Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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DEVICE FOR THE STORAGE AND TRANSPORT OF STACKED ARTICLES
The invention relates to devices permitting the secure storage
and transport of a pile of stacked articles and more particularly to
the combination of a pallet and a reusable pallet wrap, which may be
fastened around the stacked articles and to the pallet.
Stackable articles are conventionally stored and transported on
pallets for ease of handling and efficiency. However, it often occurs
during the transport of pallets loaded with a stack of articles that
some articles fall off the pallet, especially while rounding corners
or during abrupt starts and stops. Furthermore, the articles may be
of different sizes or unevenly stacked, which may cause some of the
articles to slide from the stack upon vibratioh of the stack during
transport. The devices used for transporting pallets, such as
forklifts, sometimes lift the center of the pallet slightly more than
the remainder of the pallet, which may result in an outward tilting of
the sides of the stack and in a sliding or falling of at least some of
the articles. The costs for restacking fallen articles onto the
pallet and for replacing any damaged articles is considerable. Thus,
a device is desired, which would allow the secure storage and
transport of stacked articles.
Wakeman (U.S. 4,738,371) teaches a reusable pallet wrap for use
with a conventional pallet. The wrap includes a flexible sheet and a
plurality of parallel, stiff, elongate corner support members which
are secured to the sheet at spaced apart intervals. The ends of the
flexible sheet are secured together by detachable means, such as a
zipper. This pallet wrap prevents articles stacked on a pallet from
falling off during transport, however, it is not adjustable to stacks
of different sizes.
Jensen (U. S. 4,876,841) discloses the combination-of a pallet
and a flexible sheet member, which is wrapped around the perimeter of
a stack of articles carried on the pallet. Opposite ends of the sheet
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member are releasably fastened together by straps to tightly wrap the
sheet around the stack of articles. The articles in the stack may
thus be maintained on the pallet with this combination and prevented
from falling off the pallet. However, the articles may still fall off
the pallet, if they are of such a small size that they would fit
through a gap in the flexible sheet member between the opposite ends
of the sheet, which gap is partly bridged by the straps when the sheet
is tightened around the stack.
Furthermore, a stack of articles or a pallet may move with
respect to the pallet during transport, if the wrapping of the stack
of articles is not fastened to the pallet.
During lifting and transport, conventional pallets may bend
under the load of a stack of articles thereon. This may lead to
instability of the stack as described above and to undesired stress in
a pallet wrap fastened around the stack. Therefore, conventional
pallets are generally made of wood or similar materials and may be
easily damaged by pallet hoisting apparatus.
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Thus, a device for the secure storage and transport of stacked
articles is desired, which reliably prevents the articles from falling
off the stack, accommodates different sizes of stacks of articles and
is less damaged during handling with pallet hoisting apparatus.
Accordingly, the invention in one aspect provides a device for
securely supporting a stack of articles, comprising a reusable,
adjustable pallet wrap having a flexible sheet for fastening around
the stack of articles, a pallet for supporting the stack of articles
and means for fastening the pallet wrap to the pallet. The pallet
wrap preferably includes adjustable connecting means for releasably
connecting opposite ends of the sheet to permit fastening of the
pallet wrap to different sizes of stacks of articles, and means
preventing the articles in the stack from falling off the stack
through a gap defined by the opposite ends of the sheet when the
pallet wrap is fastened around the stack of articles.
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The pallet has at least two main stringers made of a metal
section of an upwardly open, U-shaped cross-section, a corresponding
number of main stringer boards fractionally retained in the U-shaped
main stringers and load carrying means for supporting the stack of
articles. The load carrying means is connected to the main
stringers. The pallet further includes main stringer support means
for supporting the main stringers at a selected distance from a
supporting surface.
The means for fastening the pallet wrap to the pallet
preferably includes at least one eyelet affixed to the sheet and at
least one strap for releasably tying the at least one eyelet to the
pallet, which strap preferably has two ends and a hook attached to
each end, the hooks being respectively engageable with the eyelet and
with the pallet.
In another aspect, the invention provides a reusable,
adjustable pallet wrap for securing a stack of articles including
a flexible sheet for positioning around the stack of articles,
which sheet has a pair of opposite ends;
connecting means for releasably connecting the opposite ends of
the sheet to permit fastening of the sheet around the stack of
articles, the connecting means being ad3ustable to permit fastening of
the pallet wrap to different sizes of stacks of articles; and
means for preventing articles from falling off the stack
through a gap defined by the opposite ends of the sheet, when the
pallet wrap is fastened around the stack of articles.
The flexible sheet is preferably provided'with at least one
non-stretchable reinforcing band, which extends between the opposite
ends of the sheet and may extend beyond the opposite ends of the sheet
and incorporate the connecting means.
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In a preferred embodiment, the pallet wrap includes a sheet
having two outer reinforcing bands extending along opposite edges of
the sheet and an intermediate reinforcing band extending parallel to
and intermediate the outer reinforcing bands, the connecting means
being a pair of cooperating fasteners attached to the respective ends
of each reinforcing band.
The sheet preferably includes fastening means for releasably
fastening the pallet wrap to the pallet. In a preferred embodiment,
the fastening means includes at least one eyelet affixed to the sheet
and at least one strap for releasably tying the at least one eyelet to
the pallet, which strap preferably has two ends and a hook attached to
each end, the hooks being respectively engageable with the eyelet and
with an appropriate part of the pallet.
In yet another aspect of the invention there is provided a
pallet comprising
at least two main stringers made of a metal section of an
upwardly open, U-shaped cross-section;
a corresponding number of main stringer boards frictionally
retained in the U-shaped main stringers;
load carrying means for supporting the stack of articles, the
load carrying means being affixed to and interconnecting the main
stringer boards; and
main stringer support means for supporting the main stringers
at a selected distance from a supporting surface.
The load carrying means is preferably a plurality of spaced
apart parallel top boards, which may be stapled to the main stringer
boards. The staples used are preferably of sufficient length so that
during stapling of the top boards to the main stringer boards, the
ends of the staples impact on the metal main stringers and are
deflected into the main stringer boards. -
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In a preferred embodiment of the pallet in accordance with one
aspect of the invention, the main stringer support means includes
stringer posts made of lengths of metal pipes, which posts are each
welded at one of their ends to the main stringers and at the other of
their ends welded to a foot plate. The foot plate is preferably
bolted to one of at least two bottom boards, which boards extend
rectangularly to the main stringers.
The invention will now be further described by way of example
only and with reference to the following drawings, wherein
Figure 1 is a perspective view of a device for the storage and
transport of a stack of articles in accordance with the invention;
Figure 2 is a plan view of the pallet wrap of the embodiment
shown in Figure 1;
Figure 3 is an isometric view of the pallet of the embodiment
shown in Figure 1;
Figure 4 illustrates the construction of the pallet shown in
Figure 3, the main stringer boards and the top boards being omitted;
and
Figure 5 is a cross-section taken along line V-V through the
pallet shown in Figure 3.
In the preferred embodiment as illustrated in Figure 1, the
device for storage and transport of stacked articles in accordance
with the invention, in the following generally referred to by
reference numeral 10, includes a pallet wrap 12, a pallet 14 and
elastic straps 16 for the tying of pallet wrap 12 to pallet 14.
Pallet wrap 12 is tightened by way of quick connect fasteners 18
around a stack 20 of articles 2'1, which stack 20 is supported by
pallet 14. The straps 16 are conventional bungie cords, which each
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include an elastic band 22 and a pair of hooks 24 affixed to the ends
of band 22. Hooks 24 respectively engage eyelets 25 affixed to the
pallet wrap 12. The pallet wrap 12 is adjustable in length to
accommodate different size stacks of articles. Furthermore, pallet
wrap 12 includes end flaps 26, which prevent articles from falling off
the stack 20 through a gap between the fasteners 18.
Turning now to the detailed construction of a pallet wrap 12 as
shown in Figures 1 and 2, the pallet wrap 12 includes a porous,
flexible, but non-stretchable sheet 28, which is made of polypropylene
material arid has a burst strength of 775 lbs (ASTM 1-3786 Mullen). A
pair of outer non-stretchable nylon reinforcing bands 30 are stitched
to the outer edges of sheet 28 and an intermediate non-stretchable
nylon reinforcing band 32 is stitched to sheet 28 along the centerline
thereof. Reinforcing bands 30 and 32 extend beyond the ends 34 of
sheet 28 and are provided at their respective ends With cooperating
clip-together fasteners 18 (FASTEX* plastic buckles). One end of each
of the reinforcing bands 30, 32 is provided with friction-lock type
sliding buckles 33 to permit length adjustment and tightening of the
pallet wrap 12 to different size stacks 20. A free end of the
respective reinforcing band is threaded first through the eliding
buckle 33, then through fastener 18 and subsequently back through
buckle 33 in such a way, that on one hand the length of the pallet
wrap 12 may be reduced by pulling on the free end of the reinforcing
band even when the pallet wrap is tensioned around a stack of
articles, while on the other hand, friction created between the
reinforcing band and the buckle 33 when the pallet wrap 12 is under
tension prevents a lengthening of the pallet wrap, the length of the
pallet wrap 12 may be lengthened when the pallet wrap is not under
tension. End flaps 26 are stitched to the ends 34 of sheet 28 and are
of sufficient size to overlap when the pallet wrap is tightened around
a stack of articles. In the fastened condition of the pallet wrap 12,
the end flaps 26 cover the gaps defined by the reinforcing bands 30,
32 and the ends 34 of sheet 28 in order to prevent articles 21 from
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falling off the stack 20 through these gaps. End flaps 26 are
provided with interlocking strips 36 of VELCRO* fasteners, which
retain the end flaps in overlapping relationship while the pallet wrap
is fastened around a stack 20 of articles 21. The pallet wrap 12 is
also provided with a number of eyelets 25 fixed to each of the outer
reinforcing bands 30 which eyelets permit the tying of the pallet wrap
12 to the pallet 14 by straps 16 as discussed above. It is important
that both the sheet 28 and the reinforcing bands 30, 32 are
non-stretchable in order to achieve a wrapped stack of maximum
solidity. When elastic materials are used for the construction of the
pallet wrap 12, movements of the whole or parts of the stack cannot be
reliably prevented.
Turning now to Figure 3, pallet 14 includes three parallel,
spaced apart main stringers 40 and a plurality of load carrying top
boards 42, which are positioned rectangularly to and connect the main
stringers 40. Each main stringer 40 is supported at a selected
distance from a supporting surface by posts 44 and bottom boards 46,
which extend rectangularly to the main stringers 40 and are spaced to
permit four-way access of pallet hoisting apparatus.
Details of the construction of pallet 14 will now be discussed
with reference to Figures 4 and 5, The main stringers 40 are each
made of an upwardly open U-shaped light gauge metal section 48, which
is bent to fractionally hold a main stringer board 50. The top boards
42 are stapled to the main stringer boards 50 by staples 52, which are
of sufficient length so that their ends impact on metal sections 48
during stapling. As a result, the ends of staples 52 are deflected
back into the main stringer boards 50 (see Fig. 5). Thus, the top
boards 42 are secured to the main stringer boards 50 at a greater
strength more reliably than if nails were used. Furthermore, the
deflected ends prevent staples 52 from working themselves back out of
the top boards 42 and the main stringer boards 50 so that damage by
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protruding staples to the load supported by the top boards 42 is
prevented. Furthermore, the ends of staples 52 are obliquely cut (not
illustrated) so that the originally parallel legs of the staples are
laterally deflected during stapling and extend obliquely in top boards
42 and main stringer boards 50. Each post 44 is made of a length of
steel pipe and is welded at one end to the bottom of one of metal
sections 48. A steel bottom plate 54 is welded to the other end of
post 44 and is fastened to one of bottom boards 46 by bolts
schematically illustrated at 56. The metal section 48, steel posts 44
axed bottom plates 54 provide pallet 14 with a very high rigidity,
which substantially prevents a sagging of a loaded pallet 14 when
lifted by a pallet hoisting apparatus such as a forklift.
Furthermore, damage by such apparatus to posts 44, main stringers 40
and bottom boards 46 is substantially reduced, which lowers operating
costs.
During operation, a number of stackable articles 21 is piled
onto pallet 14 in a cubed stack 20. Pallet wrap 12 is then positioned
around stack 20, adjusted in length, if required, and tightened around
the stack by clipping together fasteners 18 and pulling free ends 35
of reinforcing bands 30, 32 through buckles 33 until a desired tension
of the pallet wrap is achieved. Subsequently, end flaps 26 axe
fastened together by VELCRO strips 36 in overlapping relationship.
Finally, straps 16 are placed around the center post 44 on each side
of the pallet 14 and hooked to the respectively closest pair of
eyelets 26. The combination of the non-stretchable pallet wrap 12 and
the straps 16 substantially prevents the mutual movement of the
articles in the stack and the movement of the stack itself on pallet
14. Furthermore, the high rigidity of pallet 14 substantially
prevents the extra tension stress which would be created in pallet
wrap 12, if pallet 14 would be sagging during lifting by a forklift.
Once the articles have been transported to their final destination,
they are unloaded from pallet 14 by performing the above. operations in
reverse order. The pallet wrap 12 may be folded and fastened to
pallet 14 by straps 16 for return transport to the point of origin.
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Alternately, if a number of devices in accordance with the invention
were unloaded, all the pallet wraps 12 may be folded and returned in
one pallet 14 and the other pallets 14 may be easily stacked by
turning every other pallet upside down and fitting the following,
staggered, right side up.
It will be readily apparent to a person skilled in the art that
sheet 28 and reinforcing bands 3G, 32 may be made of different
flexible, but non-stretchable materials as long as it is guaranteed
that the pallet wrap 12 will withstand the tension stress created
during transport of a stack of articles on pallet 14.
The end flaps 26 may be provided with other fasteners than
interlocking strips 36, for example, with snap fasteners, however,
VELCRO fasteners are preferred for longevity and ease of handling.
Pallet wrap 12 may be provided with other means of engagement
for the hooks 24 of straps 16 such as, fox example, reinforced holes
in reinforcing bands 30. Furthermore, as will be readily appreciated
by the art skilled person, other means than stitching may be used for
fixing the reinforcing bands 30 and 32 to flexible sheet 28, for
example gluing or riveting, as long as a positive connection between
sheet 28 and reinforcing bands 30, 32 is achieved, which connection
withstands the stress created during transport.
Top boards 42 may be replaced by other load carrying means such
as a sheet of plywood or press wood or similar materials or an
appropriate metal grid.
Although the elastic straps 16 having hooks 24 are the
preferred means for fastening the pallet wrap 12 to the pallet 14,
other non-elastic straps, cords or bands may be used as long as a
reliable fastening of the pallet wrap to the pallet is achieved.
