US20080264304A1 - Pallet storage system - Google Patents
Pallet storage system Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- US20080264304A1 US20080264304A1 US12/103,274 US10327408A US2008264304A1 US 20080264304 A1 US20080264304 A1 US 20080264304A1 US 10327408 A US10327408 A US 10327408A US 2008264304 A1 US2008264304 A1 US 2008264304A1
- Authority
- US
- United States
- Prior art keywords
- pallet
- support frame
- storage system
- frame
- engaging formation
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Abandoned
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Classifications
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
- B65G—TRANSPORT OR STORAGE DEVICES, e.g. CONVEYORS FOR LOADING OR TIPPING, SHOP CONVEYOR SYSTEMS OR PNEUMATIC TUBE CONVEYORS
- B65G1/00—Storing articles, individually or in orderly arrangement, in warehouses or magazines
- B65G1/02—Storage devices
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- Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
- Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
- Pallets (AREA)
Abstract
A pallet storage system including a pallet (100) having a base (102) with upstanding rear (104A) and side walls (104B, 104C). At least one of the side walls includes at least one engaging formation (108). The storage system further includes a pallet support frame (200) having a (202) base with upstanding rear (204A) and side walls (204B, 204C). At least one of the side walls includes at least one engaging formation (208). The system further includes at least one moveable member (212) configured to contact the side walls of the pallet, when the pallet is inserted into the pallet support frame, to guide the at least one engaging formation of the pallet to engage with the corresponding at least one engaging formation of the pallet support frame.
Description
- The present application claims priority from U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/914,806 filed on Apr. 30, 2007.
- The present invention relates to a pallet storage system.
- Heavy-duty pallets are available for storing a variety of large/heavy items. The pallets are often transported using forklift trucks and heavy-duty racks for storing several loaded pallets are available (for example those produced by Rack International (UK) Limited of Merthyr Tydfil, United Kingdom). In some cases it is desirable to have additional support for the pallets rather than placing them directly in a rack because pallets in racks can be susceptible to movement in vertical and horizontal planes during transit. Attaching fixing means such as bolts directly to the pallets can be undesirable and so there is a need for apparatus that can securely support individual loaded pallets.
- According to a first aspect of the present invention there is provided a pallet storage system including:
- a pallet having a base with upstanding rear and side walls, at least one of the side walls including at least one engaging formation; and
- a pallet support frame having a base with upstanding rear and side walls, at least one of the side walls including at least one engaging formation,
-
- the system further including at least one moveable member configured to contact the side walls of the pallet, when the pallet is inserted into the pallet support frame, to guide the at least one engaging formation of the pallet to engage with the corresponding at least one engaging formation of the pallet support frame.
- The at least one engaging formation may be located on a rear wall of the pallet and the at least one engaging formation of the frame may be located on the rear wall of the frame. The at least one engaging formation on the rear wall of the pallet may include a protrusion and the at least one engaging formation on the rear wall of the pallet support frame may include an aperture.
- The moveable member may include a resilient member that is fixed to an inner surface of the respective side wall of the pallet support frame. The resilient member be formed to include a portion that extends inwards from its respective side wall. The resilient member may be so formed by being bent. In use, at least the bent portion may contact a said outer side wall of the pallet. One end of the resilient member may be fixed to the inner surface of the side wall of the pallet support frame, with another end of the resilient member not being fixed to the side wall of the pallet support frame.
- At least one side wall of the pallet may include a further engaging formation and at least one corresponding said side wall of the pallet support frame may include a corresponding further engaging formation. The further engaging formation of the pallet may include a member having a rear surface and an upper surface and the further engaging formation of the pallet support frame may include a member having a rear surface and an upper surface, in use, the respective rear and upper surfaces contacting each other thereby limiting or preventing vertical and horizontal relative movement of the pallet and the pallet support frame. The rear surfaces of the further engaging formations may be angled downward with respect to the upper surfaces.
- The pallet may include at least one foot and the base of the pallet support frame may include a space or at least one slot for allowing the at least one foot of the pallet to protrude through the pallet support frame base. The space or at least one slot may be substantially central so that, in use, part of the pallet base may rest upon a side portion of the base of the pallet support frame.
- The pallet may include a set of pads for assisting with sliding the pallet onto the support frame. Each of the pads may comprise a portion of vibration-reducing material, such as rubber, that is sandwiched between the base of the pallet and a portion of low-friction material, such as plastic.
- The pallet support frame may include a formation configured to allow the frame to be fixed to an outer frame or rack.
- According to a further aspect of the present invention there is provided a storage system including at least one pallet storage system substantially as described herein and an outer rack or frame fixed to the at least one pallet storage system.
- The outer frame may be fixed to the outer rack or frame by means of bolts or the like.
- Whilst the invention has been described above, it extends to any inventive combination of the features set out above or in the following description. Although illustrative embodiments of the invention are described in detail herein with reference to the accompanying drawings, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to those precise embodiments. As such, many modifications and variations will be apparent to practitioners skilled in this art. Furthermore, it is contemplated that a particular feature described either individually or as part of an embodiment can be combined with other individually described features, or parts of other embodiments, even if the other features and embodiments make no mention of the particular feature. Thus, the invention extends to such specific combinations not already described.
- The invention may be performed in various ways, and, by way of example only, embodiments thereof will now be described, reference being made to the accompanying drawings, in which:
-
FIGS. 1A to 1E are front, side, plan, rear and bottom views, respectively, of an example pallet used in the system; -
FIG. 1F details a pad located on the bottom of the pallet; -
FIGS. 2A to 2C are front, side and plan views, respectively, of a pallet support frame of the system; -
FIGS. 3 and 3B are front and side views, respectively, of the pallet fitted in the support frame; -
FIGS. 4A to 4C are front, side and plan views, respectively, of the pallet and pallet support frame attached to an outer frame. - Referring to
FIGS. 1A to 1E , an example of apallet 100 is shown. (It will be understood that some of the Figures show certain members in a semi-transparent/sectional manner for ease of illustration.) The pallet comprises abase 102 that is a square/rectangular member that can be formed of one or more pieces of rigid material such as metal, wood or the like. Upstanding from the base are rear 104A,side cross beams 105 to assist with rigidity. Thebase 102 of the pallet includes a set of fourfeet 107 upon which it can rest. - The components described so far are substantially conventional and can be found in many kinds of commercially available pallets. It will be understand that a variety of materials and construction methods can be used to produce the pallet and variations are possible from the examples shown in the Figures. For instance, all of the walls need not have the same height (or in some cases there may be fewer than four walls); the walls needs not be continuous around the perimeter of the base, i.e. they could be intermittent; the walls may be constructed of rigid materials such as steel and fixed to the base by a variety of means, e.g. nuts/bolts or nails.
- The outer surface of the rear wall 1 04A includes a pair of
projections 108, each of the projections being located a short distance away from the adjacent side edge of thepallet 100. Theprojections 108 have a dome shape at their ends and can be constructed from a semi-rigid or resilient material such as rubber. - Each
side wall pallet 100 includes anengaging formation 110 on its outer surface, near thefront wall 104D. As can best be seen in the side view ofFIG. 1B , each sideengaging formation 110 includes a substantially flat member (e.g. made of a rigid material such as steel) that is formed to have avertical portion 111A with ahorizontal portion 111B extending from its upper end, towards the rear of the pallet. Anangled portion 111C depends from the other end ofportion 111B and extends further towards the rear of the pallet. There is also a shorthorizontal portion 111D parallel tohorizontal portion 111B that extends from the bottom end of thevertical portion 111A. - The bottom surface of the
pallet base 102 is shown inFIG. 1E . The bottom of the pallet is fitted with a set ofpads 114. In the example there are six such pads. Three of the pads are arranged at intervals in a line adjacent the left-hand edge of the pallet and the other three arranged in a similar line adjacent the right-hand edge. It will be understood that the number and arrangement of pads in the Figure is exemplary only. -
FIG. 1F is a schematic side view through one of the pads and part of the pallet base. Each pad comprises arectangular portion 116A of rubber about 6.35 mm (0.25″) thick that is sandwiched between the pallet base and arectangular portion 116B of plastic (about 3.175 mm (0.125″) thick). The portions each include a pair ofapertures 118 that allows them to be connected to the pallet base by means of a pair of C/sunk screws (onescrew 120 only shown in the Figure). The pads assist with allowing the pallet to slide onto the support frame (described below) and reduce vibration (and reduce/eliminate metal-to-metal contact in cases where pallet base is formed of metal) in use. - Turning to
FIGS. 2A to 2C , an example of asupport frame 200 for use with thepallet 100 is shown. The support frame includes a square/rectangular base 202 upstanding from which are arear wall 204A and twoopposed side walls space 203 as shown by the broken lines. In use, when thepallet 100 is inserted into theframe 200, thefeet 107 of the pallet can protrude through thespace 203. However, it will be understood that a different arrangement could be used, e.g. slots or recesses located to accommodate the feet. It will also be understood that theframe 200 can be constructed from a variety of materials and using any suitable construction method. In the example, the walls of the frame are formed of a rigid metal such as steel. The dimensions of theframe 200 will be chosen in general so that they can easily accommodate thepallet 100. - The
rear wall 204A of theframe 200 includes a pair ofapertures 208. The size and location of theapertures 208 are chosen to correspond with those of theprojections 108 of the palletrear wall 104A. Near the front (loading) end of eachside wall engaging formation 210. The shape and location of the engagingformations 210 are chosen to correspond with those of theformations 110 on the side walls of thepallet 100. As can be seen inFIG. 2B , each formation 210 (located on the inner surface of the side wall) includes ahorizontal portion 211A (having a length generally corresponding to that ofportion 111B of pallet side wall formation 110) and a dependingangled portion 211B (having a length and angle generally corresponding to those of theangled portion 111C of theengaging formation 110 on the pallet). - The inner surface of each side wall of the pallet support frame also includes a
moveable member 212, which is located about mid-way along the length of the side wall in the example, although it will be understood that its position can vary. As can best be seen in the plan view ofFIG. 2C , eachmoveable member 212 is formed of a bent length of spring steel. Afirst portion 214A at one end of the length of spring steel can be fixed to the inner surface of its respective side wall by the means ofbolts 215, or any other suitable fixing means. Asecond portion 214B of themoveable member 212 is bent so as to extend inwardly towards the centre of thebase 202 of the frame and towards itsrear wall 204A. A third andfinal portion 214C of themoveable member 212 extends further towards the rear wall of the frame and is angled back towards the inner surface of its respective side wall. - In use, the pallet is loaded into the
frame 200 by moving its rear end towards therear wall 204A of the pallet support frame. The low-friction plastic from which thepallet pads 114 are formed help with allowing the pallet to be slid over the surface of the support frame. The outer surfaces of theside walls pallet 100 can come into contact with parts of themoveable member 212 on the side walls of theframe 200 as the pallet is inserted. Eachmember 212 has sufficient freedom of movement to accommodate the pallet being inserted into the frame in a manner that is not completely aligned with the frame. As the pallet is moved further towards the rear of the frame it slides against the protruding parts of themembers 212, causing thethird portion 214C of that member to be moved to contact its respectiveframe side wall member 212 in place temporarily, which can help force the rear of the pallet into alignment with the rear of the frame so that theprotrusions 108 on the pallet enter into theapertures 208 on therear wall 204A of the frame. - Additionally, the diagonal/
rear portion 111C of eachside engaging formation 110 on the pallet can come into contact with the diagonal/rear 211B portion of the corresponding engagingformation 210 on the frame, as well as theupper portion 111B of thepallet formation 110 contacting theupper formation 211A of theframe formation 210. Contact between the rear walls of the pallet and frame and therespective side formations protrusions 108 andapertures 208 andside formations FIGS. 3A and 3B . - It will be understood that the various formations/member used to guide and cause engagement between the
pallet 100 and theframe 200 shown in the Figures are exemplary only. For instance, the pallet could include at least one aperture instead of (or in addition to)projections 108, with the frame having a corresponding set of at least one projection. Other types of interlocking formations could also be used and the formations could be located on a side wall instead of/in addition to a rear wall. Further, the guidingmembers 212 andside formations side engaging formations moveable guiding members 212 can take different forms. For instance, instead of being formed of a resilient material such as spring steel, the members could be rigid and pivotably fixed to the side walls, with a biasing device or a pad of resilient material being used to move back towards the centre of the frame when there is nothing forcing them towards the side walls. The guiding members could also be located elsewhere on the frame, or could be positioned on the pallet instead. Further, an additional engaging formation (not shown) may be fitted on the pallet and/or frame in order to limit/prevent movement of the pallet towards the front of the frame. -
FIGS. 4A to 4C show thepallet 100 fitted within theframe 200, with that frame being fixed to anouter frame 300. Theouter frame 300 can be similar to the storage frame described in the present inventor's US Patent Application published as US-A-2007/0278918 (i.e. have an extendable “drawer-type” member for supporting thepallet 100/frame 200), the removeable frame (designed to be releaseably fixed within an outer container) described in the present inventor's US Patent Application published as US-A-2007/0278169, or it may be a simpler box-like frame or rack. Briefly, theouter frame 300 can be a framework that includes a set of spaced apart upper and lower beams that are connected together byuprights 304.Longitudinal members upright 304. - In the example, the
pallet support frame 200 is connected to a set of four (corner) uprights 304 of theouter frame 300 by means ofbolts 308 that fit intoapertures 207 in the pallet support frame. However, it will be understood that other ways of (releasably) fixing the pallet support frame to the outer frame can be used, e.g. interlocking formations. Theouter frame 300 may include formations that facilitate stacking it with other boxes/outer frames. Each of the pair of uprights at the front end of the outer frame includes a gate 310. Viewed from above, each gate 310 is generally L-shaped, with its (shorter)base 312A being connected by means of apivot 307 to itsrespective upright 304. The pivot allows the gate 310 to move between a “closed” position (as shown inFIG. 4C ) where the stem 312B is substantially parallel to the rear wall of theframe 200 andouter frame 300 and so extends in front of the front ends of the frame and pallet. The portion of the stem 312B that extends in front of the frame/pallet may have a length that is anywhere between around 10%-50% of the width of the front of the frame/pallet. The gate 310 can also pivot to an “open” position that allows theframe 200 andpallet 100 to be pulled out of the front of theouter frame 300 when desired. Shot bolts or other locking devices may be used to hold the gates in their closed and/or open positions.
Claims (17)
1. A pallet storage system including:
a pallet having a base with upstanding rear and side walls, at least one of the walls including at least one engaging formation; and
a pallet support frame having a base with upstanding rear and side walls, at least one of the walls including at least one engaging formation,
the system further including at least one moveable member configured to contact the side walls of the pallet, when the pallet is inserted into the pallet support frame, to guide the at least one engaging formation of the pallet to engage with the corresponding at least one engaging formation of the pallet support frame.
2. A storage system according to claim 1 , wherein the at least one engaging formation is located on a rear wall of the pallet and the at least one engaging formation of the frame is located on the rear wall of the frame.
3. A storage system according to claim 1 , wherein the at least one engaging formation on the rear wall of the pallet includes a protrusion and the at least one engaging formation on the rear wall of the pallet support frame includes an aperture.
4. A storage system according to claim 1 , wherein the moveable member includes a resilient member that is fixed to an inner surface of the respective side wall of the pallet support frame.
5. A storage system according to claim 4 , wherein the resilient member is formed so as to include a portion that extends inwards from its respective side wall.
6. A storage system according to claim 5 , wherein the resilient member is so formed by being bent.
7. A storage system according to claim 6 , where, in use, at least the bent portion of the resilient member contacts an outer surface of a said side wall of the pallet.
8. A storage system according to claim 4 , wherein one end of the resilient member is fixed to an inner surface of the side wall of the pallet support frame, with another end of the resilient member not being fixed to the side wall of the pallet support frame.
9. A storage system according to claim 1 , wherein at least one side wall of the pallet includes a further engaging formation and at least one corresponding said side wall of the pallet support frame includes a corresponding further engaging formation.
10. A storage system according to claim 9 , wherein the further engaging formation of the pallet includes a member having a rear surface and an upper surface and the further engaging formation of the pallet support frame includes a member having a rear surface and an upper surface, in use, the respective rear and upper surfaces of the further engaging formations contacting each other, thereby limiting or preventing vertical and horizontal relative movement of the pallet and the pallet support frame.
11. A storage system according to claim 10 , wherein the rear surfaces of the further engaging formations of the pallet and the pallet support frame are angled downward with respect to upper surfaces of the pallet/pallet support frame.
12. A storage system according to claim 1 , wherein the pallet includes at least one foot and the base of the pallet support frame includes a space or at least one slot for allowing the at least one foot of the pallet to protrude through the pallet support frame base.
13. A storage system according to claim 12 , wherein the space or at least one slot is in a central portion of the base of the pallet support frame so that, in use, part of the pallet base rests upon side portions of the base of the pallet support frame.
14. A storage system according to claim 1 , wherein the pallet includes a set of pads for assisting with sliding the pallet onto the support frame.
15. A storage system according to claim 14 , wherein each of the pads comprises a portion of vibration-reducing material, such as rubber, that is sandwiched between the base of the pallet and a portion of low-friction material, such as plastic.
16. A storage system according to claim 1 , wherein the pallet support frame includes at least one formation configured to allow the frame to be fixed to an outer frame or rack.
17. A storage system including at least one pallet storage system according to claim 1 and an outer rack or frame releaseably fixed to the at least one pallet storage system.
Priority Applications (1)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
US12/103,274 US20080264304A1 (en) | 2007-04-30 | 2008-04-15 | Pallet storage system |
Applications Claiming Priority (2)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
US91480607P | 2007-04-30 | 2007-04-30 | |
US12/103,274 US20080264304A1 (en) | 2007-04-30 | 2008-04-15 | Pallet storage system |
Publications (1)
Publication Number | Publication Date |
---|---|
US20080264304A1 true US20080264304A1 (en) | 2008-10-30 |
Family
ID=39627365
Family Applications (1)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
US12/103,274 Abandoned US20080264304A1 (en) | 2007-04-30 | 2008-04-15 | Pallet storage system |
Country Status (4)
Country | Link |
---|---|
US (1) | US20080264304A1 (en) |
EP (1) | EP1988036B1 (en) |
AU (1) | AU2008201692A1 (en) |
DE (1) | DE602008001745D1 (en) |
Cited By (3)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US20090060700A1 (en) * | 2007-09-04 | 2009-03-05 | Allan Grainger | Pallet storage |
US9645569B1 (en) * | 2016-09-09 | 2017-05-09 | David R. Hall | Automated storage and retrieval direct movement method |
US9643782B1 (en) * | 2016-08-26 | 2017-05-09 | David R. Hall | Automatic storage and retrieval system with planar motion mechanism |
Citations (6)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US4231695A (en) * | 1978-07-10 | 1980-11-04 | Weston Sr Robert M | Cargo loading and unloading apparatus for trucks |
US5193700A (en) * | 1991-09-13 | 1993-03-16 | Lyman H Scott | Cargo container |
US6264157B1 (en) * | 1997-09-16 | 2001-07-24 | Sonoco Development, Inc. | Appliance base pad |
US6688820B2 (en) * | 2001-05-29 | 2004-02-10 | Fuji Jukogyo Kabushiki Kaisha | Cargo bed structure of truck |
US20040025756A1 (en) * | 2002-07-18 | 2004-02-12 | Baker Gerald Lynn | Bulk bag with integral pallets |
US6695554B2 (en) * | 2000-12-18 | 2004-02-24 | Matt Afful | Method for vertically restraining aircargo pallets within an aircraft |
Family Cites Families (4)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
GB2386888B (en) * | 2002-02-05 | 2004-11-10 | Allan Grainger | A pallet system |
GB0228750D0 (en) * | 2002-12-10 | 2003-01-15 | Grainger Allan | Improvements relating to support apparatus |
US8016370B2 (en) | 2006-05-31 | 2011-09-13 | Allan Grainger | Storage system |
US20070278169A1 (en) | 2006-05-31 | 2007-12-06 | Allan Grainger | Frame adapted to be fitted inside an outer container |
-
2008
- 2008-04-15 US US12/103,274 patent/US20080264304A1/en not_active Abandoned
- 2008-04-15 DE DE602008001745T patent/DE602008001745D1/en active Active
- 2008-04-15 EP EP08007371A patent/EP1988036B1/en not_active Not-in-force
- 2008-04-16 AU AU2008201692A patent/AU2008201692A1/en not_active Abandoned
Patent Citations (6)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US4231695A (en) * | 1978-07-10 | 1980-11-04 | Weston Sr Robert M | Cargo loading and unloading apparatus for trucks |
US5193700A (en) * | 1991-09-13 | 1993-03-16 | Lyman H Scott | Cargo container |
US6264157B1 (en) * | 1997-09-16 | 2001-07-24 | Sonoco Development, Inc. | Appliance base pad |
US6695554B2 (en) * | 2000-12-18 | 2004-02-24 | Matt Afful | Method for vertically restraining aircargo pallets within an aircraft |
US6688820B2 (en) * | 2001-05-29 | 2004-02-10 | Fuji Jukogyo Kabushiki Kaisha | Cargo bed structure of truck |
US20040025756A1 (en) * | 2002-07-18 | 2004-02-12 | Baker Gerald Lynn | Bulk bag with integral pallets |
Cited By (3)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US20090060700A1 (en) * | 2007-09-04 | 2009-03-05 | Allan Grainger | Pallet storage |
US9643782B1 (en) * | 2016-08-26 | 2017-05-09 | David R. Hall | Automatic storage and retrieval system with planar motion mechanism |
US9645569B1 (en) * | 2016-09-09 | 2017-05-09 | David R. Hall | Automated storage and retrieval direct movement method |
Also Published As
Publication number | Publication date |
---|---|
EP1988036A1 (en) | 2008-11-05 |
DE602008001745D1 (en) | 2010-08-26 |
EP1988036B1 (en) | 2010-07-14 |
AU2008201692A1 (en) | 2008-11-13 |
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Legal Events
Date | Code | Title | Description |
---|---|---|---|
STCB | Information on status: application discontinuation |
Free format text: ABANDONED -- FAILURE TO RESPOND TO AN OFFICE ACTION |