Plastic Pallet Foot Elements with Reinforcement Tubes
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Solution Overview
Problem
Plastic pallets lack sufficient impact resistance, which can lead to damage during forklift handling and transportation, necessitating reinforcement to enhance strength and durability.
Innovation Solution
A plastic pallet design featuring a flat upper and lower part with protruding foot elements having ribs that snap together, incorporating semicircular recesses and projections for reinforcement tubes, allowing for tool-free assembly and increased strength through double-walled foot elements and snap connections.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If plastic pallets are made without reinforcement, then they are lighter and easier to manufacture, but they lack sufficient impact resistance and durability
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines plastic material with metal reinforcement tubes to create a composite structure. The reinforcement tubes are inserted into hollow chambers of the plastic pallet, creating a hybrid material system that leverages the lightweight properties of plastic while gaining the strength and impact resistance of metal, directly resolving the contradiction between weight and strength.
Solution Approach 2:
The pallet is divided into multiple structural segments including hollow chambers, ribs, and reinforcement tube sections. This segmentation allows strategic placement of reinforcement elements only where needed (in the hollow chambers and along rib structures), providing enhanced impact resistance without requiring complete structural reinforcement throughout the entire pallet, thus balancing strength improvement with manufacturing complexity.
2Strength
If reinforcement tubes are added to plastic pallets, then strength and rigidity increase, but manufacturing complexity and assembly difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
The reinforcement tubes are pre-inserted into the hollow chambers of the plastic pallet during the molding process. This preliminary action ensures that the reinforcement elements are already in position before final assembly, eliminating the need for separate alignment and installation steps that would complicate manufacturing and reduce assembly ease.
Solution Approach 2:
The reinforcement tubes are nested within the hollow chambers of the plastic pallet structure. This nesting arrangement allows the reinforcement elements to be integrated into the existing plastic geometry without requiring additional external attachments or complex fastening mechanisms, simplifying both manufacturing and assembly processes while maintaining structural integrity.
3Strength
If traditional welding methods are used to connect pallet parts, then connection strength is achieved, but precision and flatness of connection are difficult to maintain
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces traditional thermal welding processes with a mechanical interlocking system consisting of recesses and protrusions. This mechanical substitution allows for precise alignment and flat connections through geometric fitting, eliminating the heat distortion and dimensional variability associated with welding while maintaining adequate connection strength through the interlocking mechanism.
4Reliability
If multiple reinforcement tubes are installed, then impact resistance increases, but assembly time and complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple reinforcement tubes are pre-positioned within the hollow chambers during the plastic molding process rather than being installed separately during assembly. This preliminary action allows multiple reinforcement elements to be integrated simultaneously in one manufacturing step, eliminating the need for sequential installation of each tube and significantly reducing total assembly time while maintaining the reliability benefits of multiple reinforcement tubes.
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3a~3b
Figure 4~5a
AI summary
The pallet comprises a flat top portion (2) and a flat bottom portion (3) that includes foot elements (5) which are projected perpendicularly from the respective flat surfaces. The foot elements include multiple ribs (6,7) extending over an entire height of the foot elements. The foot elements of the top and bottom portion are fully inserted and fastened to each other by latching engagement of multiple latching elements. The ribs comprise semicircular recesses for receiving reinforcement tubes (11), and multiple projections for fixing the reinforcement tubes.