PALLET

Abstract: The invention provides a pallet (10) including at least a base element (12) and a load bearing element (14) and engagement means (16) for releasably engaging the base element and load bearing element with one another, the base element (12) defining a support for supporting the load bearing element off the ground or a surface on which the pallet is placed and defining a receiving area adjacent the support (18, 20) for receiving a lifting device of a mechanical vehicle, and the load bearing element (14) defining a load support surface (31) for supporting a load, characterised in that the engagement means (16) includes a locating protrusion (17) and a receiving formation (19) provided on the base element and the load bearing element and configured such that the locating protrusion and the receiving formation form an interference fit when the base element and the load bearing element are releasably engaged.

Description: PALLET Field of the Invention This invention relates to a pallet. Background to the Invention Pallets or portable platforms which are commonly used for transporting and storing loads are made from wood, plastics materials, aluminium, steel and other similar materials. Pallets are designed so that they form a base which defines openings to accept the forks of a fork-lift truck, while supporting the load off the ground. They are extensively used in the transport industry. There are a number of disadvantages with the standard wooden pallets. One of the disadvantages is that the wooden slats which make up the pallet are nailed together. In a short time, largely due to the vibration against the slats by the forks of a fork-lift truck, the nails loosen and the slats fall apart. Another disadvantage of wood is its lack of durability. Pallets which become wet or which are left out in the sun disintegrate quickly and have to be discarded. Wood is also very flammable and it poses safety risks, particularly in large warehouses where goods are stored or where, unused, the pallets are stored together for later use. Recently, concerns have arisen as to the biological safety of wooden pallets and some countries have banned trans-border use of wooden pallets for fear of introducing and/or spreading diseases. Attempts have been made to overcome this problem by using solid or hollow element plastics pallets. However, such solid pallets tend to be heavy and this obviously makes transportation more difficult, while the hollow pallets once again leave the possibility for diseases to be spread in the hollowed out portions and also the hollow pallets are less rigid and break easily. Yet another disadvantage with both wooden and solid plastics pallets is that, when not in use, they pose storage and transportation problems, because they are heavy and bulky. Steel pallets by their very nature are expensive to produce, get easily damaged by mishandling, i.e. permanent deformation and also prone to weathering and deterioration over a reasonably short space of time. Aluminium pallets are lighter and less prone to weathering but are expensive to produce and, because aluminium is a soft metal, prone to mishandling damage. Even plastic pallets are prone to damage and thus unitary plastics pallets have proven to be impractical as pallets have to be discarded once a part thereof is damaged. The solution thus appeared to be a modular plastics paϋet made of lightweight but tough elements which are attached to each other to form the pallet. Several attempts have been made at providing such pallets however, it soon became apparent that attaching the elements to each other in a robust reliable way was a problem, especially where provision had to be made for detaching a damaged element and replacing it with a replacement element. A further problem was finding an attachment method which would permit heavy loads to be transported on such a pallet without the pallet losing integrity. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the invention a pallet includes at least a base element and a load bearing element and engagement means for releasably engaging the base element and load bearing element with one another, the base element defining a support for supporting the load bearing element off the ground or a surface on which the pallet is placed and defining a receiving area adjacent the support for receiving a lifting device of a mechanical vehicle, and the load bearing element defining a load support surface for supporting a load, characterised in that the engagement means includes a locating protrusion and a receiving formation provided on the base element and the load bearing element and configured such that the locating protrusion and the receiving formation form an interference fit when the base element and the load bearing element are releasably engaged. The locating protrusion may conveniently be provided on the base element with the receiving formation being provided on the load bearing element such that, when the base element and load bearing element are releasably engaged a load placed on the load bearing increases the strength of the interference fit. The locating protrusion may be in the form of a lug extending from the surface of the element on which it is provided. The lug may be substantially cylindrical, polygonal, knurled, or the like. The locating protrusion may be a tapered away from the element on which it is provided. The receiving formation may be a cylindrical aperture or recess sized to, in use, intersect the locating protrusion along the taper thereby effecting the interference fit. The receiving formation may be a tapered recess or aperture of different angle of taper than the locating protrusion thereby to effect the interference fit. The outer diameter of the locating protrusion may be of the same dimension as the receiving formation inner diameter over at least a portion of its extent thereby effecting the interference fit. A threaded bolt or other suitable securing means may extend from out of the locating protrusion and be configured to, in use, pass through an opening in the receiving formation so that the releasably engaged base element and load bearing element may be secured together until they are required to be released. Where the base element is made of plastics material, the threaded bolt may be moulded into the base element. Further orientating lugs and orientating lug receiving formations may be provided to permit simple orientation and location of the elements relative to each other during assembly of the pallet. Typically the orientating lugs and lug receiving formations are provided in the close vicinity of the locating protrusions and the receiving formations. Generally, the pallet comprises a plurality of elongate base elements and a plurality of elongate load bearing elements arranged transversely relative to one another to form a grid with at least one engagement means being located at each end of the load bearing elements. Typically, however, one engagement means is provided at each grid intersection. Usually, each base element defines at least one pair of supports and a transverse lift bearing surface between the at least one pair of supports with the fork lift tynes receiving area being defined between the at least one pair of supports and below the lift bearing surface. Preferably, each base element defines a recess therein for accommodating each load bearing element so that the load support surface is flush with a top surface of each base element. The pallet is may be moulded from a plastics material, for example, HDPE or polypropylene. However, the pallet may be made from any suitable resilient, tough plastics material, metal, composite material, carbon fibre, or the like. The load bearing and base elements may be injection moulded. The load bearing and base elements may be substantially of I-beam, C-beam or other high rigidity beam shape, with reinforcing webbing to permit a light yet strong element construction. The webbing may be angularly disposed relative to the edges of the elements i.e. not parallel or perpendicular. The webbing may be tapered from the inside outwards so that the webbing is thinner at the outer edge of the elements than the central portion so as to optimise the strength and weight of the elements. The base element preferably defines at least two receiving areas within each of which a fork of a fork-lift vehicle can be accommodated, the edges of each support which are adjacent the receiving area are preferably bevelled or rounded to facilitate insertion of a fork into the receiving area. The load bearing elements of an assembled pallet may be spaced to define further receiving areas within each of which a fork of a fork-lift vehicle can be accommodated. The pallet may include only two types of elements so that all the base elements are interchangeable and all the load bearing elements are interchangeable thereby to reduce the maintenance spares holding requirements. The pallet may include upwardly directed retaining elements for converting the pallet into a crate. The upwardly directed retaining elements may be engageable to one or more of the base elements by means of the same engaging means used to engage the load bearing elements to the base elements. The upwardly directed retaining elements may all be identical thereby to be interchangeable. The pallet may be provided in different colours linked to a colour coding key. Thus, a specific colour pallet can be limited to use with a specific product to be transported thereon. One surface of the load bearing element may be adapted to be complementary to a specific product to be transported on the pallet. The surface may be provided with drum base locating grooves to enable drums to be transported to be located easily on the pallet. Likewise, the surface may be provided with engine locating formations for locating a vehicle engine on a predetermined orientation on the pallet when said engine is to be transported on the pallet. It will be clear to those skilled in the art that the surface can be adapted to locate any product thereon. The surface may be provided with an slip resistant finish to reduce the risk or the extent of items being transported being unintentionally displaced relative to the surface during transportation. The pallet may be provided with detachable wheels to facilitate the moving of the pallet on a surface without the need for mechanical lifting equipment. The pallet may be provided with connector pieces for connecting several base elements together to provide a large pallet or for connecting several pallets together for ease of transportation. The connector pieces may be in the form of sections of the load bearing elements having the engagement means of the invention provided for relaesably engaging with the base elements. The pallet may be provided with a data transponder for receiving and transmitting data regarding the pallet, the goods being transported on the pallet, the weight of the pallet when empty, the weight of the pallet when loaded, the dispatching party, the receiving party, or any other shipping information. The data transponder may permit tracking of a pallet and/or the goods being transported from a remote location on a pallet for pallet basis. The data transponder may be integral with at least one of the elements of the pallet. Typically, the data transponder is moulded into the base element during the manufacture thereof. For security reasons, the data transponder is moulded into a portion of the base element which would require the destruction of the base element for removal of the transponder therefrom, for example, in a recess adjacent a central locating protrusion of the base element thereby requiring the weakest portion of the base element to be weakened to below operating parameters by forced removal of the data transponder. The data transponder may be of a type available from Transponder Technolofies in South Africa. The pallet including the data transponder permits the rapid entry and exit of loaded vehicles from loading facilities where manual counting and checking of pallets and their contents would no longer be required. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Figure 1 is a pictorial view of a pallet of the invention; Figure 2 is an edge view of a base element of the pallet; Figure 3 is a top view of the base element of Figure 2; Figure 4 is a bottom view of a load bearing element of the pallet; Figure 5 is a cross sectional side view of the load bearing element of Figure 4; and Figures 6, 7 and 8 are detailed cross sectional views of the engagement means of a pallet of the invention; In the Figures, a pallet 10 comprises four base elements 12 and five load bearing elements 14, arranged at right angles to one another to form a grid, and a plurality of engagement means 16. One engagement means 16 is located at each grid intersection. The base elements 12 and the load bearing elements 14 are injection moulded from HDPE (a plastics material). The base elements 12 are generally of I-beam construction with reinforcing webbing 13 which is strong so the pallet is rigid, but which is also light, resulting in a typical pallet of the invention weighing about 17 kg. The base elements 12 each define two receiving areas 18 and 20 therein, within each of which a fork of a fork-lift truck (not shown) can be accommodated. The edges of the base elements 12 adjacent the receiving areas 18 and 20 are bevelled a shown in Figure 2 to facilitate insertion of the forks into the apertures. The webbing 13 is angularly disposed relative to the upper and lower edges of the elements i.e. not parallel or perpendicular as shown in Figures 2 and 4. The base elements 12 also define recesses 22 therein within which the load bearing elements 14 are accommodated. Thus, a flat, flush load surface on which a load typically a container, can be placed and transported around is defined. The base elements 12 and the load bearing elements 14 are separate units. They are releasably engageable with one another by the plurality of engagement means 16. Each engagement means 16 includes a locating protrusion 17 and a receiving formation 19 provided on the base element 12 and the load bearing element 14 and configured such that the locating protrusion 17 and the receiving formation 19 form an interference fit when the base element and the load bearing element are releasably engaged. The locating protrusions 17, in the form of tapered lugs, are conveniently provided on the base element 12 with the receiving formation, in the form of a cylindrical recess 19, being provided on the load bearing element 14 such that, when the base element and load bearing element are releasably engaged a load placed on the load bearing increases the strength of the interference fit. A threaded bolt 21 is moulded into the base elements 12 and protrudes from out of the tapered lugs 17 so as to pass through an aperture 23 in the cylindrical recess in the load bearing element for securing the base element to the load bearing element. A nut (not shown) is threaded onto the bolt thereby effecting the securing. A cap 25 is placed over the nut and bolt where the bolt passes through the load bearing element thereby to provide the nut and bolt from damage and the weather. Further orientating lugs 27 and orientating lug receiving formations 29 are provided to permit simple orientation and location of the elements relative to each other during assembly of the pallet. The pallet 10 includes only two types of elements so that all the base elements are interchangeable and all the load bearing elements are interchangeable thereby to reduce the maintenance spares holding requirements. The pallet 10 may include upwardly directed retaining elements for converting the pallet into a crate (not shown). The upwardly directed retaining elements may be engageable to one or more of the base elements by means of the same engaging means used to engage the load bearing elements to the base elements. The pallet may be provided in different colours linked to a colour coding key. Thus, a specific colour pallet can be limited to use with a specific product to be transported thereon. One surface 31 of the load bearing element 14 may be adapted to be complementary to a specific product to be transported on the pallet. In Figure 1 , the. surface is provided with drum base locating grooves 33 to enable drums to be transported to be located easily on the pallet. The surface 31 is also provided with an slip resistant finish 35 to reduce the risk or the extent of items being transported being unintentionally displaced relative to the surface during transportation. The pallet 10 is provided with a data transponder 40 for receiving and transmitting data regarding the pallet, the goods being transported on the pallet, the weight of the pallet when empty, the weight of the pallet when loaded, the dispatching party, the receiving party, or any other shipping information. The data transponder may permit tracking of a pallet and/or the goods being transported from a remote location on a pallet for pallet basis. The data transponder 40 is moulded into the base element 12 during the manufacture thereof. For security reasons, the data transponder 14 is moulded into a portion of the base element which would require the destruction of the base element for removal of the transponder therefrom, for example, in a recess adjacent a central locating protrusion of the base element thereby requiring the weakest portion of the base element to be weakened to below operating parameters by forced removal of the data transponder. The data transponder may be of the type available from Transponder technologies in South Africa. The pallet including the data transponder permits the rapid entry and exit of loaded vehicles from loading facilities where manual counting and checking of pallets and their contents would no longer be required.

Claims: CLAIMS: 1. A pallet including at least a base element and a load bearing element and engagement means for releasably engaging the base element and load bearing element with one another, the base element defining a support for supporting the load bearing element off the ground or a surface on which the pallet is placed and defining a receiving area adjacent the support for receiving a lifting device of a mechanical vehicle, and the load bearing element defining a load support surface for supporting a load, characterised in that the engagement means includes a locating protrusion and a receiving formation provided on the base element and the load bearing element and configured such that the locating protrusion and the receiving formation form an interference fit when the base element and the load bearing element are releasably engaged. 2. A pallet as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the locating protrusion is provided on the base element with the receiving formation being provided on the load bearing element such that, when the base element and the load bearing element are releasably engaged a load placed on the load bearing element load support surface increases the strength of the interference fit. 3. A pallet as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the locating protrusion is in the form of a lug extending from the surface of the element on which it is provided. 4. A pallet as claimed in claim 3, wherein the lug is substantially cylindrical, polygonal, or knurled. 5. A pallet as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the locating protrusion is tapered away from the element on which it is provided. 6. A pallet as claimed in claim 5, wherein the receiving formation is a cylindrical aperture or recess sized to, in use, intersect the locating protrusion along the taper thereby effecting the interference fit. 7. A pallet as claimed in claim 6, wherein the receiving formation is a tapered recess or aperture of different angle of taper than the locating protrusion thereby to effect the interference fit. 8. A pallet as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the outer diameter of the locating protrusion is of the same dimension as the receiving formation inner diameter over at least a portion of its extent thereby effecting the interference fit. 9. A pallet as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein a threaded bolt extends from out of the locating protrusion and is configured to, in use, pass through an opening in the receiving formation so that the releasably engaged base element and load bearing element are secured together until they are required to be released. 10. A pallet as claimed in claim 9, wherein the threaded bolt is moulded into the base element. 11. A pallet as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein orientating lugs and orientating lug receiving formations are provided to permit simple orientation and location of the elements relative to each other during assembly of the pallet. 12. A pallet as claimed in claim 11 , wherein the orientating lugs and lug receiving formations are provided in the close vicinity of the locating protrusions and the receiving formations. 13. A pallet as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, comprising a plurality of elongate base elements and a plurality of elongate load bearing elements arranged transversely relative to one another to form a grid with at least one engagement means being located at each end of the load bearing elements. 14. A pallet as claimed in claim 13, wherein one engagement means is provided at each grid intersection. 15. A pallet as claimed in claim 14, wherein each base element defines at least one pair of supports and a transverse lift bearing surface between the at least one pair of supports with the fork lift tynes receiving area being defined between the at least one pair of supports and below the lift bearing surface. 16. A pallet as claimed in claim 14, wherein each base element defines a recess therein for accommodating intersecting load bearing elements of the grid so that the load support surface of each load bearing element is flush with a top surface of the base elements. 17. A pallet as claimed in any one of the preceding claims which is moulded from a plastics material. 18. A pallet as claimed in claim 17, which is moulded from HDPE. 19. A pallet as claimed in any one of claims 17 or 18, wherein the load bearing and base elements are injection moulded. 20. A pallet as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the load bearing and base elements are of I-beam, C-beam or other high rigidity profiled beam shape, with reinforcing webbing to permit a light yet strong element construction. 21. A pallet as claimed in claim 20, wherein the webbing is angularly disposed relative to the edges of the elements. 22. A pallet as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the base element defines at least two receiving areas within each of which a fork of a fork- lift vehicle can be accommodated, the edges of each support which are adjacent the receiving area being bevelled or rounded to facilitate insertion of a fork into the receiving area. 23. A pallet as claimed in any one of claims 14 to 22, wherein he load bearing elements of an assembled pallet are spaced to define further receiving areas within each of which a fork of a fork-lift vehicle can be accommodated. 24. A pallet as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, including only two types of elements so that all the base elements are interchangeable and all the load bearing elements are interchangeable thereby to reduce the maintenance spares holding requirements. 25. A pallet as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, including upwardly directed retaining elements for converting the pallet into a crate. 26. A pallet as claimed in claim 25, wherein the upwardly directed retaining elements are engageable to one or more of the base elements by means of the same type of engaging means used to engage the load bearing elements to the base elements. 27. A pallet as claimed in claim 25 or claim 26, wherein the upwardly directed retaining elements may all be identical thereby to be interchangeable. 28. A pallet as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the pallet is provided in different colours linked to a colour coding key so that a specific colour pallet can be limited to use with a specific product to be transported thereon. 29. A pallet as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the load support surface of the load bearing element is adapted to be complementary to a specific product to be transported on the pallet. 30. A pallet as claimed in claim 29, wherein the load support surface is provided with drum base locating grooves to enable drums to be transported to be located easily on the pallet. 31. A pallet as claimed in claim 29, wherein the load support surface is provided with engine locating formations for locating a vehicle engine in a predetermined orientation on the pallet when said engine is to be transported on the pallet. 32. A pallet as claimed in claim 29, wherein the load support surface is provided with an slip resistant finish portion to reduce the risk or the extent of items being transported being unintentionally displaced relative to the surface during transportation. 33. A pallet as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the pallet is provided with a data transponder for receiving and transmitting data regarding the pallet, the goods being transported on the pallet, the weight of the pallet when empty, the weight of the pallet when loaded, the dispatching party, the receiving party, or any other shipping information. 34. A pallet as claimed in claim 33, wherein the data transponder permits tracking of a pallet and/or the goods being transported from a remote location on a pallet for pallet basis. 35. A pallet as claimed in claim 33 or claim 34, wherein the data transponder is integral with at least one of the elements of the pallet. 36. A pallet as claimed in claim 35, wherein the data transponder is moulded into the base element during the manufacture thereof. 37. A pallet as claimed in claim 36, wherein for security reasons the data transponder is moulded into a portion of the base element which would require the destruction of the base element for removal of the transponder therefrom. 38. A pallet as claimed in claim 37, wherein the data transponder is located in a recess adjacent a central locating protrusion of the base element thereby requiring the weakest portion of the base element to be weakened to below operating parameters by forced removal of the data transponder if the data transponder is removed. 39. A pallet as claimed in any one of claims 33 to 38, wherein the pallet including the data transponder permits the rapid entry and exit of loaded vehicles from loading facilities where manual counting and checking of pallets and their contents is no longer required. 40. A pallet provided with a data transponder for receiving and transmitting data regarding the pallet, the goods being transported on the pallet, the weight of the pallet when empty, the weight of the pallet when loaded, the dispatching party, the receiving party, or any other shipping information. 41. A pallet as claimed in claim 40, wherein the data transponder permits tracking of a pallet and/or the goods being transported from a remote location on a pallet for pallet basis. 42. A pallet as claimed in claim 40 or claim 41 , wherein the data transponder is integral with at least one of the elements of the pallet. 43. A pallet as claimed in claim 42, wherein the data transponder is moulded into the base element during the manufacture thereof. 44. A pallet as claimed in claim 43, wherein for security reasons the data transponder is moulded into a portion of the base element which would require the destruction of the base element for removal of the transponder therefrom. 45. A pallet as claimed in claim 44, wherein the data transponder is located in a recess adjacent a central locating protrusion of the base element thereby requiring the weakest portion of the base element to be weakened to below operating parameters by forced removal of the data transponder if the data transponder is removed. 46. A pallet as claimed in any one of claims 40 to 45, wherein the pallet including the data transponder permits the rapid entry and exit of loaded vehicles from loading facilities where manual counting and checking of pallets and their contents is no longer required. 47. An element of a pallet which is of I-beam, C-beam or other high rigidity profiled beam shape and includes reinforcing webbing to permit a light yet strong element construction, wherein the webbing is angularly disposed relative to the edges of the elements at an oblique or acute angle.

Inventors: PILLAY PRAKASEN, PILLAY, PRAKASEN
Applicants: PILLAY PRAKASEN, PILLAY, PRAKASEN
Application year: 2000
Main classification: B65D19
IPC codes: B65D19