Note : Les descriptions sont présentées dans la langue officielle dans laquelle elles ont été soumises.
The prese~t invention relates to 3 load transfer device
for transferring bulk goods packed in sac~s, boxes or the
like from one pallet to another.
It is known to stack sacks or boxes or the like
containin~ ~ulk ~oods onto a pallet which may be engaged
by the forks of a fork lift truck for movement from one
place to another or for loadin~ into a ~700ds vehicle. A
palletised load is commonly stacked into a goods vehicle
and then conveyed by road to a distribution point from which
the goods are distributed to customers. The customer may
accept tne load stacked on the manufacturer's or
distributor's pallets, but the custo~er may ~ail to return
the pallets to the distribution point. The customer may
have pallets of his own which may become mixed up with the
pallets belonging to the manufacturer or distributor.
Hitherto no machine of which the applicants are aware has
been available which can transfer goods from one pallet
to another and such transfer has been carried o~t by hand
which is a time-consuming and expensive operation.
The problems associated with the use of timber pallets
in the U.K. transport industry are the subject of a study
co~missioned by the Committee for Materials Handling,
~epartment of Industry and published under the title
"Materials E~andling: pallet usage and wastage" by Her
~ajesty's Stationery Office, London, 1977.
An object of the invention is to provide a simple and
inexpensive machine for transferring a palletised load from ~`
one pallet to another so that a distributor can rapidly
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offload bulk ~oods from his own pallets onto the customer's
pallets.
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The present invention provides a free standing load
transfer device for transferring bulk goods packed in sacks,
boxes and the like supported on a first pallet to a second pallet,
said device comprising in combination:
a load platform supported for rotation between an
upright position and an inverted position and adapted to receive
said bulk goods stacked onto said first pallet when the load plat-
form is upright, and including a floor onto which said first
pallet can be placed, and a side member for retaining bulk goods :~
resting against it;
a lid slidably supported in spaced parallel relation- ::
ship to said floor of said load platform for movement normal to
the plane of said floor, said lid being adapted on inversion of
~he load platform to support the base of a second ~ e~placed
in said load platform with its load accepting surface resting on
the top of said stack of goods;
actuating means connected between said load platform
and said lid and adapted to extend said lid away from said floor
to allow said first and second pallets to be loaded into said load
platform and to retract said lid towards said floor to engage said
base of said second pallet;
a stand arranged rotatably to support said load plat-
orm and including a ground-contacting base which e~tends under-
neath said load platform to provide stable support therefor and
an upstanding support frame to which said load platform is rotat-
ably secured; and
means for rotating said load platform between an upright
position and an inverted position, the direction of rotation being ;
such that said side member supports said load during said inver-
sion.
An embodiment of the invention is described below,
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by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying draw-
ings, in which:-
Figure 1 is a perspective view from the front of aload transfer device; and
Figure 2 is a rear perspective view of the load
transfer device shown in Figure 1.
A load platform generally indicated by the reference
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numeral lO comprises a floor ll, a side wall 12 and a rear
wall 13 each made of sheet steel and welded together at
their adjacent edges. The floor ll is dimensioned to accep.
standard si~e pallets which in the U.Ii. are normally of
sizes up to 5' by 4' and the floor is strengthened by means
of longitudinal and transverse reinEorcin~ ribs 14 welded
thereto to impart rigidity and enable the floor to s~pport
a loaded pallet. The side wall 12 and rear wall 13 are
also similarly reinforced. The rear wall reinforcing ribs
terminate in cut-outs 15 defining a slide~ay directed
parallel to the rear wall at right angles to the floor and
a sliding membèr l~ in the slideway engages the cut-outs
and slidably supports a lid 17 projectin~ therefrom in
~spaced parallel relationship to the floor ll. The lid 17
is also reinforced with intersecting ribs welded thereto
on its outer Eace so as to be capable oE supporting a loaded
pallet weighing typically up to 2 tons. The sliding member
16 houses a pair of hydraulic rams 18 and 18a. The
hydraulic rams are mounted parallel to one another and each
have one end fastened to the sliding member 16 adjacent
the line where the lid joins the sliding member and their
other end fastened to the load platEorm lO adjacent the
line where the Eloor ll joins the rear wall 13. ~xtension
or retraction oE the hydraulic rams l~ and 18a extends the
lid 17 from the Eloor ll or retracts the lid 17 towards
the floor ll.
The load platform is supported on a free-standing base
comprisin~ channel section side members 20 and 21 and R.S.J.
cross members 22 and 23. The bottom flanges of the
oross members are positioned above the bot~om Elanges of
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the side members so that tlle forks of a Eor'~ lift truc~
can engage the cross memb~rs Eor lno~ing the load transfer
device fronl place to place. Extencling upwardly from the
side membeEs 20 and 21 are fral~e members 24 and 25 wllich
converge at their top end to sunport a bush (not shown).
Gussets 2G, 27 are welded between the framè members and
the side members and a horizontal r~in~orcin~ member 28
is welded between the frame members 24 and 25 at an
intermediate point. A pivot shaft (not shown) is rigidly
secured to the rear wal`l 13 of the load platform behind
the sliding Member 16 and extends through the bush at the
top en~ of the frame members 24 and 25 and terminates in
a pinion 29 rigidly secured thereto. ~ rack 30 directed
~parallel to the longitudinal direction o~ the frame member
24 is slidably supported in spaced guides 31 and 32 and
is attached at its lower end to a pushrod 33 of a hydraulic !
ram 34 aligr,ed with the rack. Extension or retraction of
the pushrod is transmitted via the rack 30 and pinion 29
to rotate the load platform 10 and lid 17. Limit members
(not shown) are provided to define the upright and inverted
positions of the load platform and to limit the travel of
the load platform.
On the base is ~ounted a 3 h.p. electric motor 35 whosc
output shaft is connected to a Dowty 3020 hydra~lic pu~p
~6 for hydraulic fluid which pump is connectd to a reservoir
; 37 for the hydraulic fluid. A first pair of extension and
retraction hydraulic lines extends from a first control
valve 38 to the hydraulic ram 34. A second pair of
extension and retraction hydraulic lines extends from a
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second control valve 39 to the hydraulic rams 18, 18a. - -
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In operation the motor 35 is switciled on and the first
control valve 38 is operated to cause the ram 34 to effect
rotation oE the load platform 10 to the upright position.
The second controi valve 39 is then operated to cause the
ral~s lS ancl l~a to extend the lid 17 away from the floor
11 of the lQad platform. A load of bulk ~oods stacked on
a manufacturer's or distributor's pallet may be brought
on a fork lift truck or other suitable conveyor from a store
or from a van or lorry as the case may be and loaded onto
the load platEorm. A customer's pallet is then placed onto
the top oE the load of bulk goods with its load accepting
surface directèd downwardly. The second control valve 39
is then operated to lower the lid 17 until it engages the
~ base of the customer's pallet, after which the first ccntrol
valve 38 is operated to cause the ra~ 34 to rotate the load
platform 10 to the inverted position. The direction of
rotati¢n is such that the side wall 12 mo~es downwardly
and supports the load against side thrust while the load
platform is moving to the inverted position. The second
control valve 39 is then operated to extend or lower the - '
lid 17 which now supports the stack of bul,k goods. The
manufacturer's or distributor's pallet is removed,~the goods
are unloaded from the load platform on the customer's own
' pallet and c,onveyed to his lorry after which the lid 17 ;,
is retracted towards the floor 11 and the ~load platform
is returned to the uprigllt p~sition to receive the next
pallet. `'~'
Various modifications can be made to the embodiment
described herein without departing from the ~nventlon.
Although hydraulic operation has been found ~o be the most
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convenien'c for the present purpose, the load platform and
lid could be mechanically actuated, for e~ample by means of
nuts travelling on lead screws. The sliding member could
be positioned on`the si~e wall ratiler than the rear wall.
Instead oE bein~ free-standin~, the load platfor~ with its
associated actuatin~ and control mechanism could be
supported on a bracket fixed to a col~mn or stanchion o
a factory or warehouse or to a wall thereoE.
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