AU2008259473A1

AU2008259473A1 - Pallet with a soft covering material

Info

Publication number: AU2008259473A1
Application number: AU2008259473A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Bo Persson
Original assignee: Inter Ikea Systems BV
Current assignee: Inter Ikea Systems BV
Priority date: 2007-06-04
Filing date: 2008-06-03
Publication date: 2008-12-11
Also published as: US20100175597A1; DK176871B1; JP2011521850A; CN101754907A; RU2009149371A; WO2008149198A3; WO2008149198A2; EP2170723A2; DK200700808A

Description

WO 2008/149198 PCT/IB2008/001414 1 Title: Pallet with a soft covering material Technical Field 5 The invention relates to a pallet of the kind consisting of a deck and a number of feet placed under the deck, where the pallet when the deck is loaded with goods for trans port is covered with a soft covering material. Background 10 From the specification of GB patent publication No 807571, a pallet with a matching container superstructure is known. The pallet on which the goods to be transported is placed constitutes the bottom of the container. This pallet construction takes up a lot of space and is thus not very suitable for transport functions where the volume just above 15 the deck (i.e. the supporting surface) must be kept to a minimum. In addition, it is a problem that an operator who is to move such a pallet by means of a fork-lift truck may have difficulties placing the prongs of the truck accurately in the spaces between the feet of the pallet. Accurate placement of the mentioned prongs is important as it reduces the wear of the prongs on the pallet. 20 Disclosure of the Invention The purpose of the invention is to provide a pallet of the above-mentioned kind which makes it possible to dispose of the above-mentioned container while still covering the 25 above-mentioned goods, and which may easily be handled by an operator of a truck, while avoiding that above-mentioned covering material more or less covers the spaces between the adjacent feet under the deck of the pallet. The pallet according to the invention is characterised in that the covering material is 30 made of plastics or textile and removably fastened to the deck at least at one place by wedging a corner of the covering material tight in at least a first incision in at least one clamp mounted on the deck. As a result, the goods placed on the pallet may be se curely covered and held in place on the deck; and the covering material will not cover the spaces between the adjacent feet under the deck. 35 WO 2008/149198 PCT/IB2008/001414 2 According to the invention, the side of one or more of the above-mentioned feet may be provided with a guiding line-like marking visible from a position removed from the pal let, preferably from a position above the level of the pallet, to be used when moving the pallet by means of a truck with prongs. From his position on the truck, the operator will 5 thus easily be able to locate the foot/feet of the pallet to aim for when inserting the prongs below the deck of the pallet. As it fits tightly to the deck, the above-mentioned covering material will not cover the spaces between the feet of the pallet, thereby mak ing it easy to insert the prongs of the fork-lift truck in these spaces. 10 According to the invention, the above-mentioned incision may be provided with two substantially parallel edges on a substantial part of the length of the incision forming a slit. As a result, it is obtained that each clamp may efficiently hold the covering material of plastics or textile particularly tight. 15 Further, according to the invention, the clamp may have a second incision or a hole positioned next to the first incision into which the outmost end of a corner of the cover ing material may be wedged or crammed after the corner has been fastened in the first incision. As a result, an exceptionally secure fastening of the covering material to the pallet is obtained. 20 Moreover, according to the invention, the clamp may have a thickness of at least 3 mm and have smoothed edges. Hereby, an exceptionally efficient fastening of the tightened covering material is obtained. 25 According to the invention, clamps may be positioned on the deck, preferably close to each of the vertices of the deck. According to the invention, the above-mentioned clamp or clamps may be galvanised, by which it is secured that the clamp or clamps become particularly resistant to the ef 30 fects of water. According to the invention, it is moreover possible to make the above-mentioned clamps of plastic, preferably by moulded casting. Thus, the clamps will be very cheap to produce. 35 WO 2008/149198 PCT/IB2008/001414 3 According to the invention, the above-mentioned clamp or clamps may either be fas tened to the deck by screws or imbedded into the deck, which has proven particularly efficient. 5 According to the invention, the guiding line-like marking may be constituted by a compared to the outer lateral side of the foot in question - narrow, elevated ridge or a narrow groove. It is thus obtained that the marking becomes particularly visible. Moreover, according to the invention, the narrow ridge or the narrow groove may ex 10 tend both along a lateral side of the foot facing away from the pallet and a lateral side of the foot facing an adjacent foot. It is thus secured that the above-mentioned truck operator will easily be able to find the spaces below the pallet where the prongs of the fork-lift truck are to be inserted. 15 Moreover, according to the invention, the guiding line-like marking may comprise a length of an affixed ribbon, which has shown to provide a particularly visible marking. Moreover, according to the invention, each guiding line-like marking may be provided in the area between the point marking the lower third and the point marking the upper 20 third of the foot in question, which has proven particularly advantageous in practice. Moreover, according to the invention, each guiding line-like marking may have a width of at least 1.5 cm and a colour which differs from the colour of the foot in question, the marking preferably being of a bright colour. Thus, it is to a large extent secured that the 25 truck operator, when using the fork-lift truck to insert the prongs of the truck under the deck of the pallet, will easily be able to find the correct spaces for insertion of the prongs. Finally, according to the invention, each foot, which is hollow, may have a hole in the 30 bottom for draining off liquid, such as water, from inside the foot. It is thus obtained that no moisture may disadvantageously gather within the feet of a pallet. It should be noted that the pallet in question is particularly useful when it is of the di mensions 80 cm x 120 cm, 80 cm x 200 cm, 80 cm x 250 cm, or 80 cm x 60 cm. 35 Brief Description of the Drawings WO 2008/149198 PCT/IB2008/001414 4 The invention is explained in detail below with reference to the drawings, in which Fig. 1 shows an embodiment of a pallet according to the invention without covering ma 5 terial, where a clamp for the above-mentioned covering material is clearly visible, Fig. 2 shows the pallet of Fig. 1 covered by a sheet of covering material fastened in the clamp, 10 Fig. 3 shows the clamp seen from the front and on a larger scale, and Fig. 4 shows a central, vertical section through a foot of the pallet. Detailed description of the Invention 15 The pallet shown in Fig. 1 consists of a deck 1 and a number of feet 3a, 3b, 3c placed under the deck; however, not all of the feet are shown. The pallet may be loaded with goods 5 for transport, and the pallet - and the goods - may be covered with a soft cov ering material 4. The covering material is made from plastics or textile and is fastened 20 to the deck 1 by means of a clamp 7, which is preferably placed close to one of the cor ners of the deck 1. Several clamps 7 may be provided around the deck 1. On the side of one or more of the mentioned feet 3a, 3b, 3c, and 3d, eg the side 3b', a guiding line-like marking 6 may be provided, which is preferably visible from a position 25 next to the pallet and from a level considerably higher than the pallet. The mentioned guiding line-like marking is used when moving the pallet with a truck, since the operator of the truck by means of the marking may lead the prongs of the truck securely in place between the mentioned feet. 30 As shown in Fig. 3, each clamp may be provided with two substantially parallel edges 9a, 9b on a substantial part of the extension of the clamp so as to form a slit. As shown in Fig. 2, a corner of the covering material 4 may be introduced and wedged into this slit so that the entire covering material will tightly surround the pallet, but without cover ing the spaces between the feet 3a, 3b, 3c, and 3d. 35 WO 2008/149198 PCT/IB2008/001414 5 As shown in Fig. 3, a hole 10 or a second incision may be provided next to the first in cision 9, into which the outmost end 4a of a corner of the covering material may be wedged or crammed after the corner has been fastened in the first incision. The clamp usually has a thickness of at least 3 mm and has smoothed edges, the latter of which 5 preventing the mentioned edges from ruining the covering material of the corner. The clamp 7 may be galvanised in order to make it weatherproof. The clamp can be made from plastic, preferably by moulded casting, and may either be 10 fastened to the deck 1 by screws or imbedded into the deck. The above-mentioned guiding line-like marking 6 may be constituted by a - compared to the outer lateral side of the foot 3b - narrow, elevated ridge or a narrow groove. The important thing is that the marking is clearly visible. The narrow ridge or the narrow 15 groove 6 may extend both along a side of the foot facing away from the pallet, i.e. to wards the spectator and a side of the foot facing an adjacent foot, eg the adjacent foot 3c (cf Fig. 1). Each guiding line-like marking 6 may be provided in the area between the point mark 20 ing the lower third and the point marking the upper third of the foot 3b in question. Each guiding line-like marking 6 may have a width of at least 1.5 cm and a colour which dif fers from the colour of the foot in question, the marking 6 preferably being of a bright colour. 25 As shown in Fig. 4, each foot 3a, 3b, 3c may be hollow and be provided with an oblong hole 12 in the lower part thereof extending through the side wall of the foot, the pur pose of which is to drain off liquid, such as water, which may have seeped into the foot. Many changes can be made to the invention without departing from the scope of the 30 invention. The feet 3a, 3b, 3c may eg be "friction" feet securing a certain amount of fric tion between the steel prongs of the fork-lift truck and the deck 1. In addition, the top side of the deck 1 may be provided with a number of parallel friction ribs to provide friction between the deck 1 and the goods loaded on the deck. 35 WO 2008/149198 PCT/IB2008/001414 6 Vertical guiding line-like markings (lines) may be provided on all of the feet 3a, 3b, 3c, and 3d at one side of the deck 1, with a distance of approximately 5 cm from the edge. The vertical guiding line-like markings may preferably be placed on an outer foot at the 5 long side of the deck, typically approximately 2 cm above ground/floor level. Finally, it is possible to mount an identity card or an identity device on eg a foot, by means of which it is possible automatically (primarily mechanically) and very quickly to identify the pallet, eg in connection with a supply chain in which the pallet is brought 10 forward.

Claims

1. A pallet of the kind consisting of a deck (1) and a number of feet (3a, 3b, 3c, 3d) placed under the deck, where the pallet when the deck is loaded with goods (5) for 5 transport is covered with a soft covering material (4), characterised in that the cover ing material (4) is made of plastics or textile and removably fastened to the deck (1) at least at one place by wedging a corner (4a) of the covering material tight in at least a first incision (9) in at least one clamp (7) mounted on the deck (1). 10

2. A pallet according to claim 1, characterised in that the side of one or more of the above-mentioned feet (3a, 3b, 3c) is provided with a guiding line-like marking (6) visible from a position removed from the pallet, preferably from a position above the level of the pallet, to be used when moving the pallet by means of a truck 15

3. A pallet according to claim 1 or 2, characterised in that the above-mentioned incision (9) is provided with two substantially parallel edges on a substantial part of the extension of the incision forming a slit.

4. A pallet according to claim 1, 2, or 3, characterised in that the clamp (7) has 20 a second incision (10) or a hole positioned next to the first incision (9) into which the outmost end (4a) of a corner of the covering material may be wedged or crammed after the corner has been fastened in the first incision (9).

5. A pallet according to one or more of claims 1 to 4, characterised in that the 25 clamp (7) has a thickness of at least 3 mm and has smoothed edges.

6. A pallet according to one or more of claims 1 to 5, characterised in that a clamp (7) is positioned on the deck (1), preferably close to each of the vertices of the deck. 30

7. A pallet according to one or more of claims 1 to 6, characterised in that the clamp or clamps (7) are galvanised.

8. A pallet according to one or more of claims 1 to 7, characterised in that the 35 clamp or clamps (7) are made from plastic, preferably by moulded casting. WO 2008/149198 PCT/IB2008/001414 8

9. A pallet according to one or more of claims 1 to 8, characterised in that the clamp or clamps (7) are either fastened to the deck by screws or imbedded into the deck. 5

10. A pallet according to one or more of claims 1 to 9, characterised in that the guiding line-like marking (6) is constituted by a - compared to the outer lateral side of the foot in question - narrow, elevated ridge or a narrow groove.

11. A pallet according to one or more of claims 1 to 10, characterised in that the 10 narrow ridge or the narrow groove (6) extends both along a lateral side of the foot fac ing away from the pallet and a lateral side of the foot facing an adjacent foot (3c).

12. A pallet according to one or more of claims 1 to 11, characterised in that the guiding line-like marking (6) comprises a length of an affixed ribbon. 15

13. A pallet according to one or more of claims 1 to 12, characterised in that each guiding line-like marking (6) is provided in the area between the point marking the lower third and the point marking the upper third of the foot in question. 20

14. A pallet according to one or more of claims 1 to 13, characterised in that each guiding line-like marking has a width of at least 1.5 cm and a colour which differs from the colour of the foot in question, the marking preferably being of a bright colour.

15. A pallet according to one or more of claims 1 to 13, characterised in that 25 each foot (3a, 3b, 3c) is hollow and provided with an oblong hole (12) in the lower part thereof extending through the side wall of the foot for draining off liquid, such as water, from inside the foot.