MODULAR STRUCTURE FOR TRANSPORTING GOODS

Abstract

 The invention describes a modular structure (10) for supporting and transporting at least one object (A). The structure (10) comprises a plurality of support feet (12), provided on top with connection means (16) for the reversible connection with the object (A), and at least one support bar (18), constrainable below one or more support feet (12) and configured for resting on the ground or on a generic surface, as well as for supporting the structure (10) and therefore the object (A). The structure (10) reduces the spaces occupied with respect to conventional pallets as well as ensuring, with an extremely low number of base components able to be variously and reversibly connected to one another, the same functionality as a wide range of conventional pallets that are different from one another.

Description

[0001] The present invention refers to a modular structure for supporting various types of goods intended to be stored in industries, to be moved with specific apparatuses and to be transported with various means of transport.

[0002] For the transportation and movement, for example within specific warehouses, of various products and components it is known to use pallets made of wood or plastic. Pallets make it possible to avoid the goods to be transported and moved resting directly on the ground below, with the consequent possibility of damaging the packaging and the content thereof due, for example, to the presence of moisture. As well as providing a raised support base for packages, pallets also allow the movement, storage and distribution of the goods contained in the packages themselves through specific transportation means, like for example forklifts or "pallet trucks".

[0003] A pallet usually consists of a rectangular platform, made mainly from wood, on which the packages that contain the goods to be transported, or directly the goods themselves, rest. Below the platform a plurality of wooden support feet is fixed, usually through nails, said feet, possibly in combination with a series of longitudinal and/or transversal reinforcing rods, defining pairs of slits through which it is possible to introduce the forks of the forklift. According to the possibility of being forked on two opposite sides or on all four sides thereof or, in other words, depending on whether the aforementioned pairs of slits are obtained on two or on all four sides thereof, the pallets can be respectively identified as two-way or four-way pallets.

[0004] The support platform of a pallet is always raised. This characteristic allows, as well as a substantial saving of time in the transfer of large quantities of goods from one point to another, both within a business location or on intercontinental transfers, also an isolation of the goods themselves and of their packaging from the underlying plane, with reduction of the damage caused for example by the presence of a wet surface.

[0005] As an alternative to wood, pallets can also be made entirely in a single piece of plastic, thus satisfying certain hygiene requirements set by numerous non-European nations, including for example the United States of America, Canada, China, Mexico, South Korea, New Zealand and Australia.

[0006] Pallets made entirely from wood, indeed, although particularly strong and long-lasting, as well as recyclable, have the drawback of having to be subjected to certain heat treatments (high temperature phytosanitary treatment) to ensure that the wood does not impair the materials transported with foreign bacteria. Vice-versa, a drawback of pallets made entirely of monoblock plastic, as well as the fact that on average they have a lower capacity, is that they are harmful to the environment once they need to be disposed of at the end of their useful life.

[0007] In addition, irrespective of whether the pallets are made of wood rather than plastic, the volume that these pallets occupy when they are not in use is notoriously high. These pallets, indeed, are normally stacked in bulk in the external areas of the warehouses waiting for them to need to be used.

[0008] Examples of modular pallets made according to the prior art, on which the preamble of claim 1 is based, are illustrated for example in documents FR 2476605 A1 and US 6105512 A. Further known pallets are described in documents GB 1266467 A, WO 2007/019833 A1, WO 02/07570 A1 and EP 2733085 A1.

[0009] The purpose of the present invention is therefore that of making a modular structure for supporting and transporting goods that is capable of overcoming the aforementioned drawbacks of the prior art in an extremely simple, cost-effective and particularly rational and functional manner.

[0010] In detail, a purpose of the present invention is to make a modular structure for supporting and transporting goods that is capable of reducing the spaces occupied as compared with conventional pallets.

[0011] Another purpose of the present invention is to make a modular structure for supporting and transporting goods with high standardization, which with an extremely low number of components, variously and reversibly connectable to one another, is capable of ensuring the same functionality of a wide range of conventional pallets that are different from one another.

[0012] A further purpose of the present invention is to make a modular structure for supporting and transporting goods that is strong and solid.

[0013] These and other purposes according to the present invention are accomplished by making a modular structure for supporting and transporting goods as outlined in claim 1.

[0014] Further characteristics of the invention are highlighted by the dependent claims, which are an integral part of the present description.

[0015] The characteristics and advantages of a modular structure for supporting and transporting goods according to the present invention will become clearer from the following description, given as an example and not for limiting purposes, referring to the attached schematic drawings, in which:

figure 1 is a perspective view of a pallet according to the prior art, arranged below an object to be moved and transported;

figure 2 is a perspective view of the base components of a modular structure for supporting and transporting goods according to the present invention, arranged below an object to be moved and transported;

figure 3 is another perspective view of the base components of the modular structure for supporting and transporting goods according to the present invention, arranged below an object to be moved and transported that is different with respect to the object shown in figure 2;

figure 4 is a perspective view that shows other components of the modular structure for supporting and transporting goods according to the present invention, such components being configured for supporting and moving two distinct objects;

figure 5 is a perspective view of the modular structure for supporting and transporting goods of figure 4, which supports and moves two distinct objects;

figure 6 is a perspective view of two components of the modular structure for supporting and transporting goods according to the present invention;

figure 7 is a perspective view of a single component of the modular structure for supporting and transporting goods according to the present invention; and

figure 8 is a perspective view that shows further components of the modular structure for supporting and transporting goods according to the present invention, such components being configured for moving goods within a factory or a warehouse.

[0016] With reference to the figures, a preferred embodiment of a modular structure for supporting and transporting goods according to the present invention is shown, wholly indicated with reference numeral 10. The structure 10 is configured to be applied below an object A to be moved and transported, which in the figures is represented purely as an example by a refrigerated cabinet. The object A to be moved and transported may or may not be provided with its own external packaging.

[0017] The structure 10 comprises a plurality of support feet 12, provided on top with means for the reversible connection with the object A to be moved and transported. The structure 10 also comprises one or more profiles 14, configured both to engage above the support feet 12, through the respective connection means, and to support the object A to be moved and transported. Preferably, there are two profiles 14 and they are configured for being constrained to a lower portion of the object A to be moved and transported, in diametrically opposite positions.

[0018] As shown in figure 6, the connection means of each support foot 12 consist of a shaped protuberance 16 configured to couple with a corresponding shaped seat 38 obtained on each profile 14. The coupling of each shaped protuberance 16 in the corresponding shaped seat 38 obtained on each profile 14 is carried out through engagement and subsequent rotation according to a predetermined angle of the relative support foot 12. However, it is not excluded that the connection means provided on the top of each support foot 12 can be of another type, like for example interlocking, snap-type, threaded connection means and yet more.

[0019] The structure 10 also comprises at least one support bar 18 constrainable below one or more support feet 12. Each support bar 18 is configured to rest on the ground or on a generic surface, as well as for supporting the structure 10 and therefore the object A to be moved and transported.

[0020] Preferably, each support foot 12 has a frusto-conical shape, with the larger base facing upwards, in other words facing towards the object A to be moved and transported, and with the smaller base facing downwards, in other words towards a respective support bar 18. According to the invention, each support foot 12 is provided at the bottom with a first base portion 20, designed for making contact with a respective support bar 18, and with a second base portion 22, designed for making direct contact with the ground or with a generic surface. These two base portions 20 and 22 are suitably sized to support the vertical loads of the object A to be moved and transported, as well as to transfer such loads in part to the respective support bar 18, and thus indirectly to the ground, and in part directly to the ground.

[0021] Each support foot 12 can also be provided at the bottom with one or more grooved guides 24 in which corresponding longitudinal side portions 26 of each support bar 18 are slidably inserted. This allows the longitudinal sliding of each support foot 12 with respect to a corresponding support bar 18, so as to define the correct mutual position of these two components before the definitive reversible fixing of such a support foot 12 to the corresponding support bar 18. The reversible fixing of each support foot 12 to a corresponding support bar 18 can be carried out, for example, through screws.

[0022] In a preferred configuration of the structure 10 it is foreseen to apply four distinct support feet 12 at the four corners of the lower surface of an object A having a square or rectangular plane, as illustrated in the figures. Distinct pairs of support feet 12 are thus constrainable with a respective support bar 18, so that the structure 10 is provided with two support bars 18 that are parallel to one another, resting on the ground.

[0023] Each support foot 12 is connected with the object A to be moved and transported, or with the profiles 14, by simply rotating it by 90° to obtain the locking in the respective shaped seat 38. This operation can therefore be repeated for every single support foot 12 without requiring any mounting tool. Every support bar 18 connects together pairs of support feet 12 arranged along the same direction, providing a high guarantee of solidity and stability for the structure 10.

[0024] Preferably, each support foot 12 is manufactured with a plastic material. Each support bar 18, as well as each profile 14, on the other hand, is preferably manufactured with a metallic material. In this way, the support bars 18 and/or the profiles 14 ensure the necessary structural strength to be able to engage with the forks of any forklift adapted to move the entire structure 10.

[0025] As shown in figures 4 and 5, the structure 10 can comprise a frame 28 constrainable to each support bar 18. The frame 28 is configured for mounting two or more support bars 18 at different heights with respect to the ground or to a generic support surface, so that the structure 10 can contain, move and transport two or more objects A arranged on top of one another.

[0026] The frame 28 is provided with one or more uprights 30, each of which is constrainable at the top and at the bottom to respective support bars 18 arranged at different heights with respect to the ground. The constraint between each upright 30 and each respective support bar 18 can be obtained through a corresponding angular component 32 configured to irremovably connect such an upright 30 and such a support bar 18 according to a right angle.

[0027] As highlighted in figures 4 and 5, each angular component 32 can also be configured to rest on the ground or on a generic surface instead of the support bars 18. This makes it possible to keep the lower support bars 18 raised from the ground, said bars 18 being able to be engaged with the forks of a forklift.

[0028] Between pairs of mutually parallel uprights 30 it is possible to fix respective cross members 34, configured to rigidify and strengthen the frame 28 and therefore the entire structure 10. Both the uprights 30, and the cross members 34 can be advantageously manufactured from wood. This makes it possible to use planks cut to size, which can then be directly assembled in the warehouse with the simple use of nails. Each angular component 32, on the other hand, is preferably manufactured with a plastic material sufficiently strong to support the entire structure 10.

[0029] With reference to figure 7, the structure 10 can finally comprise one or more trolleys 36 equipped with wheels, able to be operatively associated with each support bar 18. The high space occupied in plan of each trolley 36 increases the stability of the structure 10 and of the overlying object or objects A, avoiding toppling and at the same time allowing high manoeuvrability of the entire assembly. The presence of the trolleys 36 also makes it possible to move the structure 10 and the overlying object or objects A on the ground or on a generic surface, by carrying out small movements without the continuous use of forklifts.

[0030] It has thus been seen that the modular structure for supporting and transporting goods according to the present invention achieves the purposes highlighted earlier, in particular obtaining the following advantages:

• reduction of the spaces occupied when the structure is not in use, eliminating the considerable volume occupied by conventional wooden pallets, which are normally stacked in bulk in the external areas of warehouses;
• standardization, thanks to the preferential use of only three base components (a support foot of standard dimensions and support bars having only two predetermined lengths). On the other hand, it is possible to provide dozens of different configurations for conventional pallets, with a consequent need to manage numerous product codes;
• strength and solidity of the entire structure;
• practicality, thanks to the fact that all of the components of the structure can be assembled directly in the warehouse and in a variable manner depending on circumstances.

[0031] The modular structure for supporting and transporting goods of the present invention thus conceived can in any case undergo numerous modifications and variants, all of which are covered by the same inventive concept; moreover, all of the details can be replaced by technically equivalent elements. In practice, the materials used, as well as the shapes and sizes, can be whatever according to the technical requirements.

[0032] The scope of protection of the invention is therefore defined by the attached claims.

Claims

1. Modular structure (10) for supporting and transporting at least one object (A), the structure (10) comprising:

- a plurality of support feet (12), provided on top with connection means (16) for the reversible connection with the object (A);

- at least one support bar (18), constrainable below one or more support feet (12), each support bar (18) being configured for resting on the ground or on a generic surface, as well as for supporting the structure (10) and therefore the object (A); and

- one or more profiles (14), configured for being constrained to a lower portion of the object (A) and for engaging above the support feet (12) through the respective connection means (16),

wherein each support foot (12) is manufactured with a plastic material, whereas each support bar (18), as well as each profile (14), is manufactured with a metallic material so as to engage with the forks of a forklift adapted for moving the entire structure (10) the structure (10) being characterised in that the connection means (16) of each support foot (12) consist of a shaped protuberance (16) configured for coupling with a corresponding shaped seat (38) obtained on each profile (14) and that each support foot (12) is provided at the bottom with a first base portion (20), designed for making contact with a respective support bar (18), and with a second base portion (22), designed for making direct contact with the ground or with a generic surface.

2. Structure (10) according to claim 1, characterised in that the coupling of each shaped protuberance (16) into a corresponding shaped seat (38) obtained on each profile (14) is carried out through engagement and subsequent rotation according to a predetermined angle of the relative support foot (12).

3. Structure (10) according to any claims 1 to 2, characterised in that each support foot (12) has a frusto-conical shape, with the larger base facing upwards, i.e. facing towards the object (A), and with the smaller base facing downwards, i.e. towards a respective support bar (18).

4. Structure (10) according to any claims 1 to 3, characterised in that each support foot (12) is provided at the bottom with one or more grooved guides (24) in which corresponding longitudinal side portions (26) of each support bar (18) are slidably inserted.

5. Structure (10) according to any claims 1 to 4, further comprising a frame (28) constrainable to each support bar (18), said frame (28) being configured for mounting two or more support bars (18) at different heights with respect to the ground or to a generic support surface, so that the structure (10) can contain, move and transport two or more objects (A) arranged on top of one another.

6. Structure (10) according to claim 5, characterised in that the frame (28) is provided with one or more uprights (30), each of which is constrainable at the top and at the bottom to respective support bars (18) arranged at different heights with respect to the ground, wherein the constraint between each upright (30) and each respective support bar (18) is obtained through a corresponding angular component (32) configured to irremovably connect said upright (30) and said support bar (18) according to a right angle.

7. Structure (10) according to claim 6, characterised in that between mutually parallel pairs of uprights (30) respective cross members (34) are fixed, configured to rigidify and strengthen the frame (28) and therefore the entire structure (10).

8. Structure (10) according to claim 7, characterised in that both the uprights (30) and the cross members (34) are manufactured in wood, whereas each angular component (32) is manufactured with a plastic material.

9. Structure (10) according to any of the previous claims, further comprising one or more trolleys (36) equipped with wheels, operatively associated with each support bar (18) to move the structure (10) and the overlying object or objects (A) on the ground or on a generic surface.

Drawing