Patent Publication Number: US-8113129-B1

Title: Pallet system

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     The present application claims filing benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/088,434 having a filing date of Aug. 13, 2009, entitled “PALLET SYSTEM,” which is incorporated herein in its entirety. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND 
     Pallets, also referred to as skids, carriers, and base pads, have been utilized to store and transport goods for many years. Traditionally, pallets were formed of steel or lumber cut from any of a variety of trees. More recently, less expensive materials have been introduced for formation of pallets including plastics, wood-based composites (e.g., plywood, particle board, etc.), and corrugated paperboard. 
     There are problems with existing systems. For instance, pallets constructed of steel, wood and wood by-products are ecologically wasteful, heavy, and expensive. Plastic pallet systems are also ecologically wasteful, in that they utilize non-renewable resources. In addition, plastic pallets are often quite heavy and present disposal problems, as they are generally not formed of recyclable materials. 
     Existing corrugated paperboard pallet systems provide some beneficial characteristics, in that they are generally much lighter than systems formed of other materials, and they are less expensive than other systems, but problems still exist. For instance, most corrugated paperboard pallet systems require some form of attachment material, usually adhesives, to be constructed. Attachment materials can have detrimental effects on recyclability of the pallet as well as increase formation costs. In addition, corrugated paperboard pallets tend to have much lower limits with regard to compressive force able to be withstood. For example, corrugated paperboard pallets can typically withstand compressive forces of approximately 3000 pounds of static compression. 
     What are needed in the art are improved pallet systems, and in particular, those formed of corrugated paperboard. More specifically, what are needed are pallet systems that can be formed entirely of recyclable materials, can be completely assembled quickly and easily without the need of additional materials for attaching pallet pieces together, can be formed to any desired size, are easily repairable, and can withstand high loads. 
     SUMMARY 
     According to one embodiment, disclosed is a pallet system comprising a plurality of support stringers. More specifically, the plurality of support stringers can include a first support stringer interlocked with at least a second support stringer and a third support stringer along the length of the first support stringer. The first support stringer can interlock with the second support stringer from a first side and can interlock with the third support stringer from a second opposing side such that the first, second, and third support stringers are interwoven with one another. 
     According to another embodiment, disclosed is a method of forming a pallet system. For instance, a method can include interlocking a first support stringer with a second support stringer and interlocking the first support stringer with a third support stringer. More specifically, the first support stringer can interlock with the second and third support stringers from opposite sides such that the first, second, and third support stringers are interwoven with one another. 
     Beneficially, disclosed pallet systems can be formed in one embodiment with no attachment devices or materials necessary. For instance, disclosed devices can be formed exclusively from corrugated cardboard, in one preferred embodiment, and need not utilize any sort of adhesive, staples, etc. to hold the pallet together. Other benefits and advantages of disclosed systems and methods are further described herein. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES 
       A full and enabling description of the presently disclosed subject matter, including the best mode thereof, to one of ordinary skill in the art, is set forth more particularly in the remainder of the specification, including reference to the accompanying Figures, in which: 
         FIG. 1  illustrates one embodiment of support runners as may be utilized in forming disclosed pallets; 
         FIG. 2  illustrates an A-B-B-A stringer pattern as may be utilized in forming disclosed pallets; 
         FIG. 3  illustrates a B-A-A-B stringer pattern that may be combined with the stringer pattern of  FIG. 2  to form a pallet matrix as disclosed herein; 
         FIG. 4  illustrates a pallet matrix formed with the support runners held in the positions as illustrated in  FIGS. 2 and 3 ; 
         FIG. 5  illustrates another embodiment of support runners as may be utilized in forming disclosed pallets. 
         FIG. 6  illustrates one embodiment of reinforcement runners as may be utilized in forming disclosed pallets; 
         FIG. 7  illustrates a pallet matrix including both support stringers and reinforcement stringers in both the x- and y-directions of the pallet; 
         FIG. 8  illustrates a pallet cap as may be utilized in one embodiment; 
         FIG. 9  illustrates one method of attaching a pallet cap to a pallet matrix; 
         FIG. 10  illustrates one embodiment of a pallet system as disclosed herein. 
     
    
    
     Repeat use of reference characters in the present specification and drawings is intended to represent the same or analogous features or elements of the present invention. 
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF REPRESENTATIVE EMBODIMENTS 
     Reference will now be made in detail to various embodiments of the disclosed subject matter, one or more examples of which are set forth below. Each embodiment is provided by way of explanation of the subject matter, not limitation thereof. In fact, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations may be made to the disclosed subject matter without departing from the scope or spirit of the disclosure. For instance, features illustrated or described as part of one embodiment, may be used with another embodiment to yield a still further embodiment. 
     In general, disclosed subject matter is directed to pallet systems. In one preferred embodiment, disclosed systems can be formed entirely of recyclable materials. Beneficially, disclosed systems can be completely assembled without the need of any additional attachment materials. More specifically, all of the individual pieces of disclosed systems can interlock with one another with no adhesives, straps, staples, or any other attachment device necessary to securely hold a pallet together. As such, disclosed systems can be easily and quickly assembled and, should the need arise, can be quickly repaired, for instance by replacement of one or more individual runners. Disclosed systems can also exhibit extremely high strength, and can withstand, in one embodiment, greater than about 20,000 pounds of static compression at less than about ⅜ inch deflection. 
     In general, disclosed pallet systems can be formed entirely of corrugated paperboard. For instance any standard flute designation is encompassed by the present disclosure. Table 1, below presents standard flute designations as are generally known in the art. 
     
       
         
           
               
               
               
               
               
             
               
                 TABLE 1 
               
               
                   
               
               
                 Flute 
                 Flutes per 
                 Flute thick- 
                 Flutes per  
                 Flute thick- 
               
               
                 Designation 
                 lineal foot 
                 ness (in) 
                 lineal meter 
                 ness (mm) 
               
               
                   
               
             
            
               
                 A flute 
                 33 +/− 3 
                  3/16 
                 108 +/− 10 
                 4.8 
               
               
                 B flute 
                 47 +/− 3 
                 ⅛      
                 154 +/− 10 
                 3.2 
               
               
                 C flute 
                 39 +/− 3 
                  5/32 
                 128 +/− 10 
                 4.0 
               
               
                 E flute 
                 90 +/− 4 
                  1/16 
                 295 +/− 13 
                 1.6 
               
               
                 F flute 
                 128 +/− 4  
                  1/32 
                 420 +/− 13 
                 0.8 
               
               
                   
               
            
           
         
       
     
     Disclosed systems are in no way limited to the materials of Table 1, however. Disclosed systems can be constructed from any corrugated paperboard as is known in the art or as can be formed by one of skill in the art. As such, disclosed systems can be formed so as to meet any necessary specification. For instance, disclosed systems can be formed of various different materials depending upon the expected use of a formed pallet system. By way of example, maritime transport requires materials exhibiting minimum wet strength values, and disclosed pallet systems can be formed to include such materials. 
     In one preferred embodiment, disclosed pallet systems can be formed entirely of a single type of corrugated paperboard. For example, all support runners, all reinforcement runners, and the deck cap can all be formed of a single material type. This is not a requirement, however, and in other embodiments, a mixture of materials can be utilized. Moreover, while the majority of this disclosure is directed to the utilization of only corrugated paperboard in formation of disclosed pallets, it should be understood that the present disclosure is in no way limited to only corrugated paperboard as a formation material. For instance, in one embodiment some or all individual pieces of a pallet can be formed of other materials including, but not limited to, wood, wood-based composite materials, plastics, metals, and so forth. 
     Referring to  FIG. 1 , disclosed pallet systems can utilize two support runners that can form support stringers that interlock with one another to form a pallet matrix. As can be seen, support runner  10  includes two fork notches,  14 A and  14 B that, upon assembly with other support runners of a pallet, can provide a lifting tunnel for receiving the forks of a lift device. Support runner  10  also includes a series of support runner notches  20 ,  22 ,  24 ,  26 , including outer support runner notches  20 ,  22  that are open at the lower edge  18  of support runner  10 , and inner support runner notches  24 ,  26 , that are open at the top edge  16 , of support runner  12 . 
     Also illustrated in  FIG. 1  is support runner  12 . Support runner  12 , similar to support runner  10 , defines two fork notches  14 C and  14 D. Support runner  12  also defines a series of support runner notches,  21 ,  23 ,  25 ,  27  including outer support runner notches  21  and  23  that are open at the upper edge  16  of support runner  12 , and inner support runner notches  25 ,  27 , that are open at the lower edge  18  of support runner  12 . 
     In both support runner  10  and support runner  12 , support runner notches  20 ,  21 ,  22 ,  23 ,  24 ,  25 ,  26 ,  27  can be used to interlock support runners to one another. As support runner notches are formed open to both the top edge  16  and the lower edge  18  of the support runners  10 ,  12 , individual support runners will interlock from both above and below the pallet matrix, as discussed below and illustrated in further figures. This interweaving of support runners, such that assembly with one another includes the interlocking with other support runners from both above and below, provides additional strength to disclosed pallet systems as well as secure attachment of stringers to one another, such that no additional attachment materials, e.g., glue, staples, etc., are necessary. 
     To form a pallet matrix, a first set of support stringers arranged on a first axis can be interlocked with a second set of support stringers arranged on a second axis, generally perpendicular to the first axis. For example,  FIG. 2  illustrates a first set of support stringers  1 ,  2 ,  3 ,  4 , each of which is aligned parallel to an x-axis. As can be seen, each support stringer  1 ,  2 ,  3 ,  4  is formed of two identical support runners held adjacent to one another. For instance, support stringer  1  includes two support runners  10 ,  10 , support stringer  2  includes two support runners  12 ,  12 , and so on. Though illustrated in  FIG. 2  as including two support runners, support stringers of disclosed pallet systems are not limited to two support runners and can conveniently be formed of any number of individual support runners including a single support runner, two, three, or more support runners, as desired. Preferred numbers of support runners for forming any one support stringer can depend, for example, upon the desired strength of a pallet, the existence of a deck cap on the pallet, and so forth. 
     Support stringers  1 ,  2 ,  3 ,  4  are arranged in an A-B-B-A pattern. Specifically, support stringer  1  is formed of two support runners  10 , support stringer  2  is formed of two support runners  12 , support stringer  3  is formed of two support runners  12 , and support stringer  4  is formed of two support runners  10 . 
     To form a pallet matrix, the first set of support stringers  1 ,  2 ,  3 ,  4  shown in  FIG. 2  can be interlocked to a second set of support stringers  5 ,  6 ,  7 ,  8  illustrated in  FIG. 3 . As can be seen with reference to  FIG. 3 , this second set of support stringers  5 ,  6 ,  7 ,  8 , is arranged such that each support stringer of the set is parallel to an axis y that is perpendicular to the x-axis of  FIG. 2 . In general, two sets of support stringers can be interlocked in perpendicular relationship to one another, as shown. This is not a requirement of disclosed pallet systems, however, and in other embodiments, sets of support stringers can be at an angle to one another other than perpendicular. 
     Support stringers  5 ,  6 ,  7 ,  8  are each formed of two individual support runners held immediately adjacent to one another as shown, and as is the case for support stringers  1 ,  2 ,  3 ,  4 . In general, all support stringers of a pallet systems can include the same number of individual support runners for more simplified construction, but this is not a requirement of disclosed subject matter. 
     Support stringers  5 ,  6 ,  7 ,  8  are arranged in a similar but opposite pattern as support stringers  1 ,  2 ,  3 ,  4  with regard to the type of support runner used in forming the support stringers. More specifically, support stringers  1 ,  2 ,  3 ,  4  are arranged in an A-B-B-A pattern as described above, and support stringers  5 ,  6 ,  7 ,  8  are arranged in a B-A-A-B pattern, with support stringer  5  including two support runners  12 ′,  12 ′, support stringer  6  including two support runners  10 ′,  10 ′, support stringer  7 , including two support runners  10 ′,  10 ′, and support stringer  8  including two support runners  12 ′,  12 ′, as shown. 
       FIG. 4  illustrates a pallet matrix following attachment of the support stringers of  FIG. 2  with the support stringers of  FIG. 3 . Joints of the pallet matrix include a support runner notch open to the top of a support runner interlocked with a support runner notch open to the bottom of a support runner. 
     The formation of two joints as illustrated in  FIG. 4  is described in detail. With reference to  FIG. 1 , support runner  10  includes support runner notch  20  that is open at the lower edge  18  of support runner  10 . Support runner notch  20  can interlock with support runner notch  23  that is open on the upper edge  16  of a support runner  12  to form a corner joint of a pallet matrix, as shown in the lower corner joint of the embodiment of  FIG. 4  in which two support runners form each support stringer. At this corner joint, the top edge  16  of the support runners  10  forming support stringer  4  will continue unbroken over the top of the joint, while the lower edge  18  of the support runners  12 ′ forming support stringer  5  will continue unbroken over the bottom of the joint (not shown). 
     A second joint can include a support runner notch  24  that is open at the upper edge  16  of a support runner  10  interlocked with a support runner notch  22  that is open at the lower edge  18  of a second support runner  10 ′, as shown. Following formation of this joint, the upper edge  16  of the support runners  10 ′ forming support stringer  6  can continue unbroken over the joint and the lower edge  18  of support runners  10  forming support stringer  4  can continue unbroken over the bottom of the joint (not shown). Thus, the joints of a pallet matrix can include each support stringer interlocking with cross support stringers from both above and below along its length, so as to interweave the support stringers with one another. 
     Interweaving of the support stringers can firmly attach the support stringers of the pallet to one another without the need for any additional attachment mechanism. Moreover, the A-B-B-A pattern of the support stringers can improve the strength of the pallet matrix. However, it should be understood that other support stringer patterns are encompassed by the present disclosure 
     Disclosed pallet matrices can include pieces in addition to interlocked support stringers, for instance to further increase the strength of a system. For example, in one embodiment, disclosed systems can incorporate reinforcement runners.  FIG. 5  illustrates two support runners  110 ,  112 , that can be utilized in one such embodiment. Support runners  110 ,  112 , include support runner notches  120 ,  121 ,  122 ,  123 ,  124 ,  125 ,  126 ,  127 , as shown. In addition, support runners  110 ,  112  include reinforcement runner notches  130 ,  132 . Specifically, support runner  110  includes three reinforcement runner notches  130   a ,  130   b ,  130   c  spaced across the support runner  110 , all of which are open at upper edge  116  of support runner  110 . Similarly, support runner  112 , includes three reinforcement runner notches  132   a ,  132   b ,  132   c  spaced across the support runner  112 , all of which are open at the upper edge  116  of support runner  112 . 
       FIG. 6  illustrates reinforcement runners  40 ,  42  that can be incorporated into a pallet matrix in conjunction with support runners  110 ,  112 . Reinforcement runner  40  includes three reinforcement runner notches  46   a ,  46   b ,  46   c , formed so as to be open at the upper edge  116  of reinforcement runner  40 . Reinforcement runner  40  also includes four support runner notches  44   a ,  44   b ,  44   c ,  44   d , formed so as to be open at the lower edge  118  of reinforcement runner  40 . Reinforcement runner  42  includes three reinforcement runner notches  47   a ,  47   b ,  47   c , formed so as to be open at the lower edge  118  of reinforcement runner  42 . Reinforcement runner  42  also includes four support runner notches  45   a ,  45   b ,  45   c ,  45   d , formed so as to be open at the lower edge  118  of reinforcement runner  42 . 
       FIG. 7  illustrates a reinforced pallet matrix including support runners  110  and  112  of  FIG. 5  and reinforcement runners  40  and  42  of  FIG. 6 . As can be seen, all stringers of the illustrated pallet matrix are formed of multiple individual runners, as discussed above. For instance, reinforcement stringer  9  is formed of two reinforcement runners  40 , and reinforcement stringer  11  is formed of two reinforcement runners  42 . Reinforcement stringers are not limited to any particular number of reinforcement runners, however. 
     Support stringers  1 - 8  are interlocked with one another as illustrated for the embodiment illustrated in  FIG. 4 . In addition, the matrix includes reinforcement runners  40  and  42 . With regard to reinforcement runners  40  of reinforcement stringer  9 , the support runner notches  44   a  of reinforcement runners  40  of reinforcement stringer  9  are interlocked with reinforcement notches  132   a  of support runners  112  of support stringer  8 . Thus, the upper surface of reinforcement runners  40  of reinforcement stringer  9  extend unbroken at the joint formed between reinforcement stringer  9  and support stringer  8 . 
     Similarly, with regard to reinforcement runners  42  of reinforcement stringer  11 , the support runner notches  45   a  of reinforcement runners  42  of reinforcement stringer  11  are interlocked with reinforcement notches  130   a  of support runners  110  of support stringer  4 . Thus, the upper surface of reinforcement runners  42  of reinforcement stringer  11  extends unbroken at the joint formed between reinforcement stringer  11  and support stringer  4 . 
     Joints formed between a reinforcement runner  40  and a reinforcement runner  42  will involve the interlocking of a reinforcement runner notch  46  on reinforcement runner  40  and a reinforcement runner notch  47  on reinforcement runner  42 . Accordingly, a joint formed between a reinforcement runner  40  and a reinforcement runner  42  will include the upper surface  116  of a reinforcement runner  42  extending unbroken over the joint and the lower surface  118  of a reinforcement runner  40  extending unbroken under the joint. 
     Of course, a pallet can include reinforcement stringers in both directions as the support stringers, as shown in  FIG. 7  or can include reinforcement stringers in only a single direction. 
     In one embodiment, a pallet can include a deck cap, one embodiment of which is illustrated in  FIG. 8 . According to this embodiment, deck cap  60  can include a series of tabs  50  formed out of the material of deck cap  60  at cut outs  52 . 
     Deck cap  60  can be attached to a pallet matrix without the need of any additional attachment materials. Referring to  FIG. 9 , deck cap  60  can be located over a pallet matrix, as shown. To attach deck cap  60  to the pallet matrix, a tab  50  can be located between support runners  10 ,  10  that together form a single support stringer  4 . In the illustrated case, both tab  50  and support runners  10 ,  10  are formed of corrugated paperboard. In this particular embodiment, tab  50  can be simply forced between the two support runners  10 , and will be held there with a friction hold. Tab  50  can be held between individual support runners of a support stringer by other means in those embodiments utilizing other materials. For instance, in other embodiments, individual support runners can include a notch that can hold a tab  50  by a friction fit, by the inclusion of a snap lock between the tab and a notch in the support runner, or according to any other means. 
       FIG. 10  is a plan view of one embodiment of a pallet according to the disclosed subject matter. The illustrated pallet is viewed from below the pallet, i.e., looking at the lower edge  18  of the individual pieces of the pallet. As can be seen, the illustrated pallet includes a deck cap  60 . Cut outs  52  define the tabs (not shown) that have been located between support runners  110 ,  112  to hold deck cap  60  to the top of the pallet matrix. The illustrated pallet includes the support runners  110 ,  112  interwoven with one another as described above, and also includes reinforcement runners  40 ,  42  running parallel to both the x- and y-axis of the pallet, as shown 
     It will be appreciated that the foregoing examples, given for purposes of illustration, are not to be construed as limiting the scope of this disclosure. Although only a few exemplary embodiments have been described in detail above, those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that many modifications are possible in the exemplary embodiments without materially departing from the novel teachings and advantages of this disclosure. Accordingly, all such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of this disclosure as defined in the following claims and all equivalents thereto. Further, it is recognized that many embodiments may be conceived that do not achieve all of the advantages of some embodiments, yet the absence of a particular advantage shall not be construed to necessarily mean that such an embodiment is outside the scope of the presently disclosed subject matter.