A structural supporting and stackable pallet construction incorporating a reinforcing and internal grid like skeletal structure exhibiting enhanced load characteristics. A plurality of perimeter located impact absorbing members are arranged about the sides of the pallet and operate to minimize the damage inflicted by forklift inserting forks within configured receipt apertures in the sides of the pallet in order to maintain and extend the useful life of the assembly.
The relevant art is well documented with various type of pallet designs. In additional to conventional wood pallets, additional materials including plastics and the like have been utilized in the construction of load bearing pallets, with varying degrees of effectiveness.
The present invention discloses a pallet exhibiting a rectangular shaped and three dimensional body including an outer frame and a pair of inner and crosswise extending grid supports. Each of a plurality of sides associated with the outer frame further includes at least one forklift receiving apertures. A plurality of individual support surfaces are established between the outer frame and the inner extending crosswise supports, a corresponding plurality of planar shaped portions being installed upon the support surfaces and establishing a generally flush appearance with surrounding top edges of the body.
Additional features include the outer frame and inner crosswise extending supports being constructed of any of a wood, polymer, polymer composite or metal. Reinforcing brackets are secured to underside edges of the outer frame in order to establish the forklift receiving apertures. Underside projecting stand-offs associated with at least the crosswise supports are provided for creating structural support along an entire underside area associated with the body.
Other features include the provision of inner ledge supports extending around an inner perimeter defined by each of the individual support surfaces for supporting an installed planar shaped portion. An aperture pattern may also be defined in each of the outer frame and inner crosswise extending supports.
Reference will now be made to the attached drawings, when read in combination with the following detailed description, wherein like reference numerals refer to like parts throughout the several views, and in which:
Referring now to the following illustrations, a series of variants are shown of a structural supporting and stackable pallet construction incorporating a reinforcing and internal grid like skeletal structure exhibiting enhanced load characteristics. This, combined with perimeter located impact absorbing members arranged about the sides of the pallet, minimizes the damage inflicted by forklift inserting forks within configured receipt apertures in the sides of the pallet in order to maintain and extend the useful life of the assembly.
The stackable pallet construction is designed so as to provide heavy duty support of items located thereupon and exhibits, according to the selected variant, a structural spine or insert (such as a heavy duty paperboard corrugated material or galvanized insert) which operates to greatly enhance the strength of the pallet assembly in supporting heavier loads set thereupon.
As will be further described in detail, the material construction of the pallets includes any combination of heavy duty paperboard, plastic, metal or composite admixture. As will be additionally described, the completed pallet article encompasses any desired arrangement or pattern of interiorly extending open apertured locations, recesses or other configurations, these further reducing the overall weight of the pallet without compromising its strength. The underside of each pallet can further exhibit linear width and/or length extending recesses, and which are designed to seat inserting forks associated with a conventional forklift machine.
Referring now to
The fork receiving apertures as shown exhibit three sided underside recessed and inner perimeter edges communicating with bottom surfaces of the associated sides 12, 14, 16 and 18. As further shown in the rotated underside view of
The frame attachment is depicted by four individual and end-to-end connected and flattened āLā shaped segments 28, 30, 32 and 34, it being understood that the frame attachment can be provided with any number of pieces, down to a one piece four sided frame, and which are permanently or releasably attached to underside surfaces of the pallet sides (see as shown by depicted underside surfaces 36, 38, 40, 42 and 44 for contiguous sides 12 and 14) with the use of any of clips, mechanical/chemical adhesives or the like. Without limitation, the frame attachments can be constructed of any suitable material not limited to a metal, plastic, wood or any manner or type of composite material. Secondary advantages associated with the bottom attachment frame include assisting in retaining the inserted forks of the lift.
Referring again to
Reinforced and deepened areas of the grid construction include a central most ribs 62 (see also
As with the top, bottom and side surface layers of the pallet the grid defining ribs are again constructed of any suitable corrugated paperboard, plastic or composite material. A suitable plasticized coating or spray, such as which enhances the structural aspects of the assembly as well as restricts/impedes/impairs the absorption and contamination of water, can also be either pre or post applied after assembly or molding of the grid members.
Additional structural reinforcing support can be provided in the form of elongated members 88 and 90 (depicted as substantially flattened and elongated slats), such as extending along interior intermediate locations of the pallet (in the illustrated instance in inwardly parallel spaced fashion relative to parallel sides 12 and 16). The elongated members 88 and 90 can exhibit any desired dimensions (length, width and thickness) as well as be constructed of any material including wood, plastic metal or composite material and which is dimensioned to fit within integrally configured channels or pockets defined within the interior grid structure of the pallet and for contributing additional structural support to the assembly.
Referring still to
As further shown in
Additional features include a plurality of upper edge extending and raised locating/alignment portions 130-152 extending at spaced apart locations about the periphery of the pallet (these again associated with an upper surface layer of the pallet which is removed in
Referring now to
As shown, selected corner positioned impact absorbing members 186, 190, 194 and 198 are reconfigured to seat diagonal extending ends of the members 180, 182 and 184. Each impact absorbing member further includes a perimeter defining box of trim portions (see as representatively shown at 202, 204, 206 and 208 for selected impact absorbing member 188), these being constructed of any type of wood, plywood, plastic, metal or composite and which, in combination with a foam, corrugated paper or plastic composition associated with any of the impact absorbing members 186-200, provides a like desired degree of localized (lift fork) impact absorbing capabilities without compromising the overall integrity of the pallet.
The pallet 178 includes a similar arrangement of grid defining ribs as previously described in reference to
A crosswise extending grid 240 and 242 is incorporated into the pallet construction 224 and integrates into the perimeter frame construction (such as depicted including a galvanized steel or like construction) to provide additional structural support to the design. An outer plasticized coating or spray 244 can be applied to the exterior of the individual and three dimensional formed sections 226-232 and associated galvanized frame surfaces 230-242. Suitable hand hold surfaces 246, 248, 250 and 252 can also be integrated into the design of the durable foam constructions 226-232 as shown.
Referring to
Referring now to
An inner grid of crosswise extending supports is depicted at 278 and 280 and which are constructed of a wood or composite material, similar to the outer frame. Upon assembly, as shown, the inner grid defines a plurality of inner sections 282, 284, 286 and 288, the first of which is further depicted filled with a foam or suitable composite material in order to create a load supporting surface.
As with prior embodiments, the foam or composite planar subsection of material can be preformed to include an inner configured handhold, see further at 290, in order to facilitate ease of transport of the pallet. The grid supports 278 and 280 further depict underside extending stand-off locations, see at 292, 294 and 296 at both center and outer perimeter locations of at least the crosswise extending supports 278 and 280 in order to establish dimensional and load supporting stability across an entire underside surface area of the pallet assembly and to permit the configuration and dimensioning of the side disposed lift receiving apertures 268, 270, 272 and 274 in the deepened side members 256-262.
The individual sections 282, 284, 286 and 288 are further defined, by volume, by such as underside ledges (see for example at 298, 300, 302, et seq.) and which extending from each of four inwardly facing sides associated with the frame and crosswise support for individually supporting the tile or sheet constructed foam or composite sections 282 during installation. As shown, the inserted and structurally supported sheets (e.g. again at 282) exhibit a thickness less than the overall height of the pallet 254 and such that they seat within section defined apertures in supported fashion upon the inwardly extending side ledges 298, 300, 302 et seq., extending inwardly along each of four interconnected and inner perimeter defining sides and in a manner in which the top edges of the foam or composite sections extend flush with the top edge surfaces of the outer frame and inner crosswise extending supports.
Referring finally to
An inner grid of crosswise extending supports is depicted by members 324 and 326 which is constructed of a like metal material, similar to the outer frame. Upon assembly, as shown, the inner grid defines a plurality of inner sections 328, 330, 332 and 334, the first two of which are further depicted by foam or composite square shaped materials, or tiles, emplaced and in order to create a load supporting surface.
As with prior embodiments, the foam or composite planar subsection of material can be preformed to include inner configured handholds, see further at 336 and 338 formed in representative tiles 328 and 330, in order to facilitate ease of transport of the pallet. The grid supports 324 and 326 further depict underside extending stand-off locations, see at 340, 342, 344, et seq. at both center and outer perimeter locations in order to establish dimensional stability to the assembly and to permit the configuration and dimensioning of respective pairs of interconnected side disposed and lift receiving apertures 314, 316, 318 and 320.
Each of the outer frame defining members 306-312 and inner grid defining cross members 324 and 326 each exhibit a tight pattern of apertures, see at 346, 348, 350 et seq., which both serves to lighten the overall weight of the pallet as well as, in limited circumstances, to potentially communicate together all of the sections 328-334 during an associated in-fill process for introducing a flowable material into the section volumes in order to create a unitary pallet supporting surface.
Alternate to introducing pre-formed support sections (such as depicted at 282 in
Having described my invention, other and additional preferred embodiments will become apparent to those skilled in the art to which it pertains, and without deviating from the scope of the appended claims.
The present application claims the benefit of Provisional Application No. 61/522,847, filed Aug. 12, 2011. This Application is also a Continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 12/467,601 filed on May 18, 2009, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application 61/074,306 filed on Jun. 20, 2008 and is a Continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 12/414,017 filed on Mar. 30, 2009. This Application is also a Continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 13/081,953 filed on Apr. 7, 2011, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application 61/328,682 filed on Apr. 28, 2010 and is a Continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 12/608,512 filed on Oct. 29, 2009, which is a Continuation-in-part of both application Ser. No. 12/467,601 filed on May 18, 2009 and application Ser. No. 12/414,017 filed on Mar. 30, 2009.
Number | Date | Country | |
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61074306 | Jun 2008 | US | |
61328682 | Apr 2010 | US | |
61522847 | Aug 2011 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | 12467601 | May 2009 | US |
Child | 13414010 | US | |
Parent | 12414017 | Mar 2009 | US |
Child | 12467601 | US | |
Parent | 13081953 | Apr 2011 | US |
Child | 12414017 | US | |
Parent | 12608512 | Oct 2009 | US |
Child | 13081953 | US | |
Parent | 12414017 | Mar 2009 | US |
Child | 12608512 | US | |
Parent | 12467601 | May 2009 | US |
Child | 12414017 | US |