SE463557B - LOAD PALL WITH CELL STRUCTURE - Google Patents

Description

463 557 10 15 20 25 30 35 When transporting and handling food, wooden pallets are unhygienic, as the wood absorbs moisture, which gives rise to mold.

Through the building of the pallet, many nooks and crannies are formed in which dirt and bacteria can accumulate. Wooden pallets are also difficult to clean and keep clean, which has contributed to an effort to manufacture pallets from something else, lighter, stronger and more hygienic material.

In order to eliminate the disadvantages of wooden pallets, metal pallets and various plastics have therefore been manufactured, which have proved to be substandard in strength and usability. Attempts have been made to reinforce the plastic in various ways, for example with glass fiber or similar reinforcement material.

However, this entails disadvantages as the reinforcement makes the pallet more expensive to manufacture and also increases the weight of the pallet. Another significant problem also arises from the requirement that plastic pallets can be reused after damage or wear and tear, which is done by grinding and re-casting the pallet. However, this handling will be made more difficult or impossible when using reinforced plastic pallets, as the reinforcement of fiberglass or similar materials causes unacceptable wear on the machines used for grinding.

Attempts have also been made to manufacture pallets with a cell structure for individual transports.

Thus, it is known from Swedish Offenlegungsschrift 356 944 to manufacture a pallet of a light, inexpensive material such as paper, plastic or the like, a number of separate sleeves of said material being arranged side by side to form a pallet of honeycomb-like construction. The sleeves can then be cylindrical or have an angular shape and some sleeves are elongated to form the feet of the pallet. 10 l5 20 25 30 35 465 557.

It has also been proposed, for example according to U.S. Patents 3,587,479, 3,709,161 and 4,319,530, to manufacture pallets of cardboard constructed of cell-shaped cavities which are formed by joining folded paper strips.

These pallets with cell structure have, as mentioned, a more disposable character and are primarily intended to facilitate handling by not returning them to the sender, which of course limits the area of use and the pallet in these cases forms part of the packaging of the goods.

The described pallets with cell structure, although they would be manufactured for reusable use, have several disadvantages. The construction with individual sleeves or joined, folded straps means that the material consumption is large and a pallet of plastic material that is built in this way and must withstand reusable use is given increased weight and thereby becomes expensive to manufacture and use. The use of cardboard as a material for the pallet, on the other hand, entails the same problems as wooden material when it comes to the hygienic aspects, for example. The known pallets for which cardboard or paper has been proposed as a material, namely due to the composition of several sleeves or pleated layers, form a large number of cavities and / or nozzles in which dirt, bacteria, etc. can accumulate.

However, the main disadvantage of the pallets constructed according to the known technology of individual sleeves or pleated layers is that they do not, even when heavily dimensioned, receive the required strength to withstand the stresses that arise during the handling of the pallet with or without load. A strong point load or impact against an edge or surface of the pallet thus causes the sleeves or cells to be compressed and thereby has a permanent deformation which cannot be restored, since the wall material 463 557 10 15 20 25 30 35 in the sleeves and any cover layer has been cracked and cannot regain its original configuration. These pallets are therefore, as previously mentioned, best suited for single use and can in no way be compared with the pallets made of wood or cast, reinforced plastic which can be used repeatedly as replacement pallets despite the harsh treatment they often exposed.

In view of the above, the main object of the present invention is to provide a plate with a cell structure, which can be used, for example, as a load-bearing plate in a pallet for reusable use ß, the above-mentioned disadvantages of known pallets of wood, molded plastic or with cell structure being completely eliminated.

Another object is to provide such a plate which is particularly suitable for manufacture in a light and relatively inexpensive material and with a design which makes it extremely useful in the case of high hygienic requirements.

The above and other objects are achieved in that the plate according to the invention has obtained the features stated in the following claims.

The invention and its advantages will be described in more detail below in connection with a preferred embodiment shown in the drawings.

Figure 1 shows in perspective and partly cut away a pallet of plastic material in which a plate with a cell structure according to the invention is included. Figure 2 shows in perspective a lower part which is part of and forms a support foot in the pallet according to Figure 1. Figure 3 shows in perspective another design of a support foot for the pallet in Figure 1. Figure 4 shows a side view of one long side of the pallet. Figure 5 shows a side view of the short side of the pallet. Figure 6 shows on a larger scale a circled detail of the pallet in figure 5. Figure 7 shows in perspective the pallet in figure 1 seen from below. As shown in Figure 1, the pallet shown comprises a load-bearing plate or core 10 with a cell structure. The cells then have a polygonal shape, preferably as in the embodiment shown hexagonal shape, and form a honeycomb structure which extends over the entire surface of the load-bearing plate. According to the invention, each cell has 12 walls 14, which are common, ie in one piece with the walls 14 in the surrounding cells. Thus, in contrast to previously known pallets or plates with cell structure, the cells here are not formed by interconnected sleeves or pleated strips or strips, but all cells 12 are integrated into a uniform structure without joints. According to the invention, an elastic, i.e. resiliently resilient material, preferably plastic, is further used for the load-bearing plate, and the cell structure 10 made of this material is provided with cover layers 16, 18 on both the underside and the top side, which cover layers 16, 18 are so connected to the cell structure 10 that each cell 12 is individually hermetically sealed.

This connection between cover layers 16, 18 and cell structure 10 can take place in a suitable manner, for example with the aid of gluing, welding or other fusion in a manner known in the plastics art.

Because the cell structure 10 is in this way built up of cells 12 which form a uniform structure without joints, in which each cell 12 is airtightly closed and consists of an elastically resilient material, a load-bearing surface with incredible strength is obtained.

Each cell acts as a bracing and supporting part for the whole cell structure 10 because the cells are integrated with each other, ie. united into a coherent whole and each cell also functions, thanks to the trapped airbag, as a shock absorber and shock absorber. The trapped airbag and the design of the cell structure 10 of an elastic resilient material 465 557 10 15 20 25 30 35 also means that the cell structure 10 in the event of any shocks or point loads does not break but resiliently yields to regain its original shape when the load ceases. The described cell structure 10 also means that the load-bearing plate obtains very high strength against torsional forces and is thus considerably more torsionally rigid than previously known constructions.

The upper cover layer 16 of the plate preferably forms, as shown in the embodiment shown in the drawings, the upper deck of the pallet and is thereby formed on the upper side with gutters 20 which conduct any moisture and water formed therefrom to drainage holes 22 arranged at the pallet center and corner.

The deck 16 is optionally also, as can be seen from the embodiment shown in the drawing, provided at the long and short sides with depressions 28, 30, which are also provided with drainage holes, 32, 34.

Arranged around the periphery of the pallet is an edge strip 24 which closes the cell structure 10 to the sides and is attached to it by gluing, welding or similar joints, preferably the same as used for attaching the deck 16 to the cell structure 10.

The edge strip 24 projects a piece over the tire 16, for example 5 mm, thereby forming a circumferential edge 26. This edge 26 makes the pallet stackable without the risk of the pallet piles collapsing. The edge 26 also means that goods do not slide off the pallet so easily.

On the underside of the cell structure 10, support feet for the pallet are arranged. These are in the form of two brackets 36 arranged along the long sides (see also Figure 2) which have a support plate 38 arranged to rest on a base and three raised portions 40 which are arranged to be attached to the underside of the cell structure 10 to its lower cover layer. or tires 18.

The brackets 36 are welded to the top to form a unit therewith. Between the raised portions of the M 10 15 20 25 30 35 463 557 brackets there are openings 44, see figure 4, in which lifting means for lifting the pallet can be inserted, for example the lifting forks (not shown) on a forklift.

The brackets 36 also have in the raised portions drainage holes 46 which connect to the drainage holes 22, 32 in the upper deck 16. It is clear that a corresponding drainage is arranged through the cell structure, for example through pipes (not shown) which pass in this.

Arranged along the short sides of the structure 10 are further support feet 48 and a support plate 42 which have drainage holes 50 connecting through the cell structure 10, as described above, to the heel 34 of the tire 16. Between the brackets 36 and the feet 486, as shown in Figure 5, openings 52 are formed for insertion of lifting means, as described above.

It appears from the above description that according to the invention a bearing surface or plate with unique properties has been provided. The plate, thanks to the airtight closed cells 12 joined to a uniform structure 10, is made of an elastic material, extremely strong against pressure, shocks and torsional forces.

Each hermetically sealed cell acts as a guide and load-bearing part in the entire plate or tire and more importantly as a shock absorber and shock absorber. Because all the cells are braced together, the plate gains its great strength against torsional forces at the same time as the trapped air cushion provides the necessary suspension to avoid buckling of the material. It is clear that the plate according to the invention, even if it has been described in connection with its use as a load-bearing surface in a pallet, can be used for other applications. Thus, it can be used for the construction of objects such as trays, containers, cabinets, etc., whereby the described structure not only provides the necessary strength for the object but also entails good insulation of the same.

The invention is of course not limited to the embodiment shown but can be varied in the broadest sense within the scope of the following claims.

Claims (7)

4 6 5 5 5 7 PATENT CLAIMS A cellular pallet comprising a core (10) -x of a plurality of cells, which are covered at least on one side by a cover layer or a cover plate (16) to form a load-bearing surface or a support surface, characterized by that the cells in the core (10) are made of an elastically resilient material and are connected by common walls (14) to a uniform structure without joints, which cell structure is provided on both sides with cover layers (16, 18) which are connected with the cell structure and that each cell (12) is individually hermetically sealed by welding, forming an enclosed air cushion in the cells, which absorbs and dampens shocks and loads on the cells (12) and the core (10). Pallet according to claim 1, characterized in that the cells (12) have a polygonal shape, preferably a hexagonal shape to form a honeycomb-like core (10). Pallet according to Claim 1 or 2, characterized by an edge strip (14) arranged around the periphery of the core (10) which is glued, welded or similar to the core for hermetic connection of any cells open towards the periphery (12). ). Pallet according to claim 3, characterized in that the edge strip (24) projects a piece over the surface of the core (10) to form an edge flange (26) around the plate. Pallet according to one of Claims 1 to 4, characterized in that upper and lower pallet decks (16, 18) are attached to the core (10), the lower pallet deck being provided Q with support brackets (36) and / or support feet (48) for supporting the pallet over a surface. = Pallet according to claim 5, characterized in that the upper pallet tire has gutters (20) and drainage holes (22, 32, 34) for diverting water from the tire. Pallet according to patent claim 6, characterized in that the drainage holes (22, 32, 34) pass through the core (10) to the underside of the pallet.