US3216376A - Pallet - Google Patents

Description

Nov. 9, 1965 D. E. ANDERSON ETAL 3,216,376

PALLET Filed Dec. 15, 1961 IN V EN TORS' DONALD E. ANDEQQON BYDONALD E. CHQISTENSEN W W United States Patent 3,216,376 PALLET Donald E. Anderson, Tacoma, Wash, and Donald E.

Christensen, Marshfield, Wis., assignors to Weyerhaeuser Company, Tacoma, Wash, a corporation of Washington Filed Dec. 15, 1961, Ser. No. 159,700 9 Claims. (Ci. Mitt-56) This invention relates to a shipping pallet which may be assembled and disassembled easily so that it will occupy a minimum amount of space when not in use.

The normal practice in present day material handling is to place the material on a lift truck pallet so that a greater quantity of material may be handled at one time, thus reducing the unit material handling cost. Usually these pallets are of wood construction since wood is a material that is economical and has good load-bearing characteristics. To realize maximum economy, the pallets are reused a number of times requiring, in many instances, that a carload of empty pallets be returned to the shipping point. The costs of this return transportation are high because these costs are fixed at the potential weight that can be carried by the car rather than the actual Weight of the pallets.

These return transportation costs may be eliminated by using an expendable pallet. This type of pallet, which is destroyed after a single use, utilizes corrugated board for all, or at least the major portion, of its component parts, and quite often utilizes wooden blocks for the loadbearing members. One of the drawbacks to this type of pallet is its high unit cost caused by its single use. Another drawback is the diificulty of assembling and disassembling the pallet if reuse is attempted.

It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a shipping pallet or" the expendable type which may be reused a number of times.

It is also an object of this invention to provide a shipping pallet which may be assembled and disassembled easily and which will occupy a minimum amount of space when not in use.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a shipping pallet which may be assembled and disassembled easily without the use of additional fastening members.

It is another object of this invention to provide a shipping pallet of the expendable type having reinforcing channel-shaped weight-bearing members.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a shipping pallet having weight-bearing members which may be placed fiat when not in use and may be formed into a channeLshaped configuration in the assembled pallet.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a pallet in which the weight-bearing members are braced by transverse members.

It is also an object of this invention to provide a shipping pallet of the expendable type in which the weightbearing members of the pallet are braced into a channel configuration by transverse members.

It is still another object of this invention to provide a shipping pallet of the expendable type in which the weightbearing members also serve as a guide for the forks on a lift truck.

These and other objects of this invention will become readily apparent upon a reading of the following specification in conjunction with the attached drawings.

FIGURE 1 is a top plan view of a blank for the weightbearing member.

FIGURE 2 is a top plan view of a blank for the corrugated board transverse member.

FIGURE 3 is an isometric view with portions cut away showing the method of assembling the pallet and details of the bracing of the pallet.

FIGURE 4 is an isometric view of the assembled pallet.

The present invention, shown in FIGURE 4, proposes a shipping pallet of the expendable type which may be used a number of times and in which a pair of channelshaped, weight-bearing members 119 are held in a predetermined, spaced relationship by a pair of corrugated boardtransverse members 120. It further proposes a shipping pallet 10th of the expendable type in which the normally fiat weight-bearing members are confined in their channel-shaped configuration by thetransverse members 120. No additional fastening members are needed for the construction of the pallet. Thus, the pallet is constructed so that it may be placed in a flat condition when not in use. Since the disassembled fiat pallet requires only a fraction of the space required by the assembled pallet, its unit cost for storage and return transportation is at a minimum because of its smaller space requirements.

This space requirement difference is demonstrated in FIGURES 1 and 3. FIGURE 1, which shows the blank 1% of weight-bearingmember 110 with its top face extending into the page, may also be considered as a view of weight-bearingmember 110 in its disassembled flat condition. As implied, in thiscondition member 110, having a pair of legs 11 hingedly connected at 12 to anupper wall 13, is fiat, and the legs 11 are in the same plane aswall 13. However, in the assembled pallet, shown in FIGURE 3, member lit is channel shaped with legs 11 being normal towall 13 so thatmember 110 may act as a guide for the fork of a lift truck and legs 11 may support the load on the pallet. Ifmember 110 were to be stored in this latter configuration, the space encompassed by the channel would be wasted and for this reason it is desirable to utilize such space by placingmember 110 in a flat condition when not in use.

In order to flattenmember 110 easily, it is necessary to have a hingedjoint 12. The construction of this joint will depend in great part on the type of material used. The preferred material, and the one illustrated, is a woodpaper laminate having a wood veneer core faced with sheets of kraft paper. However, it is permissible to use other types of core materials and other typs of facing materials. It is also permissible to use a single material having taped hinge joints. It is required that one of the materials used have good load-bearing characteristics. With the preferred wood-paper laminate material, thehinge joints 12 are formed by extending V grooves, normally having sides extending at a 45 angle to the plane of the blank, through the veneer and one of the outer faces, and allowing the other paper face to form the hinge. Thehinge 12 allowsmember 110 to be changed between its flat configuration and its channel-shaped configuration a number of times, so it is desirable that no internal fastening members, such as nails, be used to holdmember 110 in its channel-shaped configuration. Therefore it is preferred that external bracing members he used to retainmember 110 in its channel-shaped configuration within pallet ltlil.

This is one of the functions oftransverse member 120. This member is formed from a blank 20, shown in FIG- URE 2, which is divided byscore lines 21, 22, 23, and 24 into an outer firstend wall section 30, atop wall 40, asecond end wall 50, abottom wall 60, and an inner first end wall section 70. There are a number of flaps formed in the end walls and the top wall to space and brace channel-shaped members 110.

As shown in FIGURE 3,members 110 are inserted into member 121 throughapertures 35 of first end Wall St). The Wall is formed by firstend Wall sections 30 and '70, and its apertures 85 are formed by theinternal bracing elements 73 in end wall section 70 and thebracing flaps 33 and 35 inend wall section 39.

As may be seen in FIGURE 2, theinner bracing flaps 33 ofend wall section 30 are hingedly connected to acentral glue flap 31 alongscore lines 32, and theouter bracing flaps 35 are hinge-dly connected to a pair ofouter glue flaps 37 alongscore lines 36. It is preferred thatbracing flaps 33 and 35 abut each other along slit 34 and abut top wall 4% along a slit in score line 21.

Flaps 33 and 35 extend into the assembledtransverse member 120, FIGURE 3, throughinner slots 72 andouter slots 77 of end wall section '70 to form the side walls of aperture 85. Slots '72 and 7'7, which separate theinternal bracing elements 73 from the central glue flap 71 and theouter glue flaps 78, are as wide as the combined thickness of a flap, 33 or 35, and a leg 11 ofmember 110 so that both a flap and a leg 11 may pass through each slot in the assembled pallet.

During the assembly oftransverse member 120, thecentral glue flaps 71 and 31 are adhered together forming a central section 81, and theouter glue flaps 78 and 37 are adhered together formingouter sections 82 offirst end wall 80 oftransverse member 120. This member may, likemember 110, be placed in flat condition when not in use by placing theflaps 33 and 35 and theelements 73 in the planes of their respective wall sections and flattening thetubular member 120 along eitherscore lines 21 and 23, or 22 and 24.

Theflaps 33 and 35 and theelements 73 have, in addition to their function of providing an aperture in the transverse member 119, an additional function ofbracing members 119 and 120. For this latter purpose, eachinternal bracing element 73 fits snugly within and locks frictionally between legs 11 of a channel-shaped member 116 to space and brace the lower sections of legs 11 in eachmember 110. To facilitate the internal placement and frictional locking ofelement 73 withinchannelshaped member 110, each element '73 is divided into alower section 74 and anupper section 76 by ascore line 75 which is preferably parallel to score line 24. Thus, element '73 may be bent, alongscore lines 24 and 76, inwardly ofmember 110 into the position shown in FIGURE 3. In this position, it is beyond its apex and will not spring back to its original position after frictionally locking against the inner faces of legs 11.

The legs 11 are prevented from rotating outwardly ofmember 110 by the external bracing of central andouter wall sections 81 and 82 and their associatedflaps 33 and 35 which form theaperture 35. This aperture is the size of a channel-shaped member 110, and, therefore, holds themember 110 in its channel-shaped configuration and prevents legs 11 from rotating outwardly. The inner legs 11 of the twomembers 110 are also held in place by top wall flaps 41 and 43. These last-mentioned flaps are formed centrally oftop wall 40, are hingedly connected totop wall 40 along score lines 42 and 44, which are preferably parallel to score lines 21 and 22, and are of a width such that they fit frictionally between the pair ofmembers 110.

The bracing ofmember 110 is in conjunction with the bracing ofmember 120. For this latter purpose, flaps 33 and 35, which fit frictionally between the top and bottom walls, and flaps 41 and 43 serve as spacer elements between top andbottom walls 40 and 60 ofmember 120. To perform this function, flaps 33 and 41 are, in the preferred form, shaped and spaced, so as to form a hexahedronalbox beam member 90. Thus, each slit 34, defining the outer side edge of eachflap 33, slants diagonally so thatflap 33 forms a trapezoid having itsbase edge 38 adjacenttop wall 40; and score line 42 offlap 41 is spaced from score line 21 a distance equal to the length ofbase edge 38. This construction allowsflap 41 to bend inwardly beyond its apex until it abuts the outer side edge offlap 33 and to lock frictionally againstbottom wall 60. The hexahedronalbox beam member 90 thus formed byflaps 33 andflap 41, wall section 81 andwalls 40 and 6t) braces both the top andbottom walls 40 and 4 60 ofmember 120 and the legs of weight-bearingmembers 110.

Members are also braced internally byflaps 53 and 55 inend wall 50.Flaps 53, which are hinged to acentral wall section 51 along score line 52, and flaps 55, which are hinged to theouter wall sections 57 alongscore lines 56, extend internally ofmember 110 in the finished pallet, and lock frictionally against the inner faces ofbottom wall 60 andupper wall 13. Since these flaps extend internally rather than externally of members 11!),score lines 52 and 56 are aligned with the inner faces of legs 11. The ends of legs 11 are braced internally by fiaps 53 and 55 and externally by flap 4-3.

As may be seen,members 110 are completely braced into their channel shaped by members in the assembled pallet, and are not braced when removed from the pallet so that they may be fiat when stored. This change between the channel shape and the flat shape ofmember 110 may be accomplished a number of times because the hinge joints 12 are not nailed or otherwise fixed in place.

While specific details of a preferred embodiment has been set forth above, it will be apparent that many changes and modifications may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention. It will therefore be understood that what has been described herein is intended to be illustrative only, and is not intended to limit the scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. A pallet comprising a pair of channel-shaped weight-bearing members having downwardly extending legs hingedly connected and substantially perpendicular to an upper wall,

a transverse member extending over said weight-bearing members, spacing said weight-bearing members and preventing inward and outward rotation of said legs with respect to said upper wall,

said transverse member comprising top and bottom walls having end walls extending therebetween,

said weight-bearing members extending through apertures in an end wall of said transverse member,

said transverse member having a panel extending inwardly of said weight-bearing member preventing inward rotation of said legs.

2. A pallet comprising a pair of channel-shaped weight-bearing members having downwardly extending legs hingedly connected to an upper wall,

a transverse member extending over said weight-bearing members, spacing said Weight-bearing members and preventing inward and outward rotation of said legs with respect to said upper wall,

said transverse member comprising top and bottom walls having end walls extending therebetween,

said weight-bearing members extending through apertures in end wall of said transverse member,

and a flap hingedly connected to said top wall extending between said Weight-bearing members.

3. The pallet of claim 2 in which a pair of trapezoidal flaps are hingedly connected to said end wall adjacent to the inner edges of said apertures and extend into said transverse member,

each of said trapezoidal flaps having its base adjacent said top wall.

4. The pallet of claim 3 in which said bases extend to r the hinged connection of one of said top wall flaps.

5. A pallet comprising a pair of channel-shaped weight-bearing members having downwardly extending legs hingedly connected and substantially perpendicular to an upper wall,

a pair of transverse members extending over opposite ends of said weight-bearing members, spacing said weight-bearing members and preventing inward and outward rotation of said legs with respect to said upper wall,

5 said transverse member comprising top and bottom walls having inner and outer walls extending therebetween, said weight-bearing members extending through apertures in the inner end walls of said transverse members,

and said transverse member having a panel extending between the legs of each of said Weight-bearing members to prevent inward rotation of said legs.

6. The pallet of claim 5 in which each transverse member has trapezoidal flaps hingedly connected to said inner end walls adjacent the inner edge of said apertures and extending inwardly of said transverse members,

and a flap hingedly connected to said top wall extending inwardly of said transverse member and abutting the inner edges of the trapezoidal flaps.

7. The pallet of claim 6 in which each transverse member has pairs of flaps hingedly connected to said outer end wall and extending inwardly of said weight-bearing members between said bottom wall and said upper wall.

8. The pallet of claim 1 in which said panel is bisectional.

9. The pallet of claim 5 in which said panel is bisectional.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,958,494 11/60 Lovegreen 248-120 3,000,603 9/61 Hermann 10856 3,012,747 12/61 Greene 248l20 15 FRANK B. SHERRY, Primary Examiner.

FRANK L. ABBOTT, Examiner.

Claims (1)

1. A PALLET COMPRISING A PAIR OF CHANNEL-SHAPED WEIGHT-BEARING MEMBERS HAVING DOWNWARDLY EXTENDING LEGS HINGEDLY CONNECTED AND SUBSTANTIALLY PERPENDICULAR TO AN UPPER WALL, A TRANSVERSE MEMBER EXTENDING OVER SAID WEIGHT-BEARING MEMBERS, SPACING SAID WEIGHT-BEARING MEMBERS AND PREVENTING INWARD AND OUTWARD ROTATION OF SAID LEGS WITH RESPECT TO SAID UPPER WALL, SAID TRANSVERSE MEMBER COMPRISING TOP AND BOTTOM WALLS HAVING END WALLS EXTENDING THEREBETWEEN, SAID WEIGHT-BEARING MEMBERS EXTENDING THROUGH APERTURES IN AN END WALL SAID TRANSVERSE MEMBER, SAID TRANSVERSE MEMBER HAVING A PANEL EXTENDING INWARDLY OF SAID WEIGHT-BEARING MEMBER PREVENTING INWARD ROTATION OF SAID LEGS.

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