Corrugated construction pallet assembly and method for manufacturing such an assembly

Abstract: A disposable pallet assembly includes cylindrical reinforcing pieces (20) which are engaged with the stringer members (10) along bottom side portions thereof.

Description: Technical Field of the Invention This invention pertains generally to pallets and particularly to an improved pallet assembly made predominantly of corrugated paper and with a plurality of reinforced stringers, as defined in the preamble of claim 1. Background of the Invention Disposable pallets made of corrugated paper are known in the art and have been commercially available for a number of years. Such pallets are disclosed, for example, in United States Patents No. 2,728,545, issued to Hermitage on December 27, 1955; No. 3,683,822, issued to Roberts et al. on August 15, 1972; and No. 4,831,938, issued to Atterby et al. on May 23, 1989. Schmidtke United States Patent No. 4,792,325, issued on December 20, 1988, provides a method and machine for making a cardboard pallet. A particularly desirable form of corrugated construction pallet, and a method for manufacturing the same, are disclosed in Quasnick United States Patent No. 4,867,074, issued September 19, 1989. To be satisfactory for their intended purposes, it is of course necessary that any such pallet exhibit an advantageous strength-to-weight ratio, and also that it be capable of withstanding considerable abuse, particularly under conditions that would typically be encountered during commercial shipment of a load thereupon. While prior art structures of this kind have been found to be generally satisfactory, one area of notable deficiency has resided in the levels of lateral stability that they afford; specifically, the load carried by a pallet tends to shift in transit, or at least to impose forces thereupon that are of varying magnitude and direction. Pallets that do not offer adequate lateral stability will tend to fail, with the likelihood thereof depending of course upon the mass of the load, the conditions to which it is subjected in transit, time factors, etc. The above-identified Quasnick patent substantially advances the art in these regards, but it goes without saying that the realization of still further improvements would be highly desirable. Summary of the Invention According to this invention, a pallet assembly comprises a plurality of stringer members fabricated from web material, and a multiplicity of elongated decking members traversing the stringer members and assembled therewith adjacent the top side of said pallet assembly. The present invention is characterized in that at least one of said stringer members has indentations extending upwardly thereinto and transversely therethrough defining a neck portion at the bottom side thereof, and said assembly includes at least one hollow, tubular reinforcing piece inserted upwardly into said indentations of said one of said stringer members with said neck portion thereof extending downwardly thereinto, said reinforcing piece and said one of said stringer members being securely and tightly interengaged with one another; opposite sidewall portions of each of said reinforcing pieces are axially and transversely slotted, and portions of said associated stringer member disposed upwardly of said neck portion are engaged within the slots of said sidewall portions. The reinforcing pieces will most advantageously be cylindrical, and the stringer members and reinforcing pieces will all have bottom surfaces that are disposed on a common plane, or at least substantially so. Generally, the stringer members and the reinforcing pieces will be frictionally interengaged, with the pallet assembly being devoid of adhesives and mechanical fasteners securing those components together. The plies of web material of which the stringer members are comprised will normally be oriented substantially parallel to the axis of the associated reinforcing piece. Both the stringer members and also the decking members will usually be of one-piece, corrugated paper construction, and most desirably the reinforcing pieces will be made of paper as well. Tightly wound paper tubing, such as that used for cores for paper rolls, is a suitable material for such pieces. A method for manufacturing a reinforced pallet assembly, including the steps of fabricating a plurality of elongated stringer members having multiple plies of web material, fabricating a multiplicity of elongated decking members, and assembling said members in such manner that said decking members traverse said stringer members adjacent the top side of said pallet assembly, is characterized by the additional steps of forming upwardly and transversely extending indentations in each of a plurality of said stringer members to define a neck portion at the bottom side thereof, inserting a hollow tubular reinforcing piece upwardly into said indentations of an associated one of said stringer members with said neck portion thereof extending downwardly thereinto, so as to effect secure and tight interengagement therebetween and axially and transversely slotting opposite sidewall portions of each of said reinforcing pieces so as to effect engagement, within the slots formed, of portions of said associated stringer members disposed upwardly of said neck portion thereof. Most desirably, interengagement between the components will be effected by frictional means alone. Brief Description of the Drawings Figure 1 is an exploded perspective view of a pallet assembly embodying the present invention. Figure 2 is an elevational view of a cylindrical reinforcing piece utilized in the assembly of Figure 1, drawn to an enlarged scale; Figure 3 is a plan view of the reinforcing piece of Figure 2; Figure 4 is a fragmentary side elevational view of the pallet assembly of Figure 1, shown in partial section and drawn to the scale of Figures 2 and 3; Figure 5 is a fragmentary bottom view of the pallet assembly; and Figure 6 is a vertical sectional view of the assembly, taken along lines 6-6 of Figure 4. Detailed Description of the Illustrated Embodiment Turning now in detail to the appended drawings, therein illustrated is a pallet assembly embodying the present invention and consisting of three stringer members, generally designated by the numeral 10, and four transversely extending decking members 12, assembled therewith. As can best be seen from Figures 4-6, the stringer and decking members are fabricated from single pieces of multiple-ply web material (e.g., 125 kg (275 pound), C-flute corrugated paper) folded to provide elongated structures of generally trapezoidal cross-section, symmetrical about their vertical, longitudinal center lines. These components are similar to those that are described more fully in the above-identified Quasnick Patent No. 4,867,074, albeit that (as substantiated by the illustrated embodiment hereof) the improved stringer construction described therein need not necessarily be employed in the instant assembly. As can be seen, each stringer member 10 is formed with four transverse passages 16 at a level proximate the top side of the pallet assembly, to accommodate and tightly engage the decking members 12. Tubular reinforcing pieces, generally designated by the numeral 20, are assembled with the stringer members 10. Tightly wound paper tubing, such as that used for cores for paper rolls, is a suitable material for the pieces 20. Another dense, rigid and strong material may be alternatively used. Each piece 20 consists of a cylindrical sidewall 22, which defines an axis, and opposite portions of which are slotted axially and transversely, as at 24. The bottom side portion of each stringer member 10 is correspondingly indented inwardly and transversely, as at 26, creating a short neck portion 28 therebetween. The reinforcing piece 20 is assembled with the associated stringer member 10 by inserting the neck portion 28 into the bore 30 thereof, ultimately bringing the corresponding shoulder surface 11 and 21 thereon into abutment to thereby firmly seat the reinforcing piece upon the stringer member. It will be noted that in the fully inserted condition the bottom surfaces 32 and 34 of the stringer members and reinforcing pieces, respectively, are disposed on a common, normally horizontal plane. It will also be noted that the reinforcing pieces 20 are held tightly and securely in place merely by frictional force, without use of any adhesive or fastener, albeit that such supplemental means, or mechanically interlocking elements, may be employed if so desired. Although the preferred form of stringer members, decking members and reinforcing pieces are illustrated, it will be appreciated that each such component may take any of a variety of different configurations and constructions. For example, virtually any of the structures described in the above-identified prior art patents may be employed in the practices hereof. It is important, however, that sidewall elements of the reinforcing pieces extend along the outer surfaces of the stringer members with which they are associated; they provide lateral support and assistance in maintaining the integrity of the stringer member, thus contributing significantly to the ability of the assembly to withstand lateral forces and shifting load conditions, and thereby helping to minimize damage and the likelihood of premature failure of the pallet. It will be appreciated that the pallet assembly shown in Figure 1 is merely exemplary, and that in many instances a greater (or perhaps lesser) number of stringer members and decking members will be employed, depending primarily upon load factors and the surface area that is to be presented on the top side of the pallet. For example, the assembly may utilize ten decking members and three stringer members, to provide a supporting surface area measuring 121.92 x 101.60 cm (48 x 40 inches), as is conventional. Furthermore, the number and arrangement of reinforcing pieces may vary from that illustrated, and typically three, six or nine of them will be employed. Needless to say, each stringer member may carry more than a single reinforcing piece, such as, for example, by providing one closer to each opposite end rather than in a centralized location, as illustrated. Also, it is possible to omit such reinforcing pieces from selected stringer members, such as the middle stringer member of the illustrated pallet. Finally, although paper will normally constitute the preferred material of construction of all components of the assembly, to afford optimal recycle characteristics and other benefits, plastic and other materials may be substituted in appropriate circumstances. Thus, it can be seen that the present invention provides a novel disposable pallet assembly, made (except for the reinforcing pieces) of corrugated paper or like material, which exhibits an advantageous strength-to-weight ratio coupled with a high degree of lateral stability and resistance to collapse under shifting load conditions. The invention also provides a novel method for producing such a pallet assembly (usually corrugated for the stringer and decking members, and of a dense, rigid and strong form for the reinforcing pieces), and the method and assembly hereof are highly advantageous from the standpoints of simplicity, cost and production facility.

Claims: A pallet assembly comprising a plurality of stringer members (10) fabricated from web material, and a multiplicity of elongated decking members (12) traversing said stringer members (10) and assembled therewith adjacent the top side of said pallet; characterized in that at least one of said stringer members (10) has indentations (26) extending upwardly thereinto and transversely therethrough defining a neck portion (28) at the bottom side thereof, and said assembly includes at least one hollow, tubular reinforcing piece (20) inserted upwardly into said indentations (26) of said one of said stringer members (10) with said neck portion (28) thereof extending downwardly thereinto, said reinforcing piece (20) and said one of said stringer members (10) being securely and tightly interengaged with one another; opposite sidewall portions of each of said reinforcing pieces (20) are axially and transversely slotted, and portions of said associated stringer member (10) disposed upwardly of said neck portion (28) are engaged within the slots (24) of said sidewall portions. The assembly of claim 1 characterized in that each of a plurality of said stringer members (10) has said indentations (26), and said assembly includes a plurality of said reinforcing pieces (20), each of said reinforcing pieces (20) being inserted similarly into said indentations (26) of an associated one of said stringer members (10). The assembly of claim 1 characterized in that said reinforcing pieces (20) are cylindrical. The assembly of claim 2 characterized in that said stringer members (10) have bottom surfaces (32) disposed substantially on a common plane, and said reinforcing pieces (20) also have bottom surfaces (34) disposed substantially on said plane. The assembly of claim 2 characterized in that said stringer members (10) and said reinforcing pieces (20) are frictionally interengaged, said pallet being devoid of adhesives and fasteners securing said pieces (20) to said stringer members (10). The assembly of claim 1 characterized in that each of said stringer members (10) is fabricated from a single piece of corrugated material. The assembly of claim 6 characterized in that each of said decking members (12) is fabricated from a single piece of corrugated material. The assembly of claim 6 characterized in that each of said stringer members (10) and said reinforcing pieces (20) is made of paper material. The assembly of claim 1 characterized in that said stringer members (10) are of downwardly tapered cross section, and said slots (24) in said reinforcing pieces (20) are of inwardly tapered configuration to mate therewith. A method for manufacturing a reinforced pallet assembly, including the steps of fabricating a plurality of elongated stringer members (10) having multiple plies of web material, fabricating a multiplicity of elongated decking members (12), and assembling said members (10, 12) in such manner that said decking members (12) traverse said stringer members (10) adjacent the top side of said pallet assembly, characterized by the additional steps of forming upwardly and transversely extending indentations (26) in each of a plurality of said stringer members (10) to define a neck portion (28) at the bottom side thereof, inserting a hollow tubular reinforcing piece (20) upwardly into said indentations (26) of an associated one of said stringer members (10) with said neck portion (28) thereof extending downwardly thereinto, so as to effect secure and tight interengagement therebetween and axially and transversely slotting opposite sidewall portions (22) of each of said reinforcing pieces (20) so as to effect engagement, within the slots (24) formed, of portions of said associated stringer members (10) disposed upwardly of said neck portion thereof. The method of claim 10 characterized in that said pallet assembly is devoid of adhesives and fasteners securing said reinforcing pieces (20) to said stringer members (10), assembly thereof being effected solely by frictional interengagement.

Inventors: SMITH DANIEL ACHIEL, SMITH, DANIEL ACHIEL
Applicants: GATE PALLET SYSTEMS INC, GATE PALLET SYSTEMS, INC.
Application year: 1991
Main classification: B65D19
IPC codes: B65D19