positioning unit when ready for use will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

Further preferred features and advantages of the invention are described below with reference to illustrative embodiments shown in the drawings.

Brief Description of the Drawings

Fig. 1 is a plan view of a blank for a dolly positioning unit forming a first embodiment of the invention; Fig. 1A is an enlarged detail of part of Fig. 1; Figs. 2 and 3 are perspective views showing the blank of Fig. 1 respectively partly folded and fully folded up for use in positioning dollies on a pallet; Figs. 4 and 5 are schematic perspective views of partly folded blanks forming second and third embodiments of the invention; Fig. 6 is a schematic perspective view of a fourth embodiment of the invention; Fig. 7 is a scrap perspective view of a fifth embodiment of the invention, and Fig. 8 is a sketch showing the lower part of a typical dolly such as may be used together with the positioning unit of the present invention.

The blank 10 shown in Figure 1 comprises a base panel 12, a pair of intermediate panels 14a, l4b and a pair of top panels 16a, 16b. As shown, the various panels arc generally flat.

As shown in Figures 1 and lA, adjacent pairs of these panels are connected together by small hinge straps or panels 18, each delineated by a pair of parallel cut lines 20 extending longitudinally of the blank and a pair of parallel crease lines 22 extending transversely of the blank. The adjacent panels 16a, 14a; 14a, 12; 12, 14b and 14b, 16b are otherwise separated from each other by transverse cut lines 24.

To make the positioning unit ready for use, the top panels 16a, 16b of the flat blank 10 are folded downwardly through 180 degrees to lie underneath and adjacent to the intermediate panels 14a, 14b. The intermediate panels 14a, 14b and the adjacent top panels 16a, 16b are then folded upwardly to lie on top of the base panel 12. The folding sequence is illustrated in Figures 2 and 3. The base panel 12 and intermediate panels 1 4a arid I 4b thus form spacer means which in use support the top panels 1 6a, 1 6b above a load supporting surface of a pallet 26 (see Figure 3).

Groups of rectangular holes or apertures are provided in each of the panels 16a, 14a and 12, to accommodate the wheels of three dollies arranged side by side across the pallet and positioning unit. Each dolly is provided with four castor wheels 38a, 38b, 38c and 38d (see Figure 8). The two holes na, nc in each group 28a-d etc. are aligned with each other but staggered with respect to the two holes nb, nd, which latter are also aligned with each other.

Each group of holes 28a-d etc. thus accommodates two of the castor wheels which are rotated to point forwardly of one dolly on one side, and two of the castor wheels which are rotated to point rearwardly of that dolly on its other side.

Two further groups of rectangular holes 34a-d and 36a-d are provided in each of the panels 1 6b, 1 4b and 12 to accommodate the wheels of two further dollies arranged end to end across the width of the pallet and positioning unit, beside the three side by side dollies mentioned earlier. The holes of these two further groups are aligned and staggered in a similar way to those of the three groups 28a-d, 30a-d and 32a-d first mentioned above, again to accommodate dollies with castor wheels pointing forwards on one side and backwards on the other. The corresponding holes na, nb, nc, nd in each of the panels 16b, 14b, 12 and 16a, 1 4a, 12 become superposed when the panels containing them are folded and superposed.

They thus form rectangular holes or apertures extending through the entire multi-layered thickness of the positioning unit in use, and which therefore form sockets deep enough to effectively retain the dolly wheels and prevent them from rolling on the pallet. Other arrangements of holes/apertures are of course possible, for example to accommodate dollies having fixed-direction wheels or a combination of fixed-direction and castor wheels. Where castor wheels are to be accommodated, the corresponding holes/apertures can be provided in a variety of suitable orientations. The positions of the holes/apertures can also be varied to suit different sizes, numbers and arrangements of dollies on the pallet, and different wheel arrangements in a given dolly.

Figure 4 shows a different blank 110 for a positioning unit, partly folded for use. The blank comprises a series of three panels 16, 12, 14 hingedly joined end to end. The panel 16 is folded in the direction of arrow A from the position illustrated, so as to lie parallel to and between the panels 12 and 14 to form a flattened coil. The binge panels or straps 18a are slightly longer than the hinge panels or straps 18b, so that the panels 12, 14 when folded parallel are spaced by a thickness of the blank material; whereas the panels 12 and 16 can lie touching face to face when folded parallel. In this Figure, only one rectangular aperture 34a is shown for simplicity, but in fact the required sets of apertures are provided as necessary to accommodate the wheels of a desired number of dollies of desired shapes and configurations. These apertures are again provided in each panel 16, 12, 14, brought into register when the positioning unit is folded ready for use.

Figure 5 shows a blank similar to that of Figure 4, except that the series of panels 16, 12, 14 are folded in zigzag fashion. The hinge straps or panels 18 are therefore all of the same (short) length whereby adjacent panels lie touching face to face when folded.

Figure 6 shows a multilayered positioning unit 310 in which an upper panel 16 of foldable sheet material is adhered or otherwise fastened to a spacer layer 112, and to an optional base panel 14 of foldable sheet material. The spacer layer 112 may be formed from a lightweight material such as rigid PU foam or expanded polystyrene. Additionally or alternatively it may be formed from one or more further initially separate layers of foldable sheet material, adhered or otherwise secured to the adjacent layers/panels. Selected regions of the spacer layer 112 and base panel 14 (where present) can be cut away or omitted, e.g. to leave spaced apart collars of the spacer layer and base panel immediately surrounding the wheel accommodating apertures 28a, 28b, as indicated by the dotted lines 50a, Sob. Again, for simplicity, a reduced number of apertures is illustrated, compared to those which would actually be used in such a positioning unit. Other configurations of spacer and base layers are of course possible, depending for example on the degree of support required for the top paiel 16. For example the spacer layer and / or base panel could comprise strips of spacer material corresponding to wheel "tracks" in the top panel, over which the dolly wheels are rolled as the pallet is loaded and unloaded. The apertures 28a, 28b etc. in the top panel are preferably superposed over corresponding apertures in the spacer layer and base panel (where present).

In Figure 7 an individual top panel 216 is formed as a collar with a central aperture 228a, to receive a single dolly wheel (not shown). A number of such top panels (only one of which is illustrated, for simplicity) are attached to and spaced from a base panel 214 by spacer means 212. These components can be secured together by adhesive or any other suitable fastening method. The top panels and base panels are formed form foldable sheet material such as corrugated cardboard. The spacer means may be formed from a lightweight material such as PU foam or expanded polystyrene, or formed from one or more further layers of foldable sheet material such as corrugated cardboard. The spacer means and top panels are distributed about the base panel in the required numbers and pattern to accommodate a desired number and configuration of dolly wheels. The apertures 228a may or may not extend through the base panel 214 which is supported on a pallet (not shown) in use.

Claims

CLAIMS1. A dolly positioning unit comprising one or more panels of foldable sheet material configured in use to at least partly cover a load bearing surface of a pallet; the panels containing a plurality of apertures spaced apart for reception of the wheels of a wheeled dolly in use.
2. The dolly positioning unit of claim 1, comprising spacer means to support the panel or panels above the load bearing surface of the pallet in use. I0
3. The dolly positioning unit of claim 2, in which the spacer means comprises apertures in alignment with the panel apertures.
4. The dolly positioning unit of claim 1 or 2, in which the spacer means comprise one or more further layers of foldable sheet material.
5. The dolly positioning unit of any preceding claim, comprising a unitary base panel, having opposite edges, to each of which is connected a respective intermediate panel, an upper panel being connected to each intermediate panel.
6. The dolly positioning unit of any of claims 1-4, comprising a series of panels interconnected end-to-end and which are rolled up to form a flattened coil.
7. The dolly positioning unit of any of claims 1-4, comprising a series of panels folded in zigzag fashion.
8. The dolly positioning unit of any of claims 1-4, in which the spacer means comprise one or more initially separate further pieces of the foldable sheet material, secured to the upper panel or panels.
9. An assembly comprising a positioning unit as defined in any preceding claim, a pallet and at least one dolly.
10. An assembly comprising a plurality of positioning units as defined in any of claims 1-8, a plurality of pallets, and a plurality of dollies, arranged to form a stack.
11. A dolly positioning unit substantially as described with reference to or as shown in the drawings.