ITMC20080032A1 - RUBBER TABLE MADE ENTIRELY WITH RECOVERY MATERIALS FROM THE TIRE SECTOR. - Google Patents

Description

DESCRIPTION

accompanying a patent application for an industrial invention entitled:

“RUBBER PALLET MADE ENTIRELY WITH RECOVERY MATERIAL FROM THE TIRES SECTOR”.

TEXT OF THE DESCRIPTION

The present patent application for industrial invention relates to a rubber pallet made entirely of material originally intended for the production of tires, but which, having not passed the quality controls, is currently destined for disposal in landfills.

At the moment there are three different types of pallets and precisely those made of plastic or wood or metal.

In any case, said models, even if of different material, all have the same structural conformation, comprising a rectangular or square platform under which there are the feet for its support raised from the ground, which, in addition to being in correspondence of the four corners, are located at intermediate points to them, so as to avoid excessive bending of the platform.

More precisely, the first type of pallet, the one made of plastic, has a monolithic grilled plate, incorporating these feet at the bottom which can have different shapes, but which must in any case be spaced in such a way as to allow the insertion of the forklift forks.

The wooden pallet consists of a wooden platform under which wooden feet are nailed, also positioned in such a way as to allow the insertion of said forks.

The metal pallet is also made up of a platform under which metal feet are welded.

By comparing the pallets made with different materials, it is easy to understand that the one made of wood is certainly the cheapest, but more prone to breakage, while the one made of plastic is certainly more expensive and resistant, and finally the one made of metal is practically indestructible. , however, in the face of excessive weight and cost of production.

The wooden and plastic pallets are penalized by a poor resistance to bending stresses, so they are inevitably subjected to breaking if said stresses accidentally exceed the values reached by them in the normal use of the pallet.

Conversely, metal pallets, while being able to boast excellent qualities of resistance and sturdiness, are subject to irreversible plastic deformations not being able to count on those characteristics of elasticity that vice versa are typical of wood and plastic.

The purpose of the present invention is to design a pallet made entirely of materials originally intended for the production of tires, but which have not passed quality controls and are therefore unusable for their original use.

A further purpose of the present invention is to design a bench that can boast anti-slip, anti-shock, high flexibility and therefore practically indestructible characteristics.

These and other objects have been achieved by the rubber bed according to the invention, the main characteristics of which are pointed out in the first claim.

It is easy to understand that the design of such a rubber pallet stems from the desire to recover and recycle waste rubbery materials that would otherwise have to be disposed of in landfills as actually happens today.

As everyone knows, tires consist of an internal carcass, made of a rubber plate inside which a parallel series of regularly spaced harmonic steel wires is drowned.

Said rubber plate is externally covered by a lattice of rayon threads (commonly called "cloth"), which is in turn covered by a suitably shaped rubber layer which constitutes the tread of the tire itself.

The different "compounds" of the rubber that make up the tread give the tire different characteristics, which affect both its duration and its performance.

If said plates, intended for the construction of the carcass, have imperfections and therefore cannot be sent to the vulcanization process for the construction of a tire, these are currently discarded and disposed of in landfills.

More precisely, the rubber in which said dense series of threads is drowned is not vulcanized and currently it is economically disadvantageous to recycle it as the separation processes between said rubber and the metal threads embedded in it are very expensive and hence the cause of its current disposal in rubbish dump.

It is therefore obvious that a pallet made entirely of said waste materials was designed because of the important eco-environmental impact it would have had.

As aforementioned, the pallet according to the invention is made entirely of waste material and precisely the construction of the pallet is the result of an accurate combination of recycled rubber sheets with a set of rubber sheets crossed by harmonic steel wires.

Said recycled rubber sheets come from the shredding and refining of rubber treads, heels, substrates and waste, which are currently disposed of in landfills.

The pallet according to the invention has a sandwich structure in which the two outer layers, the upper and the lower one, are composed of recycled rubber sheets having a particular mixture, composed of various materials such as rubber (about 50% of the total weight) and rayon (about 40% of the total weight), to which wood dust must be added (about 10% of the total weight).

Said wood powder constitutes an additive charge which has the advantage of not weighing down the pallet, having a very low specific weight, but giving considerable rigidity to the external layers of the platform.

Between these two external layers are interposed the rubber plates containing harmonic steel wires, coming from the pre-vulcanization of the tire carcass.

The steel wires of each of these plates must be positioned, with respect to the wires of the adjacent upper or lower plate, squarely with them or in any case not parallel.

From the various tests it has been verified that three is the minimum number of rubber sheets with harmonic steel wires, to be interposed between the two external layers of recycled rubber, in order to obtain a sufficiently rigid surface.

It has in fact been found that a pallet whose platform contains only two layers of rubber with harmonic steel is not sufficiently rigid, especially when the previously loaded pallet is lifted by the forks of a forklift.

Conversely, a pallet whose platform is made of four rubber plates with harmonic steel is practically non-deformable during its normal use.

It should also be emphasized that such a platform is indestructible thanks to its elasticity, since, even subjected to the heaviest stresses, such as crushing under the weight of a forklift, it is able to perfectly return to its original flat conformation.

The bench according to the invention also has a series of feet for its support raised from the ground, which are located, as well as at the four corners, also in the median points of each side.

As regards the construction of the feet of the pallet, it was decided to use a central body consisting of a metal core for each foot.

For greater clarity of explanation, the description of the rubber pallet according to the invention continues with reference to the attached drawing tables, having only illustrative and certainly not limiting value:

Figure 1 shows, with an axonometric view of the rubber bed according to the invention, in an upside-down position with respect to its normal operating position and with one corner cut off in order to highlight the internal structure;

Figure 2 schematically shows the sandwich structure of the platform of the pallet according to the invention, seen from the side.

- figures 3 and 4 show two different constructive versions of the support feet of said pallet, sectioned with a vertical plane.

With particular reference to Figure 1, the rubber bed (1) according to the invention consists of a quadrangular platform (2) from which nine feet (3, 4 and 5) project underneath.

Of said nine feet (3, 4 and 5), four (3) are located at each of the four corners, four (4) are at the centerline of the four sides, perfectly interposed between the aforementioned feet (3) and one (5) is perfectly in the center of the platform (2).

Figure 2 shows the conformation of the quadrangular platform (2), which, as anticipated above, is preferably constructed from six layers of identical length and width.

The two outer layers (6 and 7), the upper one (6) and the lower one (7), are two sheets made with a rubber compound composed of various materials and precisely: rubber (about 50% of the total weight), rayon ( about 40% of the total weight) and wood dust (about 10% of the total weight).

Such a mixture is capable of giving the external surface of the platform (2) of the pallet (1) anti-slip characteristics.

As shown in figure 2, between these two external layers (6 and 7) four intermediate layers (8) are interposed, each of which consists of a rubber plate inside which a series of identical and parallel harmonic steel wires is drowned. (9).

Said rubber sheets (8) are like those which are normally used for the construction of the tire carcass.

The steel wires (9) of each of these plates (8) must be positioned, with respect to the wires (9) of the overlying and underlying adjacent plate (8) not parallel to them, rather preferably squared with each other.

With particular reference to Figure 3, in a preferred embodiment of the feet (3, 4 and 5), these consist of a metal core (10) consisting of a cylindrical tubular section covered externally with rubber.

The procedure for making such a rubber pallet is described below.

The first operation is to prepare the feet (3, 4 and 5), which involves taking each metal core (10) and wrapping around them a rubber sheet (11) having a mixture identical to that of the sheets intended to act as layers (6 and 7) of the platform (2).

Said rubber sheet (11) must have a height identical to that of the metal core (10) as well as a length such as to completely envelop its lateral surface.

The second operation involves placing a rubber disk (12) under the metal core (10), previously wrapped by the sheet (11), always of the same material as the external sheets (6 and 7), having a diameter identical to the external diameter of the rubber coating (11) of the core (10).

The third operation involves positioning the feet (3, 4 and 5) thus assembled inside the mold of the pallet (1), with the opposite side to that where the rubber disk (12) has been positioned facing the sandwich layers (8, 9 and 10) intended to constitute the platform (2).

Once the mold has been loaded with the feet (3, 4 and 5) it is possible to insert the lower layer (7) into the mold above which the series of intermediate layers (8) and finally the upper layer (6) are positioned. , positioning each of the intermediate layers (8) in such a way that its series of metal wires (9) are not parallel to the series of wires (9) of the adjacent upper or lower layer (8).

At this point, the mold must be closed and the vulcanization process started.

In an alternative form, said feet can be made entirely of rubber, without the core (10), using the same compound as the sheets (6 and 7), so as to create a foot (3, 4 and 5) completely full, but with the drawback of excessive weight and problems of homogeneous "cooking" of the rubber with which it is made, during the process of molding the pallet (1).

In a preferred embodiment, in order to use exclusively waste material coming from the tire sector, and therefore also eliminating the metal core (10), a foot (3, 4 and 5) was created entirely with the same rubber plates (8) with metal wires (9) inside, as shown in figure 4.

In this case the metal core (10) is replaced by a cylindrical collar (13) obtained with a rubber plate like that of the intermediate layers (8), whose metal wires (9) must be positioned vertically, so as to give the cylindrical collar (13) greater compressive strength.

Below said cylindrical rubber collar (13) it is necessary to position a bottom (14), always obtained with the same material as the intermediate layers (8), whose threads (9) must be positioned horizontally.

At this point it is necessary to wrap the cylindrical rubber collar (13) with a rubber sheet (11) having a mixture identical to that of the sheets intended to act as external layers (6 and 7) of the platform.

Said rubber sheet (11) must have a height identical to that of the cylindrical rubber collar (13) as well as a length such as to completely envelop its lateral surface.

The next operation is that which involves placing a rubber disk (12) under the rolled rubber sheet (11), always of the same material as the external sheets (6 and 7), having a diameter identical to the external diameter of the coating with the rubber sheet (11) of the cylindrical rubber collar (13).

Claims (16)

CLAIMS 1) Bench (1) of the type consisting of a quadrangular platform (2) equipped at the bottom with several feet (3, 4 and 5) of elevation and support for said platform (2), characterized in that said platform (2) has a sandwich structure, consisting of: - a pair of external layers, the first upper (6) and the second lower (7), each of which consists of a sheet made from a mixture composed of rubber, rayon and wood powder; - three or more intermediate layers (8) each of which consists of a rubber plate (8) within which a series of identical and parallel harmonic steel wires (9) is drowned; it being provided that all the layers (6, 7 and 8) have identical length and width and that the steel wires (9) of each of said intermediate layers (8) are positioned with respect to the wires (9) of the overlying and underlying adjacent intermediate layer (8), not parallel to them. 2) Pallet (1), according to claim 1, characterized in that the steel wires (9) of each of said intermediate layers (8) are positioned with respect to the wires (9) of the overlying and underlying the adjacent intermediate layer (8), squaring with each other. 3) Bench (1), according to claims 1 and 2, characterized in that each of said feet (3, 4 and 5) is made entirely of rubber. 4) Pallet (1), according to claim 3, characterized in that the rubber with which said feet (3, 4 and 5) are made has an identical mixture to that used for the outer layers (6 and 7). 5) Pallet (1), according to claims 1 and 2, characterized in that each of said feet (3, 4 and 5) consists of a metal core (10), which is externally covered by a sheet of rubber (11), whose mixture is identical to that of the sheets intended to act as external layers (6 and 7) and which rubber sheet (11) has an identical height to that of the metal core (10) , as well as a length such as to completely envelop its external lateral surface. 6) Pallet (1), according to the preceding claim, characterized in that under the metal core (10), wrapped by the sheet (11), there is a rubber disk (12), always of the same material of the outer sheets (6 and 7), having a diameter identical to the outer diameter of the rubber coating (11) of the core (10). 7) Bench (1), according to claims 5 and 6, characterized in that said core (10) consists of a cylindrical tubular section. 8) Pallet (1), according to claims 1 and 2, characterized in that each of said feet (3, 4 and 5) consists of a cylindrical collar (13) obtained with a rubber plate such as that of the intermediate layers (8), the metal wires (9) of which are positioned vertically and that a bottom (14) is positioned below said cylindrical rubber collar (13), always obtained with the same material as the intermediate layers ( 8), whose wires (9) are positioned horizontally; it being provided that the cylindrical rubber collar (13) is wrapped with a rubber sheet (11), having a mixture identical to that of the sheets intended to act as external layers (6 and 7) of the platform (2) and having a height identical to that of the cylindrical rubber collar (13), as well as a length such as to completely envelop its lateral surface; finally, it being provided that underneath the rolled rubber sheet (11) there is a rubber disk (12), always of the same material as the external sheets (6 and 7), having a diameter identical to the external diameter of the covering with the rubber sheet (11) of the cylindrical rubber collar (13). 9) Pallet according to one of the preceding claims characterized in that the mixture with which the two external layers (6 and 7) are made is composed of the following percentages by weight of: 50% of rubber, 40% of rayon and 10% of wood dust. 10) Process for the construction of a pallet (1), consisting of a quadrangular platform (2) equipped at the bottom with several feet (3, 4 and 5) to raise and support said platform (2), characterized in that it provides that said platform (2) is made by implementing the following operational phases: - positioning the lower layer (7) on the bottom of the mold; - positioning above said lower layer (7) of the series of intermediate layers (8), in such a way that the series of threads (9) of each of the intermediate layers (8) is not parallel to the series of threads (9 ) of the adjacent upper or lower layer (8); - positioning the upper layer (6) above said intermediate layers (8); - closing of the mold and start of the vulcanization process. 11) Process for making a pallet (1), according to claim 10, characterized in that each of the intermediate layers (8) is positioned in such a way that its series of metal wires (9) is perpendicular to the series of wires (9) of the adjacent upper or lower layer (8). 12) Process according to claims 10 and 11, characterized in that each of said feet (3, 4 and 5) is made with rubber previously loaded into the mold. 13. Process according to claims 10 and 11, characterized in that the rubber loaded into the mold has the same compound as that used for the outer layers (6 and 7). 14) Process according to claims 10 and 11, characterized in that, before positioning the layers (6, 7 and 8) intended to constitute the platform (2), the following operating steps are envisaged: - preparation of each foot (3, 4 and 5), taking a metal core (10) and wrapping around it a rubber sheet (11) having a mixture identical to that of the sheets intended to act as external layers (6 and 7) of the platform (2); it being provided that said rubber sheet (11) has a height identical to that of the metal core (10), as well as a length such as to completely envelop its external lateral surface; - positioning under each metal core (10) of a rubber disk (12), always of the same material as the external sheets (6 and 7), having a diameter identical to the external diameter of the rubber coating (11) of the soul (10); - positioning of the pre-assembled feet (3, 4 and 5) inside the mold of the bed (1). 15) Process according to the previous claim, characterized in that said feet are made by covering a core (10) consisting of a cylindrical tubular section. 16) Process according to claims 10 and 11, characterized in that, before positioning the layers (6, 7 and 8), the following operating steps are provided: - preparation of each foot (3, 4 and 5) by making a cylindrical collar (13) with a rubber plate like that of the intermediate layers (8), so that the metal wires (9) are oriented in a vertical position; - positioning, under each cylindrical rubber collar (13), of a bottom (14), always obtained with the same material as the intermediate layers (8), whose threads (9) must be oriented horizontally; - wrapping each cylindrical rubber collar (13) with a rubber sheet (11) having a mixture identical to that of the sheets intended to act as external layers (6 and 7) of the platform, it being provided that each rubber sheet (11) it must have a height identical to that of the cylindrical rubber collar (13) as well as a length such as to completely envelop its lateral surface; - positioning, under the rolled rubber sheet (11), of a rubber disk (12), always of the same material as the external sheets (6 and 7), having a diameter identical to the external diameter of the covering with the rubber (11) of the cylindrical rubber collar (13); - positioning the feet (3, 4 and 5) thus preassembled inside the mold.