AU2640100A

AU2640100A - Cardboard pallett

Info

Publication number: AU2640100A
Application number: AU26401/00A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Peter Venditti
Original assignee: Amcor Pty Ltd
Current assignee: Amcor Pty Ltd
Priority date: 1999-04-09
Filing date: 2000-04-05
Publication date: 2000-10-12

Description

AUSTRALIA

Patents Act 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION STANDARD PATENT r Applicant(s): AMCOR LIMITED A.C.N. 000 017 372 Invention Title: CARDBOARD PALLET The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to me/us: 2 CARDBOARD PALLET This invention relates to a cardboard pallet and more particularly relates to a pallet constructed of corrugated cardboard.

Cardboard pallets are not new nor are pallets fabricated from corrugated cardboard.

Pallets fabricated from corrugated cardboard need to be light, versatile and strong. It is this criteria that has brought about the present invention.

15 According to one aspect of the present invention there is provided a pallet fabricated from corrugated cardboard, the pallet including a base panel fabricated in a single sheet of corrugated cardboard joined in a parallel spaced apart manner to an upper panel by a plurality of suitably placed cores, the cores enabling a four-way tyne entry, the upper panel comprising two sheets of corrugated cardboard bonded together so that the corrugations of one sheet are mutually transverse to the corrugations of the other sheet, wherein the cores of the pallet each comprise a closely wound coil of corrugated cardboard bonded to adjacent faces of the base and upper panels.

In a preferred embodiment, the corrugated cardboard of the upper and base panels is a product sold under the trade mark XITEX and comprising two flutes joined at their tips with liners on both sides.

The base panel of the pallet may be provided with a series of suitably spaced apertures to accommodate the wheels of hand trolleys.

K:\akhoo\Keep\Per=\P37909 AMCOR.doc 05/04/00 3 BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS An embodiment of the present invention will now be described by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is a perspective view of a pallet fabricated from corrugated cardboard with the top panel cut away for clarity, Figure 2 is a perspective view of an upper sheet of the top deck of the pallet, Figure 3 is a perspective view of a lower sheet of the top deck of the pallet, Figure 4 is a perspective view illustrating cores 15 that separate the top deck from the base, *Figure 5 is a perspective view of the base of the pallet.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT OF THE

INVENTION

The pallet 10 illustrated in the accompanying drawings is fabricated from corrugated cardboard. The pallet essentially comprises a base 11 that is positioned in a parallel spaced array to a top deck 12 through the use of a plurality of feet or cores 15 that are bonded between the base and the top deck to define access for a four-way entry of fork lift tynes. The top deck 12 of the pallet is defined by two superimposed sheets 13, 14 of corrugated cardboard bonded together with the flutes or corrugations of one sheet 13 being mutually perpendicular to the corrugations 21 of the other sheet 14. In a preferred embodiment, each sheet 13, 14 of corrugated cardboard is of the kind sold under the trade mark XITEX. XITEX board consists of two flutes joined at their tips with liners on both sides. The perfect alignment of flute tips means that for a given strength, XITEX board uses less paper than K:\akhoo\Keep\Perm\P37909 AMCOR.doc 05/04/00 4 conventional corrugated structures. For a given weight, XITEX board is the strongest corrugated board available The cores 15 that separate the top deck 12 from the base 11 each comprise a single face corrugated cardboard wound into a tight roll and glued at the end of the roll to consolidate the roll. The base 11 comprises a single sheet of corrugated cardboard preferably XITEX with four square cut-outs 30, 31, 32, 33 positioned centrally of the panel in a rectangular array as shown in Figure 5. The cut-outs 30-33 are provided to locate the wheels of a trolley (not shown) that can be used to transport the pallet 10. It is understood that the cut-outs 30-33 whilst being preferably square can be of other cross sections, 15 such as circular.

In the preferred embodiment, nine cores separate the base 11 from the top deck 12 and these cores are provided in three rows 40, 41, 42 across the longer sides of the pallet. The outer rows 41, ,42 are positioned slightly inwardly of the lateral edges 50 and the central row 43 is positioned centrally of the pallet 10 as shown in Figures 1 and 5. The pallet 10 is fabricated without use of fasteners yet provides a very strong and comparatively light pallet. The method of manufacture is simple yet effective.

The base and sheets of the top deck are preferably made of XITEX corrugated cardboard. XITEX board has the greatest strength when compared to traditional corrugated board such as B or C Flutes, Twin Cushion, Duo Arch or Triple Wall of the same weight. It is, however, understood that other corrugated cardboard sheet such as Twin Cushion, Triwall or Singlewall B or C flutes may be utilised.

Each core 15 is manufactured by taking a single K:\akhoo\Keep\Perm\P37909 AMCOR.doc 05/04/00 5 face roll having a paper grammage of 112 by 112 slit into 91mm strips wide and wound into a 165mm diameter roll.

This forms a standard size core. Glue is applied to the last 100mm of the rewound core to hold it together. Other sized cores are also envisaged both in terms of width and diameter. These can be manufactured depending on customers' specification. The grammage of the single face rolls could also vary such as 136x136 to provide additional core strength.

To assemble the pallet, the base panel 11 is laid flat on a table and the cores 15 having been dipped in a glue pot to a depth of 3mm are attached to the base panel at the desired locations. Glue is then applied to the tops 15 of the cores 15 and the first sheet 13 of the top deck 12 is laid on the cores 15. The uppersurface of the first top sheet 13 is then sprayed with glue and the second top sheet 14 is superimposed on top of the first top sheet 13 with the flutes set in a direction mutually perpendicular to the direction of the flutes and the first sheet. Pressure is then applied to assist bonding of the assembly. The glue is preferably a PVA quick dry glue manufactured by HB Fuller Specification Number WB 3610M.

Although the process for manufacturing the pallet described above is manual, it is envisaged that an automated process will be developed to mass produce the pallet. The size of the pallet can vary depending on customer's specifications as can the number and arrangement of the cores.

The pallet described above is light, robust and strong manufactured solely from recyclable material. The pallet has smooth base and top decks and utilises no metal fasteners. The smooth upper deck can be imprinted with advertising indicia in accordance with customer wishes.

The planar top deck has the strength to support a variety K:\akhoo\Keep\Perm\P37909 AMCOR.doc 05/04/00 6 of packages. The corrugated structure of the top deck acts as a shock absorber reducing shock loads on goods supported by the pallet. The pallets have a limited life span ensure a clean and environmentally friendly product with inherent versatility.

It will be understood to persons skilled in the art of the invention that many modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

K \akhoo\Keep\Pemf\P3799 AMCOR.doc 05/04/00

Claims

3. The pallet claimed in claims 1 or 2 wherein the cores are glued to adjacent faces of the base and upper panels.
4. The pallet claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein the cores are aligned in rows.
5. -The pallet claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein the cores have a diameter of approximately 165 mm.
6. The pallet claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein the corrugated cardboard of the upper and base panels is a product sold under the trade mark XITEX and comprises two flutes joined at their tips with liners on both sides.
7. The pallet claimed in any of the preceding claims wherein the base panel of the pallet is provided with a series of suitably spaced apertures to accommodate the K:\akhoo\Keep\Pen\P37909 AMCOR.doc 05/04/00 8 wheels of hand trolleys.
8. The pallet claimed in claim 7 wherein the apertures are square-shaped and are provided in rows.
9. A method of fabricating a corrugated cardboard pallet including closely winding coils of corrugated cardboard into cores; fixing the cores to a base panel in a suitably spaced manner to enable a four-way tyne entry into the pallet; fixing a first upper corrugated cardboard sheet to the cores so as to be spaced apart parallel to the base panel; and fixing a second upper corrugated cardboard sheet on top of the first upper sheet with the corrugations of one sheet mutually transverse to the corrugations of the other.
10. The method claimed in claim 9 including fixing the cores, base panel and first and second sheets by gluing.
11. The method claimed in claims 9 or 10 including winding the cores into an approximately 165 mm diameter roll.
12. The method claimed in claim 11 including applying glue to the last 100 mm of the wound coil.
13. The method claimed in any one of claims 9 to 12 including dipping the cores in glue to a depth of 3 mm for fixing to the base panel and applying glue to tops of the cores for fixing to the first upper sheet.
14. The method claimed in any one of claims 9 to 13 including aligning the cores in rows. K:\akhoo\Keep\Pei\P 3 790 9 AMCOR.doc 05/04/00 9 The method claimed in any one of claims 9 to 14 including providing on the base panel suitably spaced apertures to accommodate wheels of hand trolleys.
16. The method claimed in claim 14 including aligning the apertures between the rows of cores.
17. The method claimed in any one of claims 9 to 16 including using a product sold under the trade mark XITEX and comprising two flutes joined at their tips with liners on both sides as the base panel and first and second upper sheets. s:e 15 18. A pallet substantially as herein described with sC reference to and as illustrated by the accompanying drawings. *ooo
19. A method of fabricating a corrugated cardboard pallet substantially as herein described with reference to and as illustrated by the accompanying drawings. o Dated this 5th day of April 2000 AMCOR LIMITED By their Patent Attorneys GRIFFITH HACK Fellows Institute of Patent and Trade Mark Attorneys of Australia K:\akhOo\Keep\Penl\P379O9 AMCOR.doc 05/04/00