DE9406395U1 - Barrel pallet made of plastic - Google Patents

Description

Hanns-Peter Schrammek Attorney at Law

Lothar Rühland Attorney File

Grass Garden 34 437-34 DE-2

38176 Wendeburg Date

20 April 1994

Plastic drum pallet

The invention relates to a barrel pallet made of plastic, which can be produced by rotational molding with essentially uniform wall thicknesses, in the form of a tub with a base with molded-on pallet feet and with a surrounding side wall, which has a laterally limited support surface for a grating on its upper edge.

Such barrel pallets are well known and are used to prevent liquids stored in barrels or similar containers from penetrating the ground due to leaks in the container, liquid running down the outside of the container, etc. The liquid running down the container or otherwise released from the container is caught in the tray of the barrel pallet and can be disposed of in a controlled manner.

It is possible to place the containers directly in the tub. In many cases it is advantageous for the handling of the containers to place them on a type of grating. This 20

Theodor-Heuss-Strasse 1 D-38122 Braunschweig

Telephone 0531-800 79 Telex 0-9 52 620 gramm d Fax 0531-812 97

Grating ensures that the containers are not placed in the drum pallet but on top of it, making them easier to handle. Any liquid that runs down the containers or is released from the container in any other way can
through the grating into the tray of the pallet and so
be disposed of in a controlled manner.

Such barrel pallets should be made of the simplest possible material, but must still be stable enough to carry two filled barrels, for example.
It is therefore known to profile the floor by forming pallet feet from the floor, which are designed in such a way that forklift tines can pick up the pallet in directions perpendicular to each other. The side walls are also profiled for reinforcement. The laterally limited receiving area is L-shaped in cross-section at the upper edge of the surrounding side wall, which enables
a certain degree of dimensional stability is achieved.

Despite the known stabilizing shapes

Stability problems continue to exist due to profiling, ribbing, etc., unless large wall thicknesses are used. The upper edge of the open top
The barrel pallet tub is the most vulnerable in terms of stability.

The problem arising from the known solutions is therefore to achieve improved stability of the drum pallet without costly increasing the wall thickness.

Based on this problem, a drum pallet of the type mentioned at the outset is characterized according to the invention in that, in order to form the laterally limited support surface
a horizontal wall section is bent away from the side wall,

• *

to which a hollow profile formed by bends is connected, which ends at an end wall piece which rests on the horizontal wall piece and extends at least as far as the side wall.
5

The barrel pallet according to the invention is structurally stabilized by the fact that a circumferential hollow profile is implemented on the upper edge of the barrel pallet, which gives the upper end of the barrel pallet considerable frame stability. The hollow profile is formed according to the invention by the hollow profile being virtually closed by suitable bends in the rotational mold. The end wall piece resting on the horizontal wall piece creates a support surface with a doubled wall thickness, which also contributes to increasing stability.

In a preferred embodiment of the barrel pallet according to the invention, the side wall is profiled by forming sections further inside and further outside. The sections of the side wall further outside can preferably merge into pallet feet.

The hollow profile formed according to the invention is preferably a square hollow profile that is formed by bending the horizontal wall section three times. This achieves a particularly high level of stability.

The top of the square hollow profile can be arranged so as to be inclined inwards in order to ensure that liquid dripping onto the top of the square hollow profile drains into the interior of the tub.

The invention will be explained in more detail below using an embodiment shown in the drawing. They show:

Figure 1 - a plan view of an open-topped drum pallet according to the present invention

Figure 2 - a side view of the drum pallet from Figure 1

Figure 3 - a section along the line A-A in Figure

1 through two pallet feet

Figure 4 - a section along the line B-B in Figure

1 through the edge area of the drum pallet. 15

The top view of a drum pallet shown in Figure 1 shows a base 1 from which nine pallet feet 2 protrude downwards. The angled walls of the hollow pallet feet 2 have the same wall thickness as the base 1, which results from the drum pallet being manufactured using the rotational molding process.

A side wall 3 surrounding the rectangular base 1 forms a one-piece tub 4 from the base 1 and the side wall 3.

formed, which is suitable for collecting liquid. The upwardly open, inner cavities of the pallet feet 2 form an integral part of the tray 4 and are also suitable for collecting liquid. 30

From the upper edge of the side wall 3, a support surface 5 is angled horizontally outwards, which is closed off on the outside by a square hollow profile 6.

Figure 1 shows that the side wall 3 alternates between sections 7 located further inside and sections 7 located further outside.

sections 8, with the further outward sections 8 merging into the pallet feet 2 located on the outer edge of the floor 1.

Figure 2 shows that the feet 2 and the corresponding boundaries of the further outer sections 8 taper downwards.

Figure 1 also shows that the support surface 5 in the area of the pallet feet 2 is narrower than in the area of the further inner sections 7, in accordance with the course of the sections 8 of the side wall 3 that are further out. This design of the support surface 5 enables the barrel pallets to be optimally stacked one inside the other, in that the feet 2 of an upper pallet engage with the feet 2 of a lower pallet.

Figures 3 and 4 illustrate in particular the design of the support surface 5 and the square hollow profile 6. Figure 3 shows a section along the line A-A in Figure 1 through a further outward section 8 of the side wall 3, which merges into an associated foot 2. Figure 4, on the other hand, shows a section along the line B-B through a further inward section 7 of the side wall 3, which only extends to the floor 1, so that between the further outward sections 8 with the feet 2 below the floor 1, entry spaces for forklift tines or the like are formed, as are generally known for pallets.

Of the sections 7, 8 of the side wall 3 shown in Figures 3 and 4, a horizontal wall section 9 is angled outwards and merges into a vertical wall section 10 angled upwards by approximately 90°. From the upper end of the vertical wall section 10, an upper wall section 11 sloping inwards extends to the interior of the tub 4 and merges into a vertical wall section 12 which is parallel to the outer

vertical wall section 10. At the lower free end of the vertical wall section 12, a horizontal end piece 13 is bent inwards, which together with the horizontal wall section 9 forms the support surface 5 with double the wall thickness.

The edge design of the barrel pallet is in principle identical in the area of sections 7 and 8, whereby for the further inner sections 7 the length of the horizontal wall section 9 and the end wall section 13 is greater, since the end wall section 13 in any case extends at least to section 7, 8 of the side wall 3.

However, it is also conceivable to form the end wall piece 13 in the area of the further outer sections 8 in the same length as in the area of the further inner section 7 in order to form a circumferential support surface 5 of uniform width.

Patent Attorneys
Gram + Lins

Li/ne

Claims (6)

1. Barrel pallet made of plastic, producible by rotational molding with essentially uniform wall thicknesses, in the form of a tub (4) with a base (1) with molded-on pallet feet (2) and with a surrounding side wall (3) which has a laterally delimited support surface (5) for a grating on its upper edge, characterized in that to form the laterally delimited support surface (5) a horizontal wall piece (9) is bent away from the side wall (3), to which a hollow profile (6) formed by bending is connected, which ends at an end wall piece (13) which rests on the horizontal wall piece (9) and extends at least to the side wall (3). 2. Barrel pallet according to claim 1, characterized in that the side wall (3) is profiled by forming sections (7) located further inside and sections (8) located further outside. Theodor-Heuss-Strasse 1 D-38122 Braunschweig Telephone 0531-800 79
Telex 0-9 52 620 gramm d Fax 0531-81297 3. Barrel pallet according to claim 2, characterized in that the further outward sections (8) of the side wall (3) merge into pallet feet (2). 4. Barrel pallet according to one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the hollow profile (6) with the horizontal wall piece (9) is formed by bending three times to form a square hollow profile. 5. Barrel pallet according to claim 4, characterized in that the upper side (11) of the square hollow profile is arranged inclined inwards. 6. Barrel pallet according to one of claims 2 to 5, characterized in that the support surface (5) is narrower in the area of the more outer sections (8) than in the area of the more inner sections (7) of the side wall (3). Patent attorneys
Gram + Lins Li/ne