GB2326153A - A pallet having integral load surface and spacer elements - Google Patents

Abstract

A pallet having a load bearing surface 2 and spacer elements 3 made in one piece from a moulding material, preferably rubber from recycled motor tyres although alternatively a plastics material can be used. The pallet may be made from two similar moulded halves 1, respective spacer elements 3 on each half being joined by welding, adhesive or fastenings. Holes 7 in the pallet can reduce its weight. Reinforcement can be provided by a steel member incorporated during the moulding process and/or reinforcement webs 4.

Description

PALLET CONSTRUCTION This invention relates to a pallet construction. It relates particularly to the construction of an industrial load-carrying pallet where the pallet may be made of a strong and rugged material which will be able to resist wear and tear when in service.

The conventional material for making a pallet is wood which is chosen for its strength and low cost. However, a wooden pallet is frequently made of a type of wood which is comparatively brittle when it has dried out so that the pallet can be in need of a repair or reconditioning operation after only a small number of journeys. The use of wood also requires a continued supply of timber for the reconditioning tasks and, in general, it is considered better to avoid using a natural material which could lead to a decline in the world's forestry areas.

I have now discovered an alternative material for the construction of a pallet which does not rely on the consumption of a scarce natural resource but instead makes use of a material which would otherwise be wasted. In addition, a pallet construction which makes use of only a small number of component parts is disclosed.

According to the invention, there is provided a pallet construction comprising a load surface formed of a moulding material which also incorporates separation blocks. A reinforcement web may be included. When the moulded load surface is thus placed against a similar surface with the separation blocks in contact, a pallet construction formed of only two identical parts will be created. The two pallet halves may be joined together by a welding or adhesive securing operation. Alternatively, the joining may be effected by bolts or other fasteners which are passed through preformed holes in each moulded load surface. In order to reduce the overall weight of the pallet, the moulded parts may incorporate further holes in places where they enable the amount of moulding material to be reduced without a corresponding loss in the strength of the assembled pallet.

Preferably, the moulded pallet halves are formed of a resilient moulding material such as a plastics material. In one embodiment, the moulding material is a reclaimed rubber composition derived from old motor tyres. The invention thus provides a useful article from reclaimed rubber which could be made available in substantial quantities. This use thus offers an alternative to the usual disposal process of dumping old tyres in land fill sites.

By way of example, a particular embodiment of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawing, in which: Figure 1 shows a perspective view of the pallet construction of the invention, and, Figure 2 is a side view of the assembled pallet.

Figure 1 shows in a partly transparent view the pallet construction with two moulded pallet halves slightly separated from one another. An upper pallet half 1 has a load surface 2 which is a perfectly flat area. On a lower side of the pallet half 1, the moulding is provided with separation blocks 3 and reinforcement webs 4.

The particular pallet construction depicted in the drawing is a four-way entry perimeter base, reversible pallet and therefore the pallet halves are of a square shape with the separation blocks 3 being located in three rows of three. The reinforcement webs 4 are arranged along the diagonals of the square to give a maximum strength against distortion of the load surface 2.

During the operation of moulding the pallet halves, a bolt hole 6 is formed through each of the separation blocks 3 and, in addition, 'weight reduction' holes 7 are located on the major surfaces of the pallet half. Assembly of the pallet is then effected by placing the two pallet halves 1 together so the separation blocks 3 are in contact and then securing the blocks 3 to one another by a bolt through each of the nine holes 6 with appropriate nut fastenings.

Figure 2 is a side view of the assembled pallet in which the load surfaces 2 are seen to provide a completely flat load area as a result of the bolt holes 6 being arranged with suitable recesses to accommodate the bolt heads and nuts.

With the separation blocks 3 in contact with one another, the pallet makes a robust platform for carrying and storing goods in bulk and it can be made fully interchangeable with a conventional wooden pallet.

In the side view, it will be noticed that part of each web 4 can be seen through the pallet side openings 8 that are provided to receive the lifting fork of a fork lift truck.

In an alternative embodiment, the side openings 8 could be arranged with a peripheral skirt portion that would extend down to the same depth as that of the webs 4. The purpose of such a skirt portion will be to narrow the openings 8 in order to facilitate the smooth entry of the fork into the pallet side openings.

The moulding material for manufacturing each of the pallet halves 1 may be a plastics material. However, a more preferable material is a reclaimed rubber composition where the rubber has been derived from the waste of old motor tyres. Since waste tyres contain steel wire reinforcement, it is necessary to extract the rubber by using possibly a solvent or a hot sulphuric acid and the recovered rubber composition could then be filled into a mould for a hardening process. Alternatively, the rubber composition could be chopped into small pieces and then reset in a mould using a glue type matrix material, such as a polyvinyl acetate adhesive. Other methods of removing the rubber from motor tyres and then hardening the recovered composition will of course be well known to those in the rubber reclamation trade.

The use of a reclaimed rubber for the pallet construction of the invention has been found to provide a beneficial major use for a waste material that would otherwise be dumped in land fill sites. This could enable the number of wooden pallets that are in circulation to be reduced and it may eventually enable the total usage of wood to be reduced since less would be needed for manufacture and repair of pallets.

Due to the strength and flexibility of a rubber pallet, it would be likely to last longer in service than a brittle wooden pallet thereby reducing the need for frequent repairs.

The foregoing description of an embodiment of the invention has been given by way of example only and a number of modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims. For instance, it is not essential that the two pallet halves should be secured together by bolts, in a different embodiment alternative fixings could be used such as rivets, welding or adhesive bonding. The reinforcement means for each pallet half may be provided at least partly by a steel member which is incorporated into the moulded component during the moulding operation. The invention is also not restricted to the particular square type of pallet which is depicted in the drawing.

Claims (4)

1. A pallet construction, particularly an industrial loadcarrying pallet, comprising a load surface formed of a resilient moulding material consisting of a rubber composition, in particular that of a reclaimed rubber composition as derived from the remoulding of old motor tyres.

2. A pallet construction as claimed in Claim 1 wherein when the moulded load surface is thus placed against a similar surface with separation blocks in contact, a pallet construction formed of only two identical parts will be created which may be joined together by a welding, adhesive, or fastening securing operation.

3. A pallet construction as claimed in any preceding claim wherein in order to reduce the overall weight of the pallet, the moulded parts may incorporate holes in places where they enable the amount of moulding material to be reduced without a corresponding loss in the strength of the assembled pallet.

4. A pallet construction substantially as described herein with reference to Figures 1-2 of the accompanying drawing, but not restricted to the particular square or two-part type of pallet which is depicted in the drawing.