The present disclosure relates to a pallet structure and a cabinet device, and more particularly, to a pallet structure with air bag structure, which is capable of effectively absorbing a shock load during transportation of a cabinet, a cabinet device therewith, and a method thereof.
Transportation of a batch of cabinets by a container at one time can effectively reduce transportation cost. However, the cabinets may be damaged easily because of shock loads during transportation. Therefore, the current solution is to dispose a high density foam component between a pallet and a cabinet for absorbing shock loads during transportation of the cabinet, which prevents damage of a server in the cabinet. However, in order to unload the cabinet from the container to a predetermined location, it normally requires a manual forklift, a forklift truck, and a slope. The manual forklift is utilized to move the pallet and the cabinet together to an outlet of the container. The forklift truck unloads the pallet and the cabinet together from the container. The cabinet slides along the slope to depart from the pallet. In other words, when a worker cannot prepare the manual forklift, the forklift truck and the slope in time, it is difficult for the worker to unload the cabinet from the container to the predetermined location. Furthermore, since weight of the fully loaded cabinet is approximately 1000 kilograms, the high density foam component usually cannot be reused after being pressed. Replacement of such shock-absorbing consumable increases transportation cost.
Therefore, it is an objective of the present disclosure to provide a pallet structure with air bag structure, a cabinet device therewith, and a method thereof.
In order to achieve the aforementioned objective, the present disclosure discloses a pallet structure for transporting a cabinet. The pallet structure includes at least one bottom plate and at least one airbag. The at least one bottom plate is for supporting the cabinet. The at least one air bag is detachably installed on the at least one bottom plate. When the at least one air bag is inflated, the at least one air bag props the at least one bottom plate against the cabinet upwardly, so as to enable at least one supporting component of the cabinet to leave away from a supporting surface.
According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the pallet structure includes a plurality of airbags and further includes an inflating pipe assembly connected between the plurality of air bags and for inflating the plurality of air bags at the same time.
According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the pallet structure further includes at least one lateral plate fixed on the at least one bottom plate and abutting against at least one lateral side of the cabinet.
According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the pallet structure includes a plurality of lateral plates and further includes a plurality of adjusting modules, and each of the plurality of adjusting modules includes two rods slidably disposed on the corresponding lateral plate.
According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, each of the plurality of adjusting modules further includes a connecting component slidably connected between the two rods disposed on the two adjacent lateral plates.
According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, each of the plurality of adjusting modules further includes a plurality of fixing components. A sliding slot is formed on each of the plurality of rods. An adjusting slot is formed on each of two ends of each of the plurality of connecting components. At least one of the plurality of fixing components passes through the corresponding sliding slot to be fixed onto the corresponding lateral plate for restraining a relative movement between the corresponding rod and the corresponding lateral plate, and at least another one of the plurality of fixing components passes through the corresponding sliding slot and the corresponding adjusting slot to be fixed onto the corresponding connecting component for restraining a relative movement between the corresponding rod and the corresponding connecting component.
According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, each of the plurality of connecting components is substantially formed in an L-shape.
According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the pallet structure further includes a plurality of ball bearing slides, and each of the plurality of ball bearing slides is disposed between the corresponding rod and the corresponding lateral plate.
According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the at least one supporting component contacts the supporting surface when the at least one air bag is deflated.
According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the pallet structure further includes at least one packing strap. A plurality of recesses is formed on the at least one bottom plate, and the at least one packing strap wraps the cabinet and passes through the plurality of recesses to fix the cabinet onto the at least one bottom plate.
In order to achieve the aforementioned objective, the present disclosure further discloses a cabinet device including a cabinet and a pallet structure. The cabinet includes a bottom side, at least one lateral side, and at least one supporting component disposed on the bottom side. The pallet structure includes at least one bottom plate and at least one air bag. The at least one bottom plate is for supporting the cabinet. The at least one air bag is detachably installed on the at least one bottom plate. When the at least one air bag is inflated, the at least one air bag props the at least one bottom plate against the cabinet upwardly, so as to enable at least one supporting component to leave away from a supporting surface.
According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the at least one supporting component is a wheel or a post.
In order to achieve the aforementioned objective, the present disclosure further discloses a method of utilizing a pallet structure for transporting a cabinet. The method includes disposing at least one bottom plate of the pallet structure on a bottom side of the cabinet for supporting the cabinet, inflating at least one air bag of the pallet structure to prop the at least one bottom plate against the cabinet upwardly until at least one supporting component of the cabinet leaves away from a supporting surface for absorbing a shock load during transportation of the cabinet, and deflating the at least one air bag of the pallet structure to lower the at least one bottom plate until the at least one supporting component contacts the supporting surface.
According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the method further includes disposing at least one lateral plate to abut against at least one lateral side of the cabinet.
According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the method further includes inflating the at least one air bag of the pallet structure after loading the cabinet into a container.
According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the method further includes unloading the cabinet from the container after deflating the at least one air bag of the pallet structure.
In summary, the present disclosure utilizes the air bag for propping the cabinet upwardly until the supporting component leaves away from the supporting surface when the air bag is inflated. Therefore, the inflated air bag can absorb the shock load during transportation of the cabinet. On the other hand, when the air bag is deflated, the bottom plate can be driven to be lowered until the supporting component contacts the supporting surface. Therefore, the cabinet can be moved to a predetermined location by wheels easily. Therefore, the pallet structure of the present disclosure has advantages of simple structure and easy operation. Furthermore, all components of the pallet structure can be reused. For example, the air bag, which is used for absorbing the shock load, can be inflated and deflated repeatedly. It solves the problem of replacing shock-absorbing consumables, such as a conventional high density foam component, and reduces transportation cost.
These and other objectives of the present disclosure will no doubt become obvious to those of ordinary skill in the art after reading the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment that is illustrated in the various figures and drawings.
In the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments, reference is made to the accompanying drawings which form a part hereof, and in which is shown by way of illustration specific embodiments in which the disclosure may be practiced. In this regard, directional terminology, such as “top,” “bottom,” “front,” “back,” etc., is used with reference to the orientation of the Figure(s) being described. The components of the present disclosure can be positioned in a number of different orientations. As such, the directional terminology is used for purposes of illustration and is in no way limiting. Accordingly, the drawings and descriptions will be regarded as illustrative in nature and not as restrictive.
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Specifically, in this embodiment, a sliding slot 1143 is formed on each of the two rods 1140 of each adjusting module 114. An adjusting slot 1144 is formed on each of two ends of each connecting component 1141 of each adjusting module 114. Two of the four fixing components 1142 of each adjusting module 114 pass through the corresponding sliding slots 1143 to be fixed onto the corresponding lateral plate 111 for restraining relative movements between the corresponding rods 1140 and the corresponding lateral plate 111. The other two of the four fixing components 1142 of each adjusting module 114 pass through the corresponding sliding slots 1143 and the corresponding adjusting slots 1144 to be fixed onto the corresponding connecting components 1141 for restraining relative movements between the corresponding rods 1140 and the corresponding connecting components 1141. However, structure of the rod 1140 and the lateral plate 111 is not limited to those illustrated in figures of this embodiment. For example, please refer to
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S1: disposing the bottom plates 110 of the pallet structure 11 on the bottom side 100 for supporting the cabinet 10;
S2: disposing the lateral plates 111 of the pallet structure 11 to abut against the lateral sides 101 of the cabinet 10;
S3: inflating the air bags 112 of the pallet structure 11 after loading the cabinet 10 into a container, which is not shown in figures, so that the bottom plates 110 is propped against the cabinet 10 upwardly until the supporting components 104 of the cabinet 10 leave away from the supporting surface G for absorbing a shock load during transportation of the cabinet 10;
S4: deflating the air bags 112 of the pallet structure 11 to lower the bottom plates 110 until the supporting components 104 of the cabinet 10 contact the supporting surface G; and
S5: unloading the cabinet 10 from the container.
More detailed description for the steps of the method is provided as follows. Please refer to
In the step 4, when the truck arrives at a destination, the air bags 112 can be deflated to lower the bottom plates 110 until the posts 103 contact the supporting surface G of the container. The lengths of the posts 103 can be adjusted to retract, so that the wheels 102 contact the supporting surface G. At this moment, the cabinet device 1 is located at the deflating status as shown in
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In contrast to the prior art, the present disclosure utilizes the air bag for propping the cabinet upwardly until the supporting component leaves away from the supporting surface when the air bag is inflated. Therefore, the inflated air bag can absorb the shock load during transportation of the cabinet. On the other hand, when the air bag is deflated, the bottom plate can be driven to be lowered until the supporting component contacts the supporting surface. Therefore, the cabinet can be moved to the predetermined location by wheels easily. Therefore, the pallet structure of the present disclosure has advantages of simple structure and easy operation. Furthermore, all components of the pallet structure can be reused. For example, the air bag, which is used for absorbing the shock load, can be inflated and deflated repeatedly. It solves the problem of replacing shock-absorbing consumables, such as a conventional high density foam component, and reduces transportation cost.
Those skilled in the art will readily observe that numerous modifications and alterations of the device and method may be made while retaining the teachings of the disclosure. Accordingly, the above disclosure should be construed as limited only by the metes and bounds of the appended claims.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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105134514 | Oct 2016 | TW | national |