DESCRIPTION

The present invention relates to an innovative pallet for supporting and anchoring tanks for liquids of any type, for example alimentary, industrial, toxic and non-hazardous chemical liquids.

The invention therefore falls within the field of production of steel and/or plastic packaging, in particular in that of the production of "accessories" adapted to facilitate the handling of tanks for the containment of liquids of any type (known as IBC - Intermediate Bulk Container).

Among the goods less easily and economically transportable, of course in large quantities, there are liquids that, as known, require specific container tanks made in the most varied shapes, sizes and materials, suitable to withstand their chemical-physical characteristics and preserve the qualities thereof.

As known, such tanks are generally made of the synthetic materials provided by the industry, preferably polyethylene, which for its inexpensiveness, strength and lightness is suitable for the production of tanks of small or very small capacity or large volumes.

In this last case, outside the tank there is usually provided a structural containment cage whose function is to oppose any possible deformation of the tank under the weight of the liquid it contains.

Such strengthening cage, having a reticular structure, also protects the tank from possible shocks that it inevitably undergoes during handling operations. For further details on the features of said known structural containment cage as well as on other components of such tanks (for example, on the lower drawing tap/valve, the upper liquid inlet opening and the relative closing cap, etc.), reference shall be made, for example, to patent IT1369835 to the name of the same Applicant, or to any other technical documentation easily available and traceable by the man skilled in the art.

Herein, it is useful to underline that such a strengthening cage rests or is anchored at the bottom to a pallet with the aim to facilitate the handling and transportation of the relevant tank.

Currently the pallet, having traditional geometry and dimensions, is generally made of wood and subjected to HT heat treatment (exposure to a temperature above 60 °C for at least 30 minutes) in accordance with the ISPM 15 regulations (related to phytosanitary measures aimed to reduce the risk of introduction and/or spreading of harmful organisms), to which reference shall be made although well known to the man skilled in the art.

The current wooden pallets involve a number of drawbacks not easily solved; by way of a non-limiting example, despite the treatments to which it is subjected, the pallet may still be subject to the formation of fungi, moulds and bacteria, with the consequent risk of contamination of the liquid contained in the overlying tank, and/or it can undergo alterations of its technical-functional features (with consequent breakage of at least some of its sections), especially if installed outdoors and therefore subject to weather and/or stagnation, for example of rainwater.

Furthermore, the use of wooden pallets does not always ensure a stable and safe anchoring of the containment cage (and, therefore, of the relative tank that it surrounds).

The main object of the present invention is to obviate the drawbacks described hereinabove by providing an innovative pallet with improved technical- functional qualities.

More precisely, the object of the present invention is to provide a pallet, capable of ensuring a stable anchoring and support for an overlying tank for liquids, free from any water stagnation spilled during its filling and/or emptying or accumulated due to atmospheric agents, which is not subject to the formation and/or proliferation of harmful organisms (or micro-organisms) and which is easier to be handled.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a pallet which is inexpensive and quick to be manufactured but of long duration and reusable. Further features of the present invention shall be better highlighted by the following description of a preferred embodiment, in accordance with the patent claims and shown, according to a preferred variant and by way of a non-limiting example, in the accompanying drawing tables, in which:

- figure 1 shows a top view of the pallet according to the invention;

- figures 2a, 2b, 2c respectively show a front, rear and side view of the pallet of l ;

- figure 3 shows a bottom view of the pallet of fig. 1 ;

- figure 4 shows an axonometric view of the pallet of figs 1 to 3.

The characteristics of the invention are now described, making use of the references contained in the figures enclosed. It should be noted that any dimensional and spatial term (such as "lower", "upper", "front", "rear", "side" and the like) refers, unless otherwise indicated, to the position according to which the object of the invention is shown in the drawings.

As shown in the accompanying figures, reference numeral 1 indicates the pallet of the invention, having a substantially rectangular plan (but nothing prevents the possibility of making pallets with different plans, for example square) and adapted to support and to handle goods and/or products, for example, a per se known tank for the storage of liquids.

Thanks to its features and technical-functional qualities, which shall be described below, pallet 1 of the invention can obviously be used also in other technical fields where its use is recommended or required.

Of said pallet 1, the accompanying Figs, clearly show an upper platform 10 which acts as a supporting surface for the overlying tank (not shown, like its known external strengthening cage, optionally provided, in the case of medium/large capacity tanks) and a plurality of feet 1 1 (hereinafter called "bases") for supporting pallet 1 on the ground.

More precisely, each pallet 1 comprises at least four angular bases 1 10 although, especially for those of larger dimensions, intermediate ones 1 11 may be provided between one angular base 1 10 and the other.

By way of example only and without any limiting intent, the accompanying figures (see for example Fig. 3) show a pallet 1 comprising four angular bases 110 and two intermediate bases 1 1 1, each arranged at a long side 100 of pallet 1, preferably in a median position.

What said thus far does not depart from the prior art.

According to the invention, however, a drainage system 12 is formed on said platform 10 for the liquids that may accidentally come out from the overlying tank (for example, during the filling or emptying or drawing) or accumulated thereon due to atmospheric agents (rain, snow, humidity, etc.), when installed outdoors.

From here on, said liquids that may accumulate and stagnate on platform 10 of pallet 1 will be called, for description simplicity, "stagnant liquids".

More precisely, said drainage system 12 comprises a plurality of depressions 13 adapted to collect said stagnant liquids and a plurality of grooves 14, 15.

Even more in detail, according to the invention, a plurality of first grooves 14 are formed, shaped to put in mutual communication two contiguous depressions 14, and second grooves 15 susceptible to drain the liquids collected therein towards a drainage manifold 16 through which the expulsion of the stagnant liquids outside pallet 1 is completed.

For obvious structural and functional reasons, as well as for construction requirements, said first and second grooves 14, 15 and said depressions 13 are made substantially symmetrical with respect to the major X-X and minor Y-Y median axes of pallet 1 (see fig. 3). Such a drainage system 12 allows the stagnant liquids to be carried uninterruptedly from the more peripheral areas of platform 10 of pallet 1 towards a central portion thereof and therefrom to a discharge section 17 on the outside. An external border 18 of platform 10 may also contribute to this, aimed to direct said stagnant liquids towards said depressions 13 and/or grooves 14, 15.

The flow of stagnant liquids from one depression 13 to another as well as that towards the drainage manifold 16 can be promoted by providing a suitable slight slope at least to said grooves 14, 15.

According to a preferred construction, the expulsion of said stagnant liquids is carried out through a concavity 17 (called "drainage concavity") of platform 10, with which the manifold 16 is in direct communication.

Said drainage concavity 17 is located at a lateral edge of platform 10, for example at that of its front short side 101, preferably in a median position, and shaped as a "ramp 17" (said "ramp" being characterised by a steep slope, where by "steep slope" it is meant an inclination towards the supporting surface of pallet 1, between 30° and 45°).

An extremely interesting aspect of the present invention is that the above elements of the drainage system 12 can also perform a plurality of additional functions; so, while grooves 14, 15, depressions 13 and manifold 16 also act as stiffening ribs of platform 10, imparting greater strength and rigidity to pallet 1 , the drainage concavity 17 also defines the housing seat for the drawing tap or valve (not shown) of the overlying tank (also not shown in the accompanying figures).

Likewise, the external border 18 can also serve as a reference for the correct positioning and centring of the tank and its outer strengthening cage, when provided, on the underlying platform 10.

According to the invention, the increased stiffness of pallet 1 compared with an equivalent device of the prior art and the ability to withstand without significant and obvious deformations the weight of the tank are also ensured by an optional stiffening cross member 2 constrained in a known manner to the lower face of platform 10 and connecting the two opposing intermediate bases 1 1 1.

In the constructive example of figs. 1 to 4, therefore, said stiffening cross member 2 has an arrangement parallel to the two short sides 100 of pallet 1 and extends astride of its minor axis of symmetry Y-Y (see fig. 3).

For the purposes of the invention, it is also noted that pallet 1 can also comprise an anti-tip ring 3 clearly shown in fig. 3 and/or 4.

Said anti-tip ring 3 is uninterruptedly joined in a known way to all bases 11 of pallet 1, surrounding them inferiorly, and ensures an increased supporting surface on the ground and a greater stability thereto, particularly useful during the operations of vertical stacking of a plurality of tanks.

A flattening may be made on at least one side of the anti-tip ring 3, for example by pinching, which reduces the section thereof so as to locally increase the gap between ring 3 itself and the upper platform 10 (variant not shown in the accompanying figs.).

In the handling step of pallet 1 , such a device facilitates the grab thereof and allows both traditional forklifts and the more practical and handy transpallets, characterised by forks of larger size and/or thicknesses, to be used without distinction.

Pallet 1 as described above, as well as its main constituent elements, may be made of metal material, preferably galvanized steel (for example of the type DX51 Z100).

The process being conducted through well-known operations, this discussion shall only briefly describe the construction process of the steel pallet 1 and its main components, deliberately neglecting the details that are within the reach of the man skilled in the art. It is also noted that the construction process described hereafter is only cited by way of a non-limiting example, similar or equivalent methods being possible and available.

Therefore, according to a possible and preferred construction process, the upper platform 10 with the respective drainage system 12 for stagnant liquids is first made, by drawing a first metal sheet, and subsequently drawing burrs and scraps are removed.

Bases 1 1 , prepared separately from platform 10, are made starting from second sheets, drawn as well, and subjected to shearing and shaping operations by the use of mechanical presses. Subsequently, the drawn semi-finished and shaped product is subjected to flanging so as to obtain a connection element (which shall be referred to hereafter) to platform 10 of pallet 1.

The stiffening cross member 2 of pallet 1 is obtained from a third sheet subjected, in a sequence, to known shearing, shaping (by the use of dedicated punches installed on a traditional mechanical press) and drawing processes. On the other hand, a substantially rectilinear tube, cut to size and subjected to four consecutive bending operations, is turned into a ring having rectangular geometry, ready to use as anti-tip ring 3.

Finally, the above components are arranged on an "assembly mask" which, as known, has the purpose of helping their correct positioning while the final assembly is preferably achieved by means of known welding processes.

In particular, it has been found advantageous to employ a process of spot welding which, in addition to allowing a high degree of automation (e.g. through the use of robots), ensures a mechanical strength of the joint better than that of alternative connection systems, such as riveting, bonding and/or screw-nut screw couplings.

On the other hand, detailing the means and methods adapted to constrain the external strengthening cage of the tank to pallet 1 is not necessary as they are completely similar to those that have already long been used on wooden pallets (for more information see, for example, the aforementioned patent IT1369835 by the same Applicant).

It is clear that several variants of device 1 described above are possible to the man skilled in the art, without departing from the novelty scopes of the inventive idea, as well as it is clear that in the practical embodiment of the invention the various components described above may be replaced with technically equivalent ones. For example, all that has been said so far applies to both a "4-way" pallet 1, as shown in the accompanying figures, and to the well-known "2-way" pallets. Moreover, nothing prevents the possibility of providing systems for expelling the stagnant liquids outside alternative (and/or complementary) to the drainage concavity 17 described above.

While this may weaken the structure of pallet 1 , nothing prevents, for example, that at least some of said grooves 14, 15 directly lead in one or more drainage holes (not shown) formed through platform 10 of pallet 1 , or that said drainage holes may be provided on the bottom of some depressions 13 of the drainage system 12.

It is finally noted that the ground handling of pallet 1 and of the tank that it supports can be facilitated by providing suitable rolling means, such as rollers or casters, on bases 1 1 thereof.

It is understood that all the materials used, the shapes and the dimensions of pallet 1 of the invention may be any according to technical requirements required by the case. By way of a non-limiting example, in a common commercial variant, pallet 1 can be made with the following main sizes: length of the short 101 and long 100 sides respectively equal to 1000 mm and 1200 mm; thickness of platform 10 in the order of 0.8 mm; anti-tip ring 3 with a 0.8 mm thick square section.

Moreover, nothing prevents that at least the major components of pallet 1 of the invention (possibly including one or more of elements 1 10, 1 1 1, 2, 3 described above) may be obtained, rather than by deep drawing of sheet metal, by thermoforming and/or injection of thermoplastic material.

Finally, nothing prevents that bases 1 1, rather than being prepared, as seen, separately, may be deep-drawn or moulded integrally with platform 10 of pallet 1 ; likewise, also the anti-tip ring 3, according to known techniques and suitably varied in its design, can be made integrally with the above bases 11.

In conclusion, it has been seen that pallet 1 as described above achieves the previously noted objects, in particular the possibility of draining outside any stagnant liquids spilled out on platform 10 thereof from the overlying tank or accumulated thereon due to atmospheric agents, while avoiding the proliferation of harmful and contaminant organisms, such as moulds, fungi and bacteria. Pallet 1 of the invention further ensures increased technical-functional features and qualities, in particular: an increased structural rigidity, thanks to the presence of a plurality of stiffening ribs 14, 16 and/or transverse cross members 2, an improved stability in the step of support on the ground or stacking due to the presence of the anti-tip ring 3, an easier use of the overlying tank through the study and the presence on platform 10 of a seat 17 dedicated to the housing of its drawing tap (which is now more comfortable to access), an improved capability of handling and grip with traditional tools and forklifts, the ability to ground electrostatic charges reducing the risk of electric shock.

Moreover, pallet 1 of the invention is obtained quickly and inexpensively through operations and processes fully known and within the reach of the man skilled in the art.