GB2047651A - Pallet system - Google Patents

Abstract

A pallet (1) has in its bottom endwise open slots (22) underneath article receiving spaces so that articles are supported by the undersides of laterally projecting portions (12) of the articles. The slot (22) is used for loading and/or unloading purposes by engaging therethrough chain conveyors 8. The longitudinally- extending pallet parts 18 are connected by framework 17 lifted by a T-piece 28. The T-piece can be retracted into a slot so that stacking is possible. In a modification, the pallet slides on rollers 30 to load and unload instead of the articles being carried by a conveyor. The articles may be engaged by flanges on their upper parts. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Method and system for handling articles.

This invention relates to handling of articles to be transported in palletized condition. Relatively heavy articles such as gas cylinders or beer barrels may advantageously be distributed in palletized condition e.g. from a filling plant to local dealers. However, the loading of pallets with such articles is difficult and time comsuming when effected manually, and automatic loading tends to require a heavy and expensive auxiliary equipment e.g. for lifting and pushing the articles onto the pallets.

It is the purpose of the invention to provide a method and a handling system involving the use a novel pallet unit, whereby the loading may be effected in a simple and rapid manner.

The method according to the invention is characterized by the features and steps specified in the characterizing clause of claim 1. It will be readily appreciated that the articles may hereby be loaded onto or into the pallet unit by a simple conveying movement along the said slot when the articles are supported by lower support means in their relatively lifted position, in which they are fully disengaged from the pallet unit, i.e. they are automatically loadable without being pushed or scraped along the pallet. The required carrying engagement is established simply by lifting the pallet unit up from the support means or lowering the latter, whereafter the loaded pallet unit may be carried away in any suitable manner. Unloading of the articles may be carried out inversely in a corresponding manner.In fact loading and unloading may take place by means of a conveyor arranged so as to constitute the said support means along a ramp area adapted to receive the pallet unit, whereby the articles may be fed direct from or to a processing plant. For such use the said bottom slot of the pallet unit is preferably open at both opposed ends.

The invention further comprises a system for handling the articles according to the described method, as defined in claim 3. A main component in this system of course, is the novel type of pallet unit as specified therein. By necessity the pallet unit as provided with one or more bottom slots must show some interconnecting structure mounted between the opposed slot confining portion, and for enabling a free loading or unloading displacement of the articles such structure should project generally overhead the articles, whereby the pallet unit may show a box like character even offering lateral support for the articles.

In a preferred embodiment the carrier means for the articles simply consist of the top side portions of a pallet bottom plate in which is provided one or more slots of width smaller than the bottom width or diameter of the articles to be handled.

In the following the invention will be described by way of examples with reference to preferred embodiments and the accompanying drawing, in which Figure 1 is a general perspective view of a system according to the invention, Figure 2 is an end view of a pallet unit being loaded, Figure 3 is an end view of a loaded pallet unit being lifted, Figure 4 is an end view of an alternative system according to the invention, and Figure 5 is a fractional perspective view of a detail of Fig. 1-4.

In Fig. 1 is shown a pallet unit generally designated 1 standing on a ramp 3, which is provided with two conveyors 2 e.g. of the bottle conveyor type and extending between the ramp area and a filling station for gas cylinders as designated 4 in Fig. 2. The conveyors 2 each consists of a chain 8 along a rail 10 so as to have its conveyor top side 6 located above the ramp surface level. As shown clearly in Fig. 2 the conveyors are of smaller width than the cylinders 4 such that these are supported along a relatively narrow diametrical bottom area thereof, the unsupported outer bottom areas being designated 12.

The pallet unit 1 has a bottom plate structure 1 8 in which is provided two parallel slots 22 of a width just larger than that of the conveyors 2, and the pallet unit is placed on the ramp 3, supported by lower railings 20, such that the two conveyors are located in and along the slots 22. The various separated portions of the bottom plate structure are interconnected by an overhead latticework including vertical posts 14, 14a, 14b, upper lengthwise arranged rods 1 6 and upper crosswise arranged rods 17, all made e.g. of square tubes.

As shown in Fig. 2 there is sufficient space between the respective rows of vertical posts 14, 14a, 14b to enable gas cylinders 4 standing on the conveyors 2 to be conveyed into the pallet unit. At the downstream end of the pallet unit 2 is arranged a removable stop bar 24 which will constitute an end stop for the rows of cylinders thus being conveyable into the pallet unit, whether or not the cylinders are arranged in close mutual proximity on the conveyors; if they are conveyed with some mutual spacing they will be brought closely together rowwise in the pallet unit.

When the introduced cylinders have thus built up two full rows in the pallet unit a corresponding stop bar 24 is mounted across the front end of the pallet unit, and then the entire unit is lifted off the ramp by means of any suitable overhead lifting device,e.g. as designated 26 in Fig. 3. To facilitate such lifting the top portion of the pallet unit may be provided with special suspension means such as a centrally mounted T-member 28 which will be engageable by the forks of a fork lift truck as represented by said numeral 26.

As the pallet unit is thus lifted (see Fig. 3) the bottom portions 12 of the gas cylinders 4 will be engaged by the top side of the slot defining edge areas of the bottom plate structure 18, whereby the entire contents of gas cylinders will get lifted off from the conveyors 2 and then follow the pallet unit safely supported by the bottom plate structure 1 8. The entire unit may then be deposited on the body of a distributor lorry or some storing surface for later distribution.

It will be readily understood that unloading of a pallet unit may take place in inverted order by lowering the loaded unit into a centered position on the ramp 3, removing the stop bar 24 at the outlet end of the unit and simply allowing the cylinders 4 to be conveyed out of the pallet structure on the conveyors 2.

It is even possible, when both ends of the pallet unit are open, to effect unloading of e.g. empty bottles through one end while simultaneously filled bottles are introduced through the opposite end, all by the action of the single conveyors 2.

Loading and unloading may be effected in an inverted manner by means of a stationary elevated support for the bottom of -the articles 4 and a pallet support ramp allowing the pallet unit to be displaced in the direction of the article row or rows. This possibility is illustrated in Fig. 4 which shows a ramp 3a having a length at lease twice that of a pallet unit 1 and being provided with elevated, relatively narrow support beams 36 operable to be received in the slots 22. The ramp 3a further includes respective rows of support rollers 30 for the underside of the bottom plate structure 18, whereby the pallet unit, while resting on the rollers 30 with the cylinders 4 standing on the beams 36, is easy to push lengthwise of the cylinder rows whether for loading or unloading purposes.An installation of this type is particularly well suited for use with local dealers handling a restricted number of flow of the relevant articles as compared with the high rate delivery from an industrial undertaking. Above the ramp 3a may be located a simple hoist means operable to shift the pallet unit between the ramp and the body of a lorry as placed next to the ramp. Even in this connection the pallet unit may be filled with new, e.g. empty cylinders by the same displacement which serves to uncover the original contents of the pallet unit.

When the pallet unit is placed on a lorry body or on another plane support - or even stacked on the top of another pallet member - the cylinders will be accessible for removal or introduction one by one through the sides of the structure. A removable chain 23 along the opposite sides may provide for lateral safety support during transportation of the unit.

As shown in Fig. 5 the upper T-member 28 may be mounted on a shaft 38 so as to be generally rotatable to suit different lifting conditions, and moreover the T-member is depressable, against the action of a spring 42,' into a recess 39 in the top side of the associated upper cross rod or tube 16, thus allowing for piling of the pallet units.

It may be sufficient for the articles to be supported by the pallet unit monolaterally of each slot 22, whereby they may lean themselves against an opposite side support beam or wall. The articles may thus assume a slightly inclined position in the pallet unit or cassette 1, but they will still assume on upright position whenever resting on the loading or unloading support means 8 or 36.

Though the loading and unloading of the pallet units 1 is primarily intended to take place by moving the pallet unit along the support beams 36 or move the conveyor 2 relatively to the pallet unit it will of course be possible, alternatively to push the articles 4 into and/or out of the pallet unit by means of a pusher arrangement located endwise of the pallet unit, whereby the active conveyor 2 may be substituted by a passive roller way or by a rigid rail such as the beam 36 for slidingly supporting the articles.

If the articles to be handled are provided with laterally protruding portions, e.g. annular flanges located above their bottom level the pallet -may well be adapted so as to have the article carrier means 1 8 located in a corresponding high level, while the articles are still operable to rest bottomwise on the conveyors 2 or the beams 36.

Claims (10)

1. A method of handling articles to be transported in palletized condition, characterized by the use of a pallet unit having in its bottom an endwise open slot underneath an article receiving space in which the articles forming a row of articles are normally supported by carrier means engaging with the undersides of laterally projecting portions of the articles, and using said slot for loading and/or unloading purposes by engaging therethrough from below the bottom ends of the articles by exterior support means to keep the articles lifted off their engagement with said carrier means while the support means are conveyed, lengthwise relative the pallet unit, to move the article row to or from the receiving space of the pallet unit, respectively.

2. A method according to claim 1, characterized in that the support means are caused to establish engagement and disengagement, respectively, between the articles and the car rier means by remaining in a stationary level while the entire pallet unit is lifted or lowered, respectively.

3. An articles handling system for handling articles in accordance with the method claimed in claim 1, comprising a pallet unit and a station for palletizing and/or depalletizing the articles, characterized in that the pallet unit is a spaceous carrier structure, the bottom portion of which is provided with an elongate, endwise open slot located underneath an article row receiving space, the pallet unit bottom elements at opposite sides of said slot being interconnected by bridge means sideways and overhead of the article row receiving space, this space being partially confined by article carrier means located generally parallel to the slot so as to be operable to support the articles by engaging under laterally protruding portions thereof in a level allowing the article bottom portions to be located slightly above the bottom plane of the pallet unit, thus enabling the article bottom portions to be engaged, in said loading or unloading station, by exterior support means projecting upwardly through said slot in order to cause the articles to be vertically disengaged from said carrier means and therewith conveyable lengthwise of the slot by a relative displacement between the pallet unit and the support means, for loading or unloading purposes.

4. A system according to claim 3, characterized in that the pallet unit has a bottom plate or beam structure located along said slot, and that the carrier means are at least partly constituted by the topside of the slot facing edge area of this plate or beam structure.

5. A system according to claim 4, characterized in that the pallet unit is provided with a bottom plate structure in which the said slot is provided, and the top side of which at both sides of slot constitutes the said carrier means for simple cooperation with the undersides of the articles.

6. A system according to claim 3, 4 or 5, characterized in that the pallet unit is a box like structure having at its top side a central suspension member which is preferably rotatable about a vertical axis and vertically movable between a protruding active position and a fully retracted inactive position.

7. A system according to claim 3, characterized in that the palletizing or depalletizing station includes a support ramp for the pallet unit, said ramp being provided with upwardly protruding support means for engaging the undersides of the articles through said slot and with means operable to move the support means lengthwise of the slot relative to the pallet unit.

8. A system according to claim 7, in which the support means are constituted by a conveyor belt connecting the ramp area with an article feeding or receiving area.

9. A method of handling articles to be transported in palletized condition, substantially as herein described.

10. A articles handling system substantially as herein described with reference to and as shown in the accompanying drawings.