The present disclosure relates to improvements in pallets, particularly those used for transporting miscellaneous industrial and commercial goods by means of forklift devices and the like.
Pallets are ordinarily moved about with fork lifting devices. In such use, forks of the forklift slip into openings beneath the pallet top deck and press upon an interior surface to raise the pallet from the floor.
However, occasionally it is useful to move pallets by hand. In order to grasp the pallet, a worker can reach into one of the forklift openings or into some other opening in the pallet, but sometimes that may not be convenient from the standpoint of accessibility. More significantly, a typical pallet for commercial use is about 40 by 48 inches by about 5 inches high, and weighs around 50 pounds.
Also, the deck of the pallet described by co-pending U.S. application Ser. No. 10/729,615, filed Dec. 5, 2003, to which the invention is well-applied (at least because it is not a conventional slatted design, but instead comprises a deck having few or no orifices suitable for use as hand holds), lacks the slats and openings of many wood pallets.
What is needed in the art is a plastic pallet, which pallet incorporates a deck design having few or no orifices suitable for use as handholds, that also incorporates a design permitting facile manual lifting and manipulation.
The above described and other problems and disadvantages in the art are overcome or alleviated by the present pallet incorporating one or more lifting straps on an upper surface of the pallet. In one exemplary embodiment, a top surface of the pallet is substantially free from hand-sized or other similar orifices. In such embodiment, the at least one lifting strap provides a viable alternative to grasping the sides or edges of the pallet.
In another exemplary embodiment, at least one lifting strap is provided as part of the upper deck of the pallet. In another exemplary embodiment, the at least one lifting strap is provided in a valley of a corrugation in such a configuration that a substantial portion of the points of interface between the strap and the deck surface lies below the ridge of the corrugation.
The foregoing and other objects, features and advantages of the present pallet will become more apparent from the following description of exemplary embodiments and accompanying drawings.
Referring now to the accompanying FIGURES, which are meant to be exemplary and not limiting:
As noted above, the present disclosure relates to improvements in pallets, and in certain embodiments, plastic pallets. More particularly, the improvement described herein below provides a mechanism whereby the pallet may be more easily lifted and maneuvered by hand.
Referring now to
A corrugated aluminum deck 22 is attached to the frame 24 with fasteners 26, which in one exemplary embodiment are integrally molded plastic pins of the type described just below. Deck 22 is also pinned to the top of center column 42C by fasteners 34. In an exemplary embodiment, the deck 22 does not contain any holes or orifices that would accommodate a user's hand hold (for example, a slit wide enough and long enough to permit a user to insert four fingers there through and curl the four fingers against the deck or sub frame). In one exemplary embodiment, the deck does not contain any holes larger than about 3.5 inches long and 0.75 inches wide. In another exemplary embodiment, the deck does not contain any holes larger than about 4 inches long and 1 inch wide. In another exemplary embodiment, the deck does not contain any holes larger than a water drainage hole provided in a corrugation. It should be recognized that the above dimensions are merely exemplary.
Referring now to
Referring now to
Referring still to
In another embodiment, the pins 32 are formed in the same way as pins 34, with an exception. The pins 32 additionally pass through holes 38 of the strap 30. In another exemplary embodiment, the holes 38 in the strap 30 are oblong or rectangular. In such embodiment, the pins 32 may be configured such that the deformation of the top of the pin 32 is sufficient to capture the strap 30 and resist loads applied by the strap 30 during use, but insufficient to prevent lateral sliding motion of the strap 30, as indicated by arrows E, when the strap 30 is used to lift the pallet.
In another exemplary embodiment, and as illustrated in
The strap may comprise any material and construction that will resist breaking under the weight of the pallet. In one exemplary embodiment, the strap comprises polypropylene or other flexible thermoplastic material, having a thickness of about one-eight inch. Thus, if there is another pallet or goods resting on the pallet at the strap location, or if things are push laterally across the deck, the strap will elastically deform and move downwardly into the valley, and it will then spring back up, when the contacting object is removed.
As noted above, in an exemplary embodiment the holes 38 may be oblong or rectangular, so when the pallet is lifted the strap curve will move, to extend upwardly higher than it is in its rest position, as is illustrated by
Other configurations may also be implemented for fastening the strap 30 to the center column 42C (or indeed, to any other column, sub frame, or reinforcing or structural surface) or for fastening the deck 22 to the column 42C. For example, in an exemplary embodiment, metal screws or metal pins may be used instead of the integral deformed plastic pins. A lifting strap may also be at least partially secured to a side frame portion adjacent the deck.
Additionally, as noted above, other general pallet configurations are contemplated herein. In an exemplary embodiment, the deck is made of plastic rather than corrugated aluminum. Other corrugation patterns may be used, the deck may be smooth, or the deck may have other contouring. Also, while the above is described in terms of a center column, the strap may be applied to pallets with decks supported by other columns, or to non-column structures that will take and transfer the lifting load applied to the strap.
As described above, the present pallet incorporating a lifting strap enables workers to find a convenient place to grasp a pallet for lifting other than by grasping the pallet at its edges. This is advantageous because many workers do not find it easy to lift a pallet by grasping the openings along one edge or two adjacent edges. This is due to the fact that even a smaller span between opposing sides of a pallet (e.g., about 40 inches) is usually too large to enable a worker to easily grasp, lift and maneuver a pallet. The present improvement provides such ease of grasping, lifting and maneuvering of a pallet.
This application claims benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/663,698, filed Mar. 18, 2005 and is a continuation-in part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/729,615, filed Dec. 5, 2003, which is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/938,954, filed Aug. 24, 2001, which claimed priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/227,537, filed Aug. 24, 2000, the entire contents of each of which are specifically incorporated herein by reference.
Number | Date | Country | |
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60663698 | Mar 2005 | US | |
60227537 | Aug 2000 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | 09938954 | Aug 2001 | US |
Child | 10729615 | Dec 2003 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | 10729615 | Dec 2003 | US |
Child | 11385639 | Mar 2006 | US |