GB2621432A

GB2621432A - Goods Moving Apparatus

Info

Publication number: GB2621432A
Application number: GB2306264.9A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Carter Christopher
Original assignee: Central Tools Workshop Ltd
Current assignee: Central Tools Workshop Ltd
Priority date: 2023-04-27
Filing date: 2023-04-27
Publication date: 2024-02-14
Also published as: GB202306264D0

Abstract

Goods moving apparatus 10 comprising; a drive unit 12 having a driven wheel 14 and a pen structure 22. The pen structure has frame members 24, 26, 28 and gates 30, 32 (fig 2) arranged to define a peripheral wall for constraining a plurality of wheeled pallets. The pen structure is devoid of a floor such that the wheeled pallets within the pen structure engage the ground. The pen structure comprises one or more wheels 38. The gate may be opened and closed from the drive unit. Preferably the apparatus is for moving multiple wheeled goods cages, dollies or pallets around a factory, warehouse, or retail facility.

Description

Goods Moving Apparatus The present invention concerns an apparatus and system for moving goods on wheeled pallets, such as dollies or the like.

Introduction

There are a variety of known means for manually moving goods around a facility, such as a distribution facility, factory or retail environment. Often wheeled pallets, dollies or wheeled cages are used so that stacks or collections of good can be moved collectively by a single individual who can guide the stack to the intended location. The wheels typically take the form of swivelling casters so that the stack is easy to move in any direction with little inertia.

One example of such a scenario arises for baked goods such as loaves of bread, where trays of baked good are stacked on atop the other and the vertical stack is provided on a wheeled pallet. The stacks can be up to around 1.8 or 2 metres in height. In this manner a single individual can move around significantly more trays than could be safely carried by hand.

However, the number or trays/products that can be moved around safely by an individual remains limited, e.g. to a single stack in some instances or a pair of stacks. The height of the stack is limited by safety considerations and practical considerations such as the height of doorways, etc. Also, the stack on a single wheeled pallet sometimes requires two hands to be guided securely, meaning that an individual cannot safely move more than one stack at once for certain goods/products.

One example of the inefficiencies incurred by manually moving conventional stacked products is when unloading heavy goods vehicles. It can take a team of six people around 40 minutes to fully unload stacks of trays, which represents a significant amount of time and manpower.

Furthermore, increasing the area of facilities such as distribution centres is a current trend. In larger facilities, an individual may have to move goods large distances of tens or hundreds of metres. This can create significant inefficiencies when individuals have to repeatedly move single stacks of goods across a facility, e.g. going back and forth to repeat the same path with multiple successive stacks of goods.

These problems are coupled with heath and safety considerations. More trips around a site with goods in transit creates more traffic and carries increased health and safety risks. It is also an issue that conventional wheeled pallets are of simple construction and typically do not have auto-braking, meaning that stacks of goods on wheeled pallets can run away from the operator if they lose control of the stack.

It is an aim of the present invention to solve one or more of the above problems. It may be considered an additional or alternative aim to provide apparatus that allows a plurality of wheeled pallets, and the goods thereon, to be moved by a single operator.

Statements of Invention

According to a first aspect of the invention, there is provided apparatus for moving articles on a plurality of wheeled pallets, the apparatus comprising a drive unit having a driven wheel arranged to engage the ground; a pen structure depending from the drive unit, the pen structure comprising frame members arranged to define a peripheral wall for constraining a plurality of wheeled pallets within the pen structure, wherein the pen structure comprises one or more further wheel allowing the pen structure with the wheeled pallets therein to be driven by the drive unit in use, and wherein a side of the pen structure comprises one or more gate for entry and exit of wheeled pallets from the pen structure.

The pen structure may held off the ground by the further wheel. Two or more further wheels may be provided. The, or each further wheel may be passive, i.e. free-wheeling or non-driven.

The/each further wheel may depend beneath a frame member, e.g. directly beneath the frame member. The/each further wheel may be in line with a frame member. The/each further wheel may be located in a discontinuity in a frame 5 member.

A guard member may be provided on either or both sides of the further wheel(s). The guard member may span the discontinuity in the frame member. The further wheel may be mounted between opposing guard members.

The pen structure is typically devoid of a floor. The pen structure typically laterally surrounds wheeled pallets therein but is open on its top and bottom sides.

The opening/closing of the one or more gate may be driven, e.g. by a gate actuator. The gate actuator may be powered by/from the drive unit. Additionally or alternatively, the gate actuator may be controlled form the drive unit.

The gate actuator may comprise a linear drive, such as a piston or the like.

The apparatus may comprise a plurality of gate actuators.

Where a plurality of gates are provided, they may be driven independently or in unison.

The one or more gate may be spaced from the drive unit.

A drive member or mechanism may be located in a force path between the gate actuator and the one or more gate. The drive member/mechanism may convert movement output by the gate actuator into a rotational movement of the gate.

The gate actuator may be mounted to a frame member or the drive unit.

The one or more gate may be biased to a closed condition. The gate actuator may open the gate against the bias.

The one or more gate may be lockable or latchable in a closed condition.

Additionally or alternatively, the gate may be held in an open or closed condition by resistance provided by the gate actuator.

The one or more gate may have a limited range of movement. The one or more gate may be limited to a range of movement than is less than 180°. The range of movement may be 90'or approximately 90°. The one or more gate may move between positions that are parallel with and perpendicular to one or more frame member of the pen structure.

One or more stop member or mechanism may be provided to limit the range of movement of the gate(s).

A pair of gates may be provided. The gates may be opposingly arranged. The gates may be opposingly hinged, e.g. swinging in opposing directions or an opposite sense between closed and open conditions.

The one or more gate may be provided on a side/end of the pen structure that opposes the drive unit.

The pen structure may be quadrilateral in plan. The pen structure may be rectangular in plan, e.g. having a longitudinal direction extending away from the drive unit that is greater in length than the lateral/width dimension of the pen structure.

The pen structure may comprise a pair of intermediate frame members extending, e.g. in a parallel direction, away from the drive unit. The one or more gate may be parallel with an intermediate side wall in its open condition. This may allow the full width of the pen structure to be open for insertion A gate may be mounted to each intermediate frame member.

The drive unit may be located centrally along one side/end of the pen structure.

The drive unit may comprise user controls. The user controls may comprise controls for the driven wheel, such as a forward/revers control. The user controls may comprise gate controls, i.e. for opening/closing the gate(s).

The frame members may comprise a plurality of spaced beams/rails. The beams 10 may be vertically spaced. The frame members may have a height of greater than or equal to 20cm, 30cm, 40cm or 50cm. The frame members may have a height dimension sufficient to constrain a stack of articles/tray on the wheeled pallets.

According to a second aspect of the invention there is providing a goods moving system comprising the apparatus of the first aspect and a plurality of wheeled pallets constrained within the pen structure.

Goods may be stacked on the pallets. Trays of good may be stacked on the pallets. Each pallet may comprise an individual stack. Each tray in the stack may key with an adjacent tray of the stack. The/each stack may be greater than lm, 1.5m or 2m in height.

Four, six, eight, ten or more wheeled pallets may be provided in the pen structure. Up to twelve wheeled pallets may be constrained within the pen structure.

The wheeled pallets may be provided in a side-by-side array, e.g. a two-dimensional array. The pallets may be provided in adjacent rows/columns in the pan structure.

The width and/or length of the pen structure may closely match the width and/or length or a plurality of wheeled pallets. The pen structure may have a width substantially equal to the width of two or more wheeled pallets (e.g. within a suitable tolerance). The pen structure may have a length substantially equal to the length of three, four, five or more wheeled pallets (e.g. within a suitable tolerance).

The apparatus may comprise alert means, e.g. visual and/or audio alerts means. 5 The apparatus may comprise a sounder/speaker and/or a light.

The pen structure may comprise a camera, e.g. spaced form the drive unit. The drive unit may comprise a display for displaying the output of the camera.

According to a further aspect of the invention, there is provided a method of moving goods on wheeled pallets comprising loading a plurality of wheeled pallets into the pen structure of an apparatus according to the first aspect; closing the gates to constrain the wheeled pallets therein; and, actuating the driven wheel of the drive unit to move the pen structure with the wheeled pallets constrained therein.

In this way, the plurality of wheeled pallets may be translated in unison, e.g. as an array, with the pen structure.

Detailed Description

Practicable embodiments of the invention will be described in further detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which: Fig. 1 shows a front view of moving apparatus according to an example of the invention; Fig. 2 shows a plan view of the moving apparatus of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 shows a side view of the moving apparatus of Fig. 1; Fig. 4 shows a side view of a wheeled pallet; Fig. 5 shows a plan view of the wheeled pallet of Fig. 4; Fig. 6 shows a side view of a stack of trays on a wheeled pallet; Fig.7 shows a plan view of the moving apparatus of Fig. 1 in use; Fig.8 shows a side view of the moving apparatus of Fig. 1 in use.

In Figs. 1-3 there is shown moving apparatus 10 for moving goods around a site such as a distribution facility, storage facility, factory, retail environment or similar.

The moving apparatus is automotive and comprises a drive unit 12 having a ground engaging wheel 14. The drive unit comprises a motor for driving rotation of the wheel 14. The motor could be an electric motor or any other suitable conventional motor, such as a combustion-based motor. In the example of an electric motor, the drive unit comprises an on-board power source in the form of batteries or the like.

User controls for the drive unit are provided by way of a handle 16 for guiding the drive unit 12 and the moving apparatus 10 as a whole. The handle 16 in this example takes the form of a pair of handles and user controls as will be described 15 below.

The handle 16 is attached to the drive unit by an arm 18. The arm 18 can tilt from an upright orientation as shown in Figs. 1-3 towards an inclined or horizontal orientation upon operation by a user. The arm is biased towards the upright orientation such that it needs to be pulled towards an inclined orientation by a user when manoeuvring the apparatus. The arm18 is pivotably attached to the drive unit at its proximal end.

The drive unit comprises a swivel mechanism 20 for the driven wheel 14. As such 25 the wheel 14 can swivel/rotate about a vertical axis so the apparatus can be steered using the handle 16 by an operator. The operator can thus turn the driven wheel to drive the apparatus in a desired direction in use.

The invention was derived from the realisation that a conventional forklift unit could be adapted with a pen-like structure for constraining a plurality of wheeled pallets in a close, side-by-side arrangement, whilst providing means to manoeuvre pen and the pallets within it. As such, the drive unit 12 may be a drive unit of a conventional forklift, although adapted by removal of the forklift and addition of the pen structure 22. The drive unit has also been adapted to provide controls for use as a moving apparatus as described below.

The pen structure 22 may be welded to the drive unit 10 or rigidly attached to it using fasteners or the like. The pen structure 22 depends forwardly/away from the drive unit 12 on the opposing side from the handle 16.

The pen structure 22 comprises a quadrilateral frame structure defining a peripheral wall around an open interior space in which goods/articles to be transported can be constrained.

The pen structure 22 comprises walls formed of frame members. The pen structure comprises a first, lateral wall 24. The drive unit is centrally arranged with respect to the lateral wall 24 such that the wall 24 extends on either side of the drive unit 12.

The pen structure 22 comprises a pair of side walls 26 and 28 attached at right angles to the lateral wall 24 at opposing ends thereof. The side walls 26 and 28 extend away from the drive unit.

There is a gate 30, 32 hingedly mounted at the distal end of each of the respective side walls 26 and 28. As such a pair of gates 30, 32 are provided in an opposing arrangement in the manner of saloon doors or the like.

Each gate can swing through 90° between open and closed conditions. In the closed condition the gates 30, 32 are each perpendicular with the side walls 26, 28. In this condition the distal edges of the gates 30, 32 are approximately aligned and adjacent one another so as to close the end of the quadrilateral pen structure 22 that is distal with respect to the drive unit 12.

In the example shown, the walls of the pen structure 22 are formed of a pair of frame members or beams 34. The beams 34 are arranged as upper and lower parallel beams, with one vertically above the other, and spaced apart by intermediate frame members 36. The intermediate frame members 36 are provided at the corners of the pen structure and part way along the length of the side walls 26, 28.

The gates 30, 32 are each formed of a similar frame structure, albeit it without the need for intermediate frame members 36 due to their shorter length.

The side walls 26, 28 each comprise a wheel 38 part way along its length, e.g. approximately centrally along the side wall. A single wheel 38 is provided on each side wall in this example, since this permits easy turning/steering of the apparatus in use, although two or more wheels could be provided on each side wall in other examples.

The wheels 38 are each aligned with the respective side wall 26, 28. In this respect the wheel is parallel with the side wall and depends vertically beneath the side wall to which it is mounted. A discontinuity is provided in the lower beam 34 to accommodate the wheel and an arch structure spans the discontinuity above the wheel 38. This helps ensure the wheels to not protrude outwardly or inwardly form the side walls in a manner that would limit the internal space of the pen structure 22 or else could catch on adjacent fixtures or articles on the external side of the pen in use.

A pair of guards also span the discontinuity in the lower beam 34 on each side of the wheel 38. These protect the wheel and act as bumpers as well as providing a mounting structure for the wheel axle. The wheel axle and associated axis of rotation is perpendicular to the side wall.

The wheels 38 are passive and as such the driven wheel 14 of the drive unit drives the apparatus. The pen structure 22 is elevated above the ground by the wheels 38 and the driven wheel 14.

The beams 34 of the walls are spaced by approximately 30cm or 40cm. As such the height of the side walls of the pen structure of roughly the same order. The height of the pen structure frame members is typically less than lm or 80cm and may be less than or equal to 60cm.

Each gate 30, 32 has a gate actuator 40 mounted to the respective side wall adjacent the gate. The gate actuators 40 are powered from the drive unit 12. In this regard, the beams 34 are hollow and a cable passes from the drive unit along the beams to each gate actuator 40.

The gate actuator 40 comprises a linear drive in the form of a piston or ram which can extend and retract upon actuation. The gate actuator 40 is electrically actuated by power supplied from the drive unit and may comprise a worm gear, solenoid or other linear actuator. The ram is connected to a bracket at the hinged end of the gate by an angled member so that the direction/axis of linear actuation is slightly offset from the axis of rotation of the gate. The angled member thus takes the form of a linkage that is obliquely angled relative to the linear actuation axis. The linkage connects to the gate bracket by a pin joint.

In this example, when the ram of the gate actuator 40 extends it urges the gate to the closed condition and when it retracts the gate is opened. The limit of linear travel of the gate actuator may be set/limited so that its fully extended condition corresponds to the gate orientation that is perpendicular to the side wall of the pen structure and/or its fully retracted condition corresponds to the gate orientation that is parallel with the side wall.

It has been found that the resilience of the ram is sufficient to hold the gate closed or open in the desired orientation. Since there is a relatively small offset between the ram and the axis of rotation of the gate, it takes a very large force to urge the gate open/closed when the gate actuator is not itself energised during actuation. However additional stop members may be provided on the gate and/or side wall if it is desired to further support the gate against movement beyond the intended closed and open orientations.

Additionally or alternatively, the gates may be provided with a latch to prevent unwanted movement of the/each gate away from the open or closed condition except by the gate actuator 40. A latch may for example be released automatically by the initial movement of the ram but not by forcing of the gate by other means. It is preferred that a manual latch, i.e. requiring an operator to be present at the gated end of the pen structure is not used since this would hamper the efficiency of use of the apparatus. However a manual latch/lock for the gates could be used if deemed necessary.

The handle 16 of the drive unit has a user interface in the form of user controls to control each of: - forward/reverse rotation of the driven wheel 14; and - opening/closing of the gates.

In the current example, the user controls that would conventionally raise and lower the height of a forklift have been repurposed to send signals to the gate actuator to open close the gate. In other examples, the gate actuators could comprise a fluid pressure ram. The ram could be biased to a closed condition by fluid pressure and could be retracted against the bias to open the gate. It is also possible that latched ram positions can be provided in a piston/cylinder arrangement of that type.

However, the avoidance of hydraulic systems is preferred in the present example in favour of the all-electric drive system.

The user controls comprise buttons or rocker switches for the above control inputs.

The user controls and/or drive unit may also control operation of safety equipment that may be provided on the apparatus. A sounder/speaker is provided in this example that may serve as a horn that can be manually operated from the handle 16. In other examples, the speaker may output a continuous, repeating alert when the apparatus is moving, i.e. when the driven wheel is rotating. Additionally or alternatively, the apparatus could comprise a beacon/light to provide a visual indicator to others nearby, e.g. when the apparatus is in transit.

In some examples, the pen structure 22 comprises one or more camera (not shown) and a display for the camera output is provided on the handle 16, control unit 12 or a portion of the pen structure 22 proximal the operator. The camera may be useful when the apparatus is being manoeuvred in a reverse direction or away from the operator. This is because goods may be stacked to/above head height of an operator within the pen structure, thereby impeding their vision. The camera may also be useful when accurately guiding the pens structure when the gates are open so as to enclose stacks of goods.

Turning now to Figs. 4 to 6, there is shown a wheeled pallet 50 having a generally flat, quadrilateral (e.g. square) base panel 52 and a plurality of casters 54 for engaging the ground. The casters have a full 360 degree freedom of rotation about a vertical axis, as well as offering rotation of the caster wheels. The base 52 may have a plurality of lip features 56 for alignment of a tray 58 on the base.

In use, trays 58 can be stacked one atop the other on the base 52. Depending on the height of the trays, a stack could comprise, six, eight, ten trays or more so that multiple trays can be moved on a single wheeled pallet 50. Goods are provided in the trays 58.

Such an arrangement for moving goods is prevalent for baked goods, where trays of baked products, such as bread, cakes and the like, are to be moved around in relatively large numbers. However, the invention is not so limited and can be applied to any other goods that are moved in this manner. Furthermore, the invention may apply to there wheeled structures, such as wheeled cages or other passively wheeled devices upon which goods are conventionally manually manoeuvred around sites.

In use, of the apparatus, the pen structure is moved to a desired location for loading or unloading of goods. The gates 30, 32 are moved to the open condition and individual stacks of goods on wheeled pallets 50 are manoeuvred into the interior of the pen structure 22. The pen structure is designed specifically to be a close geometric match to a predetermined array of wheeled pallets 50. The pen structure 22 intentionally allows a tolerance in the region of 1 or 2cm around the predetermined array of pallets 50 so that the pallets can be easily inserted/removed from the pen.

In the example of Figs. 7 and 8, it can be seen that the two-dimensional array of wheeled pallets comprises two columns of pallets in a side-by-side arrangement. The array comprises five or six rows of wheeled pallets 50. As such the current embodiment is intended to transport ten or twelve wheeled pallets when full. The gates are closed and the wheeled pallets 50 are then closely constrained within the pen structure with any trays/goods thereon. The wheeled pallets 50 may be able to jostle slightly within the pen structure but the array is closely held in place.

In different examples of the invention, different sizes of pen structure 22 could be used to handle different numbers of wheeled pallets in a rectangular array. One, two, three columns or more of pallets could be comprised in the array to be constrained and moved by the apparatus.

Once the operator has closed the gates using the control panel, the operator can actuate the driven wheel 14 to manoeuvre the fully laded pen structure 22 around a site to its intended location.

In some examples of use, the gates may be opened and the pen structure 22 may be driven by an operator around an array of free-standing array of laden wheeled pallets. This may serve to speed up loading. Similarly, if the fully loaded pen structure is at its desired location, the operator may open the gates and simply reverse the pen structure 22 away to leave an entire array of wheeled pallets at the desired location.

The apparatus described above can greatly speed up movement of goods/articles on wheeled pallets around a facility. The apparatus is particularly useful when loading/unloading goods vehicles, e.g. on a loading bay. In a trial of the apparatus, a conventional six-man task to load a heavy goods vehicle that would usually take around forty minutes was reduced to a twenty-minute task for two people using the invention.

In other examples of the invention, the drive unit could be increased in size/power and/or could comprise a plurality of driven wheels. The drive unit could comprise two, three or four wheels, for example and could comprise a seat for an operator, e.g. in a manner akin to a cab for the drive unit.

Claims

Claims: 1. Apparatus for moving articles on a plurality of wheeled pallets, the apparatus comprising: a drive unit having a driven wheel arranged to engage the ground; a pen structure depending from the drive unit, the pen structure comprising frame members arranged to define a peripheral wall for constraining a plurality of wheeled pallets within the pen structure, wherein the pen structure comprises one or more further wheel allowing the pen structure with the wheeled pallets therein to be driven by the drive unit in use, and wherein a side of the pen structure comprises one or more gate for entry and exit of wheeled pallets from the pen structure.
2. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of further wheels are provided on opposing sides of the pen structure, each said further wheels being passive wheels.
3. Apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein each further wheel depends directly beneath and in line with a frame member, said frame member comprising a discontinuity to accommodate the further wheel.
4. Apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the frame member comprises a guard member on either or both sides of the further wheel, the guard member spanning the discontinuity in the frame member and supporting an axle for the further wheel.
5. Apparatus according to any preceding claim, wherein the pen structure is devoid of a floor or ceiling, such that the pen structure can laterally surround wheeled pallets therein in use but the pen structure is open on its top and bottom 30 sides.
6. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the opening and/or closing of the one or more gate is driven by a gate actuator powered and/or controlled by the drive unit.
7. Apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the gate actuator comprises a linear drive, such as a ram.
8. Apparatus according to claim 6 or 7, comprising a plurality of gate actuators and a plurality of gates, said gates being driven independently or in unison by the gate actuators.
9. Apparatus according to claim 6, 7 or 8, comprising a drive member or mechanism located in a force path between the gate actuator and the one or more gate, the drive member/mechanism arranged to convert movement output by the gate actuator into a rotational movement of the gate.
10. Apparatus according to any one of claims 6-9, wherein the gate actuator is mounted in line with a frame member.
11. Apparatus according to any preceding claim, wherein the one or more gate have a limited range of movement of substantially 90° between positions that are parallel with and perpendicular to one or more frame member of the pen structure.
12. Apparatus according to claim 11, comprising or more stop member or 25 mechanism may be provided to limit the range of movement of the one or more gate.
13. Apparatus according to any preceding claim, wherein a pair of opposing gates are provided on either side of the pen structure in a saloon door arrangement and wherein the gates open to defining an opening that is the full width of the pen structure.
14. Apparatus according to any preceding claim, wherein the pen structure is rectangular in plan, having a pair of intermediate frame members extending in a parallel direction away from the drive unit and the one or more gate is mounted at a distal end of said intermediate frame member.
15. Apparatus according to any preceding claim wherein the drive unit is located centrally along one side/end of the pen structure.
16. Apparatus according to any preceding claim, wherein the drive unit comprises a swivel mechanism for the driven wheel and user controls for the swivel mechanism.
17. Apparatus according to any preceding claim, wherein the drive unit comprises user controls for both controlling the forward and reverse rotation of the driven wheel and also for controlling opening/closing the one or more gate.
18. Apparatus according to any preceding claim, wherein the frame members comprise a plurality of vertically spaced beams defining a height of greater than or equal to 30cm.
19. Apparatus according to any preceding claim, comprising a pivoting handle depending from the drive unit by which an operator can manoeuvre the apparatus with wheeled pallets therein.
20. A goods moving system comprising the apparatus of any preceding claim and a plurality of wheeled pallets constrained within the pen structure.
21. A goods moving system according to claim 20, comprising goods stacked on the pallets, for example in trays.
22. A goods moving system according to claim 20 or 21, wherein six, eight, ten or more wheeled pallets are provided in the pen structure.
23. Apparatus or a goods moving system according to any preceding claim, wherein the pen structure is arranged to receive a predetermined, two-dimensional array of wheeled pallets arranged in a close a side-by-side arrangement of rows and columns.S
24. Apparatus or a goods moving system according to claim 23, wherein the width and/or length of the pen structure closely matches the width and/or length of the predetermined array with a small tolerance.
25. Apparatus or a goods moving system according to any preceding claim, the apparatus comprising visual and/or audio alert means.