Lightweight and rigid pallet
AssigneeGreen Ox Pallet Technology, LLC
InventorsColin D. Clark, Gregory D. Van de Mark, Stanley D. Hisel
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The present disclosure includes a shipping pallet including an upper deck, a lower deck, and a plurality of pillars. The upper deck includes an upper exterior surface and an upper interior surface. The lower deck defines a lower exterior surface and a lower interior surface. The pillars are connected between the upper deck and the lower and the combination of the pillars, the upper deck, and the lower deck defines a space frame structure. Various components, such as the pillars, upper deck, and lower deck may be webbed-formed structures for enhanced rigidity.
Claims13
A shipping pallet comprising:
- an upper deck defining an upper exterior surface and an upper interior surface;
- a lower deck defining a lower exterior surface and a lower interior surface;
- and
- a plurality of pillars connecting the upper deck to the lower deck, the plurality of pillars being spatially separated from one another;
- wherein:
- each of the plurality of pillars includes a longitudinal web structure coupled to corresponding frame web structures of the upper and lower decks;
- each longitudinal web structure extends parallel to the frame web structures to which it is coupled;
- the combination of the pillars, the upper deck, and the lower deck defines a space frame structure;
- and
- the plurality of pillars are removably connected to the upper and lower decks by at least a dimple formed in an exterior surface of each pillar, the dimple arranged to engage corresponding structure of at least one of the upper and lower decks to align each pillar relative to the at least one of the upper and lower decks.
A shipping pallet comprising:
- an upper deck;
- a lower deck;
- and
- a plurality of pillars removably connected to the upper deck and to the lower deck by at least one assembly feature, the plurality of pillars spatially separated from one another;
- wherein:
- the at least one assembly feature comprises a dimple defined in an exterior surface of each pillar, the dimple arranged to engage corresponding structure of at least one of the upper and lower decks to align each pillar relative to the at least one of the upper and lower decks;
- and
- the combination of the pillars, the upper deck, and the lower deck defines a space frame structure.
A shipping pallet comprising:
- an upper deck including web structures extending therefrom;
- a lower deck including web structures extending therefrom;
- and
- a plurality of pillars removably connected to the upper and lower decks by one or more dimples formed in an exterior surface of each pillar, wherein the one or more dimples are arranged to engage a corresponding structure of at least one of the upper and lower decks to align each pillar relative to the at least one of the upper and lower decks;
- wherein:
- each of the plurality of pillars includes a longitudinal web structure coupled to corresponding web structures of the upper and lower decks to define a space frame structure therewith.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.