The present application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No.60/654,767, filed Feb. 18, 2005, entitled “Pallet Having Multi-Purpose Nubs”, the entire contents of which are specifically incorporated herein by reference.
The present disclosure relates to pallets made of plastic, metals or the like, used for transporting miscellaneous industrial and commercial goods by means of forklift devices and the like.
As described in commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 6,705,237, the entire contents of which are specifically incorporated herein by reference, a molded plastic pallet has certain interior portions filled with plastic foam. For example, the columns (also called feet), which support the frame that holds the deck that carries goods, may be filed with foam polyurethane. In one way of constructing the pallet, the foam is injected into cavities of a part previously formed by injection molding of polyethylene or polypropylene. An opening is required to do that, to restore the surface properties and to protect the foam from possible infiltration of foreign substances. Typically, the foam is injected at one end of a cavity, so the foam flows within the cavity in a predictable way, to simultaneously expel air or other gas in the cavity from a vent hole at the other end of the cavity. There is room the art for improvements with regard to sealing pallet foam injection holes.
The presently disclosed pallet having multi-purpose nubs provides an improved mechanism for foam injected pallet portion, including improved sealing of pallets and improved stabilizing of stacked pallets. In one embodiment, multiple holes that are provided for injection of foam are strategically placed at the bottoms of the columns or feet of the pallet. Nubs are inserted therein to act as a seal and to serve as footrest pads. In additional embodiments, the nubs are configured such that they will engage pockets on the top surface of a like pallet, such that the pallets resist shifting when stacked.
The above-described and other features will be appreciated and understood by those skilled in the art from the following detailed description, drawings and appended claims.
Referring now to the accompanying FIGURES, which are meant to be exemplary and not limiting:
The presently described nubs are useful with regard to pallets constructed in accordance with U.S. Pat. No. 6,705,237 to Moore, Jr. et al. or more generally with any molded plastic or metal pallet.
Referring now to
When the nub 28 comprises a compatible plastic, it may be spin-welded in place. Alternately, the nub 28 may be pressed or glued into place. The nub can also be made of a plastic which has an inherent greater toughness and wear resistance than the material of the frame 24, but which for cost or other properties would not be suitable for an entire frame. The nub comprise other materials or may have other shapes than the straight shank with head configuration, such as is illustrated in the FIGURES.
Referring now to
Referring now to
While exemplary embodiments have been shown and described, various modifications and substitutions may be made thereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. It is to be understood that the present invention has been described by way of illustration and not limitation.
Number | Date | Country | |
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60654767 | Feb 2005 | US |