US20130032507A1

US20130032507A1 - Pallets for the handling of goods, processes for manufacturing pallets and methods of using pallets in the handling of goods

Info

Publication number: US20130032507A1
Application number: US13/575,744
Authority: US
Inventors: Pieter W. Du Toit; Karl-Heinz Schmitt
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2010-01-28
Filing date: 2011-01-28
Publication date: 2013-02-07
Also published as: ZA201206448B; CA2788454A1; WO2011092652A3; WO2011092652A2; AU2011210315A1; RU2012136563A; BR112012019705A2; KR20120125637A; CN102791587A; MX2012008754A; JP2013518001A; EP2528833A2

Abstract

Processes, a pallet (10) and a pallet system are provided for the handling of goods. The pallet (10) includes a main body (12) defining a load deck (16) and feet (18) and the main body (12) is suitable to be used as a pallet for applications such as light duty, one-way transport of goods. The pallet (10) further includes a bottom accessory (14) that can be attached to the feet (18) of the main body (12) to form beams (44,46) extending between the feet (18) to convert the main body (12) into pallet (10) that is suitable for use in heavy duty applications such as in pallet pools. The main body (12) and bottom accessory (14) are each configured to allow them to be nested, when not attached to each other. The processes of the invention include using the main body (12) to transport goods from manufacturers and then attaching the bottom accessory (14) to the main body (12) to form a pallet (10) for use in a pallet pool. The pallet system includes a variety of attachments that can be attached to the main body (12) and/or the accessory (14) and can be removed, as necessary.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to pallets for the handling of goods (including transport and storage of the goods) and extends to methods of manufacturing the pallets and methods of using the pallets in the handling of goods.

BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION

Pallets are used on a very large scale in the handling of goods and efforts are made continually to reduce the cost of pallets, improve their mechanical properties, extend their service life, etc.
There are various specifications that pallets need to meet for various applications, but some of the divisions that can be used to classify patents, include whether or not pallets are returnable (e.g. to a supplier who supplies goods on the pallet), stackable (i.e. loaded pallets resting on the loads of pallets below) rack-able (i.e. pallets can slide into racks and support loads for extended periods), light weight, heavy duty. Depending on which of these properties are required in a pallet (in addition to common requirements such as cost, strength, repair-ability, etc), the design of a pallet is typically a compromise between different attributes and there is a continuous need to improve the overall properties of pallets while inhibiting compromises.
One of the problems experienced in the pallet industry, is that suppliers of bulk products, e.g. polymer manufacturers, need to transport their products to customers on pallets, but they do not wish to be saddled with the task of retrieving pallets after products have been delivered. They see pallets as a consumable packaging cost. They thus typically supply products on non-returnable pallets and in order to keep costs to a minimum, the pallets are made light in weight (typically about 60 lbs) and with only sufficient strength to carry the load of the goods being loaded. The pallets are typically not made durable enough and/or do not have the mechanical strength to allow them to be used in other applications, such as heavier loading, stacking, racking, or the like on a continuous basis. These light-weight non-returnable one way pallets (referred to in the art as “export pallets”, “white pallets” or “one way pallets”) are thus typically discarded at their destinations, causing wastage in the cost of the pallets and causing a burden on the environment.
Most export pallets are presently being made of wood, but in many countries, suitable timber is not available for making pallets and the timber pallets either have to be imported at great expense, or the timber needs to be imported at similar, although slightly lower, expense and the pallets need to be manufactured, burdening manufacturers of products with costs and/or effort. Further, apart from the obvious environmental impact of deforestation caused by the supply of timber for pallets, the transport of timber pallets (or timber for pallets) increases gas emissions.
Once export pallets reach their destinations, they are typically discarded, because they are not suitable for use as so-called “pool pallets” that are made for use in different applications such as stacking and racking and are re-used repeatedly. The export pallets thus cause further environmental burden because they are either discarded directly as solid waste, or they have to be dismantled (depending on the type of pallet) and their materials disposed of in a suitable manner, such as incineration.
In many countries, “disposal fees” are levied before a timber pallet is allowed to enter the country and/or the pallet needs to be fumigated, heat treated or the like.
Another problem experienced in the pallet industry is the need to transport unloaded pallets cost effectively—whether during the supply of pallets to a user, the retrieval of pallets, or the like. The main problem in this respect is that pallets are bulky by their nature (which is to provide an elevated load platform with space underneath for lifting forks) and unloaded pallets thus occupy large volumes.
Another problem is one of labour because wooden pallet loads received in one country may need to be repacked on a different size pallet that fits the automated warehouse requirements.
Another problem experienced in the pallet industry is the need to repair pallets that become damaged. In some cases, it is cost-effective to repair pallets, typically by removing broken parts and replacing them with new parts. It is for instance common practice to remove broken slats in wooden pallets and replace them. However, in many instances, the parts of pallets cannot be separated easily and they are simply discarded when damaged, or the connections between parts of pallets are damaged easily and the pallets cannot be re-assembled with sufficient strength.
Yet another problem experienced in the pallet industry is that the attachment formations of multiple component pallets break during extended use of the pallets, because they are exposed to various loads such as impacts from lifting forks, impacts while the empty pallets are handled, etc.
Yet another problem experienced in the pallet industry is that there are different standard pallet sizes that are used for different types of goods, load weights, storing configurations (e.g. with or without stacking and/or racking), etc. The space constraints in different areas where the pallets need to be stored vary and as a result, pallet sizes that are suitable for one application, e.g. for handling fast-moving consumer goods are not necessarily of a size that allows optimal use of the floor space available in a standard freight container or an automated warehouse racking system.
Some export pallets are made with tapered feet that allow a number of the pallets to nest on top of each other and thus to save space when not loaded. However, the hollow feet of these pallets create large discontinuities in their load decks that detract from the structural strength and stability (stiffness) in the regions of the feet.
In some moulded pallets, ribs are provided in the pallet's structure, especially under its load deck, to improve the strength of the pallet, especially its bending strength.
However, in order to de-mould the pallet after moulding it, the moulds have to be made with draft angles and the result is that the ribs have tapered cross-sectional profiles that are wider at one end than the opposite end. These tapered profiles do not provide optimal strength, require additional material to be used in the pallet and thus add to the cost of the pallets.
There is often a requirement that pallets on which goods are transported, should be capable of being stacked and/or racked at the location where they are received, and accordingly, instead of the pallets on which the goods are despatched being designed only to serve the purposes of handling and bearing the loads of the goods during the journey, the pallets also need to be designed to have the additional properties allowing them to be used in warehousing systems or the like. The result is that goods that can be transported on light duty pallets are transported on heavy duty pallets, which cost more to manufacture and which have increased transport costs both while empty (before and/or use) and when loaded.
There is often a need for storage bins that can be lifted with the forks of conventional lifting devices (e.g. fork lift trucks, jacks, automated warehouse systems, or the like), but that has upright walls to define a bin in which goods can be held. Bins of this type are in use, which effectively comprise conventional timber pallets with upright timber walls. These pallet bins are heavy, expensive and environmentally unfriendly because of their timber construction and because they occupy very large storage volumes when they are empty. Similar pallet bins have been made from plastics materials, but they suffer from the same disadvantages—they need to be heavily engineered to be strong enough to withstand loads and are thus heavy and expensive and while they do not cause deforestation, their weight causes an increase on the energy requirements when transporting these pallet bins.
In an attempt to reduce the excessive space requirements when storing or transporting the pallet bins described above, partly or wholly collapsible pallet bins have been developed with walls that are removably attachable to each other, e.g. with clips and/or walls that are removably attachable to the pallet. The mechanisms for attaching these walls to one another typically require clips that are easily lost or parts that are integrally formed with the walls, that need to clip, slide, etc. together, but these mechanisms are prone to damage or loss of accessories and as a result, existing collapsible pallet bins are unsatisfactory.
In order to make optimal use of available storage space, pallet bins often need to be stacked, with upper pallet bins supported by the walls of lower pallet bins. In order to provide sufficient strength in the walls of the pallet bins to carry the weight of the pallet bins above them, the walls are made with a heavy, durable construction—with the disadvantages mentioned above. Pallet bins with collapsible walls are either even heavier or lack the strength to allow stacking.
The present invention seeks to addressing the shortfalls mentioned above, including providing cost effective, light weight pallets with good load carrying abilities, providing convenient and cost effective use of pallets by reducing the weight of pallets during transportation, while maintaining the structural properties of the pallets to bear static and dynamic loads, to be capable of stacking and racking, and the like, and to provide a pallet system including detachable fittings that can be added to pallets.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to a first aspect of the present invention there is provided a pallet comprising a main body, said main body comprising:

- a load deck with a generally planar load surface; and
- a plurality of spaced-apart feet protruding from the load deck on a side that is opposite from the load surface, said feet including at least one corner foot in each of four corner regions of the body;
- wherein
- said load deck has an open construction defining a plurality of cavities and webs extending at least partly between adjacent cavities;
- said feet being hollow and tapering, such that the feet of one such body are partly receivable inside the feet of another such body in a nesting manner;
- said pallet having a weight of less than 40 pounds, preferably less than 30 pounds; and
- said pallet being made of fibre reinforced material.

According to another aspect of the present invention there is provided a pallet comprising a main body, said main body comprising:

- a load deck with a generally planar load surface, said load deck defining a plurality of cavities that are each open on at least one side and said load deck including a plurality of webs extending at least partly between adjacent cavities; and
- a plurality of spaced-apart feet protruding from the load deck on a side that is opposite from the load surface, said feet including at least one corner foot in each of four corner regions of the body, the feet serving as supports to keep the load deck elevated and the spaces between the feet providing access for inserting lifting devices underneath the load deck;
- wherein at least some of the webs extend at an obtuse angle relative to the load deck and at least some of said webs define apertures between an upper edge and a lower edge of each such web.

The term “elevated” means that the load deck is at a higher elevation than a surface on which the pallet is supported, when in an upright orientation. The construction of a part of the pallet with a plurality of cavities that are open on at least one side, is referred to herein as an “open” structure.
The load deck may have a depth of more than 20 mm, preferably about 36 mm.
The load deck may include flanges extending generally co-planar with the load surface and the flanges may extend from upper edges of the webs of the load deck and define apertures in the load deck, between adjacent webs, in which inserts may be receivable.
The load deck may define an under surface that extends generally parallel to the load surface, between the feet and the load deck may include flanges extending generally co-planar with the under surface. The flanges extend from lower edges of the webs of the load deck and may define apertures in the load deck, between adjacent webs, which could assist in withstanding impact from lifting devices such as forks.
The main body may be made of a fibre reinforced polymeric material and may weigh less than 44 lbs and in one preferred embodiment, the load surface may have dimensions of about 40×48 inches as the pallet may weigh less than 35 lbs. In addition to the fibre reinforcement, the polymeric material may include supporting additives.
Each of the feet may be of a hollow construction with tapering walls, such that the feet of one such body are partly receivable inside the feet of another such body in a nesting manner.
The pallet may further include an accessory and one or more of the corner feet may define one or more first attachment formation that is attachable to the accessory of the pallet, such that the accessory extends at least between the attachment formations of the corner feet, e.g. in the form of a cruciform, picture frame, or both.
According to another aspect of the present invention there is provided a pallet comprising a main body, said main body comprising:
a load deck with a generally planar load surface, said load deck defining a plurality of cavities that are each open on at least one side with webs extending at least partly between adjacent cavities; and
a plurality of spaced-apart feet protruding from the load deck on a side that is opposite from the load surface, said feet including at least one corner foot in each of four corner regions of the body, the feet serving as supports to keep the load deck elevated and the spaces between the feet providing access for inserting lifting devices underneath the load deck, each of said feet being of a hollow construction with tapering walls, such that the feet of one such body are partly receivable inside the feet of another such body in a nesting manner;
wherein each foot defines at least one tapered recess extending from the bottom of the foot, towards the load deck.
One or more of the recesses may extend from the bottom of its associated foot to the vicinity of the load deck and the foot may includes a structure, e.g. a structure in the form of a cross member, that is generally aligned with the load deck and that spans the recess.
The body may be dimensioned such that, when an upper such body is nested on top of a lower such a body, the underside of the structures spanning the load recesses of the upper body's feet, rests in abutment on the load surface of the lower body, such that the abutment between said structures of the upper and lower bodies prevent the feet of the upper body from entering the insides of the feet of the lower body beyond a predetermined extent.
The pallet may include nine feet or more, including the four corner feet, and each of the corner feet may have at least one of said recesses that divides the corner foot into at least two pillars. Preferably, each of the nine feet may have such a recess that divides the foot into two or more pillars, such that the pallet has at least eighteen of these pillars and more preferably, each of the nine feet has such a recess that divides the foot into four pillars, such that the pallet has thirty six of these pillars.
According to a further aspect of the present invention there is provided a pallet comprising a main body and an accessory, the main body defining an open load deck with a plurality of cavities that are each open on at least one side, said load deck defining a generally planar load surface and a plurality of spaced-apart feet protruding from the body on a side that is opposite from the load surface, said feet including at least one corner foot in each of four corner regions of the body, the feet serving as supports to keep the load deck elevated and the spaces between the feet providing access for inserting lifting devices underneath the load deck; wherein each of the feet is of a hollow construction with tapering walls, such that the feet of one such body are partly receivable inside the feet of another such body in a nesting manner and wherein each corner foot defines at least one first attachment formation that is attachable to the accessory of the pallet, such that the accessory extends at least between the attachment formations of the corner feet;
wherein said accessory is also of an open construction, defining a plurality of cavities that are each open on at least one side.
Feet recesses may be defined in undersides of the feet and accessory protuberances may be defined on the accessory so that the accessory protuberances are receivable in the feet recesses, at least in part.
Each of the accessory protuberances may be of a hollow construction with tapering walls, such that the accessory protuberances of one such accessory are partly receivable inside the accessory protuberances of another such accessory in a nesting manner.
The accessory may include a plurality of second attachment formations that are attachable to the first attachment formations on at least some of the feet and the accessory may define a plurality of accessory recesses in which the feet are receivable, at least in part, with the second attachment formations being disposed inside the accessory recesses, where they are protected against damage.
The accessory may define at least one beam extending between two or more of the feet when the accessory is attached to the feet and the beam may be of an open construction defining a plurality of cavities that are each open on at least one side.
The accessory may define at least one beam extending between two or more of the feet when the accessory is attached to the feet, and the accessory may be dimensioned such that, when an upper such accessory is nested on top of a lower such accessory, the undersides of the upper accessory's beams rest in abutment on the beams of the lower accessory, such that the abutment between the beams of the upper and lower accessories prevent the upper body from entering the accessory recesses of the lower accessory beyond a predetermined extent.
The attachment formations of the pallet may be releasable and may include clip formations and the pallet may define release apertures through which a release element can be inserted to release the clip formations.
The pallet may define a plurality of apertures in a top surface of its load deck, in an underside of its load deck, on upper sides of the beams, and/or on undersides of the beams, in which inserts are receivable. The pallet may include a plurality of these inserts that are receivable in the apertures, each insert being of a slip resistant material.
The pallet may include at least one corner sleeve that can be attached to a foot of the main body by extending around at least part of the foot, the corner sleeve being held captive on the foot between the accessory and the load deck, when the accessory is attached to the first attachment formations.
The pallet's load deck may include a solid peripheral edge adjacent at least some of its cavities and an edge insert or a deck extension accessory may be releasably attachable to the edge, with grip formations such as hook formations and/or clip formations gripping the edge. The edge insert may include a protuberance or ridge that protrudes above the load deck and the deck extension accessory may extend in alignment with the load deck, from the edge of the load deck.
The pallet may include a plurality of wheels that are releasably attachable to the pallet and each of the wheels may be rotatably supported in an adaptor, which is attachable to the pallet in a clipping manner, e.g. the adaptor may be attachable to the underside of a foot of the main body, or to the accessory.
According to a further aspect of the present invention there is provided apparatus for the handling of goods, said apparatus comprising:

- a pallet body defining a load deck and feet protruding from an underside of the load deck;
- a plurality of walls, each wall defining a first edge, which forms a top edge in use, a second edge, opposite from the first edge and which forms a bottom edge in use, and third and fourth edges that form lateral edges in use;
- pivotal attachment means holding the lateral edges of adjacent walls together in a pivoting side-by-side arrangement, with a pivot axis extending generally along the attached lateral edges;
- deck attachment formations disposed along the periphery of the load deck; and
- wall attachment formations disposed along the bottom edges of the walls, said wall attachment formations being releasably receivable in the deck attachment formations.

The load deck of the pallet body may be rectangular and the apparatus may include six walls, including two rigid walls that are configured to extend along the length of opposing edges of the load deck when attached to the load deck, with the four remaining walls forming two pairs, each pair being configured to extend along the length of one of the load deck's edges, between the rigid walls. The walls may include six corners where the side edges of the adjacent walls are pivotally connected together by the pivot attachment means and the pivot attachment means may be configured to allow each of the pairs of walls to pivot inwardly, towards the other of said pairs of walls.
Each wall may be of a construction comprising an array of webs defining cavities between them, each cavity having a large opening on one side of the wall and a shape that tapers towards a smaller opening on the opposing side of the wall, and adjacent cavities being disposed with their large openings on opposing sides of the wall. Each cavity may have a flange that extends around its small opening and that is integrally formed with the webs.
The deck attachment formations may include a plurality of recesses defined in the load deck and the wall attachment formations may include protuberances extending from the bottom edge of the wall, said protuberances being receivable the recesses of the deck attachment formations, preferably in a clipping manner. Instead or in addition, the deck attachment formations may include an edge of the load deck and the wall attachment formations may include clip formations that can grip the edge of the load deck.
At least some of the walls may include positioning formations on their upper edges, that are configured to receive the underside of the a pallet body when stacked above the walls.
The pallet may include a lid that is pivotably attached to one of the walls.
According to yet another aspect of the present invention there is provided a process for manufacturing a pallet with a load deck, said process including:
closing two parts of a two-part mould to form a mould cavity;
injecting mouldable material into the mould cavity;
allowing the mouldable material to solidify to form the pallet; and
de-moulding the pallet;
wherein the pallet includes a plurality of webs in its load deck, each web being oriented at an obtuse angle relative to the load deck, and wherein the two parts of the two-part mould abut in the vicinity of a neutral axis of at least some of said webs, when the mould is closed, to define an aperture in the web in the vicinity of its neutral axis.
The mouldable material may be a fibre reinforced polymeric material, preferably with supporting additives.
According to a further aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of using pallets, each of said pallets comprising a pallet body defining a load deck and feet protruding from an underside of the load deck, said method comprising:

- transporting a first such a pallet body from a first location to a second location;
- keeping a number of accessories at said second location, each such accessory being attachable to the underside of the feet of such a pallet body, to extend between at least some of the feet of the pallet body and provide structural support to the pallet body;
- supporting said first pallet body on such an accessory at the second location;
- using said first pallet body and its supporting accessory at the second location;
- removing the first pallet body from its supporting accessory; and
- despatching the first pallet body from the second location.

The term “supported” is not intended to be limited to the bearing of weight, i.e. it does not merely refer to “carrying”, but has a wider meaning of imparting structural strength and/or stiffness.
The first pallet body may be supported on its supporting accessory by attaching the accessory to the feet of the first pallet body, or the accessory may be attached to a second such pallet body and the first pallet body may be received on top of the second pallet body while at the second location, to be supported at least in part, by the accessory attached to the second pallet body. The first pallet body and the second pallet body may be nestable, and the method may include nesting the feet of the first pallet body in the second pallet body while at the second location, to hold the first pallet body in position on the second pallet body.
At least some of the accessories may have wheels and the method may include moving the pallet body and its supporting accessory at the second location, by rolling the accessory on its wheels.
The term “wheel” is intended to include any variation of rolling element support and thus includes rollers, castors, or the like.
According to another aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of using pallets, each of said pallets comprising a pallet body defining a load deck and feet protruding from an underside of the load deck, said method comprising:

- transporting a first such a pallet body from a first location to a second location;
- keeping a number of wheeled pallet bodies at said second location, each such wheeled pallet body comprising a pallet body defining a load deck and feet protruding from an underside of the load deck, with wheels attached to the undersides of at least some of its feet;
- supporting said first pallet body on such a wheeled pallet body at the second location;
- using said first pallet body and its supporting wheeled pallet body at the second location;
- removing the first pallet body from its supporting wheeled pallet body; and
- despatching the first pallet body from the second location.

The first pallet body and the wheeled pallet body may be nestable, and the method may include nesting the feet of the first pallet body in the wheeled pallet body while at the second location, to hold the first pallet body in position on the wheeled pallet body. The first pallet body may be releasably attached to the wheeled pallet body.
According to a further aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of using pallets, each of said pallets comprising a pallet body defining a load deck and feet protruding from an underside of the load deck, said method comprising:

- transporting a first such a pallet body from a first location to a second location;
- keeping a number of accessories at said second location, each such accessory being attachable to the underside of the feet of such a pallet body, to extend between at least some of the feet of the pallet body and provide structural support to the pallet body, with wheels attached to the underside of at the accessory;
- supporting said first pallet body on such a wheeled accessory at the second location;
- using said first pallet body and its supporting wheeled accessory at the second location;
- removing the first pallet body from its supporting wheeled accessory; and
- despatching the first pallet body from the second location.

The first pallet body may be nestable in a second pallet body defining a load deck and feet protruding from an underside of the load deck, with the feet of the first pallet body being receivable inside the feet of the second pallet body in a nesting manner, and the method may include attaching the second pallet body to the wheeled accessory and supporting the first pallet body by receiving it on top of the second pallet body, in nesting fashion.
The method may include transporting and/or storing goods on the first pallet body during transportation of the first pallet body from the first location to the second location, during use of the first pallet body at the second location, and/or during despatch of the first pallet body from the second location.
According to yet a further aspect of the present invention there is provided a method for providing pallets for the handling of goods, said method comprising:

- providing a pallet body defining an open load deck defining a plurality of cavities that are each open on at least one side, said load deck having a generally planar load surface and a plurality of spaced-apart feet protruding from the body on a side that is opposite from the load surface, said feet including at least one corner foot in each of four corner regions of the body, the feet serving as supports to keep the load deck elevated and the spaces between the feet providing access for inserting lifting devices underneath the load deck;
- loading goods onto the load deck of the pallet body;
- transporting the pallet body with the goods loaded on top of it; and
- attaching an accessory to the feet of the pallet body such that the accessory extends at least between the four corner feet in a manner such that the accessory is spaced from the load deck.

The load deck of the pallet body may include a plurality of webs extending at least partly between adjacent cavities, at least some of the webs extending at an obtuse angle relative to the load deck and at least some of these webs defining apertures between an upper edge and a lower edge of each such web.
The method may include supporting the pallet on opposing sides in a racking system, after attaching the accessory to the feet of the pallet.
The method may include off-loading the goods before attaching the accessory to the feet of the pallet body.
The method may include an additional step of releasing the attachment of the accessory from the feet of the pallet body and may further include re-attaching the accessory to the feet of the pallet body.
Each of the pallet body's feet may be of a hollow construction with tapering walls and the method may include the step of transporting a plurality of the pallet bodies in a nesting arrangement, with the feet of one such body partly received inside the feet of another such body in a nesting manner, before loading the pallet body with goods.
Each of the pallet body's feet may be of a hollow construction with tapering walls and the method may include the step of transporting a plurality of the pallet bodies in a nesting arrangement, with the feet of one such body partly received inside the feet of another such body in a nesting manner, after the goods have been off-loaded and before the accessories are attached to the main bodies.
The goods to be transported on the pallet body may include a polymer and the method may include manufacturing the pallet body at the location from where the goods are to be transported, using polymer supplied by a sender seeking to transport the polymer.
The method may include repeatedly using the pallet after attaching the accessory to the feet of the pallet body and the method may include renting out the pallet as part of a pool of pallets, after attaching the accessory to the main body.
The method may include removably attaching one or more deck extension accessory to one or more edges of the load deck of the pallet body. In one embodiment, the load deck has a size of about 40×48 inches and the load surface of the pallet is increased to 52×44 inches with the addition of the deck extension accessory.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a better understanding of the present invention, and to show how the same may be carried into effect, the invention will now be described by way of non-limiting example, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1A is a three-dimensional view of a pallet in accordance with the present invention, from above;

FIG. 1B is a three-dimensional view of the pallet of FIG. 1A, from below;

FIG. 1C is a top plan view of the pallet of FIG. 1A;

FIG. 1D is a side view of the pallet of FIG. 1A:

FIG. 2 is a three-dimensional view of a main body of the pallet of FIG. 1A;

FIG. 3 is a detail view of a corner of the main body of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a three-dimensional view of a plurality of the bodies of FIG. 2, stacked in a nesting arrangement;

FIG. 5 is a three-dimensional view of an accessory of the pallet of FIG. 1A;

FIG. 6 is a detail view of a corner of the accessory of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a three-dimensional view of a plurality of the accessories of FIG. 5, stacked in a nesting arrangement;

FIGS. 8A and 8B are sectional views through part of the pallet of FIG. 1A, taken at VIII-VIII, showing the engagement and attachment between the main body of FIG. 2 and the accessory of FIG. 5. In FIG. 8A, the parts are shown shortly before the engagement and in FIG. 8B they are shown in engagement;

FIGS. 9A and 9B are sectional views through part of the pallet of FIG. 1A, taken at IX-IX, showing the engagement and attachment between the main body of FIG. 2 and the accessory of FIG. 5. In FIG. 9A, the parts are shown shortly before the engagement and in FIG. 9B they are shown in engagement;

FIG. 10 is a sectional view through part of a deck of the pallet of FIG. 1A, showing two inserts received in recesses of the deck;

FIG. 11 is a sectional view of a first embodiment of an identification tag being fitted in a foot of the pallet of FIG. 1A;

FIGS. 12A and 12B are an exploded side view and a sectional side view of a second embodiment of an identification tag being fitted in a foot of the main body of the pallet of FIG. 1A;

FIG. 13 is a plan view of an alternative embodiment of a corner of the accessory of the pallet of FIG. 1A;

FIGS. 14A and 14B are sectional side views at XIV-XIV of the accessory of FIG. 13, showing an exploded view and an assembly, respectively, of an identification tag being fitted in the corner of the accessory;

FIG. 15 is a three-dimensional view of a deck extension accessory for use with the pallet of FIG. 1A;

FIGS. 16A and 16B are detail sectional views of parts of the main body of the pallet of FIG. 1A, fitted with the deck extension accessory of FIG. 15;

FIG. 17 is a three-dimensional view of an edge insert for use with the pallet of FIG. 1A;

FIG. 18 is a detail sectional view of part of the main body of the pallet of FIG. 1A, fitted with the edge insert of FIG. 17:

FIG. 19 is a three-dimensional view of a corner sleeve of the pallet of FIG. 1A;

FIGS. 20A and 20B are detail sectional views through part of the load deck of the pallet of FIG. 1A, shown in FIG. 20A inside a two-part mould and shown in FIG. 20B after de-moulding;

FIG. 21 is a three-dimensional view of a pillar insert;

FIG. 22 is a top view of the pillar insert of FIG. 21;

FIG. 23 is an oblique side view of the pillar insert of FIG. 21;

FIG. 24 is a top three-dimensional view of a corner of a pallet, with pillar inserts inside its pillars;

FIG. 25 is a side view of a corner of a pallet with pillar inserts and a main body of FIG. 2 supported on top of the pillar inserts;

FIG. 26 is a three-dimensional view of a castor insert for the main body of FIG. 2;

FIG. 27 is a three-dimensional view of a castor insert for the accessory of FIG. 5;

FIG. 28 is a three-dimensional view of walls of a first embodiment of a pallet bin in accordance with the present invention, in a partly folded condition;

FIG. 29 is a three-dimensional view of the walls of FIG. 28, in a fully folded condition;

FIG. 30 is a three-dimensional view of the walls of FIG. 29, placed along an edge of a pallet body of the pallet bin in accordance with the present invention, the walls being spaced above the pallet body;

FIG. 31 is a three-dimensional view of the walls and pallet body of FIG. 30, with the walls in a partly opened condition;

FIG. 32 is a three-dimensional view of the walls and pallet body of FIG. 30, with the walls in a fully opened condition;

FIG. 33 is a detail three-dimensional view of a corner of a pallet bin in accordance with the present invention, comprising the walls and pallet body of FIG. 32;

FIG. 34 is a front view of the pallet bin of FIG. 32;

FIG. 35 is a side view of the pallet bin of FIG. 32;

FIG. 36 is a three-dimensional view of two of the pallet bins of FIG. 32, stacked on top of each other.

FIG. 37 is a three-dimensional view of walls and lid of a second embodiment of a pallet bin in accordance with the present invention, in a partly folded condition;

FIG. 38 is a three-dimensional view of a pallet bin, including the main pallet body of FIG. 2 and the walls of FIG. 37, in a fully folded condition;

FIG. 39 is a three-dimensional view of the pallet bin of FIG. 38, with the walls in a fully opened condition and with the lid closed; and

FIG. 40 is a three-dimensional view of four of the pallet bins of FIG. 39, stacked on top of one another.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Referring to the drawings, a pallet in accordance with the present invention is generally indicated by reference numeral 10, whereas a main body of the pallet is generally indicated by reference numeral 12 and a bottom accessory of the pallet is generally indicated by reference numeral 14. For the sake of simplicity, the main body 12 is also referred to as the “top” and the accessory 14 as the “bottom”.
Referring to FIGS. 2 to 4, the main body (top) 12 can be made of any suitably light, strong and durable material, but is preferably a unitary moulding of reinforced polymeric material and it includes a load deck 16 and nine feet 18 protruding from the underside of the load deck. The top of the load deck 16 defines a generally planar load surface 20 and the underside of the deck defines an under-surface 22 that is continuous between the feet 18. The feet 18 are disposed at the corners, mid-way along the edges and in the centre of the load deck 16. In other embodiments, the top 12 may include feet 18 disposed only in its four corner regions or optionally also a central foot.
The deck 16 is made up of a continuous lattice of webs and flanges that define an array of cube-like cavities 24, each defining a rectangular recess or aperture 26 that is surrounded by a rectangular flange or frame. The alternate cavities 24 have apertures 26 that are disposed in the load surface 20 and in the under-surface 22 of the load deck 16. The under-surface 22 is bevelled towards the load surface, around the periphery of the load deck 16. The load deck 16 has a depth that is more than 20 mm and that is preferably about 36 mm.
Each foot 18 is hollow and has tapering outer walls 28 that give it a generally octagonal profile. Each foot defines a foot recess 30 in its centre, surrounded by tapered inner walls 32. Further, each foot 18 has four recesses 34 extending upwards from its bottom 36, so that the foot has four angled pillars 38, each defined between the inner walls 32, outer walls 28 and two recesses 34. At the bottom of each pillar 38, there is a first attachment formation in the form of a rectangular aperture 40.
The hollow construction of each foot 18, together with the angled structure of its inner and outer walls 32,28 allows the feet of one body (top) 12 to be received in a nesting manner inside the hollow insides of the feet of another body 12 below it, when the bodies are stacked on top of one another, as shown in FIG. 4. In the nested condition, the underside 22 of the load deck 16 of the body 12 above rests against the load surface 20 of the body below it, and this abutment of the load decks prevents the feet 18 of the upper body from entering the insides of the feet of the lower body too far and thus prevents the feet from getting stuck in the nesting arrangement as result of a taper lock.
As can be seen in FIGS. 8A and 8B, the body (top) 12 includes a cross member 41 that is generally aligned with the load deck and spans the foot recess 30, between the inner walls 32 of the foot 18. The cross member 41 serves to carry tensile loads on the inside of the foot 18, to resist deformation of the foot in racking or stacking with a heavy load on the pallet. In some preferred embodiments, the cross member 41 has a deeper profile than the load deck 16, but with the top of the cross member aligned with the load surface 20, this means that the bottom of the cross member extends lower than the under surface 22 and as a result, when the bodies 12 are nested, the bottom of the cross member of the upper body 12 rests on the top of the cross member of the lower body 12 and this abutment of the cross members 41 prevent the pillars 18 of the bodies 12 from entering too deeply into each other.
Referring to FIGS. 5 to 7, the accessory (bottom) 14 can also be made of any suitably light, strong and durable material, but is preferably a unitary moulding of reinforced polymeric material. It is generally rectangular and has nine “second” attachment formations 42, disposed at its corners, midway along its sides and at its centre. The size of the bottom accessory 14 corresponds to that of the load deck 16 and the positions of the attachment formations 42 correspond with those of the feet 18.
The bottom accessory 14 includes outer beams 44 that extend between attachment formations 42 disposed at the corners and midway along the sides of the accessory, to form a rectangular structure (referred to in the art as a “picture frame”), as well as inner beams 46 that extend from the central attachment formation to each of the attachment formations midway along the sides, to form a cross structure (referred to in the art as a “cruciform”). The construction of each of the beams 44,46 is very similar to that of the load deck 16, with a continuous lattice of webs and flanges defining cavities 24, with apertures 26 on the top and bottom of each beam and with a bevelled edge. However, the depth of the beams 44,46 is substantially less than that of the load deck 16, making the load deck better suited to bear bending loads, but the beams suited to bear tensile loads.
Each of the attachment formations 42 defines a generally octagonal accessory recess 48 and an upstanding hollow accessory protuberance 50 in the centre of the recess. The walls of the protuberance 50 are angled and define steps 52, so that each corner region of the recess 48 can receive the lower end of a pillar 38 of its corresponding foot 18 in a snug manner between the walls of the recess 48 and protuberance 50 and the steps 52.
At each corner of each recess 48, a second attachment formation is provided in the form of a pair of resilient clips 54 with barbs facing outwards. In the illustrated embodiment, the upper ends of the clips 54 protrude above the upper surfaces of the adjacent outer beams 44, but in some preferred embodiments, the depths of the beams and the lengths of the clips are selected so that the clips do not protrude above the upper surfaces of the beams 44,46 at all.
Like in the case of the top body 12, the bottom accessory 14 can be stacked to form a nested stack of accessories as shown in FIG. 7. The hollow construction of the protuberance 50 and its tapering walls allows the protuberance of a lower one of the accessories to be received inside the protuberance of an accessory immediately above it, in a nesting arrangement. Like in the case of the top body 12, the bottom accessory 14 is shaped and configured such that the undersides of its beams 44,46 rest on top of the upper surfaces of the beams of the accessory below it, when nested, without the protuberance 50 of the lower accessory extending too far into the protuberance of the top accessory. In some embodiments, part of the upper bottom accessory 14 may extend into the recess 48 of the lower bottom accessory, when nested, but the extent to which this can happen is limited by the abutment of the beams 44,46 to prevent any part of the upper accessory from damaging the clips 54.
Referring to the lattice structure of the load deck 16 and beams 44,46: The load deck 16 has an even thickness throughout and has a uniform support capacity and the load surface 20 and under surface 22 are uniformly the same strength right through the deck, which allows for better handling of uneven loads on top of the deck. Further, the load deck 16 is easily washable it includes no closed cavities 24, but has openings in its load surface 20 and under surface 22 (apart from the feet 18). This feature also allows air or water to flow easily through the whole pallet 10, which allows much better cooling and temperature control with reduced energy requirements when transporting the pallets in trucks or transport containers (e.g. in a “cold chain”). The improved control of air flow throughout the pallet 10 and fruit and other perishable products packed on the load deck 16, allows the pallets and their loads to be cooled more effectively and efficiently. There is thus also less wasted product because quicker ripening and other high temperature problems can be avoided. Further, better cooling and/or temperature control during transport of fresh produce on the pallet 10 allows longer shelf lives of the produce, when sold in retail. The effective cooling characteristics of the pallet 10 allows for direct containerisation, eliminating the requirements for pre-cooling in cold storage before shipment. Fruit can now be shipped immediately and reach the destined markets earlier and ensure a longer shelf life.
The construction of the pallet 10 from polymeric (plastic) material also has the advantage of inhibiting or preventing mould or bacteria formation on the pallet, as is often found with wooden pallets, because of wood impurities. The plastic material can also be made resistant to bacteria, mould, etc., which again contributes to longer shelf life of produce transported on the pallet 10. Moisture in wood contributes to condensation in closed containers and causes and promotes product damage, fungus, mould and mildew growth as well as metal oxidation. The use of polymeric material also eliminates the presence of any additional moisture source in the container normally associated with un-dried or insufficiently dried timber.
The uniform structure of the deck 16 also prevents fork lift blades from entering the deck from below (through human error) at any ribs, planks not properly joined to the pallet, etc.—as in the case of prior art pallets.
The top body 12 and bottom accessory 14 are formed in separate moulds where the molten polymer enters the mould cavities through the middle foot 18 or middle attachment formation 42, as the case may be, through a large gate. The purpose of the large gate is to keep the fibres in the polymer long to achieve good mechanical properties for the weight of the polymer matrix. The polymer matrix can include glass fibre and other additives such as UV resistors colorants, additives for compatabilizing different polymers, fire retardants that assist in compliance with the UL 2335 specifications, reinforcing particles, fillers, etc. Even anti-bacterial additives can be provided should it be required. There are many other additives that could be used in the formulation should there be a requirement. By injecting the polymer through a single injection point, the formation of weld lines can be controlled and there is the freedom to cool the mould in such a way that, even if weld lines are formed, they are strong because the temperature of the polymer on opposing sides of the welds are within 5% of one each other. The mould can also be designed so that the polymer flows into the mould in such a way that the welds meet mainly in the feet of the pallet.
As an alternative to moulding from a single, large gate, the body 12 or accessory 14 can be moulded through multiple gates, e.g. a central gate and four spaced apart gates, all built into the mould and shutting off the mould cavity at the bounding wall of the mould, with mouldable material fed to each gate from a hot runner system.
The material properties of long glass fibre with polyolefins in a matrix give lower creep and thermal expansion values that are even better than aluminium and magnesium and are very close to thermal expansion values of steel, but the glass fibre must be longer than 10 mm if used in polypropylene and more than 20% by weight of glass fibre is required. The glass fibres are inert to fire and costly fire retardant additives only need to be provided for the polymer portion of the material. The material as described herein is thermally stable in temperatures ranging between −20 degrees C. and 40 degrees C.
Referring to FIGS. 8 and 9, when the body 12 and bottom accessory 14 are to be attached together, each foot 18 is attached to its corresponding attachment formation 42 and at the same time:

the lower ends of the foot's pillars 38 are received inside the recess 48 of the attachment formation 42;
each foot's protuberance 50 is received inside the recess 30 of the attachment formation (in the illustrated embodiment, the protuberance 50 extends about one third into the depth/height of the recess 30);
the outer walls 28 of the feet 18 abut outer walls of the recess 48;
outer walls of the protuberance 50 abut the inner walls 32 of the foot; and
each pair of the clips 54 engage the aperture 40 of its corresponding pillar 38 in a clipping manner.

The engagement between the foot 18 and its attachment formation 42 can bear downwards compressive loads because the bottoms 36 of the pillars 38 simply press against the bottom of the recess 48. The engagement can also bear shear loading, i.e. side-to-side forces acting on either the body 12 or the bottom accessory 14, by the walls of the pillars 38 pressing against the walls from the recess 48 and the walls of the protuberance 50 pressing against the walls of the recess 30. Accordingly, the only forces that the engagement of the clips 54 in the apertures 40, need to bear, are vertical forces that seek to pull the body and the accessory apart. These forces are borne in the clips 54 as tensile forces and the clips are thus not exposed to significant shear or bending forces during normal use and are only exposed to mild bending forces during engagement or disengagement of the body 12 and the bottom accessory 14.
The hollow inside of each pillar 38 forms a release aperture 56 in which an appropriately shaped device can be inserted from above, to press against bevelled edges 58 of the clips 54, to press the clips closer together and thus release the engagement of the clips with the aperture 40. The bottom accessory 14 can thus be removed from the body 12, if required, and can be re-fitted to the same or another body. This allows inter-changeability of the bodies 12 and accessories 14 to allow easy maintenance of the pallet 10 by replacing a damaged body 12 or bottom accessory 14.
The outside dimensions of the load deck 16 and of the bottom accessory 14 are about the same and this differs from other pallets with nestable upper parts. Further, the beams 44,46 of the bottom accessory 14 cover more than 55% and typically 65% of the area of the underside of the pallet 10.
Referring to FIGS. 1 to 9, in use, the main body 12 can serve the purpose of a pallet that need not be stacked or racked and that need not bear heavy duty, although in practical experimentation, it has been found that the strength of the top body 12 is sufficient to bear the loads required during stacking and/or racking. In particular, a typical example of the top body 12 can bear static loads of about 1375 kg (while transporting on a lifting fork) and can bear static loads exceeding 4,000 kg. The body 12 also only deflects to a maximum of 17 mm when supported on opposing edges (e.g. in a racking system), under a load of 1.375 kg. The low deflection of the body 12 allows it to be used in racks without the accessory 14, thus allowing space underneath the load deck 16 for movement of automated warehousing equipment.
Further, the body 12 on its own is quite light in weight and can be nested. The weight of the main body 12 is less than 40 pounds, preferably less than 30 pounds and typically about 8 kg (17.6 pounds) and is significantly less than any existing nesting pallet that can do the same duty as that of a one-way wooden pallet. The body 12 can thus be used on its own to receive a load on its load deck and can be used to transport that load, with the advantages of the light weight of the body. Further, the body 12 can be transported in a cost-effective manner to the location where it is to be loaded, by nesting the bodies together during transportation and thus saving space.
In some cases, the benefits of using the body 12 to transport loads are even greater, if they can be produced at the location from where products are to be transported. In particular, in the chemical industry, where very large quantities of polymer material products need to be transported on pallets from the polymer suppliers to their customers, polymers from the suppliers can be used to manufacture the bodies 12 at the site from where the polymer material products are to be transported. Similarly, in the cases of manufacturers of suitable reinforcing fibres (e.g. glass fibres), glass fibres from the manufacturers can be used to manufacture the bodies 12.
The cost of manufacturing the bodies 12 at the site from where products are to be despatched or manufacturing the bodies elsewhere and transporting them to the site, is much lower than the cost of current practices of transporting conventional wooden pallets to the site, in complete form.
Further, there are savings in transport costs because the low weight of the body 12 allows more product to be transported in a load, without increasing the overall weight of the load. E.g. one extra 25 kg bag of polymer product can be carried on every top body 12 (weighing about 8 kg), which is capable of serving the same function as a conventional wooden pallet weighing about 42 kg. By adding the extra bags of polymer to each pallet load, up to 800 kg of additional product can be transported in each payload, without additional payload costs. When the bodies are transported without load (whether to depots, distributors, retailers, washing depots, or the like), at least half the transport cost is saved because more than twice the number of bodies 12 can be transported (in the nested configuration described above) for the same volume and weight of conventional wooden pallets (assembled with nails). These transport savings reduce the energy required for transport, which results in substantial benefits in reducing carbon emissions. In addition, the pallet 10 holds the environmental advantages that it does not lead to deforestation as in the case of wooden pallets and the materials of which the pallet 10 are made are recyclable. The sustainability and environmental benefits are very substantial and allow the pallets 10 to compete on an economic basis with conventional wooden pallets.
Once the bodies 12 are available at the site from where goods are to be transported, they are loaded by placing the goods on the load surfaces 20 and the goods and pallets are transported to their destinations, where the goods are off-loaded. Under normal trading conditions, a pallet used to transport the goods up to this point would either have been a one-way wooden pallet that would be discarded, or it would have been a durable, heavy duty pallet that can be re-used, but that would have had the disadvantages of costly transport up to this stage (because of the weight and non-nestability of the pallets). However, the bodies 12 of the present invention can be collected after use and can be transported cost-effectively because of their low weight and nesting ability and can be re-used.
To the inventor's knowledge: No existing wooden pallet used in transporting products has the ability for its feet to nest. There are however plastic pallets that can nest but no existing nesting pallet can carry more than a 2800 lbs (1270 kg) dynamic weight load. No existing plastic pallet that can compete with the pallet 10 on performance (i.e. in terms of static and dynamic loading capacity, racking with bending, etc.) has the ability for its feet to nest. No existing nesting pallet can simultaneously meet the requirements of “one man lift less than 35 lbs” (i.e. the “OSHA requirement”), a racking weight in a 40×48 inch pallet with a height of 5.75 inches, of more than 2800 lbs with safety of 50% and bending less than 20 mm. However, the pallet 10 separated into the main body 12 and bottom accessory 14 has nesting capability insofar as the main bodies are nestable and the bottom accessories are nestable. Pallet 10 meets all these requirements.
The combination of nestability with the load bearing and racking requirements is a major breakthrough in the worldwide pallet industry. This was achieved through the material formulation and the design of the pallet 10. When the feet 18 are attached to their corresponding receiving formations 42, the complete pallet 10 becomes a structural member with very low weight i.e. less than 44 lbs.
The fact that the pallet 10 is made in two parts (the body 12 and bottom accessory 14) and is thus not moulded in a single shot mould (as in cases where the top deck and the bottom deck of a pallet are moulded together in a single shot), there is no need to slide cores from the sides of the mould and the moulds are much less complex. A single-shot pallet where the complete pallet is made with the top and bottom deck together in a unitary moulding can never nest to save transport costs. Such a single-shot pallet also necessarily has more weight because it needs to be shaped to allow for the moulds to come away from the ribs in a taper design, but the design of the pallet 10 does not require a taper in the rib structure.
The spaces between the feet 18 serve as access for the forks of lifting apparatus such as fork-lift trucks, to lift the bodies 12 (or pallets 10), with or without a load.
When the bodies 12 are to be re-used, they can be used as described above, or they can be used in the form of a heavy duty pallet 10 which is capable of stacking, racking and heavy loads, by attaching the bottom accessory 14 to the body 12 as described above. The bottom accessory 14 strengthens the pallet 10 for stacking because the beams 44,46 can distribute the weight of the pallet 10 (and its load) on the load of a pallet below it. The bottom accessory 14 allows the pallet 10 to be racked because the beams 44,46 can bear tensile loads, thus increasing the stiffness of the pallet substantially, against bending or deflecting under its load. The bottom accessory 14 also enhances the strength of the pallet 10 generally by providing a pallet that is stiffer than the body 12 on its own.
In this formation the complete pallet 10 will preferably weigh less than 35 lbs or 16 kg and still satisfy the OSHA requirements in the USA for a one man lift, have a dynamic load capacity exceeding 1.5 metric tonne, have a static load capacity of up to 12 metric tonnes or more and be able to rack more than 1300 kg with deflection of less than 20 mm. The inventor believes that these properties can be achieved at room temperatures of about 23 degrees C., but also in temperatures as low as −20 degrees C. and in temperatures as high as 40 degrees C., or more.
The pallet 10 can thus be used for many purposes once the bottom accessory 14 has been attached to the body 12, but depending on the intended use of the pallet, it may be preferable to release the attachment of the accessory to the body, e.g. to transport the bodies and bottom accessories separately in nested (more space efficient) stacks, it may be preferable to use the bodies 12 on their own again, or the like.
The invention holds the advantage that the provision of the bottom accessory 14 that can be releasably attached to the body 12, allows the body to be converted from a light duty (“one-way” or “export”) pallet to a heavy duty (“return” or “pool”) pallet, as required, while the invention also holds the advantages of economy of space and weight when the body 12 and bottom accessory 14 are separate. The design of the pallet 10 further gives it the strength required for most heavy duty applications, with a significantly lower cost and weight of the pallet.
As can best be seen in FIG. 1D, the recesses 34 between the pillars 38 of the feet 18 form apertures, when the feet 18 are attached to the attachment formations 42. The design of the feet 18 with these apertures formed by the recesses 34, saves weight and adds structural strength to the pallet 10.
Referring to FIG. 10, each of the many recesses or apertures 26 can receive an insert 60 (referred to as a “grommet” in the art) of a slip resistant material. The plurality of apertures 26 allows the number and positions of grommets 60 to be selected to suit the needs for particular uses of the pallet 10. The number and positions of the grommets 60 can thus be selected for the load surface 20 (to prevent loads from slipping on the pallet), in the undersides of the beams 44,46 (to prevent the pallets from slipping around) as well as in the underside 22 of the load deck 16 and/or the top of the beams 44,46 (to prevent unwanted slippage of the pallet relative to the forks of a lifting device).
Referring to FIGS. 11 to 14, the pallet 10 can be fitted with identification tags, such as RFID tags, to assist in pallet identification.
In the embodiment shown in FIG. 11, a first embodiment of an RFID tag 62 is inside a protective cylindrical housing 64 that is fitted to the body 12 by inserting it from below into the foot recess 30 and receiving an upper end of the housing in a complementary formation 66 formed on the cross member 41. The lower end of the housing 64 is received in a complementary aperture in the top of the accessory protuberance 50 and the housing and tag 62 are kept captive inside the foot 18, where they are protected by the surrounding structure of the foot. The tag 62 can be removed easily, when the body 12 and bottom accessory 14 are separated as described above.
In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 12A and 12 B, a second embodiment of an RFID tag is a strip that is adhesively attached to a carrier 74 that can be inserted into the recess 30 and fitted onto the complementary formation 66, to be held in place by flexible clips 76 that engage apertures defined in the inner walls 32 of the pillars 38. The RFID tags are thus fitted securely, deep inside the recesses 30, where they are protected against damage. Further, these tags allow the main body 12 to be identified, with or without the bottom accessory 14.
In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 13, 14A and 14B, a third embodiment of an RFID is a strip that is sealed between two strips of plastic material, to form a strip-shaped RFID device 78. Elongate slots 80 are defined inside the bottom accessory 14 in which the devices 78 can be received. Each slot 80 has retaining barbs 82 on opposing sides of the slot, so that the device 78 can be flexed to fit between the barbs and be inserted into the slot 80, after which the device straightens once inside the slot, so that it is held captive by the barbs. The device 78 allows the bottom accessory 14 to be identified, with or without a main body of the pallet. The position of the device 78, close to the underside of the bottom accessory 14 reduces the risk of impact from the forks of a lift truck, because the forks are practically always angled (to prevent pallets and/or loads slipping forward when driving), so that the forks ends are above the ground and thus higher than the device 78.
The separate RFID tags that can be fitted on the main body 12 (shown in FIGS. 12A and 12B), bottom accessory 14 (shown in FIGS. 13 and 14) and/or the assembled pallet 10 including a main body and accessory (shown in FIG. 11), allows the pallet 10 and/or its component parts 12,14 to be tracked together or separately.
Referring to FIGS. 15 and 16, a deck extension accessory 84 is provided that includes hook formations 70 and clips 72, similar to those of the edge insert 68 shown in FIGS. 17 and 18, that can grip the edge of the load deck 16. In addition, the accessory 84 has longer clips 86 that can grip the edge of the load deck 16 in areas where it is deeper, e.g. in the regions of the feet 18 (with the hook formations received in the insides of the pillars 38, in addition to the recesses 26).
The accessory 84 is configured to extend along two perpendicular edges of the load deck 16 and has an upper surface that is generally aligned with the load surface 20 of the load deck, when the accessory has been fitted. Accordingly, when the accessory is fitted, it engages the edge of the load deck 16 (with the hooks 70 and clips 72,86) and extends the size of the load surface 20. The ends 88 of the accessory 84 are bevelled, so that when two accessories are fitted to the body 12, they increase the size of the load surface 20 at all four edges of the load deck 16.
The effect of fitting the accessories 84 is to increase the load surface of the pallet body 12 and the accessories 84 can be removed again, which means that with the use of the accessories, it is possible to alter the size of the load surface, to suit loading needs.
As mentioned above, in some industries, certain pallet sizes are preferred to optimise available space, e.g. in the chemical industry, a 1.3 m×1.1 m pallet is preferred for one-way shipment of products (or 52×44 inch in the USA), because it allows shipping containers and vehicles to be loaded more optimally. However, in other industries, e.g. the transport of fast-moving consumer goods, other sizes (e.g. a 1.2 m×1.0 m pallet, or 48×40 inches in the USA) may be the standard that fits in warehousing systems (which could require racking and/or stacking and which may be automated) etc. These pallet dimensions are merely by way of example and there are many other standard sizes for pallets, but the principles remain the same—that different sizes of pallets are required to meet the different needs of pallet transportation and if a pallet is made in any size, it will either not be possible to use it in other applications or its use in other applications will compromise on its performance (in terms of space utilisation, pallet weight, load capacity, or the like). However, with the use of the accessory 84, the pallet 10 of the present invention can be used as a larger pallet, when the accessories 84 are fitted and can later be used as a smaller pallet, when the accessories 84 are removed—and vice versa. This supplements the ability to change the other properties of the pallet 10 by including or excluding the bottom accessory 14, as described above.
As an example of the versatility the accessories 14,84 provide, the pallet of the present invention can be used as a large, light weight, one-way pallet to distribute products from manufacturers (as is presently done on wooden pallets that are discarded). Once the products have been delivered, the pallets 10 can be converted to smaller sizes by removing the accessories 84 and/or can be given more strength by adding the accessories 14, as and when required.
The pallet 10's dimensions could be changed to achieve all the standardised pallet configurations of “CP1” to “CP9” for the chemical industry as well as the USA chemical standards of 40×48 inch×5.75 inch high, 52×42 inch and 45×45 inch as well as the printing pallet sizes of 44×44 inch, 48×42 inch, and 42×42 inch. To the inventor's knowledge, none of the presently available pallets that satisfy these requirements are nestable.
It is also possible to make the accessory 84 of an impact absorbing material, such as rubber, to protect the load deck 16.
Referring to FIGS. 17 and 18, edge inserts 68 can be fitted to the load deck 16 by inserting a hook formation 70 into an aperture 26 of the load deck 16, at an edge of the deck and gripping the deck with a clip 72. When the edge insert 68 is received in this manner, it provides an upstanding ridge 73 that protrudes above the load surface 20 to assist in preventing loads from sliding on the load surface 20 or sliding off the load deck 16.
Referring to FIG. 19, a corner sleeve 90 is shown that can be used with the pallet 10. The sleeve is made of a suitable durable material, preferably a material that can absorb shocks and protect the pallet, e.g. rubber or a thermoplastic elastomer. The sleeve 90 has an internal cavity 92 that is shaped and dimensioned to fit snugly around a pillar 38 of the main body 12 of the pallet and the cavity is open at its top and bottom ends. Two hook formations 70 are provided at the top of the sleeve 90 in a perpendicular arrangement relative to each other. The hook formations 70 are shaped similarly or identically to those of the deck extension accessory 84 and the edge insert 68 described above and can be received in a recess 26 of the load deck 16. At its lower end, the sleeve 90 has two protuberances 94 that are receivable in the recesses 48 of the bottom accessories 14.
The corner sleeve 90 is fitted to a corner of the main body 12 by sliding it over a pillar 38 and clipping the hook formations 70 into recesses on opposing sides of the load deck's corner. The engagement of the sleeve 90 around the pillar 38 and of the hook formations 70 in the apertures 26 hold the sleeve 90 firmly in place on the main body 12, irrespective of whether or not the main body 12 is fitted with a bottom accessory 14. When a bottom accessory 14 is fitted on the main body 12, the lower end of the pillar 38 (which protrudes below the sleeve 90) is received in the recess 48 of the bottom accessory 14 in the normal way, with the protuberances 94 on either side of it.
The sleeve 90 has upper walls 96 that extend around the corner of the load deck 16, has lower walls 98 that extend around the corner of the bottom accessory 14 and has spaced ribs 100 between these walls 96,98. The walls 96,98 and ribs 100 protect the corners of the pallet 10 against impact.
Referring to FIGS. 20A and 20B, when manufacturing the main body 12, an upper mould part 102 and a lower mould part 104 are pressed together and mouldable material, preferably molten polymeric material reinforced with long glass fibres, is injected into the mould cavity of the two-part mould to form the main body. Once the moulded material has solidified, the mould parts 102 and 104 are moved apart (i.e. the mould is opened) and the main body 12 is de-moulded (i.e. removed from the mould).
As can be seen in FIG. 20B, the load deck 16 comprises of an array of cube structures, each extending around one of the cavities 24. Each cube structure comprises four webs 106 on four sides of the cavity 24 and a flange at the top or bottom of the cavity. The cube structure thus extends on five of the six orthogonal sides of the cavity 24—leaving one side (to or bottom) open. The deck 16 is configured such that cavities 26 that are open to the load surface 20 and cavities that are open to the under surface 22 alternate and the result is that the webs 106 and flanges 108 have a castellated cross-sectional profile as shown in FIG. 20B. Apertures 26 are formed in the centre of each of the flanges 108 shown in FIG. 20B so that each flange forms a frame around its aperture and this aperture reduces the weight of the main body 12 and provides for the attachment of grommets (shown in FIG. 10 with reference numeral 60). The part of the flange 108 that extends around each aperture 26 adds to the rigidity of the load deck 16 and assists in forming a contiguous load surface 20 or under surface 22, as the case may be.
As can be seen in FIG. 20A, the castellated profile of the load deck 16 is formed in the single injection moulding step described above by intermittent protuberances 110 that extend downwardly from the upper mould part 102, that are received between upwardly extending protuberances 112 of the lower mould part 104. In order for the moulded load deck 16 to be de-moulded easily, each of the webs 106 has a slightly angled orientation, i.e. it extends at an obtuse (non vertical) angle relative to the load surface 20 and/or under surface 22.
The main purpose of the webs 106 is to provide strength to the load deck 16 and more particularly, to ad stiffness to the load deck and prevent deflection under loads. In this regard, each web 106 acts as a longitudinal beam extending under the load surface 20 an in order to provide stiffness, the web's cross sectional profile should preferably have a large second moment of area, in relation to its neutral axis 114. As can be seen in FIG. 20A, the sides of the protuberances 110 and 112 are in contact in the vicinities of the centres of each of the webs 106, so that apertures 116 are formed in each of the webs, in the vicinity of the neutral axis 114. The result is that each web 106 has material at its top and bottom, i.e. in the regions of its upper and lower edges, that is integrally connected to the flanges 108 and this material in each web 106 has a large second moment of area, because it is relatively far from the neutral axis 114. Each web 106 can thus provide great stiffness as a result of its high second moment of area, but is light in weight because of material saved by forming the apertures 116. These webs 106 with their apertures 116 extend in two perpendicular, axial directions underneath the load deck 16 and the result is that the load deck is exceptionally strong for its weight.
In embodiments of the invention where the main body 12 can be nested and the accessory 14 can be nested, when the main body and accessory are not attached together, the pallet 10 (comprising the main body 12 and attached accessory 14) can carry a load of more than 2800 lbs for longer than 30 days with a 50% factor of safety in a warehouse rack where the pallet is only supported on two opposing feet and it does not bend more than 20 mm after 30 days.
The main body 12 (without the accessory 14 attached) can carry a dynamic load of up to 2800 lbs when a forklift is carrying the accessory and its load for loading into containers, trucks or the like, without the load deck 16 bending to the extent that goods carried on the load deck fall off.
The main body 12 can be used to export goods in shipping containers instead of a much heavier wooden pallet (of about 65 lbs) on what is commonly referred to as “export pallets”, “one way pallets”, or “white” pallets. Conventional export pallets use about 33% less wood than what an equivalent size pallet that satisfies the requirements for pool pallets (where a pool pallet means a re-usable returnable pallet that can be rented on an issue fee (trip fee) basis to a client instead of the client buying new pallets).
The two piece pallet 10 of the present invention, together with the removable deck extension accessories 84, provides the flexibility to compete with the conventional “white” one-way export pallet on price for the first export shipment (i.e. where the price of the main body 12 is compared to the price of a “white” pallet) and then instead of land-filling, discarding or using the “white” pallets' wood for repairs of other wooden pallets, using the main body 12 as an integral part of a new fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) pool pallet that is stackable, rackable and durable, once the deck extensions accessories 84 are removed from the pallet. This way the cost of manufacturing the main body 12 again is avoided. In the wooden pallet case there is a lot of waste as the wooden “white” pallet is the wrong size and is not durable enough and thus cannot be used as an FMCG pallet and is manufactured for only one way use—as one of its names suggest. The present invention could assist greatly in reducing deforestation—especially if the pallet 10 becomes a standard. This advantage is further amplified by commercial benefit, since disposal fees are becoming payable in countries receiving goods on a pallet, in an attempt to discourage land-filling and improper use of the world's natural resources
The main body 12 can be manufactured for the export market where the main body is the size required in the destination country e.g. 40 by 48 inches with a height of less than 5.72 inches for the USA, and deck extension accessories 84 can be attached around the pallet's load deck to extend the load deck horizontally to increase the size of the load deck for the optimal use for export in containers. This enlargement can be to any suitable size, e.g. to a size of 52×44 inches. The deck extension accessory 84 can be removed, leaving a rackable, durable pallet with size 40×48 inches, the accessory 14 can be attached to the main body 12 to make the pallet 10 a durable pool pallet for use in the FMCG trade.
The main body 12 with the deck extension accessories 84 that enlarge the load deck, is also nestable.
The pallet 10 can be dismantled easily by unclipping the accessory 14 from the feet 18, when it needs to be transported empty and the main bodies 12 and accessories 14 can be transported in separate nested arrangements. In typical scenarios, the same number of pallets 10 can be transported in five trucks as conventional “white” pallets can be transported in twelve trucks at present, because of the reduced volume occupied by the nested parts of the pallet 10. This allows substantial payload cost savings in containers and on trucks, aeroplanes and trains and will have a major impact on the environment and carbon footprint reduction of the world.
The pallet 10 weighs less than 44 lbs in any embodiment where it has a load deck size commonly used, but with a load deck size of 40×48 inches, it weighs less than 35 lbs and it is expected to be the lowest weight pallet satisfying the requirement of the FMCG market for racking, stacking and/or durability.
When goods are carried on the pallet 10, the client can add an extra 60 lbs payload on the pallet as this is the difference between the weights of conventional wooden pallets and the pallet 10, allowing about 1500 lbs on a 53 foot truck and about 1000 lbs extra weight in a 40 foot container to be carried free of charge, by utilizing the pallet weight differential between the wooden pallet and this pallet.
Penalties that result from pallets becoming overweight, e.g. with weight gained by water drenching in rain, inconsistent water levels in pallets, etc. are avoided with the pallet 10 and the load can be optimally controlled without traffic and other penalties being incurred.
For every 52 trucks-loads using the pallet 10, there is a saving of one complete truck load—from a CO2 carbon footprint perspective or put differently, 1400 lbs of additional product can be carried on every 53 foot truck load—at no additional cost.
The corner sleeve 90 that can be moulded from a thermoplastic elastomer (TPE) or rubbery compound, can be used to avoid impact on the corners of the pallet 10 to increase the serviceable life of the pallet, before it needs to be recycled. Breakages from dropping the pallets 10 on their corners will also be reduced by the corner sleeve 90. The corner sleeve 90 cannot be removed from the pallet 10 while the pallet is assembled with the main body 12 and accessory 14 attached together. The present invention allows for the use of strapping tape to secure and strengthen the feet 18 of the main body 12 when it is used without the accessory 14.
In another embodiment of the present invention, the middle foot 18 of the main body 12 can be made with the same configuration as the second attachment formations 42 of the accessory 14 and the corresponding middle attachment formation of the accessory 14 can be made with the same configuration as a foot 18 of the main body—i.e. the middle foot 18 and middle second attachment formation 42 as shown in the drawings, can be inverted.
Referring to FIGS. 22 to 23, pillar inserts 160 are shown, which are shaped to fit inside the hollow pillars 38 of the pallet 10. Each pillar insert 160 is a unitary moulding that forms a peripheral wall 162 to complement the inside of a pillar and three vertical webs 164 extending between the walls 162. The vertical height of the webs 164 is less than that of the walls 162. Apertures 166 are defined on the lower, outer corners of the insert 160 and a resilient clip 168 extends into the recess, with an outwardly facing barb.
FIG. 24 shows a corner of the pallet 10 with four pillar inserts 160 fitted inside the pillars 38 that make up a corner foot 18. The upper edges of the walls 162 are lower than the load surface 20 and the upper edges of the webs 164 are lower still. The clips 168 are clipped into apertures defined at the lower corners of the pillars 38, although this is not visible in FIG. 24.
Referring to FIG. 25, a corner of a pallet 10 is shown with pillar inserts 160 in the pillars of its corner foot 18 and a top body 12 is supported above the pallet 10, with the lower ends of the pillars of the top body 12 supported on the pillar inserts 160. In this arrangement, the load surface 20 of the top body 12 is elevated well above the floor (or other surface) supporting the pallet 10 and this is required for reasons of hygiene when handling certain foodstuffs, e.g. in the candy industry. In a typical embodiment, the load surface 20 will be about 230 mm above the floor, thus meeting the industry requirement of being at least 200 mm above the floor.
In the arrangement shown in FIG. 25, the top body 12 can serve the purpose of carrying goods continually, e.g. the goods can be received, handled and/or despatched on the body 12, while the pallet 10 only serves to support the top body 12 when necessary, e.g. when the goods needs to be stored in a rack. There is a gap of about 55 mm between the load deck 16 of the top body 12 and the pallet 10, thus leaving sufficient space for easy entry by the forks of a lifting device, to lift the top body 12 off the pallet 10. The pillars of the top body 12 also withdraw quite easily from the pallet 10, when lifted, because of the shallower nesting depth. Further, the pillars 38 of the pallet 10 are structurally strengthened by the pillar inserts 160 and it is these pillars that are most exposed to damage, because they are closest to the ground and are exposed to damage by lifting forks.
When pallets are transported from one location to another location, e.g. when goods are despatched from manufacturers or suppliers, the goods are loaded on a pallet body 12, which is light and inexpensive, but can bear the static and dynamic loads of the goods during handling and transportation. The weight saving resulting from the use of a light pallet during transportation, rather than a heavy duty pallet allows for an increase in transportation efficiency, whether viewed as a reduction in transported load, allowing more payload mass without increasing the combined load of the payload and pallets, reducing energy requirements for transport, of the like.
When the pallet body 12 is received in a location where it is required to have additional structural properties that allows it to be stacked, racked, or the like, e.g. where the pallet body 12 needs to be used in a warehousing system or in a pallet pool, an accessory 14 is attached to the feet 18 of the pallet body 12, to form a pallet 10, which has all the properties required for a warehouse or pool pallet. The pallet 10 can thus be used in its assembled state at the location where the body 12 was received and when the body 12 needs to despatched, e.g. when the goods are despatched from a distribution warehouse, the accessory 14 can be removed from the pallet body 12, so that the goods are despatched and transported only on a pallet body 12, without the accessory 14 and thus again with the weight saving and benefits mentioned above.
If preferred, instead of attaching an accessory 14 to a pallet body 12 at the location where a pallet is required that has the improved structural properties imparted by the accessory 14, the accessory 14 can be provided already attached to a pallet body 12, to form an assembled “slave” pallet 10 and the pallet body 12 that needs to be supported, can be received on top of the slave pallet 10, with its feet 18 being nested inside the feet 18 of the slave pallet 10. This approach requires an additional pallet body 12 to be available for each accessory 14, but it holds the advantage that the accessories 14 need not be attached or removed from pallet bodies 12.
The slave pallet 10 may preferably have pillar inserts 160 inside the pillars 38 of its feet 18, so that the feet 18 of the top body 12 only partly nest inside the feet of the slave pallet, thus allowing space between the load decks of the slave pallet 10 and top body 12 for lifting forks to enter, making de-nesting easier and improving the strength of the slave pallet's feet.
The term “location” need not refer only to a single building, yard, or the like, but could be an area of operation, such as a regional pallet pool. It is thus not essential that the body 12 is never transported with an accessory 14, but that it is transported without an accessory 14 for at least some of the time—especially for transport over long distances.
Apart from the substantial savings in transport costs mentioned above, the method of supporting top bodies 12 only at times and/or locations where needed, holds the advantage that only a small number of accessories 14 are required, in relation to the number of pallet bodies 12 that are used to transport goods. The method effectively requires the accessories 14 only to be available at the locations where pallets are required with improved structural properties for racking, stacking and the like. There are at any time a vast number of pallets in transit between locations where these improved structural properties are required and effectively, the invention avoids the need for accessories 14 for each of the pallets in transit, and allows the number of accessories 14 to be reduced to satisfy the needs only at locations where they are really required.
In other embodiments of the invention, a pallet 10 (whether in the form of a pallet body 12 only, an accessory only 14 or a combination of a pallet body and its attached accessory) is wheeled in the sense that it has wheels on its underside that allows it to be moved easily over a floor by rolling action of the wheels. Such a wheeled pallet can receive a pallet body 12 (e.g. a pallet body loaded with goods) and support the pallet body 12 while also allowing the pallet body 12 to be moved around by rolling action of the wheeled pallet, without the need to lift the pallet body, e.g. with fork lift trucks or jacks.
The movement of the pallet body 12 on top of a wheeled pallet can typically be done by hand and fork lift trucks (or the like) are only required for lifting the pallets, e.g. for loading or offloading onto or from trucks, ships, trains, etc. The reduction of the need to lift and manoeuvre the pallet bodies with fork lift trucks or the like, drastically reduces their exposure to damage. (Bearing in mind that such lifting devices are the most prominent causes of damage to pallets.)
Further, the ability of the pallets 10 to be moved on wheels by hand drastically reduces the floor space required to store goods on the pallets, because it is not necessary to leave sufficient space between pallets for each pallet to be accessible by fork lift truck or jack. The resulting improvement in floor space utilisation can in many cases obviate the need for racking or stacking of pallets 10.
Referring to FIGS. 26 and 27, the wheels or castors 170 are attached to adaptors 172 that are shaped to clip onto the undersides of feet of a pallet body 12, or the wheels/castors 170 are attached to adaptors 174 that are shaped to be received inside the protuberances 50 of an accessory 14, with a snap fit. Instead, the wheels can be fixedly attached to the undersides of the pallet body 12 or accessory 14. The adaptor 174 shown in FIG. 27 shows a castor 170 that has been attached to the adaptor by four bolts 173, but a central hole 175 has is defined in the adaptor, so that it can be used with a castor that requires a central bolt for attachment—such as the castor 170 shown in FIG. 26.
In the event that finished goods need to be racked before shipping to a distribution centre, end customer, warehouse (e.g. cold storage), or the like, a pallet 10 will be required that includes a pallet body 12, attached to an accessory 14, without wheels. However, once the pallet 10 no longer needs to be racked, the accessory 14 can be unclipped from the pallet body 12 and the pallet body and its load of goods can be despatched, while the accessory 14 remains behind at the location where racking is required.
In the event that finished goods are required on pallets with wheels, an accessory 14 with wheels can be used to receive a loaded pallet body 12, but the accessory 14 can be configured so that it does not attach (clip) to the pallet body 12. Accordingly, when the pallet body 12 and its load are lifted to load them onto a truck, train, or the like, to despatch them, the pallet body is lifted free from the wheeled accessory, which remains behind and only the pallet body and its load are despatched.
By only Transporting goods loaded on pallet bodies 12, transportation the additional weight of the accessories 14 is avoided in the whole logistics value chain. This allows for shipment of up to four times the number of pallet bodies 12 on the same truck (2448 of them), compared to using the same truck to transport wooden pallets (612) including top and bottom decks or just wooden top decks with feet that cannot nest.
Referring to FIGS. 29 to 36, apparatus for the handling of goods, in the form of a first embodiment of a pallet bin 118 in accordance with the present invention, includes a pallet 10 (whether comprising only a pallet body 12 or a pallet body 12 with an accessory 14 on its underside) and walls 120,122 that are pivotally attached together.
Each wall 120,122 has a bottom edge 124, a top edge 126, lateral edges 128, an outer surface 134 and an inner surface 136 and the walls are pivotally attached together with attachment means in a side-by-side arrangement, with a pivot axis that coincides with the lateral edges. The exact configuration of the pivotal attachment means may vary, e.g. it may include a part that forms a pivot axle (not shown) and formations (not shows) on the lateral edge 128 that extends at least partly around the axle and that can swivel around the axle, or any other suitable pivotal attachment. Preferably, the pivotal attachment of the walls 120,122 at their lateral edges 128 is a permanent attachment, without any components that are removable.
The pallet bin 118 includes six walls; two rigid walls 120 and two pairs of inwardly pivotable walls 122, each of these pairs extending between the lateral edges of the rigid walls. The rigid walls 120 are configured to extend along opposing edges of the load deck 16 when the pallet bin 118 is assembled and each pair of inwardly pivotable walls 122 is configured to extend along one of the two remaining edges of the load deck. In the illustrated example, the rigid walls 120 are much wider than each of the walls 122 of each inwardly pivotable pair, but the dimensions of the walls may vary, for different embodiments of the invention.
The walls 122 in each pair of inwardly pivotable walls are attached together at their adjacent lateral edges 128 by pivotal attachment means, to form an inwardly pivotable corner, where the walls can pivot inwardly to a folded position in which their outer surfaces 134 face each other, and outwardly to an erected or open position in which the walls are aligned.
Each lateral edge 128 of each rigid wall 120 is attached to a lateral edge 128 of a wall 122 from a pair of inwardly pivotable walls, to form an outside corner 132, where the walls 120,122 are configured to pivot between a folded position in which their inner surfaces 136 face each other, and an erected or open position in which the walls are positioned with a 90 degree angle between their inner surfaces.
Each wall 120,122 is a unitary moulding that comprises an array of webs 138 defining cavities 140 between them, much like the construction of the load deck 16. Each cavity 140 is open on both sides of the wall and has a tapered shape, extending between a large opening 142 on one side of the wall and small opening 144 on the opposite side of the wall, with a flange 146 extending around the small opening. The tapered shapes of the cavities 140 allow for withdrawal of moulds when making the walls 120,122 and adjacent cavities are shaped to taper towards opposite sides of the walls. The resulting structure with alternate cavities 140 in a two dimensional array along the wall 120,122 tapering to opposing sides of the wall, and with their flanges 146 on opposing sides of the wall, form a remarkably strong, yet very light structure. The structural strength of this construction is especially remarkable when the wall 120,122 is compressed along the plane of the wall, with the webs 138 and flanges 146 bearing the compressive loads in a balanced manner (without a tendency to bend inwardly or outwardly) and with the webs and flanges providing stiffness to one another.
The cavities 24 along the edges of the load deck 16 and the load deck's edges themselves, form deck attachment formations to which the walls 120,122 can be removably attached. Along the bottom edge 124 of each wall 120,122, a number of protuberances 148 are formed, which are shaped complementally to the cavities 24 of the load deck 16 and can be received inside the cavities. (In other embodiments, the protuberances 148 could also have clips or the like, to keep them in position inside the cavities.) Further, a number of clip formations 150 are provided along the bottom edge 124 of each wall 120,122, which can grip the edge of the load deck 16 in a firm, but releasable, clipping manner.
Along the top edges 126 of the walls 120,122, positioning formations in the form of tabs 152 and ridges 154 are provided, that are shaped complementally to the undersides of the feet 18 of the pallet body 12 and/or that are shaped complementally to the undersides of the accessory 14.
When not in use, the bin 118 can be stored while occupying very little space. The space saving features of the nestable body 12 and accessory 14 have been described above and in the earlier patent applications. Further, the pivotal arrangement at the corners 130,132 allow the walls 120,122 to pivot to a flat, folded condition as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, with the corners 130 pivoted completely inwardly and the outer surfaces of the inwardly pivotable walls 122 touching, and with the inner surfaces of the walls 120,122 at each outside corner 132 touching.
To erect the pallet bin 118, the walls 120,122 are unfolded from their folded position as described above with reference to FIGS. 7 and 8, to a partly folded condition as shown in FIGS. 6 and 9 and to an open condition as shown in FIGS. 10 to 14, with the inwardly pivotable walls 122 in each pair in alignment and with the walls 120,122 at each outer corner 132 at a right angle. When the walls 120,122 are in their open condition, they are positioned to extend along the periphery of the load deck 16 and are removably attached to the load deck by inserting the protuberances 148 into the cavities 24 along the edges of the load deck and by allowing the clip formations 150 to grip the edges of the load deck.
When the walls 120,122 are attached to the load deck 16, the pallet bin 118 is in an assembled or erected condition and a storage cavity 156 is defined on the inside of the walls, above the load deck. The pallet bin 118 can be used in the conventional manner for receiving, storing, transporting, etc. of goods inside the cavity 140. When the pallet bin is not needed for any period, it can be disassembled by unclipping the clip formations 150 from the edges of the load deck 16 and withdrawing the protuberances 148 from the cavities 24. The walls 120,122 can be folded and the body 12 can be nested in other bodies, etc.
The pallet bins 118 can be stacked by placing one pallet bin on top of another, so that the weight of the upper bin is carried by the walls 120,122 of the lower bin. This is made possible by the strength of the walls 120,122 in compression, as described above. Further, the upper pallet bin 118 is held in position relative to the lower bin by engagement of the tabs 152 and ridges 154 with the underside of the pallet 10 (i.e. the body 12 or accessory 14, as the case may be) above it.
If required, the walls 120,122 of the present invention can be shaped and dimensioned to be used with a load deck that has been extended by a deck extension accessory 84, by engaging the cavities and edges of the deck extension accessory instead of the cavities and edges of the load deck itself, as described above.
In another embodiment of the present invention (not illustrated), the inwardly pivotable walls 122 may be omitted or may be removable or may be made very low, so that the pallet bin 118 effectively only includes the body 12 and the rigid walls 120 on opposing sides of the load deck 16. This embodiment allows elongate objects to be carried on the pallet body 12, while protruding over the edges of the load deck, but while held in position on the load deck by the rigid walls.
In another embodiment of the present invention (not illustrated), an accessory in the form of an extension is provided, that can be received on the load deck 16 and/or on the underside of the pallet 10, and that is configured to receive a standard sized large object, especially a drum such as a 44 gallon drum. The accessory need not be very high, e.g. it can be about 50 to 75 mm high, but must be high enough to prevent lateral movement of the objects. An accessory can be attached to the load deck to prevent the objects from sliding off the load deck, but in a preferred embodiment, another accessory is placed on the underside of a pallet 10 that is stacked above the pallet carrying the objects and in this configuration, the objects form a stable support for the pallet above it.
Referring to FIGS. 37 to 40, a second embodiment of a pallet bin is shown. Features that are common between the pallet bin of FIGS. 28 to 36 and the pallet bit of FIGS. 37 to 40, are identified by the same reference numerals, with a suffix “2” in FIGS. 37 to 40.
The pallet bin 118.2 is very similar to the bin 118 of FIGS. 28 to 36, but its walls 120.2 and 122.2 are significantly higher—about the same height as the cross-sectional dimensions of the pallet body 12. As a result, the bin 118.2 is generally cube-shaped. As a result, when the walls 120.2,122.2 of the pallet bin 118.2 is folded, as shown in FIG. 38, it can be laid flat to span generally across the load deck 16 of the pallet body 12.
The pallet bin 118.2 also includes a lid 176 that is pivotally attached to the upper edge of one of the rigid walls 120.2 and is shown in an open position in FIG. 37 and in a closed position in FIG. 39. In FIG. 38, the lid 176 lies horizontally, on an inverted (upside-down) position on top of the folded walls 120.2, 122.2.
The lid 176 can be locked closed, attached to the upper edge of the rigid wall 120.2, opposite from its pivotal attachment. However, the lid 176 includes a hatch 178 that is pivotally attached to a frame 180 that extends around the periphery of the lid 176. The frame 180 includes recesses 48 and protuberances 50 disposed at its four corners and midway along each edge, at positions corresponding to the attachment formations 50 and recesses 48 of the accessory 14. As a result, the bottoms of feet 18 of a pallet body 12 can be received inside the recesses, around the protuberances 50. This nesting of feet 18 on the lid 176 allows pallet bins 118.2 to be stacked safely on top of each other, as shown in FIG. 40, without risk that a pallet bin will slide off the pallet bin supporting it and while the walls 120.2, 122.2 of the pallet below, bears the weight of the pallet bin(s) above it.
The rigid walls 120.2, and thus the pivotable walls 122.2 and lid 176 are attachable to the load deck 16 of pallet body 12 by releasable latches 182.
In another embodiment of the invention, the feet 18 are not moulded with the rest of the main body 12, but are moulded separately and are then attached to load deck 16. The attachment between the feet 18 and the load deck 16 may be permanent or may be releasable. This embodiment of the invention holds the advantages that the feet 18 may be made of different material from the rest of the main body 12, e.g. low cost material can be used for one-way (export) pallets or material that is more resistant to the abrasion and/or impact the feet are likely to endure through contact with the forks of lifting apparatus, in pallet pools. The feet 18 are more prone to damage by such forks and in embodiments where the feet are removably attached to the load deck 16, damaged feet can be replaced, thus maintaining the pallet 12 in a serviceable condition at only the cost of one foot. Lastly, different pallet heights are required for use in different applications and different sizes of the feet 18 can be moulded, so that the pallet 10 can be assembled to have a selected height.
The strength and stiffness requirements of the load deck 16 can vary, depending on the intended purpose of the pallet 10 and in order to ensure sufficient strength, when necessary and to reduce weight and costs, when possible, the thickness (i.e. depth) of the load deck can be selected to be thicker (e.g. 36 mm) for pallets 10 that are capable of racking. Likewise, the number of cavities 24 and webs 106 in the load deck 16 can be increased to provide a stiff/strong load deck, or the numbers of cavities and webs can be reduced to provide a lighter load deck.
Some of the webs 106 within the load deck 16 are slightly thicker than the others and have no apertures 116, so that they serve as beams that strengthen the load deck. These thicker webs preferably extend all the way between opposing edges of the load deck 16, to provide strength all the way up to the points of attachment of the edge inserts 68, deck extension accessories, or walls 120, to the load deck.

Claims

1-57. (canceled)

58. A pallet comprising a load deck with a generally planar load surface, said load deck defining a plurality of cavities and webs extending at least partly between adjacent cavities, said load deck having dimensions of about 40×48 inches, and a plurality of spaced-apart feet protruding from the load deck on a side that is opposite from the load surface, said feet being hollow and tapering, such that the feet of an upper such pallet are at partly receivable inside the feet of a lower such pallet in a nesting manner;

wherein said pallet:

(a) deflects by less than 20 mm when supported on opposing edges under a load of 2800 pounds;

(b) Is made of fibre reinforced material; and

(c) weighs less than 40 pounds

59. A pallet as claimed in claim 58, wherein said pallet weighs less than 30 pounds.

60. A pallet as claimed in claim 58, wherein said pallet includes an accessory extending between at least some the pallet's feet

61. A pallet as claimed in claim 58, wherein each of said webs of the load deck has a cross sectional profile with a neutral axis, at least some of the webs extend at an obtuse angle relative to the load deck, and at least some of said webs define apertures between an upper edge and a lower edge of each such web, such that said apertures are in the vicinity of the neutral axis of the web.

62. A pallet as claimed in claim 61, wherein the load deck defines an under surface that extends generally parallel to the load surface and the load deck includes flanges extending from upper edges of the webs, generally co-planar along the load surface; and flanges extending from lower edges of the webs, generally co-planar along the under surface; said flanges defining apertures in the load deck and the under surface, between adjacent webs.

63. A pallet as claimed in claim 62, wherein at least some of said webs have one of said flanges extending from the upper edge of said web in one direction and one of said flanges extending from the lower edge of said web in an opposite direction.

64. A pallet as claimed in claim 58, wherein said pallet includes inserts that are shaped to fit removably inside the hollow feet of the lower main body.

65. A pallet as claimed in claim 58, which includes an accessory and wherein at least each corner foot defines at least one first attachment formation that is attachable to the accessory of the pallet, such that the accessory extends at least between the attachment formations of the corner feet, said accessory including a plurality of second attachment formations that are attachable to the first attachment formations on at least some of the feet and the accessory defining a plurality of accessory recesses in which the feet are receivable, at least in part, wherein said first attachment formations are defined at the bottoms of the feet and the second attachment formations are disposed inside the accessory recesses, where they are protected against damage.

66. A pallet as claimed in claim 65, wherein the accessory defines at least one beam extending between at least some of the feet when the accessory is attached to the feet.

67. A pallet as claimed in claim 65, wherein feet recesses are defined in undersides of the feet and accessory protuberances are defined on the accessory, the accessory protuberances being receivable in the feet recesses, at least in part and each of the accessory protuberances is of a hollow construction with tapering walls, such that the accessory protuberances of one such accessory are partly receivable inside the accessory protuberances of another such accessory in a nesting manner.

68. A pallet as claimed in any one of claim 65, wherein the attachment formations are releasable.

69. A pallet as claimed in claim 68, wherein the attachment formations include clip formations and wherein the pallet defines release apertures through which a release element can be inserted to release the clip formations.

70. A pallet comprising a load deck with a generally planar load surface and a plurality of spaced-apart feet protruding from the load deck on a side that is opposite from the load surface, said feet being hollow and tapering such that the feet of an upper such pallet are partly receivable inside the feet of a lower such pallet in a nesting manner, wherein said pallet includes inserts that are shaped to fit removably inside the hollow feet of the lower pallet

71. A pallet as claimed in claims 70, wherein said pallet includes a plurality of wheels that are releasably attachable to said pallet.

72. A pallet as claimed in claim 71, wherein each of said wheels is rotatably supported in an adaptor, which is attachable to said pallet in a clipping manner.

73. A load deck with a generally planar load surface, said load deck having an open construction defining a plurality of cavities and webs extending at least partly between adjacent cavities, each web having a cross sectional profile with a neutral axis;

wherein at least some of the webs extend at an obtuse angle relative to the load deck and

at least some of said webs define apertures between an upper edge and a lower edge of each such web, such that said apertures are in the vicinity of the neutral axis of the web.

74. A load deck as claimed in claim 73, wherein the load deck defines an under surface that extends generally parallel to the load surface and the load deck includes flanges extending from upper edges of the webs, generally co-planar along the load surface; and flanges extending from lower edges of the webs, generally co-planar along the under surface; said flanges defining apertures in the load deck and the under surface, between adjacent webs.

75. A load deck as claimed in claim 74, wherein at least some of said webs have one of said flanges extending from the upper edge of said web in one direction and one of said flanges extending from the lower edge of said web in an opposite direction.

76. A pallet comprising a load deck with a generally planar load surface and a plurality of spaced-apart feet protruding from the load deck on a side that is opposite from the load surface, said feet being hollow and tapering, such that the feet of an upper such pallet are at partly receivable inside the feet of a lower such pallet in a nesting manner;

wherein releasable attachment formations are defined on the said load deck and feet, to which accessories are removably attachable.

77. A pallet as claimed in claim 76, wherein said pallet includes at least one edge insert that is releasably attachable to said edge with grip formations gripping the edge, said edge insert including a protuberance that protrudes above said load deck.

78. A pallet as claimed in claim 77, wherein said pallet includes at least one deck extension accessory that is releasably attachable to said edge with grip formations gripping the edge, said deck extension accessory extending in alignment with the load deck, from the edge of the load deck, when attached to said edge.

79. A pallet as claimed in claim 76, wherein said pallet includes:

a plurality of walls, each wall defining a first edge, which forms a top edge in use, a second edge, opposite from the first edge and which forms a bottom edge in use, and third and fourth edges that form lateral edges in use;

pivotal attachment means holding the lateral edges of adjacent walls together in a pivoting side-by-side arrangement, with a pivot axis extending generally along the attached lateral edges; and

wall attachment formations disposed along the bottom edges of the walls, said wall attachment formations being releasably attachable to the releasable attachment formations of the load deck.

80. A pallet as claimed in any one of claim 76, wherein said releasable attachment formations include attachment formations disposed on the undersides of the feet of the pallet and said pallet includes a plurality of wheels that are releasably attachable to said attachment formations.

81. A pallet as claimed in claim 80, wherein each of said wheels is rotatably supported in an adaptor, which is attachable to said pallet in a clipping manner.

82. A pallet as claimed in any one of claim 76, wherein said pallet includes inserts that are shaped to fit removably inside the hollow feet of the pallet

83. A pallet comprising a load deck with a generally planar load surface and a plurality of spaced-apart feet protruding from the load deck on a side that is opposite from the load surface wherein said pallet includes at least one sleeve that can be attached to a foot of pallet by extending around at least part of the foot.

84. A pallet comprising a load deck with a generally planar load surface and a plurality of spaced-apart feet that can protrude from the load deck on a side that is opposite from the load surface wherein said feet are manufactured separately from the load deck and are attachable to the load deck and optionally to an accessory.

85. A pallet as claimed in claim 84, wherein said feet are releasably attachable to the load deck.

86. A pallet as claimed in claim 84, wherein said feet are made of different material from the load deck.