Pallet

Abstract

To provide a pallet that allows for the smooth insertion of hand lifters.SOLUTION: In a pallet 10, a bridge part 30 that connects the lower ends of ribs 12 and 13 is provided with multiple vertical ribs 31, multiple horizontal ribs 32, and multiple cells 38 surrounded by these ribs. Furthermore, except for the end parts in a vertical direction H1 of the bridge part 30, the intermediate section is divided into multiple small areas R1 and R2 in a horizontal direction H2, with all of these small areas R1 and R2 containing an upper wall region R1, in which all cells 38 have an upper wall 33. This allows the rollers of the hand lifter to pass over the bridge part 30 more smoothly than before.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 6

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a pallet in which a bridging portion connecting the lower ends of beams has a lattice structure having a plurality of squares. [Background technology]

[0002] The bridge section of this type of pallet is divided into an upper wall region in which the lower ends of the multiple squares are open and the upper ends are closed, and a lower wall region that is upside down. In conventional pallets, the lower wall region extends across the entire lateral direction of the bridge section (the entire direction perpendicular to the fork insertion direction) at the middle part of the bridge section in the fork insertion direction (for example, see Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2001-18969 A (Figs. 3, 4, 8) Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, with the conventional pallets described above, the rollers of the hand lifter get caught in the upper openings of the squares in the lower wall area, making it impossible to smoothly insert the hand lifter into the pallet. Therefore, this application discloses a pallet into which a hand lifter can be smoothly inserted. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] One aspect of the invention disclosed herein is a pallet having a bridging portion connecting the lower ends of opposing beams separated by a fork insertion hole, the bridging portion having a plurality of vertical ribs extending in the vertical direction of the bridging portion, which is the fork insertion direction, and a plurality of horizontal ribs extending in the horizontal direction of the bridging portion perpendicular to the vertical direction, and having a plurality of squares surrounded by these, the entire bridging portion except for both ends in the vertical direction is divided into a plurality of small regions in the horizontal direction by one or more boundary vertical ribs included in the plurality of vertical ribs, and the plurality of small regions include an upper wall region in which all of the squares have an upper wall and are open at their lower ends, and a lower wall region in which all of the squares have a lower wall and are open at their upper ends. Effect of the Invention

[0006] In the pallet of the present disclosure, the bridge portion connecting the lower ends of the beam portions includes a plurality of vertical ribs and a plurality of horizontal ribs, and has a plurality of squares surrounded by them. The middle portion of the bridge portion, excluding both ends in the vertical direction (fork insertion direction), is divided horizontally into a plurality of small regions, and the plurality of small regions include upper wall regions in which all the squares have upper walls. This allows the rollers of the hand lifter to pass through the bridge portion more smoothly than in the past. In other words, the pallet of the present disclosure allows the hand lifter to be inserted smoothly. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0007] [Figure 1] Perspective view of a pallet [Diagram 2] Perspective view of the pallet from below [Diagram 3] A perspective view of a partially cutaway pallet [Figure 4] FIG. 4A is a perspective view of a bridge portion at an open end of a fork insertion hole, and FIG. 4B is a perspective view of a bridge portion at the center of the fork insertion hole. [Diagram 5] FIG. 5A is a bottom perspective view of a bridge portion at an open end of a fork insertion hole, and FIG. 5B is a bottom perspective view of a bridge portion at the center of the fork insertion hole. [Figure 6] A perspective view of the lower side of the horizontal section of the pallet [Figure 7] Front cross-sectional view of the pallet DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0008] A pallet 10 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to Figures 1 to 7. As shown in Figure 1, the pallet 10 according to this embodiment is a resin pallet having a planar shape that is, for example, a rectangle larger in the horizontal direction H2 than in the vertical direction H1, and having a pair of fork insertion holes 11 penetrating in the vertical direction H1. The pallet 10 also has a central beam 12 between the pair of fork insertion holes 11, and a pair of outer beams 13 to the sides of the pair of fork insertion holes 11. Hereinafter, when there is no need to distinguish between the central beam 12 and the outer beams 13, they will simply be referred to as "beams 12, 13".

[0009] As shown in Fig. 2, the girders 12, 13 extend over the entire length of the pallet 10 in the vertical direction H1, with the central girders 12 being slightly wider than the pair of outer girders 13. Each of the girders 12, 13 is provided with a cylindrical wall 14 that forms the entire periphery of the side surface and has the same height as the overall height of the pallet 10, and as shown in Fig. 3, a plurality of vertical ribs 15 that extend in the vertical direction H1 within the cylindrical wall 14 and a plurality of horizontal ribs 16 that extend in the horizontal direction H2. The vertical ribs 15 and horizontal ribs 16 include a plurality of full-height ribs that are the same height as the overall height of the pallet 10, and a plurality of low ribs that are provided only on the upper and lower parts of the pallet 10.

[0010] At the upper ends of the girder sections 12, 13, there are provided lattice-shaped inner girder upper walls 18A which are perpendicular to the multiple vertical ribs 15 and the multiple horizontal ribs 16, and similarly, at the lower ends of the girder sections 12, 13, there are provided lattice-shaped inner girder lower walls 18B which are perpendicular to the multiple vertical ribs 15 and the multiple horizontal ribs 16.

[0011] The inter-girder deck wall 19, located between the upper ends of the girder parts 12, 13 of the pallet 10, includes a plurality of transverse ribs 22 extending continuously from the plurality of transverse ribs 16 in the girder parts 12, 13, and a plurality of vertical ribs 23 perpendicular to the plurality of transverse ribs 22. A lattice-shaped outer girder top wall 19A perpendicular to the transverse ribs 22 and the vertical ribs 23 is provided at the upper end of the inter-girder deck wall 19, and the outer girder top wall 19A and the inner girder top wall 18A are continuous to form the top wall 20A of the entire pallet 10 (see FIG. 1).

[0012] As shown in FIG. 1, the upper part of the horizontal ribs 22 at both ends of the inter-girder deck wall 19 in the vertical direction H1 has an outer surface flush with both end wall parts in the vertical direction H1 of the cylindrical wall 14 of the girder parts 12, 13, and the lower part is curved toward the back side of the fork insertion hole 11 in the vertical direction H1 to be connected to the adjacent horizontal rib 22. In addition, both ends of the vertical direction H1 of the wall part located in the fork insertion hole 11 of the cylindrical wall 14 of the girder parts 12, 13 are curved so as to widen as the end of the fork insertion hole 11 moves outward. Furthermore, the intervals between adjacent parallel ribs among the above-mentioned vertical ribs 15, 23 and horizontal ribs 16, 22 vary depending on the location of the entire pallet 10 in consideration of the balance of strength.

[0013] As shown in Fig. 2, at both ends and the center in the vertical direction H1 of the pallet 10, a bridging portion 30 is provided between the lower ends of adjacent beams 12, 13. The portion of the pallet 10 surrounded on all four sides by the bridging portion 30 and the beams 12, 13 forms a space that is connected to the fork insertion hole 11 and is open downward.

[0014] As shown in FIG. 3, the bridging portion 30 includes a lateral rib 32 extending continuously from the lateral rib 16 in the tube wall 14, and a plurality of longitudinal ribs 31 extending in the longitudinal direction H1 of the bridging portion 30. Here, FIGS. 4A and 5A show the bridging portion 30 at the end of the fork insertion hole 11, and FIGS. 4B and 5B show the bridging portion 30 at the center of the fork insertion hole 11. As shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B, a pair of lateral ribs 32 at both ends of the bridging portion 30 in the longitudinal direction H1 and a pair of lateral ribs 32 adjacent thereto are lower than the other lateral ribs 32. Also, a pair of lateral ribs 32 at both ends of the longitudinal direction H1 are lower than the pair of lateral ribs 32 adjacent thereto. When distinguishing these two lateral ribs 32 from the other lateral ribs 32, they are referred to as "low and middle lateral ribs 32".

[0015] As shown in FIG. 5A, between the low and middle horizontal ribs 32 located at the opening edge of the fork insertion hole 11, there are more vertical ribs 31 than in other parts of the bridging portion 30, and the spacing between the vertical ribs 31 is about half that of other parts.

[0016] 4A and 4B, at both ends in the vertical direction H1 of each horizontal rib 32, a top wall 35 is provided which connects the upper ends of the low and middle horizontal ribs 32 and extends continuously over the entire horizontal direction H2 of the bridge portion 30. The top wall 35 is inclined in the vertical direction due to the height difference between the low and middle horizontal ribs 32.

[0017] In each bridge portion 30, in a portion sandwiched between a pair of upper walls 35 in the vertical direction H1, an upper wall region R1 in which an upper wall 33 is provided between the upper ends of adjacent vertical ribs 31 and a lower wall region R2 in which a lower wall 34 is provided between the lower ends of adjacent vertical ribs 31 are alternately arranged, as shown in FIG. 7. Specifically, in this embodiment, the number of the vertical ribs 31 is three (the portions corresponding to the vertical ribs at both ends in the horizontal direction H2 are also used as parts of the tube walls 14 of the beams 12 and 13), and the middle portion of the bridge portion 30 in the vertical direction H1 is divided into a total of four small regions consisting of two upper wall regions R1 and two lower wall regions R2 (hereinafter, these are referred to as "small regions R1, R2"). In addition, the upper wall region R1 is arranged next to the outer beam 13, while the lower wall region R2 is arranged next to the central beam 12. The inner girder lower wall 18B of the central girder 12 and the lower wall 34 of the adjacent lower wall region R2 are flush with each other. As shown in Fig. 6, the upper walls 33, 35 and the lower wall 34 have oblong through holes 39 formed in each square 38 surrounded by the vertical ribs 31 and the horizontal ribs 32 of the bridging portion 30.

[0018] The structure of the pallet 10 of this embodiment has been described above. Next, the effects of the pallet 10 will be described. As described above, in the pallet 10 of this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 6, the bridge portion 30 connecting the lower ends of the beams 12, 13 includes a plurality of vertical ribs 31 and a plurality of horizontal ribs 32, and has a plurality of squares 38 surrounded by them. The middle part of the bridge portion 30 except for both ends in the vertical direction H1 is divided into a plurality of small regions R1, R2 in the horizontal direction H2, and the plurality of small regions R1, R2 include the upper wall region R1 in which all the squares 38 have the upper wall 33. This allows the rollers of the hand lifter to pass through the bridge portion 30 more smoothly than in the past. That is, according to the pallet 10 of this embodiment, the hand lifter can be inserted smoothly.

[0019] In addition, in the pallet 10 of this embodiment, even if the pallet 10 is placed in a state in which it is spanned between a pair of beams of a rack, the deformation of the pallet 10 is suppressed more than in the past. Specifically, when the pallet 10 is placed in a state in which it is spanned between a pair of beams of a rack, the central girder portion 12 located in the center between the pair of beams is not supported from below, so that the largest tensile stress acts on the boundary portion between the central girder portion 12 and the bridging portion 30 on the underside of the pallet 10. In contrast, in the pallet 10 of this embodiment, the lower wall region R2 of the bridging portion 30 is arranged adjacent to the central girder portion 12, and the lower wall 34 of the lower wall region R2 is continuous with the inner girder lower wall 18B in the central girder portion 12, so that stress concentration at the boundary portion between the central girder portion 12 and the bridging portion 30 is prevented, and the occurrence of deformation and cracks at the boundary portion is suppressed.

[0020] More specifically, in the pallet 10 of this embodiment, the number of the small regions R1, R2 is an even number, and the lower wall 34 of the lower wall region R2 is connected to the cylindrical wall 14 of the central girder 12, while the upper wall 33 of the upper wall region R1 is connected to the cylindrical wall 14 of the outer girder 13. This provides a good balance of reinforcement by the connection between the girder portions 12, 13 and the bridging portion 30. By setting the number of small regions R1, R2 to four or more, the width of each small region R1, R2 can be reduced, reducing the risk of the rollers of the hand lifter getting caught in the upper opening of the lower wall region R2.

[0021] Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 6, in the pallet 10, both ends of the bridge portion 30 in the vertical direction H1 form an inclined region R3 having an upper surface wall 35 that is inclined with respect to the up-down direction, so that the rollers of the hand lifter can smoothly climb up onto the bridge portion 30.

[0022] In the present embodiment, the pallet 10 is constructed in such a way that an upper portion and a lower portion are molded separately from the center in the vertical direction and then welded together, however, the entire pallet 10 may be molded integrally (one-piece molded).

[0023] [Other embodiments] Although the pallet 10 in the above embodiment only has fork insertion holes 11 extending in the vertical direction H1, the configuration of the bridging portion 30 in the above embodiment may be applied to a pallet having a pair of fork insertion holes 11 extending in the vertical direction H1 and a pair of fork insertion holes 11 extending in the horizontal direction H2 of the pallet 10. In the case of a pallet in which forks can be inserted in both the vertical direction H1 and the horizontal direction H2 of the pallet 10, the fork insertion direction for each bridging portion 30 is the vertical direction H1 of each bridging portion 30, regardless of the vertical direction H1 and horizontal direction H2 of the pallet 10, and the direction perpendicular to the fork insertion direction is the horizontal direction H2 of each bridging portion 30.

[0024] In the pallet 10 of the embodiment, the upper wall region R1 and the lower wall region R2 have substantially the same width, but they may be different. In addition, since the width of the roller of a typical hand lifter is at least 70 mm, it is preferable that the width of the lower wall region R2 is smaller than 70 mm. More specifically, the upper wall region R1 and the lower wall region R2 may have the same width, and the number of the upper wall region R1 and the lower wall region R2 may be set so that the width of the upper wall region R1 and the lower wall region R2 is less than 70 mm, or the width of the lower wall region R2 may be smaller than that of the upper wall region R1, so that it is less than 70 mm.

[0025] In the above embodiment of the pallet 10, the inclined regions R3 at both ends of the bridge portion 30 in the vertical direction H1 have upper surface walls 35 over the entire horizontal direction H2, but it may also be configured so that the upper surface walls 35 are only provided over a portion of the horizontal direction H2.

[0026] In the above embodiment, all of the multiple vertical ribs 31 between a pair of inclined regions R3 of the bridge portion 30 are "boundary vertical ribs" located between the small regions R1, R2, but some of the multiple vertical ribs 31 may be "boundary vertical ribs" located between the small regions R1, R2. Specifically, for example, every other vertical rib 31 may be a boundary vertical rib, and a common upper surface wall 33 or lower surface wall 34 may be provided for every two adjacent vertical rows of squares 38.

[0027] In the above embodiment of the pallet 10, a through hole 39 was formed in the upper wall 33 and the lower wall 34 for each square 38, but it is also possible that no through hole 39 is formed, or that through holes 39 are formed in only some of the squares 38.

[0028] In the above embodiment, the upper girder wall 18A and the lower girder wall 18B of the pallet 10 are lattice-shaped walls perpendicular to the multiple vertical ribs 15 and the multiple horizontal ribs 16, but they may also be horizontal plate-shaped walls covering almost the entire upper and lower end surfaces of the cylindrical wall 14, or horizontal rib-shaped walls extending inward from the upper and lower end surfaces of the cylindrical wall 14.

[0029] <Additional Notes> The following describes the feature groups extracted from the above-described embodiments, while indicating their effects, etc., as necessary. Note that, in the following, for ease of understanding, the corresponding configurations in the above-described embodiments are appropriately indicated in parentheses, but these feature groups are not limited to the specific configurations indicated in parentheses.

[0030] [Feature 1] In a pallet (10) having a plurality of squares (38) surrounded by a bridge portion (30) that connects lower ends of beam portions (12, 13) facing each other across a fork insertion hole (11), the bridge portion (30) is provided with a plurality of vertical ribs (31) extending in a vertical direction (H1) of the bridge portion (30) that is a fork insertion direction, and a plurality of horizontal ribs (32) extending in a horizontal direction (H2) of the bridge portion (30) that is perpendicular to the vertical direction (H1), the pallet (10) having a plurality of squares (38) surrounded by the vertical ribs (31) and the horizontal ribs (32) extending in a horizontal direction (H2) of the bridge portion (30) that is perpendicular to the vertical direction (H1), A pallet (10) in which the entirety, except for both ends, is divided into a plurality of small regions (R1, R2) in the horizontal direction (H2) by one or more boundary vertical ribs (31) included in the plurality of vertical ribs (31), and the plurality of small regions (R1, R2) include an upper wall region (R1) in which all of the squares (38) have an upper wall (33) and are open at their lower ends, and a lower wall region (R2) in which all of the squares (38) have a lower wall (34) and are open at their upper ends.

[0031] [Feature 2] The fork insertion holes (11) extend parallel to each other in pairs, the lower wall region (R2) is arranged adjacent to a central girder (12), which is the girder (12) sandwiched between the fork insertion holes (11), and the central girder (12) has a cylindrical wall (14) that forms its outer periphery, and an inner girder lower wall (18B) that is provided within the cylindrical wall (14) and is continuous with the lower wall (34) of the lower wall region (R2).

[0032] [Feature 3] A pallet (10) according to feature 1 or 2, wherein, on the extension of the top wall region (R1) at both ends of the bridging portion (30) in the vertical direction (H1), the squares (38) have top walls (33) and are open at the bottom, and the top wall (33) is provided with an inclined region (R3) inclined relative to the vertical direction.

[0033] [Feature 4] A pallet (10) according to feature 1 or 2, wherein at both ends of the bridging portion (30) in the vertical direction (H1), an inclined region (R3) is provided which extends across the entire horizontal direction (H2) of the bridging portion (30), and all of the squares (38) have an upper wall (33) with an open bottom, and the upper wall (33) is inclined relative to the vertical direction.

[0034] [Feature 5] A palette (10) according to feature 1 or 2, wherein the number of the plurality of small regions (R1, R2) is three or more.

[0035] [Feature 6] A pallet (10) as described in feature 2, wherein the number of the multiple small regions (R1, R2) is an even number of four or more, the top wall region (R1) is arranged adjacent to an outer girder (13), which is a girder (13) located on the opposite side of the central girder (12) across the fork insertion hole (11), and the outer girder (13) has a cylindrical wall (14) that forms its outer periphery, and the top wall (33) of the top wall region (R1) is connected to the cylindrical wall (14).

[0036] In the pallet of Feature 1, the bridge portion connecting the lower ends of the beams includes multiple vertical ribs and multiple horizontal ribs, and has multiple squares surrounded by them. The middle part of the bridge portion, excluding both ends in the vertical direction (fork insertion direction), is divided horizontally into multiple small areas, and these multiple small areas include upper wall areas in which all the squares have upper walls. This allows the rollers of the hand lifter to pass through the bridge portion more smoothly than before. In other words, the pallet of Feature 1 allows the hand lifter to be inserted smoothly.

[0037] In the case of a pallet with Feature 2, even when it is placed across a pair of beams of a rack, deformation of the pallet is suppressed more than in the past. Specifically, when a pallet is placed across a pair of beams of a rack, the central girder located in the middle between the pair of beams is not supported from below, so the greatest tensile stress acts on the boundary part of the underside of the pallet between the central girder and the bridge part. In contrast, in the case of a pallet with Feature 2, the bottom wall region of the bridge part is arranged adjacent to the central girder, and the bottom wall of the bottom wall region is continuous with the bottom wall inside the girder of the central girder, so stress concentration at the boundary part between the central girder and the bridge part is prevented, and deformation and cracks at the boundary part are suppressed.

[0038] In the pallets with features 3 and 4, both vertical ends of the bridge section are inclined areas having upper walls that are inclined in the up-down direction, so that the rollers of the hand lifter can smoothly ride up the bridge section.

[0039] The number of the multiple small regions may be two, or may be three or more as in feature 5. The number of the multiple small regions may be an odd number or an even number.

[0040] As in the pallet of Feature 6, the number of small areas is an even number, and the lower wall of the lower wall area is connected to the cylindrical wall of the central girder, while the upper wall of the upper wall area is connected to the cylindrical wall of the outer girder, thereby achieving a favorable balance of reinforcement by the connections between the girder and the bridge area. Also, as in the pallet of Feature 6, by making the number of small areas four or more, the width of each small area can be reduced, reducing the risk of the rollers of the hand lifter getting stuck in the upper opening of the lower wall area.

[0041] In addition, although this specification and drawings disclose specific examples of the technology included in the scope of the claims, the technology described in the claims is not limited to these specific examples, but includes various modifications and variations of the specific examples, as well as parts of the specific examples taken alone. [Explanation of symbols]

[0042] 10 Palettes 11 Fork insertion hole 12 Central girder 13 Outer beam 14 Cylinder wall 18B Lower wall inside girder 30 Crosslinked part 31 Vertical rib (boundary vertical rib) 32 Horizontal ribs 33,35 Top wall 34 Bottom wall 38 squares H1 Vertical H2 Horizontal R1 Top wall area R2 Bottom wall area R3 slope area

Claims

1. A bridging section connecting the lower ends of opposing beams across a fork insertion hole includes a plurality of vertical ribs extending in a vertical direction of the bridging section, which is the fork insertion direction, and a plurality of horizontal ribs extending in a horizontal direction of the bridging section perpendicular to the vertical direction, and the pallet has a plurality of squares surrounded by the vertical ribs, The entire bridge portion except for both ends in the vertical direction is divided into a plurality of small regions in the horizontal direction by one or more boundary vertical ribs included in the plurality of vertical ribs, The plurality of small regions include an upper wall region in which all of the squares have an upper wall and are open at their lower ends, and a lower wall region in which all of the squares have a lower wall and are open at their upper ends.

2. The fork insertion holes extend in parallel in pairs, The lower wall region is disposed adjacent to a central girder portion that is the girder portion sandwiched between the fork insertion holes, 2. A pallet as described in claim 1, wherein the central girder portion comprises a cylindrical wall constituting an outer periphery thereof, and an inner girder bottom wall provided within the cylindrical wall and continuous with the bottom wall of the bottom wall region.

3. A pallet as described in claim 1 or 2, wherein, on the extension of the top wall region at both vertical ends of the bridging portion, the squares have an upper wall and an open lower surface, and an inclined region is provided in which the top wall is inclined relative to the vertical direction.

4. A pallet as described in claim 1 or 2, wherein both vertical ends of the bridging portion are provided with an inclined region extending across the entire horizontal direction of the bridging portion, and all of the squares have an upper wall and an open lower surface, and the upper wall is inclined relative to the vertical direction.

5. 3. A pallet according to claim 1, wherein the number of the plurality of small regions is three or more.

6. the number of the plurality of small regions is an even number equal to or greater than four; The upper wall region is disposed adjacent to an outer girder portion that is a girder portion located on the opposite side of the central girder portion across the fork insertion hole, 3. A pallet as claimed in claim 2, wherein the outer girder has a cylindrical wall constituting its outer periphery, and the top wall of the top wall region is connected to the cylindrical wall.

Images