WO2011072624A1 - Reusable and recyclable multi-design pallets - Google Patents

Abstract

This invention relates to a system for manufacturing and configuring basic structural members designed to build reusable, repairable and recyclable multi-design pallets that in particular are lightweight and versatile and have a loading capacity configurable for multiple applications.

Description

 REUSABLE AND RECYCLABLE MULTI-DESIGN RATES Technical sector

 The present invention relates to a manufacturing and configuration system of structural members for building recyclable pallets that are particularly lightweight, versatile, and with load capacity configurable to multiple applications. The sector to which the following invention applies is the transport and storage industry.

 Description of the prior art.

 While it is true that there are several designs for pallet systems, none of these designs consist of configurable structures based on lightweight and recyclable structural members, specially designed to interconnect. The structural members of the new pallets object of this invention are characterized by having flat surfaces reinforced with central ribs, and with connecting means for engaging and forming pallets for loading and transporting products in containers, or for storage. These new pallets have supports, or legs, to create spaces that are used for handling by allowing forklifts or forklifts to be inserted. Non-slip rubber blocks are inserted as required between the ribs of the structural members to prevent slippage of the load or pallets.

 The inventor of the present invention considers that the references closest to this invention correspond to the following patents.

 U.S. Patent No. 6,352,039 presents a thermoplastic material pallet. This platform is formed by interconnecting several members without using mechanical joints and rather using adhesives or thermal welding. It also has openings to insert forklift forks.

 US Patent No. 5,337,681 consists of a recyclable plastic pallet made with perpendicularly structural members that are connected by inserting protruding parts of some members into openings in the other members. It also has openings to insert forklift forks.

US Patent No. 4,843,976 consists of a plastic platform formed by two platforms with flat surfaces and with connectors or cylindrical spacers that interlock to form the platform. It also has openings to insert forklift forks. US Patent No. 4,597,338 also presents a plastic platform formed by two platforms with flat surfaces, but with rectangular connectors or spacers that interlock to form the platform. It also has openings to insert forklift forks.

 United States Patent No. 5,996,509 presents a recyclable pallet made of cardboard paper and replacing wooden pallets. These platforms have a lower, middle and upper level that are interwoven to form the platform. They also have openings to insert forklift forks.

 US Patent No. 5,493,962 presents another corrugated cardboard platform with a flat platform supported on three members or parallel beams, with openings for forming the forklift fork entries.

 Unlike all these previous platforms, the present invention is characterized by being a new recyclable and reusable platform constructed with structural members of injected plastic, which are interconnected to form pallets of variable configuration for heavy or light loads which is achieved by using different quantities of structural members. The structural members are constructed with one face and flat side surfaces, and with the other face and its inner part constructed with a network of ribs along the entire structural members. Such structural members may have other industrial applications.

 Disclosure of the invention

 One of the main objectives of the present invention is to provide a platform that is reusable, lightweight, robust, and configurable to the load capacity required to transport and store a wide variety of products.

This invention consists of returnable, recyclable and industrializable pallets that aim to improve and overcome in many ways the traditional wooden pallets, which also achieves a positive impact on the protection of our planet, preventing deforestation. Wood pallets are highly used in world trade, causing high deforestation and pollution. The new plastic pallets of recyclable material have high strength structure and are lightweight, and can be marketed at a low cost and competitive compared to other traditional wooden or plastic pallets. While wooden pallets are disposable, new pallets can be used continuously; if a complete platform or some of its pieces suffer Some damage can be repaired and continue to be used, and damaged parts can be recycled. The new plastic pallets have other advantages over wooden pallets, for example, they do not produce splinters and do not need fumigation or chemical or thermal treatment. This invention provides pallets that are economical to manufacture, repair and maintain, and at the same time are efficient and versatile.

 The new platform is for transporting or storing cargo and is constructed with plastic structural members with a special design to allow several members in a flat position to form a platform and be reinforced by other members perpendicular to the first and together they connect with and on supports or legs In various configurations of the pallets, other structural members are placed under the supports or legs to reinforce their structure and form pallets for heavy load. The new platform can be formed with identical upper and lower platforms, separated by cylindrical or conical supports, to make the platform reversible.

 The present invention provides a recyclable pallet system of variable configuration that is based on structural members that are coupled in multiple ways to meet the load capacity requirements of the pallets.

 All configurations of the pallets of the present invention can be manipulated by any of its four sides by both hydraulic trucks and forklifts, which are highly used in industrial and commercial applications. All configurations of the pallets of the present invention are repairable because they are a set of structural members and not a single piece; which allows to replace damaged parts and thus repair the platform without the need to dispose of it.

 Regarding the use of space, 50 new plastic pallets of economic type (number 10 in Figure 1) in stowage, reach a height of approximately 3 meters compared to 20 wooden pallets in the same space.

Other features of this invention are presented in the following sections of the description, in which a detailed explanation is given in order to fully disclose the invention, but without intending to impose limitations on the invention. Brief description of the drawings

 Taking into account the aforementioned characteristics of this invention, the new platform consists of the details of the design and combination of structural members as best explained in the following description when read in conjunction with the attached drawings, in which:

 Figure 1 presents three types of pallets for relatively light cargo. These platforms can be manufactured with different support capacity, depending on the number of structural members that form the upper platform and the number of legs or supports connected at the bottom;

 Figures 2 and 3 present several types of pallets for heavy loads, which can be manufactured with different support capacity depending on the number and configuration of the structural members used for their manufacture;

 The pallets presented in Figures 1, 2 and 3 are all presented together in Figure 4 for comparison purposes;

 Figure 5 shows one of the platforms with more weight support, which is also one of the platforms with the greatest number of structural members required for its manufacture. This platform has at least one of each structural member used to construct the other pallet configurations, so the description of its components also applies to the other pallets;

 Figure 6 shows the supports (3) of the platform, which act as legs in the pallets for light loads and act as intermediate supports in the pallets for heavy loads; the bolts (11) and nuts (12) that are used to connect the structural members of the pallets are also shown;

 Figure 7 presents the basic structural members that form the pallets.

 Way of carrying out the invention

Referring to Figures 1, 2, and 3, the present invention is identified with the numbered platforms (10), (20), and (30). The pallets (10) are for light loads, made with different combinations of structural members (1) and (2) and supports (3). The pallets (20) are for heavier loads, have three supports (3) on each structural member (2) and are made with different combinations of structural members (1), (2), (4), or (4 ') and (31), and supports (3). The platforms (30) they are also other configurations of pallets for heavy loads and have five supports (3) in each structural member (2), and are made with different combinations of structural members (1), (2), and (4) and supports (3) .

 Without changing a standard height of the new pallets, by modifying the number of structural members and supports, pallets with different load capacity are achieved for different applications. Maintaining a light weight, the pallets can be easily modified to achieve greater or lesser load capacity. The positions of the supports (3), do not interfere with the forklifts of the forklift or the hydraulic truck used to handle the pallets.

 The structural members (1) in the upper part of the platform form a platform and are connected to each other by means of other transverse structural members (2). All the structural members of the platform are made of plastic and are equal in thickness and in the distribution of holes to facilitate their assembly and manufacturing by injection molds. To achieve greater or lesser resistance, the thickness of the structural members could be adjusted by inserting or removing spacers in the injection molds.

The members (1) form the upper platform of the pallets, said members have flat lateral and lower surfaces and in their middle and upper part have rigidly intertwined ribs longitudinally, transverse, and diagonally throughout said structural members. The structural members (2) are interlacing members that are placed under the upper members (1); These interlacing members (2) have flat sections with less or greater thickness that form housings for the members (1), and on the opposite side they have a network of ribs with circular housings (18), designed to insert the edges of the supports or legs (3). The structural members (4) or (4 ') are for reinforcement and settlement of pallets for relatively heavy loads; these members add rigidity and resistance to the pallets and at the same time provide a basis for sitting the pallets on shelves; these members (4) and (4 ') also have rigidly intertwined ribs throughout. The structural members (31) are used to construct the most robust pallet configuration for heavy loads; the members (31) are placed at the bottom of the platform to connect the reinforcement members (4 ¹ ). Non-slip rubber blocks (15) are inserted as required within several of the member ribs (1), (4) and (4 ') to prevent slippage of the load or pallets. As shown in more detail in Figure 7, the structural members (1), (2), (4), (4 ') and (31) have one of their main faces, upper or lower, consisting of a network of ribs (13) and (14), said ribs extend to the inner part of the opposite face and are rigidly intertwined longitudinally and transversely, and some diagonally, all along said structural members. The upper surface of the platforms formed by the ribs (14) and (13) of the members (1) and the rubber blocks (15) form a rough and non-slip platform.

 The supports (3) are coupled with their edge (9) in the housings (18) of the structural members (2). The supports (3) are the legs of the pallets (10); but for the platforms (20) or (30), the edge (32) of the supports (3) are coupled in the housings (25) of the members (4) or (4 '). The structural members (1) have at least one hole centered (17) in the width of the upper part and which crosses its entire thickness and where the bolts (11) pass. The bolts (11) are inserted through the holes (17), (19), and (7) and the nuts (12) are screwed to form the pallets (10) for light load. In other configurations of the platform, the bolts (11) also pass through the holes (24) and / or (26) of the members 4 'and / or 31 in the platforms for heavy load (20) or (30). The structural members (31), (4), (4 ') and the supports (3) have housings for the nuts (12), and the bolt head (11) is housed in the upper part of the holes (17 ) of the members (1), which serves as a safety measure to prevent the bolts (11) from rotating on their own axis.

 The linker structural members (2) have housings (21) that are slightly recessed sections in their upper face, with the purpose of accommodating structural members (1) and prevent relative slippage or rotation between members (1) and (2) once connected by bolts (). This allows sturdy and stable pallets to be formed while maintaining the structural components and the pallet supports joined together during handling and storage.

Different configurations of pallets can be formed depending on the amount of structural members and supports (3) used. The nomenclature used to identify the pallets is for example TPH-25RP, which means, plastic pallet (TP), heavy load (H, heavy), with 25 supports (3), reinforced (R) with more members (1) and reinforced (P) with members (31); also, TPE means platform (heavy), SH is super heavy, and HD is heavy duty; to indicate the carrying capacity that a platform can support. The pallets can be reinforced, adding more structural members, as presented, for example, in Figures 1-c) and 5, economic platform TPE-9R and robust platform TPH-25RP, respectively.

 The structural members (4) or (4 ') have small recesses (27) at the bottom that match the standard size shelf beams, allowing the pallets to be stored on said beams in a safe and stable manner. Non-slip rubber blocks (15) are inserted into several ribs of the structural members (1), (4) and (4 ') to prevent accidental sliding of the load when the pallets are handled or stored, and also to prevent sliding of pallets on the floor, forklifts or shelves.

 The economic pallets have supports (3) housed in the structural members (2) to create a space between the members (1) and (2) and the floor, to allow picking up the pallets with the forklift or forklifts; and the supports (3) are located so as not to interfere when placing the pallets on standard size shelves. The structural members (2) of the TPE platform are thicker than the forklift's forks, which allows the forklift to deposit it on shelves and allow the fork to be removed from the forklift.

 The structural members (4) and (4 ') have inclined side sections (23) and (23'), and similarly the member (31) has inclined sections (29) to allow the truck wheels to move, when entering the platforms. The structural members (4 ') have spaces (28) to couple the structural members (3) as shown in Figures 5 and 7.

 Figure 6 shows the support (3) formed by a central cylinder (33) with concentric hole (7) and connected by means of ribs (6) and cover (34) to a conical side wall (5); and with housing (8) for the nut (12); said conical side wall (5) with one end (9) with a larger diameter and another end (32) with a smaller diameter.

The above description refers to the best configurations of the objectives and characteristics of the present invention. Various configurations can be made using the inventive level of this invention. It should be understood that All disclosed material should be interpreted simply as illustrative, and not in a restrictive sense of the invention.

Claims

Claims The following is claimed:  1. A multi-design platform, reusable and recyclable, with configurable load capacity, which comprises and is characterized by the following:  A) basic structural members (1), (2), (4), (4 ') and (31) with one face and flat side walls, and with the other face and its central part characterized by having a network of ribs of uniform and intertwined thickness longitudinally, transverse, and / or diagonally along said basic structural members;  B) supports or legs (3) formed by a central cylinder (33) with concentric hole (7) and connected by means of radial ribs (6) to a conical section that forms the side wall (5) of said supports, and joined also by another wall (34) that connects the ribs (6), the cylinder (33) and the external wall (5) to cover the conical section at its end (32), which is the end of the conical wall (5) with the smallest diameter;  C) non-slip rubber blocks (15) that are inserted into some sections of the rib network of the basic structural members (1) to prevent sliding of the load on the pallets, and other non-slip rubber blocks are inserted into some positions of the rib network of the basic structural members (2), (4) and (4 ') to prevent the sliding of the pallets on the floor, shelf, or manipulative fork;  2. The platform of claim 1 with said basic structural members (1), (2), (4), (4 ') and (31) with at least one hole (17), (19), (24), and (26), respectively, where bolts are inserted to connect the basic structural members together with said supports (3); the number of basic structural members and supports that form the platform is configurable according to the desired load capacity for the platform; 3. The platform of claim 1 is characterized by having spaces (36) and (37) throughout the platform to insert the forks of a truck or forklift from any of the four lateral sides of the platform to manipulate the platforms and its load; 4. The platform of claim 1 with structural members (1) forming the upper platform of the platform and with interlocking structural members (2) which are used to connect the members (1) and the supports (3) by means of bolts and nuts and form economic pallets (10) for light load; the members (1) have non-slip rubber blocks (15) embedded in spaces of their rib network to prevent sliding of the load on the platform;  5. The platform of claims (1) and (4) which in addition to the structural members (1) and (2) and the supports (3) have structural reinforcement members (4), or structural reinforcement members (4 ' ) and (31), to form pallets (20) or (30) for heavy loads;  6. The platform of claim 1 with bolts of various sizes and nuts, and with housings at the top of the holes (17) for the bolt head, and corresponding housings for the nuts at the end (8) of the supports (3) and at the ends (35) and (38) of the holes (26) and (24) in the members (31) and (4).  7. The platform of claim 1 characterized by having structural members (4), (4 '), and (31) with inclined surfaces (23), (23') and (29), respectively, which are used for Orient the wheels of the pallet truck to be introduced into the spaces (36) or (37). The structural members (4) and (4 ') have light recesses (27) with non-slip rubber blocks (15) to allow the pallets to be mounted on standard size shelf beams making contact between the rubber and the beams to prevent slippage of the pallets on the shelves, and thus store the load and pallets together. The structural members (4 ') have gaps (28) to receive the ends of the members (31) as shown in Figure (5).  8. The platform of claim 1 characterized by having structural members (2) with at least one coupling (18) to receive the edge (9) of the supports (3), and having structural members (4) and (4 ') with at least one coupling (25) to receive the edge (32) of the supports (3).