Patent Application
20070253791
For a better understanding of the present invention, reference will now be made, by way of example, to the accompanying drawings, in which:
Referring firstly to
The first stage in the formation of the load 2 involves placing two elongate template members 4a,4b on a flat surface. The template members 4a,4b have a square cross section and are formed rigid, resilient material. The template members 4a,4b may conveniently be formed from wood, plastic or metal and they are longer than the intended width of the load 2. This ensures that the load 2 can be built on top of the template members 4a,4b and they can then be easily removed.
The template members 4a,4b are arranged parallel to each other and are spaced apart by a distance which corresponds to the spacing of the forks on the fork lift truck which will be used to move the load 2 and they are larger in size than the forks. It is appreciated that fork lift forks are generally adjustable, but each load 2 will have an optimum fork spacing, depending on various factors such as the size and weight of the load 2. The template members 4a,4b define channels which will receive the forks of a fork lift truck in order to facilitate movement of the load 2. When the load 2 is completed and the template members 4a,4b are removed two channels will remain. These channels may be accessed from the front or the rear of the load, thus mimicking the standard “two way” pallet.
As an alternative, a more complex arrangement of template members may be provided to offer improved operational flexibility. The template is arranged such that four channels are defined in the load, thus permitting access to the forks of a fork lift truck from all four sides of the load, in the manner of a “four way” pallet. In one embodiment the template is a multi-piece construction which comprises two pairs of channel defining members. The channel defining members of each pair are parallel to each other and the two pairs are perpendicular to one another. One pair of channel defining members is provided with gaps to enable the other pair of channel defining members to slide through. The gaps are defined by bridge portions. Alternatively the four channels may be created using four standard template members, in which a first layer of a load is built up around a first pair of template members and a second pair of template members are placed on top perpendicular to the first pair.
Referring again to the embodiment of
The base member 6 is made of a resilient material as it is partly responsible for the overall strength of the load. Typically, the base member may be formed from a resilient plastics material, for example, selected from one or more of the following: polyolefins, polyamides, polystyrenes and/or polyesters. The plastics materials may suitably be constructed in a multi-ply manner as is well known in the art. These materials are particularly preferred as they are strong, lightweight and easily recyclable. The plastics material may contain one or more additives depending on the nature of the goods in the load, for example, the load contacting surface of the base member may be provided with a tacky surface permitting the base member to adhere to the load during use.
The base member 6 may be in the form of a sheet of material. In order to reduce the overall weight of the base member 6 the sheet may be provided with a plurality of perforations. The perforations may be formed during manufacture of the base member 6 and should be arranged such that the integrity and strength of the base member 6 is maintained. It is appreciated that the strength of the base member 6 may be reduced by the creation of perforations and it is important that a balance is struck between reducing weight and maintaining strength.
As an alternative to perforations the sheet may be provided with a plurality of openings which may be die cut during manufacture of the sheet. The openings may be arranged in a regular array or they may be randomly spaced across the sheet. In the embodiment described above in which the template member is arranged to define four channels, the openings on the sheet must be arranged to accommodate the forks of a fork lift truck.
A further two embodiments of the base member 6 are envisaged within the scope of the invention. Firstly, the base member 6 may be in the form of a net. Secondly, the base member 6 may be in the form of a plurality of strap members. The strap members may be attached to each other to prevent separation, or they may be completely separate entities. Although the method of forming the load is described with relation to a base member 6 in the form of a sheet it is equally applicable to these alternative forms of base member 6.
Once the base member 6 is in place a base layer 2a of the load 2 is formed. The load 2 may comprise a plurality of individual items, which may be the same or different shapes. The present system enables the formation of a variety of loads 2 of differing sizes as there is no requirement on building the load 2 to fit a pallet. The size of the load 2 will be determined by other factors, such as the weight of the goods and the space available in the container or other transportation means. The only restriction on the size of the load 2 from the point of view of the present invention is that a side flap 8 of the base member 6 must extend beyond each side of the load 2. The base layer 2a of the load is built around and to the same height as the template members 4a,4b.
The next stage is to build a further portion 2b of the load 2 on top of the base layer 2a, as shown in
Turning now to
A perspective view of the load 2 of
As mentioned, a variety of different configurations are possible at this stage. In the embodiment illustrated in
As a further alternative, the side flaps 8a,8b may be provided such that when they are folded around the partial load 2b they extend across its full width. In this case it is envisaged that a further portion 2e of the load 2 could be built on top of each of the side flaps 8a,8b and then the side flaps 8a,8b folded back around this further portion 2e. Two possible versions of this configuration are illustrated in
It will be appreciated that a wide variety of possible folding configurations are possible within the scope of the present invention. The illustrated embodiments are provided by way of example only and the only limitations on the present invention are provided in the claims.
Once the side flaps 8a,8b have been folded around the partial load 2b the remaining portion 2c of the load is built on top of the folded side flaps 8a,8b in the traditional manner, as shown in
Although several embodiments of the invention are described in detail above, one having ordinary skill in the art will recognize that various modifications and equivalent substitutions are also within the scope of the invention, as defined in the following claims and their equivalents.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0608432.1 | Apr 2006 | GB | national |
