Patent ID: 7926431

Claim:
A pallet system comprising: a plurality of top boards having an elongated planar configuration, the plurality of top boards formed of plastic, each top board including a top wall, a bottom wall that extends substantially parallel to the top wall, and first and second side walls joining the top and bottom walls, the top wall, the bottom wall, and the first and second side walls of each top board cooperating to define a substantially hollow interior, the first side wall of at least an outer -most one of the plurality of top boards having an inner surface that faces the hollow interior and an outer surface opposite the inner surface, the inner surface extending from the top wall to the bottom wall in a direction perpendicular to the top and bottom walls, whereby the top and bottom walls are horizontally aligned at opposing ends of the first side wall, at least a portion of the outer surface deviating from the direction perpendicular to the top and bottom walls at a location between the top and bottom walls; a plurality of runner assemblies formed of plastic and positioned beneath the plurality of top boards, each of the plurality of runner assemblies extending between a first terminal end and a second terminal end along a runner axis, the runner axis oriented generally transversely to the plurality of top boards, the first side wall of the outer-most one of the plurality of top boards projecting outwardly beyond the first terminal ends of the runner assemblies along the runner axis, each of the plurality of runner assemblies comprising: a top runner board having a generally similar configuration as the plurality of top boards; a bottom runner board having a generally similar configuration as the plurality of top boards; and a plurality of runner supports extending between the top runner board and the bottom runner board.