Patent Application
20190308770
The present invention relates to a cargo handling pallet that serves as a platform on which cargo is placed during cargo handling work such as cargo loading, unloading, and conveying.
This type of cargo handling pallet is premised on that the cargo handling pallet is scooped up, raised, lowered, or conveyed together with cargo using a fork (claw) of a forklift truck inserted into the cargo handling pallet, and thereafter the fork is removed from the cargo handling pallet. Therefore, how the fork can be smoothly inserted and removed is an important factor of the cargo handling pallet.
Conventionally, a rectangular thick plate-like cargo handling pallet called a conventional pallet (“flat pallet” in Japan) is the most prevalent type of cargo handling pallet. This pallet includes a placement surface on which cargo is placed and a ground contact surface that is in contact with a pallet supporting surface such as the ground, and a fork pocket (fork insertion space) is formed between the placement surface and the ground contact surface so that a fork can be inserted and removed with a margin (for example, refer to FIG. 1 of Patent Literature 1 below).
The conventional pallet is advantageous in that the fork can be smoothly inserted and removed owing to the presence of the fork pocket. However, in order to form the fork pocket of a sufficient size while ensuring the strength, the pallet needs to have a thickness of 120 to 200 mm, which is several times the thickness of the fork (typical fork has a thickness of about 45 mm). Therefore, the conventional pallet has a large volume due to the thickness of the pallet, and erodes the capacity of a container or warehouse, leading to a decrease in cargo loading efficiency.
In this regard, as disclosed in Patent Literature 1 below, a cargo handling pallet formed as thin as possible without a fork pocket has been developed. The cargo handling pallet of Patent Literature 1 is made of plywood having a thickness of 2.5 to 5.5 mm, has a placement surface on the front side and a ground contact surface on the back side, and is configured to include an inclined piece rising and extending obliquely from at least one of four edges of the placement surface.
Patent Literature 1: JP 60-13333 Y
Since the cargo handling pallet of Patent Literature 1 has a small thickness, the pallet itself can have a reduced volume. However, the inclined piece extending from the placement surface causes the following problem: An unnecessary space is generated on the inclined piece where cargo cannot be placed. For this reason, the loading efficiency has not been greatly improved yet.
In addition, according to the cargo handling pallet of Patent Literature 1, the fork needs to be inserted between the ground contact surface and the pallet supporting surface such as a floor and the ground while the inclined piece is grasped and drawn by a push-pull device (paragraph 2 of page 8 and FIG. 8). This causes the following problem: The complicated work of simultaneously operating the push-pull device and the fork results in extremely poor work efficiency, as compared with the work that is carried out only with the fork.
In a case where the cargo handling pallet of Patent Literature 1 exists on the floor or on the ground, that is, on the pallet supporting surface extending in front of the inclined piece, if the fork, typified by a fork incorporating a roller conveyor (roller fork), whose upper surface of a distal end is inclined downward to a tip, is accurately operated, the fork can be inserted between the ground contact surface and the pallet supporting surface without using the push-pull device.
However, in a case where a plurality of cargoes is stacked using the cargo handling pallet of Patent Literature 1, and the pallet on the second or higher stage is to be handled, the ground contact surface of the pallet and the pallet supporting surface (top surface of the lower cargo) have substantially the same area, and coincide and overlap with each other. Therefore, the pallet supporting surface cannot be visually checked, making it difficult to determine to what extent the distal end of the fork is to be moved. Accordingly, it is obviously difficult to insert the fork between the ground contact surface of the pallet on the second or higher stage and the pallet supporting surface, and the lower cargo is liable to be damaged.
As described above, although the volume of the cargo handling pallet of Patent Literature 1 is small owing to the small thickness of the pallet, a significant improvement in the loading efficiency cannot be expected due to the presence of the unnecessary space where cargo cannot be placed. In addition, the cargo handling work must be carried out, in principle, through the simultaneous operation for the push-pull device and the fork, resulting in poor work efficiency. Even with the use of a special fork such as the roller fork whose upper surface of the distal end is inclined downward, it is difficult to handle the cargo on the second or higher stage among the plurality of stacked cargoes.
The present invention drastically solves the problems related to the conventional cargo handling pallet, and provides an unparalleled cargo handling pallet which improves both the loading efficiency and the work efficiency.
In summary, the cargo handling pallet according to the present invention is based on the premise that it is used for cargo handling work that is carried out with a forklift truck equipped with a fork having an upper surface of a distal end inclined downward to a tip, and the cargo handling pallet has the following configuration.
Specifically, the cargo handling pallet includes: a placement surface having a rectangular plate shape on which cargo is placed; and a ground contact surface parallel with the placement surface and in contact with a pallet supporting surface. At least one of four edges of the placement surface is formed as an eaves edge over the entire length or a part of the length. A recess is defined below the eaves edge such that the pallet supporting surface is exposed by the recess, and that the distal end of the fork is inserted into the recess, whereas a fork insertion space is not provided inside the cargo handling pallet. The eaves edge has, on a lower surface of the eaves edge, a sliding contact portion that is brought into sliding contact with the upper surface of the distal end of the fork, and the eaves edge is raised due to the sliding contact between the sliding contact portion and the upper surface of the distal end of the fork, such that a fork insertion gap appears between the ground contact surface and the pallet supporting surface that has been in contact with the ground contact surface.
Preferably, the lower surface of the eaves edge is configured to be inclined downward to the inside of the pallet, whereby the lower surface can be smoothly brought into sliding contact with the upper surface of the distal end of the fork, and the proximal end (inner end) side of the eaves edge can be reinforced.
More preferably, the lower surface of the eaves edge is configured to include an inclined convex surface, a plurality of inclined steps, or an inclined bent surface, whereby the sliding contact portion is provided so as to be reliably brought into sliding contact with the upper surface of the distal end of the fork. The lower surface of the eaves edge is configured to include an inclined plane, whereby the visibility of the pallet supporting surface through the recess is improved using a simple structure.
A lower end of the inclined lower surface of the eaves edge is configured to be connected to the ground contact surface, whereby the recess is formed so that the strength of the eaves edge is increased.
Alternatively, the lower end of the inclined lower surface of the eaves edge is set higher than the ground contact surface, such that a raised wall connecting the lower end of the lower surface of the eaves edge and the ground contact surface is formed, whereby the depth of the recess can be made as long as possible.
Alternatively, the lower end of the inclined lower surface of the eaves edge is set higher than the ground contact surface, such that a groove is formed in the ground contact surface so as to continue from the lower end of the lower surface of the eaves edge and extend the depth of the recess, whereby the depth of the recess is further extended by the groove, and the inserted fork is prevented from being displaced in the lateral direction.
Preferably, a plurality of penetrating or bottomed lightening portions is provided in the placement surface and the ground contact surface, whereby the weight is reduced. This configuration also enables nesting during nonuse.
According to the cargo handling pallet of the present invention, a space into/from which the entire fork can be inserted/removed such as a conventional fork pocket does not need to be provided inside the pallet, and only the recess into which the distal end of the fork is inserted needs to be formed below the edge of the placement surface. Therefore, the thickness of the pallet can be made as small as possible.
In addition, the placement surface can be effectively utilized since an unnecessary space where cargo cannot be placed is not generated around the placement surface.
Moreover, the eaves edge of the placement surface and the recess defined below the eaves edge cooperate with each other, so that the fork can be smoothly inserted between the ground contact surface and the pallet supporting surface. Therefore, the cargo handling work can be carried out only with the fork.
Furthermore, the cargo handling work can be carried out while the pallet supporting surface is visually checked through the recess. Therefore, the cargo handling work can be efficiently carried out, in particular, on the cargo on the second or higher stage among the plurality of stacked cargoes.
Thus, according to the cargo handling pallet of the present invention, an improvement in the efficiency of loading cargo into a container or warehouse and an improvement in the work efficiency of the cargo handling work can be achieved in a highly successful manner.
Hereinafter, optimal examples of a cargo handling pallet according to the present invention will be described with reference to
As illustrated in
Specifically a corner angle between a side surface 5 and the ground contact surface 2 is removed, whereby the recess 4 is defined below the eaves edge 3′. The recess 4 is therefore a space open in the lateral and downward directions. The pallet supporting surface is exposed by the recess 4, and a distal end 12 of a fork 11 to be described later is inserted into the recess 4.
The edge 3 of the placement surface 1 which is not formed as the eaves edge 3′ is coupled to the ground contact surface 2 via the side surface 5.
The cargo handling pallet according to the present invention can be formed of a material that is used for a known cargo handling pallet, such as wood, metal, synthetic resin, and paper. Since only the recess 4 into which the distal end of the fork is inserted needs to be formed below the edge 3′ of the placement surface 1, the thickness of the pallet can be made as small as possible. For example, the pallet can have a thickness of about 5 to 70 mm, depending on the material. Preferably, the thickness of the pallet is 30 mm in terms of the relation with the strength.
According to the cargo handling pallet of the present invention, the placement surface 1 can be effectively utilized since an unnecessary space where cargo cannot be placed is not generated around the placement surface 1.
Therefore, the efficiency of loading cargo into a container or warehouse can be greatly improved.
The following descriptions of the respective examples are based on the assumption that all the four edges 3 of the placement surface 1 are formed as the eaves edges 3′ over the entire length or a part of the length. As described above, however, the present invention encompasses all the configurations in which the eaves edge 3′ is formed over the entire length or a part of the length of at least one of the edges 3 of the placement surface 1, and the recess 4 is defined below the eaves edge 3′.
Hereinafter, a premise configuration of the cargo handling pallet according to the present invention will be described. The cargo handling pallet according to the present invention is based on the premise that it is used for the cargo handling work that is carried out with a forklift truck equipped with the fork 11 as illustrated in
The fork 11 having the above-described structure is preferably exemplified by the roller fork 11 incorporating a roller conveyor 13 as illustrated in
For example, referring to
In contrast, when the fork 11 is moved in the right direction (fork 11 is moved backward), with the lower rollers 13B in contact with the pallet supporting surface G, the lower rollers 13B accordingly rotate to the right, and the upper rollers 13A accordingly rotate to the left. Consequently, the fork 11 can be smoothly moved backward on the pallet supporting surface G owing to the rotation of the lower rollers 13B, and the pallet, cargo, or the like can be guided off the fork 11 to the pallet supporting surface G owing to the rotation of the upper rollers 13A.
Hereinafter, configurations of the eaves edge 3′ of the placement surface 1 and the recess 4 defined below the eaves edge 3′ will be described in detail.
As illustrated in
Since the lower surface 3′a of the eaves edge is configured to be inclined as described above, the lower surface 3′a can be smoothly brought into sliding contact with the upper surface 12a of the distal end of the fork, and the proximal end (inner end) side of the eaves edge 3′ can be reinforced. Since the lower end 3′b of the lower surface 3′a of the eaves edge is connected to the ground contact surface 2, the strength of the eaves edge 3′ is increased.
In a case where the lower surface 3′a of the eaves edge is configured as the inclined plane as described above, the lower surface 3′a of the eaves edge and the upper surface 12a of the distal end of the fork are planes inclined in the same direction. Therefore, in order for the sliding contact portion 3′c to be formed on the lower surface 3′a of the eaves edge so as to be reliably brought into sliding contact with the upper surface 12a of the distal end of the fork, the inclination angle α of the upper surface 12a of the distal end of the fork and the inclination angle β of the lower surface 3′a of the eaves edge are set to satisfy the relation α>β.
The recess 4 is a recessed space whose ceiling surface is the lower surface 3′a of the eaves edge, and defined below the eaves edge 3′. The depth L1 of the recess 4 is set longer than the fork insertion length L2 for a case where the upper surface 12a of the distal end of the fork is first brought into contact with the sliding contact portion 3′c of the lower surface 3′a of the eaves edge. Specifically, the depth L1 is set so that L1>L2 is satisfied. In other words, the fork insertion length L2 is determined by the height of the lowermost end of the sliding contact portion 3′c, and the depth L1 of the recess 4 is set longer than L2.
Consequently, the cargo handling pallet according to the present invention is configured so that the eaves edge 3′ and the recess 4 having the above configurations cooperate with each other. Thus, as described below, the distal end 12 of the fork 11 is easily inserted between the ground contact surface 2 and the pallet supporting surface G, and the entire fork 11 is inserted in the end.
More specifically, as illustrated in
Since the lower surface 3′a of the eaves edge 3′ is inclined to the inside of the pallet, the distal end 12 of the fork 11 can be smoothly inserted into the recess 4 that exists below the lower surface 3′a. Since the depth L1 of the recess 4 is longer than the fork insertion length L2, the tip 12b of the fork does not collide with the pallet unnecessarily.
Next, when the fork 11 is further moved forward as illustrated in
If the fork 11 is configured as the above-described roller fork, once the fork 11 is moved forward until the ground contact surface 2 is brought into contact with the upper roller 13A, the entire pallet can be smoothly guided onto the fork 11 owing to the rotation of the upper rollers 13A.
When the fork 11 is removed from between the ground contact surface 2 and the pallet supporting surface G, obviously, the eaves edge 3′ follows the reverse steps of the insertion. If the fork 11 is configured as the roller fork, the pallet can be effectively guided off the fork 11 to the pallet supporting surface G owing to the rotation of the upper rollers 13A that occurs when the fork 11 is moved backward, whereby the fork 11 can be easily removed.
Therefore, owing to the cooperation between the eaves edge 3′ and the recess 4, the cargo handling work can be carried out only with the fork 11 without using a cumbersome device such as a push-pull device, and the work efficiency is greatly improved.
The lower surface 3′ a of the eaves edge 3′ according to the above-described example includes the plane inclined downward to the inside of the pallet as described with reference to
For example, as illustrated in
Alternatively, as illustrated in
Alternatively, as illustrated in
Alternatively, as illustrated in
Specifically, in the present example, the eaves edge 3′ is formed over the length of a part of the edge 3 of the placement surface 1 other than both ends thereof as illustrated in the drawings. Therefore, both ends of the edges 3 are configured to be coupled to the ground contact surface 2 via the side surfaces 5, whereby the cargo handling pallet can be stably arranged on the pallet supporting surface since the four corners of the ground contact surface 2 are not removed.
The shapes of the eaves edge 3′ and the recess 4 and the mechanism related to the insertion and removal of the fork 11 according to the present example are similar to those of Example 1 mentioned above, and the descriptions of “Configurations of Eaves Edge and Recess” and “Another Examples of Eaves Edge and Recess” in Example 1 are cited.
Specifically, in the present example, the eaves edge 3′ is formed over the length of each of multiple parts of the edge 3 of the placement surface 1 other than the center thereof as illustrated in the drawings. In other words, the two eaves edges 3′ are formed at an interval.
Therefore, in the present example, the centers of the edges 3 are configured to be coupled to the ground contact surface 2 via the side surfaces 5, whereby the cargo handling pallet can be stably arranged on the pallet supporting surface since the centers of the edges of the ground contact surface 2 are not removed.
As mentioned above, the shapes of the eaves edge 3′ and the recess 4 and the mechanism related to the insertion and removal of the fork 11 according to the present example are similar to those of Example 1 mentioned above, and the descriptions of “Configurations of Eaves Edge and Recess” and “Another Examples of Eaves Edge and Recess” in Example 1 are cited.
The present example is different from Example 3 in that the eaves edge 3′ is formed over the length of each of multiple parts of the edge 3 of the placement surface 1 other than both ends and the center thereof.
Therefore, in the present example, both ends and the centers of the edges 3 are configured to be coupled to the ground contact surface 2 via the side surfaces 5, whereby the cargo handling pallet can be stably arranged on the pallet supporting surface since the four corners and the centers of the edges of the ground contact surface 2 are not removed.
As mentioned above, the descriptions of “Configurations of Eaves Edge and Recess” and “Another Examples of Eaves Edge and Recess” in Example 1 are cited with regard to the shapes of the eaves edge 3′ and the recess 4 and the mechanism related to the insertion and removal of the fork 11 according to the present example. In addition, the eaves edge 3′ and the recess 4 according to the present example can further have the following configurations.
Specifically, as illustrated in
The configuration characteristic of the present example is a plurality of penetrating lightening portions 8 provided in the placement surface 1 and the ground contact surface 2. Owing to this configuration, the weight of the whole cargo handling pallet can be reduced. In the description of the example illustrated in the drawings, the lightening portion 8 is formed as a rectangular hole. In the present invention, however, the shape of the lightening portion 8 is not particularly limited.
The cargo handling pallet having the plurality of penetrating lightening portions 8 as in the present example is manufactured from a synthetic resin material using a known injection molding technique.
The configuration characteristic of the present example is a plurality of bottomed lightening portions 9 provided in the placement surface 1 and the ground contact surface 2. Consequently, the weight of the whole cargo handling pallet can be reduced, and nesting during nonuse is enabled.
Details of the lightening portions 9 are as follows. In the placement surface 1, as illustrated in
In the region of the lower surface 3′a of the eaves edge, a plurality of eaves edge lightening portions 9d depressed in rectangular cone shapes having vertexes adjacent to the placement surface 1 is formed at equal intervals. Therefore, the lower surface 3′a of the eaves edge is a discontinuous surface, and the frictional force due to the sliding contact with the upper surface 12a of the distal end of the fork can be reduced. In an upper surface of the eaves edge 3′, a plurality of eaves edge lightening portions 9b depressed in shapes conforming to the shaped on the lower surface 3′a of the eaves edge is formed.
In the present invention, the shapes of the bottomed lightening portions 9 are obviously not limited to the illustrated examples. The shapes of the lightening portions 9 are not particularly limited as long as both the weight reduction and the nesting can be achieved.
The cargo handling pallet having the plurality of bottomed lightening portions 9 as in the present example is manufactured from a synthetic resin material using a known vacuum/pressure molding technique.
As described above, according to the cargo handling pallet of the present invention, an improvement in the efficiency of loading cargo into a container or warehouse and an improvement in the work efficiency of the cargo handling work can be achieved in a highly successful manner.
In the present invention, the placement surface 1, the ground contact surface 2, and the lower surface 3′a of the eaves edge can be discontinuous surfaces including recesses such as holes and grooves as long as the respective functions can be secured.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016-145721 | Jul 2016 | JP | national |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/JP2017/020248 | 5/31/2017 | WO | 00 |
