Tiltable portable pallet

Abstract: A pallet (10) capable, when supporting a load, of being alternately lifted and transported by a forklift having prongs or manually rolled across a floor. The pallet (10) includes interconnected upper and lower planar members (14,16) which form a pallet assembly featuring recesses (20) for accommodating the prongs of the forklift. The pallet assembly further includes a mechanism for connecting a handle assembly (150) near one end of the pallet assembly. The pallet assembly further includes a pair of wheels (40) mounted near the opposite end of the pallet assembly. The wheels are mounted so that when the pallet assembly lies horizontally on the floor (12) the weight of the pallet is largely supported by the lower planar member (16) while when the pallet (10) is tilted so that the end away from the wheels (40) is lifted the pallet (10) is supported by the wheels (40) so that the pallet (10) and its load can be readily manually rolled on the floor (12).

Description: FIELD AND BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to pallets and, more particularly, to pallets which can be readily transported over short distances without the need for a forklift. Pallets are commonly used to support various loads and make it possible to transport loads of various sizes and shapes without damaging the load and using conventional transporting equipment, primarily forklifts of various types. A typical pallet is made of two substantially parallel planar members which are connected to each other using various cross-members, and the like, which are located so as to provide recesses between the two surfaces for accommodating the prongs of a forklift. The load rests on the outer surface of one of the planar members while the pallet rests on the floor so that the floor is in contact with the outer surface of the other planar member. A forklift is then able to approach the loaded pallet, insert its prongs into the gaps between the two planar member and lift the pallet and load off the floor. The forklift can then be used to transport and deliver the load to another location. While transporting the load using a forklift is, in most situations, very convenient and commonly practiced, there are situations where it is inconvenient or even impossible to use a forklift. For example, there are situations where a load supported by a pallet needs to be unloaded in relatively small quantities over a relatively small area. To take just one example, a load of groceries may need to be placed in a number of locations in a large supermarket. Use of a forklift in this situation may endanger the safety of the customers or force the operations to take place at times when the public is barred from the store. Furthermore, use of a forklift in this situation would require the forklift to stand by and from time to time move the load over small distances - an inefficient use of a forklift and its operator. One partial solution is the use of a manual forklift which is hand-operated. However, such devices are generally rather large and complex and are rather cumbersome to get around in tight quarters, such as the aisles of a supermarket, and the like. There is thus a widely recognized need for, and it would be highly advantageous to have, a pallet for supporting a load which, in addition to being transportable when loaded by a forklift in the conventional manner, would also be movable when loaded over relatively small distances without the use of a driven or a manual forklift simply by manually pulling or pushing the pallet over the floor. US-A-5 355 813 describes a pallet that is capable of being lifted and transported by a forklift having prongs. To this end, the pallet comprises at least two wheels or rollers 46 and 48 mounted near the end of the pallet assembly. The pallet 14 includes a top surface 22 and a bottom surface 24. The pallet furthermore includes a front end 26 where the rollers are mounted and a back end 28 where forklift pockets open and are positioned between the sides 30 and 32. Thus, the position of the mounted rollers is at the front end of the pallet, such that the rollers protrude from the pallet (e.g., looking down on the pallet, the rollers protrude from the end of the pallet). US-A-5 249 908 relates generally to a movable pallet assembly with a swivel front wheel mechanism, and particularly to a type of pallet two of which can be bound together by C-shaped fixture clamps and be separated from the ground by supporting legs when used as a base in a warehouse, and be moved around as a transportation cart when the legs are lifted up. The swivel front wheel mechanism can be removably attached to the pallet, and an angle-adjustable pull stick is pivotably fixed to the swivel front wheel mount with an adjustable connecting rod pivotably secured to a slidable push block. By operation of the pull stick, the push block will be moved forward to lift the pallet assembly up or backward to lower the pallet assembly down with the supporting legs in contact with the ground. US-A-5 249 908 has a pair of rollers that may be located underneath the pallet, a pair of supporting legs that contact a ground surface when in a lowered position, and a swivel wheel attached to the front of the pallet. The swivel wheel has a particularly bulky and complicated assembly that makes such a pallet inherently inefficient and unsuitable for shipping, whether loaded or unloaded. The pallet is prone to slipping and sliding during shipping, due to the higher center of gravity, greatly-reduced friction (normal pallets have a much larger surface area in contact with the flooring, and do not have wheels touching the flooring). Moreover, in resting position, the pallet of US-A-5 249 908 lies on the rollers and on the supporting legs, which increases wear on the rollers, is inappropriate for heavy pallet loads, and requires additional height for storing the pallet. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention there is provided a pallet capable, when supporting a load, of being alternately lifted and transported by a forklift having prongs or manually rolled across a floor, comprising: (a) an upper planar member; (b) a lower planar member connected to, or integrally formed with, the upper planar member to form a pallet assembly having a first end and a second end, the pallet assembly featuring recesses for accommodating the prongs of the forklift; and (c) at least two wheels mounted near and under neath the second end of the pallet assembly, the wheels being mounted so that the pallet is substantially supported on the lower planar member when the pallet assembly lies horizontally on the floor while the pallet is substantially supported by the at least two wheels when the pallet assembly is tilted so that the first end of the pallet assembly is lifted above the second end of the pallet assembly. According to further features in preferred embodiments of the invention described below, [there are provided mends for detachably connecting a handle assembly near the first end of the pallet assembly] the means for detachably connecting a handle being recessed into the pallet assembly. Also according to further features of a preferred embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a handle assembly for connecting to the means for detachably connecting. According to still further features in the described preferred embodiments, the handle assembly includes a wheel assembly and further includes means for downwardly extending the wheel assembly, the wheel assembly being mounted so that the pallet is substantially supported on the lower planar member when the pallet assembly lies horizontally on the floor while the pallet is substantially jointly supported by the at least two wheels and by the wheel assembly when the pallet assembly is tilted through downward extension of the wheel assembly so that the first end of the pallet assembly is lifted above the second end of the pallet assembly. The present invention successfully addresses the shortcomings of the presently known configurations by providing a pallet which can be manually transported over relatively short distances simply by tilting the pallet slightly. The tilting can be effected by inserting a simple detachable handle into one end of the pallet assembly and lifting up so that one end of the pallet assembly lifts up slightly. Alternatively, the tilting can be effected by inserting a detachable handle assembly which features a wheel assembly which can be extended downward, for example, using a built-in jack mechanism, so as to bring about the desired tilt. Once the tilt has been effected, the pallet can be readily rolled over the floor. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The invention is herein described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein: FIG. 1A is a side view of a pallet according to the present invention when resting on the floor; FIG. 1B is a blow up of a portion of the pallet of Figure 1 showing the wheel section; FIG. 2A shows the pallet of Figure 1A as it would appear during manual short-distance transport; FIG. 2B is a blow up of a portion of the pallet of Figure 2A showing the wheel section; FIG. 3A is a side view of a another configuration of a pallet according to the present invention featuring a vertically displaceable front wheel assembly showing the pallet resting on the floor; FIG. 3B shows the pallet of Figure 3A as it would appear during manual short-distance transport; FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a pallet as in Figures 3A and 3B. DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention is of a tiltable portable pallet which can be used as a regular pallet and which can, in addition, be manually moved over short distances, even when carrying a load, without requiring the use of a forklift. The principles and operation of a pallet according to the present invention may be better understood with reference to the drawings and the accompanying description. Referring now to the drawings, Figure 1A, 1B, 2A and 2B illustrate a first embodiment of a tiltable portable pallet 10 according to the present invention, which is capable, when supporting a load, of being alternately lifted and transported by a forklift having prongs or manually rolled across a floor 12. Pallet 10 is made up of an upper planar member 14 and a lower planar member 16. Upper planar member 14 and lower planar member 16 are connected to, or integrally formed with, each other to form a pallet assembly which features recesses 20 for accommodating the prongs of the forklift (not shown). Preferably, recesses 20 extend in two substantially mutually perpendicular directions (Figure 4) so that pallet 10 can be lifted by a forklift from any of its four sides. A pallet according to the present invention may further include means for detachably connecting a handle assembly near one end of the pallet assembly. Any suitable means may be envisioned and many such mechanisms are in widespread use in a variety of applications. The means for detachably connecting the handle assembly (50) is connected to the pallet assembly and is preferably found in a recess 30 (Figure 4) of the pallet assembly so that no portion of the means extends beyond the conventional outline of the pallet, thereby making it possible to readily transport and stack unloaded pallets of the present invention in the same way that conventional pallets are transported and stacked. A pallet according to the present invention further includes at least a pair of wheels 40 which are mounted onto the end of the pallet assembly opposite the end which includes the means for connecting the handle assembly. Preferably, wheels 40 are mounted so that at least one wheel is mounted near a corner of the end of the pallet assembly. Wheels 40 are mounted in such a way that when the pallet assembly lies horizontally on floor 12 (Figure 1A) the weight of pallet 10 is substantially supported on lower planar member 16. In this position, wheels 40 may just touch floor 12 (Figure 1B) or there may be a small gap between the bottom of' wheels 40 and floor 12 (not shown). However, when the pallet assembly is tilted so that the end of the pallet assembly near handle assembly 50 is lifted above the opposite end of the pallet assembly (Figures 2A and 2B), the weight of the pallet assembly is substantially supported by wheels 40. With the weight of the pallet assembly resting on wheels 40, it is possible to push or-pull the pallet assembly, with any load which may be found thereon, across the floor to a different location. Once the new location has been reached, the uplifted end of the pallet assembly is eased back to the floor so as to take the weight of the pallet assembly off the wheels and bring the assembly to rest in its new location. In another embodiment of a pallet according to the present invention depicted in Figures 3A, 3B and 4, handle assembly 150 further includes a wheel assembly 152 and further includes means 154 for downwardly extending wheel assembly 152. Wheel assembly 152 is mounted so that the pallet is substantially supported on lower planar member 16 when the pallet assembly lies horizontally on floor 12 while the pallet assembly is substantially jointly supported by wheels 40 and by wheel assembly 152 when the pallet assembly is tilted through the downward extension of wheel assembly 152 so that the end of the pallet assembly adjoining handle assembly 150 is lifted above the opposing end of the pallet assembly. Any suitable means 154 for downwardly extending wheel assembly 152 may be used. Preferably, means 154 is a suitable jack mechanism, not unlike the well-known mechanism commonly used to lift up a portion of a vehicle to facilitate the changing of a flat tire. While the invention has been described with respect to a limited number of embodiments, it will be appreciated that many variations, modifications and other applications of the invention may be made. Where technical features mentioned in any claim are followed by reference signs, those reference signs have been included for the sole purpose of increasing the intelligibility of the claims and accordingly, such reference signs do not have any limiting effect on the scope of each element identified by way of example by such reference signs.

Claims: A pallet (10) capable, when supporting a load, of being alternately lifted and transported by a forklift having prongs or manually rolled across a floor (12), comprising: an upper planar member (14); a lower planar member (16) connected to, or integrally formed with, the upper planar member (14) to form a pallet assembly having a first end and a second end, the pallet assembly featuring recesses (20) for accommodating the prongs of the forklift; and at least two wheels (40) mounted near the second end of the pallet assembly, the wheels (40) being mounted so that the pallet is substantially supported on the lower planar member (16) when the pallet assembly lies horizontally on the floor (12), while the pallet (10) is substantially supported by the at least two wheels (40) when the pallet assembly is tilted so that the first end of the pallet assembly is lifted above the second end of the pallet assembly, characterized in that the wheels (40) are mounted underneath the second end of the pallet assembly. The pallet (10) of claim 1, further comprising means (30) for detachably connecting a handle assembly (50; 150) near the first end of the pallet assembly. The pallet (10) of claim 2, wherein the means (30) for detachably connecting is recessed into the pallet assembly. The pallet (10) of one or more of claims 1-3, wherein the at least two wheels (40) are mounted onto the lower planar member (16) near ends and underneath the lower planar member (16). The pallet (10) of one or more of claims 2 to 4, further comprising: a handle assembly (50; 150) for connecting to the means (30) for detachably connecting. The pallet (10) of claim 5, wherein the handle assembly (150) includes a wheel assembly (152) and further includes means (154) for downwardly extending the wheel assembly (152), the wheel assembly (152) being mounted so that the pallet (10) is substantially supported on the lower planar member (16) when the pallet assembly lies horizontally on the floor, while the pallet (10) is substantially jointly supported by the at least two wheels (40) and by the wheel assembly (152) when the pallet assembly is tilted through downward extension of the wheel assembly (152) so that the first end of the pallet assembly is lifted above the second end of the The pallet (10) of claim 6, wherein the means (154) for downwardly extending the wheel assembly (152) is a jack mechanism.

Inventors: FEINER GIDEON, FEINER, GIDEON
Applicants: GE POLYMER LOGISTICS LTD, GE POLYMER LOGISTICS LTD.
Application year: 1996
Main classification: B65D19
IPC codes: B65D19