The invention relates to a pallet made of plastic according to the preamble of claim 1.
As is known, pallets are available on the market which are made either of wood or of plastic, in particular by injection molding. The advantage of the wooden pallet is a certain robustness and low manufacturing costs, however, wooden pallets are increasingly being replaced by plastic pallets, especially for the transport and storage of high-quality goods. On the one hand, this is due to the fact that plastic pallets are now very robust and are usually designed for very long handling and operating times of 10 years and beyond, and that plastic pallets are much less contaminated during use because they can be cleaned quick and thoroughly in a simple manner compared to wooden pallets.
The pallets are available in different standard sizes, especially in sizes of 800×1200 mm, 800×1000 mm, to name just a few standard sizes. In particular, pallets are often used, which are referred to as half-pallets and have standard dimensions of 800×600 mm purely by way of example. These half pallets are particularly suitable in a supplemented way with the standard pallets with a size of 800×1200 mm.
The pallets generally have in common that they are formed on the underside with skids over which the pallet stands on the ground. Usually three skids are used for pallets in the usual standard dimensions, which are arranged parallel to one another and at a distance from one another and parallel to a pallet edge. As a rule, the two outer skids are arranged on two opposite pallet edges and the third skid in the area of the center of the pallet. The adjacent skids on the underside of the cover plate of the pallet delimit engaging openings between them, which facilitate transportation by conventional lifting devices. These engagement openings are used so that tines of forklift trucks or pallet trucks can be inserted under the cover plate of the pallet between the skids, thereby lifting the pallet for transport and placing it again at the desired storage location by lowering it.
On the other hand, the skids are each arranged on support feet at a distance from the cover plate, with three support feet usually being used for each skid. These support feet also form engagement openings between them for the introduction of tines from forklifts or similar lifting devices, so that the pallet can also be gripped and transported on the narrow side of lifting devices. In this respect, it is generally possible to pick up the pallet using common lifting devices by engaging tines from all sides of the pallet.
The problem with the transport of loaded pallets by means of motorized lifting devices or manually operated hand pallet trucks is that the tines frequently hit the skids when the lifting devices are inserted under the pallet or under the upper deck of the pallet, depending on the force or frequency of the impact respectively. Impact can damage the skid area of the pallets. This problem occurs in particular in the case of pallets with reduced standard dimensions, in particular in the case of half-pallets with, for example, standard sizes of 800×600 mm. As a result of the width of the two tines of the lifting devices, there is little scope for the thickness of these support feet for the outer support feet at the pallet edges. This means that the smaller the standard size of the pallet, the less space or thickness is available for the outer support feet, which must be flush with the outside of the pallet edges. This means that, especially for pallets with small standard dimensions, such as half-pallets, the outer support feet must be made comparatively thin or thin-walled, which increases the risk of damage to the skids, i.e. the lower part of the pallet, including the support feet, in these areas.
For this reason, wooden pallets are, for example, either covered with metal profiles on the outer surfaces or formed entirely from metal profiles, which is not the case with plastic pallets. In this respect, the ends of the support skids of plastic pallets with the outer support feet arranged on them form weak points with a not inconsiderable risk of breakage if the lifting devices are actuated carelessly. This has led to the fact that plastic pallets in these areas are often provided with internal reinforcements made of hollow profiles, which, however, can ultimately also lead to damage on the upper deck when impact is initiated.
In the prior art, plastic pallets are known in which skids can be connected to the cover plate of the pallet by means of plug-in extensions and can be detachably fastened by means of latching elements, so that if skids are damaged, they can be completely replaced (DE 10 2014 219 398 AI). Furthermore, it is known (EP 2 722 285 AI) to provide pallets with rod-shaped stiffening elements in the skid area. For this purpose, the stiffening elements are inserted into recesses in the runner and fastened in plate form via lateral stabilizing elements which can be used in recesses in the runner. The attachment is done via locking hooks so that the stiffening elements of the skids can be replaced when worn.
These solutions are by no means satisfactory because they are either complex or can also damage the other areas of the pallet.
The object of the invention is to provide a simply constructed pallet which enables quick and easy replacement in the event of damage to the pallet. According to a further aspect, damage to the remaining pallet parts, in particular the upper deck, in the event of impact loads, in particular when lifting tines of lifting devices, should be avoided.
According to the invention, the multiple, usually three skids below the cover plate of the pallet are each subdivided into several skid elements, preferably each skid into two separate skid elements, which then form the skids in the assembled position on the pallet. As a result, in the event of careless handling of lifting devices and damage to the pallet that occurs, the part can be replaced easily, which on the one hand enables quick disassembly/assembly and also reduces the material consumption of plastic material. It is within the scope of the invention to subdivide all the skids of a pallet accordingly, but it may also be expedient to divide only those skids into several skid elements that are arranged in the area, for example, of the narrow side of a pallet, where as a rule damages can occur by prongs of lifting devices.
The skid of a pallet is expediently specially equipped for this purpose, namely in that the skid as such, in the assembled position, has support leg-like angled end sections at its two ends, which form the skid support members, which together with further support feet on the underside of the cover plate of the pallet, hold the skids at a distance to the underside of the cover plate and form between them or between themselves and the support feet on the underside of the cover plate of the pallet corresponding engagement openings for the engagement of tines of conventional lifting devices.
This means that the angled skid support members provided at the ends of each skid take on the function of conventional support feet on the underside of the cover plate of the pallet. The skid support members are expediently formed at the ends of the skid stand surface of the skid, on the underside of which the pallet rests on the floor after being turned off by the lifting device.
In a particularly expedient manner, the skids are divided into separate skid elements, in particular into a pair of skid elements, that is to say the skid is divided into two skid elements. The subdivision or partitioning is expediently carried out in the area of the skid base, two skid elements in particular being formed in the case of a central skid division. In the assembled position, these complement each other, possibly including the underside of a support leg of the pallet, to form a continuous skid base.
The skid is expediently releasably connected to the cover plate via the skid support members, the free end of each runner element which is opposite the corresponding skid support member advantageously being releasably connected to a support foot of the cover plate. If there is damage in a skid area, for example due to careless handling of lifting devices, then it is not necessary to replace the entire skid, but rather only the damaged part of the skid in the form of a separate skid element.
According to a further development of the invention, the skid is divided transversely to the runner stand surface into at least two, but preferably two skid elements, in particular into two L-shaped skid elements, the L-leg being formed by the skid support members and the L-web by the corresponding skid stand surface of the skid element. The fact that the skid support members are expediently designed to be identical to one another results in a flush design of the skid base surface, in particular the underside thereof, after assembly of the skid elements.
The skid elements each forming a skid can be releasably connected to the cover plate via their skid support members by a form-fitting plug-in connection and/or, if appropriate, a latching connection. A combination of a form-fitting plug-in connection and a locking clip is also expedient, which enables quick disassembly/assembly. At the end of each skid element opposite the skid support member, a snap lock can be provided, via which the skid element can be detachably connected to a support foot at this end. However, this connection is preferably made by a separate mechanical fastening means. Quick-release screw bolts with a quick thread or, in particular, bolts with a bayonet lock are suitable for this.
With these fasteners, it is expedient that the bolt head being usually broader in radial direction is received in a recess in the cover plate flush with the surface of the cover plate and the bayonet lock or screw lock of the bolt interacts with the skid base surface for the purpose of locking. In the same way, however, an inverted design is also possible, that is to say anchoring the bolt head from the underside of the skid base surface with countersinking in the skid base surface and fixing the bolt in the region of the cover plate. Both variants are useful.
In a particularly advantageous manner, in particular in the case of a split of a skid into two skid elements, it is expedient that the ends of the skid elements opposite the skid support member, which lie against each other in the assembled position to form the skid, are provided, with mutually offset, complementary and in particular annular receiving flanges for the fasteners. As a result, the ends of the skid elements engage in one another in the assembled position, that is to say the receiving flanges of the two skid elements lie one above the other, so that both skid elements can be anchored or fastened to the cover plate with one and the same fastening means. As a result, the skid is fixed, so to speak, in the middle region, that is to say in the middle region of the skid stand surface, by means of a fastening means on the cover plate, in addition to the form-fitting and/or snap-in connection via the skid support members provided at the other ends of the skid elements. This has a very favorable effect for quick and easy disassembly of damaged components and assembly of replacement components.
Each skid element is preferably connected to the cover plate by means of a positive fit with the cover plate, the hold of the skid element expediently taking place via a shoulder part spanning a recess for engagement with the skid support member, in which the skid support member is preferably held only by a plug-in connection, in particular a form-fit connection. The skid element can then be mechanically fixed at the other end by a mechanical fastening means.
In an alternative embodiment, however, it is also expedient for the ends of each skid element opposite the skid support members to be connected and fastened separately to one another on a support foot with the cover plate by means of a fastening means. Although two fastening means are then required, this has the advantage that the skid elements can be made identical to one another overall, that is, only one and the same L-shaped skid element is required. In this embodiment, the support base of the cover plate, which is generally arranged in the center, advantageously contributes with its underside to the formation of the continuous skid.
In both cases, it is expedient if the ends of the skid elements which are fastened to the support feet engage or are arranged in complementary recesses in the support feet, so that a flush arrangement on the underside of the pallet can be ensured in a simple manner.
For the quick connection of the skid elements, it is expedient that the skid support members can be positively fitted into a complementarily shaped recess on the cover plate. A clip-like snap lock can also be expediently provided, but this is not mandatory.
As a rule, the pallets are provided with three support feet per skid area, two of the support feet being formed by the skid support members in accordance with the invention. In this respect, the ends of the skid elements opposite the skid support members are expediently attached to the support foot, which is arranged in the center of the cover plate, using a mechanical fastening means. For assembly, each L-shaped skid element is arranged obliquely to the underside of the cover plate and then pivoted downwards, so that the clip-like locking or the form-fitting fit of the skid support members takes place on the cover plate and after that, after swiveling the skid elements in the direction of the cover plate the locking takes place via the mechanical fastening means.
In a particularly advantageous development of the invention, the skid elements are stiffened. A fiber-reinforced plastic material is suitable for this, for example by embedding carbon or glass fibers, or else the embedding of rigid stiffening elements, for example in the form of steel inserts or the like. Advantageously, in the context of the invention, the cover plate with the support feet, in particular in the center, and also the separate skid elements are each produced in one piece by injection molding from plastic.
The term “pallet” used herein and in the claims is to be understood very broadly within the meaning of the invention and denotes a load carrier, which in a preferred case is formed from only a pallet with a flat and side wall-free cover plate but can also be a load carrier with the pallet as a lower part and thus as part of a large load carrier or bulk container in which the pallet is integrated. In this case of a load carrier forming such a large container side walls extend from the cover plate, which then forms the bottom part of this container, which side walls are arranged all around. This can be a rigid, that is to say a non-foldable side wall structure, in which a hinged cover can optionally be provided in at least one side wall, or the side walls are hinged directly to the cover plate or to frame members arranged thereon via hinges and the like. To this extent, the term “pallet” encompasses such load carriers, which are intended in particular for the reception of piece-like goods.
In a special development of the invention, the pallet as the load carrier forms the base part or the substructure of a large container, also called a large load carrier, with which the load carrier stands on the floor, whereas the containers are used in particular to hold lumpy goods. These large containers, also known as large load carriers or bulk containers, are constructed like containers and have the usual standard dimensions in length and width of containers from about 800 mm×600 mm upwards and often have pallet dimensions in the base area. In this embodiment, the pallet according to the invention then forms, so to speak, the load carrier due to an additional wall structure, the cover plate of the pallet forming the base part of the large container or bulk containers. It is expedient to arrange the side walls of the large container on the cover plate of the pallet, which then forms the bottom part of the container, in particular to fix it in an articulated manner, which enables the side walls to be folded to form a folding container. This gives the advantage of this special pallet design with regard to the replacement of damaged components even for pallet-like bottom parts of large containers or bulk containers.
Exemplary embodiments of the invention are described purely schematically below with reference to the drawings.
It is only a so-called half-pallet, which is very common on the market and—again only by way of example—has a pallet size of 800×600 mm here for the purpose of illustration. Of course, the invention is also applicable to any other standard sizes.
As can be seen from
As can be clearly seen from
Corresponding engagement openings are, however, also provided on the longitudinal edges 9 of the pallet, the skids 4 delimiting two engagement openings for lifting devices between them in the exemplary embodiment shown.
In the embodiment according to
As can be seen from
The pivoted-in position for the front skid is presented in
Obviously, in the event of damage to a skid element, it can be exchanged quickly and easily for an undamaged new skid element. It is only necessary to open the bayonet catch, remove the bolt and then swing the corresponding skid element upwards as shown in
It goes without saying that the projection 15 is designed with the latching mechanism in each case such that it can be fitted flush into the recess 16 on the underside of the cover plate and thus is flush with the outside and the underside of the cover plate. This can be seen very clearly from
According to
As can be seen from
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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10 2017 121 813.0 | Sep 2017 | DE | national |
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
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PCT/EP2018/067665 | 6/29/2018 | WO | 00 |
Publishing Document | Publishing Date | Country | Kind |
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WO2019/057358 | 3/28/2019 | WO | A |
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