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Title:
A PALLET AND A SPACER FOR USE IN A PALLET
Document Type and Number:
WIPO Patent Application WO/2017/134639
Kind Code:
A1
Abstract:
The invention relates to a pallet and more particularly, but not exclusively, to a wood and plastics material pallet, as well as to a spacer (1) for use in such a pallet. There is provided a pellet comprising elongate members (14), (15) and a spacer (1) body for supporting the members (14), (15) in a general lattice configuration and for spacing the members (14), (15) apart, the spacer (1 ) body having an operatively upper end (2) and an operatively lower end (3), upper and lower receiving formations (4), (5) at each end respectively receives an upper member (14) an a lower member (15) there through.

Inventors:
BROUNS FREDERIC LEOPOLD RENE (ZA)
SMIT ANDRE JOHAN (ZA)
SAAYMAN WILLEM ERICK (ZA)
JORDAAN PAULUS ADRIAAN (ZA)
COETZEE ESLI PIETER (ZA)
Application Number:
PCT/IB2017/050636
Publication Date:
August 10, 2017
Filing Date:
February 06, 2017
Export Citation:
Click for automatic bibliography generation   Help
Assignee:
BROUNS FREDERIC LEOPOLD RENE (ZA)
SMIT ANDRE JOHAN (ZA)
International Classes:
B65D19/16; B65D19/26; B65D19/38; B65D19/40
Foreign References:
JPH07165238A1995-06-27
US6354230B12002-03-12
JP2001278269A2001-10-10
US6354228B12002-03-12
DE3528959A11987-04-02
Attorney, Agent or Firm:
BREDENKAMP ATTORNEYS (ZA)
Download PDF:
Claims:
CLAIMS

1 . A pallet comprising elongate members and a spacer body for supporting the members in a general lattice configuration and for spacing the members apart, the spacer body having an operatively upper end and an operatively lower end, upper and lower receiving formations at each end respectively receives an upper member and a lower member there through.

2. A pallet as claimed in claim 1 in which the receiving formations are slots or slot openings through the opposite upper and lower ends of the spacer.

3. A pallet as claimed in claim 2 in which the slots are rectangular in cross- section.

4. A spacer as claimed in any one of claims 2 or 3 in which the receiving formations are sleeves having top, bottom and side walls.

5. A pallet as claimed in any one of claims 2 to 4 in which the slots or sleeves are deposed at an angle relative to each other.

6. A pallet as claimed in claim 5 in which the slots are at an angle of 90° relative to each other.

7. A pallet as claimed in any one of the preceding claims in which the spacer is cube or barrel-shaped.

8. A pallet as claimed in claim 7 in which the spacer is elongate along one of its three axes.

9. A pallet as claimed in any one of claims 7 to 8 in which at least part of a sidewall of the spacer is frusto conical.

10. A pallet as claimed in any one of the preceding claims in which the pallet has an upper deck made of deck boards which vary in width and which are made of different material.

1 1 . A pallet as claimed in claim 10 in which the different material includes wood, expanded polystyrene, cardboard, composite cardboard including a layer of honeycomb -shaped cardboard or plastics material.

12. A pallet as claimed in any one of claims 9 to 1 1 in which the deck boards alternate.

13. A pallet as claimed in any one of the preceding claims in which the spacer body is hollow.

14. A pallet as claimed in any one of the preceding claims in which a strengthening spacer formations is located between the receiving formations.

15. A pallet as claimed in claim 14 in which the strengthening spacer formation or at least part thereof is Y-shaped.

16. A pallet as claimed in any one of claims 14 or 15 in which a sidewall of one of the slots extends to form a sidewall of the strengthening spacer formation.

17. A pallet comprising at least one deck, the deck being a solid composite deck made of deck boards of different material or a slotted deck made of deck boards of different material and a spacer as claimed in any one of the preceding claims.

18. A pallet as claimed in claim 1 7 in which the deck boards are of varying width.

19. A pallet as claimed in any one of the preceding claims in which the spacer includes two cup sections, attached to each other in a snap-fit manner.

20. A pallet as claimed in claim 18 in which complementary lips and slots extend annually about open rim ends of each cup.

21 . A pallet as claimed in claim 18 or 19 in which each cup includes alignment tabs.

22. A pallet as claimed in any one of claims 18 to 20 in which each cup has a number of recesses therein for receiving a head section of a fastening means therein.

23. A pallet as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 22 in which an operatively lower and/or upper walls of the spacer have recesses therein for receiving a head section of a fastener in the recess.

24. A pallet as claimed in claim 24 in which the fastener is a staple.

25. A spacer for a pallet for spacing elongate members of the pallet apart, comprising a spacer body having an operatively upper end and an operatively lower end, upper and lower receiving formations at each end for respectively receiving an upper member and a lower member there through.

26. A spacer as claimed in claim 25 in which the receiving formations are slots or slot openings through the opposite upper and lower ends of the spacer.

27. A spacer as claimed in any one of claims 25 or 26 in which the slots are rectangular in cross-section.

28. A spacer is claimed in any one of claims 25 to 27 in which the receiving formations are sleeves having top, bottom and side walls.

29. A spacer is claimed in any one of claims 25 to 28 in which the slots or sleeves are deposed at an angle relative to each other.

30. A spacer as claimed in claim 29 in which the slots are at an angle of 90° relative to each other.

31 . A spacer is claimed in any one of claims 25 to 30 in which the spacer is elongate along one of its three axes.

32. A spacer is claimed in any one of claims 25 to 31 in which a strengthening spacer formation is located between the receiving formations.

33. A spacer is claimed in claim 32 in which the strengthening spacer formation or at least part thereof is Y-shaped

34. A pallet as claimed in any one of claims 32 to 33 in which a side wall of one of the slots extends to form a side wall of the strengthening spacer formation.

Description:
A PALLET AND A SPACER FOR USE IN A PALLET FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to a pallet and more particularly, but not exclusively, to a wood and plastics material pallet, as well as to a spacer for use in such a pallet.

BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION

Pallets have traditionally been made of wood. The use of wood is popular owing to its relative low cost of manufacture and low barrier to entry to manufacture wooden items. Wood, and especially larger sections of wood, may not always be readily available or may be subject to excessive and/or frequent price fluctuations.

The principal characteristics of wood are not always ideal for every application. Wood is hygroscopic which means that wood gains or loses moisture depending on its environment and, as a result, expands and contracts. Wood is also non-homogeneous which means that the amount of expansion and contraction is inconsistent in different parts of a piece of wood. This may adversely affect the durability of a wooden product.

Plastics and other materials have been used to replace at least some parts of wooden pallets, such as spacers, if not the complete wooden pallet. This was done in attempts to make pallets more cost effective, durable, cleaner, recyclable, lighter and/or easier to manufacture. Some of such prior art pallets are described below. United States patent number: US 5,351 ,628 A entitled "Wood and plastic pallet", in the name of TriEnda Corporation (the "TriEnda" disclosure), discloses:

A wooden upper deck is connected by two types of plastic spacer blocks to a wooden lower deck. The upper deck may be a conventional deck composed of stringers and slats or it may be a twin sheet thermoformed plastic deck. The lower deck is composed of stringers which underlie the plastic spacers and tie boards which abut the ends of the stringers. Connector spacer blocks serve both to join the upper deck to the lower deck and to connect the stringer boards to the tie boards. The stringers and tie boards are held in fixed relation by bolts which join the upper and lower decks passing through sockets in the spacer blocks. The stringers and the tie boards are bolted to the spacer blocks and are thus joined. The joint between the stringers and the tie boards may be strengthened by means of a metal link overlying the stringers and tie boards and linking the bolts together.

A disadvantage of the plastic spacer blocks disclosed by TriEnda is that it is time consuming to attach the plastic spacer blocks using the nuts and bolts. This method and means of attachment also adds to the complexity of the assembly process as well the cost of these pallets. United States patent application number: US 20060005746 A1 entitled "Pallet with laminate blocks", in the name of Potomac Supply Corporation (the "Potomac" disclosure), discloses:

A wood pallet is disclosed. The pallet includes a top deck for receiving a load, a bottom deck, at least two spaced-apart stringers extending longitudinally between the ends of the pallet, and a plurality of spacer blocks attached to the stringers. The stringers and the spacer blocks are situated between the top deck and the bottom deck to maintain the decks in a spaced relationship. The plurality of spacer blocks comprise laminate blocks of glued wood components. The glue lines of the laminate spacer blocks are substantially perpendicular to the stringers and the grain of each of the wood components runs in the same direction as one another and against the width dimension of the spacer block. The use of laminate blocks described by Potomac makes the pallet slightly cheaper to manufacture and/or makes it easier to source the raw materials necessary to manufacture laminate blocks, instead of solid blocks. The benefit lies in being able to laminate smaller sections of timber into a larger section, thereby eliminating the need to source solid larger cross sections of timber, which are typically more expensive as they need to be sawn from larger log classes and are highly sought after in other industries. However, the wood of the laminated blocks could still be more expensive than some other, alternative materials, and could still absorb moisture over extended periods of time, especially if not chemically treated. United States patent number: US 4,738,204 A entitled "Pallet with spacers" in the name of Lars Hammarberg (the "Hammarberg" disclosure) discloses: The pallet of the invention includes a load deck supported on pallet feet or spacers. The spacers of the invention are metal sleeves, each with a serrated upper edge, the entire length of which is pressed into the wooden load deck to substantially the entire depth of the serrations. The serrations may be alternately set in opposite directions, and function to prevent turning and lateral movements of the spacers in relation to the load deck. The spacers are each retained against the load deck by at least two fastening means, which may be shaped like nails. The lower edge of each spacer may also be serrated for connecting to a skid to which the fastening means are also attached.

The engagement between the timber parts and the metal sleeves disclosed by Hammarberg, on its own, will not be durable and/or secure enough. The additional fastening means 12 disclosed by Hammarberg are essential. This adds to the cost and complexity of the Hammarsberg pallet.

OBJECT OF THE INVENTION It is an object of this invention to provide a pallet and a spacer for a pallet which will, at least partially, alleviate some of the abovementioned difficulties. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with this invention there is provided a pallet comprising elongate members and a spacer body for supporting the members in a general lattice configuration and for spacing the members apart, the spacer body having an operatively upper end and an operatively lower end, upper and lower receiving formations at each end respectively receives an upper member and a lower member there through.

There is further provided for the receiving formations to be slots or slot openings through the opposite upper and lower ends of the spacer.

There is provided for the slots to be rectangular or to be rectangular in cross- section. The spacer includes two cup sections, attached to each other in a snap-fit manner.

Another feature of the invention provides for the slots to be deposed at an angle relative to each other; preferably, at an angle of substantially 90°.

A further feature of the invention provides for the spacer to be cube or barrel- shaped; to be elongate along one of its three axes and for a sidewall to be frusto conical. Complementary lips and slots extend annually about open rim ends of each cup.

There is provided for each cup to include alignment tabs.

A still further feature of the invention provides for the pallet to have an upper deck made of deck boards which may vary in width and which made of different material. The different material may include wood, expanded polystyrene, cardboard, composite cardboard including a layer of honeycomb -shaped cardboard or plastics material.

Each cup has a number of recesses therein for receiving a head section of a fastening means therein.

There is provided for the deck boards to alternate.

There is also provided for the spacer body to be hollow.

The spacer body may be open-ended or may have closed off ends or a combination thereof.

This invention extends to a spacer for spacing elongate members apart, comprising a spacer body having an operatively upper end and an operatively lower end, upper and lower receiving formations at each end for respectively receiving an upper member and a lower member there through.

This invention further extends to a pallet comprising at least one deck, the deck being a solid composite deck made of deck boards of different material or a slotted deck made of deck boards of different material.

A still further feature of the invention provides for the deck boards to be of varying width.

These and other features of the invention are described in more detail below.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Embodiments of the invention are described below, by way of example only, and with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 shows a perspective view of a spacer for use in a pallet;

Figure 2 shows a side view of the spacer of figure 1 ;

Figure 3 shows a perspective view from a first angle of a first part of the spacer of figures 1 and 2; Figure 4 shows a perspective view from a second angle of the first part of the spacer of figures 1 and 2;

Figure 5 shows a perspective view from a first angle of a second part of the spacer of figures 1 and 2;

Figure 6 shows a perspective view from a second angle of the second part of the spacer of figures 1 and 2; Figure 7 shows a plan view of a pallet including the spacer and its two parts as shown in figures 1 to 6;

Figure 8 shows a perspective view of the pallet of figure 7; Figure 9 shows an end view of the pallet of figures 7 and 8;

Figure 10 shows a side view of the pallet of figures 7 to 9;

Figure 1 1 shows the plan view of the pallet of figure 7 to 10 with elongate deck members attached thereto.

Figure 12 shows an operatively upper perspective view of the pallet of figures 7 to 1 1 and elongate deck members of figurel 1 ; Figure 13 shows and end view of the pallet and deck members of figure 12;

Figure 14 shows a side view of the pallet and members of future 12;

Figure 15 shows an enlarged perspective view of part the pallet of figure

12, being the part indicated by the broken-line circle indicated by "Z" in figure 12; Figuresl 6-19 show perspective views of a second embodiment of a spacer; Figure 20 shows a left side view of the spacer of figures 16 to 19; Figure 21 shows a right side view of the spacer of figures 16 to 20;

Figure 22 shows a front view of the spacer of figures 16 to 21 ; Figure 23 shows a rear view of the spacer of figures 16 to 22; Figure 24 shows a top view of the spacer of figures 16 to 23; and Figure 25 shows a bottom view of the spacer of figures 16 to 24. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

With reference to figures 1 to 15, a spacer for a pallet frame is generally indicated by reference numeral 1 . The spacer 1 has a hollow, substantially cube-shaped body. The body is elongate along one axis thereof with respect to its other two axes, so that it appears substantially rectangular in its four side views. The spacer has equal dimensions along the other two axes. The body of the spacer thus appears substantially square in its operatively top and bottom plan views.

The spacer has upper and lower cup sections (2 and 3). The cup sections are attached to each other in a snap-fit fashion by aligning their open ends and forcing them together along the longer axis of the spacer. The snap-fit attachment means is described more fully below.

Each cup section has a flat, substantially square, bottom wall with a sidewall extending substantially normally from an outer circumferential edge of the bottom wall. When the two sections are attached the bottom wall of the upper cup section is at the upper end of spacer i.e. it is an operatively upper wall. For ease of reference both bottom walls will be referred to as a "bottom wall". The four corners of the bottom wall are rounded so that the sidewalls are also rounded where they meet. The sidewalls are thus not defined by sharp edges where they meet. Instead, the transition from one sidewall section to the next is along a radius, similar to the radius of the corners of the bottom wall so that the transition from one to the other is smooth and not distinctly defined, so that they transition or flow smoothly from one to the other. For ease of reference, the sidewalls are thus henceforth herein referred to as a single "sidewall" for each cup. Each sidewall has sidewall sections. The cup sections are, for the most part, mirror images of each other save for, for example, locating tabs 9 and co-operating locating recesses 8 in their circumferential rims at their free or open ends. When the cups are attached to each other, the tabs 9 locate in the recesses 8. The location of the tabs and recesses on their respective rims forces the cups to be attached to each other so that they are rotated 90° relative to each other, about the long axis. In other words, when they are attached to each other, they form mirror images that are misaligned or transposed by 90°. As will become clear later on herein, the spacers are reversible, in use. There are two diametrically opposed locating recesses 8 in the rim 12 or the upper cup 2. The sidewall of the upper cup 2 terminates in a flat, outer ring- shaped landing surface 12. The landing surface of the sidewall defines a plane parallel to the bottom wall of the cup 2. This plane is substantially normal to the sidewall. As is described further below, the sidewall is slightly conical or frusto conical, with its narrower end at their respective bottom walls.

There are also two diametrically opposed, complementary shaped locating tabs 9 in the rim section of the lower cup. The upper cup 2 has a radially inwardly (with reference to the elongate axis) protruding, circumferential indent or lip formation 7. The lip formation forms an annular protrusion on the inner surface of the sidewall of cup 2, proximate the landing surface end of the cup.

The sidewall of the lower cup 3 also terminates in a landing surface, referred to as the lower landing surface 1 1 . Landing surface 1 1 is similar to the upper landing surface 12. In addition, a substantially short ring-shaped sidewall section, having a smaller "diameter" or shorter sides than the sidewall to which it attaches, extends co-axially and operatively outwardly from an inner edge of the lower landing surface 1 1 and terminates in a flat, ring-shaped surface or rim 13.

The short sidewall section thus defines an annular rebate at the free or open end of the lower cup 3.

The short sidewall section includes an annular, inwardly directed slot or recess 10, on its outer surface. The distance of the recess 10 from the lower landing surface 1 1 is the same as the distance of the lip 7 from the upper landing surface 12.

The tabs 9 extend, co-axially outwardly from the landing surface 1 1 integral with the short sidewall section. The complementary-shaped recesses 8 extend inwardly into the outer free end of the upper cup (they are recesses in the surface 13) so that they receive and co-operate with the tabs 9 when the two cups are attached.

When the two cups are attached, the two landing surfaces 12 and 13 abut and fit snugly onto each other.

Outer surfaces of the bottom walls of each cup section has four recesses 6 each for receiving operative upper ends of fastening devices, such as staples, therein. In the case of staples, the legs of the staples protrude through the bottom walls of the cups to terminate inside the cups, in elongate pallet members or stringers as is described below. The upper end of these staples locate in the recesses 6 so as not to protrude above the outer surface of the bottom walls of the cups. Each cup has two diametrically opposed openings in their sidewalls. The opposed openings in the upper cup are indicated by reference numeral 4 and by reference numeral 5 in the case of the lower cup.

The openings are rectangular with their long sides substantially equal in length to the length of a sidewall section, without extending into the curvature where one sidewall section starts its transition into an adjacent sidewall section. Part of the bottom wall of each cup defines the total length of one long side of each rectangular opening. The slots are diametrically opposed and aligned so that a substantially rectangular in cross-section, elongate member such as stringer or elongate support member can protrude through the opposed slots and thus through the cup.

Figures 7 to 15 show pallet frames including the spacer 1 . Each pallet frame forms a lattice structure as a base structure for a pallet. The lattice structure consists of stringers, operatively lower elongate support members, spacers and staples. Elongate, equidistantly spaced, parallel wooden stringers 14 locate over operatively lower elongate wooden support members, to define an angle of 90° with each support member, when viewed from above, that crosses below it or that it meets. The wooden support members are also spaced apart, equidistantly, so that the stringers and supports form the lattice. The stringers and supports are preferably kiln dried, planed all round (KD PAR) timber.

In the example shown in the attached drawings, there are three stringers and three supports. The stringers 14 are slightly shorter than the supports 15.

Opposite ends of two outer stringers align, at an angle of 90°, with corresponding opposite ends of two outer supports to form a rectangle in plan view. Opposite ends of a middle stringer and a middle support align with outer sides of the corresponding outer supports and outer stringers, respectively. Spacers are used to secure the stringers and supports together, at each crossing or meeting point thereof. In the example of the drawings, nine spacers are thus used to secure the three stringers and three supports in their lattice configuration.

The direction of the slots (4 and 5) in the spacers 1 define a 90° angle with each other and are located at opposite ends of the spacers. This means that the stringers and supports will be spaced from each other, in an operatively vertical direction, when they engage through the slots at opposite ends of a spacer, at their cross-sections of meeting points.

Each spacer has alignment tabs 16. The alignment tabs are extensions of each of the four sides of each bottom wall of each cup of each spacer. Each cup, or more accurately, its sidewall, is slightly conically shaped (frusto conical) so that its smaller end is at its bottom wall. This is not ideal for stacking pallets on racks, when spacers without tab extensions are used in a pallet. The tabs (extensions in all four directions) provide a flush, solid end of operatively bottom outer surfaces for engagement with a rack. The outer edges 22 of the tabs align with the widest section of its spacer to ensure maximum surface area engagement with a rack.

At the same time, and very importantly, the tabs are used to align ends of stringers and supports with outer edges of the tabs, when assembling a pallet. As is most clearly shown in the enlarged section Z, in figure 1 5, an end 21 of a stringer is aligned with an outer free edge 22 of a tab 16. Likewise, sides 19 and ends 20 of upper deck members such as the side 19 and end 20 of elongate upper deck member 17, can be easily aligned with outer edges of the tabs 16. Different types of decks and deck members are dealt with further below.

Once the stringers and supports are inserted in and through the spacers, staples are used to fasten the spacers to the stringers and supports. As already explained above, the heads of the staples locate in the recesses so as not to stand proud of the outer surfaces of the bottom walls of the cups. The staples provide secure and convenient fastening means whilst their relatively thin legs do not damage the stringers and supports to any significant extent. This ensures that the stringers and supports can be re-used. There are four recesses in each bottom wall of each cup. Each recess is parallel to one of the sides of each bottom wall. The reason for this is to facilitate ease of application of a staple, by a worker facing the spacer from different directions. Of course, the dimensions of the stringers and supports can be adjusted as required to ensure that they fit snugly through the slots to further enhance the stability of the pallet frame.

Figures 12 to 15 show elongate deck boards 17 attached onto the pallet frame, either to stringers or to the spacers. The deck boards are spaced apart to leave spaces, as indicated by reference numeral 18, between them. Expanded polystyrene (EPS) boards or cardboard or any other sheet or board may be used to fill these spaces to form a complete upper deck. Alternatively, additional deck boards may be added, as desired, omitting the EPS or cardboard. Further alternatively, deck boards may be omitted and thin sheet material may be added or EPS or cardboard or any other material, depending on the intended application of the pallet. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the basic pallet frame will provide a convenient base to affix a desired upper deck to. The deck need not be strong to ensure racking of pallets. The deck would be a function of load it is intended to carry. As already described, the spacers will properly and sufficiently engage with racks.

The outer supports 15 may be chamfered on exposed parts of their upper edges to facilitate ease of movement of a wheel of forklift machine over the support, as is known in the art.

With reference to figures 16 to 19, a second embodiment of a spacer for a pallet is generally indicated by reference numeral 23.

The spacer 23 has two receiving formations in the form of two slots or rectangular sleeves (24 and 25) at opposite operatively upper and lower ends thereof.

The slots (24 and 25) have their main axis at 90° relative to each other. A star or Y-shaped spacer and strengthening element 36 (also referred to as strengthening spacer formations) consisting of 3 walls (27,28 and 29) with a common inner edge is interposed between the two slots or sleeves.

The one slot 25 has wall sections 32, 34, 39 and 30. Walls 30 and 34 form top and bottom walls and walls 39 and 32 form side walls. The other slot 24 has wall sections 31 , 33, 40 and 26. Walls 31 and 33 form top and bottom walls of this slot and walls 26 and 40 form sidewalls of this sleeve or slot. Wall 26 extends from slot 24 to the midsection or spacer element 36, to form a sidewall thereof.

Wall 29 of the Y-shaped spacer extends perpendicularly from the mid or main section of wall 26.

Walls 31 and 30 are located operatively above and below the Y section or at the front and back of a thickened letter Ύ" formed by the walls of the Y section. Walls 33 and 34 form operatively upper and lower walls of the spacer.

Wall 26 forms a side wall with part of it being part of the spacer section 36. Recesses 35 receive staple tops therein similar to recesses 6 as explained above.

The spacer of figures 16 to 25 can replace the spacer of figures 1 to 15 to perform the same function.

The use of the spacers described herein obviate the need to use additional transverse supports attached to the supports. In some prior art pallets such transverse supports, which run parallel to the stingers but are attached to the supports, are used to prevent moment forces from tearing the supports from prior art spacers. The slots of the spacers described herein adequately resist such moment forces.

It is envisaged that pallet of the invention described herein will be lighter in that hollow plastics material spacers are used, reducing volume and especially wood volume. The pallet also be cheaper to manufacture in that the plastics material spacers will be cheaper than solid wood spacers and might also be cheaper than laminate spacers or steel spacers, even where steel sleeves are used as spacers. The spacers may also be more durable than wood spacers. The slots also facilitate ease of manufacturing that the slots are shaped to hold the stringers and supports in position in their 90° orientation with respect to each other. The pallet can be provided in kit form and will be easy to assemble, even by unskilled workers. The alignment tabs 16 assist greatly in this regard. The design of the spacers and the use of the slots minimise the damage of the frame by the application or rotational forces to the stringers and/or supports. This also obviates the need for secondary transverse supports, thus reducing the height of the pallet frame.

The spacers do not dictate the footprint size of a pallet frame, only the length of the stringers and supports do.

The use of staples ensures repeated re-use of especially the supports and stringers but also the spacers. Staples also render the pallet frames easy to disassemble.

The different decks made of different materials, especially when made of cardboard material or expanded polystyrene, will provide a convenient alternative to wood only decks.

It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the invention is not limited to the precise details as described herein and that many other embodiments are possible without departing from the scope of the invention. For example, the stringer and the supports need not be equidistantly spaced. Any convenient spacing may be used. Also, instead of being KD PAR timber, the stringers and/or supports can be wet off saw (WOS) timber section. Whilst reference is made to an upper and lower cups, it is done merely for descriptive purposes. Any one of the cups can be operatively upper or lower cup. Staples are convenient to use to fasten the stringers and elongate supports to the spacers. However, any other convenient fastening devise or means, such as wood nails or the like, can be used.