Patent Publication Number: US-2020283193-A1

Title: Method for forming a pallet with plastic coated support blocks

Description:
RELATED APPLICATION 
     This application claims the benefit of provisional application Ser. No. 62/814,350 filed Mar. 6, 2019, which is hereby incorporated herein in its entirety by reference. 
    
    
     TECHNICAL FIELD 
     The present disclosure relates to the field of pallets, and more particularly, to a method for forming a wooden pallet. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Pallets are customarily used to transport and store goods. A pallet typically includes a top deck and a bottom deck separated by support blocks. Pallets are used to serve several purposes which include the loading of equipment, and the stacking of items for transportation and storage. A pallet needs to maintain durability to serve the particular purpose for which it is being used. 
     SUMMARY 
     A method for making a pallet includes forming a base layer, forming a cargo layer, and forming wooden support blocks. The method further includes coating the wooden support blocks with a plastic layer to form plastic coated wooden support blocks. The base and cargo layers are coupled to the plastic coated wooden support blocks, with a gap being formed therebetween for receiving a lifting member. 
     Each wooden support block includes upper and lower surfaces with a pair of spaced apart sides extending therebetween. The plastic layer is on the pair of spaced apart sides but not on the upper and lower surfaces. 
     The coating may include adding a coloring material to the plastic layer so that each plastic coated wooden support block has a desired color. 
     The coating may include adding indicia to the plastic layer so that each plastic coated wooden support block displays the indicia. The indicia may be configured as a logo, for example. 
     The coating may include a spray coating. The plastic layer may include a polyurea layer. The plastic layer may have a thickness within a range of 20-90 mils. 
     The base and cargo layers may be formed as wooden base and cargo layers, with exposed wooden surfaces thereof not being coated with the plastic layer. 
     The cargo layer may be formed to include a pair of spaced apart connector boards, and a pair of spaced apart end deck boards on the pair of connector boards. The end deck boards may be orthogonal to the pair of connector boards. The cargo layer may further include a pair of spaced apart intermediate deck boards on the pair of connector boards, with each intermediate deck board being orthogonal to the pair of connector boards and butted against a respective end deck board. 
     Another aspect is directed to a pallet that includes a base layer, a cargo layer and plastic coated wooden support blocks coupled between the base and cargo layers, with a gap being formed therebetween for receiving a lifting member. Each plastic coated wooden support block includes a plastic layer on exposed sides thereof. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a top perspective view of a wooden pallet with plastic coated support blocks in accordance with the disclosure. 
         FIG. 2  is a bottom perspective view of the wooden pallet shown in  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 3  is a top view of the wooden pallet shown in  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 4  is a bottom view of the wooden pallet shown in  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 5  is an end view of the wooden pallet shown in  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 6  is a side view of the wooden pallet shown in  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 7  is a top perspective view of one of the plastic coated support blocks illustrated in  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 8  is a top view of one of the plastic coated support blocks illustrated in  FIG. 7 . 
         FIG. 9  is a flowchart illustrating a method for forming the wooden pallet illustrated in  FIG. 1 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     The present description is made with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which exemplary embodiments are shown. However, many different embodiments may be used, and thus the description should not be construed as limited to the particular embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete. Like numbers refer to like elements throughout. 
     Referring initially to  FIGS. 1-8 , the illustrated wooden pallet  10  includes a base layer  20 , a cargo layer  30 , and a plurality of plastic coated wooden support blocks  40 ,  46  coupled between the base and cargo layers. The plastic coated support blocks  40 ,  46  form a gap  50  between the base and cargo layers  20 ,  30  for receiving a lifting member, such as fork lift tines. 
     The plastic coated support blocks  40 ,  46  have a wooden core  43  with exposed sides thereof being coated with a plastic layer  45 , as illustrated in  FIGS. 7 and 8 . The wooden core  43  may be generally referred to as a wooden support block. The wooden core  43  includes upper and lower surfaces with a pair of spaced apart sides extending therebetween, and the plastic layer  45  is on the pair of spaced apart sides but not on the upper and lower surfaces. 
     The plastic layer  45  offers a number of advantages. One advantage is that the plastic layer  45  increases durability over exposed wooden support blocks. This is particularly helpful to better withstand impacts from fork lift tines. The plastic layer  45  adds toughness to the wooden core  43  which helps to extend the life of the support blocks. 
     Another advantage of plastic coated support blocks  40 ,  46  is that the plastic layer  45  may have a desired color. A coloring material, for example, may be added when the plastic layer  45  is formed so as to provide the desired color. Colored support blocks may be used to identify the manufacturer or owner of the pallet  10 . This avoids having to paint the support blocks  40 ,  46  to provide the desired color. 
     Yet another advantage of plastic coated support blocks  40 ,  46  is that the plastic layer  45  can have indicia incorporated therein. Indicia could include logos, for example. This avoids having to use stencils to paint indicia onto the support blocks  40 ,  46 . 
     Referring now to the flowchart  100  illustrated in  FIG. 9 , a method for forming the wooden pallet  10  will be discussed. From the start (Block  102 ), the method includes forming a base layer  20  at Block  104 , and forming a cargo layer  30  at Block  106 . Wooden support blocks  43  are formed at Block  108 , and then the wooden support blocks  43  are coated with a plastic layer  45  at Block  110  to form the plastic coated wooden support blocks  40 ,  46 . The base and cargo layers  20 ,  30  are coupled to the plastic support blocks  40 ,  46  at Block  112 . The method ends at Block  114 . 
     Each wooden support block  43  includes upper and lower surfaces with a pair of spaced apart sides extending therebetween, and the plastic layer  45  is on the pair of spaced apart sides but not on the upper and lower surfaces. The plastic coated wooden support blocks  40 ,  46  are formed before being coupled to the base and cargo layers  20 ,  30 . The base and cargo layers  20 ,  30  are formed as wooden base and cargo layers, with exposed wooden surfaces thereof not being coated with a plastic layer. 
     Referring now to  FIGS. 7 and 8 , the plastic layer  45  on one of the plastic coated support blocks  40  will be discussed in greater detail. As discussed above, the plastic layer  45  surrounds the wood core  43 . The plastic layer  45 , as illustrated, is on all four sides of the support black  40  but not on the upper and lower surfaces of the support block  40 . However, in other embodiments, the plastic layer  45  may be on one, two or three sides of the wood core  43  instead of all four sides. 
     In the illustrated pallet  10 , all of the wood cores  43  have a plastic layer  45 . However, this may not be the case for all embodiments. For instance, the centermost support block may not be coated with a plastic layer  45 . 
     The plastic layer  45  may be applied via spray or other means to the sides of the wood core  43 . The plastic layer  45  may be applied via a two part A &amp; B spray system. Material is sprayed at high pressure and held at elevated temperatures to induce a catalyst action/chain extending, as readily appreciated by those skilled in the art. 
     A thickness of the resulting plastic layer  45  is within a range of 20-90 mils. In other embodiments, the thickness may be less than 20 mils, or greater than 90 mils. The pre-polymers, or quasi-polymers in the material can vary based on the desired properties of the material. Below is an example of a polyurea layer or structure. 
     
       
         
         
             
             
         
       
     
     In other embodiments, the polyurea may be replaced with a hybrid urea/urethane component or a polyurethane system. The above coating is not to be limiting, where other coating formulations may be used as readily appreciated skilled in the art. 
     Referring back to  FIGS. 1-6 , the following is a discussion of the illustrated pallet  10  in greater detail. The illustrated pallet is provided for discussion purposes. The features of the illustrated pallet  10  are not to be limiting. The concept of wooden support blocks  43  coated with a plastic layer  45  is applicable to pallets in general and is not limited to the illustrated pallet  10 . 
     The cargo layer  30  includes a pair of spaced apart wooden end deck boards  32 , and a pair of wooden intermediate deck boards  34  between the end deck boards. In this embodiment, each end deck board  32  and an immediately adjacent intermediate deck board  34  are butted against one another. Pallet durability is significantly improved by having the end deck boards  32  butt up against the immediately adjacent intermediate deck boards  34 . 
     Also included within the cargo layer  30  are a pair of spaced apart wooden connector boards  36  and a wooden intermediate connector board  37 . The connector boards  36  and the intermediate connector boards  37  are orthogonal to the end deck boards  32  and the intermediate deck boards  34 . The end deck boards  32  and the intermediate deck boards  34  are positioned on the connector boards  36 . 
     The base layer  20  includes bottom deck boards  22 ,  26  orientated in the same direction as the end deck boards  32  and the intermediate deck boards  34  in the cargo layer  30 . The bottom deck boards  22 ,  26  are directly coupled to the plastic coated support blocks  40 ,  46 . 
     The plastic coated support blocks include corner plastic coated support blocks  40  and center plastic coated support blocks  46  between the corner plastic coated support blocks  40 . The corner plastic coated support blocks  40  and the center plastic coated support blocks  46  each have a rectangular shape, and the center plastic coated support blocks  46  are orthogonal to the corner plastic coated support blocks  40 . 
     A rectangular shape has unequal adjacent sides so that a length and width of a rectangular shaped corner plastic coated support block  40  are not equal as in a square shaped corner plastic coated support block  40 . More particularly, the bottom deck boards include a pair of bottom end deck boards  22 , and a bottom center deck board  26  between the pair of bottom end deck boards  22 . A width of the bottom center deck board  26  is greater than a width of the bottom end deck boards  22 . The center plastic coated support blocks  46  are orthogonal to the corner plastic coated support blocks  40  so that the center plastic coated support blocks  46  extend across the width of the bottom center deck board  26 . 
     In other embodiments, the corner plastic coated support blocks  40  and the center plastic coated support blocks  46  may have a square or circular shape. When the plastic coated support blocks  40 ,  46  are the same size, then a width of the bottom center deck board  26  is equal to a width of the bottom end deck boards  22 . 
     In the illustrated wooden pallet  10 , a size of each end deck board  32  and a corresponding intermediate deck board  34  butted thereagainst have the same dimensions. For example, a width of the end deck board  32  and the intermediate deck board  34  butted thereagainst may be 145 mm, for example. In another example, the width may be 78 mm. 
     In other embodiments, the size of each end deck board  32  and a corresponding intermediate deck board  34  have different dimensions. For example, the width of the end deck board  32  may be 78 mm and the width of the corresponding intermediate deck board  34  may be 98 mm. 
     Traditionally, the intermediate deck boards in wooden pallets have a width that is less than a width of the end deck boards. In addition, traditionally there is a gap between the end deck boards and the adjacent intermediate deck boards. In the illustrated wooden pallet  10 , pallet durability is significantly improved when there is no gap between the end deck boards  32  and the immediately adjacent intermediate deck boards  34 , particularly with the end deck boards  32  and the immediately adjacent intermediate deck boards  34  having a same width. 
     The cargo layer  30  also includes at least one additional intermediate deck board  35  positioned between the intermediate deck boards  34  that are butted against the end deck boards  32 . This additional intermediate deck board  35  is positioned so that there is a gap between the adjacent intermediate deck boards  34 . The dimensions of the end deck boards  32  and the intermediate deck boards  34  as well as additional intermediate deck boards  35  positioned between the intermediate deck boards  34  are selected and spaced such that coverage of the cargo layer  30  is within a range of 70-85 percent of a maximum total surface area of the cargo layer  30  when there are no gaps between the boards. 
     A width of the intermediate deck board  35  may be the same as a width of the intermediate deck boards  34  butted against the end deck boards  32 . Alternatively, in other embodiments, this intermediate deck board  35  may have a different width. 
     As noted above, the illustrated wooden pallet  10  also includes center plastic coated support blocks  46  between the corner plastic coated support blocks  40 . When the plastic coated support blocks  40 ,  46  are rectangular shaped, the center plastic coated support blocks  46  may be positioned in a different orientation to the corner support blocks  40 . In other words, the center plastic coated support blocks  46  may be at a 90 degree angle to the corner plastic coated support blocks  40 . In other embodiments, orientation of the center plastic coated support blocks  46  is the same as orientation of the corner plastic coated support blocks  40 . 
     Another feature of the illustrated wooden pallet  10  is the edges of each plastic coated support block  40  are angled or chamfered. The angled edges  42  may be within a range of about 25 to 75 degrees, for example, to deflect the impact force of the forklift tines should such an impact occur. The illustrated edges are angled at 45 degrees. 
     When the edges  42  of each plastic coated support block  40  are angled, the corresponding outermost edges  38  of the end deck boards  32  are angled to match the angled edges  42  in the support blocks  40 . The corresponding outermost edges  39  of the connector boards  36  in the cargo layer  30  are angled to also match the angled edges  42  in the plastic coated support blocks  40 . The corresponding outermost edges  28  of the deck boards  22  in the base layer  20  are also angled to match the angled edges  42  in the plastic coated support blocks  40 . 
     Many modifications and other embodiments will come to the mind of one skilled in the art having the benefit of the teachings presented in the foregoing descriptions and the associated drawings. Therefore, it is understood that the disclosure is not to be limited to the specific embodiments disclosed, and that modifications and embodiments are intended to be included within the scope of the appended claims.