CA1254536A - Pallet unloading fixture and method - Google Patents

Pallet unloading fixture and method

Info

Publication number
CA1254536A
CA1254536A CA000476436A CA476436A CA1254536A CA 1254536 A CA1254536 A CA 1254536A CA 000476436 A CA000476436 A CA 000476436A CA 476436 A CA476436 A CA 476436A CA 1254536 A CA1254536 A CA 1254536A
Authority
CA
Canada
Prior art keywords
pallet
load
fork lift
handling zone
supporting
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Expired
Application number
CA000476436A
Other languages
French (fr)
Inventor
Clarence L. Gieson
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Metromail Corp
Original Assignee
Metromail Corp
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Metromail Corp filed Critical Metromail Corp
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of CA1254536A publication Critical patent/CA1254536A/en
Expired legal-status Critical Current

Links

Classifications

    • BPERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B66HOISTING; LIFTING; HAULING
    • B66FHOISTING, LIFTING, HAULING OR PUSHING, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR, e.g. DEVICES WHICH APPLY A LIFTING OR PUSHING FORCE DIRECTLY TO THE SURFACE OF A LOAD
    • B66F9/00Devices for lifting or lowering bulky or heavy goods for loading or unloading purposes
    • B66F9/06Devices for lifting or lowering bulky or heavy goods for loading or unloading purposes movable, with their loads, on wheels or the like, e.g. fork-lift trucks
    • B66F9/075Constructional features or details
    • B66F9/12Platforms; Forks; Other load supporting or gripping members
    • BPERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B65CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
    • B65GTRANSPORT OR STORAGE DEVICES, e.g. CONVEYORS FOR LOADING OR TIPPING, SHOP CONVEYOR SYSTEMS OR PNEUMATIC TUBE CONVEYORS
    • B65G1/00Storing articles, individually or in orderly arrangement, in warehouses or magazines
    • BPERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B65CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
    • B65GTRANSPORT OR STORAGE DEVICES, e.g. CONVEYORS FOR LOADING OR TIPPING, SHOP CONVEYOR SYSTEMS OR PNEUMATIC TUBE CONVEYORS
    • B65G2201/00Indexing codes relating to handling devices, e.g. conveyors, characterised by the type of product or load being conveyed or handled
    • B65G2201/02Articles
    • B65G2201/0267Pallets

Abstract

ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE
A load vertically stacked on a pallet lowered on a lift fork into a vertically elongated handling zone, enclosed by a guide frame. As the pallet approaches a lower rest position, the load is retained above a support plane on top of rails between which the lift fork tines are vertically movable. The lift fork is withdrawn from the unloaded pallet and reinserted into the handl-ing zone just below the load to raise it through the guide frame during which the load is stabilized on the lift fork.

Description

~2,~

This invention relates to the handling of palletized loads and more particularly to the unloading of pallets prior to transfer of loads to a desired location.
Vertically stacked loads, such as mail bags, are commonly trans-ported on pallets to a location adjacent an automative van by means of a self-powered, industrial fork lift truck. Prior to loading of such bags into the van, they are unloaded from the pallet. Such pallet unloading heretofore involved time consuming manual tranæfer operations and tied up use of the industrial truck supporting the loaded pallet during such transfer operations.
In an effort to overcome the foregoing type of problem, it has been proposed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,584,762 to Vossenberg to utilize the fork lift of the industrial truck to separate the load from the pallet by directly lifting the load off the pallet after the loaded pallet is deposited on the ground. Such load handling proposal has not been generally adopted, appar-ently because of the likelihood of damage to the load by the fork tines that are to be wedgingly inserted between the load and the floor of the pallet with only a relatively thin spacer placed between the load and the pallet. Posi-tioning of the load, free of the pallet, on the fork tines according to the ~0 foregoing prior art method requires exceptionally skillful operation of the fork lift truck. Further, positioning of the load on the fork tines is both difficult and unreliable for safe transport where irregular loads, such as mail bags, are involved.
It is therefore an important object of the present invention to provide an improved means and method of separating vertically stacked, irregular loads from pallets on which the loads are transported by fork lift trucks, and transferring the depalletized loads directly onto the fork tines of a conventional fork lift for subsequent transport by short distances to a loading location.
A further object in accordance with the foregoing object is to 3~

transfer loads from pallets directly to the lift fork of a conventional industrial truck without manual assistance, without damage to the loads and without use of special pallets and load spacers.
In accordance with the present invention, a palletized load is guidingly lowered by ~he forX lift of a conventional industrial truck into a vertically elongated handling zone enclosed by a guide frame fixture having corner guide bars slidably receiving posts secured to the pallet floor on which the load is stacked. In a lower rest position, the pallet is supported on corner stops within the handling zone. During the lowering of the loaded pallet to the rest position, support rails fixed to the base of the guide frame fixture project through gaps between the spaced boards of the pallet floor to engage the bottom of the load and retain the load above a horizontal supporting plane defined by the upper segments of the support rails. The pallet is thereby unloaded so that the lift fork may be horizontally withdrawn from the handling zone. The lift fork is then reinserted fully into the handling zone between the floor of the pallet in the rest position and the load supporting plane and then elevated to engage and raise the load off the supporting plane upwardly through the handling zone. While the load is being raised through the handling zone, it is stabilized on the lift fork tines with the assistance of side ~0 plates interconnecting the upper ends of the corner guide bars. Accordingly, after the stabilized load is elevated above the handling zone it may be safely transported on the lift fork, free of the pallet, a relatively short distance to a loading van, for example.
Figure 1 is a front elevational view of a guide frame fixture constructed in accordance with the present invention with an unloaded pallet positioned in alignment thereabove.
Figure 2 is a side elevational view of the guide frame fixture shown in Figure 1.
Figure 3 is a top plan view of the guide frame fixture shown in Figure 2.

3g~V

Figures 4, 5 and 6 are partial sect;onal views taken substantially through planes indicated by section lines 4--4, 5--5 and 6--6 in Figure 1.
Figures 7-11 are side elevational views illustrating the load handling procedure of the present invention utilizing the guide frame fix-ture and pallet shown in Figures 1-6.
Figure 12 is a perspective view showing the type of pallet asso-ciated with the present invention.
Referring now to the drawings in detail, Figures 1, 2 and 3 show a guide frame fixture assembly generally referred to by reference numeral 10.
The assembly 10 encloses a vertically elongated handling zone above a base 12 supported on a floor surface by a pair of beams 14. Four corner angle bars 16 and 18 are anchored to the base and are interconnected adjacent the upper ends 20 thereof by side plates 22. The two corner guide bars 16 also frame a front opening into the handling zone from which divergent guide ~lnnges 24 extend welded to the corner bars 16 adjacent the upper ends. The corner bars are embedded in and firmly secured to the base 12 to which stop members 26 are also secured at the corner bars. The upper ends of the stop members define a horizontal plane intersecting the handling zone at which a lower rest position is established for a pallet assembly 28 shown in Figures 20 1 and 12.
The pallet assembly 28 includes four vertical posts 30 having lower Eoot ends 32 adapted to engage the stop members 26 when the pallet is verti-cally lowered into the handling zone. The posts 30 are interconnected by side rails 34 and are thereby fixedly spaced so as to be slidably received within the angle guide bars 16 and 18 of the guide frame assembly 10 as the pallet is lower into the handling zone. The floor of the pallet is formed above the lower ends 32 of the posts by boards 36 secured to the side rails 34 and spaced apart to form gaps 38 therebetween. The gaps 38 are dimensioned to prevent falling of any loads therethrough and are operatively aligned with a load supporting rail system 40 in the guide assembly when the pallet is guided 3~

by the corner bars 16 and 18 during vertical lowering of the pallet toward the rest position in the handling zone.
The load supporting rail system as shown in Figures 1, 2 and 3 includes four rows of three aligned rail elements 42. The rail elements are generally inverted, U-shaped and made of a tubular rod-like material in the illustrated embodiment. Each element 42 includes parallel spaced legs 44 secured to the base 12 and interconnected at the upper ends by a load sup-porting segment 46. The rows of rail elements 42 are spaced apart parallel to the side plates 22 so as to project with clearance through the floor gaps 38 of the pallet while it is guidingly lowered to its rest position. The upper segments 46 of the rail elements define a horizontal load supporting plane spaced above the rest position plane established by the stop members 26 so as to unload the pallet as it is being lowered to the rest position for purposes explained hereinafter.
Figure 7 shows the pallet 28 carried on the tines of a lift fork 48 of a powered lift 50 associated with an industrial truck 52. A load in the form of mail bags 54 is stacked on the floor of the pallet between the posts 30. The truck 52 is operatively maneuvered into alignment between the guide flanges 24 and abutment with the base of the guide frame assembly at its front opening so that the loaded pallet in the elevated position as shown will be aligned with the handling zone therebelow. The loaded pallet is then lowered towflrd the rest position into the handling zone as shown in Figure 8. As the pallet approaches the rest position, it is unloaded by retention of the load on the upper segments 46 of the rail elements 42 at the load supporting plane.
The iift fork 48 is then withdrawn horizontally from the unloaded pallet as shown in Figure 9. Once withdrawn, the fork tines are raised somewhat and re-inserted horizontally into the handling zone between the rows of rail elements 42 at a level just below the load support plane above which the load is retain ed as shown in Figure 10. The lift fork is then raised to engage the load and elevate it above the handling zone as shown in Figure 11. While being raised ~5~.53i~

through the handling zone in the guide assembly, the load will be stabilized on the lift fork as it passes the side plates 22. The truck 52 may then transport the stabilized load on the lift fork, free of the pallet, to a desired unloading location such as a mail bag transport van.

Claims (4)

THE EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION IN WHICH AN EXCLUSIVE PROPERTY OR PRIVILEGE
IS CLAIMED ARE DEFINED AS FOLLOWS:
1. The combination with a pallet supporting a non-rigid, vertically stacked load and mobile fork lift means for transporting the loaded pallet, frame means for enclosing a vertically elongated handling zone, means fixed to the frame means for guiding lowering of the pallet into the handling zone by the fork lift means to a rest position, rail means fixedly mounted by the frame means and projecting through the pallet during said lowering thereof by the fork lift means for establishing a supporting plane, intersecting the handling zone, above which the load is retained, means for guiding elevation of the fork lift means through the handling zone above said supporting plane, and means mounted on the frame means and engageable with the load for stabilizing the load during said elevation of the fork lift means withdrawing the load from the handling zone.
2. In combination with a pallet having vertical posts, side rails interconnecting said posts and a floor formed by boards secured to the side rails in spaced relation to each other to establish gaps therebetween dimensioned to prevent loads supported on the floor from falling through the gaps, a load handling guide assembly for receiving the pallet supporting the load during transport on a fork lift, comprising a base, elongated guide means secured to the base for reception of the posts of the pallet in vertically slidable relation, stop means mounted in the guide means and engageable by the posts for support of the floor of the pallet in a lowered position above the base, and supporting rail means secured to the base and projecting therefrom through the gaps between the floorboards of the pallet in the lowered position for retention of the load above the floor, said supporting rail means comprising a plurality of rigid rail members secured in spaced relation to each other to the base, said rail members having vertical legs connected to the base and upper load supporting segments interconnecting the legs in alignment with a substantially horizontal supporting plane, spaced above the stop means, on which the load is adapted to rest, said elongated guide means comprising a plurality of corner angle bars having upper ends, side plates interconnecting the corner angle bars adjacent the upper ends thereof in parallel spaced relation to the rigid rail members, and guide flanges secured to two of the corner bars adjacent the upper ends thereof extending in divergent relation to each other.
3. The guide assembly as defined in claim 1 wherein said rail means comprises a plurality of rigid rail members secured in spaced relation to each other above the base, said rail members having vertical legs connected to the base and upper load supporting segments interconnecting the legs in substantial alignment with said supporting plane, on which the load is adapted to rest.
4. The combination with a pallet supporting an irregular, vertically stacked load and mobile fork lift means for transporting the loaded pallet, frame means for enclosing a vertically elongated handling zone into which the pallet is guidingly lowered by the fork lift means to a rest position, rail means fixedly mounted by the frame means and projecting through the pallet during said lowering thereof by the fork lift means for retention of the load above a supporting plane intersecting the handling zone, vertical guide means for guiding vertical movement of the pallet through the handling zone, means for establishing gaps in the rail means through which the fork lift means extends horizontally during said vertical movement of the pallet, and means for stabilizing the load during withdrawal from the handling zone by the fork lift means, said fork lift means being horizontally withdrawn from the handling zone and reinserted between the rest position and the supporting plane above which the load is retained on the rail means.
CA000476436A 1984-04-19 1985-03-13 Pallet unloading fixture and method Expired CA1254536A (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
US601,962 1984-04-19
US06/601,962 US4571141A (en) 1984-04-19 1984-04-19 Pallet unloading fixture

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
CA1254536A true CA1254536A (en) 1989-05-23

Family

ID=24409421

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
CA000476436A Expired CA1254536A (en) 1984-04-19 1985-03-13 Pallet unloading fixture and method

Country Status (2)

Country Link
US (1) US4571141A (en)
CA (1) CA1254536A (en)

Families Citing this family (16)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
GB8727765D0 (en) * 1987-11-27 1987-12-31 Pallet Handling Ltd Pallet
US4901650A (en) * 1988-04-08 1990-02-20 Armstead Richard L Industrial pallet having upward extending support posts and locking means
NO170003C (en) * 1988-07-08 1992-09-02 Media Craft As PROCEDURE FOR TRANSPORTING THIN, PLANE PRODUCTS, AND LOADERS FOR SUCH TRANSPORT.
US5244339A (en) * 1989-01-25 1993-09-14 Jean Normand Method for the pickup and distribution of parcels in an urban environment
GB9006471D0 (en) * 1990-03-22 1990-05-23 Surface Tech Sys Ltd Loading mechanisms
SE9002151L (en) * 1990-06-15 1991-12-16 Bas Teknik Ab HANDLING MANAGEMENT SYSTEM
US5249686A (en) * 1991-12-12 1993-10-05 Philip Morris Incorporated Shipping case and insert for automated box blank handling system
DK172068B1 (en) * 1996-09-30 1997-10-13 Claus Thomsen Pallet with side supports and use
US7080600B2 (en) 2003-03-06 2006-07-25 Bes Tool & Die Ltd. Pallet system and method
SE526550C2 (en) * 2003-11-05 2005-10-04 Inter Ikea Systems Bv Cargo rail fixture
US7794188B2 (en) * 2003-11-07 2010-09-14 Western Trailer Co. Method, apparatus and system for pre-bunking cut timber and transporting wood residuals
CA2448595C (en) * 2003-11-07 2007-07-17 Western Trailer Co. Method, apparatus and system for pre-bunking cut timber and transporting wood residuals
ITBO20120307A1 (en) * 2012-06-05 2013-12-06 Marchesini Group Spa FEEDING DEVICE FOR AN INPUT LINE OF A CASING MACHINE WITH COVERED CASES CONTAINED INSIDE A CARDBOARD, AND CARDBOARD PACKAGE CONTAINING OPENED CASES
US9278840B2 (en) * 2014-06-23 2016-03-08 Amazon Technologies, Inc. Palletizing mobile drive units
US9796505B1 (en) * 2016-04-01 2017-10-24 United Technologies Corporation Billet support fingers for palletization
IT201700058491A1 (en) * 2017-05-30 2018-11-30 Granitifiandre Spa METHOD FOR THE TRANSPORT AND STORAGE OF CERAMIC SLABS

Family Cites Families (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US2639050A (en) * 1952-05-14 1953-05-19 Jr George A Hoffmann Palletizing support
US3494490A (en) * 1967-09-26 1970-02-10 Melvin E Shell Method and apparatus for handling stacked materials
US3865250A (en) * 1973-06-26 1975-02-11 Jarke Corp Modular storage and shipping rack
US3964623A (en) * 1975-02-12 1976-06-22 Verhein Gene D Pallet-palletizer assembly

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
US4571141A (en) 1986-02-18

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