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The present invention is related to an integrated tray and pallet system which includes a pallet base having an upper surface with integrally formed trays extending upward from the upper surface and a bottom surface with downwardly extending feet.
Some pallet systems use trays to sort and organize products shipped on the pallet. Typically, these trays are designed to hold parts in well-defined locations, which makes them suitable for automatic loading and unloading.
Current common practice is to place a stack of trays onto a pallet and to—if needed—place a top cap on top of the stack. An example is Powertrain components for the North-American automotive industry, which are most often shipped in thermoformed trays that are placed onto a 48″×45″ “Powertrain” pallet. The pallet is necessary to allow the stacks to be moved with fork trucks and pallet jacks.
The use of a separate pallet at the bottom of a stack of trays has several potential negative aspects. For example, sometimes the available pallet footprints do not match the size of the trays or the size of the shipping vehicle. This results in sub-optimized freight efficiencies. For instance, currently established pallet sizes (1200×800 mm; 1200×1000 mm; 40×48″; 48×45″) do not efficiently fill out the footprint of sea containers. To do this, a pallet size of, for example, approximately 1185×985 mm would be much more efficient.
Additionally, having trays sitting on a pallet adds a potential for trays to move a bit on the pallet. This makes it more difficult for automation to locate parts for unloading.
The present invention provides a tray integrally formed with pallet features that overcome some or all of the issues with prior systems.
The present invention is directed to an integrated tray and pallet system. The system overcomes the issues with the prior systems by integrating the functional elements of the pallet (e.g., feet, runners, fork straps) into the tray that is placed at the bottom of a stack. That is, the trays are integrally formed with the pallet features. Pallets and integrated trays without feet, etc. can be used to stack on the pallet and tray system having feet. A top cap can be placed on the topmost pallet and tray. Both trays with and without pallet elements can be produced in the same tool (i.e., mold) with typically a plastic injection molding process. This tool has either inserts or two separate mold halves to produce these two versions.
In accordance with one aspect of the invention an integrated tray and pallet system is provided. The tray and pallet system comprises a first generally rectangular pallet base having a planar upper surface and a plurality of integrally formed trays having tray walls extending upward from the upper surface of the first pallet base. The first pallet base can have a plurality of feet extending downward from a bottom surface of the first pallet base.
The pallet base can further include a first side wall extending upward from an edge of a first side of the first pallet base, a second side wall extending upward from an edge of a second side of the first pallet base, a third side wall extending upward from an edge of a third side of the first pallet base and a fourth side wall extending upward from an edge of a fourth side of the first pallet base. Along with the integrally formed tray walls, the first, second, third and fourth side walls can form a part of each tray.
Each of the first, second, third and fourth side walls can include a plurality of outwardly extending ribs. The pallet base, trays, feet and side walls can all be formed from a molded plastic.
Each of the plurality of integrally formed trays can be rectangular and can form an array of columns and rows (e.g., such as an array of five by two). Alternatively, the trays can be other shapes and positions on the pallet.
The system can further include a second generally rectangular pallet base having a planar upper surface and a plurality of integrally formed trays having tray walls extending upward from the upper surface of the second pallet base. The second pallet base can be configured to stack on the first pallet base. Additional pallet bases can also be stacked on the first and second pallet bases.
The system can also include a top cap configured to be placed on top of the second pallet base. Alternatively, the top cap can be used on the topmost one of a stack that has a greater number of pallet bases than the first and second pallet bases.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, an integrated tray and pallet system comprises a first plastic rectangular pallet base having an upper planar support surface and a first tray integrally formed with the first pallet base having tray walls extending upward from the support surface. The system can further comprise a second tray integrally formed with the first pallet base having tray walls extending upward from the support surface. In fact, the system can comprise a plurality of additional trays integrally formed with the first pallet base having tray walls extending upward from the support surface.
The first tray and the additional plurality of trays can form an array of trays on the first pallet base. Moreover, each of the first tray and the additional plurality of trays can be rectangular. However, the trays can be other shapes, sizes and positions on the pallet base as desired for a particular use.
The pallet base can include a plurality of plastic feet extending downward from a bottom surface of the first rectangular plastic pallet base. Additionally, the pallet base can include a first plastic side wall extending upward from an edge of a first side of the first rectangular plastic pallet base, a second plastic side wall extending upward from an edge of a second side of the first rectangular plastic pallet base, a third plastic side wall extending upward from an edge of a third side of the first rectangular plastic pallet base and a fourth plastic side wall extending upward from an edge of a fourth side of the first rectangular plastic pallet base.
Each tray can include a tray wall formed from one of the first plastic side wall, the second plastic side wall, the third plastic side wall and the fourth plastic side wall. Additionally, each tray can include a tray wall having a first end segment, a middle segment and a second end segment wherein a height of the middle segment is less than a height of the first end segment and a height of the second end segment.
Other features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following specification taken in conjunction with the following Figures.
To understand the present invention, it will now be described by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:
While this invention is susceptible of embodiments in many different forms, there is shown in the drawings and will herein be described in detail preferred embodiments of the invention with the understanding that the present disclosure is to be considered as an exemplification of the principles of the invention and is not intended to limit the broad aspect of the invention to the embodiments illustrated.
The present invention overcomes many of the issues of having a pallet with a separate tray or plurality of trays by integrating the tray (or trays) directly into the pallet. That is, the trays are integrally formed with the rest of the pallet in the same mold.
An integrated tray and pallet system 10 is shown in
The pallet 12 has a first side wall 22, a second side wall 24, a third side wall 26 and a fourth side wall 28 extending upward about a perimeter of the upper surface 16. The trays 14 are defined by upwardly extending interior walls 30 combined with a portion of one or more of the pallet side walls 22, 24, 26 and 28, and the upper surface 16.
While the pallet is shown having three rows of three feet 18 each, it can have more or fewer depending on the size of the pallet desired. Additionally, the pallet 12 can be provided with additional pallet features, such as runners connecting the feet, internal reinforcement, etc. As partially shown in
The pallet system 10 of
In the embodiment of
The internal walls 30 can be formed to have various features. In the example of
The system can also include the combination pallet with integral tray without all of the pallet features. For example, referring to
A stack 44 of pallets with a top cap 46 (which can also be part of the system) is shown in
The entire system is preferably formed from an injection molded plastic.
While the system is preferably plastic, other materials (e.g., metal reinforcements) can be used as necessary.
As also evident in the pallet 10 of
Many modifications and variations of the present invention are possible in light of the above teachings. It is, therefore, to be understood within the scope of the appended claims the invention may be protected otherwise than as specifically described.
The present application claims priority to and the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63/077,048 filed Sep. 11, 2020, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference and made a part hereof.
Number | Date | Country | |
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63077048 | Sep 2020 | US |