WO2005019049A1

WO2005019049A1 - Material handling platform

Info

Publication number: WO2005019049A1
Application number: PCT/AU2004/001103
Authority: WO
Inventors: Andrew James Wytkin; Bruce F. Brockman
Original assignee: Fiboplast Ind. Pty Ltd
Priority date: 2003-08-20
Filing date: 2004-08-19
Publication date: 2005-03-03

Abstract

In accordance with one aspect of the present invention there is provided a material handling apparatus for storage and transport of goods characterised in that it includes a plurality of longitudinal elements (11, 12), interlocked with a plurality of longitudinal elements (13), with means for access (14) for lifting mechanisms to lift the device so as to support a load. In accordance with a second aspect of the present invention there is provided a material handling apparatus for storage and transport of goods characterised in that it includes a thermoplastic material reinforced with prestressed orientated fibres so as to increase the load capacity of the longitudinal (11, 12) and latitudinal elements (13) and the impact strength of the elements.

Description

MATERIAL HANDLING PLATFORM BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to material handling platform "pallet" for Ihe transit and storage of goods and used in conjunction with forldift devices.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Pallets for the transporting of goods are manufectured from timber, plastics, and metals. However die timber pallets are heavy and the higher performance timber pallets are rnanυfactured from hard woods, which are becoming more difficult to source for the production of pallets. Fasteners that hold the pallets together can creep out and damage goods being carried on the pallet, mcurring loses to the goods being transported on the pallet In addition the timber pallets are difficult to keep clean in respect of the various health codes and practices required where the pallets are used in food contact applications. However timber pallets can be repaired and are not easily recycle. Timber pallets can be manufectured to different sizes with ease when compared to plastic moulded pallets where the cost of Ihe mould tooling is high. Further, moulding plastic pallets at sites close to the end use is not economical and the manufacture typically is centralized, whereas the assembly and manufacture of timber pallets can be completed close to end use where by reducing the transport costs of empty timber pallets.

Plastic materials do not perform by themselves in the application of pallets and require additional reinforcement to meet loading requirements of pallets in service. Thermoplastic materials do not perform over the wide range of temperatures that the pallets experience in service from sub-zero to high summer temperatures. While timber materials are cost efficient they are heavy 0-60kg per pallet, this means that two people need to lift the pallet as per occupational and health safety of operators has a max of 20kg and in some area's 201b max weight for the lifting, this adds considerable cost in handling goods and services transported on pallets.

Pallets manufactured out of metals are typically heavy and costly to manufacture, and do not perform well in the variations of environments that pallets are typically subjected, they also do not have impact resistance and have permanent deformation at impact points rendering them unserviceable.

In addressing the disadvantages of conventional pallets, Plastic pallets have had reinforcement included , Timber pallets are repaired and maintained more frequently and high performance polymers have been utilized for the manufacture of pallets. Steel reinforcement has been added to moulded plastic pallets as too has short staple fibrous reinforcement materials. However one type of reinforcement for thermoplastic is the incorporation of continuous glass fibres this give the thermoplastic matrix a combined strength of the properties of the glass and the Ihermoplastic, the glass reinforcement adds stiffness and impact strength where the thermoplastic gives cleanness and resilience to the material^". These materials are difficult to mould into complex shapes such as a pallet.

Further, Pallets require that they have access on both sides for forklifting and material handling devices, in addition they must meet rrώiimum flexural performance in bom horizontal direction.

The present invention seeks to provide material handling platform that alleviates at least some of the problems of the prior art.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is three-dimensional projection of on embodiment of a pallet in accordance with the present invention;

Figure 2 is a cross sectional view of the latitudinal element of the embodiment shown in

Figure 3 is a cross sectional view of a second embodiment of a latitudinal element in accordance with the present invention;

Figure 4 is a three dimensional view of a second embodiment of the longitudinal element comer.

Figure 5 is a three dimensional view of a third embodiment of the longitudinal element

DETAILED DESCREPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Shown in Figure 1 where the longitudinal element 11 and 12 are equal cross sectional shapes but could be dissimilar. The longitudinal element 12 is tessellated back-to-back, 180 degrees so that the latitudinal element dots that are equally spaced will align for the latitudinal element insertion. The outside longitudinal elements 11 are tessellated 180 degrees also with the latitudinal element 13, slots 10 aligned and equally spaced. The

Longitudinal elements have side entry fork access 14. The latitudinal elements 13 are pushed through the longitudinal element slot 10, figure 1 and 5, so that they are a tight interference fit. The longitudinal elements are febricated from a flat sheet of fibre- reinforced thermoplastic where the fibre is orientated to carry the required load and is tensioned during the process of manufacturing the sheet for the longitudinal element or the latitudinal element This allows the platform to carry a load in a dynamic application and there be minimal creep in Ihe Ihermoplastic base material. The latitudinal elements extend past the outside longitudinal elements 11 and are heated to the melt point and formed into a head and bonds to the longitudinal element 11. This locks the components together so mat the pallet is a complete fimctional unit The configuration allows a number of latitudinal elements to be increased or decreased as required by the strength of the pallet in application, the thickness of the material can also be increased or decreased to adjust the performance of the configuration of the pallet both in weight and strength. Access for fork tines is from both directions through 14 and 15. Access 15 is free space that can be used with fork trolleys that need free access to the floor. Access 14 is for fork tines only. In operation if any of the components are damaged cutting the latitudinal element 13 disassembles the pallet then removing the latitudinal elements, the damaged component can replace and the pallet re-assembled.

In the second embodiment figure 4 the end of the longitudinal element is formed by heating the thermoplastic and forcing it into a shape to increase the flat surface area of the edge end so as to improve the impact strength of the embodiment at this location a area of the pallet that is subject to frequent impacts from fork tines.

In the third embodiment the latitudinal elements are shaped into a beam type element figure 3 which stops the longitudinal elements from sliding on the latitudinal element vertically figure 2.

Further the shape of the elements allow the pallet to be assembled at multiple sites without high investments in tooling and the design is readily changed to suite particular applications, by tessellating the elements for different designs.

A yet further advantage of the present invention is that the use of the continuous fibre that is orientated and pre-tensioned allows the weight of the structure to be reduced below 10kg, compared to timber pallets carrying the same load weighing 30-40kg, this advantage reduces the material needed for the invention, and increases the functionality of the invention in the field of operation.

Further the thermoplastic base material with the glass fibre reinforcement can be recycled to produce pallets or other products.

Modification and variations such as would be deemed apparent to a skill addressee are deemed within the scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A material handling apparatus for transporting goods characterised in that it includes a plurality of longitudfaal elements, interlocked with a plurality of latitudinal elements.

2. A material handling apparatus according to Claim 1, characterised in that the longitudinal elements are arranged for latitudinal element insertion interlaced through the longitudinal elements.

3. A material handling apparatus according to Claim 1 to 2, characterised in that the elements are thermoplastic material reinforced with fibre.

4. A material handling apparatus according to Claim 3, characterised in that the reinforcement fibre is orientated.

5. A material handling apparatus according to Claim 3, characterised in that the reinforcement fibre is prestressed.

6. A material handling apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the longitudinal elements are coherent via latitudinal elements.

7. A material handling apparatus according to Claim 6, characterised in that the latitudinal element includes at least one end formed with a head to stop the element passing through the longitudinal element

8. A material handling apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the latitudinal element is shaped in latitudinal section to inhibit movement at ninety degree to the length of the element when interlaced with the longitudinal elements.

9. A material handling apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the longitudinal element ends are thicker than the centre of the element to transfer impact forces.

10. A material handling apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that one of the elements is formed from bending reinforced thermoplastic sheet.