Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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DISCLOSURE
The present invention relates to materials handling pallets used for the
warehousing, stacking, transporting and protection of goods and a system of
assembly and repair of pallets. Various types of materials handling pallets are
known. ~he pallet as it exists today in its most common form has wooden stringers
or transverse, longitudinal, parallel members to which wooden boards are nailed top
and bottom by air operated nail guns to form a platform. The disadvantage of
wooden stringers are many. They; dry out and crack; are easily split when hit by
fork truck tines; are often made of hardwood which is costly and low priority use
for our forests; are impractical or difficult to repair; need constant painting and
maintenance if reusable. The majority are expendable, unnecessarily filling our
diminishing waste sites. The air operated nail guns used to assemble these pallets
are noisy and dangerous to the operator and his fellow workers. There are many
~;~ variations of these types of pallets, most of them expendable and non recyclable
so they are adding to our solid waste disposal problem. There are other pallets
or platforms found under "CLASS 190, SUBCLASS 13.6 PALLETS OR LOAD PLATFORMS" but
many of these are impractical for one reason or another or not suitable for general
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use in industry because they did not address inherent problems in pallets as they
exist today. The existing pallets for the most part are manufactured as one way
expendable pallets or reusable pallets but even reusable pallets have a short life
span because of broken stringers. During the assembly of these existing pallets
the air operated nail gun's high impact often splits the deck boards while being
fastened to the transverse stringers; the nails often work their way out of the
stringers exposing the nail head above the deck boards. The cracked deck boards
and popped nails cause damage to product increasing the cost of goods and
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insurance. The repair of naiied pallets is difficult because broken deck boards
must be removed by wrecking bars. Some nails remain in the stringers and are
pounded down, some nails remain in the broken deck boards. In both cases the nails
make the stringers and deck boards difficult to recycle so they are disposed of as
solid waste in our disposal sites at great cost to industry and the environment. ;
The need for replacing these pallets and stringers is consuming our forests, often
hardwood, for low priority use.
It is desirable to have a pallet that embodies features which overcome the
aforementioned problems of the existing art. The present invention relates to a
10 device that solves many of the problems inherent in the pallets used today. The
invention, as exemplified by a preferred embodiment, is described with references
to the drawings in which:
FIG. 1. IS A PERSPECTIVE VIEW OF THE STRINGER
FIG. 2. IS A SIDE VIEW OF THE STRINGER
FIG. 3. IS A TOP VIEW OF THE STRINGER
FIG. 4. IS AN END VIEW OF THE STRINGER
FIG. 5. IS A PERSPECTIVE VIEW OF THE STRINGER SHOWING INVISIBLE LINES
FIG. 6. IS A PERSPECTIVE VIEW OF THE INSERTS SHOWING THEIR RELATIVE POSITIONS
WHEN INSERTED IN THE CHANNELS OF THE STRINGER
'
FIG. 7. IS A PERSPECTIVE VIEW OF A DOUBLE INSERT-SHOWING INVISIBLE LINES
FIG. 8. IS A PERSPECTIVE VIEW OF A STRINGER WHICH EMBODIES CENTRE SLOTS TO
ACC0MMODATE FORK LIFT TINES
FIG. 9. IS A PERSPECTIVE VIEW OF AN ASSEMBLED PALLET "A" AND A PERSPECTIVE
VIEW OF A PALLET "B" WITH THE TOP DECK SLID HALF WAY OFF
Referring to the drawings, the embodiment of this invention consists of a stringer
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device (FIG 1) for the assembly of pallets. The stringer, preferably composed of,
but not confined to a resilient, impact resistant, recyclable, durable plastic
material shaped square on the ends with the vertical sides slightly longer than the
horizontal sides and having a longitudinal, rectangular shaped body incorporating a
track (FIG 1, #10) in the centre of the top of the stringer having a tapered
downward and outward channel running full length thereof; a track (FIG 1, #12) in
the centre of the bottom of the stringer having a tapered upward and outward
channel running full length thereof; the top and bottom channels having their most
outward dimensions closest to the vertical centre of the stringers. Notches (FIG
1, #14) are cut out of the bottom of the stringers having proper dimensions and
locations to accommodate fork lift tines. These channels will house inserts (FIG
6, #18, #20, #22) preferably of wood or other biodegradable material, with the same
configuration and length as the channels. The inserts are slid into the channels
(FIG 1, #10, #12) from the end opening and maintained in place by screws inserted
in preformed holes (FIG 1, #16) disposed on both sides of the stringer horizontally
and at the centre of the depth of the top and bottom channels and made fast to the
inserts.
According to another aspect the invention consists of a double insert (FIG 7) made
of a solid rigid material having the same configuration and length but a slightly
smaller circumference than the channel void formed where the two stringers meet
when one stringer is placed atop another; the double insert, when placed in the
void, having the function of joining the two stringers together vertically forming
a stringer double in height of a single stringer.
According to another aspect, the stringer may have slots (FIG 8, #24) cut out of
the vertical centre of the stringers in proper dimensions and horizontally placed
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to accommodate fork lift tines. The top and bottom of the slots do not extend into
or interfere with the channels or inserts of the stringer.
According to another aspect of the invention a system of screws is used employing
an automatic feed, quickdrive screw driver to assemble and attach all deck boards
or solid one piece decks to the inserts in the channels of the top and bottom of
the stringers to form the pallets or platforms.
The Everlast stringer when manufactured of long life, impact resistant, recyclable
plastic under normal use and abuse will not break, crack or twist and will never
need replacing. During manufacture the Everlast stringer can be made in many
colors, which is permanent, eliminating painting and maintenance. The Everlast
stringer can be manufactured with Company name and logo moulded in for easy
identification, proof of ownership and to deter theft. The Everlast stringer with
it's unique channels and insert design allows for easy assembly of pallets using
screws. The screws secure all decks to the Everlast stringer by attaching them to
the inserts thus preventing any damage to the Everlast stringer. This method of
assembly of the pallets using screws eliminates popped nails and cracked boards,
inherent in nailing methods, preventing damage to product carried on the pallets.
~; This increased protection of product will lower insurance rates and shipping costs.
During repairs, the current art requires the removal of broken boards by wrecking
bars, then attaching new boards by dangerous and noisy air operated nailing guns.
In this invention the screw system allows for quick, easy and safe replacement of
., , . ~ , , . . - . ~
broken deck boards simply by removing the screws with a power screw driver and ;
attaching new deck boards using the old screws. In the present art damaged
stringers are cause for discarding the whole pallet. The Everlast stringer never
needs replacing so the pallets can always be repaired quick and economically and
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reused indefinitely. The present art, in many cases, requires that damaged pallets
be picked up by truck, transported to a repair Eacility, then trucked back to the
owner after being repaired. The use of the screw system for assembly or repair of
pallets on site by a mobile unit saves money and time and returns the damaged
pallet to new condition for immediate use.
The unique channel and insert design permits the removal of the complete-top deck
by the simple removal of the insert retaining screws (FIG 1, #16) and sliding the
deck and inserts as one unit out of the channels (FIG 9, A & B). This feature
allows for the quick and easy interchange of different types of top decks on the
pallet to accommodate the transporting of products with specific needs.
This unique Everlast stringer may be used in multiples of three, four or more laid
in horizontal, parallel configuration and joined together by deck boards located
transversely to the stringers and attached thereto by the screw system to make
longer pallets when required. One of the unique aspects of this Everlast stringer
is it may be disassembled from one pallet configuration and reassembled in another.
Because of the screw system clean up of the repair area is quick and simple.
Magnets are used to pick up the used screws for reuse and the broken deck boards
are trucked away and later fed into chipper machines to make landscape mulch,
animal bedding, hog fuel or chip board. This system allows for total recycle of
the replaceable pallet parts.
~` The use of Evqrlast stringers a's the major infrastructure members for pallets makes
assembly so simple and quick that end users can have the components shipped
unassembled requiring only 30% of the shipping and storage space of assembled
pallets. The components can then be assembled into finished pallets as needed.
