EP0291836B1 - Rectangular transport pallet constructed of a foldable blank such as a carton blank - Google Patents

Abstract

The pallet (1) comprises a pallet surface (2), receiving the loading goods, a pallet stand surface (base surface) (30, 40), and support elements (3, 4) which space said stand surfaces apart and between which at least one loading channel is arranged in at least one of the two main dimensions of the rectangle for engagement on loading bars of floor conveyors. In order to provide an inexpensive small pallet of this type which guarantees secure transportation with the aid of floor conveyors (lifting trucks, fork lift trucks) despite the reduced dimensions, the centre line (L) of the loading channel (5) is offset relative to the parallel centre line (M) of the pallet surface and, along the free edge of the half of the pallet surface facing away from the centre line of the channel, a lateral, free flange or web (6) is provided, under which a loading bar can grip from the stand surface and which extends beyond the lateral boundary (31) of the support element. <IMAGE>

Description

The invention relates to a wheelchair-accessible transport pallet with an essentially rectangular plan made of foldable material, such as corrugated cardboard, provided in a cut-out form, with a pallet surface receiving a load, with a pallet contact surface (bottom surface) and with top and contact surface spacing-apart supporting elements, between which in at least one of the two main dimensions of the rectangle is arranged at least one loading trough for engaging loading spars of industrial trucks.

For transport pallets of the type described, which are made of corrugated cardboard or similar foldable material and in which the surface is loaded with transport goods like conventional pallets made of wood, pressed material or the like, two rectangular material cuts are generally used today. In a known object of this type (DE-OS 34 42 439), a pallet surface and a blank defining a supporting beam construction are provided, which are assigned to one another with regard to their folding and supporting measures so that a highly loadable corrugated transport pallet results . Such pallets are particularly suitable as stable, inexpensive one-way pallets with Euro pallet dimensions (800 x 1 200 mm). However, their construction is when only smaller pallets with 1/2-euro dimensions (600 x 800mm) or 1/4-euro dimensions (400 x 600 mm) are required, usually too expensive in terms of the material, especially since less strength is then usually required.

For smaller dimensions, a pallet made from a rectangular one-piece blank made of cardboard, corrugated fiberboard or equivalent material has become known (DE-OS 14 81 413). However, this serves solely as a covering for the goods to be picked up from the pallet and has a wide channel with a flat, horizontal rectangular bottom and a wing arranged parallel to it between two lateral supporting bars. This channel, which is open on two sides, can be filled with transport goods - either by folding up the plate that forms the surface or by pushing it in from the open sides. For the purpose of a firm abutment of the top plate and its secure attachment to the lateral supporting webs, a lateral attachment surface is arranged on each. The floor forms the footprint of the pallet. With this pallet, the goods to be transported are completely encased in the pallet material, except for the open sides. The transport volume of the known pallet is thus limited to the space of the channel. Loading the pallet from the surface is not intended; this object does not have sufficient strength or load-bearing capacity. Underneath the pallet with a floor conveyor is neither intended nor sensible, since then the width of the trough, if you wanted to reach under the side support bars with the forks or loading spars of a floor conveyor, would have to correspond to the distance between the loading spars and thus the pallet would be limited in its absorption capacity, but on the other hand the lateral attachment surfaces, despite the double layer of the material, would not be sufficient to accommodate the entire loading weight of the pallet between them. Loading the surface of the known pallet is not intended; the wide, unsupported top plate is not suitable for this. This known object is thus restricted to the purpose of a disposable wrapping pallet, that is to say practically to a stackable trough-shaped box.

The object of the invention - in particular in relation to the prior art described - is to provide a transport pallet which can be driven under and of the type described at the outset, which is specifically designed as a small pallet (1/4 or 1/2 euro pallet size), preferably in one-way use, can be used and is accordingly inexpensive in terms of material and manufacture, but at the same time, above all, it ensures safe transport with the aid of industrial trucks (pallet trucks, forklifts) despite the reduced dimensions.

This object is achieved according to the invention in that the center line of the loading channel is offset from the center line of the pallet surface parallel to it and in that along the free edge of the half of the pallet surface facing away from the center line of the channel there is a free side away from the contact surface Flange or web that can be gripped under a loading spar is provided, which extends beyond the lateral support element boundary. This results in a simple and sensible shifting of the center of gravity of the pallet with even loading of the pallet in such a way that this center of gravity is located between the loading spars or forks of the floor conveyor. The width of the loading channel is naturally selected so that it can comfortably accommodate a loading spar of a lifting truck with sufficient play, but with a slight lateral centering possibility, while the web to be gripped by the second loading spar is in a corresponding one Distance to it. In order to achieve this type of easy centering in a particularly simple manner and thus to ensure that, on the one hand, no unnecessary damage occurs in the fast, less careful transport and loading operation and, on the other hand, no great care and accuracy is required when inserting the industrial trucks, the width is expediently used of the support element on the side of the web in accordance with the currently standardized distances between the loading spars of pallet trucks, while forklifts usually the distance between the narrower loading spars compared to pallet trucks is variable and can thus be adjusted to the corresponding width dimension of the supporting element.

Small, generally asymmetrically formed wooden pallets, that is to say pallets made of an inherently rigid, solid and hard material, are known and are in practical use. With these, however, due to the inherent stability and strength of the material wood, there are no difficulties in arranging blocks, feet or the like on the underside of the per se stiff pallet surface as desired according to the respective transport requirements, and yet without problems the requirements for strength and stability in all points of the pallet surface and to be sufficient over the entire stand area for containers to be transported or the like. Therefore, such known pallets of inherently solid material can be used by a person skilled in the art who is familiar with the manufacture and use of products from light and therefore weight-saving, in principle only low intrinsic strength and flexural rigidity, such as corrugated cardboard or the like. deals with no suggestion if he has to solve problems in this material area, i.e. in particular for certain purposes to form a pallet made of corrugated cardboard or similar compliant and easily deforming material under load, which meets all requirements and loads, especially in the peripheral areas , so that there is not always the danger of destruction or damage to the pallet, which does not exist with wood, and thus also damage to the transported goods.

In a particularly advantageous embodiment of the invention, the transport pallet can be unfolded from a one-piece blank. This will be essentially rectangular, which results in an optimal use of space in the production due to practically no waste, by making maximum use of the running corrugated cardboard web and the outer dimensions of the blank correspond to the outer edges of the unfolded pallet.

The support elements preferably extend essentially parallel to the channel center line, and they are designed as hollow-body-like support bars. This results in a pallet with clear boundaries on the one hand and a high level of rigidity and safety under the vehicle on the other.

In order to ensure the already mentioned precise storage of the pallet on the support bars of an industrial truck with the specified center of gravity with an evenly loaded pallet, the support elements can be used be arranged asymmetrically to the center line of the pallet surface containing the center of gravity in such a way that a first support beam is offset inwards by the width dimension of the lateral projection and a parallel, opposite to the first, narrower support beam forms the opposite side pallet boundary.

By means of appropriate unfolding, the loading channel is preferably open in the direction of the footprint, while the cut material can be connected to one another in a double layer in its surface area. This results in a simple underride with floor conveyors without the risk of bumping into a material web that delimits the channel downwards, which is particularly advantageous in the case of the often only small pallet loading weights, in that the pallet cannot be pushed away by bumping uprights. In addition, the overall load-bearing capacity of the pallet is significantly increased by the double-layered nature of the channel ceiling, that is to say in the channel area not supported vertically by the supporting elements or bars.

A further improvement and increase in the load capacity of the pallet can be achieved in that the supporting elements or spars are cuboid and the channel can have the shape of a U open at the bottom. In this way, the pallet edge opposite the web can also advantageously be formed by the vertical support element wall, so that there is a clear, closed boundary of the pallet.

It is also possible to design the transport pallet according to the invention from two blank parts by advantageously carrying the support elements as at least two spar-like supports with a perpendicular to the loader centerline Course are formed, wherein they are broken through by the loading channel and between them form at least a second, parallel to the second main axis of the pallet coaxial loading channel so that in half of the offset channel center line narrower and wider in the other half rectangular feet are formed and the free flange or web is located on the side of the wider feet. Such a pallet is more expensive in terms of material compared to the one-piece blank, but results in a higher load-bearing capacity and thus the possibility of using it with high transport weights for small pallets, the two blank parts preferably being arranged with the shaft direction running normally to one another and that Material in the region of the second loading channel and along the outer walls perpendicular to the offset loading channel is provided in two layers.

In order to increase the strength of the pallet according to the invention even more, support tabs can be provided in the area of the support elements which can be folded out of the surface, folded into the interior of the support element and supported against the contact surface of the support elements. These support straps can preferably be fixed in the interior of the supporting element. They can correspond in width and height to the internal cross section of the support elements and can be non-positively fixed in them. For the purpose of this easy fixing, the lower edges of the support straps that bear against the bottom surface of the support elements can have locking lugs for engagement in corresponding locking slots in the contact surface.

In the case of a transport pallet according to the invention consisting of a one-piece blank, the latter can consist of corrugated cardboard with a corrugation course normal to the support elements or support bars, and the support tabs can be designed as cross supports to the support elements. A standing shaft in vertical wall elements of support spars is known per se, but in connection with the transverse supports having a lying shaft, the locking tabs which can be folded down from the surface, there is a significant increase in overall strength, in that the standing shaft absorbs the pressure from above, while the transverse supports Increases the lateral shear strength benefits.

Appropriately with a view to achieving high load capacities, the transport pallets according to the invention can be made from double-layer corrugated cardboard material with a highly tear-resistant cover layer (kraft liner), that is to say they can be unfolded.

In order to achieve good stability and thus load-bearing capacity of the pallets, the contact surfaces of the support elements can amount to at least 50%, preferably approximately 60% of the total surface of the pallet, which additionally results in a high shear strength.

Of course it is also conceivable to use other suitable, foldable material instead of corrugated cardboard, e.g. sufficiently strong cardboard to be used for the production of the pallets according to the invention, in which case the advantages which can be achieved with cardboard with a predetermined wave direction can be achieved at least to a certain extent by aligning the main fiber course of the cardboard material accordingly.

The overall achievable advantages of the invention are that smaller pallet formats in particular can be made available at low cost, which can be safely lifted and transported with conventional floor conveyors by changing their center of gravity with sufficiently uniform pallet loading between the forks or the uprights of such devices in the normal version, and the free pallet edge can be safely gripped under the web formation and stored on a uprights without the risk of the lifted pallet tipping over and falling off the other side.

Fig. 1

in Draufsicht einen einstückigen Wellpappe-Zuschnitt zur Herstellung einer erfindungsgemäß ausgebildeten Transportpalette und

Fig. 2

eine aus dem Zuschnitt der Fig. 1 auffaltete Transportpalette in axonometrischer Darstellung.

Further advantages and embodiments or possibilities of the invention emerge from the following description of the exemplary embodiments shown in the schematic drawing. It shows

Fig. 1

in plan view a one-piece corrugated cardboard blank for producing a transport pallet designed according to the invention and

Fig. 2

a transport pallet unfolded from the blank of FIG. 1 in an axonometric representation.

To produce a transport pallet 1 equipped with the features according to the invention, as shown in FIG. 2, in this embodiment, a one-piece corrugated cardboard blank 10 is used, which has the shape of an elongated rectangle and is thus free of waste with several uses next to one another from a running corrugated cardboard web can be cut out. The wave pattern can be seen in A.

The cut includes a field for the production of a pallet surface 2, delineated from each other by fold lines 11 and counterfold lines 12 which are attached in the course of the manufacture and counterfold lines (counter-scoring), viewed in a row from the right, then three fields for forming a cuboid second support beam 4 in the form of an outer wall 41, a contact surface 40 and an inner wall 42, then for a loading channel 5 a gutter cover 51, and subsequently for forming a wider, first cuboid support beam 3 an inner wall 32, a contact patch 30 and an outer wall 31, and finally a web base 61 for forming a flange or web 6 projecting beyond the outer wall 31 of the first support beam 3. Support flaps 21 and 22 are stamped into the pallet surface 2, likewise foldable by fold lines 11, of which the width of the support tabs 21 corresponds essentially to the width of the contact surface 30 of the first, wider support beam 3 and the support tabs 22 to the width of the support surface 40 of the narrower support beam 4. These support brackets lie in their width extent in the wave course (see A) and carry locking lugs 23 at their lower free edges. The height of the support brackets 21, 22 corresponds to the height of the wall parts 31, 32 and 41, 42. On the locking lugs 23, corresponding opposite ones Locations in the contact surfaces 30, 40 are locking slots 33 and 43, respectively, so that the locking lugs 23 can be fixed in the locking slots when the pallet is erected, so that in the square shape of the support bars 3 shown in FIG Side load capacity (shear strength and bending strength) to serve.

1 and 2, the center line of the pallet surface is indicated by a dash-dotted line M, while the center of the loading channel 5 is indicated by a double-dash-dotted line L. The center line M runs with a uniform loading of the pallet surface 2 through the (theoretical) center of gravity, so that when supported by a linear hoist in the Line M balance should prevail. Since this can rarely be achieved in practice with reasonable means, the arrangement of the loading channel 5, into which a loading spar of an industrial truck can engage, is relative to the carrying bars and thus due to the offset of the channel center line L with respect to the surface center line M. it has been ensured that when reaching under the pallet in the middle of the loading channel 5, the pallet exerts a moment turning to the left of the channel center line L. The width of the loading channel 5 is somewhat larger than the largely standardized width of individual loading spars of pallet trucks, while the width of the first support beam 3 and thus also the contact area 30 is somewhat narrower than the likewise largely standardized spacing width between the two support beams of a pallet truck. The pallet surface 2 does not end on the side of the first support beam 3 with its outer wall 31, but projects beyond it by a piece corresponding to the width of the web base 61, so that a free edge flange or web 6 is thus formed. In this way it is possible that when driving under the pallet with a pallet truck, a loading spar is inserted into the channel 5 and comes to rest when raised against the channel ceiling 51, while its second loading bar engages under the flange 6 or the web support 61. The pallet is thus centered by the width dimensions of loading channel 5 and first support beam 3. - While the width of the loading spars and their spacing are generally fixed and standardized for forklift trucks, you can regularly change the spacing of the possibly narrower loading spars on forklift trucks and thus adjust them to the corresponding width dimensions of the pallet, so that the left-turning torque is still around in the loading channel 5 engaging loading spar and reaching under the flange 6 are ensured by the outside loading spar.

The pallet, which in the example shown is a 1/4-euro pallet, can therefore be safely lifted and transported using conventional industrial trucks. The same also applies to larger pallets of similar training up to pallets with a 1/2 euro dimension.

As can be seen from the illustration, the pallet in the areas that are mainly loaded when it is lifted by means of an industrial truck, namely in the ceiling area of the loading channel 5 and on the web 6, has a double layer, so that a high load resistance results here. The overall strength of the pallet is increased by the lockable support tabs 21, 22 and, if necessary, by the choice of double-layer corrugated cardboard material, so that a 1/4 euro pallet that can be erected from a one-piece blank is obtained, which is comparable to a comparable pallet from one two-piece cut has about 70 to 80% of the load capacity. This is sufficient for the purposes of such small pallets, which are often loaded with goods that are not as heavy as large pallets, for a very large range of applications, so that the material savings resulting from the use of only one cut despite high-quality corrugated cardboard material, especially when considering the mass use of such pallets, significant savings, especially since the point of simply unfolding the blank 10, result.

Claims (17)

1. Drive-under transport pallet, having an essentially rectangular plan projection and provided in blank form of foldable material such as corrugated board, and having a pallet surface for receiving products to be loaded, a pallet resting face (lower surface) and support elements, which space the surface and the resting face from each other and between which, in at least one of the two main dimensions of the rectangle, is arranged at least one loading channel for engaging the loading bars of a floor conveying apparatus, characterised in that the centre line (L) of the loading channel (5) is offset from the pallet surface's centre line (M) extending parallelly therewith, and in that, provided along the free edge of that half of the pallet surface which lies away from the channel centre line (L) is a lateral, free flange or web (6), which can be engaged from the side of the pallet resting face (30, 40) by a loading bar, said web extending beyond the lateral support element boundary (31).
2. Transport pallet according to claim 1, characterised in that it is obtained by folding from a one-piece essentially rectangular blank (10).
3. Transport pallet according to claim 1 or 2, characterised in that the support elements (3, 4) extend essentially parallelly to the channel centre line (L).
4. Transport pallet according to claim 3, characterised in that the support elements are formed as hollow-body type bearing spars (3, 4).
5. Transport pallet according to claim 3 or 4, characterised in that the support elements (3, 4) are arranged asymmetrically with regard to the centre line (M) of the pallet surface (2) such that a first bearing spar (3) is offset inwardly approximately the width measurement of the lateral projectiion (6) and a second bearing spar (4), which is narrower than the first spar, constitutes the opposing, lateral pallet boundary positioned parallel to the first spar.
6. Transport pallet according to any one of claims 2 to 5, characterised in that the loading channel (5) is open toward the resting face (30, 40) while within its (upper) surface side region (51) the blank material can be connected with each other in a double-layer manner.
7. Transport pallet according to any one of claims 3 to 6, characterised in that the support elements or bearing spars (3, 4), respectively, are right parallelepiped-shaped and the channel (5) has the form of a "U" opening downwardly.
8. Transport pallet according to any one of claims 3 to 7, characterised in that the pallet edge opposite the web (6) is formed by the outer wall (41) of the second support element (4).
9. Transport pallet according to claim 1 formed of two blank sections, characterised in that the support elements are formed as at least two spar-like supports, which extend perpendicularly with regard to the channel centre line, the support elements being pierced by the loading channel and forming between them, parallel to the second main axis of the pallet and extending coaxially therewith, at least one second loading channel in a manner such that in the half of the offset channel centre line narrower, and in the other half wider, right parallelepiped feet are formed and the free flange or web is located on the side of the wider feet.
10. Transport pallet according to claim 9, having normally extending flute directions of the two blank sections, characterised in that the material in the region of the second loading channel and along the outer walls, which extend perpendicularly at right angles to the offset loading channel, is double-layered.
11. Transport pallet according to any one of claims 3 to 10, characterised in that support tabs (21, 22) are provided in the region of the support elements (3, 4) and punched-out of the surface (2) in a foldable manner, which can be articulated into the interior of the support element and which support themselves against the bearing surface (30, 40) of the support elements.
12. Transport pallet according to claim 11, characterised in that the support tabs (21, 22) can be fixed in the interior of the support element.
13. Transport pallet according to claim 11 or 12, characterised in that the support tabs (21, 22) correspond in width and height with the internal cross-section of the support elements (3, 4) and can be locked therein non-positively.
14. Transport pallet according to any one of claims 11 to 13, characterised in that the lower edges of the support tabs (21, 22) lying against the bottom surface of the support elements (3, 4) have locking projections (23) for engaging into corresponding locking slots (33, 43) located in the support element base (30, 40).
15. Transport pallet according to any one of claims 11 to 14 obtained by folding from a one-piece blank, charac-terised in that the blank consists of corrugated board having a flute extension arranged normally relative to the support elements or support spars (3, 4), respectively, and in that the support tabs are formed as transversal supports (21, 22) to the support elements.
16. Transport pallet according to any one of claims 1 to 15, characterised in that it is obtained by folding from double-layered corrugated board material having a cover layer, which is highly resistant to tearing or breaking (kraft liner).
17. Transport pallet according to any one of claims 1 to 16, characterised in that the resting faces (30, 40) of the support elements (3, 4) amount to at least 50 %, preferably 60 %, of the pallet surface (2).

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