NL1016332C2 - Pallet top for wheeled trolleys avoids need for special pallets - Google Patents

Abstract

The attachment is fixed to the top of an existing pallet and is designed to carry one or more trolleys. Each trolley can be parked in a roll-proof manner and a wheel track is provided for moving trolleys on and off. Fastening means may be provided to prevent vertical trolley movement.

Description

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Short indication: Pallet attachment

The present invention relates to the transport of goods placed on trolleys.

In the retail trade more and more use is made of four-wheeled trolleys, such as dollies, rolling containers, mobile undercarriages and the like, which, because they can roll, can easily be moved in a warehouse or the like. It is already known that the trolleys are advantageously placed from the warehouse directly into shelves arranged for that purpose in a store. However, the trolleys loaded with goods can be nic. be placed in racks in a distribution center or in a warehouse. Nor can the carts loaded with goods be placed on top of each other.

Furthermore, the loaded trolleys must regularly be moved over a relatively long distance, for example from a distribution center to a warehouse. If the trolleys are then transported by train or truck, they can start rolling in the cargo hold.

NL 1008867 describes a way of transporting the carts described above, using a special pallet. The trolleys 20 can be arranged on this pallet in such a way that they cannot unroll from their place of installation on the pallet during transport. Furthermore, the pallet with the trolleys placed thereon can be placed in a pallet rack in the usual way and, for example, moved with a forklift. A drawback of the solution according to NL 1008867 is that special pallets are required for transporting the trolleys. This makes it necessary to purchase a separate stock of relatively expensive pallets for transporting trolleys. In addition to the additional costs of purchasing a second type of pallets, this can cause logistical difficulties.

The object of the invention is to provide a logistically attractive way for transporting goods placed on trolleys.

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This object is achieved with a pallet attachment that defines one or more arrangement locations for one or more four-wheeled carriages, the pallet arrangement further comprising means for arranging each trolley roll-proof at an arrangement location. The wheels of a trolley arranged on the pallet attachment herein maintain contact with the pallet attachment and / or with the upper deck of the pallet lying under the pallet attachment. The pallet attachment further comprises at least one lane for driving a trolley to and from the parking location.

With such a pallet attachment, an already existing pallet, for example a euro pallet with the usual standard dimensions, can be easily adapted for carrying and transporting one or more trolleys. Because the wheels keep in contact with the pallet attachment and / or the pallet placed under the pallet attachment and because a lane is provided for driving a carriage to and from the positioning locations, a carriage can be driven on and off the pallet attachment. The four wheels of a trolley can be two fixed castors and two castors. A trolley can also be provided with four castors. The wheels are usually mounted on a carrying deck or chassis.

The pallet attachment can for instance be made by means of vacuum forming, injection molding or by compressing wood chips. The pallet attachment can also be manufactured by assembling metal, wooden or plastic elements. The pallet attachment must be mounted on the upper deck of the pallet in such a way that it will remain fixed on the pallet during normal use. The pallet attachment can for instance be detachably attached to the pallet by means of straps, screws, nails or bolts. The pallet attachment can also be provided with cams or lips which engage in and / or around the upper deck of the underlying pallet.

It is noted that pallet attachments are known, such as for example pallet attachments and walls and cardboard plates. Such pallet attachments can, usually detachably, be placed on an already existing pallet, whereby the pallet is adapted to carry a specific object. A pallet attachment for rolling one or more trolleys, however, is not yet known.

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The pallet attachment according to the invention preferably comprises guide means extending along a lane, for guiding a trolley to and from the positioning location. This makes it even easier to drive the trolleys to a roll-resistant parking location. The guide means can for instance be formed by elevations arranged in the surface of the pallet.

In a preferred embodiment, the pallet attachment is in the form of a plate, the circumference of which substantially corresponds to the circumference of the upper deck of a pallet to be placed under the pallet attachment. An important advantage of a plate-shaped pallet attachment is that the pallet attachments can then be easily stacked, both mutually and when they are mounted on a pallet. Due to the preferred dimensions, the pallet attachment can furthermore be quickly and correctly placed on a pallet.

The means for rolling up a trolley placed at an installation location preferably comprise one or more roll-over elevations which are arranged on the lane. These increases serve to block the wheels from rolling away. By making the elevations drivable, a trolley 20 can be driven over the pallet attachment and / or upper deck of a pallet to an installation location.

The drivable elevation or elevations are further preferably arranged over a distance that substantially corresponds to the distance between a front wheel and a rear wheel of a trolley. The height of the elevation or elevations is preferably smaller than half the diameter of the wheels of a trolley. In order to facilitate the carriage of a trolley on the roll-over ramp, the edges of the ramps are inclined in a preferred form. However, the edges may not be chamfered so flat that they no longer block the wheels of a trolley from rolling.

In a further preferred embodiment, one long elevation is provided for rolling a trolley over the distance between a front wheel and a rear wheel of the trolley. With one elevation, a trolley only has to be driven once with the front wheels on an elevation in order to set up a trolley in a roll-resistant parking place.

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Preferably, two parallel lanes are provided on the pallet topper per location, the guide means comprising a center guide lane formed by an elevation between the two lanes. The width of the center guide strip 5 preferably corresponds substantially to the shortest distance of the distances between either the front wheels or the rear wheels.

This prevents a trolley from sliding transversely to the direction of travel. Moreover, the center guide strip ensures that the castors of a trolley cannot swing and therefore remain parallel to the lane.

The central guide strip is preferably higher than the roll over elevation or elevations on the lanes for the roll-up arrangement of a trolley, so that the wheels of a trolley are also guided through the guide strip if the wheels are positioned on top of the elevation or elevations for the roll-resistant arrangement of the carts.

The central guide strip is preferably provided with one or more chamfers in the area on the edge of the pallet attachment, so that the guide strip is tapered in this area. A search edge is thus created, which has the advantage that a trolley does not have to be positioned exactly when it enters a pallet attachment.

In a further preferred embodiment, side guide strips are arranged on the outer sides of the two lanes extending parallel to the central guide strip 25. These side guide strips are preferably as high as the center guide strip. Apart from the fact that these side guide strips have a guiding effect for a trolley that the pallet attachment is driven on, they have the further advantage that the upper surface of the pallet attachment becomes flat, whereby the pallet attachment becomes more suitable for carrying goods with a flat underside such as boxes, bins and plates and in particular for carrying a pallet or a stack of pallets, whether or not provided with pallet attachments.

The pallet attachment is further preferably adapted to receive tie-down means, which tie-down means can prevent a vertical movement of a trolley placed at an installation location relative to the pallet attachment. By tying a trolley placed on a pallet location at a parking location 101 833 2 * - 5, the trolley also remains standing at its location in the case of sudden major accelerations or delays. In a preferred embodiment, the pallet attachment is provided with through holes in the side guide strips, wherein the fastening means comprise bands, strips, ropes or the like which can be fixed through the holes around the pallet attachment and a trolley placed on the pallet attachment with a load.

In a possible embodiment, the surface of the pallet attachment is completely sealed. In a preferred embodiment, in order to save material, the elevations and guide strips are designed open, while the lane is closed so that a suitable driving surface for the carriages is provided. In order to give the pallet attachment the required strength and rigidity, the open guide strips and elevations are preferably provided with a grid of upright ribs.

In an alternative preferred embodiment of the pallet attachment, the pallet attachment is formed by a preferably one-piece plate with a thickness of at most half the diameter of the wheels. In this plate, the positioning locations are defined by a plurality of recesses in the plate-shaped body. The wheels placed in these recesses stand on the upper deck of a pallet placed under the pallet attachment. The means for rolling-up a trolley are formed by the edges of the recesses. Preferably, a recess is provided for each of the wheels of a trolley placed at an installation location, the distance between the recesses corresponding to the distance between the respective wheels of the trolley.

In another alternative preferred embodiment of the invention, the plate-shaped body is formed by a plurality of plate parts. The means for rolling up a trolley placed on the pallet attachment comprise one or more roll-over blocking plate parts. The guide means preferably comprise a guide strip which is formed by one or more guide plate parts placed transversely to the blocking plate parts.

In a further alternative preferred embodiment, the pallet attachment comprises a row gutter. The bottom of the trough forms a lane and the side walls of the trough · rising from the bottom / * | * V; - 6 - form the guide means. A trolley arranged on the pallet attachment stands with two wheels in the gutter and with the other two wheels on the upper deck of a pallet. The means for arranging a trolley in a roll-proof manner comprise a plurality of elements closing off the gutter. These elements can for instance comprise two plates which are placed at both ends of the trough in slots intended for this purpose.

The pallet attachments according to the invention are suitable for use in a transport system for transporting goods. A pallet provided with a pallet attachment can transport one or more trolleys roll-proof, but in a preferred embodiment can also be used in the usual manner for, for example, transporting boxes and the like which are placed directly on the pallet attachment. Since the trolleys can be driven on a pallet attachment placed on a pallet, the trolleys do not have to be placed on the pallet before they are loaded. Therefore, the unloading of a cart does not have to happen at the pallet. In order to make it possible for the trolleys to be driven on and off, use can be made of one or more separate slopes, which can be placed against a pallet provided with a pallet attachment.

Further preferred embodiments of the pallet attachment according to the invention will be further explained below with reference to the accompanying figures, in which: figure 1 shows a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of the pallet attachment according to the invention, figure 2 a perspective view of another preferred embodiment of a pallet attachment according to the invention, figure 3 shows a perspective view of an alternative preferred embodiment of a pallet attachment according to the invention, figure 4 shows a perspective view of another alternative preferred embodiment of a pallet attachment, figure 5 shows a perspective view of a further alternative preferred embodiment of a pallet attachment.

In the various figures, the same reference numerals refer to the same parts, or parts with the same function.

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Figure 1 shows a pallet attachment according to the invention, indicated in its entirety by the reference numeral 1. In this example, the pallet attachment is sealed and can be made, for example, by means of vacuum forming or injection molding of suitable plastic material. The pallet attachment 1 is adapted to be placed on the upper deck of an already existing pallet 10. The upper deck of the pallet 10 is substantially flat. On the underside of the upper deck, the pallet 10 has downwardly extending feet which on two opposite sides, and preferably all four sides, form insertion openings for a fork-lift truck or pallet truck. The pallet may also have a lower deck. Four places for trolleys are formed on the pallet attachment. In Figure 1, only the parts of one mounting location are indicated with reference numerals. The remaining three installation locations comprise the same parts with the same functions.

The pallet attachment 1 comprises two lanes 2, 3 per installation location. An elongate roll-over ramp 4 is provided on both lanes. The elevations 4 block the wheels of a trolley placed on the pallet attachment 1 (not shown) against rolling away. The length of the elevations 4 corresponds to the distance between a front wheel and a rear wheel of a trolley to be placed on the pallet attachment. The edges 5 of the elevations 4 are made obliquely. This makes it easier for a trolley to be driven on the pallet attachment 1.

A guide strip 6 is arranged between the two lanes 2, 3. This guide strip 6 is higher than the roll-over elevations 4 on the lanes 2, 3 for rolling-up a trolley, so that a trolley that is driven on the pallet attachment 1 is also guided through the center guide strip 6 on the elevations 4. The width of the central guide strip 6 substantially corresponds to the shortest distance of the distances between either the front wheels or the rear wheels of a trolley. The possible castors of a trolley are preferably parallel with and against the center guide strip 6. Because of the presence of the edge of the center guide strip 6, the castors of the trolley cannot swing. In an area on the edge of the pallet attachment 1, the center guide strip 6 is provided with chamfers 7. This results in a search edge which guides a trolley 1Ugg ^ 8 - which is driven onto the pallet attachment to the correct position relative to the center guide strip 6. .

Provided on the outer sides of the two lanes 2, 3 are two side guide strips 8 which are here approximately the same length as the elevations 4. The side guide strips 8 are of the same height as the center guide strip 6, whereby the upper surface of the pallet attachment 1 becomes flat. As a result, the pallet attachments 1 and pallets 10 provided with such pallet attachments 1 can be stacked stably. The pallet attachment 1 is hereby also more suitable for carrying objects with a flat underside, such as boxes, plates and the like.

The pallet attachment 1 is provided with holes in the corner areas. Screws or the like can be placed through these holes to attach the pallet attachment to the upper deck of an underlying wooden or plastic pallet 10. With the aid of such a connection, the pallet attachment 1 can be quickly and easily attached to and removed from a pallet 10. to delete.

Figure 2 shows another embodiment of the pallet attachment 1 'according to the invention. The pallet attachment 1 'has four places for placing smaller carts and two places for placing larger carts that comprise a carrying deck that is twice as large as the carrying deck of a smaller cart. In the case of a pallet attachment of 80 by 120 centimeters, the smaller and larger trolleys comprise a bearing deck of 40 by 60 centimeters or 60 by 80 centimeters respectively.

For driving a smaller trolley on the pallet attachment 1 ', two lanes are provided in the longitudinal direction, which are indicated in Fig. 2 by the reference numerals 2-2' and 3-3 ', respectively. For the rolling-up arrangement of a smaller trolley, run-on elevations 4 are provided in the two lanes 2-2 ', 3-3'. The edges 5 of the elevations 4 are chamfered to facilitate the carriage of a trolley over an elevation 4. Furthermore, a central guide strip 6 is provided between the two lanes 2-2 ', 3-3'. This central guide strip 6 35 guides the wheels of a trolley as it drives up and down on the pallet attachment 1 '. In order to simplify the centering of a carriage relative to the central guide strip 6, the 4 is. ; The center guide strip is bevelled near the edge of the pallet attachment, so that search edges 7 are formed.

Side guides 8 are provided on the outer sides of the parking location for guiding the wheels of a trolley. The side guide strips 8 comprise through holes 9 through which fastening means such as bands or strips can be placed. With these fastening means, a trolley placed at an installation location with any load can be tied to the pallet attachment 1 '. Since these securing means then prevent vertical movement of a carriage relative to the underlying pallet attachment 1 ', the carriage is securely secured in its roll-resistant position. As a result, a trolley placed on the pallet attachment 1 'remains firmly on the pallet attachment even in the case of a sudden acceleration or deceleration, for example an emergency stop of a fork-lift truck.

A larger trolley is driven on the pallet attachment 1 'in the transverse direction. To drive up such a trolley, two lanes are also provided which run along lines 2-3 and 2'-3 ', respectively. Such a trolley logically covers two parking locations for smaller trolleys. Due to the presence of the lanes in the longitudinal direction, four elevations 4 'are arranged on the lanes 2-3, 2'-3' in the transverse direction. The distance between the two furthest edges of two elevations 4 'in one lane corresponds to the distance between a front wheel and a rear wheel of a larger trolley. The central guide strip 6 'runs between the two lanes 2-3, 2'-3' and is composed by the different access directions of smaller and larger carriages from the side guide strips 8, elevations 4 and a part of the center guide strip 6 of two in the longitudinal direction lying positions for smaller cars. Similarly, the center guide strip 6 for a smaller carriage is composed of side guide strips 8 ', elevations 4' and a portion of the center guide strip 6 '. Through-holes 9 are also provided in the side guide strips 8 'for securing a larger trolley on the pallet attachment 1' by means of tie-down means which can be guided through these holes 9.

In another preferred embodiment, the pallet attachment comprises five positioning locations, two positioning positions of which are in line with each other in the longitudinal direction and three positioning positions are adjacent to each other in the transverse direction. The positioning locations are preferably not overlapping and are preferably designed in accordance with the previous embodiments. The pallet attachment can have a standard size for pallets, such as, for example, 100 by 120 centimeters, wherein the positioning locations are adapted to receive five trolleys with a bearing deck of 40 by 60 centimeters.

Figure 3 shows an alternative preferred embodiment of the pallet attachment according to the invention. The pallet attachment 1r 'shown comprises a substantially rectangular plate 11, for example of wood. The plate 11 has a maximum thickness of half the diameter of the wheels of a trolley to be placed on the pallet attachment. The circumference of the plate 11 advantageously corresponds to the circumference of a pallet 10, on which the pallet attachment 1 '' is placed. The pallet attachment 1 '' has four installation locations. A recess 12, 13, 14, 15 is provided for each of the wheels of a trolley placed on the pallet attachment 20 *. The lanes 2, 3 are formed by the strip of material between the recesses 12, 13 and 14, 15 and the recesses 12, 13 and 14, 15 themselves. The lanes 2 ', 3' are formed by the strip of material between the recesses 13, 15 and 12, 14 and the recesses 13, 15 and 12, 14 themselves. Which lanes are used depends on the direction of travel of the trolley to be placed on the pallet attachment 1 '*; and therefore also of the trolley type, since the distances between the recesses 12, 13, 14, 15 correspond to the distances between the wheels of a trolley to be placed on the pallet attachment 1 ''.

The means for rolling up a trolley arranged on the pallet attachment are formed by the edges 16 of the recesses 12, 13, 14, 15. The wheels of a roll-mounted trolley rest on the edges 16 of the recesses 12, 13, 14, 15 and / or on the upper deck of a pallet 10 placed under the pallet attachment.

Another alternative preferred embodiment of the invention is shown in Figure 4. The pallet attachment 1 '' 'has four installation locations and is formed from wooden planks. Four boards serve as blocking plate parts 17. The other four serve as guide plate parts 18. The four blocking plate parts 17 are arranged two by two, the width of two blocking plate parts 17 placed next to each other corresponding to the distance between a front wheel and a rear wheel of a trolley, so that a trolley placed on the pallet attachment 1 '' 'is arranged roll-proof. The guide plate parts 18 are provided for guiding a trolley over the pallet attachment 1, f. The guide plate parts 18 are two and two arranged transversely of the blocking plate parts 17. The width of a guide strip which is formed by two adjacent guide plate parts 18 corresponds to the shortest distance of the distances between the front wheels or the rear wheels.

A further alternative embodiment is shown in Fig. 5. The pallet attachment has four locations. The pallet attachment comprises a trough in which a front wheel and a rear wheel of a trolley to be placed on the pallet attachment 1 '' '' are driven in according to one of the directions indicated by an arrow in the figure. The bottom 19 of the trough therefore serves as a lane. The side walls 20 of the trough rising from the edge of the bottom 19 serve as guiding means when driving up and down a trolley. If four carriages are arranged in the trough, the trolleys can be fixed in a roll-proof manner by means of the closing slides 21 which can be placed in both ends of the trough 25 to close off the trough. Furthermore, brackets 23 can be provided to compensate for the differences in distance between the front wheels and rear wheels of the trolleys. The rain gutter is made of steel, for example. The trough is provided on the underside with lips 22 which can be folded around a shelf in the upper deck of a pallet 10 to fix the pallet attachment to the pallet 10.

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Claims (25)

Pallet attachment, the underside of which is arranged to be placed on an upper deck of an already existing pallet and the top of which is adapted to carry objects, characterized in that the pallet attachment defines one or more arrangement locations for one or more four-wheeled trolleys, the pallet attachment further comprising means for rolling-up each trolley at an installation location, the wheels of each trolley positioned on the pallet attachment maintaining contact with the pallet attachment and / or with the upper deck of a pallet lying below the pallet attachment and wherein the pallet attachment further comprises at least one lane for driving a trolley to and from the parking location. 15 Pallet attachment according to claim 1, wherein the pallet attachment comprises guide means extending along a lane, for guiding a trolley to and from the installation location. 20 Pallet attachment according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the pallet attachment is in the form of a plate-shaped body with a circumference that substantially corresponds to the circumference of the upper deck of a pallet to be placed under the pallet attachment. 25 4. Pallet attachment as claimed in claims 1-3, wherein the means for rolling-up a trolley placed at an installation location comprise one or more roll-over elevations which are arranged on the lane and which block the wheels of the trolley against rolling. Pallet attachment according to claim 4, wherein the roll-over elevation or elevations are arranged over a distance that substantially corresponds to the distance between a front wheel and a rear wheel of a trolley, the height of the elevation or elevations being less than half of the cross-section of the wheels of the trolley. r ·. - t i i: W w ... j; - 13 - Pallet attachment according to claim 4 or 5, wherein the edges of the roll over elevation or elevations are slanted. 7. Pallet attachment according to one of claims 4-6, wherein one long run-over ramp is provided for rolling-up a trolley over the distance between a front wheel and a rear wheel. Pallet attachment according to one of claims 2 to 6, wherein two parallel lanes are provided per installation location, the guide means comprising a central guide strip, which is formed by an elevation between the two lanes. 9. Pallet attachment according to claim 8, wherein the width of the central guide strip substantially corresponds to the shortest distance of the distances between either the front wheels or the rear wheels of a trolley. 10. Pallet attachment according to claim 8 or 9, wherein the central guide strip is higher than the roll-over elevation or elevations on the lanes for rolling-up a trolley. 11. Pallet attachment according to any of claims 8-10, wherein the center guide strip in the area on the edge of the pallet attachment is provided with one or more chamfers. 12. Pallet attachment as claimed in any of the claims 8-11, wherein on the outer sides of the two lanes side guide strips extending parallel to the center guide strip are arranged, the side guide strips being as high as the center guide strip. 13. Pallet attachment according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the pallet attachment is further adapted to receive tie-down means, which tie-down means can prevent a vertical movement of a trolley placed at an installation location relative to the pallet attachment. - "^ k, i - 14 - 14. Pallet attachment as claimed in claim 13, wherein the pallet attachment is provided with through holes in the side guide strips, the securing means comprising bands, strips or the like which can be fixed through the holes and around a trolley placed on the pallet attachment with a possible load . Pallet attachment according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the pallet attachment is closed. 16. Pallet attachment according to any one of claims 1-14, wherein the lane is of closed design and wherein the roll-over elevations and the guide strips are of open design and are formed by a grid of raised ribs. 17. Pallet attachment according to claim 3, wherein the plate-shaped body has a thickness of at most half the cross-section of the wheels, wherein the positioning locations are defined by a plurality of recesses in the plate-shaped body such that several wheels of a trolley placed at an positioning location stand on the upper deck of a pallet placed under the pallet attachment, the means for rolling-up the carriage being formed by the edges of the recesses. 25 Pallet attachment according to claim 17, wherein a recess is provided for each of the wheels of a trolley placed at an installation location, the distance between the recesses corresponding to the distance between the respective wheels of the trolley. 30 Pallet attachment according to claim 3, wherein the plate-shaped body is composed of plate parts, wherein the means for rolling-up a trolley placed on the pallet attachment comprise one or more roll-over blocking plate parts. 35 Pallet attachment according to claim 19, wherein the guide means comprise a guide strip which is formed by one or more guide plate parts placed transversely to the blocking plate parts. 21. Pallet attachment according to claim 19 or 20, wherein the blocking plate parts are arranged over a distance corresponding to the distance between a front wheel and a rear wheel of a trolley, wherein the height of the blocking plate parts is less than half the diameter of the wheels . Pallet attachment according to any of claims 19-21, wherein the width of the guide strip substantially corresponds to the shortest distance of the distances between either front wheels or the rear wheels of a trolley. Pallet attachment according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the pallet attachment comprises a trough, wherein the bottom of the trough forms a lane and the side walls of the trough rising from the bottom form the guide means of the pallet attachment, the means for rolling-up a trolley comprises a number of elements closing off the gutter. 24. Transport system for storing and transporting goods comprising: at least one pallet, which comprises at least one deck and several feet, at least one pallet attachment according to any of claims 1-23, and one or more trolleys, comprising a carrying deck , two fixed castors and two castors, 30 25. Transport system as claimed in claim 22, wherein the transport system further comprises one or more separate slopes, with which the trolleys can be driven on and off the pallet attachment placed on a pallet. 1016332 *