GB2405630A

GB2405630A - Racking support for wheeled platform

Info

Publication number: GB2405630A
Application number: GB0320548A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Patrick Mccann
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2003-09-02
Filing date: 2003-09-02
Publication date: 2005-03-09
Also published as: GB0320548D0

Abstract

A support 100 for a wheeled platform (10, Figure 1), the support 100 having a lower 102 and upper 101 surface, the lower surface 102 being adapted and dimensioned to be locatable on warehouse racking or on a floor, the support 100 comprising means 105, 106 to prevent a wheeled platform from rolling off of the support 100 when located thereon. The support 100 may comprise guide means 103 to direct a wheel of a wheeled platform rolling on said upper surface 101 toward said rolling prevention means 105. The means 105, 106 may be recesses.

Description

1 2405630 Supports 5This Invention relates to supports which may find

particular utility In warehouses although they will be usable In other storage locations.

Conventionally goods have been transported on wooden or plastics pallets.

The, say, loose goods (e.g bags of sugar, flour, compost, wood choppings, pea shingle 10etc) are stacked on a pallet and the stack Is then shnnk-wrapped to ensure that the stack Is stable during transit and storage The so-stacked pallets may be located In warehouses on racks. With the adoption of just- n-tme ordering and delivery, warehouse space has a high economical value Accordingly, the racks may have a plurality of stones to ensure maximum usage of the available space Conventional pallets may be loaded onto a lorry for delivery to say supermarkets However, once at the desired location, the goods have to be 'de palletsed' and placed on more suitable vehicles for storage at the location and/or delivery to, say, the supermarket shop floor De-palletsing and re-stackng goods Is 20tme-consumng, labour Intensive work which costs the, say, supermarket money In terms of person hours and also requires space for the storage of pallets and the more suitable vehicle (e.g. roll cages) In order to circumvent this problem, wheeled platforms are sometimes used 25These platforms are robust enough to have goods stacked thereon and aesthetically pleasing enough to be used as goods display platforms on a shop floor One such platform Is disclosed In GB 2281897 (the entire disclosure of which Is herein Incorporated) It will be appreciated that other wheeled platforms are available, one such wheeled platform is a Merchandised Unit (MU) sold by Gi<N.

In use, the manufacturer or distributor stacks goods on the platform and shrnk wraps the stack to ensure its stability The so-stacked platforms may be lifted by a fork lift or pallet truck and placed In a storage location or wheeled onto a lorry for delivery to a store. Once the wheeled platform Is delivered to a store the platfo'm can be wheeled onto the shop floor and the shnnk-wrap removed The goods are then displayed for sale without the need for de-palletsng the goods and re-stackng them and obviating the need for extra storage space for pallets and roll cages The empty wheeled platforms can be stacked one on top of another to reduce the required storage space when not In use. However, they use warehouse space Inefficiently when loaded because they cannot be vertically stacked on racking, as can be done with conventional pallets It Is an object of this invention to provide a support to allow wheeled platforms to make more efficient use of space in a warehouse A first aspect of the invention provides a support for a wheeled platform, the support having a lower and upper surface, the lower surface being adapted and dimensioned to be locatable on warehouse racking or on a floor, the support composing means to prevent a wheeled platform from rolling off of the support when located thereon.

Said rolling prevention means may comprise two or more recesses configured to each accept a wheel of a wheeled platform located on the support. Preferably, said rolling prevention means comprises four recesses, one for each wheel of a conventional wheeled platform Said rolling prevention means may compose two or more domes having centrally disposed recesses or dimples, the dimples of the domes each being configured to accept a wheel of a wheeled platform located on the support Other rolling prevention means may be used such as clamps, brakes, straps and so on The support may further comprise guide means, arranged to guide the wheels of the wheeled support, in use and with the wheeled platform being rolled on the upper surface, towards said roiling prevention means Said guide means may comprise an angled plate arranged to direct a rolling wheel of a wheeled platform towards said ro||'ng prevention means, in use Said guide means may be the wall of a recessed portion of the upper surface A second aspect of the invention provides a method of reducing the space taken up by loaded wheeled platforms in a warehouse, the method comprising locating a support on racking, the support having means to retain a wheel of a wheeled platform and/or prevent a or the wheel from rolling, and locating a wheeled platform on the support such that the wheels of the wheel platform are located In said retaining means.

In order that the Invention may be more fully understood, it Will now be described, by way of example only and with reference to the accompanying drawings, In which: figure 1 Is a side elevation of a prior art wheeled platform; Figure 2 is a plan view of the wheeled platform of figure 1; figure 3 Is a plan view of a support according to the Invention, and Figure 4 Is a side elevation of the support of Figure 3.

Referring firstly to figures 1 and 2, there is shown the prior art wheeled platform of GB 2281897 In beef, the mobile platform assembly 10 comprises a rectangular, substantially horizontal, platform 12 having a deck 14 and a base 16 This platform comprises a single plastics mouldng.

The base 16 carries four wheels, two fixed wheels 18, fixed so as to rotate parallel to a longitudinally extending edge 20 of the platform 12, and two castored wheels 22. The four wheels 18, 22 are located one towards each of the four corners of the base 16, the two fixed wheels 18 disposed towards one laterally extending edge 24 of the platform 12 while the two castored wheels 22 are disposed towards the longitudinally opposed laterally extending edge 26 of the platform 12.

The castored wheel assemblies 22 may be considered to be of a standard structure, having a plate 25 with downwardly extending castor arms 28 rotatable about a vertically extending axis 30, and having a substantially cylindrical wheel 23 rotatable about a horizontal axis supported by the castor arms 28, the wheel being slightly offset from the vertically extending axis 30.

The deck 14 carries an array of castellations 32 which serve for locating and restraining containers on the deck when In use, and it will be appreciated that the array of such castellations Will vary greatly on the requirements of the platform assemblies.

Two handles 40 are also located on the deck 14, one towards each of the longitudinally opposed edges 24, 26 These handles 40 are formed flush with the deck 14, Icing across one apex of a recessed triangle 42 and having sufficient space between the handle 40 and the recessed triangular surface to allow a hand or hook to be placed beneath the handle 40 The handle 40 Is moulded Integral with the platform 12.

to Referring now to Figures 3 and 4, there Is shown a support 100 having an upper surface 101 and a flat lower surface 102. Upstanding from the upper surface 101 are a pair of angled rails or plates 103 The upper surface 101 further Games two pairs of recesses 105, 106 The support 100 Is sized such that it can be rested, on its lower surface 102, on conventional warehouse racking, which Is typically formed from two parallel metal girders or beams separated by a distance of about 60 to 80 cm Thus, In one embodiment, the longer side 107 of the support 100 will be about 90 cm long The first pair of recesses 105 are oval when viewed from above and have sides 108 which slope towards their bases. The second pair of recesses 106 are circular when viewed from above and have substantially vertical walls 109. The first pair of recesses 105 are larger than the second pair of recesses 106.

In use' the support 100 Is located, on its lower surface 102, on pallet racking with the first pair of recesses 105 Innermost. A wheeled platform 10 loaded with goods Is then lifted onto the support 100 using, say, a fork-lift truck, In the direction of arrow A, castored wheels 22 first. The castored wheels 22 roll along the upper surface 101 of the support If they are running In a direction which Is not parallel to the longer side 107 of the support 100, one will be engaged by one of the angled rails 103 which will guide the wheel 22 towards the recess 105.

Because the first recesses 105 are larger than the second pair 106, and because the first pair 105 have sloping sides 108, the castored wheels 22 roll Into the recesses as soon as they roll over the lip thereof As the castored wheels 22 roll Into the recesses 105, the fixed wheels 18 drop Into the second pair of recesses 106 The second pair of recesses 106, having straight sides 109 prevent the wheeled platform 10 from moving, even If the support 100 Is not perfectly horizontal To remove the platform 10, the tines of a fork-lft truck engage the base 16 and lift the wheels 18, 22 from their respective recesses 106, 105.

Even If one the first row of racking Is used to store a loaded wheeled platform a significant amount of space will be saved In place of the recesses 105, 106, other wheel retaining constructions may be used. Clamps or straps may be present, the recesses may be dimpled domes, the dimples being sized to accept the wheels 18, 28 of a wheeled platform 10. In place of the guide rails 103, the central region of the upper surface 101 may be recessed to provide an upstanding wall where the plates 103 are located.

The support 100 may be fabricated from moulded plastics material or from wood, alumnum or steel It may be a unitary structure Alternatively, the plates or guide rails 103 may be formed of metal riveted or otherwise attached to the upper surface 101.

The lower surface 102 may have one or more members depending therefrom arranged to engage the racking beams when the support 100 is located thereon The member or members may depend from the intended front or rear (or both) of the support 100 They may abut the beams to prevent relative motion between the support and the beams

Claims

Claims 1. A support for a wheeled piafform, the support having a lower and

upper surface, the lower surface being adapted and dimensioned to be locatable on warehouse racking or on a floor, the support comprising means to prevent a wheeled platform from rolling off of the support when located thereon.
2. A support as claimed in Claim 1, wherein said rolling prevention means comprises two or more recesses configured to each accept a wheel of a to wheeled platform located on the support.
3. A support as claimed in Claim 1 or Claim 2, wherein said rolling prevention means comprises four recesses, one for each wheel of a conventional wheeled platform.
4. A support as claimed in Claim 1, wherein said rolling prevention means comprises two or more domes each having a centrally disposed recess or dimple, the recess or dimple of the dome each being configured to accept a wheel of a wheeled platform located on the support.
5. A support as claimed in any preceding Claim, further comprising guide means, arranged to guide the wheels of the wheeled support, in use and with the wheeled platform being rolled on the upper surface, towards said rolling prevention means.
6. A support as claimed in Claim 5, wherein said guide means comprises an angled plate arranged, in use, to direct a rolling wheel of a wheeled platform towards said rolling prevention means.
7. A support as claimed in Claim 5, wherein said guide means is provided by a wall of a recessed portion of the upper surface.
8. A support according to any preceding Claim, further comprising one or more members depending from the lower surface thereof, the members being arranged to engage racking when, in use, the support is located thereon.
9. A method of reducing the space taken up by loaded wheeled platforms in a warehouse, the method comprising locating a support on racking, the support having means to retain a wheel of a wheeled platform and/or prevent a or the wheel from rolling, and locating a wheeled platform on the support such that the wheels of the wheel platform are located in said retaining means.