ITMI20110486A1 - PALLETS, PARTICULARLY OF THE TYPE OF REDUCED SPACES USED FOR THE SUPPORT AND TRANSPORT OF GOODS WITHIN SALE POINTS AS SUPERMARKETS OR SIMILAR. - Google Patents

Description

"PALLETS, ESPECIALLY OF THE SMALL SIZE TYPE USED FOR SUPPORT AND TRANSPORT OF GOODS WITHIN SALES OUTLETS SUCH AS SUPERMARKETS OR SIMILAR".

DESCRIPTION

The present invention relates to a pallet, particularly of the type with reduced bulk which can be used for supporting and transporting goods within sales outlets such as supermarkets or the like.

As is known, wooden pallets generally include a lid that is composed of a plurality of upper strips, parallel to each other, which define, with their upper face, a loading surface on which it is intended to be placed. the goods to be transported on the pallet. The upper strips are connected rigidly to each other by means of lower strips which are arranged perpendicular to the upper strips and which are fixed, usually by nailing, to the lower face of the upper strips.

The number of upper strips and lower strips of the lid usually varies according to the load requirements and the dimensions of the pallet.

Feet or dowels are fixed to the lower face of the lid which perform the function of keeping the lid raised from the support surface in such a way that lifting devices, such as forks, can be easily inserted between the lid and the support surface. of a forklift truck, for the transport of the pallet and the goods placed on it.

Usually, three rows of blocks are foreseen and each of these three rows is generally composed of three blocks spaced apart in such a way that the pallet can be "forked" by lifting devices on any of its four sides. Generally, the lid has a rectangular plan and the plugs of the three rows are connected to each other, as well as by the lid, also by three base strips which are arranged parallel to the upper strips of the lid and which are fixed, generally by means of nails, to the face bottom of the anchors.

In recent times, the need has been felt, in order to support and move products in points of sale such as supermarkets or the like, to have pallets of smaller dimensions compared to those of standardized pallets, which have a rectangular plan with a footprint of 1200 mm X 800 mm. The orientation of the current request is towards a pallet that can measure 800 mm X 600 mm so that it can be easily moved between the aisles of the points of sale. This need clashes with the need to load a pallet of this size on any of its four sides. In fact, the presence and size of the three blocks placed along the shorter sides of a pallet of this size would preclude the possibility of inserting the lifting devices along these sides.

To combine the need for small pallets with the need to be able to load these pallets on any of the four sides, a pallet has been proposed in which the wooden dowels placed along the external sides are replaced totally or at least for what it concerns the anchors placed in correspondence with the four corners of the pallet, by metal feet made up of C-profiles in such a way as to significantly reduce the space required by the anchors on the short sides of the pallet.

In fact, with this expedient, it is possible to create pallets of reduced dimensions that can be forked on any of their four sides, however, pallets of this kind have some problems and drawbacks.

In fact, the assembly of these pallets, due to the presence of the metal feet, must be completed manually and therefore requires higher overall production costs.

Another problem is represented by disposal at the end of the useful life of the pallet as the presence of the metal feet requires a manual intervention to remove the feet before proceeding with disposal.

The main aim of the present invention is to solve the above problems, realizing a pallet which can have reduced dimensions, which can be forked on any of its four sides and which can be produced at competitive costs.

Within the scope of this aim, an object of the invention is to provide a pallet which does not cause disposal problems at the end of its useful life.

Another object of the invention is to provide a pallet which can be assembled with known types of equipment.

This task, as well as these and other purposes which will appear better later, are achieved by a pallet, particularly of the compact type that can be used for the support and transport of goods within points of sale such as supermarkets or the like, including :

a lid composed of a plurality of upper strips side by side parallel to each other and defining, with their upper face, a loading plane, said upper strips being connected to each other by at least two lower strips arranged perpendicular to said plurality of upper strips and fixed to the lower face of said upper strips near the longitudinal ends of said upper strips;

- three base strips arranged in a plane parallel to the plane of lying of said at least two lower strips of the lid and oriented perpendicularly to said lower strips of the lid, said base strips comprising two base strips of ends located below the longitudinal ends of said at least two lower strips of the lid and an intermediate base strip located between said two end base strips, said base strips being spaced inferiorly to said lid by means of blocks fixed to the lower face of said lid and to an intermediate zone of the longitudinal development of said base strips;

characterized in that at least said end base strips are connected to said lid by means of wooden plate-like elements each fixed to a longitudinal end of one of said end base strips and to the overlying lower strip of the lid; said plate-like elements being oriented with their faces of greater extension perpendicular to the longitudinal development of said end base strips.

Further characteristics and advantages of the invention will become clearer from the description of a preferred but not exclusive embodiment of the pallet according to the invention, illustrated, by way of non-limiting example, in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the pallet according to the invention in an intermediate stage of its assembly;

Figure 2 is a perspective view of the pallet according to the invention at the end of its assembly;

Figure 3 is a top plan view of the pallet according to the invention;

figure 4 is a section of figure 3 taken along the IV-IV axis;

Figure 5 illustrates an enlarged detail of Figure 4.

With reference to the aforementioned figures, the pallet according to the invention, generally indicated by the reference number 1, comprises a lid 2 which is composed of a plurality of upper strips 3 and of at least two lower strips 4a, 4b. The upper strips 3 are coplanar and side by side parallel to each other and define, with their upper face, a loading surface and that is the surface that is intended to support the goods or products that must be supported and / or moved by means of the pallet. 1.

For simplicity and greater clarity, the pallet 1 according to the invention will be described with reference to its arrangement during use, that is with the loading surface defined by the upper strips 3 located horizontally and above the remaining part of the pallet 1.

The lower strips of the lid 2 comprise at least two lower end strips 4a, 4b which are oriented perpendicularly to the upper strips 3 and which are fixed to the lower face of the upper strips 3, in a per se known manner, preferably by nailing, in proximity of the longitudinal ends of the upper strips 3.

Preferably, the lower strips of the lid 2 also comprise an intermediate lower strip 4c which is arranged, in an equidistant way, between the lower end strips 4a, 4b and which is oriented parallel to the lower end strips 4a, 4b. The lower intermediate strip 4c is also fixed, similarly to the lower end strips 4a, 4b, to the lower face of the upper strips 3.

The pallet 1 also comprises base strips 5a, 5b, 5c which are arranged in a plane parallel to the plane of the lower strips 4a, 4b, 4c of the lid 2 and which are oriented perpendicularly to the lower strips 4a, 4b, 4c that is, parallel to the upper strips 3 of the lid 2.

The base strips 5a, 5b, 5c comprising three base strips 5a, 5b, 5c which are regularly spaced apart along a direction parallel to the longitudinal development of the lower strips 4a, 4b, 4c of the lid 2, more particularly: two strips of base of ends 5a, 5b, which are located below the longitudinal ends of the lower strips 4a, 4b, 4c of the cover 2, and an intermediate base strip 5c, which is located between the two base strips of ends 5a, 5b . The base strips 5a, 5b, 5c are spaced below the lid 2 by means of blocks 6 which are fixed to the lower face of the lid 2 and to an intermediate area of the longitudinal development of the base strips 5a, 5b, 5c. The blocks 6 have, similarly to the blocks traditionally used in conventional pallets, a prismatic conformation with an almost square base.

According to the invention, at least the end base strips 5a, 5b are connected to the lid 2 by means of plate-like elements 7 made of wood. Each of these plate-like elements 7 is fixed to a longitudinal end of one of the end base strips 5a, 5b and to the overlying lower end strip 4a, 4b of the lid 2. The plate-like elements 7 are oriented with their faces of greater extension perpendicular to the longitudinal development of the end base strips 5a, 5b to which they are fixed.

Preferably, the intermediate base strip 5c is also connected to the lid 2 by means of plate-like elements 7 made of wood. Each of these plate-like elements 7 is fixed to a longitudinal end of the intermediate base strip 5c and to the overlying lower end strip 4a, 4b of the lid 2. These plate-like elements 7 are oriented with their faces of greater extension perpendicular to the development length of the intermediate base strip 5c to which they are fixed.

Conveniently, the plate-like elements 7 are made of multilayer wood in such a way as to ensure adequate resistance with a thickness significantly lower than the thickness of the usual anchors.

The lid 2 has, in plan, a substantially rectangular conformation and the lower strips 4a, 4b, 4c of the lid 2 are arranged parallel to the sides of greater extension of the lid 2. In this way, the plate-like elements 7 have their faces of greater extension parallel to the major sides of the lid 2 and therefore face the shorter sides of the pallet 1 with their thickness and that is with their faces of lesser extent.

The plugs 6 are fastened, preferably by means of nails 13, to the lower intermediate strip 4c of the cover 2 and, by means of nails or metal staples 12, to the relative base strip 5a, 5b, 5c.

Preferably, the plate-like elements 7 overlap, with their upper end, the lateral face of the overlying lower end strip 4a, 4b of the lid 2. Furthermore, the plate-like elements 7 are fixed to the lateral face of the overlying lower end strip 4a, 4b of the lid 2 by means of nails 8 which are inserted transversely to the longitudinal development of the relative lower end strip 4a, 4b of the lid 2.

Conveniently, the lower end strips 4a, 4b of the cover 2 are recessed, with respect to the relative longitudinal end of the upper strips 3, by a measure equal to the thickness of the plate-like elements 7 so that the plate-like elements 7 are with their face facing laterally towards the outside of the pallet 1 flush with the longitudinal end of an upper strip 3 of the lid 2.

Advantageously, the plate-like elements 7 rest, with their lower end, on the upper face of the relative base strip 5a, 5b 5c at the longitudinal end of the relative base strip 5a, 5b, 5c.

Each of the plate-like elements 7 is fixed to the base strip 5a, 5b, 5c, on which it rests, by means of corner stitches 10 which are superimposed on the external faces of the plate-like element 7 and of the base strip 5a, 5b, 5c and riveted on the internal faces of the plate-like element 7 and of the base strip 5a, 5b, 5c.

Preferably, the pallet according to the invention, obviously excluding the nails and the sewing points which are metallic, is made entirely of wood.

The assembly of the pallet 1 according to the invention is as follows.

The cover 2 is assembled in a per se known manner, preferably by nailing, with nails 11, the upper strips 3 to the lower strips 4a, 4b, 4c.

The base strips 5a, 5b, 5c are previously assembled to the plugs 6, by means of nails or by means of metal staples 12 and to the plate-like elements 7 by means of corner staples 10. The application of the corner staples 10 can be carried out, for example, with the machines currently used for the production of wooden boxes for fruit and vegetables.

Finally, the assembly consisting of the base strips 5a, 5b, 5c, the anchors 6 and the plate-like elements 7 is applied below the lid 2 by fastening, preferably by means of nails 13 which also cross the overlying upper strip 3, the anchors 6 to the strip intermediate lower 4c of the cover 2 and nailing, by means of nails 8, the upper ends of the plate-like elements 7 superimposed on the external side face of the lower end strip 4a, 4b of the overlying cover 2.

It should be noted that in the pallet according to the invention, due to the way it is structured, the nailing or stapling operations are performed with the connection element, be it a nail or a point, which penetrates the strips perpendicular to the development longitudinal of the strips and therefore perpendicular to the wood fibers, achieving an excellent seal of the union.

The pallet according to the invention, due to the fact that the plate-like elements 7 are oriented with their faces of greater extension parallel to the longer sides of the pallet, and therefore face the smaller sides of the pallet with their faces of smaller extension, it can have small dimensions, in particular 800 min X 600 mm, and can be forked without problems on any of its sides by means of known lifting and handling devices. In practice it has been found that the pallet according to the invention fully achieves the intended aim as it can be made entirely of wood with low production costs, it can have small dimensions so that it can be used without problems for support and handling. of goods or products in points of sale and has no disposal problems at the end of its useful life.

The pallet thus conceived is susceptible of numerous modifications and variations, all of which are within the scope of the inventive concept; moreover, all the details can be replaced by other technically equivalent elements.

In practice, the materials used, unless otherwise specified, as well as the dimensions, may be any according to the requirements and the state of the art.

Claims (13)

R I V E N D I C A Z I O N I 1. Pallet (1), particularly of the type with reduced dimensions usable for the support and transport of goods within points of sale such as supermarkets or the like, comprising: - a lid (2) composed of a plurality of upper strips (3) side by side parallel to each other and defining, with their upper face, a loading surface, said upper strips (3) being connected together by at least two lower strips ( 4a, 4b) arranged perpendicularly to said plurality of upper strips (3) and fixed to the lower face of said upper strips (3) in proximity to the longitudinal ends of said upper strips (3); - three base strips (5a, 5b, 5c) arranged in a plane parallel to the plane of the at least two lower strips (4a, 4b) of the cover (2) and oriented perpendicularly to said lower strips (4a, 4b) of the cover (2), said base strips (5a, 5b, 5c) comprising two end base strips (5a, 5b) located below the longitudinal ends of said at least two lower strips (4a, 4b) of the cover (2) and an intermediate base strip (5c) located between said two end base strips (5a, 5b), said base strips (5a, 5b, 5c) being spaced below said cover (2) by means of blocks (6) fixed to the lower face of said lid (2) and to an intermediate zone of the longitudinal development of said base strips (5a, 5b, 5c); characterized in that at least said end base strips (5a, 5b) are connected to said lid (2) by means of wooden plate-like elements (7) each fixed to a longitudinal end of one of said end base strips (5a , 5b) and the overlying lower strip (4a, 4b) of the cover (2); said plate-like elements (7) being oriented with their faces of greater extension perpendicular to the longitudinal development of said end base strips (5a, 5b). 2. Pallet (1), according to claim 1, characterized in that also said intermediate base strip (5c) is connected to said lid (2) by means of plate-like elements (7) in wood each fixed to a longitudinal end of said intermediate base strip (5c) and the overlying lower strip (4a, 4b) of the cover (2); said plate-like elements (7) fixed to said intermediate base strip (5c) being oriented with their faces of greater extension perpendicular to the longitudinal development of said intermediate base strip (5c). Pallet (1), according to claims 1 and 2, characterized in that said plate-like elements (7) are made of multilayer wood. 4. Pallet (1), according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises three lower strips (4a, 4b, 4c) of the lid (2), respectively two lower end strips (4a, 4b) connected to said upper strips (3) of the cover (2) near the longitudinal ends of said upper strips (3) of the cover (2) and connected to said plate-like elements (7) and an intermediate lower strip (4c) located between said lower strips of extremities (4a, 4b) and equidistant from said lower extremity strips (4a, 4b). 5. Pallet (1), according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that said lid (2) has, in plan, a substantially rectangular conformation, said lower strips (4a, 4b, 4c) of the lid (2) being arranged parallel to the sides of greater extension of the cover (2). 6. Pallet (1), according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that said plate-like elements (7) overlap, with their upper extremity, the lateral face of the overlying lower end strip (4a, 4b) of the lid (2). 7. Pallet (1), according to one or more of the preceding claims, that said lower end strips (4a, 4b) of the lid (2) are retracted with respect to the relative longitudinal end of the upper strips (3) of the lid (2) a measure equal to the thickness of said plate-like elements (7). 8. Pallet (1), according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that said plate-like elements (7) are fixed to the lateral face of the overlying lower end strip (4a, 4b) of the lid (2) by means of nails (8 ) inserted transversely to the longitudinal development of the lower end strip (4a, 4b) of the cover (2). 9. Pallet (1), according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that said plate-like elements (7) rest, with their lower end, on the upper face of the relative base strip (5a, 5b, 5c) in correspondence of the longitudinal end of the relative base strip (5a, 5b, 5c). 10. Pallet (1), according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that each of said plate-like elements (7) is fixed to the base strip (5a, 5b, 5c), on which it rests, by means of stitching angular (10) superimposed on the external faces of the plate-like element (7) and of the base strip (5a, 5b, 5c) and riveted on the internal faces of the plate-like element (7) and of the base strip (5a, 5b, 5c) ). 11. Pallet (1), according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that said base strips (5a, 5b, 5c) are regularly spaced from each other along a direction parallel to the longitudinal development of said lower strips (4a, 4b , 4c) of the cover (2). Pallet (1), according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that said blocks (6) are fixed below said intermediate lower strip (4c) of the lid (2). 13. Pallet (1), according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that said blocks (6), said upper strips (3), said lower strips (4a, 4b, 4c) and said base strips (5a, 5b, 5c) are made of wood and are assembled together by means of metal nails (8, 11, 13) or stitches (10, 12).