Horizontally supported planar surfaces – Industrial platform – Stacking
Patent
1999-04-22
2000-12-26
Cuomo, Peter M.
Horizontally supported planar surfaces
Industrial platform
Stacking
108 5728, 108 5729, 108901, B65D 1938
Patent
active
061642142
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
The present invention relates to pallets and more particularly to pallets which can easily be cleaned.
Most pallets currently in use are constructed of wood, with the load-carrying platform of the pallet being defined by a series of spaced wooden planks. Conventional wooden pallets are liable to accumulate dirt and other contaminants during use which can become embedded into the surface structure of the wood with the result that it can be very difficult to properly clean the pallet by a normal housing or steam cleaning operation after use. This is unsatisfactory when the pallet is used to carry foodstuffs, pharmaceutical, or medical products or other products sensitive to contamination by dirt or bacteria.
In our International patent application No. PCT/AU95/00690 there is disclosed a pallet of one-piece moulded plastics construction having a solid load-carrying platform with a plurality of upstanding projections. The projections are intended to grip onto the surface of for example a cardboard container or a shrink wrapped plastics container to prevent slippage on the platform. The projections are also so arranged on the platform as to permit thorough cleaning of the platform including the projections by hosing or steam cleaning. The underside configuration of the pallet is also such as to permit ease of cleaning. Although this pallet operates effectively and is capable of being effectively cleaned, when several of the pallets are stacked one on top of another there is a risk slippage of individual pallets of the stack when the stack is being moved, for example on the tines of a forklift truck.
According to the present invention, there is provided a pallet having a load-carrying surface which is constructed of a substantially flat impervious material having a multiplicity of upstanding projections to prevent slippage on the surface while permitting cleaning of the surface, and a ground-engaging part of the pallet has at its underside an array of apertures so configured that when two like pallets are arranged in stacked configuration the projections on the platform of a lower one of the pallets will engage within the apertures in the ground-engaging surface of the upper of the two pallets whereby to prevent slippage of the rubber pallet relative to the lower pallet.
In the preferred embodiment of the invention the ground-engaging part of the pallet is defined by two or more struts with ribs at their underside to provide reinforcement, the apertures being defined between adjacent ribs.
In the preferred embodiment the upstanding projections are defined by a series of raised lips which form a polygonal shape or a rounded shape or a mixture of rounded and polygonal shapes.
In the preferred embodiment the projections are distributed uniformly throughout the load-carrying surface, and the apertures are distributed throughout the ground-engaging part.
An embodiment of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
FIG. 1 is a perspective view from one end of the pallet in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention;
FIG. 2 is a plan view of the pallet; and
FIG. 3 is an underneath view of the pallet.
As shown in the accompanying drawings a pallet in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the invention is constructed of plastics and has a continuous, substantially flat, load-carrying platform 2. The load-carrying platform 2 is provided with a multiplicity of upstanding projections 4, uniformly distributed over its entire surface, the projections 4 being formed integrally with the platform 2. The projections 4 on the otherwise flat and smooth load-carrying platform 2 enable the projections to grip the surface of a container on the platform, for example a cardboard container or a shrink wrapped plastics container.
The load-carrying platform 2 is supported by an underlying support structure consisting of a series of parallel beams 6, the two outer beams 6 defining outside walls of the pallet. The lower edges of the beams 6 are interco
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Derwent Abstract Accession No. 89-198374/27, Jun. 16, 1989.
Berelovich Lazer
Smorgon Victor
Cuomo Peter M.
Tran Hanh V.
Vicfam Plastics Pty Ltd
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