Laminated Pallet Fork Tines for Lower Weight and High Strength
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional pallet fork tines are heavy, require costly and time-consuming tempering or forging processes, and have potential welding failures leading to structural weaknesses and reduced load capacity.
Innovation Solution
A laminated pallet fork tine design with integrally formed steel pieces, eliminating the need for tempering or forging, and incorporating welded spacers to enhance structural integrity and reduce weight without compromising strength.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If a solid metal bar is used to form the pallet fork tine, then the strength is sufficient to handle heavy loads, but the weight increases and reduces the effective load capacity
Solution Approach 1:
The solid metal bar is segmented into multiple flat steel pieces (typically three) that are stacked and welded together to form the upright member and lifting member. This segmentation reduces the overall weight while maintaining structural strength through the distributed load-bearing capacity of multiple layers.
Solution Approach 2:
The pallet fork tine is constructed as a composite structure by stacking multiple flat steel pieces with different orientations (some parallel to the upright member, some perpendicular) and welding them together. This composite approach creates a lighter yet equally strong structure compared to a solid bar.
2Shape
If the metal bar is bent at a ninety-degree angle to form the L-shape, then the upright member and lifting member are formed, but tempering or forging processes are required which add cost and time
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of bending a single solid bar into an L-shape, the structure is segmented into multiple flat pieces that are pre-formed and then stacked. This eliminates the need for costly and time-consuming tempering or forging processes while achieving the same L-shape configuration through the stacked assembly of flat steel pieces.
Solution Approach 2:
Rather than forming the L-shape by bending a solid bar and then tempering it, the invention inverts the process by stacking pre-formed flat pieces to create the L-shape directly, eliminating the thermal processing step entirely.
3Ease of manufacture
If mounting attachments are welded to the back face of the upright member, then the pallet fork tine can be attached to the lifting frame, but insufficient welding may lead to catastrophic failure
Solution Approach 1:
The mounting attachments are merged with the upright member by integrating them into the stacked flat piece structure. The attachments become part of the laminated assembly, distributing the welding loads across multiple pieces rather than concentrating them at a single attachment point, thereby improving reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The laminated structure provides inherent redundancy that cushions against welding failures. If one weld joint fails, the remaining stacked pieces and their welds continue to support the load, preventing catastrophic failure and providing a safety buffer.
4Weight of moving object
If the pallet fork tine is made lighter by using a laminated design, then the effective load capacity increases, but the structural integrity may be compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The laminated structure uses multiple flat steel pieces stacked and welded together to form a composite material system. This composite construction achieves the same or greater structural integrity as a solid bar while reducing weight, as the distributed load-bearing capacity of multiple layers compensates for the reduced material volume.
Solution Approach 2:
The strength is enhanced by adding the dimension of stacking multiple thin pieces vertically rather than relying on a single solid bar. This multi-layered approach distributes stresses across multiple interfaces and provides redundant load paths, maintaining structural integrity while reducing overall weight.
Data Source
AI summary
A pallet fork attachment is provided for industrial or farm type vehicles. A tine of the pallet fork attachment includes an upright member and a lifting member. The lifting member extends approximately perpendicularly away from a bottom of the upright member to a toe end. Flat pieces of steel are welded together in a stacked formation to form sections of the upright and lifting members. At least two, more preferably three, of the flat pieces of steel are integral, one-piece members forming a part of both of the upright and lifting members. At least one pocket is created within the upright and/or lifting member between the stacked formations of the flat pieces of steel and between the at least two of the flat pieces of steel which are integral, one-piece members forming a part of both of the upright and lifting members, so as to reduce the weight of the tine.