CA1104509A

CA1104509A - Pallets

Info

Publication number: CA1104509A
Application number: CA303,255A
Authority: CA
Inventors: Gerald F. Mays
Original assignee: NELSON Co (THE)
Current assignee: NELSON Co (THE)
Priority date: 1977-05-13
Filing date: 1978-05-12
Publication date: 1981-07-07
Also published as: GB1603775A; AU527618B2; AU3601178A; DE2820962A1; JPS53140742A; FR2390339A1

Abstract

ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE

Pallets are provided herein for material transport and which are to be handled with fork lift trucks. The pallets com-prise a plurality of notched longitudinally extending stringers, transverse deckboards fixedly secured to said notched longitud-inally extending stringers and a reinforcing U-shaped member extending from each outermost stringer end to a center stringer end and extending into and substantially through said stringers, said U-shaped member being at most flush with said deckboards and said notch being sufficiently large to receive the fork of a fork lift truck.

Description

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'['hi~; inverItioll is directecl Lo ~,vc)oclerI I-)allets or materi~l transport which aLe haIldled with forli lift Lr~Ichs .
More particuLarlyJ the inventioll is clirectecl to palletJ
- comprising deckboards nailed to vertically disposed notched strin~ers which are reirlforced.
pallet., are used in ever-increasing nurnber il} commerce to transport virtually a;Ll types oE rnerchanclise. These pallets wherl loaded . . .
with merchandise alrnost by necessity are han~1lecl with Eorl~c lift trucks.
lO When empty, however, they can be handled with fork lift t7~ucIcs, but often-times are manually stacked or moved rnanualIy from one location to another, Pallets, thereore, while ot simple desigll n~ust meet nurmerous specifica- ~
tions, many o which are conflicting. _ More specifically, pallets since they are a service Item ~ ~J,' `~'' must be relativel~ inexpensive. To be ine~pensive, they must be made of }naterials of relatively low cost and must be fabricatec] In a manner which wlll make most Fffective use of labor. Moreover, since the pallets are at times handled manually and since thety are shipped Erorn plac:e to place with merchanclise, they rnust be relatively light in weight in addition to 20 having high structural strength. Most pallets, therefore~ are macle of wood and comprise vertical stringers with declcboards nailed thereto, top and bottom. :EIor eEficient construction the stringers are cut to the proper lenc~th. To facilitate haIldlirl~ with fork lift trllclc~9 it is preEerable to pick up tl~e pallets on the side as opposed to an encd of the pallet and, ac- _ cordingly, the stringers are also notched for entrance of the forlc of the ~;,. \ I

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forl; liEt trucl;. l~fter cuttirlg lo proper len~t}l arlcl notchin~, the strirL~ers care ~ec~ to automatic stringer "~eecl l~o~es~" with the cleckboards then belntS appliecl alid naile~cl ~/vith nclil harlcl~.r-lns or autorrlatic ncl;lels.
In spite oE the acceptance of woo(l as the logical choice for paLlet construction, pallets cons~ructecl fro~n wood are sullject to damage or breakage due to heavy loading and irl being subjected to substantial mechanical impact from the fork encl of the fork lift truck due at times to sirnple operator carelessness or indi~ference. :Breakage in pallets with . ' notched stringers occurs most o:Eten at the pallet end substantially lmmedi~ i ,~ '` . _~
10 ately adja.cent to the stringcr notch. In order to reduce breakage a.nd to increase the strength of wood pallets, var iou~ modifications to pallets have been suggested including incorporating m.etal bra.ces between the stringers .: and deckboards; applylng metal bands to the pallets at str;ategic points~ as well as constructing the pallets with bolts and/or metal plns e:xtendlng through the stringer and declcb.oards. These eflorts have been unacceptable to large users for various reasons. Metal braces and rnetal bands applied :
to the pallets IlGt only morease material cost a.n.d a.t time,s rnake the pallets unaccepta.bly heavy, but also increase labor costs during the courss of construction and in large measure preclude the use of conventional auto-20: matie stringer eed bo~es and na.il;ng machlnes. Moreover, a pallet con-taining the metal braces and/or bands are difficult to repai.r once damaged -~ ~ since the conventional method of cutting the nails between the decl~boa.rds :
and stringers or other~vise conventional methods o pulling the na.ils con-necting the deckboards and stringers cannot be conveniently employed. :
Bolts and pins e:~ctending througJh the stringers and deckboards~; while i.m- .
p.rovlng struct~lral integrity~ agJain g~reatly lncrease cost both ~ronl the ~45~
standpoint of initial construction and repair. In the initial CQnstrUctiOn it is necessary to drill the deckboc~rds and strinyers in substantially per-fect ali~nment and then insert the bnlts. In order to avoid hc~ving bolt-heads or nuts interfere wi-th the stacking of merchandise on the pallets and/
or interfering ~ith the setting down of the pallets and/or damaging msr-chandise when one loaded pallet is placed Oll ano-ther loaded pallet, the boltheads and nuts m~st be countersunk to provide a flush surface. This further increases the cost of the n~nufacturing operation and also requires the use of relatively thick deckboards for adequate strength. The counter-sinking of the boltheads into the deckboards also provides a weakened areaat the point of countersinking, causing the deckhoards to break at the weakened point.
A~cordingly, an object of a primary aspect of the present inven-tion is to ~rovide a w~oden pallel including notched vertical stringers having increased structural integrity.
It is an object of another aspect of the present invention to provide a ~oden pallet having reinforced notched vertical stringers ~hich can be fabricated with conventional autc~atic equiFment.
It is an c~ject of yet another aspect of the present invention to provide a method of constructing reinforced pallets in a rapid and efficient manner.
It is an object of a ~urther aspect of this invention to provide pallets having notched vertical stringers whic~ eliminate the need for lower or h~ottom deck~oards.
~ y a broad aspect of this invention, a pallet ls provided for material transport to ~e handled with a fork lift truck OQmpriSing a plurality of notchad longitudinally extending stringers, -transverse deck-boards fixedly~secured to the not~ed longitudinally extending strLngers and a reinforcing U-shaped member extending from each outermost stringer end to a center stringer end and extenaing into and substantially through said stringers, said U-shaped member being ,., - 3 :: . . . :

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~ t :i)oc;t f IUSh Wi tII ~ Cl j d ~k c}:L,oar(3s and ~ nO~ bein9 SUEfiC
iently large to recc~ive the fork oE a fork li~t tru~k.
By one variant thereQf, the stringers include a reinforing pin completely enclosed with~n said stringers.
By ~nother variant thereof, the U-shaped ~embers are reces-sed into the stringers.
By yet another variant, a second u-shaped member extends across the ends of the pallet with the e~nds of -the U-shaped member exte~ding downwardly into and substantially through the two outer-~ost stringers oE said pallet. `~

By a variation thereof, an additional u-ahap0~ membeL is included, which extends across the center of the pallet with the ends of the U-shaped .
member extending downwardly into and substanti~lly through the outermost stringers.
By still another aspect oE this invention a pallet is provided for material transport to be handled with a fork lift truck co~prising a plurality of notched lo~gitudinall~ extending stringers, transver~e deck-boards fixedly secured to the top of the~notched longltudLnally extending stringers and a U ~haFed member ext nding across the bottlom of the outer ost stringsrs at èach e~nd thereof and projecting up~ardly into and substantially tl~x~ugh the stringers, the U~shaped m~mbers being recessed into the string-ers, the notch being suff iciently large to receive the fork of a fork lift truck.
By a varian~ thereof, a U-shaped me~ber is included which extends across the bottcm of the stringers st the centers thereof and projects ~
~: ~ wardly into and s~ibstantial]y thro~gh the outerlr~st stringers, the U-shaped n~er being recessed.

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~ - 3 a -L,J' ;l ~ 11 .UIet~n~ IsL~ Ct of t:his invention, ~ ~tll~ t iS proviaed for ~-~terial transport to be ~ndled with a fork lift truck c~mprising a plurality of lon~it~inally extending stringers~ transverse deckboards fixedly secured to the top of ~he longitud mal~y extending stringers ana a U-shaped me~ber extendiny across the ends of the pallet with the ends of the U-shaped member extending into and substantially through the two outer-most strinyers, the U-shaped m~mbers being at n~st flush with the deckhoards and heing construc-ted and arranged to protect t~e lead edge of the deck-board and to provide st~uctural strength~ :
~ y another variant, the stringers include a reinforcing pin com~pletely enclosed wit~ the stringers.
The pallets are preferably constructed ~rom deckboards nailed to notched.

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stringers ancl inc~ ding a. 1rlelal pin or a pill of another material having structural stren~gth grea.ter thal1 tha.t of woocl between the end and notch of conventionally u~;ed stxingers. The pin is cornp:letely enclosed within the stringer. In fabrication of the improved pa~let, the stringers are cut to proper length and notched as cor1ventionally done, :Elowever, the stringers are then drilled in the vertical direction either completeIy through or sub-stantially through and.a pin inserted. Yhe pins are positioned in the stringer 10 so as not to interEe.re with the nailing o:E deckboa~c1s with automatic nailers or the like. The stringers with the pin insertec1 a~re then used in the fabri-cation oE the pallet in a conventional manne.r as, :Eor exampIeJ by feeding the stringers into automatic stringer feed boxe5 and applying the deck~

boards~top and bottom.with nail hanc1guns or automatic nailers.
The pallets of various aspects of the present inventlon have greatly improved strength particularly at the ends of the pallet or stringer ad jacent to the notch where notched pallets are most often damaged - by being struck with the fork end oE a fork lift truck or the like. The struc-tural strength o.E the pa11ets is fully equivalent or g:rea.ter than the struc-20 tural strength of pallets using deck bolts or rods. However, unlike with the use of bolts, the pallets can be rapid:ly constructed using conventional a.utomated equipment~a.nd can be repaired in a conventional manner since the pins, being fully enclosed within the stringer, for purposes oE ~,vorliing the pallet are as if not there. Moreover, an advantage over the use of balts is that there is no ~veakening o the cleckboards thro~lgh clrilling and countersinliirlg of boltheacls. or the lil;e.

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As a further enbodiment for providiny .in~roved pallets, a U-shaped rod can be inserted runnincJ leng~h~ise oE -the strinyer, extendiny over the notched portions of the strinyer with the ends o:E the U extendiny vertically dow.n into the stringer. The rod is fitted into a yroove .in the stringer so as no-t to interEere with deckboard placement.
As a still Eur~her embodiment in manufacturing reinforced pallets, U-shap~d rods can be utilized extending endwise from stringer to stringer of the pallet and extending vertically dcwnward into the st~inyer. Ihis embodiment pro~ides improved structural stren~th to the pallets and, further, helps to hold the strLnyers of the pallet in squared relation, ta~ing away from the stress on the deckboards. The rods, however, unless counter sunk by notching the stringers can lnterfere with conventional manuEacturing operations and, accordingly, are only to be used ~or special application.
Similarly, the U-shaped rods extendiny acro5s from s-tringer to strinyer of the pallet can be inserted in the bottom of the stringer5 so as to eliminate need for deckboards.
In the accompanying drawinys, Fiyure 1 is an exploded elevational vie~ of a preferred e~bodl~.ent 20 : of one aspect of this invention, s ~ ~ing pin placement; : -: Figure 2 is an exploded elevational vie~l of the pallet of Fiyure 1 utilizing a greater number of reinforcing pins;
igure 3 is an exploded elevational view of a m~dification to the~
embodiment of the aspect of Figure 1 utili~ing pins and ~-shaped members in the pallet;
Fig~re 4 is a side view of the pallet of Figure 3;
Figure 5 is an exploded elevational vi~w of another em~odiment of improved pallets of another aspect of thi5 invention employing U-shaped members;

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Fiyure 6 is a side view oE the pallet of E`iyure 5;
Figure 7 is .~n explcclcd ~LevationLIL vi~w oE a modiEical:ion oE
the embc~Lumen-t oE the aspect of th~ inven-tion of Fiyure S;
Figu~e 8 is a side view of the embodiment oE Fiy~re 7;
Figure 9 is an exploded elevational vie~ of a modifica-tion of the en~cdimenk oE the aspect oE the i~vention of Figure 7;
Figure 10 is a side view of the emb~llment of Figure 9, and Figure L1 is still ano-ther e~bodiment of improved pallets of still another aspect of the invention utilizing U-shaped rod m~mbers in lieu of bottom deckboards.
Referring to the drawing whereln like elements are identified with like numerals, Figure 1 shows a preferred construction of palle-t 10 where three s-tringers 12 having notches 18 cut therein have top boards 14 and bottom boards 1~ nailed thereto. Vertically positioned a-t each end of the three notched strinyers are two pins 20 co~ple-tely enclosed within drilled holes 22. The pins are positioned in thê stringer so as not to lnterfere ~ith nailiny of the deckboards to the stringers with nailguns or automatic nallers. ~nese pins provide surprisingly i ~roved life to the pallet, effectively preventing the most commonly occurring breakage at t~le stringer end adjacent the notched opening for receiving the fork of a fork lift truck.
Although two pins are shcwn in the e~bodiment of Fiyure 1, one pin ~ill provide substantial improvemen-t in pallet life. ~oreover, sub-stantial i pr ~e~ nt is provided if ~pin~ æ e inaerted on1y in the outer-~ ~ , . :

rnost sking~eri,J i.c., rlot in the rrlicld:Le stringer as s~lown in I~ UR:L-~' 1.
It is not desirable, howeve.r, f:rolII cl. practical sta.ndpoint not to ~nclude pins in .,ill of the ';tl'illC''C?rs be(`CIllSe o.E the rnclnner of corlstttlctirlg palLets. ~ .
Prel`eral~ly a.ll o:E tlle strirl~ers will l~e iclentical so tl-at there is no need to L-;
piclc and choose stringers durirlg the course o:E fabrication. , `
FIGU.R~' 2 modi~ies the ernbodirnent of ~IGU:RE 1 to the e:ftent tha.t pins 2~ are also inserted in holes 26 inward from a.ncl immediately ..
ad jacent the notches in the stringeI s. In FIGIJ.RE 3 the embodiment of FIGURE 2 is rrlodified by replacing the pms 20 and 26 rnost nearly adjacent 10 ' each side o~ notch ld with a 'U-sha.ped membe:r 2d. Member 2~ is recessed into notches 30 ~:o that there is no intexLerence with tht placement o.E deck-boards c)nto the strinctJe:rs. 'rhis ernbocliment provicdes additional protection . ~ .
a~ainst breakage of the strin~er horizontally along th.e top oE notch.es ld, _:
FIGUR:E ~.~ shows the positi.oning of the U-sha.ped member 28 a,nd pins 20 h~
in phantom iines within the finishea ~allet. :
l:~IGUR:ES 5 throu~Jh 1] show a second embocliment of the in-vention and modiEications thereof. ~s illustra'ced in l'~IGURE 5, pins 20 a.re not ernployed. :HoweYer, reinEorcing strength is p.roviLled to the pallet,s by insertlon o.E U-sh~.ped member b 32 vertically irltc~ the ends o.~ stringers 18. In the emboclin~.enl: shown in FIGUI~E~; '; and 6, the U-sha.pecl member , 32 is not recessed into the stringer. It is pos,~ib~e, however,: and at ti.mes mcly b~e p:referable :to r eces~s the 1I rrlembes as sho~vrl~ ror e~ca:mple,, in FIGU~ES 9 a.nd 10. In the embodiment Or FIGlJR:r~S 5 ancl 6, one U-sha~ed rrlember ties one ontermost stri.nger to the center stringer and ~nother ties the oLIier oltte.lmost strlngi?r l:o tl~e center slrillger.
In l.~':l.GI:I:RL~ 7 allcl ~ t~lere is irlcluLIed ~.- secorl~l IJ-,c,l-lal)ecl .... . ... , .. . _ . . .. . .. . .

mem)~er 3~.~ at cach e nd Or lhe strir1~rel s e~cte~ ; cl.cross tllLI twc) outè.r~
most st:rinc~ers. In 'L~-IGtJl~ ; 9 c~nd l0 there is irle:lude(l allé~dclil;Lorl~;L
U member 3~i e~ler1t~ g ~ rc).r~ he t~vo olltermo~;t strir~ ers cmcl l)o.c;itic7l1ec1 at the a.ppro:~;iLnate cente:r c)i: I.he strin~;ers~ ~rLl~ tl-sll~r)ec1 me~rLber, 36 is indentecl. It will be appare1lt,, l1owever, that any or all o~ IJ membe:rs 3 3~1 or 36 can be recesse~1 within the stri.n6ers.
In ~ lJ.F~'L~ U-shapec1 mernbers 3~ ~re positionecl at the bottorn of the strin~er ancl inclented into the stringer in order that pallets ~vith notched stringers are provided, elirninatirlg~ the bottorn declcboard.
Througllou.t the various embodi.rnerlts shown in the clra.~Yi,ng, it is clear that,the reinfoxcing members are ,po,c,itioned so c~s to avoid inte:r-ference with the loac1ing o~ rnerchandi.se onko the pallets a.ndJ :Eu:rthe.r,, there is no interference with plncernent of the pclllets including the, sta.cking of one pallet upon another. The reinrorced pal'let.s have a sub~c;ta,ntially enhanced liEetime both from ~reakage~ and a.lso from the st~ndpoirLt of be-coming misshaped through extensive~ use or rnishanc~ling.
Thc pin~ which are usecl in the embodime.nt of FIGURl~S 1 - 4 perferably are metal coatec1 with cermen.t~ The cernent coated plns ca~
be inserted in the ,atringer at the time o.E notching and, drillir-g and will not fall out during subsequent ha.nclling of the stringersO It is also poss~ble to '!
use plain rnetal pins and drill the holes ,,o that the pins fit snugly. It has been fourld that pins }la.ving a clia.rrleter of three-eighths o.E an inc,h are adequate to reinforce a. stringer ~vhich iS about one and one-half to two inches in width. In the.event lhe width of the~ stringers increase, the c1ia-.'meter of the pin may also be desirahly increased. PreerahlyJ the E~i.n willextend sub.stantially all the way thro~,lgh the vertical lent~t11 of tl1e st.ringer.

, ~ . ... . .____ _ , ,, 11!): ~ ( llo~veverJ tlle ~in can l e sonle~vhat sll>l t~.r th~n t~l~! sl~ inge:r ~vitll rcin-forcement beil~g provi(lecl. _.
l`~eretc-~ore t:he invention ha.. b~en clescril?e(l witl1 re :Lerence .
to notched pc~llet~ which perrnit four~vay cnlrarlce with a fork lilit truck. I
~Towever tlle concept oE lhe inventiorl can be clppliecl as well to two-way pallets i. e. . where the :rork lift truck enters anly frorl two airections~
In two-lvay pallets the str.irlgers ~re not notched~ As ~n example. with two-way pallets the pins will protect the leading edge o~ the st:ri.rlgers ancl furtherrrlol e the V-shclped mernbers will fu~ction to protect the ~ . `
10 lead boards of the pallets. ~dditiona].ly3 the U-shaped members wi:Ll add : _~
structural strength to the center oE the pallets whiLe ca.rrying heavy loads.
Although va.rious embodiments have been discussed and shown9 it will be a.pparent to orle s~illed irl the art that additional modi:Eica~
tions can be made with respect-to the number and positioning~o the plns .
and U-shaped rnemhers.

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Claims

1. A pallet for material transport to be handled with a fork lift truck comprising a plurality of notched longitudinally ex-tending stringers, transverse deckboards fixedly secured to said notched longitudinally extending stringers and a reinforcing U-shaped member extending from each outermost stringer end to a center stringer end and extending into and substantially through said stringers, said U-shaped member being at most flush with said deckboards and said notch being sufficiently large to receive the fork of a fork lift truck.

2. The pallet of claim 1 wherein said stringers include a rein-forcing pin completely enclosed within said stringers.

3. The pallet of claim 1 wherein the U-shaped members are recessed into the stringers.

4. The pallet of claim 1 wherein a second U-shaped member extends across the ends of said pallet with the ends of said U-shaped member extending downwardly into and substantially through the two outermost stringers of said pallet.

5. The pallet of claim 4 wherein said U-shaped members are recessed into the stringers.

6. The pallet of claim 4 including an additional U-shaped member extending across the center of said pallet with the ends of said U-shaped member extending downwardly into and substantially through the outermost stringers.

7. The pallet of claim 6 wherein one or more of the U-shaped members is recessed into the stringers.

8. A pallet for material transport to be handled with a fork lift truck comprising a plurality of notched longitudinally ex-tending stringers, transverse deckboards fixedly secured to the top of said notched longitudinally extending stringers and a U-shaped member extending across the bottom of the outer most string-ers transverse deckboards fixedly secured to the top of said notched longitudinally extending stringers and a U-shaped member extending across the bottom of the outermost stringers at each end thereof and projecting upwardly into and substantially through said stringers, said U-shaped members being recessed into said stringers, said notch being sufficiently large to receive the fork of a fork lift truck.

9. The pallet of claim 8 including a u-shaped member extending across the bottom of said stringers at the centers thereof and projecting upwardly into and substantially through said outermost stringers, said U-shaped member being recessed.

10. A pallet for material transport to be handled with a fork lift truck comprising a plurality of longitudinally extending stringers, transverse deckboards fixedly secured to the top of said longitudinally extending stringers and a U-shaped member ex-tending across the ends of said pallet with the ends of said U-shaped member extending into and substantially through the two outermost stringers, said U-shaped members being at most flush with said deckboards and being constructed and arranged to protect the lead edge of the deckboard and to provide structural strength.

11. The pallet of claim 10 wherein said stringers include a rein-forcing pin completely enclosed within said stringers.