Abstract:
An adjustable pallet is provided with a fixed deck and a movable deck such that its size may be selectively set to provide efficient use of the storage space in a warehouse or a transport vehicle. Weight sensors are provided to determine the weight distribution of the load and restraining fence and belts are provided for protecting the load securely on the pallet.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     1. Field of the invention  
         [0002]     This invention relates to a pallet for supporting goods for transport and storage and more particularly relates to a pallet which is adjustable in size.  
         [0003]     2. Background Art  
         [0004]     Pallets are used for supporting goods in a warehouse and in transportation in order to facilitate the handling of the goods. A pallet is traditionally made of wood consisting a plurality of spaced parallel wooden slats mounted on an wooden flame. Goods are placed on the pallet such that they may be handled or carried by a transport trolley having a powered lifting fork which may be inserted under the pallet to raise and move the goods to selected locations in a warehouse or onto shelves or into or out of a transport truck. While wood pallets are simple to make, they are subject to nonuniform weight, breakage and particularly warpage when wet.  
         [0005]     The above disadvantages of wooden pallets have been overcome by making them with plastic material and/or metal. However, all known pallets are fixed in size. Therefore, they contribute to the inefficient use of the warehouse and transport truck space, since a large amount of the good support top surface of the pallet may not be used when a piece of goods smaller in size than the pallet is placed thereon. In order to resolve this problem, pallets of various sizes are provided. However, the numerous pallets of various sizes would themselves require a large storage space in the warehouse and/or transport truck which could be occupied by goods.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0006]     It is an object according to the present invention to provide a pallet which is adjustable in size to enhance the efficient use of storage and transport space.  
         [0007]     It is another object of the present invention to provide a pallet having weight sensor for assisting the placement of goods thereon to provide an even distribution of weight.  
         [0008]     It is another object of the present invention to provide a pallet having border fencing for preventing goods from accidentally falling therefrom.  
         [0009]     It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a pallet having protective device for retraining the goods placed thereon.  
         [0010]     It is still another object of the present invention to provide a pallet having attachment to facilitate its moving of goods from one location to another. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0011]      FIG. 1  is a partial cut away front elevation view of the pallet according to the present invention.  
         [0012]      FIG. 2  is a sectional top elevation view of the pallet along section line II of  FIG. 1 .  
         [0013]      FIG. 3  is an enlarged isolated top elevation view of the latching device of the pallet.  
         [0014]      FIG. 4  is an enlarged isolated side view of the wedge member and the pivotal arm of the latching device for locking the associated tubular rod at a selected engagement within the tubular rod of the pallet.  
         [0015]      FIG. 5  is a front elevation view of the pallet provided with belts for tying the load placed thereon. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0016]     With reference to the drawings wherein like reference numerals designate corresponding parts in the various views, the pallet  10  of the present invention has a fixed deck portion  11  and a movable deck portion  12 . Plastic or metal are preferably used for making the components of the pallet of the present invention. The fixed deck portion  11  has a plurality of parallel tubular rods  1  mounted crosswise on a plurality of parallel support bars evenly spaced below the tubular rods. For simplicity of illustration, the exemplary embodiment of the pallet  10  shown in the drawings has four hollow tubular rods  13 ,  14 ,  15  and  16  mounted on three support bars  17 ,  18  and  19 . The movable deck portion  12  has the same number of parallel associated tubular rods  20 ,  21 ,  22  and  23  as the tubular rods  13  of the fixed deck  11  and are mounted at one end portion on a support bar  24 . The cross sectional dimension of the associated tubular rods  20 ,  21 ,  22  and  23  is equal to the inside dimension of the tubular rods  13 ,  14 ,  15  and  16  such that the free end of the associated tubular rods  13 ,  14 ,  15  and  16  may be telescopically engaged within the tubular rods  13 ,  14 ,  15  and  16  as best shown in  FIG. 1 . Thus, the size of the pallet  10  may be adjusted by varying the amount of mating engagement between the tubular rods and the associated tubular rods to provide a supporting surface closely similar to that of the goods to be placed thereon.  
         [0017]     Elongated rods having various cross sectional shapes may be used for forming the decks  11  and  12 . These rods may be formed by extrusion or alternatively formed by joining together two beams having a similar cross sectional shape side by side along their longitudinal length. For example, elongated rods having a rectangular or square cross sectional shape as shown in the exemplary embodiment may be made by joining together two beams having a cross sectional shape. The beams also may be formed by either extrusion or molding.  
         [0018]     The outer end of the tubular rods  13 ,  14 ,  15  and  16  is closed by a side bar  25  mounted to these tubular rods. Similarly, the outer end of the associated tubular rods  20 ,  21 ,  22  and  23  is closed by a second side bar  26  mounted to these associated tubular rods. Legs or Casters  27  are mounted underneath the two ends of the support bar  17  and  24  so that the pallet  10  may easily be moved about the floor of the warehouse and the transport vehicle.  
         [0019]     An adjustable latching device  28  is provided at the end portion of each of the tubular rods  13 ,  14 ,  15  and  16 . The latching device  28  consists of an abutment block  29  mounted on the support bar  19  and spaced from the outer side wall of the end portion of each tubular rod respectively. The abutment block  29  has a angled surface  30  facing the tubular rod and it divergent towards the outer end of the tubular rod. An opening  31  is formed in the side wall of the tubular rod facing the abutment block  29 . A compression element  32  is slidably mounted within the opening  31 . A pivotal arm  33  is pivotally mounted at its lower end to the tubular rod and a wedge member  34  is mounted to the pivotal arm  33  through a connecting rod  35  which is slidably mounted to the middle of the pivotal arm  33 . The wedge member  34  may be selectively inserted between the abutment block  29  and the outer side wall of the compression element  32  by forcefully turning the pivotal arm  33  such that the wedge member  34  is inserted into the space between the abutment block  29  and the compression element  32  to exert a pressing force the compression element  32  to slide inside the tubular rod to press tightly against the side wall of the associated tubular rod so as to secure the associated tubular rod at the selected amount of engagement. Thus, the size of the pallet may be selectively adjusted, and it alleviate the problem of having to provide pallets of different fixed sizes.  
         [0020]     Attachment brackets  36  and  37  are provided at the outer side wall of the tubular rods  13  and  16 . These attachment brackets  36  and  37  are operative for attaching belts to the pallet for either raising and moving the pallet or for restraining the pallet within a transport vehicle.  
         [0021]     A plurality of weight sensors  38  are mounted at the underside of the tubular rods  13 ,  14 ,  15  and  16  and associated tubular rods  20 ,  21 , 22  and  23  and adapted to sense the weight distribution of the load placed on the pallet so as to determine the center of gravity of the load. The load may thus be evenly distributed on the pallet to facilitate the pallet and the load to be lifted without the tipping.  
         [0022]     Protective fences  39  may also be mounted on all four sides of the pallet to prevent the load from falling off the pallet by accident. The fences  39  may be removably attached to the pallet with brackets or fixedly mounting thereto with hinges. When they are mounted with hinges they may be folded down conveniently over the decks  11  and  12  when they are not required as shown in dotted lines in  FIG. 1 .  
         [0023]     Furthermore, elongated belts  40  and  41  may be attached to the attachment brackets  36  and  37  such that they may operated by a rolling receiver  42  to tie around the load placed on the pallet so that the load may be safely secured on the pallet.  
         [0024]     A plurality of spaced slats  43  may also be provided on top of the fixed deck  11  in a as well as the movable deck  12  in a transverse manner to provide reinforcement and for additional support of the load placed on the pallet  10 .  
         [0025]     While the preferred embodiments of the invention have been described above. It will be recognized and understood that various modifications may be made therein and the appended claims are intended to cover all such modifications which may fall within the spirit and scope of the invention.