US3294041A

US3294041A - Beam pallet assembly

Info

Publication number: US3294041A
Application number: US488118A
Authority: US
Inventors: Lessheim Arno
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1965-09-17
Filing date: 1965-09-17
Publication date: 1966-12-27
Anticipated expiration: 1983-12-27

Description

Dec. 27, 1966 A. LESSHEIM 3,294,041

BEAM PALLET ASSEMBLY Filed Sept. 17, 1965 with the permanent block beam section.

United States Patent 3,294,041 BEAM PALLET ASSEMBLY Arno Lessheim, 109 Beech Grove Ave., Batesville, Ind. 47006 Filed Sept. 17, 1965, Ser. No. 488,118 6 Claims. (Cl. 108-58) This invention relates generally to material handling equipment and more particularly to skids and pallets upon which material may be stored and transported.

Many varieties of skids and pallets are known. Yet there remains a need for some means to solve the problem of a manufacturer or warehouseman who employs pallets at his own location for storage and transportation of merchandise and also employs pallets for shipment out of his own location, be it a warehouse or manufacturing plant. If the pallets shipped out have any significant value, he has an interest in the return thereof in good condition to his plant. This is quite difficult to control because once they have been shipped out of his plant they are frequently subjected to mishandling, damage, loss, and intentional or accidental exchange with dissimilar or inferior pallets belonging to others, for example.

It is therefore a general object of the present invention to provide a pallet assembly overcoming the above mentionedproblems.

It is a further object to provide a pallet assembly having a permanent portion of high quality but inexpensive construction useful by its owner for long periods of time and also incorporate therewith a low cost, but adequate, disposable pallet satisfactory for shipment out of the owners plant.

Described briefly, a typical embodiment of the present invention employs a rectangular board which serves alternately as a base board and a deck board, this board being combined with a plurality of block beams arranged thereon to provide maximum strength and form a permanent pallet section. Each block beam includes a pair of elongated vertically spaced parallel plates with a plurality of horizontally spaced support blocks afiixed thereto and disposed therebetween. The disposable pallet section is in the form of a grid including a plurality or horizontally spaced grid plates mounted on plates of the block beams, and a plurality of horizontally spaced grid bars affixed to the top of the grid plates and extending transverse thereto. The grid plates, extending transverse to the block beam plates on which they are mounted, have downwardly projecting locating blocks affixed thereto adjacent the block beam to provide alignment of the disposable grid section The grid section is separate from the block beam section for shipment of merchandise thereon out of the owners plant. The block beam section is thereupon available for use as a pallet or skid in the owners plant.

The full nature of the invention will be understood from the accompanying drawings and the following description and the claims.

FIG. 1 is an enlarged perspective view of a typical embodiment of the beam pallet assembly.

FIG. 2 is an elevational view, on a smaller scale, of another embodiment thereof.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram referred to in the description to explain a feature of the invention.

Referring now to the drawings in detail, a board 11 is provided to serve as a base board for the pallet assembly illustrated. This is a board having substantial surface area and a planar parallel upper and lower face, a suitable material for such a board being plywood. Three identical block beam assemblies are mounted to the top surface of board 11, these assemblies being identified by the

reference numerals

12, 13, and 14. A detailed description of one of these block beams will suffice for all, because they are identical.

Referring specifically to block beam 12, it includes a lower elongated plate 16 aflixed directly to the top surface of board 11 by any suitable means such as glue, screws, or bolts, for example. Three identical horizontally spaced spacer and

support blocks

17, 18 and 19 are afiixed to the top surface of plate 16, again by any suitable fastening means. An upper plate 21 is aflixed to the top of these blocks and may be identical to the lower plate, and is disposed in parallel vertically spaced relationship thereto. At the front end 22 of the board 11, a front end portion of the lower plate 16 projects forwardly both from the board 11 and the block 17. This provides room for a hardwood impact strip 23 to be placed immediately in front of the front end 22 of the board and secured to the projecting portion 24 of the plate 16. A like impact strip 26 is provided at the rear end 27 of the board 11.

The unit which has been described thus far is considered the permanent pallet and for use by itself as a pallet it is simply inverted so that the block beam strips which are the upper strips in the drawing as described to this point then become the lower strips and engage the ground or floor or other surface to support the pallet. The board 11 then becomes the load supporting and receiving deck. Because such a pallet may be approached in the direction of the arrow 28 or in the opposite direction of the arrow 29, by a fork-lift truck, with the lifting forks being received between the

block beams

12 and 13 and

beams

13 and 14, the plywood board edges could become damaged were it not for the provision of the hardwood imp-act strips. It should be understood, of course, that because the pallet, when inverted is sup ported on the block beams, and these beams are of the vertically spaced plate and horizontally spaced support block construction, the lifting forks of a fork-lift truck can also enter the pallet in the direction of the arrow 31 or in the opposite direction thereto which is the direction of the arrow 32. In this instance, typically one fork enters between the

blocks

17 and 18 and the other fork enters between the

blocks

18 and 19.

When the block beam pallet permanent section is employed as a base unit, a disposable pallet section 33 is mounted thereon according tothe present invention to provide a complete block beam pallet assembly. This disposable pallet section includes horizontally spaced

elongated plates

34, 36, and 37 which are mounted on top of the upper plates of the block beams and extend transverse thereto. The length of these grid plates is equal to the Width of the pallet base board 11 from the side tangent block beam 12 to the side tangent block beam 14. A plurality of parallel horizontally spaced grid bars 38 is mounted to the top of the grid plates, each of these bars being afiixed to the upper surface of each of the plates which it crosses, these bars extending parallel to the block beams. These grid bars serve to support whatever load is to be mounted on the pallet assembly.

Downwardly projecting blocks 39 are mounted to the grid plates immediately inside of the

outside block beams

12 and 14 and alongside the upper plates of these block beams. These blocks or feet 39 on the grid assembly serve to position it so that it will not move with respect to the block beam assembly in the direction of either of the

arrows

31 or 32. They also can be useful when the disposable pallet section 33 is separated from the block beam pallet section to provide supporting legs or feet therefor and facilitate the setting down or picking up thereof by a fork-lift truck.

When the disposable pallet is mounted on the permanent pallet as shown in the principal figure of the drawing, it can be removed therefrom by a fork-lift approach- 'made of wood or other inexpensive material and can be considered expendable. Yet it is adequate to support loads being shipped out of the owners factory, and he need not be concerned whether it is returned or not. After it is separated from the permanent pallet, the permanent pallet can be inverted for use in the owners plant however desired. If it later becomes desirable to use the permanent pallet with disposable pallets, in preparation, movement, and handling of goods for shipment outside, it is again inverted as shown in the principal figure of the drawing and assembled with the disposable pallet. In this instance, the fork-lift truck approaches in the direction of the

arrow

31 or 32 with the lifting forks engaging the lower faces of the upper plates of the block beams.

While the grid type has been described, other types of disposable pallets can be employed with the permanent pallet section. For example, as indicated in FIG. 2, a sheet of corrugated fiberboard or plywood 51 can be placed directly on the outer plates 21 of the block beam to serve as a deck. The locating can be done by employing frusto-conical cups 52 secured to the bottom thereof instead of blocks 39. These cups can be of the type such as shown in my copending application Ser. No. 468,890 filed July 1, 1965, for example. A block beam pallet assembly employing a disposable sheet type of deck such as this, makes 100% of the area of the pallet available for load distribution. This permits stacking merchandise palletized on these pallets to considerable heights without damaging the merchandise.

Although FIG. 1 of the illustrated embodiments hereof shows three block beam modules, FIG. 2 shows four such modules. This illustrates that more or less modules can be employed, if desired.

Another feature of the present invention can easily be overlooked unless it is described. To appreciate this feature, one must first consider that certain materials have greater beam strengths in one direction than in another direction. For example, assuming that the board 11 is made of a three ply sheet of plywood, the wood grain of the upper and lower sheets has one principal orientation direction, whereas the grain of the intermediate sheet has a principal orientation direction at 90 degrees thereto. This means that if the sheet of plywood has a vertical load applied to the center thereof as for example by means of a weight 41, in FIG. 3 and is supported at opposite sides by

supports

42 and 43, if the grain direction runs in the direction of the

arrows

44 and 46 for the upper and lower sheets, the bending and deflection of the sheet will be considerably less than if the grain of only the inner sheet runs in the direction of those arrows and the grain of the other sheets runs perpendicular thereto. So it can be said that the plywood has a principal beam strength direction parallel to the direction of the grain of the greatest number of distinct ply sheets therein.

So it is another feature of the present invention to construct the pallet so that the block beams extend in a direction transverse to the greatest beam strength direction.

The invention claimed is:

1. In a beam pallet assembly, the combination comprising:

a first board means having an extended surface at the bottom thereof;

at least two block beams horizontally spaced on said first board means and secured thereto, each of said block beams including a lower elongated plate and an upper elongated plate and horizontally spaced spacer and support blocks affixed to the top surface of said lower plate, the lower plate of each block beam being attached to said board means and the upper plate for each block beam being disposed in parallel vertically spaced relationship to the lower plate thereof;

a disposable grid-type pallet section on top of said block beams and including a plurality of parallel horizontally spaced plates received on and supported by the upper plates of said block beams and extending trans- Versely thereto, a plurality of parallel horizontally spaced elongated grid bars mounted on the upper surface of said plates of said disposable pallet section and affixed thereto and extending transverse thereto and parallel to the plates of said block beams, and locator blocks projecting downwardly from the plates of said disposable pallet section and located adjacent plates of said block beams to limit relative movement between the block beams and the grid bars in a direction transverse thereto to maintain a proper position of said disposable pallet section on said block beams.

2. In a beam pallet assembly, the combination comprising:

a first board means having an extended surface at the bottom thereof;

at least two block beams horizontally spaced on said first board means and secured thereto, each of said block beams including a lower elongated plate and an upper elongated plate and horizontally spaced spacer and support blocks aflixed to the top surface of said lower plate, the lower plate of each block beam being attached to said board means and the upper plate for each block beam being disposed in parallel vertically spaced relationship to the lower plate thereof;

and an impact strip extending across each end of said first board means and having a lower surface coplanar with the lower surface of said first board means, said impact strip being of a material harder and more durable than that of said first board means and being mounted on end portions of the lower plates of said block beams by removable fasteners, and said strips extending transverse to the direction of the greatest dimension of said plates of said block beams.

3. In a beam pallet assembly, the combination comprising:

a first board means having an extended surface at the bottom thereof;

at least two block beams horizontally spaced on said first board means and secured thereto, each of said block beams including a lower elongated plate and an upper elongated plate and horizontaly spaced spacer and support blocks afiixed to the top surface of said lower plate, the lower plate of each block beam being attached to said board means and the upper plate for each block beam being disposed in parallel vertically spaced relationship to the lower plate thereof; and a disposable sheet deck resting on top of said upper plates and coextensive therewith to provide a load supporting surface area as great as the floor area covered by said first board means.

4. In a beam pallet assembly, the combination comprising:

a first board means having an extended surface at the bottom thereof;

at least two block beams horizontally spaced on said first board means and secured thereto, each of said block beams including a lower elongated plate and an upper elongated plate and horizontally spaced spacer and support blocks afiixed to the top surface of said lower plate, the lower plate of each block beam being attached to said board means and the upper plate for each block beam being disposed in parallel vertically spaced relationship to the lower plate thereof,

the spacing between said plates and blocks in each block beam being suflicient to admit lifting forks of a fork lift truck to permit lifting and transporting said beams and board means with a disposable pallet on top of said upper plates.

5. In a beam pallet assembly, the combination comprising:

a first board means having an extended surface at the bottom thereof;

and a disposable sheet deck on top of said block beams,

said deck having downwardly projecting locators immediately adjacent to and between two of said block beams.

6. The pallet assembly of claim 5 wherein:

said locators are frusto conical cups of sufficient length to enable them to serve as floor support legs for said sheet decks when said deck is separated from said block beams, to support said sheet deck a sufficient distance above a floor to permit lifting forks of a fork lift truck to move thereunder for facilitating lifting, carrying, and depositing thereof.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,493,562 1/1950 Yarman 10858 2,686,646 8/1954 McMillan 10855 2,692,064 10/1954 Koester 108-55 X 2,890,849 6/1959 Fogarty 10858 3,149,586 9/1964 Kemb et al. 108-58 3,204,583 9/ 1965 Nicholson 10858 FRANK B. SHERRY, Primary Examiner.

G. O. FINCH, Assistant Examiner.

Claims

1. IN A BEAM PALLET ASSEMBLY, THE COMBINATION COMPRISING: A FIRST BOARD MEANS HAVING AN EXTENDED SURFACE AT THE BOTTOM THEREOF; AT LEAST TWO BLOCK BEAMS HORIZONTALLY SPACED ON SAID FIRST BOARD MEANS AND SECURED THERETO, EACH OF SAID BLOCK BEAMS INCLUDING A LOWER ELONGATED PLATE AND AN UPPER ELONGATED PLATE AND HORIZONTALLY SPACED SPACER AND SUPPORT BLOCKS AFFIXED TO THE TOP SURFACE OF SAID LOWER PLATE, THE LOWER PLATE OF EACH BLOCK BEAM BEING ATTACHED TO SAID BOARD MEANS AND THE UPPER PLATE FOR EACH BLOCK BEAM BEING DISPOSED IN PARALLEL VERTICALLY SPACED RELATIONSHIP TO THE LOWER PLATE THEREOF; A DISPOSABLE GRID-TYPE PALLET SECTION ON TOP OF SAID BLOCK BEAMS AND INCLUDING A PLURALITY OF PARALLEL HORIZONTALLY SPACED PLATES RECEIVED ON AND SUPPORTED BY THE UPPER PLATES OF SAID BLOCK BEAMS AND EXTENDING TRANSVERSELY THERETO, A PLURALITY OF PARALLEL HORIZONTALLY SPACED ELONGATED GRID BARS MOUNTED ON THE UPPER SURFACE OF SAID PLATES OF SAID DISPOSABLE PALLET SECTION AND AFFIXED THERETO AND EXTENDING TRANSVERSE THERETO AND PARALLEL TO THE PLATES OF SAID BLOCK BEAMS, AND LOCATOR BLOCKS PROJECTING DOWNWARDLY FROM THE PLATES OF SAID DISPOSABLE PALLET SECTION AND LOCATED ADJACENT PLATES OF SAID BLOCK BEAMS TO LIMIT RELATIVE MOVEMENT BETWEEN THE BLOCK BEAMS AND THE GRID BARS IN A DIRECTION TRANSVERSE THERETO TO MAINTAIN A PROPER POSITION OF SAID DISPOSABLE PALLET SECTION ON SAID BLOCK BEAMS.