KR100382769B1 - New plastic pallet and its manufacturing method - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a plastic pallet.

The plastic pallet according to the invention comprises an upper element or a central element, on which an array of reinforcing ribs and a plurality of feet 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 formed by a series of vertical walls are installed, and a series of aligned feet 6, 7 and 8), the hollow vertical member 9, 10, 11, which is fixed by, for example, welding or adhesive bonding and manufactured by extrusion, is included.

The invention also relates to a method for producing the pallet.

Description

New plastic pallet and manufacturing method

The present invention relates to a novel plastic pallet and a method of manufacturing the same.

Pallets are for supporting a variety of articles, in particular known as a kind of platform for transporting and storing articles.

These platforms usually have nine legs, each with a space between them to accept the fork of the forklift truck or the pallet stacker to support the transfer of pallets from one place to another. Or the foot is mounted.

It is also well known that there are standards that define the various dimensions of the pallet, as well as the strength it must have for the various external forces applied to the pallet.

The most commonly used pallets are wooden pallets, which have the advantage of low manufacturing costs, but they are difficult to use in industries such as the food or pharmaceutical industry because of their short lifespan defects and the heavy and fast dirty spots.

Plastic pallets are also much more expensive than wooden pallets and have two drawbacks that are difficult to meet the implementation standards, either because they do not have sufficient mechanical strength or because the platform or feet of the pallet do not meet the requirements of the pallet specification. Known.

As a result of many studies, the applicant company has come up with a new plastic pallet that can meet the implementation standards and has the advantages of easy production and low cost, which can compete economically with the wooden pallet without its own drawbacks.

The present invention provides a hollow fiber made by an arrangement of reinforcing ribs and an upper element or a central element provided with a plurality of feet formed by a series of vertical walls, and an extrusion which is fixed to the bottom of the series of aligned feet, for example by welding or adhesive bonding. It relates to a plastic pallet characterized in that the combined including the member.

According to a first embodiment, the pallet according to the invention is a particular shape which is formed as a substantially planar platform extending vertically downwards by a dividing wall likewise laterally connected to each other to form a plurality of reinforcing ribs and feet laterally connected to each other. It includes an upper element having a.

This upper element can be easily manufactured by a conventional injection molding process that sends the paste-like thermoplastic material into the corresponding mold under high pressure.

This upper element can also be produced by an injection compression process in which a thermoplastic material is injected into a semi-reformed mold under relatively low pressure, and then the mold is closed, which gives the effect of high compression of the plastic in the mold and the shape it should have. Has an effect.

The upper element of the pallet is by a similar process called an extrusion process in which the mold elements are separated from each other, the extruded thermoplastic material is placed on the lower element of the mold and then the mold is closed by covering the upper element on the lower element to pressurize the plastic. It can also be prepared.

According to the invention, the longitudinal member is advantageously obtained by continuous extrusion of the hollow plastic profile, which preferably comprises at least one vertical rib which is rigid.

The longitudinal member used for making the pallet is a part cut to the required length from the extruded profile.

These longitudinal members are likely to be obtained in a simple and economic way.

According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the longitudinal member comprises at least one vertical dividing wall, which makes the longitudinal member more rigid.

Moreover, it is very easy to significantly enhance its mechanical properties by placing reinforcing elements such as tubes, metal profiles or wood bars in one or more of its interior spaces, for example.

Welding or adhesively joining the longitudinal members under the feet of the upper or central elements of the pallet according to the invention can be easily carried out while still having good mechanical properties.

In fact, the bottom of the foot formed by the dividing wall edges of these feet is supported on the top surface of the longitudinal member without difficulty, which facilitates welding and avoids any problem of accurate positioning.

In this way, for example, welding of the longitudinal member to the lower surface of the foot can be preferably performed by vibration welding in accordance with the present invention.

This welding process is known to be carried out by vibrating one workpiece to be welded in correspondence with the other to induce melting of the two plastic workpieces and cause a local temperature rise so that the two workpieces are welded.

This process can be easily performed to fix the longitudinal member because welding can be performed by a slight relative movement between the lower edge of the dividing wall forming the foot and the upper smooth surface of the longitudinal member.

If welding is required to weld the two workpieces by the ends formed by the dividing wall or ribs, due to the fact that the corresponding ribs of the two workpieces may stop facing each other during the vibrations, such welding may be difficult to perform even if not impossible. It will be very difficult.

Moreover, the construction of the pallet according to the present invention makes it possible to obtain an upper platform which can have a continuous surface or a surface having a hole formed according to a user's request, and the area and number thereof depend on the intended use of the pallet. .

In addition, the lower surface of the pallet itself, formed by the lower surface of the longitudinal member, is large enough so that its width can meet the standard, for example, loading pallets on which fragile products such as liquids stored in plastic bottles are placed. It also has a planar area to allow.

By selecting the number and characteristics of the reinforcing elements fitted to the longitudinal cavity of the longitudinal member, it is possible to apply the mechanical properties of the pallet according to the application without any difficulty.

Such a reinforcing element should slide easily in the corresponding cavity and its cross section should be slightly smaller than that of the cavity.

These reinforcing elements are supported in the cavity, for example with the aid of plastic end covers which are adhesively bonded, welded or fitted to the ends of the longitudinal members, which prevents the movement of the reinforcing elements into the interior of the longitudinal members and debris into the longitudinal members. There are two advantages to preventing this from entering.

According to a particular embodiment of the invention, the longitudinal member is closed at its end to a molded plastic element having an upper edge cut for example to facilitate handling equipment and fork insertion.

The pallet according to the present invention can be made of a wide variety of thermoplastics, and the strength thereof can be increased by a fiber material such as glass fiber.

Thus, for example, the upper and / or central elements and the longitudinal members of the pallet can be made of high density polyethylene.

According to the invention, it is advantageous to form an edge surface at the upper edge of the longitudinal member in order to facilitate the insertion of the fork of the handling equipment between the feet.

For the same reason it is advantageous to form an edge at the corner of the foot where the fork of the handling equipment must be inserted between.

Again for the same reason it is advantageous for the reinforcing ribs which rise below the upper platform to be finished by the inclined cuts.

In order to increase the strength of the upper element, it is advantageous for the dividing wall and rib to be joined to the lower face of the platform by the circular part so as to avoid concentration of too much stress in the material.

According to the second embodiment, the pallet has three types of elements, namely, a central element having a foot on the lower surface as described in the first embodiment, and a structure fixed to the foot and described in the first embodiment. It is formed by the assembly of the longitudinal member obtained by extrusion and the upper element having a plane thereon and joined to the central element by vertical ribs to form a top surface of the platform of the pallet.

In this second embodiment, the central element is advantageously obtained by injection, injection compression or extrusion compression, as described above to obtain the upper element of the first embodiment.

In a first preferred variant of this second embodiment, the central element extends from its bottom surface by a vertical dividing wall forming a foot, and extends from the bottom surface of a pallet platform extending from its top surface by a vertical reinforcing rib. Whereas the upper element is formed by a plate forming the upper surface of the pallet platform, the plate being formed by the upper elements welding together the ends of the reinforcing ribs together, for example by a so-called mirror welding process. It is installed on its lower surface with a vertical reinforcing rib of the same structure as the reinforcing rib of the central element in such a way that it can be coupled to the central element.

In this variant, the plate of the central element may be made to lie entirely in the plane of the bottom surface of the pallet platform, while the partition wall forming the foot extends downward and its ends as described in the first embodiment. By the cross member.

In this variant, the plate of the central element can also be made elevated in the plane of the bottom surface of the platform only outside of the foot, while the plate is raised to the base of the water repellent and then the reinforcing partition wall of the foot engages with the upper element. Extends upwards until

In this first variant of the second embodiment, the upper element can be advantageously produced by injection, injection compression or extrusion compression.

In a second variant of the second embodiment, the upper rib of the central element has a height that substantially matches the thickness of the pallet platform, while the upper element essentially serves to form the top surface of the pallet platform.

In a second variant, it can be produced by injection, injection compression or extrusion compression.

In a third variant of the second embodiment, the central element supports the foot at its lower surface, but its upper surface is formed by a flat plate that does not include ribs.

In this case, the upper element itself is integral with the flat plate forming the upper surface of the platform and the lower surface of the flat plate and the lower end thereof is welded to the upper surface of the central element by, for example, a so-called mirror welding process or vibration welding. Formed by reinforcing ribs.

This upper element can also be made in the form of an extruded rectangular profile, preferably with a vertical dividing wall.

In each of the three variants of this second embodiment, it is possible to fit a reinforcing member such as a metal profile or tube and / or a wood bar in the space between two adjacent ribs of the upper element and / or the central element.

The pallet according to the three variants of this second embodiment has the advantage of having a smooth outer surface and no dents, which is important for keeping the pallet in a clean fit.

Indeed, the bottom of the dividing wall forming the foot is closed by a longitudinal member which itself can be easily closed at its end, while the flats of the central and upper elements are continuous to the lower and upper surfaces of the pallet platform and It should be understood that impart a sealed surface.

This advantage may also be obtained in one embodiment with the aid of a plate whose position and shape correspond to the holes of the foot and are welded to the bottom of the reinforcing ribs of the upper element.

According to the invention, the circumferential dividing wall of the foot may have a grease keyed or wavy cross section, at least in its peripheral part, to increase the breaking strength.

After all, the pallet according to the invention has the advantage that different models, their users or their owners can be differentiated by the use of the upper and / or central elements in combination with the longitudinal members of various appearances due to the method of manufacture thereof, which It allows for a wide variety of identification marks that are desirable from a logistic point of view

By a process for extruding the top surface of the longitudinal member and / or the pallet platform, it is also possible to make them with different appearances, for example stripes of different appearances.

This possibility imparts an important advantage to the pallets according to the invention due to the fact that in most cases the pallets are rented and the pallets must travel frequently and nevertheless their owners must be easily identified. Easy to achieve by

Palettes In particular, standardized pallets have a generally rectangular shape.

According to the invention, it is advantageous if the longitudinal members are arranged parallel to the long side of the pallet so as to advantageously in this direction from the strength imparted by the longitudinal members having reinforcing elements.

Therefore, the mechanical strength required in the width direction can be easily provided by the ribs of the central part or the upper element or the element forming the platform.

The strength in the shorter direction of the pallet can be increased by a reinforcing element located between the ribs in the thickness of the platform.

The upper and / or central elements of the platform according to the invention can be manufactured by conventional injection processes or by gas assisted injection processes which allow the plastic to be better dispensed from the mold and use a low power press. This process can increase the stiffness of the pallet by increasing the moment of inertia for the same amount of thermoplastic material.

In order to further understand the present invention, the following describes various embodiments of the present invention by way of non-limiting example shown in the accompanying drawings.

1 shows the upper element 1 of the pallet formed by a substantially planar platform 2 with nine feet installed at the bottom, with the surrounding feet 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 briefly shown. Drawing.

FIG. 1 also shows how the longitudinal member is fixed to the lower part of the feet 6, 7 and 8.

Similarly, the longitudinal members 10, 11 are coupled to the lower part of the foot which lies in the straight line of the foot 4, 5.

FIG. 1 is a diagram partially showing how a hole 3 is installed in the platform 2 whose size is selected as a function of the product properties to be placed on the pallet.

The advantage of these holes (3) is to lighten the pallet. Obviously, when placing a fragile product on a pallet, such as a product in a bag, there is an advantage in limiting the size of these holes to prevent damage to the product.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the quartered lower part of the pallet of FIG.

The platform 2 and the hole 3 can be seen again in this figure.

The upper part of the foot 6 is indicated by dashed lines, like the upper half of the foot 5, 7.

The feet 5, 6, 7 are formed by a circumferential dividing wall 12 and a central dividing wall 131 which are joined together laterally and integral with the platform 2 at the top thereof. It may be located in a radial direction, for example along a diagonal line.

In a variant, the circumferential dividing wall 12 may have a grease-keyed or wavy cross section, for example, on the side facing the outside of the pallet to increase the breaking strength.

Also, like the ribs 15 arranged parallel to the length of the pallet, ribs 14 arranged parallel to the width of the pallet are indicated by dashed lines in FIG.

Also shown by dashed lines are ribs 16 circulating around the right side of the platform 2.

Like the dividing walls 12, 13 in which the feet are constructed, the ribs 14, 15, 16 are integrated into the bottom surface of the platform 2 to provide stiffness and mechanical strength.

According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, it can be seen in FIG. 2 that the foot has an edge surface to facilitate forklift truck insertion between them.

FIG. 7 shows the rear side upside down of the upper element of the pallet according to the invention so as to see the dividing wall in which the foot is constructed, as in the rib.

7 clearly shows how the bottom of the peripheral partition wall 12 and the inner partition wall 13 in which the foot is formed is formed.

Edge surfaces 17 are also visible, which are formed around the foot to allow forklift truck forks to be inserted more easily.

Finally, the arrangement of ribs 14, 15 can be seen in FIG. 7 as with the circumferential rib 16.

Given the specific structure of such a pallet upper element, it is understood that due to the fact that both the dividing wall and the ribs are oriented perpendicular to the platform 2, it is possible to manufacture this upper element without the occurrence of special difficulties.

FIG. 3 shows a cross section along line III-III of FIG. 2, again showing the platform 2 and the hole 3, similar to the transverse rib 14 and the circumferential rib 16.

It can be seen that the circumferential rib 16 has a lower height than the other lateral ribs 14, like the outermost lateral ribs 14a, so that the fork of the forklifter truck can be easily inserted into the free space between the feet. have.

FIG. 4 shows a cross section along line IV-IV of FIG. 2, with the longitudinal ribs 15 further shown, the cross section being identical to FIG. 3 except that it is taken over the hole 3.

4 shows how the longitudinal ribs 15 are cut so as to be inclined at their ends to join the ribs 14a to adjacent ribs 14.

The circumferential dividing wall 12 of the foot 5, 6 can be seen again in FIG. 5, similar to the central dividing wall 13, which is a sectional view along the line V-V in FIG. 2. In addition, what can be seen again in FIG. 5 is the longitudinal rib 15 similarly to the horizontal rib 14.

6 is a bottom perspective view of the foot 6 on the vertical member 9.

In the illustrated embodiment, the longitudinal member 9 is formed by a trapezoidal overall profile of the lower surface 18 and a foot 6 for mounting on the floor or on a product supported by another pallet. It includes an upper surface 19 to be coupled to the lower portion of the partition wall (12, 13, 17) to form.

The longitudinal member 9 has an overall shape of a trapezoid corresponding to the shape of the lower part of the dividing wall 12, 13, 17 forming the foot 6 so that the foot is accurately positioned on the longitudinal member.

6 also shows how the longitudinal member comprises four vertical dividing walls 20, 21, 22, 23 that define five passages within the longitudinal member.

According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, it is also possible to see how the reinforcing element 24, for example a metal tube, fits in the central hollow structure of the longitudinal member between the walls 21, 22.

If necessary, the reinforcing element is prevented from moving in the longitudinal member, for example by slight deformation or shrinkage of the plastic or the like, due to the fact that the reinforcing element is in contact with the ribs or the presence of thick areas on the inner surface of the longitudinal member. Can be.

As has been described above, the upper element of the pallet can be produced, for example, by injection, injection compression or extrusion compression.

The number and dimensions of the ribs located on the bottom surface of the upper element are selected as a function of the mechanical strength required to impart to the pallet.

The longitudinal member, given its contour, can be easily obtained by extrusion and can subsequently be cut to the required length.

Coupling the longitudinal member to the foot is a vibratory welding adapted to apply the foot to the longitudinal member by vibrating one workpiece against the other in order to be able to weld the two workpieces by heat generation and local melting of the two workpieces. It can be easily carried out by the process.

6 shows, for example, that can be easily adhesively bonded, fitted or welded, for example mirror welded, at each end of the longitudinal member to retain the reinforcement 24 in the longitudinal member and to prevent the entry of foreign matter into the longitudinal member. It shows how the hollow structure of the longitudinal member can be closed with the help of the flat plate 25 of the plastic material.

8 shows a first variant of the second embodiment of the present invention, which includes a central element provided with a flat plate 26 having partition walls 12 and 13 forming a foot on its lower surface.

The ends of the dividing walls 12, 13 are welded, for example, by vibration welding, to the position 30 of the longitudinal member 9 produced by extrusion.

As described above, this longitudinal member 9 comprises a metal reinforcement 24 between the two vertical walls 21, 22.

The plate 26 of the central element includes a series of vertical reinforcement ribs on its top surface, only the circumferential ribs 27 are shown and the other ribs are arranged between the two ribs at the top of the central element. Obscured by This plate 26 is covered by an upper element 29 which is next to the ribs at the ends of the ribs arranged at the top of the plate 26 of the central element as shown at 30. Is welded at position 30.

As shown in FIG. 8, the reinforcing members arranged between the central and upper elements are advantageously arranged perpendicularly to the direction of the longitudinal member 9 to reinforce the pallet in two directions.

9 shows a variant of FIG. 8, in which the flat plate 26 of the central element extends below the bottom of the foot to form a support surface for supporting the top of the longitudinal member 9.

Here, the longitudinal member 9 is reinforced by the wood reinforcement 24a.

9 also schematically shows a reinforcing member 28 arranged between two ribs located on the plate 26 of the central element.

In this embodiment, the upper element 29 is formed by a profile of square cross section, in which the dividing wall 32 is installed, which can be easily obtained by extrusion.

This profile 29 can be easily welded at position 30 at the upper rib end, for example by use of a vibration welding process.

FIG. 10 shows a variant of FIG. 8, in which the flat plate 26 is formed by a single plastic plate 33 which is fixed by welding at position 30 on top of the vertical ribs of the central element. It includes a vertical rib extending to.

This welding can be advantageously performed by a vibration welding process.

Finally, FIG. 11 shows another variant, in which the flat plate 26 of the central element does not comprise a rib thereon, while the upper element 29 has a rib 32 and the end of the rib is Welded at position 30 on the upper surface of the plate 26 of the central element, this welding can be advantageously carried out by vibration.

Of course, in the embodiments of FIGS. 10 and 11, the reinforcing member may be positioned between the ribs before engaging the central element to the upper element.

The above-described embodiments are not limited at all, and it is obvious that the preferred modifications or applications can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.

1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of a pallet according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a plan view viewed from above by dividing the pallet shown in FIG.

3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line III-III of FIG. 2,

4 is a cross-sectional view showing a continuous rib along the line IV-IV of FIG. 2,

5 is a view along the line V-V of FIG.

6 is a schematic partially enlarged perspective view showing a newly joined member with legs;

7 is a partially cutaway perspective view of the lower part of the upper element of the pallet shown in FIG.

8 is a cross-sectional view of the modified leg of the second embodiment of the present invention,

9 is a cross-sectional view of another modified leg of the second embodiment of the present invention,

10 and 11 illustrate another modified embodiment of the upper element.

* Description of the main symbols

1..Top Element 2..Platform

3.hole 4,5,6,7,8..foot

9,10,11.Vertical member 12,13.Partition wall

14,15,16..Rib 17 ..

18. bottom 20,21,22,23 vertical partition wall

24.Reinforcements 26..Reputation

27. Rib circumference 28. Reinforcement tube

29..Upper Element

Claims (35)

An array of reinforcing ribs 14, 15, an upper element provided with a plurality of feet 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 formed by a series of vertical walls, and a series of aligned feet 6, 7, 8 Fixed to the lower portion of the hollow longitudinal member (9, 10, 11) made by extrusion comprising a combination, the reinforcing ribs (14, 15) to form the foot (4, 5, 6, 7, 8) Plastic pallets, characterized in that connected to the vertical wall (12,13) and side by side. The method of claim 1, Wherein the arrangement of the reinforcing ribs (14, 15) comprises a rib parallel to one side of the pallet. The method of claim 1, The plastic vertical member (9, 10, 11) is arranged in the lower part of the foot parallel to the long side of the pallet. The method of claim 1, The vertical member (9, 10, 11) plastic pallet, characterized in that it comprises a vertical partition wall (20, 21, 22, 23). The method of claim 1, The plastic member, characterized in that the longitudinal member (9, 10, 11) comprises a reinforcing member (24) formed of a metal profile in the longitudinal hollow portion. The method of claim 1, Plastic pallets, characterized in that the ends of the longitudinal members (9, 10, 11) are sealed by a flat plate (25) of plastic material welded to the longitudinal members. The method of claim 1, The plastic pallet, characterized in that the corner of the foot has an edge surface (17) to facilitate the insertion of the fork of the handling equipment between the feet. The method of claim 1, Plastic pallet, characterized in that the circumferential wall (9) of the foot has a grease-keyed cross section for increasing its breaking strength over a portion of its circumference. The method of claim 1, The longitudinal member (9, 10, 11) has a substantially trapezoidal cross section, the upper edge of which is characterized in that it has a corner face to facilitate insertion of the fork of the handling equipment between the feet. The method of claim 1, A plastic pallet, characterized in that the reinforcing ribs (16, 14a) arranged around the pallet have a lower height than other reinforcing ribs to facilitate fork insertion of the handling equipment between the feet. The method of claim 1, And the ends of the reinforcing ribs are cut inclined to facilitate insertion of the fork of the handling equipment between the feet. The method of claim 1, Plastic pallet, characterized in that the upper element (1) and the longitudinal member (9, 10, 11) are made with the aid of a plastic comprising a fiber material such as glass fiber. The method of claim 1, The pallet is formed by an upper element that forms a platform top surface of the pallet and includes a plate extending downward by an arrangement of reinforcing ribs, the ends of the reinforcing ribs being welded to the longitudinal member. A central element 26 having a plurality of elements 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 formed by a series of vertical walls 12, 13 on its lower surface, a series of aligned feet An upper element having a hollow longitudinal member 9, 10, 11 fixed to the bottom of (4, 5, 6, 7, 8) obtained by extrusion and having a plane thereon for forming an upper surface of the platform of the pallet. Plastic pallet, characterized in that the upper element (29) and the central yoke (26) are joined by vertical ribs. The method of claim 14, And said vertical rib coupling said upper element to said central element is integral to said central element by molding. The method of claim 14, And said vertical rib coupling said upper element to said central element is integral to said upper element by molding. The method of claim 14, Wherein said top and center elements each comprise ribs welded by their ends. The method of claim 14, And said pallet comprises a reinforcing element located between two ribs between said upper and central elements. The method of claim 18, And the reinforcing element is positioned perpendicular to the longitudinal member. The method of claim 18, And the reinforcing element is formed by a metal tube. An array of reinforcing ribs 14, 15, an upper element provided with a plurality of feet 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 formed by a series of vertical walls 12, 13, and a series of aligned feet 6. Fixed to the bottom of the 7, 7, 8, the hollow longitudinal member (9, 10, 11) made by extrusion is provided in combination, the reinforcing ribs (14, 15) is the foot (4, 5, 6, 8) a method of manufacturing a pallet that is laterally connected to each other as well as to the vertical walls 12, 13 forming the Wherein said upper element is made by injection of a thermoplastic material such as high density polyethylene. The method of claim 21, The vertical member (9, 10, 11) is a plastic pallet manufacturing method, characterized in that after being produced by extrusion is cut to a predetermined length. The method of claim 21 or 22, The vertical member (9, 10, 11) is plastic pallet manufacturing method, characterized in that fixed to the lower portion of the foot (4, 5, 6, 7, 8) by vibration welding. The method of claim 21 or 22, Wherein the various parts of the pallet are made of plastic of different shades for identification for logistics purposes. The method of claim 1, The hollow longitudinal member (9,10,11) is characterized in that it is fixed by welding to the lower part of the series of aligned feet (6,7,8). The method of claim 1, The hollow longitudinal member (9, 10, 11) is characterized in that the pallet is fixed to the lower portion of the series of aligned feet (6,7,8) by adhesive bonding. The method of claim 1, The plastic member, characterized in that the longitudinal member (9, 10, 11) comprises a reinforcing member (24) formed of a metal tube in the longitudinal hollow portion. The method of claim 1, The plastic member, characterized in that the vertical member (9, 10, 11) includes a reinforcing member (24) formed of a wooden bar in the longitudinal hollow portion. The method of claim 1, Plastic pallets, characterized in that the ends of the vertical members (9, 10, 11) are sealed by a flat plate (25) made of plastic material adhesively bonded to the vertical member. The method of claim 1, Plastic pallets, characterized in that the ends of the longitudinal members (9, 10, 11) are sealed by a plastic plate (25) fitted to the longitudinal members. The method of claim 1, Plastic pallet, characterized in that the circumferential wall (9) of the foot has a wavy cross section to increase its breaking strength over a portion of its circumference. The method of claim 1, The pallet is formed by an upper element that forms a platform top surface of the pallet and includes a plate extending downward by an arrangement of reinforcing ribs, the ends of the reinforcing ribs adhesively bonded to the longitudinal member. The method of claim 14, Wherein said top and center elements each comprise reinforcing ribs adhesively bonded by their ends. The method of claim 18, And the reinforcing element is formed by a metal profile. The method of claim 18, And said reinforcing element is formed by a wooden bar.