Pallets rails and methods for making same
AssigneeConitex-Sonoco, LLC
InventorsDavid Wesley Monteith, Jean Francois Ruffet
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A pallet rail includes an elongate support box and a plurality of separately formed reinforcing tubes. The support box is formed from a paper blank that is folded along parallel fold lines. The reinforcing tubes are positioned within the support box to reinforce the box. Two side walls have arcuate corners to define two opposing longitudinal ends of the support box having curved lower profiles. Another pallet rail includes an elongate support box, an adjacent end wall, and a plurality of separately-formed reinforcing tubes.
Claims20
A pallet rail, two or more of which are usable in spaced-apart relation to support respective portions of a rigid load to thereby form a pallet, comprising:
- (a) an elongate support box formed from a paper blank that is folded along three parallel fold lines to define two laterally spaced-apart side walls, a bottom wall, and a vertically spaced-apart upper support wall for supporting an end portion of the rigid load;
- and
- (b) a plurality of separately-formed reinforcing tubes positioned within the support box in spaced-apart relation along the length of the box between the bottom wall and upper support wall to reinforce the box and define the distance of the upper support wall above the bottom wall.
A pallet rail, a pair of which are usable in facing, spaced-apart relation to support first and second opposing ends of a rigid load to thereby form a pallet, and comprising:
- (a) an elongate support box formed from a paper blank that is folded along three parallel fold lines to define an inner wall, a laterally spaced-apart outer wall, a bottom wall and a vertically spaced-apart upper support wall for supporting one end of the rigid load;
- (b) an adjacent end wall projecting upwardly from the outer wall for engaging one end of the rigid load;
- (c) a plurality of separately-formed reinforcing tubes positioned within the support box in spaced-apart relation along the length of the box between the bottom wall and upper support wall to reinforce the box and define the distance of the upper support wall above the bottom wall;
- and
- (d) at least two openings in the inner wall and at least two openings in the outer wall aligned with the at least two openings in the inner wall for receiving the forks of a forklift used to move the pallet.
A pallet rail, two or more of which are usable in spaced-apart relation to support respective portions of a rigid load to thereby form a pallet, comprising:
- (a) an elongate support box formed from a paper blank that is folded along three parallel fold lines to define two laterally spaced-apart side walls, a bottom wall, and a vertically spaced-apart upper support wall for supporting a portion of the rigid load;
- and
- (b) at least one elongate reinforcing tube positioned longitudinally within the support box between the bottom wall and upper support wall to reinforce the box, the tube having a diameter that defines the distance of the upper support wall above the bottom wall.
A method of making a pallet rail, two or more of which are usable in spaced-apart relation to support respective portions of a rigid load to thereby form a pallet, comprising:
- (a) forming a blank into a square tube having a square cross section with four sides each having substantially the same width within the square tube;
- and
- (b) positioning a round tube having a diameter substantially the same as the width of the four sides into the square tube to reinforce the square tube.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.