Four-Way Sheet Metal Pallet

The pallet has gained wide acceptance for the transportation and storage of goods, due in large measure to the European standardization of the four-way flat pallet. Its advantages lie in its suitability for use as a replacement pallet and customary means of conveyance, as well as its underlying structural simplicity.

Pallets made of wood have the disadvantage that upon use in operations in which they are exposed to a high degree of moisture, for instance in breweries, they have only a very short life and must in some cases be replaced after having been used only twice. Pallets of sheet metal have therefore been produced. Aside from the fact that they do not comply with European standards, such pallets have the disadvantage that their strength is insufficient to withstand rough operations or excessive weight. This is true, for instance, of the pallets described in European Patent 0015576 and in U.S. Pat. No. 2,306,752. The pallet produced in accordance with European patent 0015576 consists of sheet metal which has been bent in the manner of undulations. It is produced from only one sheet metal blank, the ends of which are bent off to form box-like hollow bodies. The hollow bodies thus also form the side walls of the pallet. Such pallets on the one hand do not comply with the standards set forth by the EEC and on the other hand they do not meet the strength requirements necessary for certain uses unless the thickness of the sheet metal of which they are constructed is increased to the point that they weigh too much.

In addition, there has been proposed a sheet metal pallet which consists of undulated metal strips of the same wave cross-section in connection with which the outer terminal regions of the side walls are bent to form triangular hollow sections and are firmly connected at their ends to the side walls. These pallets meet the strength requirements but they have the disadvantage that a large number of welded connections are required, which in its turn greatly impairs the corrosion protection of the galvanized sheet metal which is customarily used. There remains a need for a pallet that is constructed of sheet metal that is not excessively heavy, is sufficiently strong, and that meets European specifications.

This invention meets this need by providing a sheet metal pallet which is manufactured in compliance with the standards for four-way flat pallets and in which the number of connections for the individual pallet parts is reduced or their area is reduced whereby the areas of attack for corrosion are greatly reduced. In addition to this, the inventive design reduces the labor required for the manufacture of the pallet even as the strength of the pallet is increased without an increase in weight as compared with the previous designs.

As in the case of the previously mentioned pallet, the sheet metal pallet of the invention is made of undulated rails and supporting hollow bodies of the same cross-section. In contrast to other pallets, the outer edges of the rails of this pallet are developed as closed and firmly connected hollow bodies of conical (i.e., generally triangular) cross-section, and the approximately block-shaped supporting hollow bodies have recesses at two upper opposite edges of the side walls and, at a right angle thereto, on two lower opposite edges of their side walls, which recesses correspond to the cross-section of the rails so that the latter can be fitted into the supporting hollow bodies in form-locked self-centering manner.

The particular advantage of the invention is based on the fact that the form-locked and centering development of the rails with conical hollow bodies and matching recesses in the practically block-shaped supporting hollow bodies increases the strength. The bending stress associated with this design is also greatly reduced.

In addition to this, pressure joints can be provided as connections for the new pallet which reduces the regions of increased risk of corrosion practically to a minimum. The use of pressure joints to form a connection in the case of the new pallet is particularly advantageous when the supporting bodies consist of several parts in which specially bent undulated metal strips can be used for this purpose.

For a more detailed explanation, reference is had to the drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is an overall perspective view of the sheet metal pallet;

FIGS. 2a and 2b illustrate a rail in cross-section;

FIG. 3 illustrates a two-part supporting hollow body in an exploded view;

FIG. 4 illustrates a corner connection of the sheet metal pallet.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a sheet metal pallet constructed according to the principles of the invention. Supporting hollow bodies 7, 8 are placed on two bottom edge rails 1 and the bottom center rail 3. Three transverse rails 4 are inserted, at a right angle to the bottom edge rails 1 and the bottom center rail 3, from the top into the recesses of the supporting hollow bodies 7, 8. Two cover edge rails 2, two cover inner rails 6 and one cover center rail 5 are arranged on the transverse rails 4 parallel to the bottom edge and bottom central rails 1 and 3 respectively. The firm connection between the rails 1-6 and the supporting hollow bodies 7, 8 is preferably established by pressure joints, although other known means of joining, such as welding or riveting, can be used to join the various parts of the pallet.

In order to protect the rails 1-6 against damage by means of conveyance, said rails can be covered by protective metal sheets 12 in each case between two supporting hollow bodies. The sheet metal pallet shown corresponds in its dimensions to the standards for the European replacement pallet (see Austrian standard A 5300, which is herein incorporated by reference).

FIG. 2 shows one of the possible cross-sectional shapes of the rails 1-6. A U-shaped rail part 13 is adjoined to the right and to the left by in each case one horizontal rail part 14. The end region of the horizontal rail part 14 is in each case bent downward to form a triangle with an attachment tab 15. The attachment tab 15 can in this case be arranged as desired above (FIG. 2a) or below (FIG. 2b) the horizontal rail part 14. The attachment tabs 15 are firmly connected to the horizontal rail part 14 by pressure joints. There is thus produced at the outer edges of the rails 1-6 a closed hollow body of conical cross-section. Instead of a triangular cross-section there can also be provided any other conical, for instance trapezoidal cross-section.

The supporting hollow body 7 shown in an exploded view in FIG. 3 comprises partial hollow bodies 9 and 10. The latter consist of bent U-shaped metal sheets having two arms 16, 17. In the central region, the side walls 18, 19 are bent inward in U-shape. The width of the U-shaped bend 20, 21 corresponds to the width of the U-shaped rail part 13. At the upper edge of the side walls 18, 19 triangular recesses 22 have been cut out corresponding to the cross-section of the transverse rails 4. In the U-shaped region of the side walls, 19, 20, attachment tabs 24, 25 are bent outward at a right angle on top so that the transverse rail 4 can be fitted into the side walls 18, 19 of the supporting hollow body 7. The attachment tabs 24 can be developed also as individual angle sheets. The arms 16, 17 of the partial hollow bodies 9, 10 are connected by means of the angle sheets 26. In this way there are produced two additional side walls 16, 17, 26 which have recesses 27, 28 at their bottom edge which correspond to the cross-section of the bottom edge rail 1 and the bottom center rail 3.

For a better understanding of the structural assembly of the sheet metal pallet of the invention, a corner connection of the sheet metal pallet has been shown in FIG. 4.

The bottom edge rail 1 is arranged on the bottom, the supporting hollow body 7 being placed on the end of the bottom edge rail 1 corresponding to its recesses 27, 28. By means of the angle sheets 26, the bottom edge rail 1 is connected by pressure joints to the supporting hollow body 7.

The transverse rail 4 is fitted into the upper recesses 22 and the U-shaped bend 20, 21, the transverse rail 4 being in its turn connected to the bent off attachment tabs 24, 25. The cover edge rail 2 is attached at a right angle to the transverse rail 4.

Due to the development of the outer edges of the rails 1-6 as closed hollow bodies, the strength of the rails is considerably increased.

The conical development--triangular in the drawing--has a centering effect due to its form-locked arrangement in the supporting hollow bodies 7, 8 and thus increases the stability of the sheet metal pallet.

The use of the pressure joints throughout increases the corrosion resistance in the case of coated metal sheets and reduces the expense for labor.

One particular advantage of the supporting hollow bodies 7, 8 described consists in the fact that electronic automation means such as sensors and transmitters can be arranged in the bends 20, 21. In this case, the supporting hollow bodies 7, 8 may have to be made of non-magnetic material, for instance aluminum.