DE102019006881A1 - Pallet transport aid - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention provides a transport aid (1) for a floor conveyor (10) as well as a floor conveyor / transport aid combination (100) and a method for arranging the transport aid (1) on a floor conveyor (10). The transport aid according to the invention is designed for transporting pallets for arrangement on a predetermined floor conveyor (10) with two fork prongs (30 '). For this purpose, the transport aid (1) has a vertical base plate (2) with a receiving side (22) and a transport side (21), with at least four fork prongs (3) parallel at a common first height on a lower edge of the vertical base plate (2) are arranged to each other and extend horizontally away from the transport side (21). Furthermore, at least two middle fork prongs (3) are at least partially hollow prongs (30) with a cavity (35), the geometry of which corresponds to the geometry of a fork prong (30 ') of the predetermined floor conveyor (10). These are designed to accommodate the fork prongs (30 ') of the floor conveyor (10).

Description

The invention relates to a pallet transport aid and an industrial truck on which such a transport aid is arranged.

Industrial trucks such as pallet trucks or forklifts are known from the prior art, which have a pair of fork prongs as load handling means with which they can engage in openings of pallets, lift them and transport the goods arranged thereon. These vehicles are small and manoeuvrable, but can only hold one pallet in width.

For such vehicles, extensions such as fork shoes are made DE 10 2010 047 630 A1 known that slipped over the forks and connected to them, for. B. be bolted, and are used to extend the forks and to be able to hold several pallets in a row. Also describes U.S. 3,283,933 A a transport plate that can be attached to the vehicle.

There are also forklifts to which an attachment that is adapted to the respective transport task is attached. DE 10 2014 010 898 A1 discloses such an attachment, the six forks of which, each with a vertical and a horizontal section, which forms the fork prong, can be varied in their spacing from one another. Such attachments have to be mounted on the vehicle and thus the drive and can only be dismantled again with assembly effort, so that they usually remain in the mounted state and different vehicles have to be kept available for different transport tasks, which is costly and space-intensive.

U.S. 4,239,446 A describes an adapter to adapt a forklift with a pair of tines to the width of two pairs of tines. The adapter has two receiving openings through which the horizontal sections, that is to say the prongs of the fork lift truck, are guided, and two rails in which the vertical sections of the forks connected to the prongs are gripped. A fastening bolt per vertical section closes the rail opening and thus holds the adapter on the vehicle.

Based on this prior art, the object of the present invention is to provide a simple and inexpensive way of adapting the transport capacity of an industrial truck without assembly.

This object is achieved by a pallet transport aid with the features of claim 1.

The further object of being able to transport several pallets arranged next to one another with a commercially available industrial truck is achieved by the industrial truck with the features of independent claim 8.

The object of arranging the pallet transport aid on an industrial truck is achieved by the method having the features of independent claim 10.

Preferred embodiments of the transport aid are set out in the subclaims.

A first embodiment of the pallet transport aid according to the invention is designed to be arranged on two or more fork prongs of a predetermined floor conveyor for the transport of pallets. For this purpose, the transport aid has a vertical base plate with a receiving side and a transport side, with at least four fork prongs being arranged parallel to one another at a common first height on a lower edge of the vertical base plate and extending horizontally away from the transport side. At least two middle fork prongs are at least partially hollow prongs with a cavity, the geometry of which corresponds to the geometry of a fork prong of the predetermined floor conveyor, and designed so that a predetermined fork prong of the floor conveyor can be received therein. For this purpose, the hollow prongs each have an opening at an entry end through which a fork prong of the floor conveyor can be threaded into the cavity.

The transport aid according to the invention can advantageously be arranged on a floor conveyor without any assembly and connected to it in such a way that its transport capacity is expanded with the additional forks and several pallets arranged next to one another can be lifted. This is particularly useful when loading and unloading trucks where a certain number of pallets are to be placed next to each other. "Assembly-free" means here that no tools are required to attach the transport aid, nor to detach it. It is also not necessary for a worker to do this.

The term "floor conveyor" (short for floor conveyor vehicle) can be used to cover both manually or motorized vehicles with lifting devices of any configuration, such as lift trucks, forklifts, forklifts. What these have in common is that there are always two horizontally running fork tines (a pair of fork tines) with a specific geometry for lifting and transporting a pallet of a predetermined size on the vehicle. Also included are vehicles that are only equipped with forks after being attached modern autonomous transport units (double skid systems) in which all essential components are in the forks.

If we speak of transport pallets or “pallets” for short, this also includes lattice boxes and other wheelchair-accessible load carriers on which goods are bundled or loosely arranged for storage and transport and are designed in such a way that forks of a floor conveyor run under the cage or load carrier we can talk that they can be lifted and transported. With the lifting, transporting and setting down of a one-way or reusable pallet, the transport of palletized goods, i.e. goods placed on the respective pallet, is included.

The fork prongs of the predetermined floor conveyor can be inserted into the hollow prongs for arranging the transport aid on the floor conveyor by simply moving the floor conveyor to the transport aid until the prongs are received in the cavity. Then the forks of the floor conveyor can be raised and used with the forks of the transport aid as usual, only expanded in width. The connection is created solely by the adhesive force when the inner surface (s) of the hollow prongs come into contact with the fork prongs of the floor conveyor, so that no additional fastenings such as rails, screws, bolts, etc. are necessary. The transport aid is loosened in the reverse order and also without assembly.

“Predetermined” in relation to the industrial truck is to be understood here as meaning that the geometry of the forks of the industrial conveyor is known in advance in order to select the geometry of the cavity of the hollow teeth so that it can accommodate the forks of the industrial conveyor. There can be standard dimensions that are usually used for the transport of one or more standardized pallets arranged one behind the other, e.g. B. Europool pallets (i.e. fork length 1150 mm or two or three times that, short fork length 800 mm, fork width 150 mm to 160 mm, fork height 50 mm), industrial pallets, chemical pallets, or different individual dimensions for transport tasks with special pallets.

The geometries (internal dimensions of the cavity of the hollow prongs and external dimensions of the fork prongs of the floor conveyor) do not completely match for the receptacle; rather, it makes sense for low-friction insertion if there is little play without the holding force of the transport aid on the floor conveyor being impaired.

Exemplary dimensions of the internal dimensions of the hollow tines for the floor conveyor with the aforementioned fork tines are approximately 200 mm wide and 86 mm high.
The hollow prongs can essentially have the length of the removable fork prongs of the floor conveyor, or be up to twice the length thereof, the extending section not having to be hollow. The other fork prongs can also be made solid or hollow.

A thickness of a few millimeters, for example in a range from 2 mm to 6 mm, may be sufficient for the walls of the hollow prongs, with the person skilled in the art choosing a greater wall thickness if necessary.

Terms such as "below", "above", "next to each other", "behind each other" etc. relate to the orientation of the transport aid on the floor, respectively. Transport route and looking along the forks to the pallets to be transported. Slight deviations from the "horizontal" or "vertical" alignment are possible and are amplified when the forks are tilted by the floor conveyor.

The fork prongs are arranged on the lower edge of the vertical base plate with the latter or offset up to 20 cm upwards, with the fork prongs resting on the floor when released from the floor conveyor, so that the transport aid is approximately upright and the hollow prongs are accessible at the entry end .

All forks of the transport aid preferably have the same dimensions and are aligned in the same way for transporting pallets of the same type arranged in a structured manner.

The hollow prongs can be closed on all sides except for the entry end. In this way, floor conveyors such as lift trucks, with load rollers at their forks for support on the ground, can move into the hollow tines together with the load rollers.

In a further embodiment, the hollow prongs of the transport aid are completely or partially open on a downward-facing side, e.g. B. over the full length of the cavity, but not over its entire width; a wraparound for the forks of the floor conveyor is formed. In this way, floor conveyors can be connected to the transport aid without losing the floor contact of the rollers or the height adjustability. The hollow prongs can also be open at their tips, so that when it is arranged on a floor conveyor it can be seen visually whether the transport aid is slipped sufficiently far over its fork prongs.

The fork prongs, including the hollow prongs, can be connected to the base plate on the transport side or, in an embodiment that is easy to manufacture, extend through this and, for example, be connected by welding. The base plate then has appropriately dimensioned passage openings for access to the hollow prongs or the passage of the fork prongs.

In yet another embodiment of the subject matter according to the invention, one or more fork prongs extend through the base plate and thus have two sections: a section on which the pallet comes to rest, and a section (end section) which faces the industrial truck. The end section is preferably supported against the base plate with a support element. This can be done using an angle, a plate or a rod. This stabilizes the fork prongs and the leverage forces that act on the fork prongs when they are loaded are absorbed. Furthermore, the base plate is stabilized by the support element against bending when the fork prongs are loaded. The individually present transport aid can also be better supported on the ground and remain in an upright, connectable position. Advantageously, no manual interventions are required in order to be able to attach the transport aid to a floor conveyor; In addition to assembly, there is also no need for pre-positioning.

Alternatively or in addition, it can be provided that the fork prongs are beveled at least on the section extending through the vertical base plate, so that if the load is uneven across the width, tilting of the fork prongs is prevented by wedging them with the base plate. The forks usually do not have to withstand a greater tipping load, since the pallets (with / without load) have approximately the same weight.

According to a further embodiment, securing elements are present on the receiving side of the vertical base plate, which can be brought into engagement with corresponding securing elements present on the floor conveyor to secure the transport aid against unintentional slipping. In a simple variant, these securing elements can be chains or strips that can be hooked, hung or threaded through a corresponding hook or eye of the floor conveyor. It can also be a latching mechanism with latching elements which mechanically creates the securing device without manual intervention by bringing them into engagement with corresponding latching elements that are present on the floor conveyor. To this extent, securing is not to be equated with attaching or securing, because this is done by threading the fork tines of the floor conveyor into the hollow tines, whereby these come to lie flat against one another and adhesive forces are created.

According to yet another preferred embodiment of the transport aid according to the invention, it has six fork prongs, so that with it a floor conveyor with a pair of prongs can be expanded to three pairs of prongs and consequently can lift and transport three pallets arranged next to one another. Other numbers are also possible, whereby only multiples of two are useful, which should be arranged symmetrically to the center of the base plate in order to maintain the balance of the system.

The fork prongs can be rounded at their tips pointing away from the transport side of the base plate or they can taper towards their tips so that they do not tilt when they are threaded into the openings of the pallets to be transported.

The hollow prongs can be widened towards their entry end located on the receiving side of the base plate and additionally or alternatively have a bevel. When arranging the transport aid on the floor conveyor, this facilitates the threading of the fork prongs.

Another embodiment provides that the fork prongs can be telescoped in order to be able to transport pallets of different depths or several pallets arranged one behind the other.

It is also possible that further fork prongs extend through the base plate at at least one further height, which are arranged parallel to the fork prongs arranged at the first height and preferably correspond to these in number and dimensions in order to lift several pallets arranged one above the other at a certain distance can.

The invention also relates to a floor conveyor-transport aid combination, that is to say a floor conveyor with two fork prongs, on which the transport aid according to the invention is arranged without assembly, in that the fork prongs of the floor conveyor are received in the central hollow prongs of the transport aid.

Securing elements corresponding to the securing elements of the transport aid, such as hooks, eyes or corresponding latching means, can be present on the floor conveyor. An actuation device can be provided for releasing the latching mechanism.

• - Positionieren der Gabelzinken des vorbestimmten Flurförderers auf einer Höhe, die der Höhe der Hohlzinken der Transporthilfe entspricht,
• - Einführen der Gabelzinken des vorbestimmten Flurförderers in die Hohlzinken der Transporthilfe, dadurch Verbinden der Transporthilfe (1) mit dem Flurförderer.

Using the method according to the invention, which comprises the following steps, the transport aid can be arranged effortlessly and without assembly on a predetermined floor conveyor which has at least two fork prongs:

• - Positioning the fork prongs of the predetermined floor conveyor at a height that corresponds to the height of the hollow prongs of the transport aid,
• - Insertion of the fork prongs of the predetermined floor conveyor into the hollow prongs of the transport aid, thereby connecting the transport aid ( 1 ) with the floor conveyor.

By performing the steps in reverse order, the manufactured floor conveyor / transport aid combination can just as easily be released again. To do this, the transport aid must first be lowered so that it rests on the floor again and no longer on the forks of the floor conveyor.

As a further step, the method can include mechanically securing the transport aid on the floor conveyor by bringing the securing elements present on the floor conveyor into engagement with the corresponding securing elements present on the transport aid.

Further embodiments and some of the advantages associated with these and further embodiments of the transport aid will be made clearer and better understood by the following detailed description with reference to the accompanying figures. Objects or parts thereof that are essentially the same or similar can be provided with the same reference symbols. The figures are only a schematic representation of an embodiment of the invention.

• 1 eine perspektivische Frontansicht einer erfindungsgemäßen Transporthilfe,
• 2 eine perspektivische Rückansicht einer erfindungsgemäßen Transporthilfe,
• 3 eine perspektivische Frontansicht einer weiteren erfindungsgemäßen Transporthilfe,
• 4 eine Seitenansicht eines Flurförderers und einer Transporthilfe a) vor, b) während und b) nach dem Anordnen aneinander.

Show:

• 1 a perspective front view of a transport aid according to the invention,
• 2 a perspective rear view of a transport aid according to the invention,
• 3 a perspective front view of a further transport aid according to the invention,
• 4th a side view of a floor conveyor and a transport aid a) before, b) during and b) after the arrangement.

The invention relates to a pallet transport aid and a floor conveyor / transport aid combination, in which the transport aid according to the invention is arranged on the floor conveyor, and the corresponding method for producing the combination.

An embodiment of a transport aid 1 is in 1 and 2 shown in a front or a rear view, where pallets can be received on the front side and the rear side is provided for the arrangement on the floor conveyor.

The transport aid 1 has a vertical base plate 2 with one to the front of the transport aid 1 pointing transport side 21 and one to the rear of the transport aid 1 facing recording side 22nd on. Through the vertical base plate 2 six fork prongs extend through it 3 , 30th that are on the transport side 21 from the vertical base plate 2 stick out and stand on top of it 32 rejuvenate. The forks 3 , 30th are fixed to the base plate 2 connected.

In contrast to what is shown in the figures, the fork tines can, taking into account the minimum height of a predetermined floor conveyor 3 , 30th also slightly offset upwards through the vertical base plate 2 run away.

The two middle forks 30th are as hollow teeth 30th with a cavity 35 formed and have on the receiving side 22nd the base plate 2 Receiving openings 31 on ( 2 ). Nevertheless, the forks differ 3 and the hollow teeth 30th not in their external dimensions, as in 1 you can see. They are therefore intended for the transport of identical pallets, with adjacent fork prongs 3 , 30th each form pairs that offer space for transporting a total of three pallets arranged side by side.

3 shows a transport aid similar to that in 1 where the hollow teeth 30th at their head 32 are open, ie the inside of the hollow prongs 30th present cavity 35 is not limited to the front by a wall.

In 4a to 4c the arrangement of the transport aid is shown 1 on a floor conveyor 10 . To do this, the two are on the floor conveyor 10 present forks 30 ' , more precisely their horizontally extending section, which is used to lift pallets, over the receiving openings 31 in the hollow teeth 30th (in the side view through other forks 3 hidden) introduced by the floor conveyor 10 on the transport aid 1 is moved to (direction of arrow V ), roughly to their tips 32 abut or up to the vertical base plate 2 the front of the floor conveyor 10 contacted. This is how the floor conveyor / transport aid combination 100 ( 4c ) created. Will now be the forks 30 ' of the floor conveyor 10 even if it is only slightly raised, the transport aid rises 1 with and is now with the floor conveyor 10 connected so that several pallets are lifted side by side in the usual way, can be transported and deposited at the destination. About the transport aid 1 again from the floor conveyor 10 To solve the problem, the procedure is reversed: the forks 30 ' of the floor conveyor 10 are lowered via its lifting device until the base plate 2 (and, if applicable, the forks 3 , 30th the transport aid 1 , depending on the height at which they are arranged) contacts the ground and rests on it with their weight. Then the forks can 30 ' of the floor conveyor 10 from the hollow teeth 30th can be unthreaded by the floor conveyor 10 backwards (against the direction of the arrow V ) from the transport aid 1 is moved away. The transport aid 1 stops at this point and is ready, if necessary again from a floor conveyor 10 to be included.

The transport aid 1 also points on the receiving side 22nd the vertical base plate 2 four receiving-side end sections 34 the forks 3 on, each by a plate-shaped support element 4th oriented vertically with the receiving side 22nd the base plate 2 are connected. The support elements 4th prevent bending or even breaking of the base plate 2 under load on the forks 3 and stabilize the forks 3 in which no fork prong 30 ' a floor conveyor 10 is recorded. On the receiving-side end sections 34 can the transport aid 1 when it is placed individually so that the base plate 2 always remains in an approximately vertical orientation and thus the receiving openings 31 the hollow teeth 30th anytime for a floor conveyor 10 are accessible. In addition, the end sections 34 a counterweight to the forks 3 , 30th form and the transport aid 1 stabilize even in the connected state and during the transport of goods. Because the hollow prongs 30th do not have such a portion lies between the inner end portions 34 (with support elements 4th ) so that the width of the floor conveyor can be placed in between, as in the floor conveyor / transport aid combination 100 in 4c shown.

Two chains are used as securing elements 5 on the recording side 22nd the vertical base plate 2 appropriate. The chains 5 can each on one side of a floor conveyor 10 on corresponding securing elements 5 ' are hooked and secure the transport aid when connected 1 from slipping if the weight distribution is unfavorable. The connection between the transport aid 1 and the floor conveyor 10 can be independent of such security elements 5 , 5 ' take place because of the large contact area inside the hollow prongs 30th sufficiently high adhesive forces are available to aid the transport 1 to hold with and without a load.

Around the receiving openings 31 there is a stepped edge 7th in front, which can also be marked in color, around the receiving openings 31 Visually highlighting and threading when arranging on the floor conveyor 10 to facilitate.

The transport aid 1 has an opening 6th at which the transport aid 1 collected and independent of the connection to a floor conveyor 10 can be spent. In alternative embodiments, further openings, or viewing windows, can be made in the base plate 2 are present.

Also a floor conveyor 10 with more than two fork prongs can with a transport aid according to the invention 1 are equipped, which then have a number of hollow tines corresponding to the number of forks of the floor conveyor 30th having.

The size relationships shown in the figures, in particular wall thicknesses, spacings and lengths of the fork prongs, are only shown by way of example.

List of reference symbols

1

Transport aid

10

Floor conveyor

2

vertical base plate

21

Transport side

22nd

Recording side

3

Fork prong

30th

Hollow prong

30 '

Fork tines of the floor conveyor

31

Entry end

32

Pointed fork prong

33

Underside hollow prong

34

receiving end section fork prong

35

Cavity hollow prong

4th

Support element

5

Security elements

5 '

corresponding securing elements

6th

opening

7th

offset edge

V.

Connection direction

QUOTES INCLUDED IN THE DESCRIPTION

This list of the documents listed by the applicant was generated automatically and is included solely for the better information of the reader. The list is not part of the German patent or utility model application. The DPMA assumes no liability for any errors or omissions.

Patent literature cited

• DE 102010047630 A1 [0003]
• US 3283933 A [0003]
• DE 102014010898 A1 [0004]
• US 4239446 A [0005]

Claims (10)

Transport aid (1) for a predetermined floor conveyor (10) with two fork prongs (30 '), designed for transporting pallets, characterized in that the transport aid (1) has a vertical base plate (2) with a receiving side (22) and a transport side ( 21), with at least four fork prongs (3) being arranged parallel to one another at a common first height on a lower edge of the vertical base plate (2) and extending horizontally away from the transport side (21), and with at least two middle fork prongs (3 ) are at least partially hollow prongs (30) and have a cavity (35), the geometry of which corresponds to the geometry of a fork prong (30 ') of the predetermined floor conveyor (10), and are designed to hold the fork prongs (30') of the floor conveyor (10) to record. Transport aid (1) Claim 1 , characterized in that the hollow prongs (30) are closed or at least partially open on a downwardly facing side (33). Transport aid (1) Claim 1 or 2 , characterized in that at least one fork prong (3) extends through the vertical base plate (2) and with a receiving-side end section (34) away from the receiving side (22) of the vertical base plate (2), preferably the receiving-side end section (34 ) is supported with a support element (4) against the base plate (2), preferably with an angle, a plate or a rod, and / or the fork prong (3) is beveled at least on the section extending through the vertical base plate. Transport aid (1) according to at least one of the Claims 1 to 3 , characterized in that on the receiving side (22) of the vertical base plate (2) there are securing elements (5), preferably chains (5), strips or locking elements, which are present to secure the transport aid (1) on the floor conveyor (10) corresponding securing elements (5 ') can be brought into engagement. Transport aid (1) according to at least one of the Claims 1 to 4th , characterized in that the transport aid (1) has six fork prongs (3, 30) and / or the fork prongs (3, 30) are rounded at their tips (32) or taper towards their tips (32) and / or a Have bevel, and / or the hollow prongs (30) are widened towards an entry end (31) lying on the receiving side (22) of the base plate (2) and / or have a bevel. Transport aid (1) according to at least one of the Claims 1 to 5 , characterized in that the fork tines (3, 30) are telescopic, and / or that further fork tines extend at least at one further height through the base plate (2), which are parallel to the fork tines (3, 30) arranged at the first height. are arranged and preferably correspond to these in number and dimensions. Floor conveyor / transport aid combination (100) comprising a floor conveyor (10) and a transport aid, the floor conveyor (10) having two fork prongs (30 '), characterized in that the transport aid is a transport aid (1) according to at least one of the Claims 1 to 6th and is arranged on the floor conveyor (10) without assembly by the fork prongs (30 ') of the floor conveyor (10) being received in the hollow prongs (30) of the transport aid (1). Floor conveyor / transport aid combination (100) Claim 7 , characterized in that securing elements (5 ') are present on the floor conveyor (10) which engage with securing elements (5) present on the transport aid (1). Method for arranging a transport aid (1) according to at least one of the Claims 1 to 6th on a predetermined floor conveyor (10), which has two fork prongs (30 '), producing the floor conveyor / transport aid combination (100) Claim 7 , comprising the steps - positioning the fork prongs (30 ') of the floor conveyor (10) at a height which corresponds to the height of the hollow prongs (30) of the transport aid (1), - inserting the fork prongs (30') of the floor conveyor (10) in the hollow prongs (30) of the transport aid (1), thereby connecting the transport aid (1) to the floor conveyor (10). Procedure according to Claim 9 , comprising the further step - mechanically securing the transport aid (1) on the floor conveyor (10) by bringing the securing elements (5 ') present on the floor conveyor (10) into engagement with the corresponding securing elements (5) present on the transport aid (1) .

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