GB2314544A

GB2314544A - Goods handling device

Info

Publication number: GB2314544A
Application number: GB9712144A
Authority: GB
Inventors: David Graham Pimlott; Elaine Pimlott
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1996-06-25
Filing date: 1997-06-11
Publication date: 1998-01-07
Anticipated expiration: 2017-06-11
Also published as: GB9613233D0; GB2314544B; GB9712144D0

Abstract

A goods handling device 1 for assisting delivery of heavy items such as beer barrels to or from a cellar comprises a base member 10, decoupleable anchorage means 20 for operatively anchoring said base member to a loading area near a cellar door or on a delivery vehicle, and pulley means 30 for operatively receiving a goods handling line. The anchorage means may comprise one or more pillars 21 which may be pivotable between a first position perpendicular to the base member and a second position parallel to said base member and which can be operatively inserted into sockets (26, fig 3) in the loading area. The anchorage means may also comprise pivotable flap members 50 which operatively rest on existing cellar skids and may be telescopic or otherwise extendable. The pulley means may comprise a ring or bar around which the handling line can run, or may comprise a vertical post with a winch arrangement (40, fig 3).

Description

GOODS HANDLING DEVICE The present invention relates to a device for assisting in the handling of heavy goods items.

A problem arises in the delivery of heavy items, including in particular liquid goods such as beer in barrels, which must be unloaded from a delivery vehicle and moved into a storage, such as the cellar of a public house.

Commonly, barrels are unloaded manually by being dropped vertically from the delivery vehicle to ground level, and from ground level into the storage cellar. A descending barrel weighing up to around 250 Kg has considerable momentum and, although commonly landing on an impact absorbing mat, the barrel will sometimes run out of control causing damage to the barrel or the surrounding area, and, on some unfortunate occasions, causing injury to delivery personnel.

An inclined ramp or pair of skids is used to provide a slower and more controllable descent, often in conjunction with a rope coupled to the barrel.

Traditionally, a metal ring (known as an "eye" or "eye bolt" or "bull-ring") is fixed in the ground near the cellar opening and the rope run through the ring to provide controllable braking. However, not all cellars are provided with a suitable eye bolt, and a permanentlyinstalled eye bolt can be a tripping hazard for passing pedestrians.

It is therefore desired to provide a device for assisting in the handling of heavy items, and in particular heavy goods items such as barrels, boxes-, pallets and crates, preferably when lowering from an upper level to a lower level.

The rope and eye-bolt are also used by delivery personnel to retrieve relatively light empty barrels, but a further problem arises when it is desired to raise a heavy item, such as a full or partly full barrel containing unsold beer known as ullage", from a relatively inaccessible space such as a cellar. At present, a team of three or four skilled personnel must make a specific journey to manually haul heavy barrels out of the cellar and on to the delivery vehicle, involving significant additional costs. Further, injuries to personnel are common during handling of heavy barrels. It is therefore further desired that heavy barrels may be raised safely by only one person, during a normal delivery round.

According to the present invention there is provided a goods handling device comprising: an elongate base member for operatively lying horizontally when goods are being handled; a decoupleable anchorage means disposed toward a forward end of said base member for operatively anchoring said base member at the edge of a platform; and pulley means disposed toward a rearward end of said base member for operatively receiving a goods handling line.

The anchorage means anchors the base member to a stable platform such as the load carrying area of a delivery vehicle or the floor or ground level around a cellar door, from or to which platform it is desired to move the goods items.

The handling line used with the device may take any suitable form, such as a chain, cable, wire, strap, webbing or rope with the pulley means being of a suitable type to receive the handling line employed. In the simplest embodiment, the pulley means is a ring or bar mounted to the base member and the handling line runs around the pulley means for controlled lifting or lowering.

The goods handling device operatively provides a pulley means set back from the edge of a platform. The decoupleable anchorage means advantageously allows the device to be removed when not in use, and the device is, in the preferred embodiment, of a size and weight so as to be easily portable and may move with the delivery vehicle from site to site.

The anchorage means preferably comprises one or more pillar members which in use locate into corresponding sockets permanently mounted on the platform. The pillars are preferably pivotably mounted and may lie flat with the base when not in use. Additionally or alternatively, the anchorage means preferably comprises one or more locating pins which are locatable through apertures in the base member and into a platform, such as the load area of a delivery vehicle or near the opening of a cellar. One advantage of the preferred anchorage means is that no significant hazard need remain (e.g. tripping or catching clothing) when the device is not in place.

With the aim of improving facilities for the delivery and removal of barrels, many cellars are provided with permanently fixed inclined ramps, commonly consisting of two parallel rails or "skids". The incline of the skids aids controlled movement of barrels and other goods. In the preferred embodiment, a transverse bar is mounted between these skids and the anchor pillars are located in the socket formed between a vertical wall of a cellar and the transverse bar.

Further preferably, the anchorage means comprises engagement means for engaging existing skids. Each anchor pillar may be coupled to an engagement means, such as by a pin. Each engagement means rests in use over a skid and is coupled thereto by a pin passing through corresponding apertures in the engagement means and the skid.

Preferably, the front edge of the base member is provided with one or more flap members (preferably two) which are ideally pivotably mounted. The flap members operatively drop down onto existing skids and provide a smooth transport path for a barrel from the skids onto the base member. The flaps may be adjustable in length, either by adding further flap sections, or by being telescopic.

Where skids are not provided, the flaps may themselves act as skids and bridge the gap between upper and lower levels.

Further, separate portable skid members may be provided for coupling to a forward end of the device.

The preferred embodiment of the present invention further addresses the problem of removing heavy barrels.

The base member is preferably provided at or near a rear end thereof with a vertical post pivotably or decouplably mounted thereon. At or near the top of the post is provided a winch arrangement of any suitable type. The handling line preferably passes through the pulley means and up to the winch arrangement. In this case, the pulley means is a free-running pulley for maximum efficiency.

With the vertical post in position, the winch may be operated and a heavy barrel retrieved from a cellar. An exemplary travel path would be from the existing skids to the two flap members and then onto the base member.

A preferred embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Fig. 1 is an expanded perspective view of a first embodiment; Fig. 2 is an assembled side view of the first embodiment; Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a second embodiment; and Figs. 4 and 5 are perspective views from above and below, respectively, of a coupling device for coupling to a standard pallet.

Referring to Figures 1 and 2, the goods handling device 1 comprises a base member 10, an anchorage means 20 at a forward end of the base member 10, and a pulley means 30 at a rearward end of the base member 10.

The goods handling device is designed to lie with its forward end at the edge of a platform such as the load area of a delivery vehicle or a cellar opening, with its rearward end distant from the edge and with the base member lying substantially horizontally on the platform. A pulley means 30 disposed toward the rearward end of the base member is suitably a short transverse bar or ring. A handling line such as rope is passed through the ring and attached to an item to be lowered, such as a crate, a tray for carrying boxed or crated goods, or a full beer barrel.

Any suitable pulley system may be employed, but a ring allows sufficient control with the handling line paid out hand over hand. The base member may be provided with small wheels (not shown), such as at the rearward end, to assist in moving the device into position, and also to allow the base member to be used a trolley for carrying goods.

The anchorage means preferably comprises two pillars 21, pivotably mounted to the base member 10 to conveniently lie flat against the base member 10. When in use, pillars 21 are pivoted to lie approximately perpendicular to the base member 10 to drop into any suitable receiving socket. The pivotable pillars 21 allow the device to accommodate uneven surfaces, for example where the ground slopes away from the opening to a cellar door. Where the slope is for example So, the pillars 21 may be opened to around 85 to the base member 10 to meet a receiving socket arranged substantially vertically on the cellar wall.

The pillars 21 may couple with a wide variety of receiving sockets. In a simple embodiment, a transverse bar is mounted to a vertical cellar wall leaving sufficient space for pillars 21 to drop between the bar and the wall.

The anchorage means employed may vary from site to site, for example, where existing inclined skids are available the transverse bar may be welded between the skids.

Alternatively, U-shaped brackets may be mounted to the cellar wall, each for receiving one of the pillars 21.

Referring more particularly now to Figure 2, the preferred anchorage means is used in conjunction with existing skids comprising parallel rail members suitably permanently installed between the cellar opening and the cellar floor. Overlying member 23 rests on a skid (not shown) and a locking pin passes through corresponding apertures in the overlying member 23 and the skid. The overlying member 23 is shown as a L-shaped plate which carries a coupling plate 25 pivotably coupled to a receiving socket 26 by a hinge 29. The plate 25 is provided with a series of apertures or locking notches 28 for receiving a locking pin 27 mounted on the receiving socket 26. In use, the overlying member 23 is placed over a skid and the locking pin 24 passed through a pre-drilled aperture in the skid. The receiving socket 26 may then be rotated to be substantially vertical and is held in the desired position by a locking pin 25 engaging one of the holes or notches 28 in the coupling plate 25. A supplementary locking pin (not shown) may be provided for additional strength. When receiving socket 26 is positioned correctly, pillar 21 is inserted and coupled such as with a locking pin (not shown) passing through corresponding apertures in the pillar 21 and the socket 26.

Ideally, the pillar 21 is provided with a series of apertures to cater for variations in height between the skid and the forward end of the base member 10. Further adjustment may be provided by, for example, allowing ready replacement of the pillars with others of different length, by providing telescopic pillars, or by providing means for coupling two pillars together to form a longer pillar.

The anchorage means 20 allows the forward end of the base member 10 to be securely anchored, such as to a skid or other existing feature. Minimal permanent adaptation of existing features is required in order to install the device, with only one or more holes being drilled in the skid to accept the anchorage means 20.

Further, minimal impact is left, visual or physical, once the device is removed. The anchorage means 20 allows the device to be installed quickly and simply and to be adjusted according to the characteristics of each delivery site.

In an alternative arrangement (not shown), the anchorage means comprises one or more locating pins which are locatable through apertures in the base member and into a platform, such as the load area of a delivery vehicle or near the opening of a cellar. Long supplementary skids may be required, e.g. for loading onto a delivery vehicle, which may be configured to rest at one end on the base member 10 and to be held in place by the locating pins.

Referring again to Figures 1 and 2, a flap member or independent flap members are provided pivotably coupled to the forward end of the base member 10 which fold forward over the anchorage means 20 and rest on existing skids.

The flap member or members 50 provide a relatively smooth travel path around anchorage 20 for the goods being moved.

Also, there may in some circumstances be a significant gap between the top of the skids and the top of the vertical cellar wall, in which case flap members 50 bridge this gap which would otherwise be a significant impediment in the travel path. As shown in Figure 1, in the first embodiment the flap member 56 comprises two parallel elongate rails 51 joined for strength and stability by a transverse bar member 52. The bar member 52 shown in Figure 1 is positioned so as to be clear of access steps which are commonly provided between the skids in a cellar opening.

The foot 53 of each rail 51 is spread to accommodate existing skids within a range of separations.

The forward end of the base member 10 may further be provided with a roller 60 to assist in smooth passage of the handling line and the goods item. Conveniently, the roller 60, the pillars 21 and the flap 50 are pivotably mounted on a common shaft 61. In a further embodiment, (not shown) the pillars 21 may slide along a pivot bar in order to be set within a wide range of separations.

The first embodiment shown in Figures 1 and 2 is primarily intended to assist in the delivery of goods into a cellar by controlled lowering, but the device may equally be used for raising goods from the cellar and from the cellar onto a delivery vehicle. The rearward end of the base member 10 may conveniently be provided with a mechanical or electrically powered winch, for example coupled to a receiving socket 31 by a locking pin passing through apertures 32. Preferably, a vertical post is coupled to socket 31 and the winch provided at or near the top of the post at a convenient working height. In use, a pulley means is employed to provide a convenient travel path for the handling line.

With reference to Figure 3, an alternate embodiment of the goods handling device 1 is shown having an electric winch 40 coupled via a short vertical post 41 into a receiving socket 31 of the base member 10. The flap member 50 of this embodiment comprises parallel telescopic rail members 51 using, for example, heavy duty metal tubing having supplementary telescoping tubes Sla inserted therein. Transverse tie members 52 provide rigidity and stability, and the flap arrangement 50 conveniently folds flat against base member 10 when not in use with rail members 51 lying either side of the base member 10. Base member 10 may take any suitable form and, although shown as being generally planar and formed, for example, from sheet metal, alternative arrangements are envisaged such as a tubular frame or a single elongate member.

Referring now to Figures 4 and 5, an adaptor device is shown for coupling the goods handling device to a standard wooden pallet or the like. The adaptor device is particularly useful when lifting barrels and other goods onto the load carrying area of a vehicle. It is desired to position the goods handling device at varying points on the load platform, to aid efficient loading of the vehicle.

Further, it is desired to provide a simple and effective system for mounting the goods handling device to the vehicle, without requiring permanent attachment or permanent fixings.

Referring to the perspective view from above shown in Figure 4, the adaptor 70 comprises a base member 71 of any suitable form but shown as a plate. A forward end 72 of the base member operatively rests against an edge of the pallet, whilst the rearward end is provided with hook means such as angled bar 73 for engaging the edge of a slat of the pallet. One or more keys are used through apertures 74, ideally spring-loaded L or T-shaped keys, which in use protrude through a gap between adjacent slats and may be twisted to lock the adaptor securely to the pallet.

The pallet itself (not shown) may be positioned by the user at any desired point on the load area of the delivery vehicle. The forward end 72 of the adaptor 70 is provided with a socket arrangement 75 for receiving the anchor means 20 of the goods handling device. As shown, a U-shaped bar 75 is adapted to receive the two pillars 21.

For convenience, one side of the U-shaped bar 75 may be provided with a pivot point 76, such that the bar 75 may be closed around the pillars 21 and locked in place such as using a locking pin 77. Ideally, the keys through aperture 74 engage the gap between the first and second slats of the pallet, whilst the hook means 73 engages an opposing edge of the second slat. The dimensions of the base member 71 may be altered to suit the pallet to which the adaptor is to be coupled. In a further embodiment (not shown) the base member 71 is extendible in length such as by use of telescopic frame members.

The adaptor 70 allows the goods handling device to be used without requiring any fixing to the platform, such as the load area of the delivery vehicle. Friction between the pallet and the load area is sufficient to hold the goods handling device in place, assisted by gravitational forces acting on the goods being raised or lowered by the device.

Claims

1. A goods handling device comprising: an elongate base member for operatively lying horizQetally when goods are being handled; a decoupleable anchorage means disposed toward a forward end of said base member for operatively anchoring said base member at an edge of a platform; and pulley means disposed toward a rearward end of said base member for operatively receiving a goods handling line.

2. A device as claimed in claim 1, wherein said anchorage means anchors said base member to a stable platform such as a load carrying area of a delivery vehicle or a floor or ground level around a cellar door, from or to which platform it is desired to move goods items.

3. A device as claimed in claim 2, wherein said anchorage means comprises one or more pillar members operatively located substantially perpendicular to said base member.

4. A device as claimed in claim 3, wherein said pillar members are locatable into corresponding sockets permanently mounted at or near the edge of the platform.

5. A device as claimed in claim 4, wherein said pillars are pivotably mounted to said base member.

6. A device as claimed in claim 5, wherein said pillars are pivotable between a first position perpendicular to said base member and a second position parallel to said base member to lie flat with the base member when not in use.

7. A device as claimed in claim 1, wherein said anchorage means comprises one or more locating pins locatable through apertures in the base member.

8. A device as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein said anchorage means comprises engagement means for engaging existing skids.

9. A device as claimed in claim 8, wherein each anchor pillar is coupleable to said engagement means with the or each engagement means resting in use over a skid and being coupled thereto.

10. A device as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein said forward end of said base member is provided with one or more flap members

11. A device as claimed in claim 10, wherein said flap members are pivotably mounted to operatively rest on existing skids and provide a smooth transport path for a barrel from the skids onto the base member.

12. A device as claimed in claim 11, wherein the flaps are adjustable in length, by adding further flap sections or by being telescopic.

13. A device as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein said pulley means comprises a ring or bar mounted to said base member and said handling line runs around said pulley means for controlled lifting or lowering.

14. A device as claimed in any preceding claim, comprising a vertical post member decouplably or pivotably mounted at or near said rearward end of said base member, and a winch arrangement provided on said post.

15. A device substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.