Plastic pallet
First Claim
1. A pallet comprising:
- A) a generally planar load bearing platform structure formed as a unitary, molded plastic structure including an upper wall structure defining a platform surface at its upper side for receipt of a load and a bottom wall structure integral with said top structure and defining the bottom of said platform structure and spaced beneath said upper wall structure to define a void between said top and bottom wall structures; and
B) an insert positioned beneath said upper wall structure in said void and having a convexly bowed configuration with its downwardly disposed opposite ends supported on said bottom wall structure but free to move relative to said bottom wall structure and its raised central portion disposed proximate the underside of said upper wall structure so as to tend to flatten in response to placement of a load on said platform surface.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A plastic pallet in which an insert assembly is positioned within the hollow of the plastic pallet to discourage warpage and failure especially in racked, storage situations. The insert assembly comprises a pair of beams arranged in an X-configuration, tower members secured at their upper ends to respective ends of the beams and positioned respectively in the four corners of the pallet, and tensioning straps extending between the tower members around the perimeter of the pallet proximate the upper surface of the bottom wall of the pallet. The X-configured beams are positioned in the space between the spaced upper and lower sheets of the platform structure of the pallet and are maintained in a convexly bowed configuration by the tensioning straps so as to resist downward bowing of the platform structure, even when the pallet is racked for extended periods of time in a loaded condition.
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Citations
30 Claims
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1. A pallet comprising:
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A) a generally planar load bearing platform structure formed as a unitary, molded plastic structure including an upper wall structure defining a platform surface at its upper side for receipt of a load and a bottom wall structure integral with said top structure and defining the bottom of said platform structure and spaced beneath said upper wall structure to define a void between said top and bottom wall structures; and B) an insert positioned beneath said upper wall structure in said void and having a convexly bowed configuration with its downwardly disposed opposite ends supported on said bottom wall structure but free to move relative to said bottom wall structure and its raised central portion disposed proximate the underside of said upper wall structure so as to tend to flatten in response to placement of a load on said platform surface. - View Dependent Claims (2)
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3. A pallet comprising:
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A) a plastic member defining a generally planar load bearing platform structure defining a platform surface for receipt of a load; and B) an insert positioned beneath said platform surface and having a convexly bowed configuration tending to flatten in response to placement of a load on said platform surface; C) said insert being in the form of a convexly bowed beam structure; D) said pallet further including tensioning means connected to said beam structure operative to maintain said beam structure in said bowed configuration and operative to be further tensioned in response to flattening of said beam structure in response to placement of a load on said platform surface; E) said plastic member being rectangular and defining a plurality of corners; and F) said beam structure comprising first and second beams arranged in an X-configuration with an end of a beam positioned in each corner of said plastic member. - View Dependent Claims (4, 5, 6)
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7. A pallet comprising:
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A) a plastic member defining a generally planar load bearing platform structure defining a platform surface for receipt of a load; and B) an insert positioned beneath said platform surface and having a convexly bowed configuration tending to flatten in response to placement of a load said platform surface; C) said load bearing platform structure including spaced upper and lower sheets; D) said beam structure being positioned in the space between said upper and lower sheets and extending from one side of said plastic member to an opposite side of said plastic member; E) said pallet including tensioning means maintaining said beam structure in its bowed configuration; F) said platform structure being rectangular and defining a plurality of corners; G) said beam structure comprising first and second beams arranged in an X configuration with an end of a beam positioned in each corner of said plastic member. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A pallet comprising:
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A) a generally rectangular, hollow plastic member defining a central load bearing platform structure formed by spaced upper and lower sheets and further defining a void between said sheets; B) a beam structure positioned in said void in underlying relation to said upper sheet; and C) tensioning means maintaining said beam structure in a convexly bowed configuration within said void so that said beam structure tends to flatten in said void against the tensioning resistance of said tensioning means in response to placement of a load on said upper sheet of said platform structure.
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17. A pallet comprising:
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A) a generally rectangular, hollow plastic member defining a plurality of corners and further defining a central load bearing platform structure formed by spaced upper and lower sheets; B) a beam structure positioned in the central space between said upper and lower sheets and including a pair of beams arranged in an X configuration with an end of a beam positioned in each corner of said plastic member; and C) tensioning means maintaining said beam structure in a convexly bowed configuration so that said beam structure tends to flatten against the tensioning resistance of said tensioning means in response to placement of a load on said platform structure. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27)
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28. A pallet comprising:
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A) a plastic member defining a generally planar load bearing platform structure including an upper platform surface for receipt of a load and further defining a void beneath said platform surface; B) an insert positioned beneath said platform surface in said void and having a convexly bowed configuration tending to flatten in response to placement of a load on said platform surface; C) said load bearing platform structure including spaced upper and lower sheets; D) said void being defined between said upper and lower sheets and extending from one side of said platform member to an opposite side of said platform member; and E) said pallet including tensioning means connected to said insert, operative to normally maintain said insert in its bowed configuration, and operative in response to placement of a load on said platform surface to resist flattening of said insert.
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29. A pallet comprising:
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A) a unitary plastic member including a generally planar load bearing upper plastic structure defining an upper platform surface for receipt of a load and further including a lower plastic structure spaced below said upper plastic structure to define a lower support surface for the pallet and to define a void between said upper and lower plastic structures; and B) a convexly bowed beam structure positioned beneath said platform surface in said void and comprising first and second beams arranged in an X-configuration with the ends of the beams supported on said lower plastic structure and free to move relative to said plastic member. - View Dependent Claims (30)
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Specification