Reinforced composite pallet assembly of the cellular core sandwich-type

Abstract

The invention relates to reinforced composite pallet assemblies of the sandwich-type having a cellular core. In a method for making a deck of the assembly, a stack is formed that is made up of: a load-bearing skin made of a reinforced thermoplastics material; an upper grid of reinforcing slats each of which is made of a reinforced thermoplastic composite or pultrusion; a cellular core made of a thermoplastic material; a lower grid of reinforcing slats each of which is also made of a reinforced thermoplastic composite or pultrusion; and a tine-engaging skin made of a reinforced thermoplastic material. Each of the grids of reinforcing slats has a surface area that is smaller than the surface area of each of the skins. The grids of reinforcing slats are positioned symmetrically about a plane formed by the cellular core against the skins. After the stack is processed to form the deck, a plurality of supports or spacers are affixed to the tine-supporting skin such as by an in-mold process. Two such decks interconnected by supports may be used to make a pallet assembly which is stackable and rackable.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.