Abstract:
An apparatus for lifting and moving a pallet rack includes a lifting portion and a supporting portion. The lifting portion and the supporting portion are in telescoping relation to each other and joined by a threaded rod. A swiveling caster is connected to the supporting portion, and a drive shaft is coupled to the threaded rod, with the drive shaft preferably extending out of the lifting portion. A vertical base plate is removably coupled to the lifting portion and includes at least one primary attachment point for attaching a bracket. The bracket is removably affixed to at least one primary attachment point, and preferably includes several secondary attachment points arranged to align with mounting points on the pallet rack so the pallet rack can be lifted by rotating the drive shaft.

Description:
RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This application claims the benefit of the priority filing date of U.S. provisional patent application Ser. No. 62/329,183, entitled “Pallet Rack Moving System,” which was filed on 28 Apr. 20176. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND 
       [0002]    Pallet racking systems (“pallet racks”) are known in the art. A pallet rack comprises modular customizable rack assemblies, usually erected in large distribution warehouses. With customized assembly palletized material can be efficiently stored, and retrieved with a minimum of wasted space. When assembled, pallet rack allows side by side storage on several levels, easily accessible by forklift or similar vehicles. Occasionally pallet racks have wider shelving allowing pallets to be stored two or more deep. Pallet racks are virtually always arranged in longitudinal rows, with each row partially or completely spanning a warehouse. This allows fast convenient access to virtually any individual pallet in the warehouse. 
         [0003]    Typical commercial logistics, despite detailed operational coordination, frequently result in a continuously changing demand for warehouse space. Additionally, since warehousing costs go down as the quantity of stored material (i.e., number of pallets stored in the warehouse) increases, there is an economic incentive to maintain warehouse storage as close to capacity as possible. Combined with fluctuating demand, these circumstances often result in insufficient, or inefficiently used storage space. 
         [0004]    Obtaining larger warehouse facilities is disfavored. Aside from the cost of a particular facility itself, moving pallets of product from one warehouse to another presents numerous problems. Pallets must be inventoried, moved between facilities, re-stocked and re-inventoried. Usually, additional space for staging product to keep pallets organized and undamaged is required. 
         [0005]    Since pallet racking is modular, it presents a partial solution when more storage space is needed. Rows of pallet rack can be disassembled, moved closer together, and reassembled to create more rows in the same area. Although avoiding the time and expense of procuring and moving to a new facility, the warehouse must still shut down, establish a staging area for warehoused product while keeping it undamaged and organized, and then re-stock and re-inventory everything. This process includes the added tasks of breaking down the existing pallet rack and reassembling it in a new configuration, or as is often the case, partially disassembling the pallet rack and dragging portions of it across the floor, which makes alignment very difficult and risks damage from torsion forces. 
         [0006]    In order to move a standard sized row of back-to-back pallet rack, which represents two adjoining rows of approximately twenty one to twenty four bays, three to four levels high, it takes one day to unload the pallet rack, one day to move the pallet rack and anchor it in the new position, and one day to reinstall the stored product. The expense for such an endeavor in time, manpower, product damage and lost revenue can quickly run into hundreds of thousands, or even millions of dollars per day. 
         [0007]    There is currently no easy method of moving industrial scale pallet rack installations. It is therefore an object of the present invention to reduce by seventy percent or more, the time required to rearrange pallet rack. Another object of the invention is to provide a pallet rack moving system allowing a row of pallet rack to be moved with minimal content removal, and without disassembling the pallet rack. Another object of the invention is to allow pallet rack to be moved in a stable manner, without excess movement other than lateral realignment of pallet rack rows. Another object of the invention is to allow pallet rack realignment in any direction along an X-Y plane. Yet another object of the invention is to provide a pallet rack moving system capable of interfacing with a wide variety of brands and types of pallet racks. These and other objects of the invention are more fully addressed herein. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0008]    An apparatus for lifting and moving a pallet rack assembled with at least one upright frame or leg, the upright frame including mounting points. The apparatus includes a lifting portion and a supporting portion, the lifting portion and the supporting portion are preferably telescoping in relation to each other and are joined by a threaded rod, which is preferably disposed inside the lifting portion and the supporting portion. A swiveling caster is connected to the supporting portion, and a drive shaft is coupled to the threaded rod, with the drive shaft preferably extending out of the lifting portion. 
         [0009]    A vertical base plate is removably coupled to the lifting portion. In addition to being coupled to the lifting portion, the vertical base plate also includes at least one primary attachment point for attaching one or more brackets. Each bracket is removably affixed to at least one primary attachment point, and each bracket preferably comprises a plurality of secondary attachment points. The secondary attachment points of the bracket are arranged on each bracket so that they align with at least one of the mounting points, and preferably multiple mounting points on the upright frame of the pallet rack. Thus, when the bracket is positioned adjacent the upright frame, with the secondary attachment points arranged on bracket such that at least one, and preferably more, of the plurality of secondary attachment points aligns with at least one of the mounting points, the pallet rack can be lifted by rotating the drive shaft. 
         [0010]    In various alternative embodiments, the lifting portion may comprise or be formed as an outer tube and the supporting portion may comprises or be formed as an inner tube, with the inner tube and the outer tube disposed in a telescoping arrangement relative to each other. To engage the threaded rod, the supporting portion may comprise a threaded nut through which the threaded rod rotates, thereby moving the rod longitudinally relative to the supporting portion. In order to move the lifting portion relative to the supporting portion, a thrust bearing may be provided, the thrust bearing longitudinally fixed along the threaded rod adjacent the lifting portion, and able to rotate about the threaded rod. 
         [0011]    In various other embodiments, the apparatus may include a locking pin for anchoring the swiveling caster in the supporting portion. The drive shaft may extent directly through the lifting portion, allowing a user to engage the drive shaft and rotate the threaded rod inside the supporting portion. For added support, the lifting portion may include anchoring members to which the base plate is removably coupled. In one embodiment, the anchoring members extend from the lifting portion transverse to the threaded rod. The primary attachment point of the vertical base plate may include a slot allowing the bracket to slide relative to the base plate, and in preferred embodiments, the bracket may be an L-bracket. 
         [0012]    The apparatus may also be characterized as an apparatus for lifting and moving a pallet rack assembled with at least one upright frame having mounting points, with the apparatus comprising an outer telescoping tube and an inner telescoping tube, the inner telescoping tube comprising a lifting nut. A threaded rod extends through the lifting nut and the outer telescoping tube. A swiveling caster is coupled to the inner telescoping tube, and a thrust bearing is affixed to the threaded rod, the thrust bearing forming a shoulder for driving the outer telescoping tube 
         [0013]    An actuator is coupled to the threaded rod, with the actuator imparting rotational movement to the threaded rod, and a base plate is removably coupled to the outer telescoping tube. The base plate includes a series of bolt holes, and a bracket is removably affixed to the at base plate, the bracket comprising a plurality of base plate attachment points. The bracket also has a plurality of bracket attachment points, and the plurality of bracket attachment points are arranged on bracket such that at least one of them aligns with at least one of the mounting points on the pallet rack when the bracket is positioned adjacent the upright frame. 
         [0014]    In various embodiments, the base plate may comprise attachment slots allowing the bracket to slide along the base plate without decoupling from the base plate. The outer telescoping tube comprises anchoring members for attaching to the base plate, and may comprise an upper anchoring member and a lower anchoring member for attaching to the base plate. Preferably the bracket is an L-bracket, and multiple brackets, including a left side L-bracket and a right side L-bracket may be included with the apparatus. An extension panel may be included having panel slots for engaging the bracket and the base plate. A pin may be included for removing the swiveling caster. A drive shaft may couple the actuator to the threaded rod. 
         [0015]    Finally, the apparatus may be characterized as an apparatus for lifting and moving a pallet rack assembled with at least one upright frame having mounting points, with the apparatus comprising an outer telescoping tube and an inner telescoping tube, the inner telescoping tube comprising a lifting nut, a threaded rod for engaging the lifting nut, the threaded rod further comprising a thrust bearing coupled to the threaded rod, such that rotating the threaded rod drives the lifting nut away from the thrust bearing. A removable swiveling caster is coupled to the inner telescoping tube. An actuator is coupled to the threaded rod, with the actuator extending from the outer telescoping tube opposite the removable swiveling caster and configured to impart rotational movement to the threaded rod. 
         [0016]    The outer telescoping tube further comprises an anchoring member extending from the outer telescoping tube perpendicular to the threaded rod. A base plate is removably coupled to the anchoring member, with the base plate having a series of bolt holes, and a bracket is removably affixed to the base plate. The bracket comprises a plurality of base plate attachment points, and also has a plurality of bracket attachment points. The plurality of bracket attachment points are arranged on bracket such that at least one of the plurality of bracket attachment points aligns with at least one of the mounting points when the bracket is positioned adjacent the upright frame. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES 
         [0017]      FIG. 1  illustrates an exploded view of a jack for lifting pallet racks: 
           [0018]      FIG. 2  illustrates a plan view of a base plate: 
           [0019]      FIG. 3  illustrates a plan view of a first alternative embodiment base plate; 
           [0020]      FIG. 4  illustrates a plan view of a second alternative embodiment base plate; 
           [0021]      FIG. 5A  illustrates a side view of a right side L-bracket, being a mirror image of a left side L-bracket (not shown); 
           [0022]      FIG. 5B  illustrates a plan view of the right side L-bracket, being a mirror image of the left side L-bracket; 
           [0023]      FIG. 5C  illustrates a top view of the right side L-bracket, being a mirror image of the left side L-bracket; 
           [0024]      FIG. 6  illustrates a perspective view of the jack installed on a pallet rack leg; 
           [0025]      FIG. 7A  illustrates the right side L-bracket installed on the base plate; 
           [0026]      FIG. 7B  illustrates the left side L-bracket installed on the base plate; 
           [0027]      FIG. 8  illustrates a plan view of the base plate with the right side L-bracket and the left side L-bracket in a coplanar orientation; 
           [0028]      FIG. 9  illustrates a perspective view of an L-extension bracket for customizing the pallet rack moving system; 
           [0029]      FIG. 10  illustrates a perspective view of a slotted L-extension bracket for further customizing the pallet rack moving system; 
           [0030]      FIG. 11  illustrates a perspective view of an extended L-bracket for allowing an extended connection between the jack and a pallet rack to be established; 
           [0031]      FIG. 12  illustrates a plan view of an extension panel for stabilizing the connection between the jack and a leg of a pallet rack; and 
           [0032]      FIG. 13  illustrates a perspective view of several jacks installed on several pallet rack legs. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0033]    The following description is presented to enable any person skilled in the art to make and use the invention, and is provided n the context of a particular application and its requirements. Various modifications to the disclosed embodiments will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the general principles defined herein may be applied to other embodiments and applications without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Thus, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments shown, but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and features disclosed herein. 
         [0034]    Referring to  FIG. 1 , an exploded view of the pallet rack jack  10  is shown. The jack  10  includes a lifting assembly  12  for elevating a pallet rack (not shown) and a securing assembly  14  for attaching the jack  10  to one or more legs of a pallet rack. 
         [0035]    The lifting assembly  12  comprises a conventional screw jack assembly, including an inner telescoping tube  16  housed within an outer telescoping tube  26 . The inner telescoping tube houses a lifting or threaded nut  15 , through which a leadscrew  18  extends. The leadscrew  18  includes a thrust bearing  20  for engaging the outer telescoping tube  26 . At one end, the inner telescoping tube  16  is fitted with a removable bottom plate  22  coupled to a swiveling caster  24 . 
         [0036]    The outer telescoping tube  26  is open at one end to accommodate the inner telescoping tube  16  in a substantially frictionless linear sliding arrangement. The outer telescoping tube  26  includes an upper anchoring member  28  and a lower anchoring member  30  coupled to its exterior. Although the illustrated embodiment shows only upper  28  and lower  30  anchoring members, additional embodiments may include one, three, or more anchoring members as needed. The upper anchoring member  28  and lower anchoring member  30  are preferably perpendicular to, and overhang the outer telescoping tube  26  sufficient to accommodate a plurality of through holes on opposing sides of the outer telescoping tube  26 . 
         [0037]    An end plate  34  is affixed to one end of the outer telescoping tube  26  for engaging the thrust bearing, and through which the leadscrew  18  extends. Beyond the end plate  34 , the leadscrew  18  engages an actuator  36  for imparting rotational movement to the leadscrew  18 . In one embodiment, the actuator may comprise a conventional hex nut top allowing a socket wrench or similar type of removable mechanism for applying torque to the actuator  36 . 
         [0038]    The securing assembly includes a base plate  38  which is coupled to the outer telescoping tube  26 . The base plate  38  includes a series of bolt holes  40  for attaching the base plate  38  to the upper anchoring member  28  and the lower anchoring member  30  using bolts (not shown) or a similar type of removable fastener. The base plate  38  also includes a series of attachment slots  42 . The attachment slots  42  allow the base plate  38  to be coupled to one of a variety of modular structures. In the illustrated embodiment, a right side L-bracket  44  and a left side I-bracket  46  are shown. 
         [0039]    The right side L-bracket  44  and the left side L-bracket  46  include a series of base plate attachment points  48  and a series of bracket attachment points  50 . The base plate attachment points  48  allow the right side L-bracket  44  to be installed along an exposed section of an attachment slot  42  to the right of the outer telescoping tube  26 , and the left side L-bracket  46  to be installed along an exposed section of an attachment slot  42  to the left of the outer telescoping tube  26 . Due to the elongated nature of the attachment slots  42 , the rights side L-bracket  44  and the left side L-bracket may be arranged so that they closely conform to a leg of a pallet rack for attachment and lifting. 
         [0040]    Referring to  FIG. 2 , the base plate  38  is shown in plan view according to a preferred embodiment. The base plate  38  is preferably a substantially planar member having, as discussed, a plurality of bolt holes  40  and a plurality of attachment slots  42 . The bolt holes are positioned to match up with the through holes  32  of the upper attachment member  28  (not shown) and the lower attachment member  30 . 
         [0041]    For attachment to the upper attachment member  28 , four bolt holes  40  are shown, spaced apart substantially 1⅜ inches from top to bottom and 3½ inches from side to side. For attachment to the lower attachment member  30 , eight bolt holes  40  are shown in two columns spaces substantially 5½ inches apart. Although a specific spacing of the bolt holes  40  is shown, alternative embodiments may comprise any spacing pattern that affixes the base plate  38  to the lifting assembly  12  in a matter sufficient for bearing the load of a pallet rack. 
         [0042]    Still referring to  FIG. 2 , the base plate  38  attachment slots  42  are horizontally oriented, and arranged vertically with a predetermined amount of space between each attachment slot  42 . Importantly, the attachment slots  42  are spaced such that they occur above and below the upper attachment member  28  and the lower attachment member  30 , but are not obstructed by either structure. The attachment slots  42  are preferably at least five inches in length, allowing modular structures, such as the L-brackets  44 / 46  to be installed at a desired width. By locating the attachment slots  42  near the attachment members  28 / 30 , the base plate  38  will be more resilient to bending under lateral forces due to the weight of a pallet rack. 
         [0043]    Referring to  FIGS. 3 and 4 , two alternative embodiment base plates  38  are shown. Referring to  FIG. 3 , a base plate  38  is shown having only one series of bolt holes  40  corresponding, for example, to the lower attachment member  30  (not shown). This arrangement preserves the spacing of the first embodiment base plate  38  shown in  FIG. 2 . Referring to  FIG. 4 , a second alternative embodiment base plate  38  is shown. In this embodiment, the bolt holes  40  have been squared to accommodate carriage bolts. Due to the modular nature of the jack  10 , employing carriage bolts, or a similar type of self-anchoring bolt helps to speed up attachment and disassembly of the jack  10  and its component parts. 
         [0044]      FIGS. 5A-5C  shows a right side L-bracket  44  from a variety of views. The left side L-bracket  46  (not shown) is substantially a mirror image of the right side L-bracket  44 , having the same features. The right side L-bracket  44  includes two panels disposed at substantially ninety degrees relative to one another, one panel being smaller than the other. A series of base plate attachment points  48  are disposed on the smaller panel, adapted to be affixed to the attachment slots  42  of the base plate  38 . In this manner, the larger panel will be perpendicular from the base plate  38  extending away from it to engage a pallet rack leg  52  (not shown). There are a number of bracket attachment points  50 . In the illustrated embodiment two parallel columns of bracket attachment points  50  are shown for attaching to a pallet rack leg  52  in a variety of places. 
         [0045]      FIG. 6  shows an assembled jack  10  affixed to a pallet rack leg  52  prior to lifting a pallet rack. As described, the right side L-bracket extends away from the base plate  38 , and engages the pallet rack leg  52 . Since pallet rack legs  52  typically have a series of eye holes  54 , for attaching pallet shelving (not shown), or attaching items to the pallet rack leg  52 , a pin or similar fastener may engage the pallet rack leg  52 , extending through the right side L-bracket  44  to the left side L-bracket  46  (not shown). The L-brackets are affixed to the base plate  38 , which is affixed to the outer telescoping arm  26 . When the actuator  36  is engaged, the outer telescoping arm  26  and the pallet rack leg  52  are raised off the floor, supported by the bottom plate  22  and caster  24 . Because virtually all pallet rack legs  52  include eye holes  54 , the system works with any rack system including structural racking. 
         [0046]    Referring to  FIGS. 7A and 7B , by providing attachment slots  42  on the base plate  38 , as opposed to attachment points, the rights side L-bracket  44  and left side L-bracket  46  can be adjusted as needed to bring them directly against a pallet rack leg  52  (not shown). 
         [0047]    Referring to  FIG. 8 , the right side L-bracket  44  and left side L-bracket  46  are attached to the base plate  38  in a manner such that the bracket attachment points  50  extend laterally away from the base plate  38  by using the base plate attachment points  48  on the larger portion of the L-brackets. This configuration is useful when two or more pallet rack legs  52  (not shown) need to be lifted by a single jack  10 . When mounted thusly, the right side L-bracket  44  and left side L-bracket  46  may not directly engage a pallet rack leg  52 , and instead may be coupled to additional ancillary brackets. 
         [0048]    Referring to  FIG. 9 , if the right and left side L-brackets  44 / 46  are not used to directly engage a pallet rack leg  52 , one or more L-extensions  56  may be used. The L-extension  56  includes base plate attachment points  48  on two perpendicular sides. In this manner, the L-extension  56  may be attached to the base plate  38  (not shown) and right and left side L-brackets  44 / 46  attached to the L-extension  56 . Because the L-extension includes two perpendicular sides like the rights and left side L-brackets  44 / 46 , a variety of shapes can be created. 
         [0049]    Referring to  FIG. 10 , to add more flexibility, a slotted L-extension  58  may be used complimentary with or in place of the L-extension  56  shown in  FIG. 9 . The slotted L-extension  58  is also a two panel member but includes L-extension slots  60  in place of the base plate attachment points  48  on the larger panel. In the illustrated embodiment, base plate attachment points  48  remain on the smaller panel of the slotted L-extension  56 . In this manner, the L-extension slots  60  may be use adjacent the base plate  38  (not shown), a right or left side L-bracket  44 / 46  (not shown), an L-extension  56  ( FIG. 9 ) or another slotted L-extension  58  for attaching to a wide variety of pallet rack types. 
         [0050]    Referring to  FIG. 11 , in addition to the extensions shown in  FIGS. 9 and 10 , the jack  10  may include one or more extended L-brackets  62  (including right side and left side extended L-brackets  62 ) for more flexibility in attaching to a pallet rack leg  52  (not shown). The extended L-brackets  62  include bracket attachment points  50  for attaching to the pallet rack leg  52 , and base plate attachment slots  64 , like the slotted L-extension  58  ( FIG. 10 ). In addition, the extended L-bracket  62  includes extension panel attachment points  66  for affixing an extension panel  68  (shown in  FIG. 12 ) to the extended L-bracket  62 . 
         [0051]    Referring to  FIG. 12 , when a variety of structures are affixed in series to the base plate  38  (not shown), there may be a risk of instability, due to strong gravitational torsion forces acting on the jack when a pallet rack is lifted. For this reason, an extension panel  68  standardized to connect various structures (e.g., the right side L-bracket  44 , left side L-bracket  46 , L-extension  56 , slotted L-extension  60 , extended L-bracket, etc.) The extension panel  68  is preferably a planar panel having extension panel slots  68  positioned on its surface to anchor the aforementioned structures together. Using the various panels, extensions, and extension panel  68 , the jack  10  may be customized to affix to a wide variety of pallet racks. 
         [0052]    Depending on the weight of a pallet rack and the arrangement of its legs  52 , two or more jacks  10  may be used to lift a single pallet rack leg  52 . Two jacks  10  may be affixed to each pallet rack leg  52  using L-extensions  56 , extended L-brackets  62 , and extension panels  66 . Because the jacks  10  can hold substantial weight, pallet racks may be moved without taking products off the shelves. In addition to the speed and convenience of not having to restock product, this allows warehouse owners to quickly reconfigure racks to keep up with SKU growth, and to leave rack labeling in place to save time. An example of such an application would be a freezer warehouse where the product has to stay in place during the reconfiguration. 
         [0053]    Using only a few jacks  10 , large lengths of pallet rack may be easily and quickly moved without the time and expense of removing items or pallets, or disassembling the rack. Because the jacks  10  are small and modular, they may be conveniently stored and easily transported from jobsite to jobsite. 
         [0054]    The foregoing descriptions of embodiments of the present invention have been presented only for purposes of illustration and description. They are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the present invention to the forms disclosed. Accordingly, many modifications and variations will be apparent to practitioners skilled in the art. Additionally, the above disclosure is not intended to limit the present invention. The scope of the present invention is defined by the appended claims.