Metal pallet and method of making same
AssigneeNovelis Inc.
InventorThomas Charles Strizki
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A pallet made up of plural hollow sections of generally rectangular transverse profile formed from metal tubes, the sections having upper walls facing in the same direction and being secured together in side-by-side and/or end-to-end array to constitute a load-bearing platform. The lower wall of each section may have a longitudinal central rib projecting toward the upper wall for additional strength. The tubes can be hollow transversely corrugated cylinders of metal such as aluminum, used as cores for winding strip material. A method of making the pallet includes the steps of deforming plural metal tubes with generally radially directed pressure to produce the pallet sections, and securing the sections together.
Claims14
A pallet comprising at least one hollow metal section having a generally flat upper wall and a generally rectangular transverse profile substantially throughout the length thereof,
- wherein each of said hollow metal sections is a longitudinally corrugated aluminum strip helically wound into a unitary, laterally closed member with adjacent turns partially overlapping.
A pallet comprising a plurality of hollow metal sections each having a generally flat upper wall and a generally rectangular transverse profile, each of said hollow metal sections being a unitary, laterally closed member produced by deforming a hollow aluminum tube of generally cylindrical transverse profile having a substantially uninterrupted outer surface to impart thereto said generally rectangular transverse profile substantially throughout the length thereof while retaining its structural integrity as a unitary, laterally closed member, said plurality of hollow metal sections being secured together with their upper walls facing in a common direction to constitute a load-bearing platform,
- wherein each of said hollow metal sections is produced from a hollow aluminum tube as aforesaid by deforming the tube substantially throughout the length thereof with generally radially directed pressure, each of said tubes being a transversely corrugated cylinder, and
- wherein each of said tubes is a longitudinally corrugated aluminum strip helically wound into a cylinder with adjacent turns partially overlapping.
A method of making a pallet, comprising deforming at least one hollow metal tube having a generally cylindrical transverse profile into a hollow section having a generally rectangular transverse profile with a generally flat upper wall constituting a load-bearing platform.
A method of utilizing transversely corrugated hollow cylindrical aluminum cores on which sheet or strip material has been coiled, after removal of the sheet material from the cores, said method comprising deforming a plurality of the cores into sections of substantially rectangular transverse profile by exerting substantially radially directed pressure on the cores along the length thereof, and securing the resultant sections together to constitute a load-bearing pallet.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.