U.S. patent application number 12/103274 was filed with the patent office on 2008-10-30 for pallet storage system.
Invention is credited to Allan Grainger.
Application Number | 20080264304 12/103274 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 39627365 |
Filed Date | 2008-10-30 |
United States Patent
Application |
20080264304 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Grainger; Allan |
October 30, 2008 |
PALLET STORAGE SYSTEM
Abstract
A pallet storage system including a pallet (100) having a base
(102) with upstanding rear (104A) and side walls (104B, 104C). At
least one of the side walls includes at least one engaging
formation (108). The storage system further includes a pallet
support frame (200) having a (202) base with upstanding rear (204A)
and side walls (204B, 204C). At least one of the side walls
includes at least one engaging formation (208). The system further
includes at least one moveable member (212) configured to contact
the side walls of the pallet, when the pallet is inserted into the
pallet support frame, to guide the at least one engaging formation
of the pallet to engage with the corresponding at least one
engaging formation of the pallet support frame.
Inventors: |
Grainger; Allan;
(Pen-y-Darren Park, GB) |
Correspondence
Address: |
KING & SCHICKLI, PLLC
247 NORTH BROADWAY
LEXINGTON
KY
40507
US
|
Family ID: |
39627365 |
Appl. No.: |
12/103274 |
Filed: |
April 15, 2008 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
60914806 |
Apr 30, 2007 |
|
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Current U.S.
Class: |
108/51.11 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B65G 1/02 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
108/51.11 |
International
Class: |
B65D 19/38 20060101
B65D019/38 |
Claims
1. A pallet storage system including: a pallet having a base with
upstanding rear and side walls, at least one of the walls including
at least one engaging formation; and a pallet support frame having
a base with upstanding rear and side walls, at least one of the
walls including at least one engaging formation, the system further
including at least one moveable member configured to contact the
side walls of the pallet, when the pallet is inserted into the
pallet support frame, to guide the at least one engaging formation
of the pallet to engage with the corresponding at least one
engaging formation of the pallet support frame.
2. A storage system according to claim 1, wherein the at least one
engaging formation is located on a rear wall of the pallet and the
at least one engaging formation of the frame is located on the rear
wall of the frame.
3. A storage system according to claim 1, wherein the at least one
engaging formation on the rear wall of the pallet includes a
protrusion and the at least one engaging formation on the rear wall
of the pallet support frame includes an aperture.
4. A storage system according to claim 1, wherein the moveable
member includes a resilient member that is fixed to an inner
surface of the respective side wall of the pallet support
frame.
5. A storage system according to claim 4, wherein the resilient
member is formed so as to include a portion that extends inwards
from its respective side wall.
6. A storage system according to claim 5, wherein the resilient
member is so formed by being bent.
7. A storage system according to claim 6, where, in use, at least
the bent portion of the resilient member contacts an outer surface
of a said side wall of the pallet.
8. A storage system according to claim 4, wherein one end of the
resilient member is fixed to an inner surface of the side wall of
the pallet support frame, with another end of the resilient member
not being fixed to the side wall of the pallet support frame.
9. A storage system according to claim 1, wherein at least one side
wall of the pallet includes a further engaging formation and at
least one corresponding said side wall of the pallet support frame
includes a corresponding further engaging formation.
10. A storage system according to claim 9, wherein the further
engaging formation of the pallet includes a member having a rear
surface and an upper surface and the further engaging formation of
the pallet support frame includes a member having a rear surface
and an upper surface, in use, the respective rear and upper
surfaces of the further engaging formations contacting each other,
thereby limiting or preventing vertical and horizontal relative
movement of the pallet and the pallet support frame.
11. A storage system according to claim 10, wherein the rear
surfaces of the further engaging formations of the pallet and the
pallet support frame are angled downward with respect to upper
surfaces of the pallet/pallet support frame.
12. A storage system according to claim 1, wherein the pallet
includes at least one foot and the base of the pallet support frame
includes a space or at least one slot for allowing the at least one
foot of the pallet to protrude through the pallet support frame
base.
13. A storage system according to claim 12, wherein the space or at
least one slot is in a central portion of the base of the pallet
support frame so that, in use, part of the pallet base rests upon
side portions of the base of the pallet support frame.
14. A storage system according to claim 1, wherein the pallet
includes a set of pads for assisting with sliding the pallet onto
the support frame.
15. A storage system according to claim 14, wherein each of the
pads comprises a portion of vibration-reducing material, such as
rubber, that is sandwiched between the base of the pallet and a
portion of low-friction material, such as plastic.
16. A storage system according to claim 1, wherein the pallet
support frame includes at least one formation configured to allow
the frame to be fixed to an outer frame or rack.
17. A storage system including at least one pallet storage system
according to claim 1 and an outer rack or frame releaseably fixed
to the at least one pallet storage system.
Description
[0001] The present application claims priority from U.S.
Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/914,806 filed on Apr.
30, 2007.
[0002] The present invention relates to a pallet storage
system.
BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION
[0003] Heavy-duty pallets are available for storing a variety of
large/heavy items. The pallets are often transported using forklift
trucks and heavy-duty racks for storing several loaded pallets are
available (for example those produced by Rack International (UK)
Limited of Merthyr Tydfil, United Kingdom). In some cases it is
desirable to have additional support for the pallets rather than
placing them directly in a rack because pallets in racks can be
susceptible to movement in vertical and horizontal planes during
transit. Attaching fixing means such as bolts directly to the
pallets can be undesirable and so there is a need for apparatus
that can securely support individual loaded pallets.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0004] According to a first aspect of the present invention there
is provided a pallet storage system including:
[0005] a pallet having a base with upstanding rear and side walls,
at least one of the side walls including at least one engaging
formation; and
[0006] a pallet support frame having a base with upstanding rear
and side walls, at least one of the side walls including at least
one engaging formation, [0007] the system further including at
least one moveable member configured to contact the side walls of
the pallet, when the pallet is inserted into the pallet support
frame, to guide the at least one engaging formation of the pallet
to engage with the corresponding at least one engaging formation of
the pallet support frame.
[0008] The at least one engaging formation may be located on a rear
wall of the pallet and the at least one engaging formation of the
frame may be located on the rear wall of the frame. The at least
one engaging formation on the rear wall of the pallet may include a
protrusion and the at least one engaging formation on the rear wall
of the pallet support frame may include an aperture.
[0009] The moveable member may include a resilient member that is
fixed to an inner surface of the respective side wall of the pallet
support frame. The resilient member be formed to include a portion
that extends inwards from its respective side wall. The resilient
member may be so formed by being bent. In use, at least the bent
portion may contact a said outer side wall of the pallet. One end
of the resilient member may be fixed to the inner surface of the
side wall of the pallet support frame, with another end of the
resilient member not being fixed to the side wall of the pallet
support frame.
[0010] At least one side wall of the pallet may include a further
engaging formation and at least one corresponding said side wall of
the pallet support frame may include a corresponding further
engaging formation. The further engaging formation of the pallet
may include a member having a rear surface and an upper surface and
the further engaging formation of the pallet support frame may
include a member having a rear surface and an upper surface, in
use, the respective rear and upper surfaces contacting each other
thereby limiting or preventing vertical and horizontal relative
movement of the pallet and the pallet support frame. The rear
surfaces of the further engaging formations may be angled downward
with respect to the upper surfaces.
[0011] The pallet may include at least one foot and the base of the
pallet support frame may include a space or at least one slot for
allowing the at least one foot of the pallet to protrude through
the pallet support frame base. The space or at least one slot may
be substantially central so that, in use, part of the pallet base
may rest upon a side portion of the base of the pallet support
frame.
[0012] The pallet may include a set of pads for assisting with
sliding the pallet onto the support frame. Each of the pads may
comprise a portion of vibration-reducing material, such as rubber,
that is sandwiched between the base of the pallet and a portion of
low-friction material, such as plastic.
[0013] The pallet support frame may include a formation configured
to allow the frame to be fixed to an outer frame or rack.
[0014] According to a further aspect of the present invention there
is provided a storage system including at least one pallet storage
system substantially as described herein and an outer rack or frame
fixed to the at least one pallet storage system.
[0015] The outer frame may be fixed to the outer rack or frame by
means of bolts or the like.
[0016] Whilst the invention has been described above, it extends to
any inventive combination of the features set out above or in the
following description. Although illustrative embodiments of the
invention are described in detail herein with reference to the
accompanying drawings, it is to be understood that the invention is
not limited to those precise embodiments. As such, many
modifications and variations will be apparent to practitioners
skilled in this art. Furthermore, it is contemplated that a
particular feature described either individually or as part of an
embodiment can be combined with other individually described
features, or parts of other embodiments, even if the other features
and embodiments make no mention of the particular feature. Thus,
the invention extends to such specific combinations not already
described.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0017] The invention may be performed in various ways, and, by way
of example only, embodiments thereof will now be described,
reference being made to the accompanying drawings, in which:
[0018] FIGS. 1A to 1E are front, side, plan, rear and bottom views,
respectively, of an example pallet used in the system;
[0019] FIG. 1F details a pad located on the bottom of the
pallet;
[0020] FIGS. 2A to 2C are front, side and plan views, respectively,
of a pallet support frame of the system;
[0021] FIGS. 3 and 3B are front and side views, respectively, of
the pallet fitted in the support frame;
[0022] FIGS. 4A to 4C are front, side and plan views, respectively,
of the pallet and pallet support frame attached to an outer
frame.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0023] Referring to FIGS. 1A to 1E, an example of a pallet 100 is
shown. (It will be understood that some of the Figures show certain
members in a semi-transparent/sectional manner for ease of
illustration.) The pallet comprises a base 102 that is a
square/rectangular member that can be formed of one or more pieces
of rigid material such as metal, wood or the like. Upstanding from
the base are rear 104A, side 104B, 104C and front 104D walls that
form a short boundary wall around the perimeter of the base. The
pallet may include further members such as cross beams 105 to
assist with rigidity. The base 102 of the pallet includes a set of
four feet 107 upon which it can rest.
[0024] The components described so far are substantially
conventional and can be found in many kinds of commercially
available pallets. It will be understand that a variety of
materials and construction methods can be used to produce the
pallet and variations are possible from the examples shown in the
Figures. For instance, all of the walls need not have the same
height (or in some cases there may be fewer than four walls); the
walls needs not be continuous around the perimeter of the base,
i.e. they could be intermittent; the walls may be constructed of
rigid materials such as steel and fixed to the base by a variety of
means, e.g. nuts/bolts or nails.
[0025] The outer surface of the rear wall 1 04A includes a pair of
projections 108, each of the projections being located a short
distance away from the adjacent side edge of the pallet 100. The
projections 108 have a dome shape at their ends and can be
constructed from a semi-rigid or resilient material such as
rubber.
[0026] Each side wall 104B, 104C of the pallet 100 includes an
engaging formation 110 on its outer surface, near the front wall
104D. As can best be seen in the side view of FIG. 1B, each side
engaging formation 110 includes a substantially flat member (e.g.
made of a rigid material such as steel) that is formed to have a
vertical portion 111A with a horizontal portion 111B extending from
its upper end, towards the rear of the pallet. An angled portion
111C depends from the other end of portion 111B and extends further
towards the rear of the pallet. There is also a short horizontal
portion 111D parallel to horizontal portion 111B that extends from
the bottom end of the vertical portion 111A.
[0027] The bottom surface of the pallet base 102 is shown in FIG.
1E. The bottom of the pallet is fitted with a set of pads 114. In
the example there are six such pads. Three of the pads are arranged
at intervals in a line adjacent the left-hand edge of the pallet
and the other three arranged in a similar line adjacent the
right-hand edge. It will be understood that the number and
arrangement of pads in the Figure is exemplary only.
[0028] FIG. 1F is a schematic side view through one of the pads and
part of the pallet base. Each pad comprises a rectangular portion
116A of rubber about 6.35 mm (0.25'') thick that is sandwiched
between the pallet base and a rectangular portion 116B of plastic
(about 3.175 mm (0.125'') thick). The portions each include a pair
of apertures 118 that allows them to be connected to the pallet
base by means of a pair of C/sunk screws (one screw 120 only shown
in the Figure). The pads assist with allowing the pallet to slide
onto the support frame (described below) and reduce vibration (and
reduce/eliminate metal-to-metal contact in cases where pallet base
is formed of metal) in use.
[0029] Turning to FIGS. 2A to 2C, an example of a support frame 200
for use with the pallet 100 is shown. The support frame includes a
square/rectangular base 202 upstanding from which are a rear wall
204A and two opposed side walls 204B, 204C. The base 202 can
include a space 203 as shown by the broken lines. In use, when the
pallet 100 is inserted into the frame 200, the feet 107 of the
pallet can protrude through the space 203. However, it will be
understood that a different arrangement could be used, e.g. slots
or recesses located to accommodate the feet. It will also be
understood that the frame 200 can be constructed from a variety of
materials and using any suitable construction method. In the
example, the walls of the frame are formed of a rigid metal such as
steel. The dimensions of the frame 200 will be chosen in general so
that they can easily accommodate the pallet 100.
[0030] The rear wall 204A of the frame 200 includes a pair of
apertures 208. The size and location of the apertures 208 are
chosen to correspond with those of the projections 108 of the
pallet rear wall 104A. Near the front (loading) end of each side
wall 204B, 204C there is an engaging formation 210. The shape and
location of the engaging formations 210 are chosen to correspond
with those of the formations 110 on the side walls of the pallet
100. As can be seen in FIG. 2B, each formation 210 (located on the
inner surface of the side wall) includes a horizontal portion 211A
(having a length generally corresponding to that of portion 111B of
pallet side wall formation 110) and a depending angled portion 211B
(having a length and angle generally corresponding to those of the
angled portion 111C of the engaging formation 110 on the
pallet).
[0031] The inner surface of each side wall of the pallet support
frame also includes a moveable member 212, which is located about
mid-way along the length of the side wall in the example, although
it will be understood that its position can vary. As can best be
seen in the plan view of FIG. 2C, each moveable member 212 is
formed of a bent length of spring steel. A first portion 214A at
one end of the length of spring steel can be fixed to the inner
surface of its respective side wall by the means of bolts 215, or
any other suitable fixing means. A second portion 214B of the
moveable member 212 is bent so as to extend inwardly towards the
centre of the base 202 of the frame and towards its rear wall 204A.
A third and final portion 214C of the moveable member 212 extends
further towards the rear wall of the frame and is angled back
towards the inner surface of its respective side wall.
[0032] In use, the pallet is loaded into the frame 200 by moving
its rear end towards the rear wall 204A of the pallet support
frame. The low-friction plastic from which the pallet pads 114 are
formed help with allowing the pallet to be slid over the surface of
the support frame. The outer surfaces of the side walls 104B, 104C
of the pallet 100 can come into contact with parts of the moveable
member 212 on the side walls of the frame 200 as the pallet is
inserted. Each member 212 has sufficient freedom of movement to
accommodate the pallet being inserted into the frame in a manner
that is not completely aligned with the frame. As the pallet is
moved further towards the rear of the frame it slides against the
protruding parts of the members 212, causing the third portion 214C
of that member to be moved to contact its respective frame side
wall 204B, 204C. This contact can keep the member 212 in place
temporarily, which can help force the rear of the pallet into
alignment with the rear of the frame so that the protrusions 108 on
the pallet enter into the apertures 208 on the rear wall 204A of
the frame.
[0033] Additionally, the diagonal/rear portion 111C of each side
engaging formation 110 on the pallet can come into contact with the
diagonal/rear 211B portion of the corresponding engaging formation
210 on the frame, as well as the upper portion 111B of the pallet
formation 110 contacting the upper formation 211A of the frame
formation 210. Contact between the rear walls of the pallet and
frame and the respective side formations 110, 210 can limit
movement of the pallet relative to the frame in a rearward
direction. Further, engagement between the protrusions 108 and
apertures 208 and side formations 110, 210 can limit relative
vertical movement of the pallet and frame. This locking/engagement
between the pallet and the frame is shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B.
[0034] It will be understood that the various formations/member
used to guide and cause engagement between the pallet 100 and the
frame 200 shown in the Figures are exemplary only. For instance,
the pallet could include at least one aperture instead of (or in
addition to) projections 108, with the frame having a corresponding
set of at least one projection. Other types of interlocking
formations could also be used and the formations could be located
on a side wall instead of/in addition to a rear wall. Further, the
guiding members 212 and side formations 110, 210 need not be on
both sides of the frame/pallet, although this would not usually be
as effective. More than one set of guiding member and side
formations could also be present on each side surface of the
frame/pallet. Also, the side engaging formations 110, 210 can take
different forms, e.g. a releasable latch. It will also be
appreciated that the moveable guiding members 212 can take
different forms. For instance, instead of being formed of a
resilient material such as spring steel, the members could be rigid
and pivotably fixed to the side walls, with a biasing device or a
pad of resilient material being used to move back towards the
centre of the frame when there is nothing forcing them towards the
side walls. The guiding members could also be located elsewhere on
the frame, or could be positioned on the pallet instead. Further,
an additional engaging formation (not shown) may be fitted on the
pallet and/or frame in order to limit/prevent movement of the
pallet towards the front of the frame.
[0035] FIGS. 4A to 4C show the pallet 100 fitted within the frame
200, with that frame being fixed to an outer frame 300. The outer
frame 300 can be similar to the storage frame described in the
present inventor's US Patent Application published as
US-A-2007/0278918 (i.e. have an extendable "drawer-type" member for
supporting the pallet 100/frame 200), the removeable frame
(designed to be releaseably fixed within an outer container)
described in the present inventor's US Patent Application published
as US-A-2007/0278169, or it may be a simpler box-like frame or
rack. Briefly, the outer frame 300 can be a framework that includes
a set of spaced apart upper and lower beams that are connected
together by uprights 304. Longitudinal members 302A, 302B can also
be used to connect corresponding pairs of the upright 304.
[0036] In the example, the pallet support frame 200 is connected to
a set of four (corner) uprights 304 of the outer frame 300 by means
of bolts 308 that fit into apertures 207 in the pallet support
frame. However, it will be understood that other ways of
(releasably) fixing the pallet support frame to the outer frame can
be used, e.g. interlocking formations. The outer frame 300 may
include formations that facilitate stacking it with other
boxes/outer frames. Each of the pair of uprights at the front end
of the outer frame includes a gate 310. Viewed from above, each
gate 310 is generally L-shaped, with its (shorter) base 312A being
connected by means of a pivot 307 to its respective upright 304.
The pivot allows the gate 310 to move between a "closed" position
(as shown in FIG. 4C) where the stem 312B is substantially parallel
to the rear wall of the frame 200 and outer frame 300 and so
extends in front of the front ends of the frame and pallet. The
portion of the stem 312B that extends in front of the frame/pallet
may have a length that is anywhere between around 10%-50% of the
width of the front of the frame/pallet. The gate 310 can also pivot
to an "open" position that allows the frame 200 and pallet 100 to
be pulled out of the front of the outer frame 300 when desired.
Shot bolts or other locking devices may be used to hold the gates
in their closed and/or open positions.
* * * * *