The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Mar. 18, 2008
Filed:
Jan. 17, 2006
Lyle H. Shuert, Bloomfield Hills, MI (US);
Lyle H. Shuert, Bloomfield Hills, MI (US);
Schuert Technologies LLC, Sterling Heights, MI (US);
Abstract
A plastic twin sheet pallet and a method of forming the pallet. The pallet includes an upper plastic sheet and a lower plastic sheet selectively fused together to form a generally rectangular pallet having an upper platform structure. The pallet further includes a metallic support structure positioned beneath the platform structure between the upper and lower sheets and including a plurality of beam members arranged end to end in a rectangular frame configuration with each beam member generally parallel to and spaced inboard from the respective outer edge of the pallet. The pallet further includes a peripheral groove structure opening upwardly in the platform structure between each beam member and the respective outer edge of the pallet. The pallet defines a peripheral groove structure opening upwardly in the platform structure between each beam member and their respective outer edge of the pallet. With the lower sheet in a heated state the beam members are positioned in upwardly opening channels defined in the lower sheet with beveled ends of the beam members positioned end to end but in spaced relation, whereafter a thermoformed upper sheet is fused to the lower sheet to encapsulate the beam members between the sheets. As the resulting pallet cools and shrinks the end to end and side to side shrinkage of the pallet brings the beveled ends of the beam members together to form a continuous rectangular frame configuration firmly imbedded within the pallet. The pallet further includes reinforcing rods embedded in rectangular configuration in the lower footprint face of the pallet to augment the reinforcing action of the beam members.