Abstract:
A fitment for mounting on a pallet to provide a bunded pallet wherein the fitment has a part supportable by the pallet and adapted to receive a load thereon and a retaining wall disposed at least partly to surround the base pall and adapted to retain any spillage there within.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     This specification relates to a bunded pallet capable of preventing spillage from at least one container carried by the pallet. 
     It is known to provide a bunded pallet made as a plastics moulding but such a moulding is relatively expensive because it has to be strong enough to function as a pallet to carry the load imposed thereon in use. 
     An object of the present invention is to provide a bunded pallet whereby the above-mentioned problem is overcome or is reduced. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     According to one aspect of the present invention we provide a fitment for mounting on a pallet to provide a bunded pallet wherein the fitment has a part supportable by the pallet and adapted to receive a load thereon and a retaining wall disposed at least partly to surround the base part and adapted to retain spillage there within. 
     The fitment may be provided with a recess in the underside thereof to receive the pallet and mount the fitment on the pallet. Accordingly, the fitment is a simple “slip-over” add-on device. 
     The fitment may be provided with a channel disposed at least partly to surround the base wall. 
     At least part of the channel may be at a level below the said base part. 
     The channel may comprise an outer wall part provided by said retaining wall, a bottom wall part disposed between the base wall and a connecting wall part which upstands from the bottom wall pall and which depends downwardly from the base part. 
     The top of the retaining wall may be substantially no higher than the top of the pallet. In this case, it is relative easily to load and offload a container. 
     In an alternative version, the top of the retaining wall may be considerably higher than the top surface of the pallet, for example, by up to 400 mm. In this case, although it is more difficult to load or offload a container, a greater amount of spillage may be retained. 
     In a further alternative version the retaining wall may be of variable height to facilitate loading when the retaining wall is of relatively small height and to retain a relatively large amount of fluid when the wall is a relatively large height. 
     All, or at least part of the retaining wall, may be formed so that the height thereof can be changed. 
     The retaining wall may comprise at least a part of generally “bellows” configuration. 
     The retaining wall may comprise a plurality of wall parts which are hinged together for movement between a relatively small height position in which the wall parts have a relatively smaller included acute angle mutually therebetween than the relatively large height position in which the wall parts have a relatively large included acute angle mutually therebetween. The wall parts may be hinged together by virtue of being formed integrally with each other. 
     The hinged together wall parts may comprise all or part of one side of the fitment or may comprise all of said sides or any desired combination of sides or parts thereof. 
     The variable height retaining wall may normally adopt a raised position but be deformable to a lower position by virtue of said hinged interconnection. 
     The base part of the fitment may be provided with a configuration to receive a load such as a container in at least one desired orientation or a further pallet which usually would carry at least one container or other item thereon. 
     The load may comprise a generally cylindrical container disposed in a first orientation with its longitudinally extending axis vertical. Thus a lower circular part of the container is horizontal and supported by the base part. 
     The base part may be configured to receive a plurality of containers such as four, in said first orientation. 
     Alternatively, or in addition, the base pale may be configured to receive at least one container in a second orientation with said longitudinal axis generally horizontal. If desired, the base part may be configured to receive two parallel containers in said configuration. 
     The base part may be provided with a plurality of upstanding walls which may be configured to provide seats to receive the or each container. 
     The upstanding walls of the base pale may comprise two side walls and two transverse walls, a front one of the transverse walls being displaced rearwardly from a front end of the fitment and the other transverse wall being disposed at or adjacent a rear of the fitment, or, if desired, at an intermediate position, the distance between the transverse walls being such as to support a container in an horizontal position. By virtue of displacing the front transverse wall inwardly, contents of the drum spilled onto the base part in front of the transverse wall may fall into the channel at the front of the fitment. 
     Where the fitment has a variable height retaining wall wherein only a part of the wall has a height which can be changed, said part may comprise all or part of said front wall. 
     The channel at the front of the fitment may be at or adjacent the top of the pallet and, hence, at or adjacent the level of the main part of the base wall. In this case the channel may extend, if desired, around only three sides or along only two opposite sides of the tray at a lower level than the base part and the channel at the front being at the same level as the base wall or at a reduced depth compared with the base part. 
     The side walls and, if desired, the real transverse wall may be provided with bracing webs connected to the bottom part of the channel. The webs may be arranged so that liquid can flow past the webs in the channel. 
     The pallet may be a conventional timber pallet. 
     The pallet may comprise an upper part which may comprise a plurality of parallel upper members, a lower part which may comprise a plurality of lower members parallel to said upper members and an intermediate part which may comprise a plurality of intermediate members disposed between and interconnecting said upper and lower parts. A socket means may be provided in the pallet below the upper part to receive a handling means. 
     According to a second aspect of the invention we provide a bunded pallet comprising a pallet having mounted thereon a fitment according to the first aspect of the invention. 
     The side walls may comprise a continuation of said connecting walls. 
     Two embodiments of the invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a tray for use with a pallet embodying the invention, 
     FIG. 2 is a section on the line  2 — 2  of FIG. 1, 
     FIG. 3 is a section on the line  3 — 3  of FIG. 1, 
     FIGS. 4 a-g  show diagrammatically a cross-section through the tray taken on the lines  4   a-g,    
     FIG. 5 is a perspective view of an alternative embodiment of the invention showing a variable height retaining wall at a relatively small height, 
     FIG. 6 is a view of the tray of FIG. 5 but showing the retaining wall at a relatively large height, 
     FIG. 7 is a cross section through a variable height retaining wall shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, 
     FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a modification of the tray embodying the invention, and 
     FIG. 9 is a fragmentary perspective view of a part of the tray of FIG.  8 . 
     FIG. 10 is a further perspective view of the tray of FIG.  8 . 
     FIG. 11 is a still further perspective view of the tray of FIG.  8 . 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     A conventional pallet is indicated generally at  10  and comprises an upper part  11  comprising a plurality of parallel wooden slats, a lower part  12  comprising a further plurality of lower wooden slats which are parallel to the slats  11  and three connecting members  13  which are connected to the upper and lower slats which extend therebetween so as to connect them together to form a pallet. 
     The pallet provides handling sockets  14  for, for example, the forks of a forklift truck whereby the pallet may be lifted and manoeuvred as desired. 
     In order to render the conventional wooden pallet  10  a bunded pallet to restrain ullage or other liquid spillage from generally cylindrical drum-shaped containers D a fitment, comprising a tray  20 , is provided. The tray  20  comprises a base part, comprising a base wall  21 , at a level so as to be supported by an upper surface  22  of the pallet  11 . The base wall  21  is surrounded by a retaining wall  23 . The base wall  21  is provided with a channel  24  outwardly of the base wall  21 . In this example, the channel  24  extends around the whole of the base wall so as to extend around a rear  26 , two sides  27 , 28  and a front  29  of the tray. The channel  24  is disposed in part below the base wall  21  where it extends around the side walls  27 , 28  and rear  26  and is at or substantially at the same level as the base wall  21  in the region thereof  30  which extends past the front  29 . If desired, the channel  24  may be at a lower height in the region  30  consistent with providing access for the forks. If desired, the channel  24  may be omitted completely in the region of the front  29  so that liquid is allowed to fall only into the sides  27 , 28  of the channel as well as at the rear  26 . 
     The base wall  21  is provided with a pair of side walls  32 , 33  parallel to the sides  27 , 28  and a rear transverse wall  34  parallel to the rear  26  and a front transverse wall  35  at a position disposed rearwardly of the front  29  but at a distance so that when the drums D are disposed with their longitudinal axes L horizontal, the drums project forwardly of the wall  35  so that any spillage on the base wall  21  forwardly of the front transverse wall  35  can fall into the channel  24 . The walls  32 - 35  are formed with a configuration to receive a pair of the drums D in a vertical orientation as shown at D v  in FIGS. 2 and 3 and in a horizontal configuration as shown at D H , in FIGS. 2 and 3. In the present example, the configuration of the tops of the walls  32 - 35  is of pall-circular shape as indicated as  36  in the rear wall and  37  in the front intermediate wall. An intermediate wall  39  is provided between the front and rear transverse walls  35 , 36  and is also provided at the top with drum receiving formations of part-circular configuration as shown at  40 . 
     Between the upstanding side transverse and intermediate walls the sides of which are inclined, as illustrated, the base wall  21  is provided with four generally planar disc-shaped parts of a circular configuration to receive the end surfaces of the drums D when the drums are disposed as illustrated in FIG.  1  and when the drums are disposed in the vertical position as shown in D v  in FIGS. 2 and 3. 
     The side walls  32 , 33  are formed as upstanding vertical extensions of generally inclined connecting wall parts  41  which serve to connect a bottom part  42  of the channel  24  to the base wall  21  and, of course, to the upstanding side walls  32 , 34  and similarly to the rear transverse wall  34 . If desired, the bottom part  42  of the channel may be braced by, for example, three web members  43  extending between the bottom wall part  42  and the connecting wall part  41  and upstanding walls  32 , 33 , 34  as desired. 
     In consequence of the above-described configuration, the tray  20  is provided with a recess  45 , on the underside thereof, which receives the pallet  10  and mounts the tray on the pallet. It will be appreciated that the recess is configured so as to provide a co-operating fit with the top of the pallet  10  whereby the tray is made a simple “slip-on” add-on device. 
     In the present example, the fitment is made as a vacuum moulding in a suitable synthetic plastics material such as polyethylene, the plastics material being relatively thin, for example 2-4 mm thick although any part or all of the fitment may be thicker as desired, for instance where reinforcement of the fitment is necessary. If desired, the fitment may be made of any other suitable material and/or in any other suitable way such as by rotational moulding or blow moulding. 
     In the illustration shown in FIGS. 1 to  4 , the drums, when positioned horizontally as shown at D H , are ready for decanting at the front  29  of the tray. If desired, however, the two drums may be disposed at 90° to the position shown in the figures and decanted in this orientation. If desired, when the drums are horizontal one could be disposed so as to decant in one direction and the other disposed so as decant at 180° to the first-mentioned drum. 
     If desired, the base part may be of any desired configuration to suite a load to be carried by a pallet. Although in the present example the base pall has four generally planar disc shaped parts of circular configuration to receive the end surface of the drums the underside of which disc shaped parts are supported directly by the upper surface of the pallet so that the load of the drums is transmitted to the pallet directly through the disc shaped parts so that the material of the disc shaped parts simply carries the load in direct compression if desired the pallet may have a base part which includes a portion which directly engages an upwardly facing surface of the pallet with the undersurface of a pallet engaging part of the base whilst the load to be carried may be carried by another part of the base so that the load is not transmitted simply by the material of the pallet engaging part in compression. For example when the drums are carried in the horizontal configuration shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 under the reference numeral DH. If desired, however, the upstanding walls may have a proportion of their reduced height part which is of the same height of the above mentioned disc shaped parts so that the majority at least, of the weight of the load when the drums are horizontal is transmitted by a pallet engaging part of the tray which comprises simply a portion of the base part sandwiched so as to be in compression, directly between the load and the upwardly facing surface of the pallet at H. 
     Referring now to FIGS. 5 and 6 an alternative embodiment is illustrated which is of the same configuration as the pallet described hereinbefore and in which the same reference numerals have been used to refer to corresponding parts as have been used in the preceding figures. The pallet of the present embodiment differs from that of the previous embodiment simply by virtue of the configuration of the retaining wall  23 . In this embodiment the retaining wall  23  is of generally bellows configuration comprising a plurality of sections  123   a - 123   g  as best shown in FIG.  7 . The wall parts  123   a - 123   g  are hinged together at the inner and outer regions of joinder  124  by virtue of the wall parts  123   a - 123   g  being all made integral with each other. The wall parts are movable like a bellows between a relatively small height position shown in FIG. 5 in which the wall parts  123   a - 123   g  have a small included acute angle therebetween and a relatively large height position shown in FIG. 6 in which the all parts  123   a - 123   g  are relatively large included acute angle mutually therebetween. In the position shown in FIG. 5 since the wall has a relatively low height, loading of a pallet fitted with the fitment is facilitated whilst when the wall is in the raised position shown in FIG. 6 a relatively large amount of fluid can be retained by the fitment. 
     The material of the bellows may be the same as the remainder of the pallet and it may be formed integrally therewith and made separately and attached thereto by any suitable means. The material of the bellows likewise may be of any suitable material or may be of the same material as the pallet and, if desired, the wall parts may be made separately and joined together at the position of joinder  124  in any desired manner. 
     When the bellows contain spillage they are relatively self-supporting and so stay in an extended condition. They allow relatively easy loading and off loading because they will naturally collapse to their low height position if a load is manhandled over them and then spling back into shape. Accordingly the wall may be normally in a generally raised condition but, if desired, the wall may be constructed so that it may be raised manually and generally retained therein if desired and then it may be manually lowered or allowed to be lowered as a result of a load being imposed thereon. 
     The channel  24  in this embodiment is provided on only three sides and is not provided at the front of the fitment. 
     Referring now to FIGS. 8 to  11 , another embodiment of the invention is illustrated which is a similar configuration to the pallet described hereinbefore and in which the same reference numerals have been used to refer to corresponding parts as have been used in the preceding figures. The pallet of the present embodiment differs from that of the previous embodiment by virtue of the configuration of the retaining wall  23  and the configuration of the base wall  21  which, in this embodiment, is generally planar except for upstanding part-spherical anti-slip projections  210  distributed over the surface of the base wall  21 . If desired, in this embodiment, the base wall  21  may be provided with side, front and rear walls  32 - 35 , as described previously. An abutment  50  comprising a generally planar and vertical face  50   a  is provided to engage the pallet when the fitment is in place. 
     Another difference between this embodiment and the previous embodiment is that the retaining wall  23  is of generally bellows configuration over only a part of the periphery thereof. In this embodiment, the front part  211  of the retaining wall  23  is made of generally bellows configuration comprising a plurality of sections similar to the sections  123   a - 123   g  of the previous embodiment where, in this embodiment, only upper ones of the sections  123   a ,  123   g  are shown in the present example at  223   a-d . The wall parts are hinged together at the inner and outer regions of joinder  224 , by virtue of all being made integral with each other, as best shown in FIG.  9 . The wall parts are movable like a bellows between a relatively small height position shown in FIG. 10 where a drum can conveniently be loaded onto the fitment and a relatively large height position shown in FIG.  8 . The bellows-like part of the front wall described hereinbefore will spring back to the position shown in FIG. 8 from the depressed position it is caused to adopt by the load of the drum imposed upon it. 
     If it is desired to load the fitment with, for example a further conventional pallet  51 , or drum, or the like, into the fitment with, for example, a forklift truck, then the bellows-like part  211  can be displaced to a position similar to that shown in FIG. 11 by the forks  52  of the forklift truck during loading and then spring back to the position shown in FIG. 8 after the forks have been removed. 
     As can be seen in FIGS. 8 and 9, the bellows-like part  211  extends around opposite corner parts  225 ,  226  and are joined to non-changeable height parts of the wall  227  by inwardly inclined parts  228 ,  229  of the bellows-like wall part. In the region of the inclined parts  228 ,  229 , the lower bellows section  223   d  is provided with a generally triangular part  230  which lies in a generally vertical plane containing the edge part  230   a . The generally triangular part  230  is joined at its lower edge  230   b  to the wall of the channel  24   a  and the bottom of the front part  211  by means of an inwardly directed corner part  231 . The inwardly directed corner part  231  is joined at its upper edge  232  to the bellows section  223   d.    
     In the embodiment of FIGS. 8 to  11  channel  24  comprises two separate channel parts  24   a  and  24   b  disposed on the opposite sides of the fitment whilst the base wall  21  extends in the same plane between and up to the rear and front walls. If desired any feature, for example, the channel  24 , as described with reference to any one of the above embodiments may be provided mutatis mutandis in another embodiment. 
     The features disclosed in the foregoing description, or the accompanying drawings, expressed in their specific forms or in terms of a means for performing the disclosed function, or a method or process for attaining the disclosed result, or a class or group of substances or compositions, as appropriate, may, separately or in any combination of such features, be utilised for realising the invention in diverse forms thereof.