Horizontally supported planar surfaces – Industrial platform
Reexamination Certificate
1999-10-04
2001-02-27
Chen, Jose V. (Department: 3636)
Horizontally supported planar surfaces
Industrial platform
C108S055100, C108S027000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06192807
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates generally to pallets for supporting materials, and more particularly to a protector or guard device which is arranged to be readily disposed about the periphery of a pallet to protect the pallet and persons coming into contact with the pallet.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,715,294 (Depew) there is disclosed a pallet construction making use of protective members fabricated out of metal, plastic or other impact resistant material for engaging two opposed end portions of the pallet to protect against damage. The protective members are in the form of upper and lower elongated bars and associated cap portions. The to protective members are arranged to be secured in place to the pallet, via nails or screws, with the bars extending flush with the top and bottom surfaces of the upper and lower deck-boards, and with the cap portions embracing the end portions of the stringers or other deck-board supporting components. The cap portions are secured to the embraced portions beneath the deck-boards. Flanges may be provided on the cap portions at the end of the protective members for direct securement to the upper surface of the deck-boards and to the under surface of the underlying portion of the pallet. With pallets of block type construction, side protective members may be included to be nailed, screwed or otherwise secured to sides of the pallet, whereupon the periphery of the pallet is protected.
While the pallet protective members of the Depew patent may be generally suitable for their intended purposes of protecting the pallet from damage by a fork-lift apparatus used to lift and transport the pallet, they still leave much to be desired from various standpoints, e.g., inability to cover the entire periphery of the pallet, complexity of construction, inability to be readily removed from the pallet.
Other pallet protectors have been disclosed in the patent literature. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,292,899 (Steffen) discloses a protective element for a pallet in the form of a plate, preferably formed of sheet metal for a fixation to deleting stringer of the pallet. The plate-like element is preferably nailed to the pallet.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,076,175 (Whatley, II) also discloses a protective plate for use with a pallet. The plates may include perforations or holes to receive fasteners such as nails for fixing the plate to the pallet. The plates are disclosed as being fabricated from sheet metal.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,673,629 (Ginnow) discloses an end cap construction for protecting the ends of the stringers of a pallet Each of the end cap construction units is a generally U-shaped member having plural apertures therein.
The pallet protectors disclosed in these patents suffer from many of the same disadvantages as that of the Depew patent discussed above.
OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, it is a general object of this invention to provide a pallet protector which overcomes the disadvantages or limitations of the prior art.
It is another object of this invention to provide a pallet protector which can be readily assembled.
It is another object of this invention to provide a pallet protector which can be readily disassembled.
It is another object of this invention to provide a pallet protector which when assembled is self supporting.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a pallet protector which when assembled covers the entire periphery of the pallet to protect it from damage, while also protecting personnel from injury (e.g., splinters from a wooden pallet).
It is a further object of this invention to provide a pallet protector which when assembled covers the entire periphery of the pallet, but which may be removed in sections, to provide ready access to any side of the pallet.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a pallet protector formed of plural light weight, impact resistant guard members which are arranged to be readily interconnected with one another.
It is still a further object of this invention to provide a pallet protector which is of modular construction.
It is still a further object of this invention to provide a pallet protector which is of simple construction.
It is yet a further object of this invention to provide a pallet protector which is low in cost.
It is yet a further object of this invention to provide a pallet protector which is can be manufactured easily.
It is yet a further object of this invention to provide a pallet protector which may be color coded to provide the user information.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
These and other objects of the instant invention are achieved by providing a pallet protector assembly for use with a conventional pallet, e.g., a wooden pallet having a plurality of stringers disposed generally parallel to one another underneath an upper deck. The upper deck is formed of plural spaced-apart deck-boards. The pallet is of a generally rectangular or square shape and has a pair of sides and a pair of ends.
The pallet protector assembly comprises plural elongated bar-like guard members. Each of the guard members has a pair of end portions. Each of the end portions includes a respective connector, e.g., one of the connectors of each of the guard members comprises a recess located in one end of the guard member, and the other of the connectors comprises a mating projection in the other end of the guard member. The connectors of respective ones of the elongated bar-like guard members are releasably securable to each other to form a self-supporting frame for encircling the periphery of the pallet and when so connected are resistant to accidental disconnection from one another.
In accordance with one preferred embodiment of the invention each of the guard members is formed of a light-weight, impact resistant material, such as polyethylene, polyolefin cellulose composite, or other plastics.
REFERENCES:
patent: 1918634 (1933-07-01), Cordes
patent: 2420640 (1947-05-01), Acteson
patent: 3181176 (1965-05-01), Nagy et al.
patent: 4292899 (1981-10-01), Steffen
patent: 4635562 (1987-01-01), Kreeger
patent: 4715294 (1987-12-01), Depew
patent: 5076175 (1991-12-01), Whatley, II
patent: 5180134 (1993-01-01), Mallak
patent: 5496609 (1996-03-01), Michelstein
patent: 5609111 (1997-03-01), Hasegawa et al.
patent: 5673629 (1997-10-01), Ginnow
patent: 3618357 (1987-10-01), None
patent: 762007 (1956-11-01), None
patent: 3143612 (1991-06-01), None
Caesar Rivise Bernstein Cohen & Pokotilow Ltd.
Chen José V.
Food Machinery Equipment Corporation
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