Plastic pallet having replaceable deck

Abstract

A plastic pallet is described having a removable deck, which deck may be removed by operation or destruction of fasteners such as pins or integral flared-over nubs or spin welded posts, which attach the deck to a circumscribing frame, or by machined away portions of the deck from the rest of the frame.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/657,377, filed Mar. 1, 2005, U.S. patent application Ser. No. (not yet assigned) filed Feb. 21, 2006, entitled “Plastic Pallet Having Metal Deck”, which claimed priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/654,768, filed Feb. 18, 2005, U.S. patent application Ser. No. (not yet assigned) filed Feb. 21, 2006, entitled “Plastic Pallet Having Deck Suspension System”, which claimed priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/654,760, filed Feb. 18, 2005, U.S. patent application Ser. No. (not yet assigned) filed Feb. 21, 2006, entitled “plastic pallet having diagonally corrugated deck” which claimed priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/654,761, filed Feb. 18, 2005, and is a continuation-in part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/729,615, filed Dec. 5, 2003, which is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/938,954, filed Aug. 24, 2001, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,705,237, which claimed priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/227,537, filed Aug. 24, 2000, the entire contents of each of which are specifically incorporated herein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This disclosure relates to a device for the transportation of packaged goods, and, more particularly, to a pallet that meets certain standards set by the Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA) and others for weight, durability, and strength. The present disclosure relates to improvements to the above-cited applications with regard to affixing a deck of a plastic pallet to a frame portion.

BACKGROUND

A plastic pallet has a deck which is attached to the top frame of the pallet, which is supported on columns running from the base. During use pallets can become worn and damaged. In particular, the top deck may break or lose features which are necessary. Since the rest of the pallet may be still in good shape, there is a need for economic handling of the situation.

What is needed in the art is a pallet design that permits easy exchange of worn or broken components.

SUMMARY

The above discussed and other disadvantages of the art are overcome and alleviated by the present plastic pallet having a removable deck. In exemplary embodiments the pallet includes a deck having fasteners such as pins or integral flared-over nubs or spin welded posts, which attach the deck to a circumscribing frame. The fasteners can be removed and replaced, to replace the deck. In another exemplary embodiment, the deck is machined away from the rest of the frame and replaced with a new deck which is welded or adhesively bonded to the remaining structure of the frame.

The foregoing and other objects, features and advantages of the present pallet will become more apparent from the following description of exemplary embodiments and accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Referring now to the accompanying FIGURES, which are meant to be exemplary and not limiting:

FIG. 1 is a cross sectional side view of an exemplary deck configured with an exemplary frame;

FIG. 2 is a partial cross sectional side view of a an exemplary deck including a fastener component arranged with a frame; and

FIG. 3 is a partial cross sectional side view of a an exemplary deck including a lower grid.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The presently described thermoplastic pallet is configured in such a way that the deck is easily replaceable. The deck may be plastic, wood or metal, or any other material. The pallet and deck may be constructed in accord with the above listed commonly owned patent and patent applications, the disclosures are incorporated by reference, which applications describe different plastic pallet related aspects, including a corrugated metal deck, which may be, for example, diagonally corrugated aluminum mounted on a plastic frame, methods of configuring decks relative to frames, and hollow columns and hollow top frame periphery, which may be filled with thermoset plastic.

The deck may posess ordinary properties compared to the rest of the pallet, or it may have special properties, such as selective mechanical properties or surface finish. In one exemplary embodiment, the deck is metal, as described in certain exemplary embodiments within the applications referred to above. In another exemplary embodiment, the deck is plastic.

As described herein, leaving aside the composition of the deck and frame, the deck is configured and attached such that it may be removed, such as by releasing fasteners, by machining (including destructive machining), or by both in combination.

Referring now to FIG. 1, a side elevation view of exemplary pallet 20 is illustrated. Pallet 20 has a rectangular frame 22 supported on columns or rails 26 which run up from the base 24. Deck 30 is attached at spaced apart locations 40, around its rim, to the frame by fasteners, such as screws 33, and spans the forklift truck fork openings 31. Spin welded fasteners may be used. By removing the screws or other fasteners a new deck may be installed to replace the old deck.

Referring now to FIG. 2, an exemplary deck 30A comprises a thermoplastic having integral fasteners 32. Fasteners 32 are flared over the integral plastic nubs, which fit into holes 34 in the frame 22A of pallet 20A. To the replace the deck, the nubs may be drilled out and replaced by screw or pin type fasteners. Alternately, the flares of the nubs may be configured to compress upon upon application of a force urging the deck away from the frame. In another exemplary embodiment, the nubs may project upwardly from the frames.

Referring now to FIGS. 3-5, another exemplary pallet is illustrated generally at 20C. Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4, an exemplary deck 30C is positioned in mated configuration with nubs 32C of a frame 22C. More specifically, the nubs 32C extend through holes 34C in the deck 30C. Referring to FIG. 5, the nub 32C is deformed over the hole 34C to secure the deck to the frame. A deformed nub is illustrated generally at 37. In another exemplary embodiment, the holes 34C are countersunk such that the deformed nub 35 does not extend above the top surface of the deck. The deformed nub 37 may be ground away, drilled out, melted, etc., to provide for removal of the deck from the frame. FIG. 4 also illustrates an upper pallet cover 40, metal stays 42, reinforcing beams 44, and a lower pallet cover 46.

Referring now to FIG. 6, an exemplary pallet 20B has a frame 22B and a deck 30B. The deck 30B has a lattice or grid 28 which spans the interior of the top of the pallet and a top plate 35. The lattice comprises a plurality of rails 36, 38, which in one exemplary embodiment are integral with the top plate 35 of the original deck. The top plate may be removed by machining, to provide a clean surface on the grid. A new deck is laid on the grid and fastened to it by adhesive, welding or fasteners. In another exemplary embodiment, the top plate 35 is originally fabricated as a separate element, and the attachment is released by machining or other means, so that the top plate can be replaced.

Although this invention has been shown and described with respect to a exemplary embodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in this art that various changes in form and detail thereof may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the claimed invention.

Claims

1. A plastic pallet, comprising a deck component and a frame component, and wherein the deck component is removably secured to the frame component by a fastener.

2. A plastic pallet in accordance with claim 1, wherein the deck component includes a plurality of fastener holes configured to receive fasteners to removably secure the deck component to the frame component.

3. A plastic pallet in accordance with claim 2, wherein the deck component is configured to receive deformable nubs provided on the frame component.

4. A plastic pallet in accordance with claim 3, wherein the nubs are configured to deform upon heating and/or application of force to a diameter greater than the diameter of the holes of the deck component.

5. A plastic pallet in accordance with claim 4, wherein the deformable nubs comprise a thermoplastic.

6. A plastic pallet in accordance with claim 1, wherein the frame component includes a plurality of fastener holes configured to receive fasteners to removably secure the deck component to the frame component.

7. A plastic pallet in accordance with claim 6, wherein the fasteners comprise nubs protruding from a surface of the deck component.

8. A plastic pallet in accordance with claim 1, wherein the deck component comprises a lattice or grid that spans the interior of the top of the pallet and a top plate.

9. A plastic pallet in accordance with claim 8, wherein the lattice comprises a plurality of rails.

10. A plastic pallet in accordance with claim 9, wherein the rails are integral with the top plate deck component, and wherein the top plate is configured to be removed by machining.

11. A plastic pallet in accordance with claim 9, wherein the top plate is welded or adhered to the lattice and wherein the top plate is configured to be removed by machining

12. A method of replacing a deck from a plastic pallet, comprising unscrewing a fastener connecting a deck component and a frame component and installing a new deck component, drilling out a fastener connecting a deck component and a frame component and installing a new deck component, melting a thermoplastic fastener connecting a deck component and a frame component and installing a new deck component, or machining away a deck component surface.

13. A method in accordance with claim 12, wherein installing a new deck component comprises welding or adhering a substitute deck component to said frame component.