DEVICE FOR SECURING LOADS TO PALLETS

Abstract: This invention relates to a device for securing loads to pallets, and in the preferred embodiment, provides a device which can be positioned quickly and easily without bending on the part of the operative using the device. The device of the present invention comprises first and second hooks (12) interconnected by a length of flexible material (13) wherein each hook (12) includes a central portion (14) to which the flexible material (13) is attached. A pair of arms (15, 16) extends from the central portion (14) on opposite sides of the area of attachment to the flexible material (13). Each arm (15, 16) has top and bottom surfaces (19, 20) spaced apart by a distance sufficiently small to allow ready insertion of the arms (15, 16) between the top and bottom members (3, 4) of a pallet (1). Furthermore, said distances are sufficiently large to ensure that when the arms (15, 16) are positioned between said members (3, 4) on opposite sides of a pallet (1), and the flexible material (13) extends between the hooks (12) over the load and applies a tension force to the hooks (12), the arms (15, 16) cannot readily be withdrawn from the space between said pallet members (3, 4).

Description: DEVICE FOR SECURING LOADS TO PALLETS This invention relates to a device for securing loads to pallets, and in the preferred embodiment provides a device which can be positioned quickly and easily without bending on the part of the operative using the device. Pallets are extensively used to facilitate the loading and unloading of cargo, e.g. in the course of road delivery. Typically, a load to be transported would be loaded on a pallet in one warehouse, the entire pallet and load would be moved onto a lorry or semi-trailer by means of a forklift truck, the pallet load would be taken by road to a delivery site, and would there be removed from the lorry or semi-trailer by means of another forklift truck. If the load on the pallet consists of a number of separate items means must be provided for securing the load together to avoid the possibility that individual items will be dislodged or fall within the pallet load. Such securing can be effected by a number of methods including, for example, the use of lashing straps which pass around the load and through the space between the top and bottom members of the pallet, or by the use of film wrapping which surrounds the entire load and portions of the pallet to stabilise the load. All known securing means, however, suffer from significant disadvantages, especially when many pallet loads must be transported. If conventional securing straps are used they are difficult to position since the operative must bend to floor level to push the strap through the space between the top and bottom members of the pallet. Because of the size of the pallet this operation is difficult even after the operative has bent to floor level. Further, conventional straps used in this manner are liable to be damaged by the forks of forklift trucks in the course of use. If film wrapping is used the problem of inserting conventional straps is avoided, but the cost of the film wrapping material is significant and the volume of plastic waste produced is undesirable. The need accordingly exists for a pallet load retaining device which can quickly and easily be positioned, which will not be damaged in the course of movement of the pallet load by means of forklift trucks, and which can readily be reused for a subsequent pallet load. According to one aspect of the present invention there is provided a device for retaining a load on a pallet comprising first and second hooks interconnected by a length of flexible material wherein each hook includes a central portion to which the flexible material is attached and a pair of arms extending from the central portion on opposite sides of the area of attachment to the flexible material, each arm having top and bottom surfaces which are spaced apart by a distance which is sufficiently small to allow the arms to be inserted readily between the top and bottom members of a pallet with which the device is to be used but which is sufficiently large to ensure that when the arms of the respective hooks are positioned between the top and bottom members on the opposite sides of a pallet, and the flexible material extends between the hooks over the load and applies a tension force to the hooks, the arms cannot readily be withdrawn from the space between the top and bottom members of the pallet. The present invention allows the hooks to be positioned by simply pushing the arm portions into position between the top and bottom members of the pallet. The force generated by the flexible material on the hooks will tend to tilt the arms causing them to lock in position and prevent removal of the hook from its use position. The flexible material may take the form of an elastically extendible material of fixed unstressed length. This arrangement would be particularly suitable if the device is to be used repeatedly with a load of the same size. Under these circumstances the unstressed length of the material would be chosen such that when the hooks are placed in their use position on a loaded pallet, the flexible material will be somewhat extended and will apply a tension force to each hook to maintain the hook in position. In an alternative embodiment, particularly suitable for use when the device is to be used with a range of load sizes, the flexible material may be of variable unstressed length. Such an arrangement can conveniently be provided by securing a length of material to each hook and by providing a buckle arrangement to interconnect the lengths of flexible material. Under these circumstances the flexible material may be extensible or inextensible depending on the nature of the retaining force required. In a particularly preferred embodiment of the invention each hook is provided with means permitting the hook to be engaged by the foot of an operative. Such means can conveniently comprise a ledge provided on the exposed surface of the hook, or an aperture into which the toe of an operative can be inserted. With such an arrangement the operative can readily insert or remove the hook with his foot, thereby obviating the need to bend when using the device. Preferably, the arms are cantilevered from the central portion of the hook and are mutually spaced apart by distance sufficient to accommodate the block which typically separates the top and bottom members of a standard pallet design. If the hook is of this form it can be inserted to surround the block and thereby be positioned to avoid interference with the forks of a forklift truck. In a standard pallet design where a block is provided at each corner of the pallet and one block is provided intermediate each corner, a retaining device of the present invention could be provided at each centre block position and/or at each corner block position. Alternatively, the hooks can be positioned intermediate the blocks to pass over the load in one direction whilst still leaving the possibility of forklift truck manoeuvring of the pallet. Preferably, the top surface and/or the bottom surface of the or each arm is formed with a profile which increases the gripping action of the arm. In the preferred embodiment of the invention a suitable saw-toothed profile is provided on the upper surface of each arm adjacent the central portion of the hook and on the lower surface of each arm remote from the central portion. The hooks the present invention can conveniently be manufactured by injection moulding from suitable plastics material if a relatively small retaining force is required, or can be formed from metal if a relatively large retaining force is required. The invention will be better understood from the following description of a preferred embodiment thereof, given by way of example only, reference being had to the accompanying drawings wherein: Figure 1 illustrates in perspective view a pallet loaded with materials, the materials being retained on the pallet by means of two securing devices embodiment of the present invention; Figure 2 shows in perspective a hook for use in an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 3 illustrates the operation of the hook of Figure 2; and Figures 4 and 5 correspond to Figures 2 and 3 but show an alternative design of the hook. Referring to the drawings, there is illustrated a standard pallet 1 upon which is positioned a load 2. As will be understood by those skilled in the art pallets 1 are manufactured to a number of standard designs, but each in general consist of one or more top members 3 for supporting the load and one or more bottom members 4 for engaging the ground, the top and bottom members being spaced apart by blocks 5 to which the top and bottom members are secured. A block 5 is provided at each corner of the pallet and a block 5 is typically provided in the centre of each face of the pallet and at the geometric centre of the pallet. The blocks 5 and top and bottom members 3,4 defined there between a space 6 into which the forks 7 of a forklift truck may be inserted in order to move the load. The spacing of the top and bottom members, which is of course determined by the thickness of the blocks 5, will in general be the same for pallets of the same surface area. The pallet 1 illustrated in Figure 1 carries a load which is itself covered with a flexible cover 8. The cover 8 includes a panel 9 which is secured to the rest of the cover by fasteners 10 to facilitate easy positioning and removal of the cover 8. Whilst the cover 8 provides some control of the load, additional means are typically required to ensure that the load does not move relative to the pallet. Such means could be provided by means of film wrapping or by means of straps or banding passed through the space 6 and around the load. However, the positioning of such straps or banding is highly inconvenient and if disposable materials are used (e.g. film wrapping or banding materials) these must be disposed of which is of considerable inconvenience if a large number of loads are involved. In the case of Figure 1 the load is retained on the pallet by means of load retaining devices 11 in accordance with one embodiment of the invention. Each load retained device 11 comprises a hook 12 having arms which are positioned between the top and bottom members of the pallet. In addition, each retaining device comprises a length 13 of flexible material which is secured to the hooks of the device. The flexible material may conveniently be elastically extendible webbing, but may be relatively inextensible webbing provided with a length adjusting buckle. As illustrated in Figure 1 the hooks 12 are positioned between the top and bottom members of the pallet in a position which could be utilised by the forks 7 of a forklift truck. This limits the ability of a forklift truck to engage the load but still permits these loads to be moved from to opposite sides thereof. In an alternative arrangement, the hooks 12 could be positioned to suoound the centre block 5 of each face of the pallet so that the load would be retained by two retaining devices located in planes perpendicular to each other, but neither of the retaining devices would interfere with full use of a forklift truck for mechanical handling purposes. The design and operation of the retaining device is shown more clearly in Figures 2 and 3. In the embodiment of Figures 2 and 3 the hook 12 is a unitary injection moulding of suitable plastics material. It is to be understood, however, that the hook could be formed of metal e.g. by stamping or by machining from suitable channel- section material. The hook 12 has a central portion 14 and arms 15, 16 which extend from opposite sides of the central portion. The central portion includes an aperture 17 into which the toe of a boot or shoe of an operative can be inserted. A slot 18 is formed at the upper edge of the central portion to allow the flexible material 13 to be secured thereto. Each arm 15, 16 includes a top surface 19 and a bottom surface 20. The surfaces 19,20 are spaced apart by a distance sufficiently small to allow the arms to be inserted easily between the top member 3 and the bottom member 4 of the pallet. In practice, most pallets are manufactured to an internationally agreed specifications and accordingly a hook of one particular size would be usable with a wide range of pallets. The spacing of the surfaces 19,20 is, however, sufficiently small that when the hook is twisted slightly in the direction of the arrow A of Figure 3 as a result of tension present in the flexible member 13, the arms 15, 16 will engage the top and bottom members 3,4 of the pallet to prevent easy removal of the hook from its operative position. In order to assist the grip of the hook with the pallet a suitable profile, in this case a saw-tooth profile, is provided in a region 21 of the top surface adjacent the central portion 14 and in a region 22 of the bottom surface remote from the central region 14. In use, an operative will pick up a retaining device according to the present invention and will allow one of the hooks to hang whilst he grips a central region of the flexible material. He will then manoeuver the hook so that he inserts his toe into the aperture 17 and will apply slight manual tension to the flexible member 13 in order to retain the hook on his toe. He can then use his toe to insert the hook between the top member 3 and bottom member 4 of the pallet either at the position illustrated in Figure 1 or so that the arms 15, 16 are positioned on opposite sides of one of the blocks 5. Once one hook has been positioned the other hook may be thrown to the opposite side of the pallet and the operative can then walk to the opposite side of the pallet, engage his toe with the aperture 17 of the hook on that side, and position the hook as required between the top and bottom members of the pallet on that side. If necessary, the operative can manually stretch the flexible material in order to allow easy insertion of the hook. The hooks may readily be removed by reversing the procedure described above. Although it is envisaged that for many applications a moulded plastic hook interconnected by a length of resiliently extendible webbing material of fixed unstressed length will be sufficient, it will be appreciated where larger loads are to be secured the hooks may be formed of metal and lengths of non-extensible webbing, interconnected by a conventional lashing buckle may be used. The embodiment of the invention showed in Figures 4 and 5 cooesponds to that in Figures 2 and 3, and like reference numbers are used on like parts. In the case of the device of Figures 4 and 5, however, the flexible material is connected to an bar 23 which extends from the opposite side of the central portion 14 to the arms 15, 16. It has been found that this aoangement can give better grip and is more tolerant to variations in the gap between the upper and lower members of the pallet than that of the design of Figures 2 and 3.

Claims: CLAIMS: 1. A device for retaining a load on a pallet, comprising first and second hooks interconnected by a length of flexible material wherein each hook includes a central portion to which the flexible material is attached and a pair of arms extending from the central portion on opposite sides of the area of attachment to the flexible material, each arm having top and bottom surfaces which are spaced apart by a distance which is sufficiently small to allow the arms to be inserted readily between the top and bottom members of a pallet with which the device is to be used but which is sufficiently large to ensure that when the arms of the respective hooks are positioned between the top and bottom members on the opposite sides of a pallet, and the flexible material extends between the hooks over the load and applies a tension force to the hooks, the arms cannot readily be withdrawn from the space between the top and bottom members of the pallet. 2. A device according to claim 1 wherein the flexible material is elastically extendible and is of fixed unstressed length. 3. A device according to claim 1 wherein the flexible material is of variable unstressed length and comprises a length of material secured to each hook and means for adjusting length of material between the hooks. 4 A device according to any preceding claim wherein each hook is provided with means permitting the hook to be engaged by the foot of an operative. 5. A device according to claim 4 wherein the means to be engaged by the foot of an operative comprises a ledge provided on the exposed surface of the hook, or an aperture into which the toe of an operative can be inserted. 6. A device according to any preceding claim wherein the arms are cantilevered from a central portion of the hook and are mutually spaced apart by distance sufficient to accommodate a block which separates the top and bottom members of the pallet.. 7. A device according to any preceding claim wherein the top surface and/or the bottom surface of the or each arm is formed with a profile which increases the gripping action of the arm. 8. A device according to any preceding claim wherein a saw-toothed profile is provided on the upper surface of each arm adjacent the central portion of the hook and on the lower surface of each arm remote from the central portion to increase the gripping action of the arm. . 9. A device according to any preceding claim wherein the hooks are manufactured by injection moulding from suitable plastics material. 10. A device according to any preceding claim wherein the hooks are manufactured of metal.

Inventors: OTA TOSHI, OTA, TOSHI
Applicants: OTA TOSHI, SANSETSU UK LIMITED, OTA, TOSHI
Application year: 1999
Main classification: B65D71
IPC codes: B65D71