PALLET WITH FLOOR CLEARANCE

Abstract

A pallet may include a deck having a load carrying surface and a lower surface, and at least two spaced apart support legs. The legs may have one or more passages formed therethrough at a level beneath the lower surface of the deck to enable receipt of packaging material through the legs and beneath the deck to facilitate securing an object to the deck. The legs and deck may be made out of plastic materials, and may be formed in one-piece or in separate pieces connected together by complementary and mated connection features. The deck may include a plurality of friction elements adapted to engage an object on the deck to, for example, reduce slippage of the object relative to the deck.

Description

REFERENCE TO CO-PENDING APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit of, and incorporates by reference in its entirety, U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/106,975 filed Oct. 20, 2008.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates generally to pallets, and more particularly to a pallet with floor clearance.

BACKGROUND

Wood pallets have been used in the handling and transport of various bulk goods and materials. Typical pallets have a lower surface defined by horizontal slats of wood that rest mostly flat on the ground, with minimal or no floor clearance, and provide openings of relatively small width and height to receive the tines of a forklift truck or the like.

SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE

A pallet may include a deck having a load carrying surface and a lower surface, and at least two spaced apart support legs. The legs may have one or more passages formed therethrough at a level beneath the lower surface of the deck to enable receipt of packaging material through the legs and beneath the deck to facilitate securing an object to the deck. The legs and deck may be made out of plastic materials, and may be formed in one-piece or in separate pieces connected together by complementary and mated connection features. The deck may include a plurality of friction elements adapted to engage an object on the deck to, for example, reduce slippage of the object relative to the deck.

In another implementation, a pallet may include a deck having a load carrying surface, a lower surface, at least one stop surface extending from the lower surface to define a minimum clearance between the deck and the ground when the pallet is on the ground, and at least one friction element removably carried by the deck and having an upper surface engageable by an object on the load carrying surface of the deck. The pallet may also include at least two spaced apart support legs each coupled to the deck and having one or more passages formed through the legs at a level beneath the lower surface of the deck to enable receipt of packaging material through the legs and beneath the deck to facilitate securing an object to the deck.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The following detailed description of preferred embodiments and best mode will be set forth with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a top perspective view of one implementation of a pallet illustrating a deck and support legs;

FIG. 2 is a bottom perspective view of one implementation of a pallet illustrating the deck and support legs;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of an upper surface of one section of the deck;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a lower surface of one section of the deck;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a support leg;

FIG. 6 is a side view of a support leg;

FIG. 7 is a plan view of the pallet;

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view taken along line A-A in FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view taken along line B-B in FIG. 7;

FIG. 10 is a top perspective view of another implementation of a pallet illustrating a one-piece body having a deck and support legs, with a series of friction elements carried by the deck;

FIG. 11 is a bottom perspective view of the pallet of FIG. 10;

FIG. 12 is cross-sectional view as taken along C-C of FIG. 11.

FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view taken along line D-D of FIG. 10, with the friction element removed;

FIG. 14 is a top perspective view of one of the friction elements of FIG. 10; and

FIG. 15 is a bottom perspective view of the friction element of FIG. 13.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring in more detail to the drawings, FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrate a pallet 10 upon which products may be stacked or received to facilitate movement and handling of the products. The pallet 10 includes a load carrying surface or deck 12 and support legs 14 that raise the deck 12 off the floor or ground surface on which the legs 14 rest. So constructed and arranged, at least part of a cart, forklift or the like may be positioned beneath the load carrying surface and then raised to lift the pallet 10 off the ground.

As shown in FIGS. 1-4, and 7 the deck 12 may have a generally planar load carrying surface with one or more pockets 16 formed therein. The pockets 16 may include openings 15 through the load carrying surface and openings 17 through an adjacent side surface of the deck 12. Two rows of pockets 16 may be provided along opposed sides of the deck 12 to which the support legs 14 are connected. Each pocket 16 may define at least part of a connection feature that receives or mates with a complimentary portion of a support leg 14. In more detail, the connection feature may include a finger or flange 18.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the deck 12 in one form may have every other pocket 16 with a flange 18 that may be connected to an inside wall 19 that may define part of the pocket 16. The other pockets 16 may include flanges 18 that may be spaced from the inside wall 19 of those pockets 16 to provide a gap 23 and may be connected to only the side walls 20 of those pockets 16. Of course, every pocket, none of the pockets, or any suitable combination or configuration of the pockets may include flanges that may be connected to the inside wall 19. As shown in FIG. 4, all the flanges 18 may be formed at a height below the load carrying surface, and of the same thickness, if desired. Each flange 18 may also have a hole 21 formed therethrough to receive a fastener as will be discussed in more detail below. The deck 12 and its connection features may be integrally formed in one-piece, such as by molding the deck 12 from a polymeric material. Reinforcement may be provided in or on the deck 12 as it is molded, or after it is molded, as desired.

As best shown in FIGS. 1, 2, 5 and 6, the support legs 14 may include a lower surface 22 which may be adapted to engage the ground and may be discontinuous such that discrete feet 24 are provided to engage the ground. Forklift tines may be received in the gaps 26 between adjacent feet to facilitate movement of a loaded pallet 10. The support legs 14 may also include inside and outside surfaces 28, 30. Each pallet 10 may include support legs 14 along two opposed sides of the deck 12 with the inside surfaces 28 of the legs 14 spaced apart to define an open space 32 (labeled in FIG. 1) between the legs 14 and beneath a lower surface of the deck 12. To facilitate a strong connection between the deck 12 and support legs 14, the support legs 14 may also include connection features adapted to be mated with the connection features of the deck 12.

In one implementation, the connection features of the support legs 14 may include upper and lower fingers 34, 36 that may be spaced apart to define a slot in which one of the flanges 18 of the deck 12 may be received. A plurality of the pairs of upper and lower fingers 34, 36 may be provided, with one pair of fingers for each flange 18. As best shown in FIG. 9, the upper fingers 34 in one form may be longer than the lower fingers 36 and each flange 18 connected to the inside wall 19 of its pocket 16 may have an upper surface 38 that is correspondingly longer than its lower surface 40 to closely receive each of the upper and lower fingers. Gaps 42 between adjacent pairs of fingers 34, 36 may be filled by projections 44 (FIG. 4) located between adjacent pockets 16 on the deck 12 providing closely interlocked structures of the deck 12 and support legs 14 for a rigid pallet 10. The fingers 34, 36 may also include coaxially aligned openings 46 therethrough to receive a fastener as described below. The fingers 34, 36 and remainder of the legs 14 may be integrally formed in one-piece such as by molding the legs 14 from a polymeric material. Reinforcement may be provided in or on the legs 14 as they are molded, or after molding, as desired.

In assembly, the fingers 34, 36 of a support leg 14 may be slid into the side openings 17 of respective pockets 16 in the deck 12. The flanges 18 in each pocket 16 may each be received between the upper and lower fingers 34, 36 of an aligned pair of fingers 34, 36, and the projections 44 of the deck 12 located between the pockets 16 may be received in the gaps 42 between adjacent pairs of fingers 34, 36 on the support leg 14. A fastener, such as a bolt 48, may be inserted through the aligned openings in each set of mated fingers 34, 36 and flanges 18, as shown in FIG. 8. A nut 50 may be tightened on the bolt 48 to retain the bolt and the interconnection of the fingers 34, 36 and flanges 18. Although not shown, each pair of fingers and its corresponding flange may receive a bolt through the aligned holes and a nut may be tightened on the bolt. In this manner, the legs 14 and deck 12 may be releasably coupled together such that they can be disconnected and stored flat to, for example, save space.

Referring to FIG. 8, the upper fingers 34 may overlie a flange 18 that is not connected to the inside wall 19 and may be partially overlapped by the deck 12. That is, the upper fingers 34 in these pockets 16 may be received over the flange 18, and under the deck 12 material disposed above the pocket 16. The material of the deck 12 that overlies a portion of the upper fingers 34 of certain of the pairs of fingers may provide a wall that the finger 34 engages when a force is applied tending to rotate the leg 14 clockwise as viewed in FIG. 8.

Referring to FIG. 9, the upper fingers 34 may overlie the flanges 18 that are connected to the inside wall of their pockets 16, may contact the flanges 18 along their entire length, and may engage the inside wall 19 of the pocket 16. A force applied to the leg 14 that tends to rotate the leg 14 counterclockwise as viewed in FIG. 9, is resisted by engagement of the upper finger 34 with the flange 18, and the inside wall 19 of the pocket 16 (that is, the material of the deck 12 at the inside wall of the pocket 16). The lower fingers 36 may also engage a corresponding portion of the inside wall 19 of the pocket 16.

Accordingly, forces tending to displace a leg 14 inwardly or outwardly relative to the deck 12 may be offset by engagement of the fingers with the deck as well as the resistance of the flange 18 to rotation. This may provide increased rigidity of the interconnection between the legs 14 and the deck 12, and avoid undue twisting of the mated flanges 18 and fingers 34, 36. Providing pockets 16 of relatively short length, and offsetting or alternating the pockets 16 that include flanges 18 connected to the inside wall 19 and pockets 16 that include flanges 18 not connected to the inside wall 19, may provide a construction wherein no continuous or significant length of a support leg 14 may be more susceptible to deflection due to a force that may be applied in one direction. This may improve the overall rigidity and stability of the pallet 10.

The support legs 14 and/or deck 12 may also include one or more slots 56. The slots 56 may receive and retain a portion of packaging material, such as plastic wrap, that may be provided around a product stacked on the pallet 10 to retain the product on the pallet 10. The retaining slots 56 facilitate application of the plastic wrap, or other packaging material, to the pallet 10 and product thereon.

In one implementation, the legs 14 are longer than an individual deck section. More than one deck section may be provided on each leg, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. Additionally, the deck sections may be spaced apart providing a gap between them (with the gap left open or filled by another deck section or the like), and may overhang one or both ends of the legs 14 to provide a longer or wider deck 12. Of course, other arrangements are possible. For example, the legs 14 could be made shorter than or the same length as a single deck section. The legs 14 may be of identical construction such that a different configured leg 14 for each side of the deck 12 may not be needed. In this manner, the pallet 10 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 may be formed from two identical legs 14 and two identical deck 12 sections.

The deck 12 may also have reliefs formed therein to improve the stability of stacked pallets 10. The deck 12 could also have an upper surface of relatively high frictional material (e.g. rubber or a relatively rough surface) to reduce product slippage on the pallet 10. Also, reliefs, such as grooves, could be formed in the deck 12 to receive strips of higher friction material. The inside surface of the legs 14 and the areas including and surrounding the fingers 34, 36 of the legs 14 are shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 with reduced material thickness and associated ribs provided for rigidity. Other portions of the legs and deck may also be reduced in thickness and ribbed or otherwise braced with features designed to improve the strength and/or rigidity of these components.

Referring to FIGS. 10 and 11, a pallet 110 in another form may have a deck 112 and a pair of support legs 114, and may be similar to the pallet 10 of FIG. 1 having the deck 12 and the legs 14. However, the pallet 110 may have a one-piece body that may include the deck 112 and the legs 114 as integral portions, as compared with the pallet 10 of FIG. 1 having the deck 12 and the legs 14 as separate parts attached together. The pallet 110 may be injection molded from a polymeric material. Of course, the pallet may be made of various materials by other manufacturing methods and/or include two or more separate parts attached together. The deck 112 may include a load carrying upper surface 115 and a lower surface 117. One or both of the upper and lower surfaces 115, 117 may be discontinuous, for example, including open hollows and webs or flanges arranged for stiffness and strength, as opposed to continuous (that is, a solid flat surface). The lower surface 117, whether continuous or not, may include one or more stop surfaces 119 extending from a portion of the lower surface. The stop surface(s) 119 defines a minimum clearance between the deck 112 and the ground, and is arranged to engage a portion of a cart (or other transport device used to move the pallet) inserted between the legs 114 to limit lateral movement of the pallet relative to the cart or other transport device. There may be a plurality of stop surfaces 119 provided, with a space 121 between them. The space 121 between them may be sized and arranged to receive a portion of the cart or other device therein and between the stop surfaces. In addition, the pallet 110 may include various other features similar to those of the pallet 10 of FIG. 1, with some of these features being designated by similar reference numerals only with the addition of the prefix “1” to provide respective reference numerals in the one hundred series.

The legs 114 or the deck may carry one or more spaced apart catches 155 to provide a location upon which packaging materials such as shrink wrapping, a cord or cover may be anchored or attached so that those materials may, for example, secure a product to the pallet 110 or instead may secure a tower of stacked pallets together. Each catch 155 in this implementation may have a slot 156 located at a respective corner of the pallet 110 to receive packaging materials. The slots 156 may extend below the load carrying surface of the deck and may be downwardly oriented or open facing the ground. Of course, more or less than four catches may be arranged in various configurations on the legs 114 and/or deck 112, and each catch may include other openings, detents, hook or other fasteners to attach or receive packaging material. As shown in FIG. 12, the legs 114 may also include one or more passages 158 formed through or partially into the legs and adapted to receive belts, straps, cords or other packaging material looped through the passages, below the deck and over product on the deck to secure the product to the pallet or secure a tower of stacked pallets together. These or other slots or passages 158 could be used as handles. In addition, the legs 114 and/or deck 112 may have one or more surfaces 160 adapted to receive labels, tags, stickers, badges, or other identification mechanisms of the radio frequency, UPC, trademark or merely textual type. The surfaces 160 may be recessed from an outer surface of the pallet 110 or aligned therewith as desired. Further, as best shown in FIG. 11, each leg 114 may include one portion of a stacking feature 162 to facilitate stacking of two or more pallets 110 on top of each other. This portion of the stacking feature in one implementation may be one or more sockets 164 formed in one or more of the feet 124 of the legs 114.

As shown in FIG. 10, the deck 112 may have another portion of the stacking feature 162 to further facilitate stacking of two or more pallets on top of each other. This portion of the stacking feature may include one or more projections 166 sized to be received within the socket(s) 164 of another pallet stacked thereon to prevent this upper pallet from sliding off the lower pallet. A like number and arrangement of sockets 164 and projections 166 may be formed.

Referring to FIGS. 10 and 13, the deck 112 may also have a series of spaced apart recesses or seats 168. One or more of the seats 168 may be circular or noncircular as desired. Each seat 168 may have one or more sidewalls 170 that may extend from the deck 112 and may terminate with a base 172 having upper and lower sides 178, 180. The upper side 178 may be spaced apart from the deck 112 to provide the seat 168 with a predetermined depth. The base 172 may include a retention feature 174, which in this implementation may include a central aperture 176 extending between the upper and lower sides 178, 180 and a pair of opposed openings 182 disposed about the central aperture 176 and also extending between the upper and lower sides 178, 180. Of course, the retention feature may include more or less openings and apertures, and may also include an adhesive, one portion of a sonic weld or other various other fasteners.

Referring to FIG. 10, the pallet 110 may also have a series of friction elements 184 carried within a respective one of the seats 168. As shown in FIGS. 14 and 15, the friction element 184 in one implementation may be a one-piece pad 186 having a body 188 with upper and lower surfaces 190, 192, one or more fasteners 194 extending from the lower surface 192, and one or more protuberances 196 or friction surfaces on or extending from the upper surface 190. The one-piece pad 186 may be made of an elastomeric or soft plastic material having a hardness that may be less than the hardness of the deck 112. Of course, the friction element 184 may be made of other suitable materials including two or more components coupled together, may also have a hardness greater or less than that of the deck 112 and/or may be coated or textured to provide a desired surface finish, frictional engagement, or texture of its upper surface 190. The friction elements 184 may be removable and replaceable, and may be used as wear surfaces to avoid or reduce wear of the deck and thereby extend the in-service life of the pallet.

Referring still to FIGS. 14 and 15, the fasteners 194 in this implementation may include a central post 198 that may extend from the lower surface 192 and a head 200 carried by the post 198 opposite the lower surface 192. The head 200 may have one or more flanges 202 defining a largest diameter portion 204 or width that may be greater than both a cross-sectional width of at least a portion of the post 198 and a cross-sectional width of the central aperture 176 of the seat 168 (FIG. 13). The head 200 may taper down to a tip 206 that may be sized narrower than the central aperture 176 of the seat 168 to facilitate insertion of the head 200 through the central aperture 176 so that the flanges 202 may engage the lower side 178 of the base 172 (FIG. 13) to prevent or impede removal of the friction element 184 from the seat 168. Also in this regard, the lower surface 192 of the body 188 may be carried on the base 172, and the upper surface 190 of the body 188 may be aligned with the deck 112. The fasteners 194 may also include a pair of opposed posts 208 disposed about the central post 198. The posts 208 may be received within a respective one of the opposed openings 182 (FIG. 13) to prevent or limit movement of the friction element 184 along any direction transverse to the axes of the posts 208, including rotational movement of the friction element 184 within the seat 168. Of course, the fastener may include an adhesive, a mating portion of a sonic weld or other suitable fastening mechanisms.

Finally, the protuberances 196 in one implementation may be made of resilient material having a suitable coefficient of friction which may differ from the coefficient of friction of the deck. The protuberances 196 may be arranged in any suitable tread or pattern on the upper surface 190 of the body 188. The upper surface 190 or protuberances 196 may be arranged at the same height as or raised higher than the load carrying surface of the deck so that the upper surface 190 or protuberances 196 are engageable by an object on the load carrying surface of the deck. The protuberances 196 may deform or compress under the weight of a product placed on the pallet 110, to provide a generally high friction interface between the product and the friction elements 184 to prevent or limit slip of the product during its transport. Of course, the friction element 184 may have friction surfaces on its upper surface 190 in replacement of or in combination with the protuberances 196.

It is contemplated that the pallet 110 may not include separate friction elements carried on its deck, but rather include a deck with a textured or patterned load carrying surface, with or without one or more abutments to limit movement of products on the deck during transport of the product. In at least certain implementations, the lowest portion of the deck, which may include one or more stop surfaces 119, is at least 9 inches off of the ground when the pallet is received on the ground. Preferably, the lowest portion of the deck may be about 10-12 inches off the ground. Further, the space between inside surfaces of the legs may be about 14-24 inches or more to facilitate receiving a cart or other transport device between the legs and beneath the deck. A minimum open area defined between the legs, the deck and the ground may be about 125 sq.in. to 140 sq.in. An exemplary pallet 10, 110 may be about 18 inches wide, about 13 inches tall and over 37 inches long, with further exemplary lengths including between 42 and 55 inches. The relative tall height of the pallet facilitates receipt beneath the deck of a cart or other device for transporting the pallets. The relatively narrow width of the pallet facilitates maneuvering the pallet in relatively tight spaces such as narrow aisles in a store or warehouse. And the relatively long length of the pallet facilitates loading the pallet with more product without having to stack the product as high, and therefore, can improve the sight lines or vision above and around the pallet and product.

While the forms of the invention herein disclosed constitute presently preferred embodiments, many others are possible. Features identified with regard to one embodiment may also, where possible, be employed in other embodiments. As just one example, stop surfaces 119 could also be employed with the pallet 10. It is not intended herein to mention all the possible equivalent forms or ramifications of the invention. It is understood that the terms used herein are merely descriptive, rather than limiting, and that various changes may be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention.

Claims

1. A pallet, comprising:

a deck having a load carrying surface and a lower surface; and

at least two spaced apart support legs each coupled to the deck, the legs being spaced apart to enable receipt of a cart between the legs and having one or more passages formed through the legs at a level beneath the lower surface of the deck to enable receipt of packaging material through the legs and beneath the deck to facilitate securing an object to the deck.

2. The pallet of claim 1 wherein the legs are formed in one-piece with the deck out of a plastic material, and the passages are openings formed through the legs.

3. The pallet of claim 1 which also includes at least one catch formed in at least one of the legs or the deck, the catches providing a location upon which packaging material may be anchored relative to the deck.

4. The pallet of claim 3 wherein said at least one catch includes a slot formed in at least one of the legs or the deck.

5. The pallet of claim 1 wherein the deck includes at least one projection and at least one leg includes at least one socket sized to receive said at least one projection of an adjacent pallet when one pallet is stacked upon another pallet with the legs of one pallet disposed on the deck of another pallet.

6. The pallet of claim 5 wherein each leg includes at least one socket and the deck includes a like number and arrangement of projections.

7. The pallet of claim 1 which also includes a plurality of spaced apart seats formed in the load carrying surface of the deck, and a friction element disposed in each seat and having a surface engageable by an object on the load carrying surface of the deck.

8. The pallet of claim 7 wherein the friction elements are releasably received in the seats so that the friction elements may be removed from the deck.

9. The pallet of claim 7 wherein said surface of the friction elements are formed of a material having a hardness that is less than the hardness of the material of the deck.

10. The pallet of claim 7 wherein at least one seat includes at least two openings therethrough and a friction element disposed in said at least one seat includes a separate post extending into each opening.

11. The pallet of claim 10 wherein at least one post includes a head with one or more outwardly extending flanges defining a portion of the head that is larger than both the cross-sectional size of the post and the cross-sectional size of the opening in which said at least one post is received, and said head is pushed through the opening in assembly so that the flange overlies the opening and retains the friction element in the seat.

12. The pallet of claim 1 wherein the deck includes a stop surface adjacent to the lower surface that defines a minimum clearance between the deck and the ground, and the stop surface is arranged to engage a portion of a cart inserted between the legs to limit lateral movement of the pallet relative to the cart.

13. The pallet of claim 12 wherein more than one stop surface is provided extending from the lower surface and a space is provided between the stop surfaces.

14. The pallet of claim 1 wherein the legs are not formed in one piece with the deck and are coupled to the deck by interlocking fingers and flanges.

15. A pallet, comprising:

a deck having a load carrying surface, a lower surface, at least one stop surface extending from the lower surface to define a minimum clearance between the deck and the ground when the pallet is on the ground, and at least one friction element removably carried by the deck and having an upper surface engageable by an object on the load carrying surface of the deck; and

at least two spaced apart support legs each coupled to the deck and having one or more passages formed through the legs at a level beneath the lower surface of the deck to enable receipt of packaging material through the legs and beneath the deck to facilitate securing an object to the deck.

16. The pallet of claim 15 wherein the deck includes a separate seat for each friction element and a plurality of friction elements are provided spaced apart along the load carrying surface of the deck.

17. The pallet of claim 15 which also includes at least one catch formed in at least one of the legs or the deck, the catches providing a location upon which packaging material may be anchored relative to the deck.

18. The pallet of claim 17 wherein said at least one catch includes a slot formed in at least one of the legs or the deck.

19. The pallet of claim 15 wherein the deck includes at least one projection and at least one leg includes at least one socket sized to receive said at least one projection of an adjacent pallet when one pallet is stacked upon another pallet with the legs of one pallet disposed on the deck of another pallet.

20. The pallet of claim 19 wherein each leg includes at least one socket and the deck includes a like number and arrangement of projections.