palette

Abstract

To provide a pallet that can prevent deformation and damage caused by the tip of a fork being struck against it. [Solution] The upper opening edge of a pair of fork insertion holes 11 in the pallet 10A of this disclosure is provided with a plurality of guide ribs 20, so that even if a fork comes into contact with them, it is smoothly guided into the fork insertion hole 11. In addition, a housing portion 40A is provided at the end of the upper opening edge of the fork insertion hole 11, which prevents the fork from penetrating between the guide ribs 20 and the beam portion 30, and the end of the upper opening edge is reinforced by the housing portion 40A, thereby preventing deformation and damage to the pallet 10A, which have been a problem in the past.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a resin pallet in which a plurality of flange portions hang down from a deck board having a stack structure, and a fork insertion hole is formed between adjacent flange portions.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, as this type of pallet, there is known one provided with a guide slope for guiding a fork at an upper opening edge of a fork insertion hole (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] However, in the above-described conventional pallet, the fork may hit a lateral end portion at the upper opening edge of the fork insertion hole, causing the pallet to deform or break, and countermeasures therefor are required.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0005] A first aspect of the invention made to solve the above problems is a resin pallet in which a plurality of girder sections hang down from a deck board with a rib structure, and the spaces between adjacent girder sections are fork insertion holes, wherein the upper opening edge of the fork insertion hole is provided with a vertical wall that spans between adjacent girder sections and faces outward from the inside of the fork insertion hole, a horizontal wall that spans between adjacent girder sections and is connected to the upper end of the outward-facing surface of the vertical wall, and whose upper surface is part of the cargo-placing surface of the deck board, a plurality of guide ribs provided at multiple positions along the longitudinal direction of the upper opening edge, which are plate-shaped and connected to the vertical wall and the horizontal wall, and whose surface facing the opposite side of the vertical wall is a first guide slope that slopes toward the back of the fork insertion hole as it goes downward, and a housing section of a housing structure that includes a first reinforcing wall provided at the longitudinal end of the upper opening edge and connected to the vertical wall and the horizontal wall.

[0006] A second aspect of the invention is the pallet according to the first aspect, wherein the housing portion includes the girder portion, the vertical wall, and a second reinforcing wall connected to the first reinforcing wall.

[0007] A third aspect of the invention is the container according to the second aspect, wherein the inner ribs are provided inside the portions corresponding to two sides of the L-shaped groove.

[0008] A fourth aspect of the invention is a pallet according to any one of the first to third aspects, wherein the housing portion includes a third reinforcing wall connected to the girder portion, the horizontal wall, and the first reinforcing wall.

[0009] A fifth aspect of the invention is a pallet according to any one of the first to third aspects, wherein the surface of the housing portion facing away from the vertical wall is a second guide slope that slopes downward toward the back of the fork insertion hole, and the angle of inclination of the second guide slope with respect to the vertical direction is smaller than the angle of inclination of the first guide slope with respect to the vertical direction. [Effects of the Invention]

[0010] In the pallet according to the first embodiment of the invention, a plurality of guide ribs are provided on the upper opening edge of the fork insertion hole, so that the fork is smoothly guided into the fork insertion hole even when it comes into contact with it. In conventional pallets, the fork may penetrate between the guide rib and the beam at the end of the upper opening edge of the fork insertion hole, causing deformation or damage to the pallet. However, in the configuration of claim 1, a housing portion is provided at the end of the upper opening edge, so that the fork does not penetrate between the guide rib and the beam, and the area is reinforced, thereby preventing the deformation and damage to the pallet that have been a problem in the past.

[0011] Here, the housing portion may have a structure that is open to one or both sides in the vertical direction, or it may have a structure that is closed at both ends or one end in the vertical direction and open in the horizontal direction. Furthermore, the housing portion may or may not be connected to the girder portion, but it is preferable that it be connected to the girder portion from the viewpoint of strength. Specifically, examples of a housing portion connected to the girder portion include a configuration that includes the first reinforcing wall and a second reinforcing wall connected to the first reinforcing wall, the girder portion and the vertical wall, as in the second aspect of the invention; a configuration that includes a plurality of first reinforcing walls and the second reinforcing wall connected to the lower ends of the plurality of first reinforcing walls (configuration of the third aspect of the invention); and a configuration that includes a first reinforcing wall and a third reinforcing wall connected to the first reinforcing wall, the girder portion and the horizontal wall, as in the fourth aspect of the invention.

[0012] In the pallet according to the fifth aspect of the invention, the side of the housing facing away from the vertical wall is a second guide slope that slopes downward towards the back of the fork insertion hole, thereby dissipating the impact when the fork strikes the housing and suppressing deformation and damage to the housing.

[0013] Furthermore, in the pallet described in any one of the first to fifth embodiments of the invention described above, "a configuration may be provided which an inclined guide wall is provided which bends diagonally downward from the lower end of the vertical wall toward the back of the fork insertion hole." Also, if "the surface of the inclined guide wall facing the outside of the fork insertion hole and the first guide slope are flush," the fork can be smoothly inserted to the back of the fork insertion hole. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0014] [Figure 1] Perspective view of a pallet according to the first embodiment of this disclosure [Figure 2] Perspective view of the entrance to the fork insertion hole in the pallet. [Figure 3] Perspective view including side cross-section of the pallet [Figure 4] Perspective view including side cross-section of the pallet [Figure 5] Perspective view including a plan section of the pallet [Figure 6] (A) Perspective view of the housing portion of the pallet according to the second embodiment, (B) Perspective view of the housing portion of the pallet according to the third embodiment [Figure 7] (A) Perspective view of the pallet housing of the fourth embodiment, (B) Perspective view of the pallet housing of the fifth embodiment [Figure 8] (A) Perspective view of the housing portion of the pallet according to the sixth embodiment, (B) Perspective view of the housing portion of the pallet according to the seventh embodiment [Figure 9] (A) Perspective view of the housing portion of the pallet according to the eighth embodiment, (B) Perspective view of a partial break in the housing portion of the pallet according to the eighth embodiment [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0015] [First Embodiment] The pallet 10A of the first embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 to 5 will be described below. The pallet 10A of this embodiment is an injection-molded resin product, and as shown in FIG. 1, it has a structure in which the lower ends of a plurality of crossbars 30 hanging from the deck board 12 are connected by a plurality of lower-end connecting portions 50. Further, the deck board 12 has, for example, a rectangular shape with different longitudinal and lateral sizes. Hereinafter, the longitudinal direction of the deck board 12 will be referred to as the vertical direction H1, and the lateral direction will be referred to as the horizontal direction H2. Note that the deck board 12 of this embodiment may be square.

[0016] The plurality of crossbars 30 are arranged at the center, the four corners, and the centers of the outer edges of the four sides of the deck board 12 and are arranged in three rows and three columns. Further, the crossbar 30 has a structure provided with reinforcing ribs 30N inside the square tube wall 30S, and the side surfaces of the three crossbars 30 arranged along each outer edge of the deck board 12 are arranged in the same plane (that is, flush), and also form the side surface 30A of the entire pallet 10A.

[0017] The space between adjacent crossbars 30 forms a fork insertion hole 11, and a pair of forks of a forklift can be inserted from any direction of the vertical direction H1 and the horizontal direction H2. Further, the four corners of each crossbar 30 are chamfered when viewed from above. The chamfered surface of the crossbar 30 located at the intersection of the inner surfaces 30B of the fork insertion hole 11 is a so-called C-chamfered surface inclined at an inclination angle of 45° with respect to the inner surface 30B of each fork insertion hole 11. Further, the chamfered surface of the crossbar 30 located at the intersection of the side surfaces 30A of the pallet 10A is an arc-shaped, so-called R-chamfered surface. Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 2, the chamfered surface located at the portion where the side surface 30A of the pallet 10A and the inner surface 30B of the fork insertion hole 11 intersect is a side guide surface 30C that gently inclines with respect to the inner surface 30B of the fork insertion hole 11 and has a rounded shape and is continuous with the inner surface 30B of the fork insertion hole 11.

[0018] As shown in FIG. 1, the plurality of lower connection portions 50 extend in the vertical direction H1 or the horizontal direction H2 and connect between the lower ends of the adjacent digit portions 30 as described above. Also, as shown in FIG. 2, the lower connection portion 50 has a structure with lattice-shaped ribs 52 on the lower surface of the cover wall 51. Further, as shown in FIG. 3, the lower connection portion 50 includes lower edge guide surfaces 50C that are inclined so as to gradually descend at both ends in the penetrating direction of the fork insertion hole 11 (both ends in the vertical direction H1 in FIG. 3). Also, the corners where the upper surface of the lower connection portion 50 intersects the inner side surface 30B and the side guide surface 30C of the digit portion 30 are chamfered.

[0019] As shown in FIG. 1, the deck board 12 has a crossbar structure with a plurality of ribs. Also, among the deck boards 12, a first crossbar portion 60 that connects between the digit portions 30 at the outer edge portion, a second crossbar portion 61 that extends from the central digit portion 30 in the vertical direction H1 and the horizontal direction H2 and connects between the digit portions 30, and a third crossbar portion 62 surrounded by the first crossbar portion 60 and the second crossbar portion 61 have different structures.

[0020] Each second crossbar portion 61 is formed by bridging a plurality of beams 61A having a corner groove structure with an open bottom between a pair of digit portions 30.

[0021] Each third crossbar portion 62 has a plurality of ribs 13 extending in the vertical direction H1 or the horizontal direction H2 and intersecting each other, and has a lattice structure with a plurality of square cells. Also, both the plurality of ribs 13 extending in the vertical direction H1 and the plurality of ribs 13 extending in the horizontal direction H2 are extended to the outer edge portion of the deck board 12 and become a part of each first crossbar portion 60.

[0022] Each first crossbar 60 is provided with multiple ribs 14 that are stretched between the aforementioned multiple ribs 13 and a pair of beam sections 30, perpendicular to the multiple ribs 13, and arranged parallel to each other at a narrower interval than the spacing between the ribs 13. Furthermore, as shown in Figure 3, the outermost of the multiple ribs 14, that is, the rib 14 facing outwards from the inside of the fork insertion hole 11, forms a vertical wall 15 parallel to the side surface 30A of the pallet 10A from its upper end to an intermediate position in the vertical direction, and forms an inclined guide wall 16 that bends diagonally downwards from the vertical wall 15 toward the back of the fork insertion hole 11 from the intermediate position in the vertical direction to its lower end. The fork is then guided into the fork insertion hole 11 by the upper edge guide surface 16G of the inclined guide wall 16 that faces outwards from the fork insertion hole 11. Furthermore, in the direction of penetration of the fork insertion hole 11, the inclined guide wall 16 is located midway between the side guide surfaces 30C of the girder section 30, and an R-chamfered surface 16R is formed at the intersection of the upper edge guide surface 16G of the inclined guide wall 16 and the side guide surface 30C.

[0023] The vertical wall 15 is positioned inside the fork insertion hole 11 from the side surface 30A of the pallet 10A. A horizontal wall 17 extends outward horizontally from the upper end of the vertical wall 15. As shown in Figure 1, the horizontal wall 17 is formed continuously along the entire outer edge of the deck board 12, and its upper surface forms part of the cargo loading surface of the deck board 12. The horizontal wall 17 also protrudes slightly from the side surface 30A of the pallet 10A. In addition, the entire outer edge of the lower end of the pallet 10A is also provided with a lower end projection 50T that protrudes slightly from the side surface 30A of the pallet 10A.

[0024] Multiple guide ribs 20 are provided along the longitudinal direction of the upper opening edge of the fork insertion hole 11, which penetrates in the vertical direction H1. As shown in Figure 2, these multiple guide ribs 20 are plate-shaped and connected to the vertical wall 15 and the horizontal wall 17, and the surface facing away from the vertical wall 15 is a first guide slope 20G that slopes downward so as it goes towards the back of the fork insertion hole 11. Furthermore, the first guide slope 20G is flush with the upper edge guide surface 16G of the inclined guide wall 16.

[0025] A pair of housing sections 40A are provided at both lateral ends of the upper opening edge of the fork insertion hole 11. The housing section 40A includes a pair of first reinforcing walls 41 connected to the vertical wall 15 and the horizontal wall 17, similar to the guide rib 20, and a second reinforcing wall 42 connected to the side guide surface 30C of the girder section 30, the vertical wall 15, and the lower ends of the pair of first reinforcing walls 41. In detail, the second reinforcing wall 42 is located slightly above the upper edge guide surface 16G, and as shown in Figures 4 and 5, the tip surface of the second reinforcing wall 42 is flush with the side surface 30A of the pallet 10A. Also, as shown in Figures 3 and 4, in the opening width direction of the fork insertion hole 11, one of the first reinforcing walls 41 is located near the upper end of the chamfered surface 16R, and the other first reinforcing wall 41 is located closer to the center of the opening width direction of the fork insertion hole 11 than the chamfered surface 16R. Furthermore, the tip surface of one of the pair of first reinforcing walls 41 becomes a second guide slope 41G that slopes downwards toward the back of the fork insertion hole 11, with its upper end located at the tip of the horizontal wall 17 and its lower end located at the tip of the second reinforcing wall 42. In addition, the angle of inclination of the second guide slope 41G with respect to the vertical direction is smaller than the angle of inclination of the first guide slope 20G with respect to the vertical direction.

[0026] As shown in Figure 1, in the pallet 10A of this embodiment, the upper opening edge of the fork insertion hole 11 that penetrates in the horizontal direction H2 has a different structure from the upper opening edge of the fork insertion hole 11 that penetrates in the vertical direction H1, but they may be the same.

[0027] This concludes the explanation of the structure of the pallet 10A in this embodiment. Next, the effects of this pallet 10A will be explained. In this pallet 10A, when inserting forks into a pair of fork insertion holes 11 from the vertical direction H1, multiple guide ribs 20 are provided on the upper opening edge of the pair of fork insertion holes 11, so that even if the forks come into contact with them, they are smoothly guided into the fork insertion holes 11. Moreover, since the upper edge guide surface 16G of the inclined guide wall 16 that bends from the lower end of the vertical wall 15 and the first guide slope 20G of the guide rib 20 are flush, the forks are smoothly inserted all the way to the back of the fork insertion holes 11.

[0028] In conventional pallets, the tip of a fork could penetrate between the guide rib 20 and the beam 30 at the lateral end of the upper opening edge of the fork insertion hole, potentially causing deformation or damage to the pallet. In contrast, the pallet 10A of this embodiment is provided with a housing portion 40A at the end of the upper opening edge of the fork insertion hole 11, preventing the fork from penetrating between the guide rib 20 and the beam 30 and reinforcing the area, thus preventing the deformation and damage to the pallet 10A that were previously problematic. Furthermore, the side of the housing portion 40A facing away from the vertical wall 15 is a second guide slope 41G that slopes downwards towards the back of the fork insertion hole 11, thus dissipating the impact when a fork strikes the housing portion 40A and suppressing deformation and damage to the housing portion 40A.

[0029] Furthermore, the amount by which the wall portion constituting the housing portion 40A protrudes from the vertical wall 15 decreases as the inclination angle of the second guide slope 41G in the vertical direction increases. However, since the inclination angle of the second guide slope 41G in the vertical direction is smaller than the inclination angle of the first guide slope 20G in the vertical direction, a large amount of the vertical wall 15 protrudes, and a high reinforcing effect can be obtained.

[0030] [Second Embodiment] The pallet 10B of this embodiment, shown in Figure 6(A), differs from the first embodiment only in that it has a housing section 40B in which a reinforcing wall 43 is added to the housing section 40A described in the first embodiment. The reinforcing wall 43 is located in the middle of the housing section 40B in the vertical direction, is arranged parallel to the second reinforcing wall 42, is perpendicular to a pair of first reinforcing walls 41, and is connected to the girder section 30 and the vertical wall 15. Furthermore, the tip surface of the reinforcing wall 43 is located closer to the vertical wall 15 than the tip surface of the second reinforcing wall 42.

[0031] [Third Embodiment] The pallet 10C of this embodiment, shown in Figure 6(B), differs from the first embodiment in that it has a housing section 40C in which a pair of reinforcing walls 43C are arranged in a diagonal bracing manner in two rooms within the housing section 40A described in the first embodiment.

[0032] [Fourth Embodiment] The pallet 10D of this embodiment, shown in Figure 7(A), includes a housing section 40D in which the first reinforcing wall 41 on the side away from the girder section 30 in the housing section 40A described in the first embodiment is curved to become a reinforcing wall 41D that is continuous with the second reinforcing wall 42 and perpendicular to the horizontal wall 17.

[0033] [Fifth Embodiment] The housing portion 40E of the pallet 10E in this embodiment, as shown in Figure 7(B), has a structure in which the corners of the first reinforcing wall 41 and the second reinforcing wall 42, which are located away from the girder portion 30 in the housing portion 40B of the second embodiment, are rounded off with an R chamfer to provide a curved portion 41D.

[0034] [Sixth Embodiment] In the pallet 10F of this embodiment shown in Figure 8(A), the housing portion 40F of the housing portion 40A of the first embodiment has a surface facing away from the vertical wall 15 that is inclined toward the back of the fork insertion hole 11 as it moves away from the beam portion 30 in the opening width direction of the fork insertion hole 11.

[0035] [Seventh Embodiment] The housing portion 40G of the pallet 10G in this embodiment, as shown in Figure 8(B), is inclined in the vertical direction and has a reinforcing wall 45 that connects the side guide surface 30C of the girder portion 30 and the lower surface of the horizontal wall 17 and is connected to the vertical wall 15. The reinforcing wall 45, the horizontal wall 17 and a part of the girder portion 30 form a triangular housing portion 40G.

[0036] [Eighth Embodiment] The housing portion 40H of the pallet 10H in this embodiment, as shown in Figures 9(A) and 9(B), has a structure in which the entire front surface of the housing portion 40A described in the first embodiment is closed by a third reinforcing wall 46, leaving the top surface open. In addition, the second reinforcing wall 42 is provided with a pair of through holes 42A that penetrate vertically.

[0037] [Other embodiments] (1) In the first embodiment, the pallet 10A was provided with housing portions 40A at both ends of the upper opening edge of the fork insertion hole 11. However, for example, the housing portions 40A may be provided only at the ends of the upper opening edges of a pair of fork insertion holes 11 that are close to each other, or only at the ends that are far apart from each other.

[0038] (2) In the first embodiment, the pallet 10A had a pair of fork insertion holes 11 that penetrated in both the vertical direction H1 and the horizontal direction H2, but they may penetrate in only one direction.

[0039] (3) The pallet 10A of the first embodiment has a plurality of lower end connecting portions 50 on its lower surface, but the entire lower surface may be a single plate-like member, or it may not have lower end connecting portions 50 or a plate-like member, and the lower end of the beam portion 30 may be a free end.

[0040] While this specification and drawings disclose specific examples of the technology included in the claims, the technology described in the claims is not limited to these specific examples, but also includes various modifications and changes to these examples, as well as parts of the examples taken individually. [Explanation of symbols]

[0041] 10A~10H Pallet 11 Fork insertion holes 12-Deck Board 15 vertical wall 16 Inclined guide wall 16G Upper edge guide surface 17 horizontal wall 20 Guide Ribs 20G First Guide Slope 30 digits 40A~40H Enclosure 41. First reinforced wall 41G Second Guide Slope 42. Second reinforcement wall 43, 43C, 45 Reinforcement wall 46. ​​Third reinforcement wall

Claims

1. A resin pallet in which multiple beam sections hang down from a deck board with a rib structure, and the spaces between adjacent beam sections are fork insertion holes, The upper opening edge of the fork insertion hole is A vertical wall is stretched between the adjacent girder sections, and the fork insertion hole faces outward from the inside. A horizontal wall is provided, which spans between the adjacent girder sections and is connected to the upper end of the outer-facing side of the vertical wall, with its upper surface forming part of the cargo-loading surface of the deck board. Multiple guide ribs are provided at multiple positions along the longitudinal direction of the upper opening edge, forming a plate shape connected to the vertical wall and the horizontal wall, and the surface facing the opposite side of the vertical wall is a first guide slope that slopes downward towards the back of the fork insertion hole, An inclined guide wall that bends from the lower end of the vertical wall toward the back of the fork insertion hole and is inclined in the vertical direction, A pallet equipped with this feature.

2. A pair of side guide surfaces are provided on both sides of the opening edge of the fork insertion hole so that the width of the opening edge gradually widens outward. The pallet according to claim 1, wherein the upper edge guide surface of the inclined guide wall facing the outside of the fork insertion hole intersects with the side guide surface, and an R-chamfered surface is formed at the intersection.

3. The pallet according to claim 1, wherein the upper edge guide surface of the inclined guide wall facing the outside of the fork insertion hole is a flat surface that is flush with and continuous with the first guide slope of the plurality of guide ribs.

4. The deck board includes multiple intersecting ribs in a grid pattern, The pallet according to claim 1, wherein some of the special ribs included in the plurality of ribs have a bent shape at an intermediate position in the vertical direction, and the part above the bent portion forms the vertical wall, while the part below it forms the inclined guide wall.

5. The pallet according to claim 4, wherein the plurality of ribs include a plurality of flat general ribs having upper and lower surfaces flush with the upper and lower surfaces of the special ribs, and a plurality of the plurality of general ribs are perpendicular to the special ribs.

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