A CORNER COLUMN FOR A SUPPORTING FRAME FOR A LOADING PALLET, A SIDE MEMBER FOR SAID FRAME AND A SUPPORTING FRAME

Abstract: A supporting frame (1, 11, 12) for a loading pallet (4-7) is so placed on the pallet that its corner columns (1) rest on a portion of a foot fitting (2) which projects beyond the corners of the pallet. Supporting means (either separate 9, 10, or in the form of transoms 11, 12) permit an essential part of the load of the corner columns (1) on the foot fitting (2) in the operative position to be transferred to such areas of the foot fitting that the load is distributed inwardly over the portion of the foot fitting which is supported by the corner of the pallet, where the supporting means are so adapted as to allow rotation of the foot fitting, e.g. to secure the supporting frame on the pallet.

Description: A supporting frame for a loading pallet and a side member for said frame member for said frame The invention relates to a supporting frame for a loading pallet, said frame comprising corner columns which are adapted at the top to support an overlying loading pallet and each of which has at the bottom a rotatable foot fitting to engage the top side of the corners of the pallet. More particularly, the invention relates to supporting frames with "free pallet measures", i.e. a supporting frame disposed outside the edge of the pallet so that the entire surface of the pallet can accomodate goods. Rotatable foot fittings, which operate in the manner that in normal position they lock the side members of the supporting frame against vertical movement with respect to the pallet, but release the side member upon simple rotation, involve the advantage that the supporting frame can easily be secured to and released from the pallet. They are known in connection with such supporting frames as are disposed within the outer edge of the pallet, but when free pallet measures are desired, problems arise because the foot plate of the fitting must be rotatable and must also be capable of withstanding the eccentric load which occurs when the corner column is disposed outside the pallet. The eccentric load is small when only the net weight of the supporting frame is involved; however, it is well-known to stack several pal lets with supporting frames and goods on top of each other, and the problem therefore occurs when such a stack of pal lets is to be lifted by- a fork truck as the entire load, apart from that of the lowermost pallet, is to be supported by the foot fittings of the lowermost pallet. The object of the invention is to provide a supporting frame with rotatable foot fittings so adapted that the foot fitting is both relatively thin and easy to manufacture and can simultaneously support the above-mentioned strong load. This object is achieved in that the corner column is journalled on the foot fitting in an area which, in the operative position, projects beyond the edges of the pallet, and in that at least one supporting means is provided which is adapted to transfer compressive forces from the supporting frame to the top side of the projecting portion at a distance from the corner column. In such a structure the supporting means distribute a substantial part of the load evenly over the portion of the foot fitting which is supported by the pallet. The supporting means may be inclined braces which are secured to the corner columns and are flush with the sides of the supporting frame, and which extend down to the foot fitting; preferably, however, the supporting means is rigidly connected to the corner column downwardly on the frame, or the supporting means is constituted by the transom. It will also be appreciated that the supporting means may be secured to the projecting portion of the foot fitting at a distance from the corner column and be adapted to engage the supporting frame in the operative position so that the eccentric load on the foot fitting is distributed over the portion of the foot fitting which is supported by the pallet. As stated before, the rotatable foot fittings involve the advantage that they can be provided with lock fittings and thus be rotatable between a locking and an open position. However, for many uses the supporting frame will consist of a plurality of side members, typically four, where a pair of opposite side members, which are first mounted on the pallet, are provided with the rotatable lock fittings, while a pair of other opposite transverse side members are adapted to be coupled to the first-mentioned side members. The invention also relates to a side member with at least one rotatable lock fitting, and more particularly the side member comprises a pair of interconnected corner columns which are adapted at the top to support an overlying loading pallet and each of which has at the bottom a foot fitting, at least one of which is rotatable, to engage the top side of the corners of the pallet, said foot fitting being provided with a locking hook which can engage below a portion of the pallet in the normal position of the foot fitting and can clear the pallet in another position. The side member is characterized in that a corner column is journalled on the rotatable foot fitting in an area which, in the operative position, projects beyond the edges of the pallet and by the provision of at least one supporting means rigidly connected to the corner column, said supporting means being adapted to engage, in the operative position, the top side of the projecting portion at a distance from the corner column. This side member brings about the effect explained in connection with claim 1. As stated in claim 5, it is particularly expedient to use the lower transom of the supporting frame for distributing the load on the foot fitting. When the supporting frame is disconnectible, it may be difficult also to utilize the transom of the adjoining side member as a supporting means, and instead a separate supporting means may be used, as stated in the foregoing. In connection with supporting frames where also the corner columns of the adjoining side members are adapted to support an overlying pallet, the features stated in claim 6 are particularly expedient, providing an even distribution of the load of the foot fitting over the pallet corner by very simple means. Claim 7 defines a preferred feature whereby the substantially vertical wall causes additional bracing of the foot fitting, while the features stated in claim 8 provide additional bracing which does not prevent rotation of the foot fitting. The invention will be explained more fully by the following description of some embodiments with reference to the drawing, in which fig. 1 shows an explanatory sketch of a corner of an embodiment of the supporting frame of the invention, figs. 2 and 3 show a pallet with a supporting frame in the form of four side members, while figs. 4 and 5 show details in the foot fittings of the supporting frame shown in figs. 2 and 3. Fig. 1 shows a corner of a supporting frame to illustrate the invention. The entire supporting frame is not shown as, in its simplest form, it may consist of four corner columns which are rigidly interconnected by means of transoms. Preferably, however, the supporting frame consists of four side members, which will be explained in connection with figs. 2 and 3. To obtain the free pallet measure previously mentioned the corner columns 1 of the supporting frame are journalled on a foot fitting 2 so that the corner column rests on a portion of the fitting which projects beyond the portion of the fitting which is supported by the pallet. As known in the art, the pallet comprises base boards 3, 4 interconnected through a transverse board 5, which is in turn connected to a transverse board 6 through a corner block 7. As appears from fig. 1 the supporting frame is so disposed that the entire loading face of the pallet can be used for the storage of goods, but on the other hand the foot fitting 2 is loaded eccentrically by the corner column 1. According to the invention, this load is distributed by supporting means so that the previously mentioned strong load can be transferred from the foot fitting to the corner of the pallet, while allowing rotation of the foot fitting. The rotary movement is desirable because the fitting may in a known manner be provided with an hook 8, which in the position shown in fig. 1 locks the supporting frame to the pallet. Rotation of the foot fitting to the position in dash-and-dot lines permits removal of the supporting frame from the pallet. The foot fitting may be provided with additional locking and guide means which are known per se or appear from the embodiments described later. In the embodiment shown in fig. 1 the supporting means consist of a pair of legs 9 and 10 which are secured to the transoms 11 and 12, respectively, of the supporting frame and extend downwardly toward the foot fitting 2 so as to engage the fitting 2; thus the vertical load from the corner column 1 is distributed to a pair of corners on the foot fitting so that the connecting line between the engagement of the legs with the foot fitting in the operative position extends over the pallet. It will be appreciated that the legs 9, 10 may extend obliquely upwards and be secured directly to the corner column if the transoms 11, 12 are to be placed at a greater height, and it will also be appreciated that the legs 9, 10 might be omitted if the transoms 11, 12 are secured at the bottom of the corner column 1. Finally, it is possible for the legs 9, 10 to be secured to the foot fitting and extend upwardly to engage below the transoms 11, 12. As stated before, the supporting frame is preferably composed of four interconnectible side members, as appears from figs. 2 and 3. The side member 12 shown in fig. 2 comprises corner columns 13, 14 interconnected by means of transoms such as 15 and 16. The corner columns are at the top adapted to support an overlying pallet and may have separate carrier plates with this end in view. In the embodiment shown the carrier plates 17, 18 belong to a fitting (35, 36) on the adjoining side members which can be seen in fig. 3. The corner columns 13, 14 have at the bottom an embodiment of the foot fitting (19, 20 respectively) of the invention to mount the supporting frame on a pallet 21. Fig. 3 shows the above-mentioned adjoining side member 22 comprising corner columns 23, 24 which have rotatable fittings 35, 36 at the top, the fitting 35 being shown in a locking position in which it interconnects the columns 14 and 23, while the fitting 36 i shown in an open position. The corner columns 23 and 24 are adapted at the bottom to engage a locking hook (25, fig. 4) on the foot fittings. Figs. 4 and 5 show a preferred embodiment of the foot fittings of the invention, where fig. 4 shows the fitting in a closed position, while fig. 5 shows the fitting in an open position. The rotary position is provided in a manner known per se in that a pipe 26, which is secured to the foot fitting, extends upwardly inside the corner column 14 in which it is guided by some guide rings, which,in cooperation with a depression or a bolt (not shown) in the column 14,define extreme positions for a mutually vertical movement between the side member and the foot fitting. The foot fitting comprises a plate member 27 which can be compared with the plate 2 from fig. 1 and which is connected through a vertical plate member 28 to a plate member 29 projecting beyond the pallet. An end plate 30 is moreover provided, connecting the plate members 27 and 28 as it extends a distance upwardly above the plate member 27 so that the top edge of the end plate defines a stop for the rotary movement in the locking position shown in fig. 4. When the side member is lifted with respect to the foot fitting the plate 30 may be rotated below the transom 15 so that the hook 31 may be rotated out of engagement with the corner block of the pallet. It is observed that a portion of the plate member 27 facing the end plate 30 also projects a distance beyond the pallet so that the said rotary movement is possible in spite of the end plate 30. As mentioned before, the lock fittings 35 and 36 are adapted to transfer the load of the overlying pallet to the adjacent corner columns 14 and 23 of two adjoining side members, and consequently an additional pipe 32 is placed in alignment with the hook 25, the pipes 26 and 32 being interconnected at the bottom by means of a fishplate 33 placed at such a great distance from the plate member 27 that the load from an overlying pallet can be transferred through the pipes 26, 32, i.e. by-pass the pallet. The load from a pallet in a stack is transferred in this manner directly to the underlying supporting frame and through the underlying supporting frames to a loading area. The carrier plates 18 are so dimensioned as to support both part of the corner block of the overlying pallet and a fishplate 33. It will then be explained how the parts described in the foregoing cooperate to distribute the load on the foot fitting. When the pallet is loaded, the foot fitting is in the position shown in fig. 4, where the transom 15 engages the plate member 27 outside the outer edge of the pallet so that the vertical load from the corner column 14 applied by an overlying pallet is distributed right out to the edge of the plate member 27 facing away from the corner column. The overlying pallet will, as mentioned, not only load the corner column 14, but also the corner column 23 and thus the plate member 29 in the area around the hook 25 so that an essential part of the load is effective in areas whose connecting line extends inwardly over the corners of the pallet. When a stack of pallets is lifted with a fork truck the load from the overlying pal lets will thus be distributed inwardly over the corners of the lowermost pallet so that the foot fittings are not capable of withstanding a great eccentric load. The plate member 28 and the end plate 30 involve additional bracing of the foot fitting, which can therefore be made in a relatively thin material and still be able to transfer great eccentric forces because of the structure described in the foregoing.

Claims: Patent C 1 a i m s 1. A supporting frame for a loading pallet, comprising corner columns which are adapted at the top to support an overlying loading pallet and each of which has at the bottom a rotatable foot fitting to engage the top side of the corners of the pallet, said foot fitting being provided with a locking hook which can engage below a portion of the pallet in the normal position of the foot fitting and can clear the pallet in another position, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that the corner column (1, 11) is journalled on the foot fitting (2, 27) in an area which, in the operative position, projects beyond the edges of the pallet (3, 5), and that at least one supporting means (9, 10) is provided which is adapted to transfer compressive forces from the supporting frame to the top side of the projecting portion at a distance from the corner column. 2. A supporting frame according to claim 1, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that the supporting means is rigidly connected to the corner column through a transom (11, 12) connecting the corner column (1) to another corner column at the bottom of the frame. 3. A supporting frame according to claim 2, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that the supporting means is constituted by the transom (15). 4. A side member for a supporting frame, comprising a pair of interconnected corner columns which are adapted at the top to support an overlying loading pallet and each of which has at the bottom a foot fitting, at least one of which is rotatable, to engage the top side of the corners of the pallet, said foot fitting being provided with a locking hook which can engage below a portion of the pallet in the normal position of the foot fitting and can clear the pallet in another position, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that a corner column is journalled on the rotatable foot fitting in an area which, in the operative position, projects beyond the edges of the pallet and by the provision of at least one supporting means rigidly connected to the corner column, said supporting means being adapted to engage, in the operative position, the top side of the projecting portion at a distance from the corner column. 5. A side member according to claim 4, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that a supporting means is constituted by a transom (15) connecting the corner columns (14) of the side member at the bottom. 6. A side member according to claim 5, wherein the supporting frame consists of a pair of opposite side members and a pair of transverse side members detachably connected to these and having corner columns which are likewise adapted to support an overlying pallet, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that the foot fitting (27, 29) has coupling means (25) to cooperate with a corner column (23) in the adjoining transverse side member (22) in an area of the projecting portion where in connecting line between the said supporting means (15) and the coupling means (25) in the operative position extends within the side edges of the pallet. 7. A side member according to claim 6, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that a portion (29) of the foot fitting, which in the operative position extends outside the edge of the pallet parallel with the adjacent transverse side member, is lowered with respect to an overlying portion (27) of the foot fitting and is con nected to the overlying portion through a substantially vertical plate member (28). 8. A side member according to claim 7, c h a r a c t e r i z e d by a brace (30) which is rigidly connected between the low-lying portion (29) and the overlying portion (27) of the foot fitting and which is spaced from the outer edge of the pallet in the operative position.

Inventors: JENSEN, BENT
Applicants: VARIANTSYSTEMET A/S
Application year: 1984
Main classification: B65D19
IPC codes: B65D19