Repairable plastic pallet with removable support blocks and associated methods

A support block for a pallet comprising:

• an inner wall having a rectangular shape surrounding an interior opening;
• an outer wall having a rectangular shape surrounding said inner wall;
• a plurality of ribs extending between said inner and outer walls;
• at least one first upper tab extending outwards from upper surfaces of said inner wall, with a free end of each first upper tab comprising an angled contact surface for engaging one of top deck tab openings in a top deck of the pallet;
• at least one second upper tab extending outwards from the upper surfaces of said inner wall, with a free end of each second upper tab comprising an angled contact surface for engaging one of the top deck tab openings in the top deck;
• with the angled contact surfaces of said at least one first upper tab and said at least one second upper tab each being oriented in a first direction;
• at least one first lower tab extending outwards from a portion of lower surfaces of said plurality of ribs spaced a distance away from said inner wall, with a free end of each first lower tab comprising an angled contact surface for engaging one of bottom deck tab openings in a bottom deck of the pallet;
• at least one second lower tab extending outwards from the portion of the lower surfaces of said plurality of ribs spaced the distance away from said inner wall, with a free end of each second lower tab comprising an angled contact surface for engaging one of the bottom deck tab openings in the bottom deck;
• and
• with the angled contact surfaces of said at least one first lower tab and said at least one second lower tab each being oriented in a second direction that is orthogonal to the first direction.

A method for making a pallet comprising:

• forming a top deck having spaced apart upper and lower surfaces, with the lower surface having a plurality of top deck tab openings;
• forming a bottom deck having spaced apart upper and lower surfaces, with the upper surface having a plurality of bottom deck tab openings;
• and
• coupling a plurality of spaced apart support blocks coupled between the top and bottom decks and forming an opening therebetween for receiving a lifting member, each support block comprising:
• an inner wall having a rectangular shape surrounding an interior opening,
• an outer wall having a rectangular shape surrounding the inner wall,
• a plurality of ribs extending between the inner and outer walls,
• at least one first upper tab extending outwards from upper surfaces of the inner wall, with a free end of each first upper tab comprising an angled contact surface for engaging one of the top deck tab openings,
• at least one second upper tab extending outwards from the upper surfaces of the inner wall, with a free end of each second upper tab comprising an angled contact surface for engaging one of the top deck tab openings,
• with the angled contact surfaces of the at least one first upper tab and said at least one second upper tab each being oriented in a first direction,
• at least one first lower tab extending outwards a portion of lower surfaces of said plurality of ribs spaced a distance away from said inner wall, a free end of each first lower tab comprising an angled contact surface for engaging one of the bottom deck tab openings,
• at least one second lower tab extending outwards from the portion of the lower surfaces of said plurality of ribs spaced the distance away from said inner wall, with a free end of each second lower tab comprising an angled contact surface for engaging one of the bottom deck tab openings, and
• with the angled contact surfaces of the at least one first lower tab and said at least one second lower tab each being oriented in a second direction that is orthogonal to the first direction.