US2806624A

US2806624A - Combined pallet and crate

Info

Publication number: US2806624A
Application number: US567537A
Authority: US
Inventors: Marshall H Beckner
Original assignee: TRI STATE ENGINEERING Co
Current assignee: TRI STATE ENGINEERING Co; TRI-STATE ENGINEERING Co
Priority date: 1956-02-24
Filing date: 1956-02-24
Publication date: 1957-09-17
Anticipated expiration: 1974-09-17

Description

p 1957v M. H. 'BEpKNER 2,806,624

COMBINED PALLET AND CRATE Filed Feb. 24, 1956 4 Sheets-Sheet 1" Sept 17, 1957 M. B'ECKNER 2,806,624

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4 QTT E Y I United States Patent 2,806,624 COMBINED PALLET AND CRATE H. Beckner, Washington, Pa., assignor to Tri- Washington, Pm, a cor- Marshall State Engineering Company, poration of Maryland This invention relates to combined pallet and crate structures and is a modification of my co-pending application Ser. No. 567,533, filed February 24, 1956.

The principal object of the invention is the provision of a structure wherein the end walls are foldable upon the side walls that are mounted on the deck in a particular manner, to thereby permit of compactness for storing and shipping when the crates are not in use.

The principal distinction between this invention and the forms shown in my said co-pending application resides in the fact that although one of the vertical walls can here be folded to horizontal position in verticallyspaced relation to the deck as in the other application, it has its lower edge maintained at a definite distance above the deck at all times, instead of being vertically shiftable into and out of load-bearing engagement with the deck.

Some of the forms which my invention may take are shown in the accompanying drawings wherein Figure 1 is an end elevational view of a combined pallet and crate embodying one form of my invention;

Fig. 2 is a side view thereof looking at the right hand side of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a view showing the crate of Fig. l folded upon the deck or pallet portion of the structure;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged sectional view of a portion of the structure of Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is a perspective view showing a modification of the structure of Fig. 1;

Fig. 6 shows the manner in Fig. 5 will be swung to horizontal position, walls, however, absent from the deck, and

Fig. 7 shows a detail of one of the stop members of Fig. 5.

Referring first to Figs. 1 to 4, the crate comprises a side wall 11 of rods welded in crossed relation, the lowermost horizontal rod 12 of the wall being hingedly connected to a rod 13 by a helical wire 14. The rod 13 is one of a series of transverse rods welded to horizontal rods 15, to thereby form the deck sheet of the pallet. The deck sheet is welded to an underframe 16 of channel bars to which legs 17 are welded.

The side wall 11 is hingedly connected by a helical wire 18 to an end wall 19 that has a stop 20 on its lower end which extends into the deck and prevents bulging of this end wall under internal pressures.

The other side wall 21 has an end wall 22 hingedly connected thereto by a spiral hinge 23, at that corner of the crate diagonally opposite to the hinge 18. At the other diagonal corners, the side walls 21 and 11 respectively are detachably connected to the end walls by bolts 24 that are slidably supported on these side walls, for movement into and out of loop-like keepers 25 that are welded to the end walls 19 and 22 respectively, which keepers extend through mesh openings in the walls 21 and 11, as shown more clearly in Figs. 1 and 2. The end walls are therefore foldable against the side walls, on

which the vertical wall of with the other "ice the hinges 18 and 23, when the latches age disengaged and it is desired to fold the side walls 21 and 11 flatwise upon the deck.

In order to permit this flatwise folding of the walls upon the deck, as shown in Fig. 3, the deck channel 16 at one side has one of its flanges or legs extended upwardly at 16a to support the upwardly-bent ends 27 of the deck wires. A rod 28 is welded to the bent ends 27 and is hingedly connected to a rod 29 that is welded to the vertical rods 20 of the end wall 21, by a spiral hinge 31.

The side wall 11 (Fig. 1) is hingedly connected to the deck at 14 in such manner that it is supported in vertical position directly by the deck, while the wall 21 is directly supported upon the bent-up ends 27 of the deck wires. When the end wall 19 is folded outwardly upon the wall 11 and the wall 11 laid flatwise upon the deck, and the end wall 22 folded about the hinge 23 upon the side wall 21, the walls can all lie in approximately flatwise position on the deck as shown in Fig. 3, by reason of the clearance afforded by the bent-up deck rods at 27.

Referring now to Figs. 5, 6 and 7, I show an arrangement wherein a side wall 31 that corresponds to the side wall 21 is hingedly connected to upturned rods 32 of a deck 33 in permanently raised position. That is to say, the wall 31 will be of somewhat less height than the opposite side wall and the end walls that correspond to the end walls 19 and 22, by reason of the fact that it has no vertical change of position which would permit it to rest upright on the deck. This side wall is hingedly connected to the deck by a spiral hinge 34 which extends around the lower horizontal rod 35 of the side wall and two

rods

36 and 37 that are welded to the inner and outer sides of the upstanding ends 32.

The

rods

36 and 37 have humps formed therein as shown at 38 in Figs. 5 and 7, to prevent displacement of the lower edge of the side wall 31 from the upturned edge of the deck, when the side wall is in its raised or operative position.

It will be understood that the structure of Figs. 5 and and 6 will be placed on a pallet underframe as in the case of Figs. 1 and 2.

I claim as my invention:

1. A combined pallet and crate structure, comprising an underframe, a deck sheet on the frame and bent upwardly at one edge and then extending horizontally, a side wall hingedly connected to the opposite edge of the deck and foldable flatwise thereon, a second side wall hingedly connected to the said horizontally-extending portion, the last-named hinge connection and its wall being vertically supported by the said horizontal portion, whereby the lower edge of the second side wall will be disposed in such vertically spaced relation to the deck as to overlie other walls laid upon the deck, the two end walls engageable with the side walls and normally resting upon the deck when in their vertical positions, the underframe having a vertically flanged member in position to support said horizontally extending portion. 1

2. A structure as recited in claim 1, wherein thevsaid flanged underframe member is in the form of a channel having a flange that engages the undersurface of the main body of the deck sheet and a deeper flange that engages beneath the said horizontally-extending portion of the deck sheet.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,443,901 Murray Jan. 30, 1923 2,632,578 Brickman Mar. 24, 1953 2,735,568 Bitney Feb. 21, 1956