WO2010151106A1

WO2010151106A1 - An improved pallet

Info

Publication number: WO2010151106A1
Application number: PCT/MY2010/000145
Authority: WO
Inventors: Masao Ernest Yoshida Zane
Original assignee: Aeropal Technology Sdn Bhd
Priority date: 2009-06-22
Filing date: 2010-08-17
Publication date: 2010-12-29
Also published as: KR20100137353A; MY153276A

Abstract

The present invention relates generally to a pallet (100) that comprises a body (101), which includes a platform (102), and a plurality of supports (105) that depend from said underside face (104) of said platform (102). The supports (105), under side face (104) and upper side face (103) of said platform (102) are preferably covered by at least one layer of external skin (401) made of high density polystyrene (HDPE) by means of a liquid or air cooling method to shrink said HDPE external skin to said platform and plurality of supports. The body (101) is further moulded with a plurality of supporting members to enhance strength to said pallet (100).

Description

AN IMPROVED PALLET

1. TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to a pallet that comprises a higher density body, which includes a platform, and a plurality of supports that depend from said underside face of said platform. The supports, under side face and upper side face of said platform are preferably covered by at least one layer of external skin made of high density polystyrene (HDPE) by means of a liquid or air cooling method to shrink said HDPE external skin to said platform and plurality of supports. The body is further moulded with a plurality of supporting members to enhance strength to said pallet.

2. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Pallets typically include a platform and a plurality of dependant supports that are capable of supporting the platform above a foundation or a structure, such as a rack, upon which the pallet rests. Further both the arrangement of the supports and the space separating the platform and the foundation upon which it rests are typically sufficient to allow a forklift tine to be located there between. It will be appreciated that the cost of a consumer item is dependent upon many factors including the cost of packaging, transportation and storage of the item.

Pallets, being a load bearing structure, have traditionally been manufactured from heavy and expensive materials, such as timber and steel. Whereas once there was an abundance of timber and pallets and other forms of packaging made from timber were viewed as throwaway items, timber has in recent years become a scarce resource. As a consequence the cost of timber, and therefore pallets, has increased in recent years. Further, in an effort to prevent the transfer of unwanted pests and diseases from one country to another, some countries will only permit the importation of goods made of materials that are known to be good carriers of pests and diseases, such as timber, if they have been chemically treated. Accordingly, in order to comply with the customs requirements of many countries, pallets made from timber must be fumigated, which adds to the costs associated with the transportation and storage of consumer items.

Typically freight charges are dependent upon the combined weight of the article and any associated packaging. Accordingly, it is desirous that any packaging, including pallets, used for the transportation of goods be made from light weight materials, such as various plastics materials. In highly competitive markets, such as those relating to the sale of electronic goods and "white" goods, where margins are small, savings relating to the cost of transportation and storage of items are most desirous.'

In an effort to over the problems associated with pallets made of timber, various vacuum formed pallets having a core made from expanded polystyrene encapsulated by an external skin made from a thermoplastics material have been developed and are currently being used. Further prior arts

(patent PCT Pub. No. WO 2007/056821 now pending entitled "A PALLET" filed on 17 Nov 2006 by YOSHIDA Zane, DOEL Rene Roger Lloyd and LEE Chee Cheang) have been raised to have either a two way entry and/ or a four way entry, rackable, vacuum formed, pallet whereby the said external skin is sufficient to provide general usage or single usage.

However, there is a need to create a more robust pallet, whereby even if the pallet is being hit by a sharp object, the external skin will not break. This problem is further evident if said pallets are being used multiple times whereby external forces such as sharp objects may be applied to said pallet.

There is also a need to create pallets that can withstand even heavier load due to the increasing demand for the application. Even though said pallet is needed to withstand a heavier load, said pallet's weight should not be drastically increased in order to maintain comparatively low total weight of pallet and load. Besides changing the material of external skin, there should also be a method to further enhance the strength of said pallet without changing the material of the external skin in order to fully utilize the good characteristics of the current external skin material. Besides the current practice of using only the EPS material as the body of the pallets, in the quest to increase the strength of the said pallet, there is also a need to add certain components to the body without further changing the external outlook of said pallet.

In order to the pallets to be rackable, although there are currently bridges that are spaced from the underside of the platform and the said bridges are being attached to the plurality of supports using adhesive means. There is a need to have another method of attaching the said bridges to said supports in order to strengthen the attachment between said bridges and supports. It would hence be extremely advantageous if the above shortcoming is alleviated by having a pallet that comprises a body, which includes a platform., and a plurality of supports that depend from said underside face of said platform whereby said supports, under side face and upper side face of said platform are preferably covered by at least one layer of external skin made of HDPE by means of a liquid or air cooling method to shrink said HDPE external skin to said platform and plurality of supports and said body is further moulded with a plurality of supporting members to enhance strength to said pallet. 3. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, it is the primary aim of the present invention to provide a pallet that ameliorates at least some of the deficiencies of the prior art.

It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a two way entry, vacuum formed HDPE external skin pallet that is rackable.

It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a four way entry, vacuum formed HDPE external skin pallet that is rackable

It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a vacuum formed HDPE external skin pallet, wherein said external skin is more robust towards external force towards said pallet.

It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a vacuum formed pallet that is more economical to produce.

It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a vacuum formed pallet that is more durable. Other and further objects of the invention will become apparent with an understanding of the following detailed description of the invention or upon employment of the invention in practice.

According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention there is provided,

A pallet, comprising:

a body, comprising:

a platform that includes an upper side face upon which the article or articles may rest;

a plurality of supports that depend from an underside face of said platform and being adapted to provide support for said platform and to space said platform above a foundation or a structure on which the pallet rests;

an external skin that envelopes the underside face of said platform and said supports and at least some of the upper side face of said platform;

characterized in that said body is being constructed from a high density predominantly one or more light .weight materials having no or little inherent load bearing capacity;

material from which said external skin is made of is high density constructed from high density polyethylene (HDPE).

4. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Other aspect of the present invention and their advantages will be discerned after studying the Detailed Description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. IA is a perspective top view of a four way entry, vacuum formed pallet that is constructed in accordance with the present invention and while includes a skin covered pallet body.

FIG. IB is a perspective bottom view of the pallet illustrated in FIG IA.

FIG. 1C is a top view of the pallet illustrated in FIG IA.

FIG. ID is a bottom view of the pallet illustrated in FIG. IA.

FIG. IE is a front view of the pallet illustrated in FIG. IA. FIG. IF is a side view of the pallet illustrated in FIG. IA.

FIG. IG is a cross-sectional view of CC of the pallet illustrated in FIG.

ID.

FIG. IH is a cross-sectional view of DD of the pallet illustrated in FIG. ID.

FIG. 2A is a perspective top view of a rackable pallet that is constructed with the present invention and which includes a skin covered body and an assembly of bridges.

FIG. 2B is a perspective bottom view of the rackable pallet illustrated in FIG 2A.

FIG. 2C is a top view of the rackable pallet illustrated in FIG 2A.

FIG. 2D is a bottom view of the rackable pallet illustrated in FIG. 2A.

FIG. 2E is a front view of the rackable pallet illustrated in FIG. 2A.

FIG. 2F is a side view of the rackable pallet illustrated in FIG. 2A. FIG. 2G is a cross-sectional view of BB of the rackable pallet illustrated in FIG. 2C, together with a close-up view of one of the plurality of supports attached to said bridge.

FIG. 2H is a cross-sectional view of AA of the rackable pallet illustrated in FIG. 2C.

FIG. 21 is an exploded view showing the rackable pallet body and the assembly of bridges, said assembly of bridges being shown apart and in line for assembly.

FIG. 3A is a perspective top view of a rackable pallet that is constructed with the present invention and which includes a skin covered body and an assembly of insert moulded bridges.

FIG. 3B is a perspective bottom view of the rackable pallet illustrated in FIG 3A.

FIG. 3C is a top view of the rackable pallet illustrated in FIG 3A.

FIG. 3D is a bottom view of the rackable pallet illustrated in FIG. 3A.

FIG. 3E is a front view of the rackable pallet illustrated in FIG. 3A.

FIG. 3F is a side view of the rackable pallet illustrated in FIG. 3A. FIG. 3G is a cross-sectional view of AA of the rackable pallet illustrated in FIG. 3D.

FIG. 3H is a cross-sectional view of BB of the rackable pallet illustrated in FIG. 3D.

FIG. 4A and 4B are cross sectional views of one of the side walls of the pallet.

FIG. 5A is a perspective top view of another rackable pallet that is constructed with the present invention and which includes a skin covered body and an assembly of insert moulded bridges.

FIG. 5B is a perspective bottom view of the rackable pallet illustrated in

FIG 5A.

FIG. 5C is another top perspective view of the rackable pallet illustrated in FIG 5A, showing the assembly of insert moulded bridges before installation to the pallet's platform.

FIG. 5D is a bottom view of the rackable pallet illustrated in FIG. 5A.

FIG. 5E is a top view of the rackable pallet illustrated in FIG. 5A.

FIG. 5F is a side view of the rackable pallet illustrated in FIG. 5A. FIG. 5G is another side view of the rackable pallet illustrated in FIG. 5A.

FIG. 5H is a partial cross-sectional view of AA of the rackable pallet illustrated in FIG. 5E.

FIG. 5H is a close up cross-sectional view B of one of the supports of the rackable pallet illustrated in FIG. 5E.

FIG. 6A is a perspective top view of another representation of a pallet, which the body is also made of high density predominantly one or more light weight materials having no or little inherent load bearing capacity, used mainly during air transportation.

FIG. 6B is a side view of the pallet illustrated in FIG 6A.

FIG. 6C is a top view of the pallet illustrated in FIG 6A.

FIG. 6D is a front view of the pallet illustrated in FIG 6A.

FIG. 6E is a bottom view of the pallet illustrated in FIG 6A.

FIG. 6F is a perspective top view of the pallet illustrated in FIG 6A, wherein optional extra layer of external skin covering at least one corner of said pallet is being removed from said pallet. 5. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the following detailed description, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the invention. However, it will be understood by those or ordinary skill in the art that the invention may be practised without these specific details. In other instances, well known methods, procedures and/ or components have not been described in detail so as not to obscure the invention.

The invention will be more clearly understood from the following description of the embodiments thereof, given by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings which are not drawn to scale.

Referring to the drawings in which like numerals indicate like parts throughout the views shown, FIGS IA to IH show a four way, vacuum formed pallet (100) that is constructed in accordance with the present invention while includes a skin covered pallet body (101). The pallet (100) includes a body or blank (101), comprising a multitude of high impact polystyrene beads that are fused together. Preferably, the body (101) is formed using a two part mould and wherein the density of the beads is approximately above 30 Kg/m3 and the level of fusion is at least 10%.

The body (101) includes a platform (102), having a substantially square shaped, generally flat, upper side face (103) and an opposing underside face (104), and a plurality of supports (105) that depend from said underside face (104).

The supports (105) are arranged in rows that extend both transversely and longitudinally across the surface of the underside face (104). Further, the supports (105) include four corner supports (105a) that depend from a respective corner of the platform (102) and which have a substantially square shaped transverse cross-section. The corner supports (105a) each include two pairs of opposing, downwardly tapering, side walls (106) and an end wall (107) in which there is formed an L shaped channel. The outer facing walls (106a & 106b) of each corner support (105a) include al least one groove (108) that are formed therein and which extend between the underside face (104) of the platform (102) and the end wall (107). FIGs IA to IH have no groove, FIGs 2A to 21 has three grooves and FIGs 3A to 3H has 1 groove.

The inner facing side walls (106c & 106d) of each corner support (105a) include at least one groove (109) that are formed therein and which extend between the underside face (104) of the platform (102) and the end wall (107).

The supports (105) include four middle supports (105b) and wherein each middle support (105b) is located midway between two corner supports (105a).

Each middle support (105b) includes two pairs of opposing, downwardly tapering, side walls (110) and an end wall (111) in which there is formed a T shaped channel. The outer facing wall (110a) and its opposing side wall (110b) each at least one grooves (112) that are formed therein and which extend between the underside face of the platform (102) and the end wall (111).

The other two side walls (110c & HOd) each include at least one groove respectively that are formed therein and which extend between the underside face (104) of the platform (102) and the end wall (111).

The grooves (112) are connected to opposing grooves (109) by the grooves (113) formed in the underside face (104) of the platform (102).

The supports (105) also include a central support (105c) that depends from the centre of the platform (102). The support (105s) has a substantially square shaped transverse cross-section and includes two pairs of opposing, downwardly tapering side walls (114) and an end wall (115)..

The side walls (114) each include at least one groove (116) formed therein which extend between the underside face (104) of the platform (102) and the end wall (115). The grooves (116) are connected to the opposing grooves (117) by connecting grooves (118) formed in the underside face (104) of the platform (102).

The connecting grooves (118) divide the underside face (104) into essentially four quadrants (119). The platform (102) also includes a matrix of cavities or bores (120) that surround each of the supports (105). The bores (120) are individually formed during the moulding process by a respective pin that is mounted on one part of the mould and wherein when the two parts of the mould are brought together, the pins extend into the mould cavity. Each bore (120) includes an open end that opens to the underside face

(104) and an opposing closed end that lies just below the surface of the upper side face (103). Further, the bores (120) are substantially constant cross-section and, in the case of a pallet that is 1100mm square, have a diameter of approximately 3mm.

The platform (102) also includes two opposing pairs of side walls (121). Each side wall (121) is substantially rectangular in shape and includes a chamfered top edge portion.

The supports (105) and the underside face (104) of the body (101) are preferable covered by a generally rectangular shaped bottom sheet (401b) made of HDPE The sheet (401b) is preferable of substantially uniform thickness, approximately 0.3mm-4.0mm, and has a peripheral edge portion. Further, the sheet (401b) preferably has a substantially smooth outer face and an opposing, substantially smooth, inner face. During construction of the pallet (100), the pre-heated sheet (40ab) is brought in to contact with the end walls of the supports (105) and the peripheral edge portion is clamped against abutting side walls (121) of the platform using a tool or die, not shown. Then gases that are trapped between the sheet and the underside face (104) are subsequently drawn through the body (101) thereby creating a partial vacuum between the underside face (104) and the sheet (401b). The forces created by the partial vacuum both urge and, where necessary, stretch the sheet such that it bears against and becomes bonded to the side walls of the supports (105) and the underside face (104) of the body (101).

It is believed that the bores (120), because they are located adjacent each of the supports (105), help ensure that the bottom sheet bonds to the side walls of the supports and those portions of the underside face (104) that are adjacent the supports (105).

The clamping of the sheet against the side walls (121) causes the portions of the sheet that are in contact with the side walls (121) to bond with the same. Preferably the manufacturing process involves the use of a tool that prevents the peripheral edge portion (402) of the sheet from coming into contact with the side walls. Instead the peripheral edge portion (402) shall overlie yet diverge away from the side walls (121).

Finally those portions of the bottom sheet (401b) that are covering the openings of the bores are each pierced using a respective retractable pin.

The upper side face (103) of the body (101) is preferably covered by a generally rectangular shaped top sheet (401a) made of HDPE. The sheet is preferably of substantially uniform thickness, approximately 0.3mm,-4.0mm and has a peripheral edge portion (402). Further, the sheet preferably has a substantially smooth outer face and an opposing, substantially smooth, inner face. During construction of the pallet (100), the pre-heated sheet (401a) is supported above the body (101) by a tool that is adapted to hold the peripheral edge of said sheet (401a). The body (101) is then advanced such that the upper side face (103) makes contact with the inner face of the sheet and whereupon any gases trapped between said inner face and said upper face are drawn through the body (101), aided by the inclusion of the bores (120). The resulting partial vacuum forces the sheet against the upper side face (103) ensuring that as much of said sheet (401a) as possible will bond with said face.

The peripheral edge (402), when released by the tool holding same, is then folded over and pressed against the exposed portions of the side walls (121) of the body. Then, the peripheral edge portion of the sheet (401a) is folded over and heat bonded to the peripheral edge (402).

The amount of load range that the said pallet (100) is able to withstand is determined by two variables: the density of the material of said body (101) and the predetermined combination of the material density of the body (101) and the thickness of the external skin covering the upper side and under side of said pallet (100). The heavier the load that is needed by the said pallet to withstand, the higher the density of the material is needed for the manufacturing of the body (101). For example, if a loading of maximum of 1 tonne is needed by the pallet (100), the density of material needed for the manufacturing of said body (101) is approximately 32 Kg/m3 and the correct combination of body material density and the thickness of the external skin covering the upper (103) and under side (104) of said pallet is external skin for upper side (401a) of pallet (100) having thickness of 0.8mm and the external skin for the under side (401b) of the pallet (100) having thickness of 1.0mm, if the material of the external skin (401) is HDPE. The higher the thickness of the external skin (401), provided that the correct combination of the body material density and the thickness of the external skin covering the upper and under side of said pallet (100), the higher the ability of the pallet (100) to withstand a larger load. For example, using the same core density of 32 Kg/m3 and an increased thickness of top (401a) and bottom (401b) external skin such as 1.00mm and 2.00mm respectively, said pallet (100) is able to withstand a maximum load of two tonne. The thickness ratio between the external skin enveloping the upper side (103) of said platform (102) and the under side (104) of said platform (102) is substantially 1:2 if the density of said body (101) is below 60kg/ m3. The external skin (401) that is used to cover the pallet is chosen from material such as high density polystyrene (HDPE) in order to provide extra protection to the body of the pallet. External skin made of materials such as HDPE contains a more elastic characteristic so that external forces that are applied to the said external skin will have less probability of damaging the said external skin. When a relatively sharp object hits the pallet, the said elastic characteristics will only enable it to bend inwards whereas other materials such as high impact polystyrene (HIPS) will have a high probability of breaking due to the brittle nature of the HIPS material.

Due to the material compound for the external skin of HDPE material, which is different from the material compound of the body, which is from expanded polystyrene (EPS), there is a very limited possibility of fusing both material together, unlike the combination of HIPS for external skin and EPS for body. This is because HDPE and EPS do not have similar polymer characteristics in comparison to HIPS and EPS, which have styrene as the base polymer. In order to overcome this challenge, the said HDPE external skin (401) is shrunk to the said body (101). This action of shrinking the HDPE external skin (401) to the said body (101) is using vacuum forming process to encapsulate said core. Furtherance to this, the process goes through another step, whereby whilst the body (101) and external skin (401) is still hot, they are soaked rapidly into a liquid or air bath at cool temperature to prevent heat transfer between the external skin (401) and the body (101) to avoid melting. In cooling the external skin (401) rapidly, the external skin (401) is shrunk onto the body (101) as the bonding of the two unlike materials is not possible. This action will also provide inherent strength to the attachment between the external skin (401) and body (101). The usage of liquid cooling is more advantageous compared to air cooling especially if the thickness of the skin is high. A thick external skin loses heat much slower than thinner external skin. If heat is not removed from the external skin (401) fast enough, the heat trapped at the external skin will degrade the quality of the core. Therefore, the usage of liquid cooling, which is able to transfer heat faster than air cooling is advantageous for thick external skins.

The pallet (100) also includes a plurality of bridges (123) that extend between adjacent supports, said bridges (123) being spaced from the underside face of the platform (102) by said support (105).

The bridges (123) are each formed from an extruded plastics material, such as lead free PVC, and comprise a hollow core that extends the length of the member and one or interconnecting webs.

The individual bridges (123) which are parallel to each other as shown in FIG 2 are adapted to be received in the various channels (124, 125 & 126) formed in the end walls (107, 111 & 115) respectively of the supports and are preferably retained therein by friction and / or a suitable adhesive.

The peripheral bridges (123) are each provided with opposing mitred end portions. Abutting end portions of adjacent bridges are interconnected by a stake having opposing end portions that are frictionally retained within a respective bore.

Referring to FIG 4A and 4B, there are shown the cross sectional view of one of the sides of the said pallet (100). The pallet (100) includes a body comprising a multitude of high impact polystyrene beads that are fused together. The body (101) includes a platform (102), having a substantially square shaped, generally flat, upper side face (103) and an opposing underside face (104), an a plurality of supports (105) that depend from said underside face (104). The supports (105) are arranged in rows that extend both longitudinally and transversely across the surface of the underside face (104).

The platform (102) also includes two opposing pairs of side walls (121). Each side wall (121) is substantially rectangular in shape and includes a groove that has been formed either during the moulding process used to produce the body (101) or subsequently pressed into said side wall (121).

The supports (105) and the underside face (104) are covered by a generally rectangular shaped sheet (401b) made of HDPE and wherein the sheet (401b) includes four peripheral edge portions (402). During construction of the pallet (100), the pre-heated sheet (401) is brought into contact with the supports (105) and the peripheral edge portion (402) is clamped against abutting side walls (121) of the platform (102) using a tool, not shown. Then gases that are trapped between the sheet (401b) and the underside face (104) are subsequently drawn through the body thereby creating a partial vacuum between the underside face (104) and the sheet (401b).

The forces created by the partial vacuum both urge and, where necessary stretch the sheet such that it bears against and becomes bonded to the side walls of the supports (105) and the underside face (104) of the body (101).

The partial vacuum that is created also urges the sheet (401) to both conform to and bond with the side walls (121) of the platform (102), including the grooves, but wherein a tool not shown prevents the peripheral edge portions

(402) from making contact with the platform (102). Instead, the peripheral edge portions (402) each form a flap that extends outwardly from the side walls above the grooves at an inclined angle, as shown in figure 4A and 4B.

The upper side face (103) of the body (101) is preferably covered by a generally rectangular shaped top sheet (401a) also made from a HDPE and wherein the sheet (401a) includes four peripheral edge portions (402), each having a peripheral edge.

During the construction of the pallet (101), the pre-heated sheet (401a) is supported above the body by a tool that is adapted to hold the peripheral edges (402) of said sheets (401a). The body (101) is then advanced such that the upper side face (103) makes contact with the sheet (401a) and whereupon any gases trapped between the sheet (401a) and the upper side face (103) are drawn through the body (101). The resulting partial vacuum forces the sheet (401a) against the upper side face (103) ensuring that as much of said sheet (401a) as possible bonds with the said face (103). Further, following trimming of the peripheral edges (402)of the sheet

(401a), the partial vacuum also forces the edge portions (402) to both conform to and bond with the side walls (121) such that they cover an upper side face (103) and a lower side face of an adjacent flap.

It will be appreciated that the bridges (123) provide support for the pallet (100) when at least some of the said bridges (123) rest upon frame members of a rack. Further, it will be appreciated that the bridges (123) do not prevent the location of the forklift tines between the underside face of the platform (102) and opposing bridges, and between opposing rows of supports (105).

It will also be appreciated that the frame comprising a plurality of interconnected bridges (123) aids in preventing the splaying apart of the supports when heavy loads are placed on the pallet (100).

It is also believed that the addition of the grooves formed in the outer side faces of the supports (105) will strengthen the pallet (100), and in particular the supports (105). It has also been observed that the size of the load that may be supported by the pallets (100) is influenced by the size of the bearing area, namely the size of the surface area of the end walls (107, 111 & 115), provided the material density of the said supports (105) are the same. The greater the bearing area the greater the load that the pallets can support. In order to increase the bearing area and hence the load capacity of the pallets (100), it is proposed that the distance separating adjacent supports be minimized. However it is understood that the minimum distance separating adjacent supports must be sufficient to enable two adjacent tines of a forklift or similar lifting apparatus to each pass simultaneously between adjacent rows of supports (105).

Bearing the above in mind, it is proposed that the distance separating adjacent supports for most pallets be in the order of 80mm. The external skin (401) should be applied first to either the upper side of the platform (103) or the under side of the platform (104) and plurality of supports (105). Once both layers, being upper side of platform (103) and under side of platform (104) and plurality of supports (105) are being shrunk to the body (101) of the pallet (100), the overlapping portion (406) between the two sides of the external skin (401) need to be sealed to hold the two external skins together. One method of sealing said overlapping between said two external skins (401) is to perform plastic welding. Plastic welding refers to applying high temperature to the intended portions to melt said external skins (401) together. In order to further enhance the strength of the pallets, more than one layer of external skins can be applied to the body (101) of the pallet (100). After the first layer of external skin is being shrunk to the body (101) of the pallet (100), the subsequent layers can be further shrunk to the previous layer by using vacuum forming process and also adhesive, if required. The subsequent layers of external skin need not to have the same ratio of thickness between top sheet (401a) and bottom sheet (401b) because the first layer of external skin (401) has already strengthened the body of the platform.

A pallet with a higher density of core material, covered with a high durability external skin material such as HDPE is generally more durable compared to the previous usage of material density and type as claimed in the disclosed prior art wherein the density of the EPS core is less and the usage of HIPS as external skin. This durable pallet will be able to be used for multiple occurrences, whereby said pallets can be used to transport loads to and from destination without the need to replace the pallets for each delivery.

Referring now to FIGS 5A to 51, there is shown another embodiment of a rackable pallet which is a four way, vacuum formed pallet (100) that is constructed in accordance with the present invention while includes a skin covered pallet body (101) and an assembly of bridge (501). For the pallet to be rackable, previous method is to add bridges (123) between the supports (105) of the pallet (100). The said bridges are attached to the bottom wall of said supports (105) of the pallets (100) by means of adhesive means. This embodiment has another method of implementation, whereby inserts or supporting members (502) are being moulded into the body (101) of the pallet during the moulding process. These supporting members (502) will further increase the strength of the said body (101). The inserts are being moulded to the body (101) by means of insert moulding during the EPS core shape moulding process. The said supporting members (502) may have a clip-on attachment (503) for use of attachment with said assembly of bridge (501), if required.

The assembly of bridge (501) comprises a substantially flat panel (504), which is substantially similar area sized with the upper side of said pallet platform. The area of the said flat panel (504) is constructed so as when looked from the bottom view, it covers the plurality of supports (105) of the pallet and the area between each neighbouring support. The said assembly of bridge (501) further comprises a protrusion of a plurality of sockets (505) attached to the said flat panel (504), which matches the size of the said plurality of supports (105) of the said pallet and able to fit all the four walls of said supports (105) of the said pallet when the said assembly of bridge (501) is being attached to the said supports (105) of the said pallet. The height of the said socket (505) should be sufficient to cover the whole support (105) of the pallet.

The said assembly of bridge (501) is attached to the said supports (105) of the said pallet by means of the said clip-on attachment (503). A plurality of holes (506) of a suitable size is made in order for the clip-on attachment (503) such as a bolt or screw to be inserted from the bottom of the said flat panel (504). The said holes (506) should be positioned to allow the said clip-on attachments (503) to go through from the bottom of said flat panel (504) and to be clipped on to the centre of the intended support (105) of said pallet. This is an alternative and more secured method to attach the said assembly of bridge (501) to the said plurality of supports (105). Furtherance to this, there is also an option for the plurality of supports to be detachable from the under side of the platform of the pallet. This feature is very useful especially in transferring multiple pallets without loads. The said plurality of supports is attachable to the underside of the platform of the pallets by an interlocking means. When the plurality of support is attached to the platform, the pallet can be used to carry load. In the event that multiple empty pallets are being transferred either through air cargo or sorts, the plurality of supports can be detached from the said platform. By performing this task, a plurality of platforms can be arranged on top of each other without leaving any space in between and the plurality of supports can be bundled together. This method is also advantageous to optimize the space available in the carrier.

Referring now to FIGS 6A to 6F, there is shown another representation of a pallet (100), which the body (101) is also made of high density predominantly one or more light weight materials having no or little inherent load bearing capacity. The said pallet (100) is used mainly during air transportation wherein said pallet separates the ground of the airplane and the pallet that is holding the loads. This is to avoid the loaded pallets, which carries a substantial amount of weight, to damage the ground of the airplane. The said pallet comprises: a body (101) which comprises a platform (102) that includes an upper side face (103) upon which other pallets with article or articles may rest during air transportation and an external skin (401) that envelopes the underside (104) and upper side face (103) of said platform (102) made from high acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) plastic. There is also an optional extra layer of external skin covering (601) at least one intersection between said platform's side walls, which said extra layer of external skin is made of HDPE. The said pallet (100) can be of any suitable shape, but preferably, it is substantially rectangular shaped. There is a hole (602) situated substantially centre of the said platform (102), wherein said hole (602) goes through said upper side face (103) and under side face (104) of said platform (102). The upper side (103) of said platform (102) is also manufactured so that it is substantially inclined downwards from said intersection between said platform's side walls (121) towards said hole (602). This is to help draining out any liquid from said upper side of platform (102). Examples of said material is expandable polystyrene (EPS), expandable polypropylene (EPP) or expandable polyethelene (EPE). The platform (102) of said pallet (100) can be of any suitable thickness, but preferably the thickness should be in the range of 2.5cm and 4.0cm. The material for core of the said platform (102) can be of any suitable density, but preferably it should be in the range of 80kg/ m3 and 100kg/ m3.

It will of course be realised that while the foregoing description has been given by way of example of this invention, all other modifications and variations thereto as would be apparent to persons skilled in the art are deemed to fall within the broad scope and ambit of this invention as herein defined in the appended claims.

Claims

WHAT IS CLAIMED IS:

1. A pallet (100), comprising:

a body (101), comprising:

a platform (102) that includes an upper side face (103) upon which the article or articles may rest;

a plurality of supports (105) that depend from an underside face (104) of said platform (102) and being adapted to provide support for said platform (102) and to space said platform (102) above a foundation or a structure on which the pallet (100) rests;

an external skin (401) that envelopes the underside face (104) of said platform (102) and said supports (105) and at least some of the upper side face (103) of said platform (102);

characterized in that

said body (101) is being constructed from a high density predominantly one or more light weight materials having no or little inherent load bearing capacity; material from which said external skin (401) is made of is high density constructed from high density polyethylene (HDPE).

2. A pallet (100) as claimed in Claim 1, wherein said external skin (401) is shrunk to said body (101) using vacuum forming process.

3. A pallet (100) as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein said external skin (401) comprises at least one layer to strengthen said pallet (100).

4. A pallet (100) as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein subsequent layers of said external skin are attached to the first layer using vacuum forming process and adhesive means where required.

5. A pallet (100) as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein thickness of said external skin (401b) that envelopes the underside face of said platform and said supports is in the range of 0.3mm and 4.0mm.

6. A pallet (100) as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein thickness of said external skin (401a) that envelopes the upper side face of said platform is in the range of 0.3mm and 4.0mm.

7. A pallet (100) as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the thickness ratio between the external skin enveloping the upper side (401a) of said platform and the under side (401b) of said platform is substantially 1:2 if the density of said body (101) is below 60kg/ m3.

8. A pallet (100) as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein said body (101) is made of expandable polystyrene (EPS).

9. A pallet (100) as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein said body (101) is manufactured using a shape moulding process, wherein through holes are produced from the upper side of at least one support (105) to the under side of the same support (105) using pins (503) of any suitable diameter to strengthen said body.

10. A pallet (100) as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein said suitable diameter for said pins (503) is in the range of

2mm to 3mm.

11. A pallet (100) as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein thickness of said external skin for upper side face (401a) of said platform (102) is smaller than said external skin for under side face (401b) of said platform (102) and said plurality of supports (105) to achieve an even surface for upper side (103) of said platform (102).

12. A pallet (100) as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein said external skin for upper side face (401a) of said platform (102) is attached to said external skin for under side face (401b) of said platform (102) and said plurality of supports (105) by means of plastic welding.

13. A pallet (100) as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, further comprising a plurality of bridges (123) attached to, the underside wall of said supports (105), connecting said supports (105) to bear against a foundation upon which the pallet (100) rests and to provide rack-ability to said pallet (100).

14. A pallet (100) as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein said plurality of bridges (123) are made of aluminium or extruded PS, lead free PVC or any other high strength composite materials.

15. A pallet (100) as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein said body (101) can also be made of expandable polypropylene (EPP) or expandable polyethelene (EPE).

16. A pallet (100) as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein said external skin (401) can also be made of one or more of the following materials: acrylonitrite butadiene styrene; polyester; styrene; polycarbonate; PET; APET; PETG; lead free PVC; and copolymer polyester / polycarbonate.

17. A pallet (100) as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein said plurality of supports (105) can be detachable from underside face (104) of said platform (102).

18. A pallet (100) as claimed in any one claims 1 to 12, wherein said pallet (100) further comprises a bridging system to strengthen said pallet (100) and provide rack-ability to said pallet (100), comprising:

a substantially flat surface at the bottom side of said bridging system;

a plurality of sockets at the uppers side of said bridging system that fits to the said plurality of supports (105) of the said pallet (100); wherein said flat surface of bottom side of said bridging system encompasses the area between the adjacent of said plurality of supports (105) of the said pallet (100).

19. A pallet (100) as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein said bridging system is manufactured using injection moulding process.

20. A pallet (100), comprising:

a body (101) comprising a platform (102) that includes an upper side face (103) upon which other pallets with article or articles may rest during air transportation;

an external skin (401) that envelopes the underside (104) and upper side face (103)of said platform (102);

characterized in that

said body (101) is being constructed from a density predominantly one or more light weight materials having no or little inherent load bearing capacity;

material from which said external skin (401) is made of is high acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) plastic.

21. A pallet (100) as claimed in Claim 20 wherein at least one intersection between said platform's side walls (121) is covered with another layer of external skin (601) made of HDPE.

22. A pallet (100) as claimed in any one of Claims 20 to 21 further comprising at least one hole (602) going through said upper side face (103) and under side face (104) of said platform (102) and situated substantially at the centre of said upper side face (103) of said platform (102).

23. A pallet (100) as claimed in any one of Claims 20 to 22 where said upper side face (103) of said platform (102) is substantially inclined downwards from said intersection between said platform's side walls (121) towards said hole (602).

24. A pallet (100) as claimed in any one of Claims 20 to 23 wherein said body (101) is made of expandable polystyrene (EPS), expandable polypropylene (EPP) or expandable polyethelene (EPE).

25. A pallet (100) as claimed in any one of Claims 20 to 24 wherein thickness of said platform (102) is in the range of 2.5cm and 4.0cm.

26. A pallet (100) as claimed in any one of Claims 20 to 25 wherein density of said body (101) is in the range of 80kg/ m3 and 100kg/ m3.

27. A methodology of producing a pallet (100), wherein after the underside face (104) of platform (102) and supports (105) and at least some of the upper side face (103) of said platform (102) of said pallet (100) is being enveloped with an external skin (401), the said pallet (100) is dipped in liquid while said pallet (100) is still hot to shrink said external skin (401) to platforms (102) and supports (105) of said pallet (100).

28. A methodology of producing a pallet (100) as in Claim 28, wherein after the underside face (104) of platform (102) and supports (105) and at least some of the upper side face (103) of said platform (102) of said pallet (100) is being enveloped with an external skin (401), the said pallet (100) is blown with cool air while said pallet (100) is still hot to shrink said external skin (401) to platforms (102) and supports (105) of said pallet (100).

29. A methodology of producing a pallet (100) as in Claim 28, wherein said dipping said pallet (100) in liquid is done when the thickness of said external skin of upper side (401a) and under side (401b) of

said platform (102) is at least 2mm.