Plastic pallet
First Claim
1. A plastic pallet comprising:
- a plurality of spaced apart stringers, each of the stringers being formed from thermoplastic material, each of the stringers in cross section having a pair of spaced stringer side walls connected by a stringer top wall and a stringer bottom wall, each of the stringers having a stringer interior area defined by the stringer side walls and the stringer top and bottom walls, each of the stringers further having at least one stringer reinforcement rib situated in the interior area thereof;
and a plurality of longitudinal spaced apart deck boards in supporting connection with the stringers, each of the deck boards being formed from thermoplastic material, each of the deck boards in cross section having a board upper side and a board lower side connected by spaced board side walls, each of the deck boards further having a board interior area defined by the upper and lower sides and the side walls, each of the deck boards further having at least one board reinforcement rib situated in the interior thereof, at least one of the deck boards having a plurality of ridges on a board upper side and a board lower side.
10 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A plastic pallet (10) having good load bearing construction and held together without mechanical fasteners, includes deck boards (30). The deck boards include ridges (24) on an upper side (32) and a lower side (34) thereof. Deck boards are positioned transversely on stringers (12) and joined thereto by either an adhesive or thermoplastic welding processes. The stringers and deck boards may be provided with end caps (26, 42) which seal interior areas of the stringers and deck boards and prevent tearing thereof. The stringers and deck boards have interior reinforcement ribs (22,40). The cross sectional profiles of the stringers, deck boards, and end caps provide a cost effective and light weight pallet. Openings which extend between the stringers allow for either two way fork entry and/or four way fork entry. The stringers and deck boards provide flexibility in constructing pallets of various designs. The plastic pallet preferably is highly durable and fully recyclable.
142 Citations
49 Claims
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1. A plastic pallet comprising:
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a plurality of spaced apart stringers, each of the stringers being formed from thermoplastic material, each of the stringers in cross section having a pair of spaced stringer side walls connected by a stringer top wall and a stringer bottom wall, each of the stringers having a stringer interior area defined by the stringer side walls and the stringer top and bottom walls, each of the stringers further having at least one stringer reinforcement rib situated in the interior area thereof;
and a plurality of longitudinal spaced apart deck boards in supporting connection with the stringers, each of the deck boards being formed from thermoplastic material, each of the deck boards in cross section having a board upper side and a board lower side connected by spaced board side walls, each of the deck boards further having a board interior area defined by the upper and lower sides and the side walls, each of the deck boards further having at least one board reinforcement rib situated in the interior thereof, at least one of the deck boards having a plurality of ridges on a board upper side and a board lower side. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48)
a) forming the plurality of thermoplastic stringers;
b) forming the plurality of thermoplastic deck boards;
c) attaching the stringers and deck boards in fixed connection without the use of fasteners.
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35. A plastic pallet according to claim 34 wherein in step (a) the stringers are formed by at least one of extrusion, injection molding, compression molding, thermoforming and blow molding.
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36. A plastic pallet according to claim 35, wherein step (b) comprises extruding at least one of the deck boards of a first material, and wherein step (b) further comprises coextruding at least one strip of a second material with one deck board, wherein the second material has lower hardness than the first material.
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37. A plastic pallet according to claim 36, wherein the at least one deck board has an upper board side, and wherein step (b) includes coextruding the strip on the upper board side.
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38. A plastic pallet according to claim 37 wherein the upper board side of the at least one deck board has an upper face, and wherein the strip extends upward beyond the upper face.
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39. A plastic pallet according to claim 36, wherein the at least one deck board has a lower board side, and wherein step (b) includes extruding the strip on the lower board side.
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40. A plastic pallet according to claim 36, wherein the at least one deck board has an upper board side anon lower board side, and wherein step (b) includes coextruding at least one strip on each of the upper board side and the lower board side.
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41. A plastic pallet according to claim 34 wherein in step (b) the deck boards are formed by at least one of extrusion, injection molding, compression molding, thermoforming and blow molding.
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42. A plastic pallet according to claim 34 wherein in step (c) the attaching is accomplished by at least one of adhesion, solvent welding, hot plate welding, microwave welding, ultrasonic welding and laser welding.
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43. A plastic pallet according to claim 34, wherein the deck boards are comprised of a first material, and wherein the method of making further comprises attaching at least one non-slip member comprised of a second material to at least one of the deck boards, wherein the first material is relatively harder than the second material.
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44. A plastic pallet according to claim 43, wherein step (b) includes forming a recess in an upper board side of the at least one deck board, and wherein the attaching step includes extending the non-slip member in the recess.
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45. A plastic pallet according to claim 44, and wherein the attaching step includes adhering the non-slip member to the deck board with an adhesive.
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46. A plastic pallet according to claim 1 wherein the deck boards are comprised of a first material, and wherein at least one of the deck boards includes at least one strip extending thereon, wherein the strip is comprised of a second material, and wherein the first material is harder than the second material.
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47. A plastic pallet according to claim 46 wherein the at least one deck board includes an upper board side bounded by an upper face, and wherein the strip extends upward beyond the upper face.
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48. A plastic pallet according to claim 46 wherein the at least one deck board includes an upper board side bounded by an upper face, and a lower board side bounded by a lower board face, and further comprising at least one upper strip in supporting connection with the upper board side and extending upward beyond the upper face, and at least one lower strip in supporting connection with the lower board side and extending downward below the lower face.
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49. A plastic pallet constructed without mechanical fasteners, comprising:
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a plurality of top deck boards, each of the top deck boards being formed from thermoplastic material, each of the top deck boards in cross section having a board upper side and a board lower side connected by spaced board side walls, each of the top deck boards further having a board interior area defined by the board upper side and the board lower side and the board side walls, a plurality of spaced apart stringers, each of the stringers being formed from thermoplastic material, each of the stringers in cross section having a pair of spaced stringer side walls connected by a stringer top wall and a stringer bottom wall, each of the stringers having a stringer interior area defined by the stringer side walls and the stringer top wall and the stringer bottom wall, a plurality of lower deck boards, each of the lower deck boards being formed from thermoplastic material, each of the lower deck boards in cross section having a board upper side and a board lower side connected by spaced board side walls, each of the lower deck boards further having a board interior area defined by the board upper side and the board lower side and the board side walls, wherein the top deck boards are joined in fixed engagement with the stringer top wall of each of the stringers at a plurality of upper joining locations, and wherein at the upper joining locations the board lower side and the stringer top wall each include ridges thereon;
wherein the lower deck boards are joined in fixed engagement with the stringer bottom wall of each of the stringers at a plurality of lower joining locations, and wherein at the lower joining locations the board upper side and the stringer bottom wall each include ridges thereon;
wherein the ridges facilitate engagement between the top and lower deck boards and the stringers, and wherein the ridges include at least one of either a surface including generally pointed projections, a dimpled surface, a roughened surface, a wave-like shape surface, a surface having high friction coating, a sinusoidal shape surface, and a surface including a co-extruded layer of high friction material.
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Specification