PALLET FOR BULK BAGS AND THE LIKE

Abstract

A non-wood pallet includes a support sheet and at least a pair of channel members disposed on the support sheet for creating a pair of channels for receiving tines of a forklift. Each channel member is secured to the support sheet by at least one pair of tabs each formed by a generally U-shaped cut line extending through the support sheet. The cut line has spaced opposite ends between which a hinge line extends, the hinge line being formed by the support sheet being locally crushed, with resultant thickness reduction, along a path extending between the opposite ends of the cut line. Opposite ends of each cut line are curved away from each other so as to lengthen the hinge line. The tabs are fastened to the channel members by fastening devices such as elongate fastening members (e.g., adhesive tape), staples, adhesive, hook-and-loop fasteners, or the like.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present disclosure relates to pallets facilitating the lifting and transportation of items such as flexible intermediate bulk containers, also variously referred to as flexible bulk containers or bulk bags, or other items such as stacks of smaller bags, using forklifts or the like.

Various types of flowable bulk materials are contained and transported using bulk bags. A typical bulk bag comprises a large bag constructed principally of woven fabric and having a generally cuboid or cylindrical shape when filled. A filled bulk bag in some cases may weigh thousands of pounds. It is common for such bulk bags to be supported on conventional wood pallets that can be lifted by forklifts. However, because of the well-known drawbacks of wood pallets, efforts have been made to substitute a paper-based pallet for the traditional wood pallet. For example, a cardboard pallet known as the LOADRIGHT pallet has been produced by the assignee of the present application.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE

The present disclosure is directed toward improvements to non-wood pallets such as the LOADRIGHT pallet.

In accordance with one embodiment described herein, a non-wood pallet includes a support sheet (which can be of cardboard, plastic, plastic-coated paper, etc.), the support sheet having a thickness and lying generally in a plane. A pair of channel members are disposed on the support sheet, the channel members extending parallel to each other and being spaced apart, thus creating a pair of channels for receiving tines of a forklift.

Each channel member is secured to a pair of tabs located adjacent laterally opposite sides of the respective channel member. Each tab comprises an integral portion of the support sheet formed by a cut line of generally U-shaped configuration extending through the thickness of the support sheet. The cut line has spaced opposite ends between which a hinge line extends, the hinge line for each tab being formed by the support sheet being locally crushed with resultant thickness reduction along a path extending between the opposite ends of the cut line. The hinge lines are free of any cutting of the paperboard material of the support sheet.

The tabs are rotated about the respective hinge lines such that the tabs project out of the plane of the support sheet.

Opposite ends of each cut line are locally curved away from each other so as to lengthen the hinge line. This enhances the strength of the tabs; specifically, the lengthening of the hinge lines increases the resistance of the tabs to being torn away from the support sheet.

In one embodiment, each tab is crushed such that a thickness of the tab is less than the thickness of the support sheet. This can make it easier to bend the tabs so that they generally conform to the cylindrical top surface of the channel members. The reduced tab thickness can also reduce the stress concentration on the channel members caused by the weight of the bulk bag exerted on the tabs.

In a further embodiment, each tab has rounded corners at a side of the tab opposite from the hinge line. This can reduce the likelihood of the support sheet tearing at the corresponding corners of the resulting hole in the support sheet. The rounded corners of the tabs also can reduce the likelihood of the tabs being snagged by something, such as the bulk bag.

In another embodiment, there is a finger hole for each tab, the finger hole extending through the tab to allow a finger or tool to be inserted therein and pulled in order to rotate the tab about the hinge line. The finger hole for each tab can straddle the cut line defining the tab such that the finger hole is partially formed in the tab and partially formed in a portion of the support sheet adjacent the tab.

In a further embodiment, the channel members are secured to the tabs by elongate fastening members that extend along upper surfaces of the channel members and are secured to the tabs. The fastening members can comprise an adhesive tape having a lower surface on which an adhesive is disposed, the adhesive being adhered to the upper surface of the respective channel member and to the respective pair of tabs. The fastening members in some embodiments may pass through the apertures in the support sheet that are created when the tabs are rotated out of the plane of the support sheet. Accordingly, the fastening members may completely encircle the channel members, passing beneath the lower surface of the support sheet.

Alternatively, in other embodiments the fastening members may be shorter and may have their opposite ends adhered to the tabs to secure the channel members to the support sheet.

In still other embodiments, the elongate fastening members can be omitted, and the channel members can be secured to the tabs by other types of fastening devices such as staples, adhesive, hook-and-loop fasteners, or other suitable fastening devices.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING(S)

Having thus described the disclosure in general terms, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings, which are not necessarily drawn to scale, and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a pallet in accordance with the prior art;

FIG. 2 is a top view of a support sheet of a pallet in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a top view of a portion of the support sheet, on an enlarged scale, to show details of one of the tabs; and

FIG. 4 is a partially exploded view of a pallet in accordance with one embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention now will be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings in which some but not all embodiments of the inventions are shown. Indeed, these inventions may be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will satisfy applicable legal requirements. Like numbers refer to like elements throughout.

A non-wood pallet 10 in accordance with the prior art is illustrated in FIG. 1, which illustrates one of the aforementioned LOADRIGHT pallets. The pallet comprises a support sheet 12 of a material such as corrugated cardboard, plastic, plastic-coated paper, or any other suitable material. The pallet also includes a pair of channel members 14 comprising half-cylindrical paperboard tubes formed by dividing a circular cylindrical paperboard tube in half lengthwise. The open sides of the channel members 14 are placed against the upper surface of the support sheet 12. Each of the channel members is secured to the support sheet by adhesive tape members 16 (also referred to herein as “fastening members”) that are wrapped over the upper surface of the channel member. There are two fastening members 16 per channel member, spaced apart along the length of each channel member. The fastening members 16 are adhered to a pair of tabs 18 formed integrally with the support sheet 12 and located on opposite sides of the respective channel member 14. The tabs are formed by die-cutting the support sheet along a generally U-shaped cut line having square corners, to form each tab as a rectangular region of the support sheet. Each of the tabs is bent along a bending line extending between the two ends of the respective cut line.

In the prior-art pallet, the bending line of each tab included perforations extending partially through the thickness of the support sheet 12 in order to make it easier to bend the tab along the bending line.

It has been found that the tabs 18 of the prior-art pallet 10 are prone to tearing away from the support sheet 12 along the bending lines of the tabs when the pallet is loaded with a heavy bulk bag and the channel members 14 are subjected to certain types of loads, such as when the tines of a forklift exert sideways loads on the channel members 14, which can happen for instance when the forklift tines enter the channels of the half-tubes along a direction that is not parallel to the longitudinal axes of the half-tubes.

In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention as illustrated in FIGS. 2 through 4, the above-noted problem as well as other drawbacks of the prior-art pallet are addressed by certain modifications to the tabs to which the fastening members are attached. A support sheet 112 in accordance with an embodiment of the invention is shown in FIG. 2. The support sheet comprises a material such as cardboard, plastic, plastic-coated paper, or other non-wood material. The support sheet may have a thickness ranging from about 0.005 inch to about 0.5 inch, a width ranging from about 16 inches to about 70 inches, and a length ranging from about 16 inches to about 70 inches. Tabs 118 are formed as integral portions of the support sheet by cutting through the thickness of the support sheet along cut lines 120 each of which is generally U-shaped. Each cut line 120 has spaced opposite ends 122 between which a hinge line 124 extends. The hinge line 124 for each tab can be formed by the support sheet 112 being locally crushed, with resultant thickness reduction, along a path extending between the opposite ends 122 of the cut line 120. Each tab 118 is rotated about the respective hinge line 124 such that the tab projects out of the plane of the support sheet.

Opposite ends 122 of the cut line 120 for each tab are locally curved away from each other so as to lengthen the hinge line 124. This has the effect of distributing a given load exerted on the tab 118 over a larger area, thereby reducing the stress on the paper material and hence reducing the likelihood of tearing of the tab from the support sheet.

In one embodiment, each tab 118 is crushed over its entire surface area such that the thickness of the tab is reduced to less than the thickness of the other portions of the support sheet 112. This can make it easier to bend the tabs so that they generally conform to and lie flush against the cylindrical top surface of the channel members. The reduced tab thickness can also reduce the stress concentration on the channel members caused by the weight of the bulk bag exerted on the tabs.

Another feature of the present invention at least in some embodiments is the absence of any cutting of the material of the support sheet along the hinge lines 124 for the tabs. This is in contrast to the prior-art pallet described above in which perforations were formed along the hinge lines. The absence of such perforations also reduces the likelihood of tearing occurring along the hinge lines.

A further feature of the present invention at least in some embodiments is the shape of the cut lines 120 that define the tabs 118. In particular, one advantageous shape avoids sharp or perpendicular corners at the ends of the tabs 118 remote from the hinge lines 124. Rather, the cut lines 120 define rounded corners 126 for the tabs 118, as shown in FIG. 3. This can reduce the likelihood of the support sheet tearing at the corresponding corners of the resulting hole in the support sheet. The rounded corners 126 of the tabs also can reduce the likelihood of the tabs being snagged by something, such as the bulk bag.

The pallet can also include a finger hole 128 for each tab 118, the finger hole extending through the tab to allow a finger or tool to be inserted therein and pulled in order to rotate the tab about the hinge line 124. The finger hole for each tab can straddle the cut line 120 defining the tab such that the finger hole is partially formed in the tab and partially formed in a portion of the support sheet adjacent the tab, as illustrated in FIG. 3. The finger holes can be circular, oval, or any other suitable shape.

A pallet 110 in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention is shown in a partially exploded view in FIG. 4. The pallet includes the support sheet 112 described above, a pair of channel members 114, and fastening members 116 that are attached to the tabs 118 to secure the channel members to the support sheet. As shown, the fastening members 116 may be long enough to pass through the apertures created when the tabs 118 are rotated out of the plane of the support sheet, and to completely encircle the channel members 114, passing beneath (and advantageously being adhered to) the lower surface of the support sheet, and also being adhered to the tabs 118 and the upper surfaces of the channel members. Alternatively, the fastening members can be shorter such that they terminate at the tabs 118 and are adhered to the tabs and the upper surfaces of the channel members.

Pallets in accordance with the present invention can be used in either of two orientations. In a first orientation, the support sheet 112 is below the channel members 114 and sits directly on the floor; in a second orientation, the pallet is turned over such that the support sheet is above the channel members, and the channel members contact the floor. Accordingly, references in the present application to directions such as “up”, “down”, “upper”, “lower”, and the like, should be understood as pertaining to only one possible orientation of the pallet in use, and not precluding other orientations.

Pallets in accordance with the invention can be either 2-way entry or 4-way entry. The pallet 110 of FIG. 4 is a 2-way entry pallet. To construct a 4-way entry pallet in accordance with the invention, shorter channel members are employed such that each of the channels for the forklift tines is formed by a plurality of spaced-apart channel members that are aligned such that their longitudinal axes are collinear. Spaces between the channel members allow the tines to enter from a direction perpendicular to the channel members.

There can be just one fastening member 116 per channel member 118 (particularly if the channel member is relatively short), or there can be two or more fastening members for each channel member, in which case the fastening members can be spaced apart along the length of each channel member.

Furthermore, as noted previously, the elongate fastening members 116 can be omitted, and the channel members 114 can be secured to the tabs 118 by other types of fastening devices such as staples, adhesive, hook-and-loop fasteners, or any other suitable fastening devices.

While the illustrated pallet 110 has four tabs 118 per channel member 114, the invention is not so limited, and there can be more than four tabs per channel member, if desired.

Many modifications and other embodiments of the inventions set forth herein will come to mind to one skilled in the art to which these inventions pertain having the benefit of the teachings presented in the foregoing descriptions and the associated drawings. Therefore, it is to be understood that the inventions are not to be limited to the specific embodiments disclosed and that modifications and other embodiments are intended to be included within the scope of the appended claims. Although specific terms are employed herein, they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation.

Claims

1. A pallet comprising:

a support sheet having a thickness and lying generally in a plane;

a pair of channel members disposed on the support sheet, the channel members extending parallel to each other and being spaced apart, thus creating a pair of channels for receiving tines of a forklift; and

at least one pair of tabs for each said channel member, the tabs of each said pair being located adjacent laterally opposite sides of the respective channel member, each tab comprising an integral portion of the support sheet formed by a cut line of generally U-shaped configuration extending through the thickness of the support sheet, the cut line having spaced opposite ends between which a hinge line extends, the hinge line for each said tab being formed by the support sheet being locally crushed with resultant thickness reduction along a path extending between the opposite ends of the respective cut line, each tab being rotated about the respective hinge line such that the tab projects out of the plane of the support sheet;

the channel members being secured to the tabs so as to secure the channel members to the support sheet and generally prevent relative movement therebetween;

opposite ends of the cut line for each said tab being curved away from each other so as to lengthen the hinge line.

2. The pallet of claim 1, wherein each said tab is crushed such that a thickness of the tab is less than the thickness of the support sheet.

3. The pallet of claim 1, wherein each said tab has rounded corners at a side of the tab opposite from the hinge line.

4. The pallet of claim 1, further comprising a finger hole for each said tab, the finger hole extending through the tab to allow a finger or tool to be inserted therein and pulled in order to rotate the tab about the hinge line.

5. The pallet of claim 4, wherein the finger hole for each said tab straddles the cut line defining the tab such that the finger hole is partially formed in the tab and partially formed in a portion of the support sheet adjacent the tab.

6. The pallet of claim 1, further comprising an elongate fastening member for each said pair of tabs, each said fastening member extending along an upper surface of the respective channel member and being secured to the respective tabs.

7. The pallet of claim 6, wherein each said fastening member comprises an adhesive tape having a lower surface on which an adhesive is disposed, the adhesive being adhered to the upper surface of the respective channel member and to the respective tabs.

8. The pallet of claim 1, wherein the hinge line of each said tab is free of any cutting of the material of the support sheet.

9. The pallet of claim 1, wherein the support sheet is formed of cardboard.

10. The pallet of claim 1, wherein the support sheet is formed of plastic.

11. The pallet of claim 1, wherein the support sheet is formed of plastic-coated paper.

12. The pallet of claim 1, wherein the channel members comprise half tubes formed by cutting a cylindrical tube in half lengthwise.

13. The pallet of claim 1, wherein the channel members comprise paperboard.