A SUPPORT FOR A LOAD

Abstract: A support (20) for a load bearing means including an upper surface (20) having a plurality of peaks (21), a plurality of troughs (22) with at least some of the troughs (22) located between respective adjacent peaks (21) and adapted to receive load bearing means, a plurality of channels (25), with at least some of the channels (25) located below at least some of the respective peaks (21) and adapted for receipt of the load bearing means, with some of the peaks (21) and channels (25) having common side wall portions (23).

Description: A SUPPORT FOR A LOAD Field of the Invention The present invention relates to haulage of goods, freight handling and storage systems. Background of the Invention The most commonly used method for transporting goods in the transport industry involves the use of pallets. Goods are loaded onto pallets and the pallets are transported with the goods from one location to another. Pallets are generally made of wood and are leased off of the owner which leads to obvious shortcomings as outlined in the co-pending provisional patent application by Franc Coonan lodged on the 4 September 1998 and incorporated herein by reference. By using pallets to transport goods additional loads are created for the transporting vehicle to carry. However, the problem is that at present the pallets are necessary because transporting goods without pallets would mean that the goods must be loaded and unloaded from transporting vehicles directly. At present a pallet is needed in order to successfully lift and move goods using tines of a forklift. Without the use of pallets most goods invariably would not be adapted to receive the tines of a forklift and therefore could not be easily carried. In a typical warehousing situation boxes of goods may be stored on shelves . Boxes can be transported from one location to another using a forklift, but if the boxes are stored on pallets extra care is required by the forklift operator in order to manoeuvre tines of the forklift to lift boxes without damaging them. If the boxes are not stored on pallets this becomes almost impossible as it is not easy to manoeuvre tines between the bottom of a box and the top surface of a shelf on which it is supported. This problem applies to any surface on which goods are loaded or stored directly without an interposing pallet. The present invention provides an alternative to existing methods of handling loads whether it be for storage or general transportation. Summary of the Invention According to one aspect of the present invention there is provided a support for a load bearing means, including an upper surface having a plurality of peaks; a plurality of troughs, with troughs located between respective adjacent peaks and adapted to receive load bearing means; a plurality of channels with the channels being located below at least some of the peaks and adapted for receipt of the load bearing means, with the peaks and channels having common side wall portions. According to another aspect of the present invention there is provided a vehicle having a load bearing surface including an upper surface having a plurality of peaks; a plurality of troughs, with troughs located between respective adjacent peaks and adapted to receive load bearing means; a plurality of channels with the channels located below at least some of the peaks and adapted for receipt of the load bearing means, the peaks and channels having common side wall portions and the peaks being adapted to support a load whereby the load bearing means is able to be located in at least some of the troughs so as to raise a load up off the peaks. According to another aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of moving goods, including the steps of providing a support having a plurality of peaks, a plurality of troughs with troughs located between respective adjacent peaks and adapted to receive load bearing means, a plurality of channels located below at least some of the peaks and adapted for receipt of the load bearing means, with the peaks and channels having common side wall portions, placing a load on the support, moving the support using the load bearing means and removing the load from the support by inserting the load bearing means into at least some of the troughs and lifting the load off the peaks and placing the load on a receiving surface. According to a further aspect of the present invention there is provided a storage system including a plurality of supports arranged side by side. It is preferred that at least some of the channels are located between respective positions of adjacent troughs. Preferably each channel is confined to a region between adjacent troughs. Each channel is preferably not located below a trough. Each channel may be located adjacent at least one trough. Each channel preferably has an upper wall which is higher than a lower wall of an adjacent trough. It is preferred that at least some of the channels are separated from an adjacent trough by a common side wall. The support may comprise a generally planar member configured with peaks, troughs and channels. The generally planar member may have an upper surface above which the troughs, channels and peaks are located. The upper surface of the support may act as a base wall of the troughs and channels . It is preferred that the support comprises a generally planar base with the troughs, peaks and channels located on an upper surface thereof. Preferably the base has support feet located on its lower face. It is preferred that the support has a lower surface adapted to contact a load bearing surface. The support may be part of a fixed support such as a floor of a vehicle of the top surface of a shelf. Alternatively the support may be a distinct device which is movable by a load carrying device. At least some of the peaks may have a generally flat upper face. It is preferred that all the peaks have a flat upper face . The upper face of the peaks preferably provide a substantially co-planar upper surface which is able to support loads. The support may have the upper surface with a cross- sectional profile of a periodic wave shape with the peaks and troughs . The periodic wave shape may be a square wave, sine wave, triangular wave or any other known wave shape. It is preferred that the peaks and troughs include a first series of parallel peaks and troughs. It is preferred that the parallel peaks and troughs are arranged adjacent each other. It is preferred that the first series comprises alternating parallel peaks and troughs. According to an alternative embodiment the peaks and troughs include a second series of parallel peaks and troughs arranged at right angles to the first series. It is preferred that the troughs and peaks form lines of ridges and gutters . The ridges and gutters may be formed as an array of columns and rows . It is preferred that the troughs are rectangular recesses . It is preferred that the peaks and troughs have constant frequency. The height of the peaks and the depths of the troughs are preferably constant. The width of the peaks and troughs may be different. The support preferably has a lower surface of peaks and troughs . The lower surface may have a similar pattern to the upper surface. It is preferred that the support comprises a sheet of material formed with the peaks and troughs on the upper and lower surfaces thereof . It is preferred that at least some of the peaks have recesses or cavities located therebelow which are adapted to receive the load bearing means . The load bearing means may be elongate elements such as tines or a forklift. The lower surface of the pallet may be planar with cavities defined between the upper surface of at least some of the peaks and the opposing part of the lower surface. According to one embodiment the support comprises a sheet of material moulded, cast, extruded or machined into a shape having the characteristics previously described. The support may be made from plastic, metal, fibreglass or any other suitable material. Brief Description of the Drawings A preferred embodiment of the present invention will now be described by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 shows a support according to a first embodiment of the present invention; Figure 2 shows a support according to a second embodiment of the present invention; Figure 3 shows a support according to a third embodiment of the present invention; Figure 4a shows a top view of a support according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention; Figure 4b shows a front view of the support shown in Figure 4a and Figure 4c shows an end view of the support shown in Figure 4a; Figure 5a shows an angled view of a pallet in accordance with a fifth embodiment of the present inven ion; Figure 5b shows a front view of the pallet shown in Figure 5a; and Figure 6 shows a front view of a support according a sixth embodiment of the present invention. Detailed Description of the Drawings Figure 1 shows a support may be the floor of a truck or the top surface of a shelf. Assuming the support surface 10 is the shape of the floor of a vehicle used for transporting goods, the floor is shown to have a series of identical rectangular ridges 11 arranged side by side in parallel separated by rectangular channels 12. The floor 10 may be a fixed structure forming part of the vehicle or could be in the form of a rectangular mat-like structure or decking which is placed on the floor of the vehicle. Ideally this mat-like structure would be rigid so that the ridges are able to support thereon loads in the form of goods which must be transported by the vehicle. Alternatively the mats could be disposable or clip-on. In a typical transporting operation a forklift would lift up a box of items or goods to be transported and would raise its tines so that they are at the same level as the troughs 12 of the floor 10. The tines would then be extended to slide into the troughs 12 so that the box of items would be located above the ridges 11. The tines would then be lowered slightly so that the weight of the box is carried by some of the ridges and then the tines could then be removed thus leaving the box supported on the ridges 11. The number of tines used can be varied. When the box has been delivered to its destination by the vehicle a forklift can be used to lift the box off of the ridges again by inserting the tines into the troughs 12 and raising the tines so that the box is lifted above the ridges. The box can then be deposited at a suitable receiving location. By using the specially shaped floor having ridges 11 and troughs 12 as shown in Figure 1, it is not necessary to use a pallet. The shape of the upper surface 13 of the floor 10 may be changed without departing from the inventive concept. Thus as shown in Figure 2 a triangular or saw-tooth upper surface 14 may be utilised. The saw-tooth upper surface has sharp peaks 15 and troughs 16. In the manner as described before a load such as a box of items is able to be supported on the peaks 15 and the tines of a forklift are able to fit into the space between the peaks 15. Ideally however the shape of the tines would be designed so that they conform to the shape of the space between peaks 15, thus rather than having a rectangular cross-section they may have a triangular cross-section. In Figure 2 the support 17 is shown as a sheet of material having a constant thickness . This sheet can be placed on the floor of a truck used for transporting goods and goods supported on the peaks 15 may be removed from the sheet 17. Alternatively the sheet 17 may be lifted with the goods located on it, for example by inserting the tines in the spaces 18 underneath each of the peaks and separated by the valleys 16. Because the floor in Figure 2 is formed from a sheet 17, if the sheet is inverted it can still function in the same way because both sides are identical in the formation of peaks 15 and valleys 16. It should be noted that although in Figure 2 a saw-tooth shaped sheet has been described other shapes are also envisaged which have a periodic waveform shape, such as the square waveform shape shown in Figure 1. The sheet structure 1 shown in Figure 2 may be used as a pallet. Ideally however in this application the shape would be more of a regular series of ridges and recesses as shown in Figure 1. Depending upon the application it may also be necessary to strengthen the supporting surface by having webbing or bracing formed beneath the peaks 15 if the support surface is formed in a sheet. Figure 3 shows another embodiment of the invention in which a pallet 20 is shown having rectangular ridges 21 arranged in parallel side by side and separated by rectangular recesses 22. The ridges 21 may be formed to have a constant thickness 23 and each of the ridges 21 may be formed on a planar base surface 24. Each of the ridges 21 is hollow and has a cavity 25 located therethrough along its length. In use the support 20 may be used as a pallet or in the form of a mat or floor covering for any surface which is designed to support a load. Thus if the support 20 is used on a shelving system it may be formed as a series of rectangular or square mats which can be placed over the shelving with the cavities 25 facing outwardly. A forklift can then lift a load to be stored and place it on the ridges 21 by sliding its tines into the recesses 22 located between the ridges 21. If at any stage it is necessary to lift the load and the support 20 the tines can be inserted into the cavities 25 and the support 20 and load can be lifted together. The size of the support 20 may be selected depending upon the application. Thus they may be made as small pallet sized structures which may be rigid if it is desired to carry a significant load and a series of these supports may be connected together to form a complete floor. Alternatively one or more large supports may be formed which may be ten times the size of a normal pallet for example . It can be seen from the above that the supports in accordance with the present invention may be part of a modularised system. There is no restriction on the size or shape of the support and the support is adaptable to be used in a similar fashion to a pallet but equally may be left in a fixed location so that only the goods which they are supported need to be removed. Thus in a warehouse application shelving may be provided with the supports forming the upper surface of each shelf and the supports may be fixed in location or may be removable like a mat or sheet. If the supports 20 are used as pallets they are not restricted to being of the same size or shape. They can also be made much lighter by making them from lighter materials and they can be made by moulding them from plastic or forming metal or plastic extrusions. According to another embodiment of the present invention shown in Figures 4a to 4c a support 30 is shown which has added flexibility of use. In the embodiments previously described the support or supporting surface had ridges and valleys which enabled tines of a forklift to be inserted into the valleys which faced the forklift. As shown in Figure 4 it is possible to make a support or supporting surface which enables tines to lift or deposit a load on the support or support surface at more than just one approach angle. Thus in Figure 4 flat ridges 31 are provided in a matrix of columns 32 and rows 33. Between each of the rows and columns 32, 33 the valleys or recesses are also provided 34, 35. Furthermore, these valleys and recesses may be formed diagonally between ridges 31 as represented by items 36, 37. Therefore the tines of a forklift are able to be inserted at a number of different approach angles with respect to the ridges 31 to therefore deposit goods onto the ridges 31 by approaching the support or support surface 30 at a number of different approach angles corresponding to the line of valleys and recesses 34, 35 and 36. As previously described above, the support 30 shown in Figure 4 may be a distinct component such as a pallet or may be an integrally formed part of a floor. As shown in Figure 5a and 5b a pallet 40 may be made from three rectangular bars making a sub-frame 41 or channels which are connected together for a specific use, which may include a subframe. On top of the subframe 41 a series of parallel elongate rectangular elements 42 are provided. In the embodiment shown in Figures 5a and 5b, five elongate elements are provided including three thin elongate elements 43 and two wider elongate elements 44 interposed between the three thin elements 43. A space is provided between each of the elongate elements 43, 44 and these constitute troughs 45 which are able to receive tines of a forklift. The height of each of the elongate elements 43, 44 is the same as the depth of each of the troughs 45. Each of the wider elongate elements 44 are formed as tubular elements having a channel 46 extending longitudinally therethrough. The bottom of the subframe 41 is provided with three elongate parallel rectangular bars 47 which act as support feet. The support feet 47 serve to space the sheet 41 above a ground surface, but may be removed. Although the pallet of Figures 5a and 5b shows channels 46 located side by side through the elongate elements 43, according to another embodiment, a single channel could be provided. Furthermore, the width of all of the elongate elements could be the same and all of the elongate elements could be provided with channels therethrough. In use the pallet may be picked up by locating tines inside the channels 46. If it is desired to remove goods from the top surface of the pallet 40, then the tines can be located in the parallel troughs 45. The tines can then be raised and items removed from the pallet. The pallet described above may be made from wood, metal, paper, fibreglass, or plastic and combinations of these and other materials . According to another embodiment of the present invention as shown in Figure 6 a support may have a wave like configuration 50, which could be similar to corrugations of corrugated iron. Peaks 51 would act to support items thereon and tines could be located in the troughs 52 located between the peaks 51 in order to remove items therefrom. The support could be lifted by locating tines in channels 53 located directly below peaks 51. Various embodiments of the invention have been described but it should be appreciated that the invention covers a broad concept used in storage and transportation of goods. The general concept of the invention described previously enables flexibility and adaptability for transportation and storage systems which has not previously been possible.

Claims: Claims 1. A support for a load bearing means including an upper surface having a plurality of peaks, a plurality of troughs with at least some of the troughs located between respective adjacent peaks and adapted to receive load bearing means, a plurality of channels, with at least some of the channels located below at least some of the respective peaks and adapted for receipt of the load bearing means, with some of the peaks and channels having common side wall portions. 2. A support as claimed in claim 1, wherein at least some of the channels are located between respective positions of adjacent troughs. 3. A support as claimed in claim 2, wherein each channel is confined to a region between adjacent troughs. 4. A support as claimed in claim 1, wherein each channel is not located below a trough. 5. A support as claimed in claim 3, wherein each channel is located adjacent at least one trough. 6. A support as claimed in claim 5, wherein each channel has an upper wall which is higher than a lower wall of an adjacent trough. 7. A support as claimed in claim 6 wherein at least some of the channels are separated from an adjacent trough by a common side wall. 8. A support as claimed in claim 1 comprising a generally planar member configured with the peaks, troughs and channels . 9. A support as claimed in claim 8, wherein the generally planar member has an upper surface above which the troughs, channels and peaks are located. 10. A support as claimed in claim 8 wherein the upper surface of the support acts as a base wall of the troughs and channels . 11. A support as claimed in claim 1, wherein the support has a generally wave like configuration of peaks and troughs . 12. A support as claimed in claim 1, having an upper and lower face, each face having alternating peaks and troughs, with troughs on one face which are below peaks on the other face, acting as channels. 13. A support as claimed in claim 12, including at least three sides and a criss-cross arrangement of channels, troughs and peaks, which permit a load bearing means to lift the support or items off the support from each side of the support. 14. A support as claimed in claim 13, wherein a load bearing means is able to lift the support or items off the support from four sides of the support. 15. A support as claimed in claim 14, wherein the generally planar members having a substantially constant thickness . 16. A support as claimed in claim 15, wherein the peaks and troughs are arranged with substantially constant frequency. 17. A support as claimed in claim 1, wherein the channels are surrounded by upper, lower and side walls. 18. A support as claimed in claim 17, wherein the channels are located within members defining the peaks. 19. A support as claimed in claim 18, having a square- wave configuration. 20. A support as claimed in claim 18, comprising a generally rectangular mat. 21. A support substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Inventors: COONAN FRANC, COONAN, FRANC
Applicants: COONAN FRANC, HANTEC PTY LTD, COONAN, FRANC
Application year: 1999
Main classification: B65D19
IPC codes: B65D19