WO2016055713A1

WO2016055713A1 - Supporting structure for loading goods onto a pallet, resulting assembly, and method for loading said pallet

Info

Publication number: WO2016055713A1
Application number: PCT/FR2015/052526
Authority: WO
Inventors: Philippe SOULLARD
Original assignee: Systeme U Centrale Regionale Ouest, Diminutif Systeme U Ouest
Priority date: 2014-10-07
Filing date: 2015-09-21
Publication date: 2016-04-14
Also published as: EP3204306A1; FR3026724B1; FR3026724A1; EP3204306B1

Abstract

The invention relates to a supporting structure (1) for loading goods onto a storage and/or transport pallet (13), formed by assembling removable elements, including a lower plate (2) for loading said goods, an upper plate (4), and a plurality of pillars (3), in the form of corner-type profile members, the ends of which are provided with plates arranged transversely to the pillars, the lower plate forming a foot of the pillar, the lower (2) and upper (4) plates comprising areas for receiving the lower plates (6) and the upper plates (7) of said pillars (3), respectively, the assembly of the plates and the pillars constituting the outer framework for loading the goods, said framework being suitable for being positioned entirely above the upper surface of the pallet (13). The invention also relates to a method for loading a pallet by means of said structure.

Description

Support structure for loading goods onto a pallet for storage and / or transport, the assembly thus produced and the method of loading said pallet

The present invention relates to the field of storage and transport of objects on pallets, and relates more particularly to a support structure for the loading of goods on a pallet for storage and / or transport, to the assembly thus produced, and the method of loading the pallet by means of such a support structure.

Furthermore, when filling freight containers, it is often necessary to superpose pallets loaded (and packaged in a protective film and maintenance of the goods on said pallet). However, stacking of loaded pallets is not always possible if the loading of pallets includes fragile goods and / or if the upper part of their load does not have a horizontal surface (in the case of loading parcels of irregular size by example). This results in either a deterioration of the goods transported or an incomplete filling of the container. To complete the loading of the container and fill up the empty spaces as much as possible, packages or additional goods are then stacked above the packaged pallets already stored inside the container. However, this filling operation is carried out manually at the same time during the loading of the container and during its unloading, often requiring the use of stepladder and a large handling time.

Many devices have been proposed to facilitate the loading of pallets, most consist of support structures in the form of "box" with one or more foldable or partially removable faces, between the walls of which the goods are loaded. These boxes have several disadvantages. First of all for the loading: the operator is embarrassed in his movements by the erected walls which he must circumvent to fill the box. Moreover these boxes according to their constituent material, are not always stackable if the loaded goods have a significant weight. Crates whose walls fold back were proposed, but these are often cumbersome and heavy. Finally these boxes are "recorded" and the carrier must bring them back to their point of departure; they should not therefore be bulky, even folded, so as not to clutter trucks or containers with unused media.

To allow optimal filling of the container, and therefore the superposition of at least two loaded pallets, it has been proposed in US 2013/0284687 a support structure comprising vertical uprights cooperating with the lower pallet and equipped with spacers or means supports of the upper pallet. The means for fixing the uprights to the lower pallet are inserted in the space between the loading floor of said pallet and its base. Such space is generally provided for positioning the forks of a pallet truck for handling said pallets. However, if, in this housing space, the wood of the pallet is deteriorated, even slightly (for example by wear due to the repeated use of such amounts, or a bad insertion of the fastening means, or for any other reason) or if this space is closed partially (by the presence of a nail, a point ...) the means of fixing the amount can not be inserted correctly. The amount of the structure then becomes inoperative, and the goods already stored and stacked on the pallet must be transferred to another pallet. This results in a loss of loading time.

Moreover, the fastening means of these amounts must cooperate exactly with the space between the upper floor of the pallet and its base. This space can be of different shape according to the types of pallets, such support structures are specific to the type of pallet used. For example, the bracket-shaped uprights brand MaxiMate® currently marketed by the company @VANCE are adaptable only on European pallets, and require two kinds of angles to equip a pallet: a pair of angles "left" and a pair of "straight" angles. Sorting these angles before assembly is sometimes long and tedious.

In addition, the fastening means of these brackets easily emerge from their housings when the pallets are transported with certain types of pallet truck forks, such as, for example, the electric pallet truck with stacker carrier (TEAPG). In addition, the uprights in the form of angles, as described above, or presented in the documents FR 2,329,527, FR 2,748,729 or JP 2000 095244, are positioned to cover the corners of the pallets, increasing by several centimeters the outer dimension of each loaded pallet. However, the current dimensions of the containers for road or maritime transport are such that they house (in width and in length) an integer number of standardized pallets, with no space lost between them. The use of these bracket-shaped support posts can then reduce at least one pallet each row in the container, again creating dead volumes to be filled manually.

An object of the present invention is therefore to overcome all or some of the above disadvantages, by providing a support structure for loading goods on a pallet storage and / or transport that is independent of the type of pallet used.

Another object of the invention is to provide a support structure for the loading of goods allowing the superposition of several pallets, without damaging the goods loaded on the pallet (s) lower (s).

Another object of the invention is to provide a support structure for loading goods that can be easily assembled and dismantled and whose constituent elements have a small footprint in the disassembled state and easy sorting.

Another object of the invention is to provide a support structure which allows easy and secure loading of goods, regardless of the type of goods, by improving the conditions and the filling time of the containers. To this end, the present invention relates to a support structure for loading goods onto a storage and / or transport pallet, formed by the assembly of distinct / dismountable elements, comprising:

a first tray, called the lower tray for loading said goods,

a second plate, called top plate, a plurality of uprights, in the form of angle-type profiles whose ends are equipped with connecting means with the lower plate and the upper plate, said connecting means being in the form of transversely arranged plates on the uprights, the bottom plate forming the foot of the upright in the upright state of said upright,

characterized in that each of the lower and upper trays comprises housing regions respectively lower plates and upper plates of said uprights, and in that the lower plate is in the form of a polygonal frame, of generally planar shape, whose edges are raised relative to the general plane of the polygonal frame to provide the housing areas of the lower plates fitted to the ends of the uprights, the assembly of trays and amounts constituting the outer frame of the goods loading, said frame being fully positionable at above the top of the pallet, and removable after use.

Thus said armature, positioned entirely above the upper face of the pallet, makes it possible to overcome the presence or absence of space between the upper floor of the pallet and its base, and to get out of shape. of this space. The support structure is thus independent of the type of pallet used.

In addition, the plates forming the legs of the amounts are housed just below the lower frame forming the goods loading tray. They do not need to cooperate with the pallet supporting the whole. According to an advantageous characteristic of the invention, the edges of the lower plate in the form of a polygonal frame are raised in the corners with respect to the general plane of said polygonal frame.

The upper plate is advantageously in the form of a polygonal frame, of generally planar shape, of peripheral dimensions identical to those of the lower plate, the edges of which, preferably in the angles, are raised with respect to the general plane of the polygonal frame for arranging the reception zones, in the upright state of the uprights, the upper plates equipping the ends of the uprights, the upper plate resting on said plates, between the uprights.

The top plate can receive a second pallet, without "crushing" goods already loaded on the first pallet equipped with a support structure according to the invention.

Advantageously, the peripheral dimensions of the lower and upper trays substantially correspond to the dimensions of the upper face of the pallet. If they are identical in shape they are easily stackable for their storage in the disassembled state. In the form of frames, that is to say trays hollowed out in their central part, they are of reduced weight. Preferably the height of the uprights in the erected state is such that it allows the superposition of an integer number of pallets (for example 2) for their housing in a transport container, with a minimal loss of space. These amounts are advantageously all of identical shape, they are thus interchangeable (not requiring special sorting) and optimized manufacturing.

Preferably the angle-shaped uprights are positioned so that said angles are open towards the center of the structure, in the assembled state.

Advantageously, the upper plates equipping the ends of the uprights are provided with a positioning member and retaining the upper plate. This positioning and retaining member of the upper plate comprises for example a cooperating lug, in the mounted state of the structure, with a corresponding orifice of the upper plate.

Thus, the upper plate positioned between the uprights serves not only as a spacer between said uprights, but also for holding said uprights in the upright position, thus ensuring the stability of the entire structure once assembled.

The present invention also relates to a goods loading assembly comprising a pallet and a support structure as described above, characterized in that the lower plate of said support structure rests on the upper face of the pallet, the lower plates of the uprights. being able to lodge, in the erected state of said amounts, between the raised edges of the lower plate and the upper face of said pallet. More particularly, in the assembled state of the support structure, the upper plate is arranged parallel to the lower plate, assembled to the vertical uprights to form the outer frame of the goods loading, resting on the upper face of the pallet.

Advantageously, no element of the support structure protrudes from the periphery of the pallet: in particular, unlike the amounts of the prior art, the amounts of the support structure according to the invention do not overlap the corners of the pallet. pallet; thus these loaded pallets of goods with the support structure according to the invention can be placed in a conventional container without loss of space, the loading in the container is then optimal.

In addition, since the elements of the support structure according to the invention are all arranged above the plane formed by the upper face of the pallet, all types of pallet trucks are able to move it to the loaded state.

The present invention also relates to the method of loading goods onto a pallet by means of the support structure as described above, this method is characterized in that it comprises the following successive steps:

- laying a pallet on the ground;

positioning a lower plate on the upper face of the pallet;

stacking goods on said lower plate; then

positioning the angle uprights vertically at the four corners of the pallet and its loading by inserting the lower plates forming the feet of said uprights in the recesses formed between the raised corner edges of the lower plate and the upper face of the plate; the palette ;

insertion of the upper plate between the uprights, above the goods, by placing the reception zones of said upper plate on the upper plates of the uprights;

- Coating the entire pallet and its loading by means of a stretch film surrounding an upper portion of the pallet and the support structure disposed thereon.

The stretch film protects, stabilizes and maintains the frame and the goods between them, as well as the pallet. The amounts are all set up after loading the goods on the lower plate, they do not interfere with the placement of goods on this plateau. The loading time is thus optimized.

The assembly of the elements of the support structure is a simple embedding of the legs of the uprights under the raised corners of the lower frame, and the embedding of the upper plate between uprights erected on their upper plates; this assembly does not require any particular tool. The disassembly of the structure is also easy and fast and does not require any particular tool.

It has proved interesting to implement the method described above for the loading of pallets into transport containers. The tests carried out show that all the goods arrive in good condition, without any deterioration due to the superposition of the pallets. The filling and unloading time of the containers is also optimized, being able to be carried out almost exclusively by means of pallet trucks, without manual handling of the goods.

The invention will be better understood on reading the following description of an exemplary embodiment, with reference to the appended drawings in which:

Figure 1 is an exploded diagram showing the various constituent elements of a support structure according to the invention;

Figure 2 is a perspective diagram of a support structure according to the invention in the assembled state, on a pallet;

Figure 3 is a perspective view from above of an amount of the structure according to the invention;

FIG. 4 shows a view from above of a detail of the edges of a plate of the structure according to the invention;

Figure 5 is a perspective diagram of a support structure according to the invention in the assembled state between two pallets.

As shown diagrammatically in FIG. 1, the example of structure 1 support according to the invention consists of a lower plate 2, of uprights 3 and of an upper plate 4. The lower and upper plates comprise a hollowed out central portion and show in the general form of a frame.

The four corners of these frames are reinforced by plates 5, designated under the references 5A for the upper frame and 5B for the lower frame. These plates 5A and 5B have raised areas relative to the general plane of the frame. The uprights 3, in the erected state, each comprise a bottom plate 6 forming a foot and an upper plate 7 disposed substantially at its top.

In the assembled state of the structure, as shown in Figure 2, the lower plate 2 rests on the upper floor 14 of a first pallet 13 resting itself by its base 15 on the ground. Between said upper floor 14 and the base 15 of the pallet 13 are formed, in a conventional manner, spaces 16 for inserting the forks of pallet trucks. The uprights and the feet formed by the lower plates 6 of the uprights 3 are inserted into a housing formed between the corner plates 5B of the lower plate 2 and the loading floor 14 of the pallet. These plates 5B corner of the lower plate are raised by a height h (see details in Figure 4) slightly larger than the thickness e of the lower plates 6 amounts.

It is clearly seen that the legs of the uprights 3 do not come to close the spaces 16, nor interfere with the insertion of the pallet truck forks into these spaces 16 during the handling of the pallet 13. On the upper plates 7 of the uprights are positioned the plates 5A corner of the upper plate 4. The upper plates 7 of the uprights 3 are advantageously arranged between the flanges 10a and 10b of the bracket 10 forming the longitudinal portion of the uprights 3 with curved edges 9. These plates 7 are arranged slightly recessed from the top of the angle 10 allowing the upper ends of the wings 10a and 10b to be housed in notches 12 formed in the corners of the plate 4.

To further retain the plate 4 on the upper plates 7 uprights 3, are provided pins 8 protruding from the plates 7 adapted to be housed in orifices 1 1 formed in the corners of the plate 4. Signs 17 for the visual control of the correct up and down positioning of the uprights and trays are provided on the upper surface (or in the thickness of the material) of the different elements forming the structure 1.

The various elements constituting this structure according to the invention are advantageously made of metal, in particular galvanized metal to prevent their oxidation when they are used for transport by sea. A frame and amounts are for example cut from the same sheet metal ( advantageously the cutting of the uprights 3 is carried out in the recessed central portion of the frame). The L-shaped angles of the uprights are obtained by folding of said sheet and the plates 6 and 7 are welded together at the ends of the bracket 10 between its two flanges 10a and 10b. The bearing of the corner plates of the frames are obtained by simple stamping.

The nature of the material and the thickness of the sheet used are such that the structure once assembled can accept a load of 1000 kg (including a second pallet, see below). Figure 5 shows that such a rigid structure can receive on its upper plate 4, in the assembled state, a second pallet 20, the lower and upper trays being arranged parallel to each other.

This superposition of pallets can be carried out even if the entire volume formed by the support structure 1 is not entirely filled with goods or filled with parcels 18 and bags 19 (shown diagrammatically in FIG. irregular shapes not filling the entire volume without damaging the goods.

Claims

1. Support structure (1) for the loading of goods on a pallet (13) for storage and / or transport formed by the assembly of separate / removable elements, comprising:

a first tray, called lower tray (2) loading said goods,

a second plate, called top plate (4),

a plurality of uprights (3), in the form of angle-type profiles, the ends of which are equipped with connection means with, on the one hand, the lower plate (2) and, on the other hand, the upper plate (4), said means for link being in the form of plates arranged transversely to the uprights (3), the bottom plate (6) forming a foot in the upright state of said upright,

characterized in that each of the lower (2) and upper (4) trays comprises housing regions respectively lower plates (6) and upper plates (7) of said uprights (3), and in that the lower plate (2 ) is in the form of a polygonal frame, of generally planar shape, whose edges are raised relative to the general plane of the polygonal frame to provide the housing zones of the lower plates equipping the ends of the uprights, the assembly of the trays and amounts constituting the outer frame of the goods loading, said frame being positionable entirely above the upper face of the pallet (13), and dismountable after use.

2. Support structure according to claim 1, characterized in that the edges of the lower plate (2) as a polygonal frame are raised in the corners relative to the general plane of said polygonal frame.

3. Support structure according to one of claims 1 or 2,

characterized in that the upper plate (4) is in the form of a polygonal frame, of generally planar shape, of peripheral dimensions identical to those of the lower plate (2), whose edges, preferably in the corners, are raised relative to the general plane of the polygonal frame to provide the reception zones, in the erected state of the uprights (3), the upper plates (7) equipping the ends of the uprights, the upper plate (4) resting on said plates, between the amounts.

4. Support structure according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the upper plates (7) equipping the ends of the uprights (3) are provided with a positioning member and retaining the upper plate.

5. Support structure according to claim 4,

characterized in that the positioning and retaining member comprises a lug (8) cooperating, in the mounted state of the structure, with a corresponding opening of the upper plate.

A cargo loading assembly comprising a pallet and a support structure according to any one of the preceding claims,

characterized in that the lower plate (2) of said support structure rests on the upper face of the pallet (13), the lower plates (6) of the uprights (3) being able to be housed, in the erected state of said amounts between the raised edges of the lower plate (2) and the upper face of said pallet (13).

7. The assembly of claim 6,

characterized in that, in the assembled state of the support structure, the upper plate (4) is arranged parallel to the lower plate (2), assembled to the vertical uprights (3) to form the outer frame of the goods loading, resting on the upper face of the pallet (13).

8. A method of loading the goods on a pallet by means of the support structure according to any one of claims 1 to 5,

characterized in that it comprises the following successive steps:

- placing a pallet (13) on the ground;

positioning a lower plate (2) on the upper face of the pallet;

stacking goods on said lower plate (2); then

positioning the uprights (3) of angle-type vertically, at the four corners of the pallet and its loading, by insertion of the lower plates (6) forming feet of said uprights in the recesses formed between the raised corner edges of the plate lower (2) and the upper face of the pallet; - insertion of the upper plate (4) between the uprights (3), above the goods, by placing the reception zones of said upper plate on the upper plates of the uprights;