Patent Application
20110030588
The present disclosure relates to pallets facilitating the lifting and transportation of items such as flexible intermediate bulk containers, also variously referred to as flexible bulk containers or bulk bags, or other items such as stacks of smaller bags, using forklifts or the like.
Various types of flowable bulk materials are contained and transported using bulk bags. A typical bulk bag comprises a large bag constructed principally of woven fabric and having a generally cuboid or cylindrical shape when filled. A filled bulk bag in some cases may weigh thousands of pounds. It is common for such bulk bags to be supported on conventional wood pallets that can be lifted by forklifts. However, because of the well-known drawbacks of wood pallets, efforts have been made to substitute a paper-based pallet for the traditional wood pallet. For example, a cardboard pallet known as the LOADRIGHT pallet has been produced by the assignee of the present application.
The present disclosure is directed toward improvements to non-wood pallets such as the LOADRIGHT pallet.
In accordance with one embodiment described herein, a non-wood pallet includes a support sheet (which can be of cardboard, plastic, plastic-coated paper, etc.), the support sheet having a thickness and lying generally in a plane. A pair of channel members are disposed on the support sheet, the channel members extending parallel to each other and being spaced apart, thus creating a pair of channels for receiving tines of a forklift.
Each channel member is secured to a pair of tabs located adjacent laterally opposite sides of the respective channel member. Each tab comprises an integral portion of the support sheet formed by a cut line of generally U-shaped configuration extending through the thickness of the support sheet. The cut line has spaced opposite ends between which a hinge line extends, the hinge line for each tab being formed by the support sheet being locally crushed with resultant thickness reduction along a path extending between the opposite ends of the cut line. The hinge lines are free of any cutting of the paperboard material of the support sheet.
The tabs are rotated about the respective hinge lines such that the tabs project out of the plane of the support sheet.
Opposite ends of each cut line are locally curved away from each other so as to lengthen the hinge line. This enhances the strength of the tabs; specifically, the lengthening of the hinge lines increases the resistance of the tabs to being torn away from the support sheet.
In one embodiment, each tab is crushed such that a thickness of the tab is less than the thickness of the support sheet. This can make it easier to bend the tabs so that they generally conform to the cylindrical top surface of the channel members. The reduced tab thickness can also reduce the stress concentration on the channel members caused by the weight of the bulk bag exerted on the tabs.
In a further embodiment, each tab has rounded corners at a side of the tab opposite from the hinge line. This can reduce the likelihood of the support sheet tearing at the corresponding corners of the resulting hole in the support sheet. The rounded corners of the tabs also can reduce the likelihood of the tabs being snagged by something, such as the bulk bag.
In another embodiment, there is a finger hole for each tab, the finger hole extending through the tab to allow a finger or tool to be inserted therein and pulled in order to rotate the tab about the hinge line. The finger hole for each tab can straddle the cut line defining the tab such that the finger hole is partially formed in the tab and partially formed in a portion of the support sheet adjacent the tab.
In a further embodiment, the channel members are secured to the tabs by elongate fastening members that extend along upper surfaces of the channel members and are secured to the tabs. The fastening members can comprise an adhesive tape having a lower surface on which an adhesive is disposed, the adhesive being adhered to the upper surface of the respective channel member and to the respective pair of tabs. The fastening members in some embodiments may pass through the apertures in the support sheet that are created when the tabs are rotated out of the plane of the support sheet. Accordingly, the fastening members may completely encircle the channel members, passing beneath the lower surface of the support sheet.
Alternatively, in other embodiments the fastening members may be shorter and may have their opposite ends adhered to the tabs to secure the channel members to the support sheet.
In still other embodiments, the elongate fastening members can be omitted, and the channel members can be secured to the tabs by other types of fastening devices such as staples, adhesive, hook-and-loop fasteners, or other suitable fastening devices.
Having thus described the disclosure in general terms, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings, which are not necessarily drawn to scale, and wherein:
The present invention now will be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings in which some but not all embodiments of the inventions are shown. Indeed, these inventions may be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will satisfy applicable legal requirements. Like numbers refer to like elements throughout.
A non-wood pallet 10 in accordance with the prior art is illustrated in
In the prior-art pallet, the bending line of each tab included perforations extending partially through the thickness of the support sheet 12 in order to make it easier to bend the tab along the bending line.
It has been found that the tabs 18 of the prior-art pallet 10 are prone to tearing away from the support sheet 12 along the bending lines of the tabs when the pallet is loaded with a heavy bulk bag and the channel members 14 are subjected to certain types of loads, such as when the tines of a forklift exert sideways loads on the channel members 14, which can happen for instance when the forklift tines enter the channels of the half-tubes along a direction that is not parallel to the longitudinal axes of the half-tubes.
In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention as illustrated in
Opposite ends 122 of the cut line 120 for each tab are locally curved away from each other so as to lengthen the hinge line 124. This has the effect of distributing a given load exerted on the tab 118 over a larger area, thereby reducing the stress on the paper material and hence reducing the likelihood of tearing of the tab from the support sheet.
In one embodiment, each tab 118 is crushed over its entire surface area such that the thickness of the tab is reduced to less than the thickness of the other portions of the support sheet 112. This can make it easier to bend the tabs so that they generally conform to and lie flush against the cylindrical top surface of the channel members. The reduced tab thickness can also reduce the stress concentration on the channel members caused by the weight of the bulk bag exerted on the tabs.
Another feature of the present invention at least in some embodiments is the absence of any cutting of the material of the support sheet along the hinge lines 124 for the tabs. This is in contrast to the prior-art pallet described above in which perforations were formed along the hinge lines. The absence of such perforations also reduces the likelihood of tearing occurring along the hinge lines.
A further feature of the present invention at least in some embodiments is the shape of the cut lines 120 that define the tabs 118. In particular, one advantageous shape avoids sharp or perpendicular corners at the ends of the tabs 118 remote from the hinge lines 124. Rather, the cut lines 120 define rounded corners 126 for the tabs 118, as shown in
The pallet can also include a finger hole 128 for each tab 118, the finger hole extending through the tab to allow a finger or tool to be inserted therein and pulled in order to rotate the tab about the hinge line 124. The finger hole for each tab can straddle the cut line 120 defining the tab such that the finger hole is partially formed in the tab and partially formed in a portion of the support sheet adjacent the tab, as illustrated in
A pallet 110 in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention is shown in a partially exploded view in
Pallets in accordance with the present invention can be used in either of two orientations. In a first orientation, the support sheet 112 is below the channel members 114 and sits directly on the floor; in a second orientation, the pallet is turned over such that the support sheet is above the channel members, and the channel members contact the floor. Accordingly, references in the present application to directions such as “up”, “down”, “upper”, “lower”, and the like, should be understood as pertaining to only one possible orientation of the pallet in use, and not precluding other orientations.
Pallets in accordance with the invention can be either 2-way entry or 4-way entry. The pallet 110 of
There can be just one fastening member 116 per channel member 118 (particularly if the channel member is relatively short), or there can be two or more fastening members for each channel member, in which case the fastening members can be spaced apart along the length of each channel member.
Furthermore, as noted previously, the elongate fastening members 116 can be omitted, and the channel members 114 can be secured to the tabs 118 by other types of fastening devices such as staples, adhesive, hook-and-loop fasteners, or any other suitable fastening devices.
While the illustrated pallet 110 has four tabs 118 per channel member 114, the invention is not so limited, and there can be more than four tabs per channel member, if desired.
Many modifications and other embodiments of the inventions set forth herein will come to mind to one skilled in the art to which these inventions pertain having the benefit of the teachings presented in the foregoing descriptions and the associated drawings. Therefore, it is to be understood that the inventions are not to be limited to the specific embodiments disclosed and that modifications and other embodiments are intended to be included within the scope of the appended claims. Although specific terms are employed herein, they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation.
