IES84563Y1 - A process for recycling timber pallets - Google Patents

Description

A process for recycling Timber Pallets Introduction This invention relates to a process for recycling timber pallets of the type comprising a plurality of timber slats bridged by a plurality of timber cross-members. Timber pallets are used in a wide variety of industries for use in the transportation and storage of goods. Typically, heavy goods are stored in premises such as warehouses and the like on wooden pallets and when it is necessary to move the goods, for example onto the back of the articulated chassis for transportation, a forklift truck may be used to move the goods on the pallets without fear of damaging the goods. The tines of the forklift truck are used to engage the timber pallet and transport the goods on the pallet without having to directly engage the goods themselves. This significantly reduces the possibility of damaging the goods during transit and furthermore significantly simplifies lifting and displacement of the goods.

Accordingly, the use of timber pallets is practically universal in warehouses around the world.

Although the timber pallets are relatively simple and inexpensive to construct, they do have a tendency to become damaged through misuse or from being subjected to continuous heavy loading under the weight of goods. Accordingly, the timber pallets must be repaired or replaced if they become damaged, so that they do not fail under further loading thereby potentially causing damage to the goods placed thereon.

Currently, due to the simple construction of the timber pallets, it is relatively simple to repair broken timber slats. Typically, the broken timber slats are removed from the timber pallet and discarded and new timber slats are secured in their place. This may be performed with relatively little difficulty. There are however disadvantages with this method. First of all, this is relatively expensive as new timber slats have to be purchased in order to replace the damaged slats. This is relatively expensive when considered in the light of the overall cost of a new timber pallet. Therefore, if more than a couple of timber slats are damaged on the same timber pallet, usually that timber pallet will be discarded along with the damaged slats. This leads to a significant amount of waste which is environmentally unfriendly as the waste must be b84563 discarded. Even in the event the timber pallets being shredded and recycled, the owner of the timber pallets must go to the expense of disposing of the timber pallets in an environmentally friendly manner or risk incurring heavy penalties or fines for polluting the environment from regulatory bodies as well as damaging their public image. In summary, the known methods produce a significant amount of waste material and accordingly are deemed relatively expensive and environmentally unfriendly.

It is an object therefore of the present invention to provide a process for recycling timber pallets that overcomes at least some of these problems with the known processes that is efficient and relatively inexpensive as well as being considered environmentally friendly.

Statements of Invention According to the invention there is provided a process for recycling timber pallets of the type comprising a plurality of timber slats bridged by a plurality of timber cross- members, the process comprising the steps of: inspecting each of the timber pallets received to determine the condition of each of the timber pallets; grading and separating the timber pallets according to their condition into three categories, timber pallets ready for immediate re-use, timber pallets in need of repair and timber pallets suitable for disassembly; stacking the timber pallets ready for immediate re—use in a storage area ready for packing and subsequent distribution; delivering the timber pallets in need of repair to a repair station, the repair station comprising a work bench supplied with repair equipment; delivering the timber pallets suitable for disassembly to a recycling station adjacent the repair station, the recycling station comprising a worktop and a saw mounted on the worktop, the saw mounted on the work-top further comprises a band saw having a blade arranged substantially parallel to the work top and at a height above the worktop substantially equal to the thickness of a timber slat forming part of the timber pallet; disassembling the timber pallets suitable for disassembly at the recycling station by passing the timber pallets through the saw by sliding the timber pallet along the worktop through the saw, the saw cutting through any fastening means holding the timber slats and the timber cross-members together and thereby separating the timber slats from the timber cross- members; removing any damaged disassembled timber slats and timber cross- members from the recycling station and placing the damaged timber slats and timber cross-members in a hopper for subsequent recycling of that timber; removing any re-usable timber slats from the recycling station and passing them to the repair station for subsequent use in the restoration of timber pallets in need of repair; at the repair station, removing any damaged timber slats from the timber pallets in need of repair and placing the damaged timber slats in the hopper for subsequent recycling of that timber, using the reusable timber slats received from the recycling station to replace the damaged timber slats on the timber pallets and repair the timber pallets in need of repair; stacking the repaired timber pallets with the timber pallets ready for immediate re-use in the storage area ready for packing and subsequent distribution; and sending the damaged timber slats and timber cross—members in the hopper for further recycling.

By having such a process, the existing pallets that may be repaired are repaired using parts taken from other pallets deemed beyond repair. In this way, a timber pallet that previously was considered to be beyond repair as it was uneconomical to repair the timber pallet by replacing numerous timber slats, can be dismantled and This is highly advantageous as new timber does not have to be purchased to replace the its components used in the restoration of other timber pallets. damaged slats. Therefore, the cost of repairing the timber pallets significantly reduced. Secondly, timber pallets that are deemed beyond repair are no longer discarded and therefore do not have to be disposed of as was previously the case.

The component parts of these timber pallets are used to repair existing damaged pallets and therefore the owner of the timber pallets does not have to go to the expense of disposing of these items in an environmentally friendly manner. The material that must be disposed of in an environmentally friendly manner is reduced simply to those component parts that are deemed unsuitable for reuse in the repair of damaged pallets. Thirdly, this is seen as a particularly simple configuration of recycling station as the timber pallets can be separated into timber slats and timber cross members simply by sliding a timber pallet along the worktop through the band saw. Again this requires the minimum of alignment and skill to perform and can be carried out very simply and is quick and efficient. Although at first glance this process may seem somewhat obvious, there are numerous benefits to the process not least of which being the fact that this process will significantly reduce the expense of repairing the timber pallets and disposing of the unrepairable pallets as well as being significantly more environmentally friendly than the previous method. Due to the relatively low cost of a new timber pallet the process according to the invention was not previously thought of however it allows for the timber pallets to be repaired at very little cost and reused or resold as desired.

In another embodiment of the invention there is provided a process for recycling timber pallets in which there are provided a pair of repair stations, one either side of and adjacent to the recycling station, and in which the re-usable timber slats from the recycling station are distributed between the pair of repair stations for subsequent use in the restoration of timber pallets in need of repair. This is seen as a highly advantageous configuration as the recycling station will be able to produce numerous re-useable timber slats in a relatively short space of time therefore the pair of repair stations will allow for these useable timber slats to be used quickly and efficiently.

In one embodiment of the invention there is provided a process for recycling timber pallets in which the process further comprises the steps of passing only the timber pallets with damaged timber slats to the repair station for subsequent repair and passing any timber pallets with damaged cross-members to the recycling station for subsequent disassembly. It is envisaged that the timber pallets with damaged timber slats will be far simpler to repair than damaged timber pallets with damaged timber cross members and therefore it may be advantageous and more efficient to repair only those timber pallets with broken timber slats. Timber pallets with damaged cross-members may be sent directly to the recycling station for subsequent disassembly and their components may be handled accordingly. This may allow for the most efficient process of recycling the timber products.

In a further embodiment of the invention there is provided a process for recycling timber products in which the process further comprises the steps of: removing any reusable timber cross-members from the recycling station and passing the reusable timber cross-members to the repair station for subsequent use in the restoration of timber pallets in need of repair; and At the repair station, removing any damaged timber cross-members from the timber pallets in need of repair and placing them in the hopper for subsequent recycling of that timber and using the reusable timber cross- members received from the recycling station to replace the damaged timber cross-members and repair the timber pallets in need of repair. it is envisaged that the timber cross members may in certain circumstances be used in the repair of damaged timber pallets. If, for example, one of the end timber cross members is badly damaged but the timber slats are relatively undamaged, the damaged timber cross—member may be removed from the timber pallet and inserted in place of the damaged timber cross-member with relatively little difficulty.

In this case, it is advantageous to recycle the undamaged timber cross-members from the recycling station by sending them to the repair stations for reuse.

In one embodiment of the invention there is provided a process for recycling timber pallets in which the process further comprises the initial step of separating the timber pallets into standard and non-standard pallet sizes.

In another embodiment of the invention there is provided a process for recycling timber pallets in which the process comprises the step of passing all non-standard pallet sizes to the recycling station for disassembly regardless of their condition.

In a further embodiment of the invention there is provided a process for recycling timber pallets in which any timber pallets of non-standard size are passed to the recycling station, dismantled in the standard manner and thereafter the non-uniform timber slats are sized to a standard timber slat length. By sizing the non-uniform timber slats to a standard timber slat sized length, the timber slats may be altered for use in the repair of standard timber pallets. For example, typically, the standard timber pallet size may be 1m x 1m. Due to the fact that there are numerous producers of timber pallets throughout the world, various manufacturers may alter these dimensions to suit specific job specifications or national regulations. It is not uncommon therefore to find non-uniform pallet sizes 1.1m x 1.1m. In this instance, it is possible to take the timber slats of 1.1m in length and size them down to 1m in length so that they may be used in the standard sized timber pallet most commonly used.

In one embodiment of the invention there is provided a process for recycling timber pallets in which the step of sizing the non-uniform timber slats comprises placing the non-uniform timber slats onto a conveyor of a trimming station, the conveyor having means to hold the timber slats in position relative the conveyor, the conveyor progressing the timber slats to a saw where one end of the non-uniform timber slat is removed to leave a standard length timber slat and a cut-off section.

This is seen as a particularly simple and efficient way of sizing the non-uniform timber slats requiring the minimum of human intervention, therefore it will also be relatively inexpensive to perform.

In another embodiment of the invention there is provided a process for recycling timber pallets in which the trimming station is further provided with a pair of saws and in which the timber slat is sized by removing both ends of the timber slat thereby producing a standard length sized timber slat and a pair of cut-off sections.

By providing a pair of saws in order to size the timber slat it will not be necessary to align the timber slat against an alignment member or the like on the conveyor and the non-uniform sized timber slat may be laid down on the conveyor in a relatively uncomplicated manner so that a cut-off section is removed from either end of the timber slat leaving a standard sized timber slat remaining in the centre. in a further embodiment of the invention there is provided a process for recycling timber pallets in which the process further comprises the intermediate step of placing the non-uniform timber slats in a magazine of the trimming station, the magazine feeding the conveyor of the trimming station.

In one embodiment of the invention there is provided a process for recycling timber pallets in which the cut-off sections are placed in the hopper for subsequent recycling of that timber.

In another embodiment of the invention there is provided a process for recycling timber pellets in which the standard length sized timber slats are packaged for re- U58.

In a further embodiment of the invention there is provided a process for recycling timber pallets in which the standard length sized timber slats are sent to the repair station for subsequent use in the repair of further timber pallets.

In one embodiment of the invention there is provided a process for recycling timber pallets in which the process further comprises the additional step of periodically emptying the hopper with timber therein and sending that timber to a recycling plant for subsequent crushing and shredding of the timber in the recycling plant.

Detailed Descrigtion of the Invention The invention will now be more clearly understood from the following description of some embodiments thereof given by way of examples only with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:- Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a damaged timber pallet; Fig. 2 is a perspective view of a timber pallet with all of its timber slats intact; Fig. 3 is a partially exploded view of the pallet shown in Fig. 2 with the upper timber slats shown detached from the cross-member; Fig. 4 is a perspective view from underneath of the timber pallet cross- member with lower timber slats connected thereto; Fig. 5 is an exploded view of the timber pallet cross member and lower timber slats; Fig. 6 is a plan view of a recycling plant layout in which the process according to the invention is carried out; Fig. 7 is a plan view of an alternative layout of a recycling plant according to the invention; Fig. 8 is more detailed perspective view of a recycling station used in the process according to the invention; Fig. 9 is a perspective view of a repair station used in the process according to the invention; Fig. 10 is a side view of a trimming unit used in the process according to the invention; and Fig. 11 is a partial perspective view of an alternative construction of trimming unit used in accordance with the present invention.

Referring to the drawings and initially to Figs. 1 to 5 thereof, there is shown a timber pallet, indicated generally by reference by the numeral 1, comprising a plurality of timber slats 3 and a plurality of timber cross—members 5. During use, the timber pallet and in particular the timber slats 3 and the timber cross-members may become damaged through misuse or broken under excessive loading or by being subjected to heavy loads for significant periods of time. In order to repair the timber pallet 1, the damaged timber slats 3 or timber cross members 5 must be removed and undamaged timber slats 3 and timber cross members 5 respectively put in their place.

Referring now to Fig. 6 of the drawings there is showing a recycling plant layout in accordance with the present invention, indicated generally by the reference numeral 11. The recycling plant 11 comprises a pair of recycling stations 13a, 13b, and the pair of repair stations 15a, 15b, 15c, 15d associated with each of the recycling stations 13a, 13b respectively. Each of the repair stations further comprises a workbench 17 supplied with repair equipment 19, in this case an electrically operated nail gun. The recycling stations 13a, 13b further comprises a worktop 21 having a saw 23 mounted thereon. The recycling stations 13a, 13b each further comprise a hopper 25 for receipt of damaged timber slats and damaged timber cross—members therein.

In use, the timber pallets received at the plant are inspected to determine the condition of each of the timber pallets. The timber pallets are graded and separated according to their condition into three categories, pallets ready for immediate reuse, timber pallets in need of repair and timber pallets suitable for disassembly. The timber pallets ready for immediate reuse are stacked in a storage area (not shown) ready for packing and subsequent distribution. The timber pallets in need of repair are sent to the repair stations 15a, 15b, 15c, 15d and the timber pallets suitable for disassembly are sent to the recycling stations a and 13b adjacent the repair stations. The timber pallets suitable for disassembly are disassembled at the recycling stations 13a, 13b by placing timber pallets onto the worktop 21 and thereafter passing the timber pallets through the saw 23 by sliding the timber pallets along the worktop along the saw. The saw 23 in turn cuts through any fastening means such as nails, glue or other means holding the timber slats and the timber cross-members together and separates the timber slats from the timber cross-members. Once the timber slats and the timber cross-members have been separated from each other, any damaged disassembled timber slats and damaged timber cross-members are removed from the recycling station 13a, 13b and placed in the hoppers 25 for subsequent recycling of the timber. Any reusable timber slats in the recycling station 13a, 13b are passed to the repair stations 15a, 15b, 15c, and 15d for subsequent use in the restoration of timber pallets in need of repair. At the repair stations 15a, 15b, 15c, and 15d, the damaged timber slats are removed from the timber pallet in need of repair and the damaged timber slats are placed in the hopper 25 for subsequent recycling. The reusable timber slats received from the recycling station 13a, 13b are then used to replace the damaged timber slats on the timber pallets and repair the timber pallets in need of repair. The repaired timber pallets are then stacked with the timber pallets ready for immediate reuse in the storage area (not shown) ready for packing and subsequent distribution and the damaged timber slats and timber cross members in the hopper 25 are sent for further recycling.

Referring to Fig. 7 of the drawings there is shown an alternative layout of the recycling plant for carrying out the process according to the invention, where like The layout comprises a recycling station 13a having a worktop 21 and a saw 23 as well as a parts have been given the same reference numerals as before. hopper 25. There is additionally provided a repair station 15a with a work bench 17 and repair equipment 19. The layout further comprises a trimming station indicated by the reference numeral 31. The trimming station 31 itself comprises a conveyor 33 having means 35 to hold the timber slats 3 in position relative to conveyor 33, a saw 37 and a magazine 39.

In use, the initial step is performed of separating the timber pallet into standard and non-standard pallet sizes. The non-standard sizes are passed to the recycling station 13a disassembly and dismantled in the standard manner before the non- _:Ll_ uniform timber slats from the non-standard sized pallet are passed to the magazine 39 of the trimming station 31. The magazine 39 delivers the non-uniformed timber slats onto a conveyor where the non-uniformed timber slats are held in place relative to the conveyor by stops 35. The conveyor 33 progresses the slats 3 towards a saw 37 where one end of the non-uniformed timber slat is removed to leave a standard length timber slat and a cut-off section (not shown). The cut-off sections (not shown) are subsequently placed in the hopper 25 for subsequent recycling of the timber while the standard length sized timber slats 3 are packaged for reuse or altemativeiy are sent to the repair station 15a directly for subsequent use in the repair of further timber pallets.

Referring to Fig. 8 of the drawings there is shown a more detailed view of the recycling station used in accordance with the process according to the invention, where like parts similar to those described before are identified by the same reference numerals. The saw 23 of the recycling station further comprises a band saw having a blade 41 arranged substantially parallel to the worktop 21 and at a height above the worktop 21 substantially equal to the thickness of the timber slat 3 forming part of the timber pallet 1. As can be seen, the band saw blade 41 essentially comprises a continuous belt led around a pair of rotating guide members 43. It is envisaged that at least one of the rotating guide members 43 may be adjustable towards and away from the other guide roller member 43 so that the band saw may be tensioned appropriately.

In use, in order to detach the timber slats 3 from the timber cross-members 5 an operator 45 simply places the timber pallet 1 onto the worktop 21 and slides the timber pallet 1 along the worktop 21 towards the blade 41 of the band saw 23. In doing so, the blade 41 will slide between the lower timber slats 3 and the cross member 5 cutting through any fastening means such as glue or nails connecting the cross members to the lower slats 5. Once the lower slats 3 have been removed the operator 45 flips the remaining pieces of the timber pallet over and again slides the timber pallet along the worktop 21 towards the blade 41 of the band saw 23 so that the blade passed underneath the cross-members 5 between the timber cross-members 5 and the timber slats 3 thereby cutting through any fastening means connecting the timber slats 3 to the timber cross-members 5. ln this way, all of the timber slats may be separated from the timber cross members and any damaged timber slats may be removed and placed into a hopper (not shown) while the undamaged timber slats may be sent to the repair station (not shown) for use in subsequent repair of damaged timber pallets.

Referring to Fig. 9 of the drawing there is shown a more detailed view of a repair station 15a used in accordance with the process according to the invention, in which parts similar to those described before are identified by the same reference numerals. In addition to the electrically operated nail gun, an operator 47 of the repair station 13a may also be provided with additional tools such as pliers 49, crowbar 51, saw 53 and hammer 55 in order to assist in the repair of timber pallets . The operator 47 is also provided with a supply of timber slats 3.

Referring to Fig. 10 of the drawings, there is shown a side part cross—sectional view of a trimming station 31 for use in the process according to the invention in which parts similar to those described already are identified by the same reference numerals as before. In use, the magazine 39 delivers non—uniform sized timber slats onto a conveyor 33 which advances the non-uniformed sized timber stats towards a saw 37. The saw 37 cuts an end off the non-uniformed sized timber slats thereby resulting in a standard timber slat 61 and a cut-off section 63. The cut-off sections may be placed into a hopper (not shown) for subsequent recycling and the standard sized timber slats may be packaged together using tape 65 and sent to a repair station for subsequent use.

Referring to Fig. 11 there is shown a perspective view of an alternative construction of trimming station used» in accordance with the present invention in which parts similar to those described before are identified by the same reference numerals.

The trimming station comprises a pair of saws 37, 67, at least one of which is adjustably mounted on a cross bar 69 so that it is movable towards and away from the other saw. In use, the wooden slats 3 are placed on the conveyor 33 and held in position by stops 35. The timber slats are advanced toward the saw 67. The saws are placed the same distance apart as the length of a standard sized timber slat so that any portion of the non-uniformed sized timber slat 3 passing beyond the saw 37, 67 is removed into a cut-off section (not shown) which may be subsequently placed in a hopper (not shown) and sent for recycling. The saw 67 may be slid into position along the crossbar 69 in order to allow for different sized slats to be produced.

In the embodiments described the timber slats have been reused in order to repair damaged timber pallets. It will be understood that in certain circumstances, it may be advantageous to also reuse the timber cross-members 5, if they are undamaged, to repair timber pallets at the repair station. It will be understood by one skilled in the art that this may be achieved as the timber cross-members will be separated from the timber slats at the recycling station.

Similarly, it may be possible to only send those timber pallets with damaged timber slats to the repair station and any timber pallets with damaged timber cross members may be sent directly to the recycling station. In this way, it may be necessary to discard the timber cross members however, it is at least possible to reuse the timber slats from those damaged timber pallets sent to the recycling station. In addition to this, the process may comprise the initial step of separating timber pallets into standard and non-standard pallet sizes. Furthermore, the non- standard pallet sizes may all be sent to the recycling station for disassembly regardless of their condition so that only a single uniform size may be produced after treatment of the timber pallets. Alternatively, it may be possible to take those timber pallets of non-standard sizes that are undamaged and sell those on as they are without further adjustment.

Furthermore, separate embodiments of trimming stations have been shown, one with a single saw and another with a pair of saws. It will be appreciated that in order to use a single saw an alignment guide may be required so that the timber slats are placed on the conveyor in such a way so that the saw will leave a standard length timber slat. This may be provided by the magazine or other means.

This will be clearly understood. Alternatively, by using a pair of saws an alignment guide will not have to be used and alignment of the timber slats is not essential as different sizes of timber cut-offs may be taken from either end. As long as there is a cut-off from each end and the saws are spaced the correct distance apart, a standard sized timber slat will be produced. it is envisaged that the hopper 25 may be emptied periodically and the timber products sent from the hoppers may be delivered to a further recycling plant where they may be crushed and shredded and reused for other purposes or indeed they may be developed into a pulp for use in paper manufacture or other industries. There will however be significantly less timber products sent for recycling in this manner.

In the specification the terms “comprise, comprises, comprised and comprising" or any variation thereof and the terms “include, includes, included and including” or any variation thereof are considered to be totally interchangeable and they should all be afforded the widest possible interpretation and vice versa.

This invention is in no way limited to the embodiments hereinbefore described, but may be varied in both construction and detail within the scope of the claims.

Claims (1)

1. Claims A process for recycling timber pallets of the type comprising a plurality of timber slats bridged by a plurality of timber cross-members, the process comprising the steps of: inspecting each of the timber pallets received to determine the condition of each of the timber pallets; grading and separating the timber pallets according to their condition into three categories, timber pallets ready for immediate re-use, timber pallets in need of repair and timber pallets suitable for disassembly; stacking the timber pallets ready for immediate re-use in a storage area ready for packing and subsequent distribution; delivering the timber pallets in need of repair to a repair station, passing only the timber pallets with damaged timber slats to the repair station for subsequent repair and passing any timber pallets with damaged cross- members to the recycling station for subsequent disassembly, the repair station comprising a work bench supplied with repair equipment; delivering the timber pallets suitable for disassembly to a recycling station adjacent the repair station, the recycling station comprising a worktop and a saw mounted on the worktop, the saw mounted on the work-top further comprises a band saw having a blade arranged substantially parallel to the work top and at a height above the worktop substantially equal to the thickness of a timber slat fonning part of the timber pallet; disassembling the timber pallets suitable for disassembly at the recycling station by passing the timber pallets through the saw by sliding the timber pallet along the worktop through the saw, the saw cutting through any fastening means holding the timber slats and the timber cross-members together and thereby separating the timber slats from the timber cross- members; removing any damaged disassembled timber slats and timber cross- members from the recycling station and placing the damaged timber slats and timber cross-members in a hopper for subsequent recycling of that timber; removing any re-usable timber slats from the recycling station and passing them to the repair station for subsequent use in the restoration of timber pallets in need of repair; at the repair station, removing any damaged timber slats from the timber pallets in need of repair and placing the damaged timber slats in the hopper for subsequent recycling of that timber, using the reusable timber slats received from the recycling station to replace the damaged timber slats on the timber pallets and repair the timber pallets in need of repair; stacking the repaired timber pallets with the timber pallets ready for immediate re-use in the storage area ready for packing and subsequent distribution; and sending the damaged timber slats and timber cross-members in the hopper for further recycling. A process for recycling timber pallets as claimed in claim 1 in which there are provided a pair of repair stations, one either side of and adjacent to the recycling station, and in which the re—usabIe timber slats from the recycling station are distributed between the pair of repair stations for subsequent use in the restoration of timber pallets in need of repair. A process for recycling timber pallets as claimed in any preceding claim in which the process further comprises the initial step of separating the timber pallets into standard and non-standard pallet sizes, and in which all non- standard pallet sizes are passed to the recycling station for disassembly regardless of their condition, dismantled in the standard manner and thereafter the non-uniform timber slats are sized to a standard timber slat length by placing the non-uniform timber slats onto a conveyor of a trimming station, the conveyor having means to hold the timber slats in position relative the conveyor, the conveyor progressing the timber slats to a saw where one end of the non-uniform timber slat is removed to leave a standard length timber slat and a cut—off section. A process for recycling timber pallets as claimed in any preceding claim in which the process further comprises the additional step of periodically emptying the hopper with timber therein and sending that timber to a recycling plant for subsequent crushing and shredding of the timber in the recycling plant. A process for recycling timber pallets substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated by the accompanying drawings.