WO2023100204A1

WO2023100204A1 - Pallet for supporting and transporting goods

Info

Publication number: WO2023100204A1
Application number: PCT/IT2022/050305
Authority: WO
Inventors: Gianluca SALTARELLI
Original assignee: Solution Italy Societa' A Responsabilita' Limitata
Priority date: 2021-12-01
Filing date: 2022-11-28
Publication date: 2023-06-08
Also published as: IT202100030500A1

Abstract

A pallet (1) for supporting and transporting loose or bundled goods in the form of a load that can be unitarily handled and stacked, comprising a load-bearing structure (2) formed as a single body by a horizontal platform (3) with a four-sided footprint (15) bounding on the top a surface (4) for the loading of goods; and feet (5) for supporting the platform (3) on the ground. The platform (3) and supporting feet (5) are provided with boxed lattice shapes with load-relieving openings defined by adjacent parallelepiped-shaped cells. The load-bearing structure (2) includes equidistant longitudinal trusses (6) each of which unitarily integrates a row of three supporting feet (5), which have at least boundary walls (7) at a right angle to the load-bearing surface (4) of the platform (3).

Description

PALLET FOR SUPPORTING AND TRANSPORTING GOODS

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a pallet for supporting and transporting loose or bundled goods in the form of a load that can be unitarily handled and stacked .

Prior Art Technology

The technology for making pallet s for supporting, stacking and transporting loose or bundled goods in the form of a load that can be unitarily handled ( also just "pallet s" ) has always been conditioned by the need to find the right compromise between two contrasting requirement s ; the first , being able to have a pallet structure with a high load-bearing capacity ( as required by transportation needs and industry standardisation regulations ) ; the second, having a pallet of minimal weight so as to minimise the unladen packaging weight and thus reduce the cost of handling and transporting goods .

With the advent of plastics , which are now the constituent material of choice of such product s , this issue has taken on even greater relevance because , although plastics have the well-known advantage of having a lower specific weight , the mechanical properties of such materials are not as advantageous and are , as is well known, decidedly worse than those of other construction materials traditionally used for these kinds of product s .

To remedy this , the technology in the industry has always sought to find geometries in product s that can combine adequate bearing behaviour and rigidity while also benefiting from the lower specific weight of plastic . Some examples of such plat forms are descrrbed in the prior-art document s mentioned below .

WO 2010 / 1278 68 relates to a pallet with a structure that comprises three longitudinal beams , two of which lateral and identical to each other, while the third, central , beam is dis similar in shape and has a greater width than the first . The spans of those beams , which extend between the supporting feet of the pallet , counteract deflection by relative means including tie-rods contiguous to the areas where the feet rest on the ground, ad strut s integrated into the load-bearing surface and connected to the tops of the supporting feet . The tie-rods have a box-like structure , provided with a concave shell of the same width as the width of the supporting feet of the pallet , with an outer surface integrating a ramp for the entry of forklift forks and an inner surface finned by a series of stif fening septa in a vertically oriented flat strip . The side beams have four vertical septa and the central beam has five . The strut s are formed by regularly spaced vertical septa of the load-bearing plat form, of which the side beams have five and the central beam has nine .

Document CN207 902 958 shows a pallet with three identical beams in which the tie-rods are formed by four vertical septa, of which two outer ones of reduced thicknes s and two inner ones of much greater thicknes s than the outer ones . The strut s are formed by partitions of a thick plat form underlying the load-bearing surface , that is lightened by prismatic through-cavities and is tapered, sloping toward the outer edge of the load-bearing surface .

Document DE 20201710 634 6 discloses a pallet structure with two identical edge beams and an intermediate beam that dif fers in size and structure from those side beams as well as in the shape and size of the supporting feet of the pallet . The spans of the central beam are provided with means of counteracting flexural deformation of the pallet , comprising a dual series of regularly spaced strips , all oriented vertically, three of which serve as tie-rods , while four serve as strut s .

Document JP 6345566 describes and shows a pallet structure with a load-bearing plat form supported by a four-sided frame of beams and four supporting beams arranged cros swise within the frame . The structure is equipped with tie-rods and strut s formed by a series of vertical septa arranged in a manner capable of conforming to a lattice structure .

Document DE 20 2008 007 discloses a pallet structure comprising three beams of identical shape and structure supported by ground supporting feet of dif ferent shapes and sizes between the two side beams and the middle beam . Connecting the feet areas close to the ground, the spans of the beams provide tie-rods created by set s of four flat vertical septa at a right angle to the load-bearing surface . A plat form at a raised height , lightened by diagonal arrays of parallelepiped through-cavities , is interconnected in a single body with the tops of the supporting feet of the pallet .

Document EP 1 652 648 discloses a pallet structure comprising three beams of es sentially identical shape and structure . Connecting the areas of the supporting feet close to the ground, the spans of the beams provide tie-rods created by flat horizontal septa connecting two respectively contiguous feet of the beam and having widths identical to the width of the connected feet . A load-bearing plat form, lightened by parallelepiped through-cavities , is interconnected in a single body with the tops of the supporting feet . Document DE 10043915 discloses a pallet moulding structure with twelve point s for in j ecting the plastic constituting the pallet .

As for the structural bearing capacity required of such items , industry standards require that two fundamental load test s must be pas sed succes s fully . An initial load test for a pallet with standard dimensions of 1000x1200x120 mm is the ability to withstand, without permanent deformation, a static load of 5000 kg evenly distributed acros s the entire load-bearing surface of the pallet . A second test that must be pas sed succes s fully, without permanent de formation, is another load configuration involving a 200 kg load where pallets are placed on racking and made to rest on only two end feet .

Given these load conditions , which represent the minimum allowable performance below which the pallet is unf it for use , the lightest pallet s capable of delivering the performance required by industry standards to date have an own weight of approximately 12 kg .

Background of the Invention

The aim of the present invention is therefore to obtain a pallet of a significantly lower own weight by devising an alternative geometry to achieve the structural loadbearing capacities determined by industry standards .

In accordance with the invention, and following extensive research and development , this result has been achieved by a pallet with the technical feature def ined in the claims attached .

Brief Description of the Drawings

Further technical features and advantages of the invention will be made clearer from the present document with the description of an exemplary, non-restrictive embodiment of the invention, made with the as sistance of the accompanying drawings , wherein :

- Figure 1 is an overall axonometric view of a loadbearing pallet according to the invention ;

- Figures 2 , 3 and 4 are , respectively, a top plan view, a side view and a frontal view of the pallet in Figure 1 ;

- Figures 5 , 6, 7 and 8 are illustrative views of certain detailed features of the pallet in Figure 1 ;

- Figure 9 is an overall axonometric view of the pallet in Figure 1 shown in one of it s typical conditions of use , which is particularly useful to better illustrate certain technical features ;

- Figure 10 is an axonometric view of the pallet in Figure 1 , flipped to better highlight other distinctive technical features ;

- Figure 11 is the view in Figure 10 taken from a dif ferent viewing angle to better highlight certain technical features ;

- Figure 12 is a three-dimensional view of an enlarged detail in Figure 11 ;

- Figures 12 and 13 are a top plan view and an enlarged- scale cros s-section along the A-A plane shown in Figure 12 ;

- Figures 14 and 15 are partial axonometric views of the invention, observed from two dif ferent viewing angles ;

- Figures 1 6 and 17 are , respectively, a top plan view and an enlarged-scale cros s-section along the A-A plane shown in Figure 1 6 ;

- Figure 18 is a further top plan view of the invention showing some additional features of the invention .

Best Way to Implement the Invention

With reference to the figures shown in the drawings attached, Figure 1 shows overall with ( 1 ) a pallet for supporting and transporting loose or bundled goods in the form of a load that can be unitarily handled and stacked, comprising a load-bearing structure (2) formed in a single body by a horizontal platform (3) and by nine ground-supported feet (5) of the platform (3) itself .

The platform (3) is equipped with a four-sided rectangular footprint (15) bounding on the top a surface (4) for loading goods onto the pallet (1) .

In addition, both the platform (3) and the supporting feet (5) are provided with their own boxed lattice shapes and with load-relieving openings (18) defined by a plurality of adjacent, four-sided based parallelepipedshaped cells which cooperate with each other so as to mutually define an overall said structure (2) provided with a load-bearing capacity suitable to make the platform (1) capable of bearing predetermined loads without subsiding and/or permanently deforming.

The structure (2) of the pallet (1) also includes three equidistant longitudinal trusses (6) , each of which unitarily integrates a row of three supporting feet (5) . The longitudinal trusses (6) have vertical walls (7) strictly at a right angle to the load-bearing surface

(4) of the platform (3) .

More specifically, as shown in Figures 2 to 8, each truss (6) has a vertical wall (7) which bounds the entire peripheral envelope of the longitudinal truss (6) so as to circumscribe it entirely, as well as having an additional intermediate vertical wall (7m) , which develops longitudinally to the truss (6) while maintaining a unitary arrangement at the supporting feet

(5) of the truss (6) , before branching off into two parallel sections (7' , 7' ' ) at the intermediate spans (8) of the truss (6) at two contiguous supporting feet (5) . Both the (7) vertical boundary walls and the (7m) intermediate walls of each truss (6) are strictly at right angles to the load-bearing surface (4) of the platform; that is, they have zero draft angle. Indeed, from the experimental research and structural analyses performed, it was found that even a minimal draft angle, even just one degree, implemented at the supporting feet (5) on which the weight of the platform itself (1) and the goods on it are discharged to the ground, is sufficient to cause a significant decrease in the loadbearing capacity of the wall (7, 7m) and therefore of the platform (1) incorporating said walls (7, 7m) .

Because the walls (7.7m) are at right angles, the thickness of the walls can also be significantly reduced to enable a reduced weight of the platform (1) , which is able to assume a reduced thickness of between 2.5 and 4.5 mm, and preferably between 2.5 and 2.8 mm.

Figures 9 and 10 show that, at each truss (6) , the pallet (1) has bridles (9) to counteract the flexing action induced by the loads bearing on the platform (3) . The bridles (9) are preferably in the form of a flat, horizontal strip with their opposite ends (9e) rigidly interconnected with the contiguous supporting feet (5) of the truss (6) . The ends (9e) of the bridles (9) are also reinforced by two brace plates (10) on both sides of the bridle (9) that are at right angles to its horizontal plane.

Each bridle (9) preferably has a reduced thickness of between 2 and 4 mm so as not to hinder the insertion of forklift truck forks for manoeuvring the pallet (1) . Figure 10 shows that the bridle (9) has a width less than the width of the side walls (17) of the supporting feet (15) to which the bridle (9) is connected. The bridles (9) also have load-relieving recesses (11) made in the thickness of the horizontal strip, which allow them to help contain the overall own weight of the pallet ( 1 ) .

Figures 11 and 12 show how at the longitudinal spans (8) interposed between one pair of contiguous supporting feet (5) , the truss (6) includes two struts (12) with their opposite ends (16) rigidly interconnected with the side walls (17) of the supporting feet (5) .

The struts (12) are shaped as flat vertical strips and have a resistant section of variable height which increases as they approach the side wall (17) of the supporting feet (5) to which they are connected.

From observing Figures 12 and 13, it can clearly be seen that the struts (12) are placed flush against the loadbearing surface (4) of the platform (3) ; this allows, together with the bridles (9) , for an effective counteraction to be exerted against the loading actions placed on the pallet (1) .

Bridles (9) and struts (12) , operating in combination with each other at the spans (8) of the longitudinal trusses (6) , therefore play a key role in achieving the performance set by industry standards, especially when the pallet (1) is mounted on a rack in such a way as to rest only on its outer feet (5) , as shown in Figure 9.

Figures 13 to 17, when observed in comparison with each other, make it clear that the pallet (1) includes lattice partitions (13) placed between two adjacent trusses (6) . Each lattice partition (13) has openings (18) and vertical stiffening ribs (19) that interact with each other in combination.

The openings (18) and the ribs (19) both appear to be arranged in a line transversal to the longitudinal trusses (6) , and in that line the partitions (13) interconnect two by two with said longitudinal trusses (6) .

The ribs (19) have a reduced thickness of between 2.5 and 5 mm. Moreover, the ribs (19) are surmounted by thin plates (20) coplanar with the load-bearing surface (4) of the platform (3) which are between 2 and 3.5 mm thick and, preferably, 2 mm thick.

The geometry of the openings (18) and ribs (19) , the geometry of adjacent box cells and the differential sizing of thicknesses mean that the pallet (1) has a resistant section defined by a series of "C" profiles linked to each other (highlighted in Figure 17) that gives it a high structural bearing capacity despite the platform's inherent low height (3) .

The pallet (1) is made of plastic by injection moulding. Figure 18 clearly shows how moulding is performed by injecting material into a mould (not shown in the drawings) through sixteen plastic insertion areas (14) regularly distributed across the load-bearing surface (4) . This number of injection areas (14) allows for a perfectly flat and even load-bearing surface (4) .

The invention described above fully achieves the results sought by also providing additional important advantages .

One such significant advantage is that even with the intention of containing the own weight of the pallet (1) , the area of the load-bearing surface for the goods is not overly minimised. In fact, the platform having a box-cell arrangement and four-sided base according to the invention means that goods can be stationed with a sufficient and constant supporting base where the maximum width of the lattice openings is never more than 60 mm; which for a standard 1000x1200x120 pallet translates into a ratio of 1/4 between the load-bearing surface (4) and the footprint of the platform (3) .

Last, but not least, the invention offers the advantage that due to the special structural design of the pallet (1) , this can achieve a high load-bearing capacity, with a weight of only 8 kg of plastic material, including using 100% recycled material, without any need to supplement it with virgin materials. This means that the need for the recovery and recycling of plastics can be met in the interests of achieving an optimal result in terms of environmental sustainability and a circular economy .

Claims

1. Pallet for supporting and transporting loose or bundled goods in the form of a load that can be unitarily handled and stacked, comprising a load-bearing structure (2) formed in a single body by a horizontal platform (3) with a four-sided footprint (15) bounding on the top a surface (4) for the loading of goods; and feet (5) for supporting the platform (3) on the ground; wherein said platform (3) and said supporting feet (5) are provided with boxed lattice shapes with load-relieving openings defined by adjacent parallelepiped-shaped cells; wherein said load-bearing structure (2) includes equidistant longitudinal trusses (6) each of which unitarily integrates a row of three of said supporting feet (5) , said longitudinal trusses (6) having at least boundary walls (7) at a right angle to the load-bearing surface (4) of the platform (3) ; said pallet (1) is characterised by comprising a bridle (9) and at least one strut (12) interconnected at its own ends to a pair of contiguous said supporting feet (5) ; and in which said bridle (9) is shaped like a flat thin strip oriented parallel to the load-bearing surface (4) and is of a length shorter than the length of the supporting feet (5) of the pallet (1) •

2. Pallet according to claim 1, characterised in that said bridle (9) has ends (9e) connecting to the supporting feet (5) , reinforced by at least one brace plate (10) .

3. Pallet according to claim 2, characterised in that said at least one bridle (9) is connected to a pair of brace plates (10) on each end of the bridle (9e) at a right angle to the horizontal plane thereof.

4. Pallet according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterised in that said bridle (9) is of a reduced thickness of between 2 and 4 mm.

5. Pallet according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterised in that said bridle (9) has load-relieving recesses (11) made in the thickness of the strip.

6. Pallet according to claim 1, characterised by having intermediate walls (7m) in the truss (6) provided with a unitary configuration at the supporting feet (5) and a configuration branched into two sections ( 7 ’ , 7 ’ ’ ) at spans (8) in the truss (6) defined between two contiguous supporting feet (5) of the truss (6) itself.

7. Pallet according to claim 6, characterised in that said intermediate walls (7m) are at a right angle to the load-bearing surface (4) of said platform (3) at least at the supporting feet (5) .

8. Pallet according to claim 1, characterised in that, at least at the spans (8) between one pair of contiguous supporting feet (5) , there is at least one strut (12) with its opposite ends (16) rigidly interconnected with the side walls (17) of the supporting feet (5) .

9. Pallet according to claim 1, characterised in that said at least one strut (12) has a flat vertical strip shape .

10. Pallet according to any one of the previous claims, characterised by comprising lattice partitions (13) with openings (18) and vertical stiffening ribs (19) arranged in a line transversal to the longitudinal trusses (6) , said partitions (13) interconnecting two by two with said longitudinal trusses (6) .

11. Pallet according to any one of the previous claims, characterised by having load-relieving openings (19) with a maximum size of 60 mm.

12. Pallet according to any one of the previous claims, characterised in that the area of the surface (4) for the loading of goods is in a ratio equal to 1/4 of the footprint area (15) of said platform (3) .

13. Pallet according to any one of the previous claims, characterised in that it is made entirely of recycled plastic .

14. Pallet according to claim 13, characterised by having sixteen areas (14) for the injection of plastic.