Reinforced Pallet

Abstract

A reinforced pallet, formed of a pair of rectangular tubular members spaced by a channel-shaped member. A rigid foamed resin material capable of holding weight is placed in pockets within the tubular members.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

A collapsible industrial platform.

2. Description of the Prior Art

Sullivan U.S. Pat. No. 3,380,403 which issued Apr. 30, 1968 discloses a pallet having a number of blocks of foamed polystyrene molding material sandwiched between two sheets of corrugated material. The blocks are spaced to allow passage of the prongs of a forklift truck for lifting and transferring a loaded pallet. The blocks are adhered to the upper and lower layers of corrugated material.

Anderson et al. U.S. Pat. No. 3,216,376 which issued Nov. 9, 1965 discloses a collapsible pallet formed of channel-shaped members and transverse members.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A collapsible pallet formed of two tubular members spaced by a channel-shaped member. The tubular members have pockets which house rigid foamed styrene blocks. Two of the blocks are in the channel-shaped member.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a top plan view of the blank of a tubular member.

FIG. 2 is an isometric view of the tubular member. Portions of the member have been cut away to show details of construction.

FIG. 3 is a top plan view of the blank of the channel-shaped member.

FIG. 4 is an isometric view of the channel-shaped member.

FIG. 5 is an isometric view of the rigid block.

FIG. 6 is a partially exploded isometric view of the pallet.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The blank 10 of the tubular member 11 is shown in FIG. 1. The blank is divided by score lines 12, 13, 14 and 15 into a first bottom panel 16, and outer side panel 17, a top panel 18, and inner side panel 19 and a second bottom panel 20. The blank 10 is formed into the member 11 by being folded around the score lines. The bottom panel 20 is then glued to the bottom panel 16 along glue line 21. The member may be collapsed for shipment and formed as shown in FIG. 2 at its point of use.

Two of the tubular members 11 are spaced by the channel 30 shown in FIG. 4. The channel is formed from a blank 31 which is scored longitudinally along lines 32, 33, 34 and 35 and bent around the score lines to form a bottom wall 36, sidewalls 37 and 38, and upper flanges 39 and 40.

The pallet 80 is formed by inserting channel member 30 through the central aperture 50 in inner side panel 19 of the tubular member and to the central section 51 of outer side panel 17. The sidewalls 37 and 38 of the channel 30 are sized to the inner depth of the tubular member.

A central pocket 60 in the upper wall 18 is aligned with the channel 30. The pocket 60 is formed by a pair of transverse flaps 61 and 62 hinged to the upper wall along score lines 63 and 64, respectively, and a pair of longitudinal flaps 65 and 66 hinged to the upper panel by score lines 67 and 68, respectively. The flaps are separated from each other by diagonal score lines 69, and bent inwardly to form sidewalls of the pocket.

The distance between the score lines 63 and 64 is substantially equal to the distance between the outer edges of the upper flanges 39 and 40 of the channel-shaped member 30, allowing the pocket to fit snugly within the channel-shaped member. The block of rigid foam plastic material 70 shown in FIG. 5 fits snugly within the pocket.

Passageways for the prongs of a forklift are provided by the aligned side apertures 80 and 81 in the inner and outer side panels 19 and 17, respectively. The outer apertures 81 are formed by pairs of flaps 82 and 83. These flaps are defined in the outer panel 17 by a slit 84 coextensive with score line 12, a slit 85 coextensive with score line 13, and a slit 86 which separates the flaps 82 and 83. The flaps are bent inwardly around their respective score lines 87 and 88 to form the aperture 81.

Additional load-bearing capacity is provided by two additional blocks of rigid foam plastic member 70 placed in the side pockets 90 of each of the tubular members. These pockets are aligned with central pocket 60 and placed outwardly of the channel formed by apertures 80 and 81. The construction of the pocket 90 is identical to the construction of the pocket 60. Transverse flaps 91 and 92 are hinged to the upper wall 18 by score lines 93 and 94 and longitudinal flaps 95 and 96 are hinged by score lines 97 and 98. The four flaps are separated from each other by diagonal slits 99 and are bent inwardly to form sidewalls of the pocket.

Corrugated material is preferred in the construction of members 11 and 30. Preferably, the flutes in the material extend transversely to the longitudinal score lines so that the flutes will be vertical in the side panels 17 and 19 of the tubular member and 37 and 38 of the channel. The preferred material of the rigid foam plastic member 70 is foamed polystyrene; however, other foamed plastic materials having structural strength may also be used.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. A pallet comprising

a pair of rectangular tubular members,

each of said tubular members having top and bottom faces, and outer and inner side faces extending therebetween,

said inner side faces facing each other and being parallel,

a central aperture in said inner side faces,

a channel-shaped member having upwardly extending sidewalls inserted into said tubular members through said central apertures,

said upper face having a pocket formed therein, said pocket being in alignment with said channel member and having sidewalls extending downwardly into said channel member,

a weight-supporting member in said pocket.

2. The pallet of claim 1 in which

said channel-shaped member has a pair of upper flanges extending inwardly from said sidewalls, said upper channels being braced against a pair of opposing side walls of said pocket.

3. The pallet of claim 1 in which

said tubular members have pairs of aligned apertures in said outer and inner side faces on each side of said central aperture.

4. The pallet of claim 3 in which

flaps extend inwardly from the side edges of said apertures in said outer side faces.

5. The pallet of claim 3 in which

said upper wall has a pair of pockets aligned with said first pocket and placed outwardly of said aligned apertures,

said pockets having downwardly extending sidewalls, and

a weight-supporting member is in each of said pockets.