COVER FOR A STACKABLE TRANSPORT PALLET

Abstract

A cover for a stackable transport pallet, wherein a corner element is fastened at each of the corners of a main panel, the corner elements are injection moldings made of plastic, the corner elements include an L-shaped corner bearing element and a corner guide element molded. The corner bearing elements rest on the main panel, wherein the outer edges of the corner bearing elements terminate flush with the main panel, the corner guide elements can be recessed in a form-fitting manner in correspondingly shaped apertures in the main panel, wherein the upper side of the corner guide elements terminates flush with the upper side of the main panel, the thickness of the guide elements is greater than the thickness of the main panel by such an extent that those parts of the corner guide elements which project beneath the main panel butt against the inner sides of the transport pallet.

Claims

1. A cover for a stackable transport pallet comprising: a generally rectangular planar main panel having four corners; and four corner elements with a corner element fastened at each of the corners of a main panel, wherein: the corner elements are injection moldings made of plastic, the corner elements each comprise an L-shaped corner bearing element and a corner guide element molded thereon, the corner bearing elements resting on the main panel, with outer edges of the corner bearing elements terminating flush with corners of the main panel, the corner guide elements extend through correspondingly shaped apertures located adjacent to and inboard of the corners in the main panel, wherein an upper side of the corner guide elements terminates flush with an upper side of the main panel, the corner guide elements having a thickness which is greater than the thickness of the main panel causing a portion of the corner guide elements to project beneath the main panel to butt against the inner sides of the transport pallet and ensure horizontal positioning on inner corner side edges of transport pallet, and the corner guide elements are spaced apart horizontally from the outer edges of the corner bearing elements to that, when the cover is placed in position on a transport pallet, said outer edges terminate substantially flush with outer side walls of the transport pallet.

2. The cover as claimed in claim 1, wherein the main panel is a plastic structured-core panel.

3. The cover as claimed in claim 1, further comprising additional, intermediate elements arranged on the sides of the main panel.

4. The cover as claimed in claim 3, wherein; the intermediate elements are injection moldings made of plastic, the intermediate elements comprise an intermediate bearing element and an intermediate guide element molded thereon, the intermediate bearing elements rest on the main panel, wherein the outer edges of the intermediate bearing elements terminate flush with the main panel, the intermediate guide elements extend through correspondingly shaped apertures located adjacent to and inboard of the side edges in the main panel, wherein an upper side of the intermediate guide elements terminates flush with an upper side of the main panel, the intermediate guide elements having a thickness which is greater than the thickness of the main panel causing a portion of the intermediate guide elements to project beneath the main panel to butt against an inner side of the transport pallet and ensure horizontal positioning on inner side edges of the transport pallet, and the intermediate guide elements are spaced apart horizontally from the outer edge of the intermediate bearing elements so that, when the cover is placed in position, said outer edges terminate substantially flush with outer side walls of the transport pallet.

5. The cover as claimed in claim 1, wherein at least one of the corner bearing elements, the corner guide elements, the intermediate bearing elements and/or the intermediate guide elements are parts which are open on one side and have ribbing in a direction parallel to the main panel.

6. The cover as claimed in claim 3, wherein the corner bearing elements and the intermediate bearing elements are fastened on the main panel.

7. The cover as claimed in claim 6, wherein the corner bearing elements or the intermediate bearing elements have reinforcements, which to allow the corner bearing elements or the intermediate bearing elements to be riveted or screwed to the main panel.

8. The cover as claimed in claim 7, wherein the reinforcements are formed by thickenings in a ribbing structure in the corner bearing elements or the intermediate bearing elements.

9. The cover as claimed in claim 1, wherein an edge protector is formed on an underside of the corner bearing element, with the edge protector extending as far as the lower edge of the main panel.

10. The cover as claimed in claim 1, wherein the region of the corner bearing elements projecting through the panel provide horizontal positioning of a plurality of covers when stacked on top of one another.

11. The cover as claimed in claim 1, further comprising handles are arranged on or in the main panel.

12. The cover as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a plurality of parked-position holders are arranged on or in the main panel.

13. The cover as claimed in claim 12, wherein the parked-position holders are cut out of the main panel and can be pivoted out of the main panel around a folding hinge.

14. The cover as claimed in claim 1, wherein the main panel has a plastic top and bottom layers and a plastic structured-core there between, wherein the side edges of the main panel are thermally rounded to seal the top and bottom layers together.

15. The cover as claimed in claim 2, further comprising a plurality of intermediate elements affixed to main panel adjacent to and inboard of longitudinal sides of the main panel.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0031] FIG. 1 shows a plan view of a cover,

[0032] FIG. 2 shows a bottom view of the cover,

[0033] FIG. 3a shows a plan view of a corner element,

[0034] FIG. 3b shows a bottom view of the corner element,

[0035] FIG. 4a shows a plan view of an intermediate element,

[0036] FIG. 4b shows a bottom view of the intermediate element, and

[0037] FIG. 5 shows a section through a corner element in the inserted state.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0038] An exemplary embodiment is illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 5. For transporting motor-vehicle parts from a supplier to the manufacturer, for final installation purposes, use is made of stackable transport pallets, which are intended to provide for reliable transportation of the articles contained and to achieve optimum handling with low outlay.

[0039] The illustration in FIG. 1 shows a plan view of the basic construction of a cover for a stackable transport pallet, and the illustration in FIG. 2 shows a bottom view of the same. For a Euro-pallet size, selected by way of example, of 1200 mm1600 mm, the cover proposed has a main panel 1 having the same dimensions of 1200 mm1600 mm. The main panel 1 is a PP-plastic structured-core panel which has a thickness of 10 mm and surfaces which are smooth on either side, internal nubs and slightly rounded corners.

[0040] Corner elements 2 are fastened at each of the four corners of the main panel 1. In addition, intermediate elements 5 are fastened on each of the two longitudinal sides and end sides of the main panel 1. FIG. 3a gives an isometric illustration of a corner element 2 from above, and FIG. 3b gives an isometric illustration of the same from beneath. FIG. 4a shows an intermediate element 5 isometrically from above, and FIG. 4b shows the same isometrically from beneath. Both elements are plastic injection moldings made of polyethylene (PE). FIG. 5 shows a section through a corner element 2 which has been inserted into a main panel 1.

[0041] The corner elements 2 each have an L-shaped corner bearing element 3, which is rounded at the corners in a manner analogous to the pallet used, and a corner guide element 4, which is molded thereon, wherein the undersides of the corner bearing elements 3 are level with the upper sides of the corner guide elements 4.

[0042] The intermediate elements 5 each comprise a rectilinear intermediate bearing element 6 and an intermediate guide element 7 molded thereon. The corner bearing elements 3 and the intermediate bearing elements 6 rest on the main panel 1, wherein the outer edges of the corner bearing elements 3 and of the intermediate bearing elements 6 terminate more or less flush with the main panel 1, wherein a slight projection of a few mm can be ignored.

[0043] The corner guide elements 4 and the intermediate guide elements 7 can be recessed in a form-fitting manner in correspondingly shaped apertures in the main panel 1. The upper side of the corner guide elements 4 and of the intermediate guide elements 7 terminates flush with the upper side of the main panel 1. Protruding edges can thus be avoided.

[0044] The thickness of the corner guide elements 4 and of the intermediate guide elements 7, at 20 mm, is selected to be greater than the thickness of the main panel 1 by such an extent that those parts of the corner guide elements 4 or of the intermediate guide elements 7 which project beneath the main panel 1 butt against the inner sides of the transport pallet and ensure horizontal positioning on the inner edges of the side walls of the transport pallet.

[0045] The corner guide elements 4 and the intermediate guide elements 7 are spaced apart horizontally from the outer edges of the corner bearing elements 3 and of the intermediate bearing elements 6 by 33 mm such that, when the cover is placed in position, said outer edges terminate flush with the side walls of the transport pallet. In the case of this exemplary embodiment, the legs of the corner bearing elements 3 and of the intermediate bearing elements 6 have a length of 204 mm, a width of 45 mm and a thickness of 22 mm.

[0046] The corner bearing elements 3, the corner guide elements 4, the intermediate bearing elements 5 and the intermediate guide elements 7 are parts which are open in the downward direction on one side and have ribbing 8 in the transverse direction and/or longitudinal direction, said ribbing being formed during the injection-molding step. The corner bearing elements 3 have reinforcements 9, which are formed by thickenings in the ribbing 8. The corner bearing elements 3 are riveted to the main panel 1 by means of said reinforcements 9. The intermediate bearing elements 5 each have a molded formation 10 at the tip of the triangular intermediate guide elements 7. The molded formation 10 is set downward by a main-panel thickness of 10 mm and terminates flush, at the lower periphery, with the intermediate guide element 7 and the ribbing 8 contained therein.

[0047] The corner elements 2 and the intermediate elements 4 are fastened on the main panel 1 by the riveting 17. The horizontal arresting action is ensured in particular by the form-fitting integration of the corner guide elements 4 and of the intermediate guide elements 7 in the apertures in the main panel 1.

[0048] It can be seen in FIG. 3b that an edge protector 11 is formed on the underside of a corner bearing element 3, said edge protector extending as far as the lower edge of the main panel 1, which is hollowed out here.

[0049] Cover-stacking apertures 12 are provided in the corner bearing elements 3 and in the intermediate bearing elements 6. Said apertures correspond with the outlines of the corner guide elements 4 and serve for better stacking of the covers in relation to one another. Horizontal positioning of the covers which can be stacked one above the other thus takes place.

[0050] Two apertures into each of which a handle 14 has been inserted are located in the main panel 1. Parked-position holders 13 are also provided in the main panel 1. For this purpose, with the exception of one rectilinear side, appropriately shaped parts are cut out of the main panel 1 all the way along a cutting line 16. On the rectilinear side, the two parked-position holders 13 can be pivoted out of the main panel 1 around a folding hinge 15. The folding hinge is formed here in that the plastic structured-core panel has merely one of its two covering layers severed, and the parked-position holder 13 can be pivoted around the second covering layer.

[0051] The edges of the main panel 1 are heated, and rounded against a template, prior to assembly. This gives rise to a cover which is safe all the way round and largely fulfills the stringent health and safety requirements.

[0052] The cover proposed here has a weight of less than 12 kg. This means that it can also be handled by just one person, it being possible to reduce staff costs as a result. Depending on its use purpose, the cover can be adapted to different sizes. Apart from the customary tools used for cutting and/or for plotting or punching, there is no need for any additional tools. The absence of otherwise conventional angled or folded formations means that there is no need for in particular expensive shaping tools.

[0053] The covers have neither projections nor protrusions, as a result of which they terminate flush with the transport pallet and thus ensure good utilization of space.

[0054] As required, detailed embodiments of the present invention are disclosed herein; however, it is to be understood that the disclosed embodiments are merely exemplary of the invention that may be embodied in various and alternative forms. The figures are not necessarily to scale; some features may be exaggerated or minimized to show details of particular components. Therefore, specific structural and functional details disclosed herein are not to be interpreted as limiting, but merely as a representative basis for teaching one skilled in the art to variously employ the present invention.

[0055] While exemplary embodiments are described above, it is not intended that these embodiments describe all possible forms of the invention. Rather, the words used in the specification are words of description rather than limitation, and it is understood that various changes may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Additionally, the features of various implementing embodiments may be combined to form further embodiments of the invention.

LIST OF DESIGNATIONS

[0056] 1 main panel [0057] 2 corner element [0058] 3 corner bearing element [0059] 4 corner guide element [0060] 5 intermediate element [0061] 6 intermediate bearing element [0062] 7 intermediate guide element [0063] 8 ribbing [0064] 9 reinforcement [0065] 10 molded formation [0066] 11 edge protector [0067] 12 cover-stacking aperture [0068] 13 parked-position holder [0069] 14 handle [0070] 15 folding hinge [0071] 16 cutting line [0072] 17 riveting