GB2495133A

GB2495133A - Pallet Support Frame

Info

Publication number: GB2495133A
Application number: GB1116861.4A
Authority: GB
Inventors: William Mcconnell
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2011-09-30
Filing date: 2011-09-30
Publication date: 2013-04-03
Anticipated expiration: 2031-09-30
Also published as: GB201116861D0; GB2495133B

Abstract

A pallet support frame for supporting a first pallet above a second pallet comprises at least one first support 10 and at least one second support 20. Each support comprises a pair of substantially parallel legs 12, 24 depending from opposite ends of a crossbar 14, 24. A lower end of each support leg terminates in a foot 30 for engaging a pallet. Recesses 54, 56 are formed in an upper face of the crossbar of the first support to mate with a corresponding recess in a lower face of the other crossbar. The first and second supports are coupled with their crossbars at right angles. Three or more recesses may be formed in the first support for coupling with up to three second supports. A cover 60, 62, 64 is preferably associated with each of the recesses of the first support.

Description

Pallet Support Frame This invention relates to a pallet support frame for supporting a first pallet above a second pallet in stacked or tiered relationship.

Pallets are used for the transportation and storage of goods to enable bulky goods to be handled, for example by a forklift truck. The most commonly used pallets comprise an upper load table and a lower support table, both made from wooden planks, with spacer blocks arranged between said tables, the planks being attached to the spacer blocks by means of nails. The spacer blocks are arranged so that the tines of a forklift truck can be inserted between the tables to enable the pallet, and any goods carried thereon, to be lifted and moved from place to place.

Whilst pallets have become the standard way of handling bulky goods during transportation and storage, in particular when goods are carried on flat bed or curtain sided trailer, the use of such pallets to transport relatively bulky goods can result in wasted spaced on the trailer due to an inability for the pallets to be stacked without crushing the goods carried thereon.

Previous attempts to devise spacers or frames for supporting pallets one above the other in tiered relationship have encountered limited success due to the complexity of the frames and the problem of transporting such frames when the pallets are empty. An example of such kno pallet support frames is shown in WO 20 10/084375.

An object of the present invention is to obviate such problems.

According to the present invention there is provided a pallet support frame for supporting a first pallet above a second pallet in tiered relationship, said support frame comprising at least one first support member and at least one second support member, each of said first and second support members comprising a pair of substantially parallel support legs depending from opposite ends of a crossbar, a lower end of each support leg terminating in a foot for engaging a pallet, a plurality of spaced apart recesses being formed in an upper face of the crossbar of said at least one first support member adapted to mate with a corresponding recess in a lower face of the crossbar said at least one second support to couple said first and second support members in a common plane and with the crossbar of the or each first support member extending perpendicular to the crossbar of the or each second support member.

In a preferred embodiment the or each first support member is provided with three or more recesses formcd in the upper face of thc crossbar thereof whcrcby the or each first support member may be coupled with up to three second support members. Preferably the or each first support member comprises a first recess provided in a central region of the crossbar and second and third recesses provided adjacent respective ends of the crossbar, Preferably a cover member is associated with each of the spaced apart recesses in the upper face of the crossbar of said at least one first support member for retaining the crossbar of a respective second support member therein. In one embodiment said cover member is pivotally mounted on the crossbar of the at least one first support member to be moveable between a raised position, whcrein a recess in thc lower face of the crossbar of a respective second support member can be engaged with the associated recess in the upper face of the crossbar of the at least one first support mcmber, and a lowcrcd position, wherein the cover member ovcrlics the crossbar of said respective second support member and retains thc crossbar of said respective second support member in said associated recess in interlocking relationship.

Preferably each foot of said at last one first and second support members comprises a substantially L shaped plate having a substantially horizontal upper portion adapted to engage an upper face of a pallet and a vertically depending outer portion adapted to engage a side of the pallet. Preferably the length of said vertically depending outer portion is substantially equal to the thickness of the pallet so that the vertically depending outer portion may engage the ground when the horizontal upper portion engages an upper face of a pallet. At least one substantially downwardly projecting tooth may be provided on said horizontal upper portion, preferably at an inner end thcreof to bite into said upper face of the pallet. Said at least one tooth may be formed from a region, preferably an inner edge region, of said upper portion of the respective foot, said region preferably being bent downwardly to define one of more teeth.

Preferably a pallet receiving seat is provided at each end of the crossbar of each of said first and second support members for receiving a pallet thereon to retain the pallet on top of the support frame. In one embodiment each pallet receiving seat comprises an L shaped plate having a lower horizontal portion for engaging the lower face of a pallet supported on the support frame and an upwardly extending side portion for engaging a side of the pallet.

Where the or each first support member is provided with a first recess provided in a central region of thc crossbar and second and third recesses provided adjacent respective ends of the crossbar, said pallet receiving seats of the or each first support member may be provided on a cover member associated with each of said second and third recesses. Preferably each pallet receiving seat of the or each first support member is integrally formed with the repsective cover member.

An embodiment of the present invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:-Figure 1 is a perspective view of a pallet support frame in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 2 is an exploded view of part of the pallet support frame of Figure 1; Figure 3 is a detailed perspective view of a foot portion of the pallet support frame of Figure 1; Figure 4 is a detailed perspective view' of a first cover member of the support frame of Figure 1; Figure 5 is a detailed perspective view of a second cover member of the support frame of Figure 1; Figure 6 is a perspective view of the pallet support frame of Figure 1 in a frirther mode of operation; and Figure 7 is a perspective view of the pallet support frame of Figure 1 in a further mode of operation As shown in Figure 1, a pallet support frame in accordance with an embodiment of the prcscnt invention compriscs a first support mcmbcr 10 and at least onc second support member 20, each of said first and second support members 10,20 having a pair of parallel vertically arranged support legs 12,22 depending from either end of a respective crossbar 14,24.

As best seen from Figure 3, a pallet engaging foot 30 is provided at the lower end of each support leg 12,24, each foot 30 comprising an L shaped plate having a horizontal upper portion 32 adapted to engage an upper face of a lower pallet and a verticaHy depending lower portion 34 adapted to engage a side of the lower pallet. The length of the vertically depending lower portion 34 of each foot 30 is substantially equal to the thickness of the pallets with which the support frame is to be used so that lower end of the vertically depending lower portion 34 of each foot 30 engages the ground when the horizontal upper portion 32 of the foot 30 engages the upper face of the lower pallet, thus transferring the load placed on the support frame by an upper pallet to the ground. A pair of downwardly depending teeth 36 are formed on an inner edge of the horizontal upper portion 32 of each foot 30 whereby said teeth bite into the surface of the lower pallet prevent the feet 30 from slipping on the lower pallet.

A pallet receiving seat 40 is provided at each end of the crossbars of 14,24 the first and second support members 10,20 for supporting an upper pallet thereon. Each pallet receiving seat 40 comprises an L shape plate comprising a horizontal base portion 42 adapted to support a lower face of the upper pallet and an upwardly extending vertical side portion 44 adapted to engage a respective side of the upper pallet to retain the upper pallet on the support frame.

The crossbar 14 of the first support member 10 has three recesses formed in an upper face thereof, a first recess 52 being formed in a central region of the crossbar and second and third recesses 54,56 being formed adjacent respective ends of the crossbar 14. The or each second support member 20 is provided with a single cooperating recess 58 formed in a lower face of the crossbar 24 thereof in a central region thereof, said recess 58 being adapted to mate with one of said first, second and third recesses 52,54,56 in the upper face of the crossbar 14 of the first support member 10 to couple the first and second support members 10,20 together with the crossbars 14,24 in a common plane and the crossbar 14 of the first support member 10 extending perpendicular to the crossbar 24 of the or each second support member 20.

Each of the first, second and third recesses 52,54,56 in the crossbar 14 of the first support member 10 is associated with a cover member 60,62,64, each cover member 60,62,64 being pivotally mounted on the crossbar 14 to be pivotable moveable between a raised position, wherein the recess 58 of the crossbar of a second support member 20 may be mated with a respective recess 52,54,56 in the crossbar 14 of the first support member 10, and a lowered position, wherein the cover member 60 lies over the respective crossbar 24 of the second support member 20 to retain the respective second support member 20 in interlocking relationship with the first support member 10.

As shown in Figure 1 and 5, the pallet receiving seats 40 of the first support member 10 are formed on the cover members 60,64 provided at either end of the crossbar 14, associated with the second and third recesses 54,56 thereof When it is desired to arrange two or more pallets in tiered or stacked relationship, a support frame may be assembled from a pair of first and second support members 10,20, coupled together at right angles to one another by mating the recess 58 in the Lower face of the crossbar 24 of the second support member 20 with the first or central recess 52 in the upper face of the crossbar 14 of the first support member 10, as shown in Figure 1. The cover member 62 associated with the first recess 52 of the first support member 10 retains the second support member 20 in engagement with the first support member 10.

The feet 30 of the first and second support members 10,20 may be engaged with a lower pallet to securely locate the support frame on the lower pallet. An upper pallet may be placed onto the pallet receiving seats 40 provided on either side of the respective crossbars 14,24 of the first and second support members 10,20. The lower face of the upper pallet engages an upper face of the cover members 60,62,64, ensuring that the cover members 60,62,64 remain in their lowered positions, thus retaining the first and second support frames 10,20 in engagement with one another.

Where greater stability or load handling capacity may be required, the support frame may be assembled from one first support member 10 and a pair of second support members 20A,20B, as shown in Figure 6, the recess in the lower face of the crossbar of each second support mating with a respective one of the second and third recesses 54,56 provided at each end of the crossbar 14 of the first support member 10, such that the two second support members 20A,20B are interlockcd with the first support member 10 perpendicular thereto with thc crossbars 14,24 of the first and second support members 10,20A,20B in a common plane.

Where even greater load handling capability is required, three second support members 20A,20B,20C may be coupled with a single first support member 10 to form a support frame as shown in Figure 7, each of the first, second and third recesses 52,54,56 formed in the upper face of the crossbar 14 of the first support member 10 engaging the recess 58 in a lower face of the crossbar 24 of a respectivc second support member 20A,20B,20C.

When the pallets are not in use, the support members of several support frames can be stacked on top of each other. Alternatively the support members can be compactly stored in side by side relationship on a single pallet, the first support members being arranged to extend side by side across the pallet in a first orientation and the second support members being arranged to extend side by side across the pallet perpendicular said first support frames, one of the first or the second support frames being inverted on the pallet such that the crossbars thereof rest on the upper face of the pallet upon which they arc supported.

In this way it is possible to locate up to twelve or more first support members and twelve or more second support members on a single pallet.

The support member may be formed from galvanised steel or any other suitable material, such as plastic.

The invention is not limited to the embodiment(s) described herein but can be amended or modified without departing from the scope of the present invention.

Claims

<claim-text>Claims 1. A pallet support frame for supporting a first pallet above a second pallet in tiered relationship, said support frame comprising at least one fir st support member and at least one second support member, each of said first and second support members comprising a pair of substantially parallel support legs depending from opposite ends of a crossbar, a lower end of each support leg terminating in a foot for engaging a pallet, a plurality of spaced apart recesses being formed in an upper face of the crossbar of said at least one first support member adapted to mate with a corresponding recess in a lower face of the crossbar said at least one second support to couple said fir st and second support members in a common plane and with the crossbar of the or each first support member extending perpendicular to the crossbar of the or each second support member.</claim-text> <claim-text>2. A pallet support frame as claimed in claim 1, wherein the or each first support member is provided with three or more recesses formed in the upper face of the crossbar thereof r whereby the or each first support member can be coupled with up to three second support members.</claim-text> <claim-text>N-3. A pallet support frame as claimed in claim 2, wherein the or each first support member comprises a first recess provided in a central region of the crossbar and second and third recesses provided adjacent respective ends of the crossbar.</claim-text> <claim-text>4. A pallet support frame as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein a cover nienibcr is associated with each of the spaced apart recesses in the upper face of the crossbar of said at least one first support member for retaining the crossbar of a respective second support member therein.</claim-text> <claim-text>5. A pallet support frame as claimed in claim 4, wherein said cover member is pivotally mounted on the crossbar of the at least one first support member to be moveable between a raised position, wherein a recess in the lower face of the crossbar of a respective second support member can be engaged with the associated recess in the upper face of the crossbar of the at least one first support member, and a lowered position, wherein the cover member overlies the crossbar of said respective second support member and retains the crossbar of said respective second support member in said associated recess in interlocking relationship.B</claim-text> <claim-text>6. A pallet support frame as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein each foot of said at last one first and second support members comprises a substantially L shaped plate having a substantially horizontal upper portion adapted to engage an upper face of a pallet and a vertically depending outer portion adapted to engage a side of the pallet.</claim-text> <claim-text>7. A pallet support frame as claimed in claim 6, wherein the length of said vertically depending outer portion is substantially equal to the thickness of the paflct so that the vertically depending outer portion may engage the ground when the horizontal upper portion engages an upper face of a pallet.</claim-text> <claim-text>8. A pallet support frame as claimed in claim 6 or claim 7, wherein at least one substantially downward'y projecting tooth is provided on said horizontal upper portion to bite into said upper face of the pallet.r 9. A pallet support frame as claimed in claim 8, wherein said at least one tooth is formed C) from a region of said upper portion of the respective foot, said region being bent 0 downwardly to define one of more teeth.</claim-text> <claim-text>N-</claim-text> <claim-text>C\J 20 10. A pallet support frame as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein a pallet receiving scat is provided at each end of the crossbar of each of said first and second support members for receiving a pallet thereon to retain the pallet on top of the support frame.</claim-text> <claim-text>11. A pallet support frame as claimed in claim 10, wherein each pallet receiving seat comprises an L shaped plate having a lower horizontal portion for engaging the lower face of a pallet supported on the support frame and an upwardly extending side portion for engaging a side of the pallet.</claim-text> <claim-text>12. A pallet support frame as claimed in claim 10 or claim 11, wherein the or each first support member is provided with a first recess provided in a central region of the crossbar and second and third recesses provided adjacent respective ends of the crossbar, said pallet receiving seats of the or each first support member being provided on a cover member associated with each of said second and third recesses.</claim-text> <claim-text>13. A pallet support frame as claimed in claim 12, wherein each pallet receiving seat of the or each first support member is integrally fomied with the respective cover member.</claim-text> <claim-text>14. A pallet support frame substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings. 0)</claim-text>