JP2519766B2 - Load-bearing board with cell structure - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a board with a cell structure, which board comprises cores of cells arranged adjacent to each other,
The cell is covered by a cover layer of the panel to provide a load bearing or support surface. Such a board can be used, for example, as a support surface for a pallet.

A pallet for storing or transporting cargo must meet many requirements. They must be lightweight, inexpensive to manufacture, have high structural strength and rigidity against torque, and are often easy to clean and otherwise otherwise hygienic, for example for the transportation of foodstuffs. .

Against this background, most conventional wooden pallets have a series of drawbacks. The wood used must meet many requirements regarding being free of damage, cracking, spoilage, etc. and must have a certain moisture content during manufacture, as well as strength in terms of nailing etc. We must meet strict requirements. This makes wood pallets relatively complex and expensive.

In the transportation and handling of food products, wooden pallets
Not hygienic as the wood absorbs moisture and thereby molds. Due to the structure of the pallet, many corners are formed, in which dust and mold are collected. Also, wood pallets are difficult to manufacture and maintain cleanly, which has contributed to attempts to make pallets from some other lighter, stronger and more hygienic material.

Accordingly, metal and various plastic pallets were made to eliminate the deficiencies inherent in wood pallets, which proved to be deficient in terms of structural strength and utility. Attempts have been made to coat plastics by various methods, such as glass fibers or similar reinforcing materials.

However, this makes the reinforcing means more expensive to manufacture the pallet and further increases the weight of the pallet. Yet another serious problem is caused by the requirement for the plastic pallet to be reusable after it has been damaged or worn, which is caused by the pallet being ground and remolded. However, this treatment is difficult or impossible when coated plastics are used because glass fiber or similar coatings cause unacceptable wear on the machines used in the polishing process.

Attempts have been made to produce pallets with separate shipping cell structures. It is therefore known from Swedish published patent application No. 356,944 to make pallets from lightweight, cheap materials such as paper plastics, where several separate casings of said material are pallets of honeycomb structure. Are arranged adjacent to each other to form the. The casing has a cylindrical or annular shape, and one casing is elongated to act as a leg of the pallet.

Also, for example, U.S. Pat.Nos. 3,587,479 and 3,709,161
And No. 4,319,530 it is proposed to produce cardboard pallets consisting of cellular recesses, which are formed by an assembly of cardboard pleated strips.

A pallet with these cell structures has more non-reproducible properties, as described above, and is mainly intended to be easy to handle by not being returned to the source. Limiting the field of use, in these cases the pallet forms part of the packaging of the cargo.

The above-mentioned pallets with a cell structure have some drawbacks, even if they are manufactured for many purposes. Structures with individual casings or assembled pleats have a high material consumption and the weight of plastic material pallets produced in this way and expected to withstand many applications. And therefore are expensive to manufacture and use. The application of cardboard as a palletizing material, on the other hand, causes the same problems as wood materials, for example when hygiene considerations are taken into account. The known pallet for which cardboard or paper is proposed as a material has a large number of recesses and / or corners formed by the construction of a large number of casings or pleat layers thereof, in which dust, mold, etc. accumulate You can

However, the biggest drawback inherent in pallets made by the prior art from individual casings or pleated layers is the handling of pallets with or without load, even if they are of considerable size. That is, it is impossible to obtain the strength necessary to support the strain caused by the strain. Then a large concentrated load or impact on the edge or surface of the pallet will result in compression of the casing or cells and will recover because the material of the wall of the casing and possibly the cover layer is cracked and unable to recover its original shape. It gives permanent deformation that cannot be obtained. Therefore, as mentioned above, these pallets are only suitable for one use and can never be compared with wood or molded and coated plastic pallets, which are often used for rough handling. Nevertheless, it is repeatedly used as a conversion pallet.

In view of the above background, the main object of the present invention is to provide a board with a cell structure, which can be used as a load-carrying panel, for example in pallets for many applications, in which the board as well as wood The drawbacks peculiar to the known pallets made from plastics made or with cell structures have been completely eliminated.

Another object is to obtain a board with a shape which makes it particularly suitable to be made from lightweight and relatively inexpensive materials and which makes it extremely accessible in accordance with the very advanced hygienic requirements.

The above and other objects are obtained in that the board according to the present invention has the features described in the claims below.

The invention, together with its advantages, will soon be described below with reference to the preferred embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings. In it, FIG. 1 shows a partial cross-sectional perspective view of a pallet of plastic material, the pallet comprising a board with a cell structure according to the invention. FIG. 2 shows a perspective view of the bottom part which is an integral part of the pallet according to FIG. 1 and which acts as a supporting member for it. FIG. 3 shows a perspective view of another shape of the support member of the pallet of FIG. FIG. 4 shows a vertical side surface of the pallet. FIG. 5 is a side view showing the short side surface of the pallet. FIG. 6 is an enlarged detailed view of the portion within the circle of the pallet of FIG. FIG. 7 shows a perspective view of the pallet of FIG. 1 seen from below.

As is apparent from FIG. 1, the illustrated pallet includes a load carrying board or core 10 with a cell structure.
The cells have a polygonal shape, preferably a hexagonal shape as in the illustrated embodiment, forming a honeycomb structure that extends over the entire surface of the load carrying board. According to the invention, each cell 12 is common,
That is, it has a wall 14 that is integral with the wall 14 of the surrounding cells. Thus, as compared to previously known pallets or boards with a cellular structure, the cells are not formed by a casing or pleated bands or strips, and all cells 12 are of unitary construction without any joints. Is. According to the invention, a resilient material, i.e. a deformable material, preferably plastic, is also used for the load-bearing board, and the cell structure 10 made from said material has a cover layer 16, 18 on both the lower side and the upper side. And the cover layers 16 and 18 are connected to the cell structure 10 such that each cell 12 is individually sealed. This bonding between the cover layers 16, 18 and the cell structure 10 can be performed in any suitable manner, such as by gluing, welding or some other method known in the art of molding plastic articles.

By constructing the cell structure 10 in this way from the cells 12 forming a unitary structure without joints, each cell 12 being made of a material which is sealed and deformed provides a load bearing surface with considerable strength. Since the cells are integral with each other, i.e., coherently as a whole, each cell acts as a restraining member and support portion for the entire cell structure 10 and each cell has a shock damper and shock absorber due to the enclosed ventilation cushion. Acts as an absorber.
The enclosed air cushion and shape of the cell structure 10 of elastically deformable material does not cause the cell structure 10 to crack when subjected to an impact or concentrated load, but elastically deforms to its initial state when the load disappears. To recover the shape of.
The cell structure 10 also has a load bearing board that is extremely strong against torsional forces, and is thus significantly more rigid against torsional forces than previously known structures.

The board top cover layer 16 preferably represents the top cover of the pallet, as shown in the illustrated embodiment, at which point the top surface is formed therein in drain holes 22 provided in the center and corners of the pallet. Perhaps formed with grooves that transmit moisture and water.

If desired, the cover 16 is likewise provided with drain holes 32, 34, as will be apparent from the illustrated embodiment.
Recesses 28, 30 are provided on its longitudinal and short sides.

Around the pallet is an end boundary piece 24 which seals along the sides of the cell structure 10 and which secures the cover 16 to the cell structure 10 by gluing, welding or similar joining means. It is fixed by the same means used for. The end strip 24 forms an edge 26 that slightly extends from the cover 16 and extends all around, for example by 5 mm. This edge
26 Aligns the pallet well so that it deposits without risk of falling. Edge 26 also includes that the cargo does not easily slip off the pallet.

Provided below the cell structure 10 is a support device for pallets. These have the shape of two brackets 36 (see also FIG. 2), which are arranged for installation on the base and on three ridges 40, which underlie the cell structure 10 and the lower cover layer or deck. It is supposed to be fixed to. The bracket 36 is welded to the top of the bracket and forms one piece therewith. Provided between the raised portions of the bracket is an opening 44, see FIG. 4, into which a lifting member such as a lift fork (not shown) of a stacking truck can be introduced for lifting a pallet. . The bracket 36 also has a raised portion with a drain hole 22, 32 in the upper cover 16.
And a drain hole 46 communicating with. It is clear that the corresponding drainage is carried out through the cell structure, for example by a pipe (not shown) therethrough.

Provided along the short sides of the cell structure 10 are additional support members 48 and support plates 42, which have drainage holes 34 and 50, respectively, the latter of which covers 16 as described above. It communicates with the hole 34. Between the bracket 36 and the member 48, as is apparent from FIG. 5, an opening 52 for introducing the above-mentioned uplifting member is formed.

From the above it is clear that the present invention provides a support surface or board or panel with unique properties. Due to the airtight cells 12 made of elastic material and joined to a uniform structure 10, the pallet is extremely resistant to pressure, shock and bending forces. The sealed, all cells act as control and support parts for the entire panel or cover and, more importantly, as shock absorbers and shock dampers. Since all cells are relatively stationary, the pallet produces its large force against bending forces and the encased air cushion provides the elasticity necessary to avoid material cracking. Although the pallet according to the invention has been described for use as a load-bearing surface in a pallet, it is clear that it can also be used for other applications. Then
It can be used to make articles such as trays, containers, cupboards, etc., and the structure described provides the article with the required strength as well as its good thermal insulation.

Obviously, the invention is not limited to the embodiments shown, but it can be varied within the broadest scope possible within the scope of the following claims.

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (56) Bibliography Sho 57-196531 (JP, U) Real break Sho 58-94632 (JP, U) US Patent 4325488 (US, A)

Claims (9)

(57) [Claims] 1. A number of cells (1
In a load supporting board having a cell structure core (10) including 2) inside, each adjacent cell (12) has a common side wall (14), and each side wall (14) of the cell (12). The upper and lower ends of the cover layer (16, 18) are respectively covered, and the cover layers (16, 18) are
18) is sealed so that each side wall (14) of the cell (12) is elastically deformable, producing elastic force when loaded and original when load is removed. Cells, which are covered by the upper and lower cover layers and sealed to form a large number of deformable air chambers, whereby each air chamber covers the upper and lower covers. A load support board having a cell structure, which absorbs impact and load and is released to an adjacent cell. 2. A load bearing having a cell structure according to claim 1, wherein the large number of cells (12) are integrally molded so that the core has an isotropic structure. board. 3. Cell according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the cells (12) are polygonal, preferably hexagonal, to form a honeycomb core (10). Load-bearing board with structure. 4. An edge piece (24) is provided on the outer periphery of the core (10), and the edge piece (24) is bonded to the core, welded or connected to the core (10) by means equivalent thereto, and is directed toward the outer periphery. A load supporting board having a cell structure according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the open cell (12) is sealed and hermetically sealed. 5. Cell structure according to claim 4, characterized in that the edge pieces (24) project slightly above the surface of the core (10) to form edge flanges around the board. Load support board. 6. A support bracket (36) for fixing upper and lower cover layers made of a pallet cover to a core, and supporting the pallet on the lower pallet cover on a base portion.
And / or support legs (48) provided for use as a load bearing surface of a pallet.
A load support board comprising the cell structure according to any one of items 5 to 5. 7. The cell structure according to claim 6, wherein the upper pallet cover is provided with a drainage groove (20) and a drainage hole (22, 32, 34). Load support board. 8. The cell structure according to claim 7, wherein the drain holes (22, 32, 34) pass through the core (10) and are pulled out to the lower side of the pallet. Load support board. 9. Porous structure according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that it is used as a wall of one or several trays, containers or similar articles. Load support board with.