Patent Publication Number: US-2009223421-A1

Title: Shipping pallet

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S) 
     This application is a continuation-in-part of the Shipping Pallet application filed Mar. 5, 2008, having Ser. No. 12/074,634. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND 
     The present invention relates to shipping pallets. More particularly the present invention relates to pallets that are inexpensive to make, easy to store, and strong enough to support conventional loads. 
     Pallets have been used for many years as supports for a wide variety of goods. Pre-packaged in separate small units and secured atop individual pallets, goods can then be lifted and moved around with the use of fork lift trucks. Traditionally, pallets have been made entirely of wood, but such combinations are not only expensive to construct but also bulky to store and difficult to recycle. There is a need for low cost, easy to store and recyclable pallets. Pallets which can be easily fabricated in a wide range of custom sizes are also highly desirable. 
     Corrugated paper dates to the mid-19th century and corrugated paper for shipping pallets dates to the early 1970&#39;s in Japan. Most are based upon multiplying folded corrugated sheets to approximate the wooden stringers of conventional pallets. 
     Corrugated pallets have many advantages. Unlike wooden, plastic, or metal pallets, corrugated can be recycled at the recipient&#39;s location as paper/card board and does not have to be returned for reuse. Even so called “pallet pools” ship a lot of air. 
     There exists a need for simple corrugated pallet designs which are strong but do not require expensive multiple-step die cutting and folding steps, do not require excessive adhesive to assemble and which can be assembled at the user&#39;s site by minimally skilled laborers. 
     SUMMARY 
     The present invention is a pallet device used for shipping objects like boxes and packages. The pallet device is formed from a cardboard pallet top having a front, a back and two sides. Cardboard sheets form at least two support beams and are positioned at each side of the pallet top. The support beams are preferably fastened to the underside of the sheet. 
     A pair of third cardboard sheets are formed into a “V” shape beam. The “V” shape beams are sized to fit inside the support beams to provide additional support. Maximum strength is obtained when the ends of the “V” shape sheet engage inner comers of the beam and the bend in the “V” contacts an inner surface of the beam. 
     The first sheet and pair of second sheets are preferably formed from two ply cardboard. The beams are fastened by any suitable fastening means. Staples are preferred. The support beams may optionally be formed by folding the sides of the first sheet into box shaped beams. Score lines may be used to assist in making the folds. 
     More than one such pallet can be used in combination and they can be fastened together. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of the present invention shown carrying a load. 
         FIG. 2  is a perspective view of the present invention prior to assembly. 
         FIG. 3  is a perspective view showing the assembly of the parts of the present invention. 
         FIG. 4  is a perspective view showing an alternative embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 5  is a perspective view showing the assembly of the parts of the embodiment shown in  FIG. 4 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     As shown in the figures, a pallet device,  10  generally, is designed to carry a load, such as box  11 . It is intended that any products or objects carried by conventional pallets can be used with the present invention. It is intended that the pallet device accommodate the use of fork lifts and other means for lifting, moving and storing pallets having product thereon. 
     Pallet  10  includes a top  19  that has a front, a back, and two sides, shown in  FIG. 2  without the load  11  thereon. There are also at least two support beams  15  extending from the front to the back of top  19  and are placed proximate each of the two sides. Also provided are at least two “V” shaped beams  17  and are sized to fit inside each one of the support beams  15  such that the ends of the “V” shaped beams  17  engage the inner corners of support beam  15  and the bend in the “V” contacts an inner surface of support beam  15 . 
     The cardboard of this invention can be any conventional cardboard material, though two ply cardboard is preferred. In a preferred embodiment, the sheets are formed from corrugated cardboard such as 275# corrugated cardboard stock. Top sheet  19  can be any practical dimension. It is common to form pallets that are 48 inches deep and 40 inches wide. With that dimension, the support beams  15  will be the same length as the top sheet  19  and will be approximately 3.5 inches high and 3.625 inches wide, though any practical dimension can be used. The “V” shaped beams  17  are also the same length as top sheet  19  and support beam  15 , and will be wide enough to engage two comers and the opposite inner surface of support beam  15 , as shown in  FIG. 2  and elsewhere. With the above dimensions for the support beam  15 , the “V” shaped beam  17  will be 7.375 inches wide, folded in half as shown. 
     Also shown in  FIG. 3  is a preferred form of support beam  17  where the two support beams  15  are formed from one sheet, such that each end of the one sheet is formed into a support beam  15  that is spaced by the middle portion  13 , as seen in  FIG. 3 . The top or middle portion  13  forms the top  15   d  of beam  15 , with the other three sides of beam  15  being folded. With the dimensions described above, the second sheet is folded on both sides such that the first fold is 3.5 inches, the width of the beam is 3.4375 inches, the outside of the beam is 3.625 inches to accommodate the thickness of the sheet, and the top portion  13  is 19.875 inches. 
     In one embodiment, pre-set folds  15   a ,  15   b  and  15   c  can be cut into the surface of the sheet  13  to assist in aligning the formation of boxes  15 . Staples or other fastening means are used to hold the boxes  15  in position. 
       FIG. 4  illustrates the use of two sets of support beams side by side. This arrangement provides four support beams  15  and a shorter span for each pallet top  19 . Beams  15  are spaced such that a fork lift truck can engage the two pallets. When a load  11  is on the pallets, its weight adds stability to the pair of pallets. They may alternatively be fastened together by conventional means, such as by straps, staples and the like. 
       FIGS. 4 and 5  illustrates an additional embodiment in which filler beams  41  are formed, preferably also from cardboard, and are sized to fit inside the “V” shaped beams  17  as shown in  FIG. 4 .  FIG. 5  illustrates the components of this embodiment prior to assembly. 
     In production, pre-folds on the cardboard components are made and the pre-formed pallets are shipped or delivered to the user. They can then be easily assembled by dock workers or other personnel at the site where the objects are to be loaded. Because the pallets are made from cardboard, they can be recycled, thus eliminating any expense in returning them, or they can be dis-assembled for shipping as flat cardboard if it is deemed necessary to reuse them. Thus considerable economic savings are achieved with the present invention, both in material and shipping costs as well as environmental savings using recyclable materials. 
     Although the present invention has been described with reference to preferred embodiments, workers skilled in the art will recognize that changes may be made in form and detail without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.