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US 11,401,073 B2Granted
Wooden pallet with butted deck boards and metal bracket supports
AssigneeCHEP Technology Pty Limited
InventorsDanel J Lantz, Bart De Laender, Monika Milewska
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A pallet includes a base layer and a cargo layer. The cargo layer includes a pair of spaced apart end deck boards, and intermediate deck boards between the pair of spaced apart end deck boards. Each end deck board and an immediately adjacent intermediate deck board are butted against one another. Spaced apart supports are coupled between the base and cargo layers and forming a gap therebetween for receiving a lifting member.
Claims19
A pallet comprising:
- a base layer;
- a cargo layer comprising
- a pair of spaced apart outer connector boards,
- at least one center connector board between said pair of outer connector boards,
- a pair of spaced apart end deck boards on said pair of cuter connector boards and said at least one center connector board, with said end deck boards being orthogonal to said outer connector boards and said at least one center connector board, and
- a pair of spaced apart intermediate deck boards on said pair of connector boards and said at least one center connector board, with said intermediate deck boards being orthogonal to said outer connector boards and said at least one center connector board and butted against a respective end deck board;
- and
- a plurality of spaced apart supports coupled between said base and cargo layers and forming a gap therebetween for receiving a lifting member, and comprising:
- outer corner supports each configured as a C-shaped bracket having an upper flange with an outermost portion directly contacting an underside of one of said outer connector boards, a bottom flange with an outermost portion directly contacting an upper surface of said base layer, and a section extending between the upper and bottom flanges, with a width of the section being equal to a width of the upper and bottom flanges, and
- center supports each configured as a circular-shaped cylinder having an upper surface contacting said at least one center connector board and a bottom surface contacting said base layer, with each center support comprising:
- an outer wall having opposing ends that include a plurality of spaced apart drainage notches,
- a center hub having opposing ends aligned with the opposing ends of said outer wall, and including an opening extending therethrough, and
- a plurality of ribs extending between said center hub and said outer wall, and having opposing ends aligned with the plurality of spaced apart drainage notches.
10 more elements
A method for making a pallet comprising:
- providing a base layer;
- providing a cargo layer comprising
- a pair of spaced apart outer connector boards,
- at least one center connector board between the pair of outer connector boards,
- a pair of spaced apart end deck boards on the pair of outer connector boards and the at least one center connector board, with the end deck boards being orthogonal to the outer connector boards and the at least one center connector board, and
- a pair of spaced apart intermediate deck boards on the pair of connector boards and the at least one center connector board, with the intermediate deck boards being orthogonal to the outer connector boards and the at least one center connector board and butted against a respective end deck board;
- and
- coupling a plurality of spaced apart supports between the base and cargo layers and forming a gap therebetween for receiving a lifting member, with the supports comprising:
- outer corner supports each configured as a C-shaped bracket having an upper flange with an outermost portion directly contacting an underside of one of the outer connector boards, a bottom flange with an outermost portion directly contacting an upper surface of the layer, and a section extending between the upper and bottom flanges, with a width of the section being equal to a width of the upper and bottom flanges, and
- center supports each configured as a circular-shaped cylinder having an upper surface contacting the at least one center connector board and a bottom surface contacting the base layer, with each center support comprising:
- an outer wall having opposing ends that include a plurality of spaced apart drainage notches,
- a center hub having opposing ends aligned with the opposing ends of the outer wall, and including an opening extending therethrough, and
- a plurality of ribs extending between the center hub and the outer wall, and having opposing ends aligned with the plurality of spaced apart drainage notches.
10 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.