JP7573866B2 - palette - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to pallets made of foamed resin such as polystyrene foam, which are used for transporting cargo using a forklift.

Traditionally, various types of pallets have been widely used as loading platforms when transporting goods using forklifts and the like. Common pallets are made of wood, plastic, metal (iron alloy), or paper. However, the most common wooden pallet weighs more than 10 kg, and paper pallets are also compressed at a high density to ensure shape stability, making them quite heavy. Therefore, there are pallets made of foamed resin that are even lighter than paper pallets (see Patent Document 1).

JP 2003-72754 A

However, although foam plastic pallets are lighter than wooden pallets, they are generally large transport materials with each side exceeding 1m in length, and are very bulky when not in use, requiring a large storage space.

In addition, when manufacturing large foamed plastic pallets, large, dedicated molds must be prepared, which can increase production costs.

The present invention was made in consideration of the above problems, and aims to provide a pallet made of foamed resin that can be stored compactly when not in use and can be produced without using large molds.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides a pallet made of foamed resin having multiple fork insertion ports on the front and back, comprising an upper unit that forms the main part of the upper surface of the pallet, a lower unit that forms the main part of the lower surface of the pallet, and a connecting member having a U-shaped cross section in a cross section perpendicular to the fork insertion direction, the upper unit and the lower unit each being composed of two or more pallet members that are connected in a horizontal direction perpendicular to the fork insertion direction, the connecting member having an L-shaped hook portion at both ends of the U-shape that protrudes from the surface opposite to the surface that forms the pallet upper surface or the pallet lower surface, the hook portions provided between adjacent pallet members are arranged so that their tips face each other,
The present invention is characterized in that the pallet members constituting the upper unit and the lower unit are connected to each other by inserting a long, strip-shaped plate between the opposing hook portions.

In the above pallet, it is preferable that the pallet members have through grooves formed near the edges that contact the adjacent pallet members, and that the connecting members are inserted into the through grooves of the adjacent pallet members from the top surface or the bottom surface of the pallet, and the long board is inserted between the opposing hook portions, thereby connecting the adjacent pallet members to each other.

In the above pallet, it is preferable that the pallet member, the long board and the connecting member are made of the same resin material.

In the above pallet, the upper unit and the lower unit each consist of one middle pallet member located in the center and two side pallet members located on either edge of the middle pallet member, and it is preferable that the two side pallet members have the same shape.

In the above pallet, it is preferable that the side pallet member has a connecting recess formed near the side opposite the side that contacts the middle pallet member, into which the connecting member is fitted.

The pallet of the present invention is constructed by connecting multiple pallet members, so it can be stored compactly by separating them when not in use (before use). In addition, compared to a one-piece pallet, only a mold that is half the size is required, making it possible to produce it without using a large mold.

1A is an exploded perspective view mainly showing the top surface of a pallet according to one embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 1B is a perspective view mainly showing the top surface of the same pallet. 1A is a plan view of a pallet used in the above-mentioned pallet, FIG. 1B is a cross-sectional view taken along line A-A in FIG. 1A, and FIG. 1C is a cross-sectional view taken along line B-B in FIG. 1A is a perspective view mainly showing the upper surface of an intermediate pallet member used in the same pallet, and FIG. (a) is a plan view of the middle pallet body, (b) is a left side view, (c) is a bottom view, (d) is a front view, (e) is a side cross-sectional view along line CC of (a), and (f) is a cross-sectional view along line DD. 4A is a perspective view mainly showing the upper surface of a side pallet member used in the same pallet, and FIG. 4B is a perspective view mainly showing the lower surface. (a) is a plan view of the side pallet body, (b) is a left side view, (c) is a bottom view, (d) is a right side view, (e) is a front view, (f) is a side cross-sectional view along line E-E of (a), and (g) is a cross-sectional view along line F-F. 4A is a perspective view mainly showing the bottom surface of a connecting member used in the above-mentioned pallet, and FIG. 4B is a perspective view mainly showing the plan view. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a long board used in the pallet. 5A to 5C are perspective views for explaining an assembly procedure for the pallet.

A pallet according to one embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. As shown in Figs. 1(a)(b) and 2(a) to (c), the pallet 1 of this embodiment is suitable for use in managing and transporting cargo using a forklift or the like at logistics sites. In the following description, the left front side of the pallet 1 shown in Fig. 1(b) will be referred to as the front, and the right front side of the pallet 1 will be referred to as the right side.

Pallet 1 is a box-shaped pallet with multiple fork insertion openings 10 on the front and back so that forks of a forklift can be inserted from two sides, and is equipped with an upper unit 2 that forms the main part of the pallet top surface 20, and a lower unit 3 that forms the main part of the pallet bottom surface 30.

For the sake of convenience, the upper unit 2 and the lower unit 3 are designated as upper and lower, but they have the same structure except for the upper and lower arrangements and orientations, and each is made up of two or more pallet members 4, 5 connected horizontally in a direction perpendicular to the fork insertion direction. Both the upper unit 2 and the lower unit 3 are made up of one middle pallet member 4 arranged in the center, and two side pallet members 5 arranged on both edges of this middle pallet member 4. The pallet 1 also includes connecting members 6 and long boards 7 for connecting the upper unit 2 and the lower unit 3, and the adjacent pallet members 4, 5. One pallet 1 is made up of two middle pallet members 4, four side pallet members 5, 16 connecting members, and four long boards 7.

Pallet 1 is a rectangular shape with one side longer than the other, with the long side being made up of the short sides of the three pallet members 4 and 5, and the short side being made up of the long side of one pallet member 4 and 5. For example, the length of the long side of pallet 1 is 1700 mm, and the length of the short side is 1300 mm.

The material constituting the pallet members 4 and 5 is, for example, a foamed synthetic resin such as a polyolefin resin such as polystyrene, polyethylene, or polypropylene. In this embodiment, expanded polystyrene (EPS (expanded polystyrene)) is used. It is preferable that the connecting member 6 and the long board 7 are made of a non-foamed material made of the same resin material as the pallet members 4 and 5.

3(a)(b) and 4(a) to (f), the middle pallet member 4 is rectangular in plan view, with its short sides being approximately one-third of the long sides of the pallet 1, and its long sides being the short sides of the pallet 1. All four corners of the middle pallet member 4 are right angles in plan view, and the top surface 40 of the middle pallet member 4 is a flat surface. The middle pallet member 4 also has a through groove 41 formed near the long side that contacts the adjacent side pallet member 5. This through groove 41 is an elongated groove that runs along the long side of the middle pallet member 4, and is formed to penetrate from the top surface 40 to the bottom surface 43 at a predetermined interval from the long side of the middle pallet member 4 so as to correspond to the length and width of the hook portion 61 of the connecting member 6 described later. Additionally, the portion of the long side continuing beyond the through groove 41 to the outside is a connecting recess 42 formed in a concave shape so as to be lower than the top surface 40 of the middle pallet member 4, into which the connection portion 63 of the connecting member 6 described below is fitted. The through groove 41 and the connecting recess 42 are provided in two locations on each long side of the middle pallet member 4, alternately on the opposing sides. The right side of the middle pallet member 4 is the same as the left side.

The underside 43 of the middle pallet member 4 has a central recess 44 and side protrusions 45 provided on both longitudinal edges. The upper surface of the side protrusions 45 is stepped higher on the side of the central recess 44 and lower on the long side. The long board 7 is inserted into the lowered portion of the upper surface of the side protrusions 45.

The side protrusion 45 has an exposed through groove 41 penetrating from the upper surface 40. A hook receiving recess 46 is also provided at a lowered portion of the upper surface of the side protrusion 45, which is further thinly carved. This hook receiving recess 46 receives the hook portion 61 of the connecting member 6 protruding from the middle pallet member 4 that faces it from above and below. The through groove 41 and the hook receiving recess 46 are provided alternately along each long side. A protruding strip 47 is provided along the through groove 41 at a higher portion of the upper surface of the side protrusion 45 on the side of the central recess 44. The protruding strip 47 is provided in the through groove 41 located at a diagonal corner of the middle pallet member 4. A strip groove 48 corresponding to the protruding strip 47 is provided along the hook receiving recess 46 located at a diagonal corner different from the protruding strip 47.

As shown in Figures 5(a) and (b) and Figures 6(a) to (f), the side pallet member 5, like the middle pallet member 4, has a rectangular rectangular shape in plan view, with its short sides forming approximately one-third of the long sides of the pallet 1 and its long sides forming the short sides of the pallet 1. Of the four corners of the side pallet member 5, the corner on the long side adjacent to the middle pallet member 4 is a right angle in plan view. On the other hand, the corner formed by the long side and short side opposite the long side adjacent to the middle pallet member 4 is chamfered to be rounded. This chamfered corner becomes the corner of the pallet 1. The top surface 50 of the side pallet member 5 is also a flat surface.

The side pallet member 5 has a through groove 51 formed near the long side that contacts the adjacent middle pallet member 5, and the portion on the long side of the through groove 51 is configured as a connecting recess 52A, similar to the middle pallet member 4. On the other hand, of the two long sides of the side pallet member 5, two parallel through grooves 51 are formed near the long side opposite the middle pallet member 4, and the portion between these through grooves 51 is configured as a connecting recess 52B formed in a concave shape so as to be lower than the upper surface 50 of the side pallet member 5, and the connection portion 63 of the connecting member 6 described later is fitted into it.

The underside 53 of the side pallet member 5 has a central recess 54 that forms the upper or lower surface of the fork insertion port 10, and side protrusions 55A, 55B that are provided on both longitudinal edges of the central recess 54 and form the side surfaces of the fork insertion port 10. The upper surfaces of the side protrusions 55A, 55B are stepped higher on the central recess 54 side and lower on the long side, similar to the middle pallet member 4. The side protrusions 55A, 55B also have an exposed through groove 51 penetrating from the upper surface 50 and a hook receiving recess 56, similar to the middle pallet member 4, but the through groove 51 and hook receiving recess 56 of the outer side protrusion 55A each correspond to a pair of hooks 61 of the connecting member 6. The convex strips 57 and strip grooves 58 provided on the upper surfaces of the side protrusions 55A, 55B are also similar to the middle pallet member 4.

As shown in Figures 7(a) and (b), the connecting member 6 is a member with a U-shaped cross section, and has L-shaped hook portions 61 formed at both ends of the U-shape, side portions 62 forming both sides of the U-shape, and a connecting portion 63 connecting these. The hook portions 61 are formed by cutting out the inner surfaces of both ends of the U-shape in the horizontal direction.

As shown in FIG. 8, the long board 7 is a strip-shaped member with flat upper and lower surfaces, and its length is roughly equal to the depth of the pallet 1 and the length of the long sides of the pallet members 4 and 5, and its width is roughly equal to the distance between the opposing hook portions 61.

The assembly procedure for the pallet 1 configured as described above will be described with reference to Figures 9(a) to (c). As shown in Figure 9(a), one middle pallet member 4 constituting the upper unit 2 is arranged with two side pallet members 5 on either side of it, one middle pallet member 4 constituting the lower unit 3 is arranged with two side pallet members 5 on either side of it, and a predetermined number of connecting members 6 are prepared.

Then, as shown in FIG. 9(b), the connecting members 6 are fitted into the respective connecting recesses 42, 52 of the upper unit 2 and the lower unit 3. This connects the adjacent middle pallet member 4 and side pallet member 5. At this time, the hook portions 61 protrude from the through grooves 41, 51 of the lower unit 3 onto the upper surface of the lower unit 3, and similarly, the hook portions 61 protrude from the lower surface of the upper unit 3. Then, as shown in FIG. 9(c), the upper unit 2 is placed on the lower unit 3. At this time, the hook portions 61 protruding from the lower surface of the upper unit 2 and the upper surface of the lower unit 3 fit into the hook receiving recesses 46, 56 provided on the upper surface of the lower unit 3 and the lower surface of the upper unit 2.

The upper surfaces of the side protrusions 45 of the middle pallet member 4 and the upper surfaces of the side protrusions 55A, 55B of the side pallet member 5 overlap at staggered lower portions to form an insertion space for the long board 7. This insertion space for the long board 7 is partially surrounded by the hooks 61 of the connecting members 6 (Figs. 2(b) and (c)). Therefore, when the long board 7 is inserted between the opposing hooks 61, the long board 7 and each connecting member 6 are connected. Some of the hooks 61 of the connecting members 6 protrude from the underside of the upper unit 2, and some protrude from the top of the lower unit 3. As a result, the common long board 7 is connected between these upper and lower hooks 61, and the upper unit 2 and the lower unit 3 are connected.

Thus, according to the pallet 1 of this embodiment, the pallet 1 is divided into multiple pallet members 4, 5, which are connected using the connecting members 6 and long boards 7. Therefore, when the pallet 1 is not in use (before use), it can be stored compactly by separating the pallet members 4, 5. Also, compared to a one-piece pallet, the pallet members 4, 5 are less than half the size, so it is only necessary to prepare a mold that matches that size, and production can be achieved without using a large mold. Also, since there are only two types of pallet members 4, 5, a middle pallet member 4 and a side pallet member 5, it is only necessary to prepare two types of molds.

When manufacturing a box-shaped double-sided pallet from foamed resin, due to the principle of mold molding, it is necessary to mold the upper unit and the lower unit as separate bodies and then join them together, and conventionally, they were joined together with adhesive. Therefore, after joining the upper unit and the lower unit, they could not be separated. In contrast, according to the pallet 1 of this embodiment, the upper unit 2 and the lower unit 3, and each pallet member 4, 5 are connected simply by fitting the connecting member 6 and inserting the long board 7 from the front or back, so that adhesive is not required for joining. In addition, since no adhesive is used, the pallet members 4, 5, the connecting member 6, and the long board 7 can be disassembled after connection and use. In addition, by using the same resin material for the pallet members 4, 5, the connecting member 6, and the long board 7, it is not necessary to separate and collect each member when disposing of the pallet 1, which makes disposal more efficient and suitable for the reuse of plastic resources.

If only the middle pallet member 4 and the side pallet member 5, or the upper unit 2 and the lower unit 3 are to be connected, the pallet 1 can be assembled using only the connecting members 6 and the long boards 7 arranged between the middle pallet member 4 and the side pallet member 5. However, in this embodiment, a connecting member is also inserted near the edge of the side pallet member 5 opposite the edge that contacts the middle pallet member 4, and the long boards 7 can be inserted, making the connection between the upper unit 2 and the lower unit 3 stronger.

The present invention is not limited to the configuration of the above embodiment, and various modifications are possible without departing from the spirit of the invention. In addition, in the above embodiment, an example was described in which the structure of the pallet 1 is applied to transporting luggage using a forklift, but this does not exclude application to other structures made of foamed synthetic resin.

1 Pallet 2 Upper unit 20 Pallet upper surface 3 Lower unit 30 Pallet lower surface 4 Middle pallet member (pallet member)
42 Connection recess 5 Side pallet member (pallet member)
52 Connection recess 6 Connection member 61 Hook portion 7 Long plate

Claims (5)

A pallet made of foamed resin having multiple fork insertion ports on the front and back,
An upper unit that constitutes the main part of the upper surface of the pallet, a lower unit that constitutes the main part of the lower surface of the pallet, and a connecting member having a U-shaped cross section in a cross section perpendicular to the fork insertion direction ,
The upper unit and the lower unit each include two or more pallet members connected in a horizontal direction perpendicular to the fork insertion direction,
The connecting member has an L-shaped hook portion protruding from the surface opposite to the surface forming the pallet upper surface or the pallet lower surface at both ends of the U-shape , and the hook portions provided between adjacent pallet members are arranged so that their tips face each other,
A pallet characterized in that the pallet members constituting the upper unit and the lower unit are connected to each other by inserting a long, strip-shaped plate between the opposing hook portions. The pallet member has a through groove formed in the vicinity of a side in contact with an adjacent pallet member,
A pallet as described in claim 1, characterized in that the connecting members are inserted into the through grooves of adjacent pallet members from the top surface or the bottom surface of the pallet, and the long board is inserted between the opposing hook portions, thereby connecting adjacent pallet members to each other. The pallet according to claim 1, characterized in that the pallet members, the long boards and the connecting members are made of the same resin material. The upper unit and the lower unit each comprise an intermediate pallet member disposed in the center and two side pallet members disposed on both edges of the intermediate pallet member,
A pallet as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the two side pallet members are of the same shape. The pallet according to claim 4, characterized in that the side pallet member has a connecting recess formed near the side opposite to the side in contact with the middle pallet member, into which the connecting member is fitted.

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