Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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METAL PALLET
BACKGROUND
[0001] Conventionally, pallets have been made from wood. Wood pallets are
heavy
and subject to warpage, splintering and splitting. Furthermore, wood pallets
are not
fireproof. To overcome the disadvantages found in wood pallets, pallets have
also been
made from plastic. Plastic pallets require a large-amount of resin to be made
so that
they are of sufficient strength to support freight and goods. Furthermore,
plastic pallets
are also not fireproof.
[0002] Metal pallets have been made to overcome the shortcomings of wood and
plastic pallets. Known metal pallets are manufactured as welded metal
sections, as-
metal.pipe constructions or as deep-drawn components in metal sections. Metal
pallets
that are manufactured as welded metal sections are often damaged by pallet
handling
equipment and/or by the movement of freight onto and off of the metal pallet.
Typically,
known metal pallets that are manufactured as welded metal sections do not
absorb the
impact energy that can be delivered by pallet handling equipment, such as the
forks of a
conventional forklift as the equipment contacts the pallet. Additionally, the
welded metal
sections, upon which the freight that is being transported by the pallet
rests, are prone
to damage during the loading and unloading of freight onto and off of the
metal pallet.
[0003] Accordingly, it is desirable to provide a metal pallet that overcomes
the
disadvantages of both wood and plastic pallets. Furthermore, it is desirable
to provide a
metal pallet that overcomes the disadvantages of known metal pallets and
provides
benefits not found in currently available metal pallets.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION
[0004] According to an embodiment, a metal pallet includes a first deck
subassembly, first and second bumpers, and a plurality of risers. The first
deck
subassembly includes a plurality of deck boards. The first bumper connects to
at least
one of the deck boards along a first peripheral edge of the first deck
subassembly. The
second bumper connects to at least one of the deck boards along a second
peripheral
edge of the.first deck subassembly. The first peripheral edge is oriented
approximately
normal to the second peripheral edge. The plurality of risers connects to the
first deck
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subassembly for spacing the first deck subassembly above an associated surface
upon
which the pallet rests.
[0005] According to another embodiment, a metal pallet includes a first deck
subassembly, a second deck subassembly, and a riser connecting the first deck
subassembly to the second deck subassembly. The second deck subassembly
includes a first member that includes a tongue and a second member which
includes a
slot that receives the tongue. The first member is disposed at an orientation
other than
parallel to the second member. The first deck subassembly is spaced from the
second
deck subassembly a distance sufficient to define an opening which allows forks
of an
associated conventional forklift to fit between the first deck subassembly and
the
second deck subassembly_
[0006] According to another embodiment, a metal pallet includes a first deck,
a
second deck spaced from the first deck along a first dimension, a riser
connecting the
first deck to the second deck to form a polygonal structure, and a bumper
system
connected to a peripheral edge of the polygonal structure. The bumper system
is
positioned to allow for entry of forks of an associated forklift device
between the first
deck and the second deck on all sides of the polygonal structure and to allow
for
selective contact of the associated device with the bumper system when the
forks of the
associated device are disposed between the decks.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0007] FIGURE 1 is top perspective view'of a metal pallet according to one
embodiment of the disclosure;
[0008] FIGURE 2 is an exploded perspective view of an upper deck subassembly
of
the metal pallet of Figure 1;
[0009] FIGURE 3 is an assembled view of the upper deck subassembly of Figure 2
with bumpers exploded away from the upper deck subassembly; ,
[0010] FIGURE 4 is an enlarged side elevational view of a first side of the
metal
pallet of Figure 1;
[0011] FIGURE 5 is -an exploded bottom perspective view of a lower deck
subassembly of the metal pallet of Figure 1;
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[0012] FIGURE 6 is an enlarged side elevational view of a upperdeck support
board
of the lower deck subassembly of Figure 5;
[0013] FIGURE 7 is an enlarged perspective view showing a lower surface, i.e.
a
surface that typically rests against the ground, of the upper deck support
board depicted
in Figure 6;
[0014] . FIGURE 8 is a perspective view of a lower surface of a width board of
the
lower deck subassembly depicted in Figure 5;
[0015] FIGURE 9 is a greatly enlarged perspective view of a riserforthe metal
pallet
depicted in Figure 1;
[0016] FIGURE 10 is an assembled top plan view of the lower deck subassembly
depicted in Figure 5;
[0017] FIGURE 11 is a side elevation view of an altemative embodiment of a
portion
of a bumper system of a metal pallet according to the present disclosure;
[0018] FIGURE 12 is an end view of a bumper attached to a deck board of a
metal
pallet according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;
[0019] FIGURE 13 is a further alternative embodiment of a bumper and a deck
board for a metal pallet according to the present disclosure; and,
[0020] FIGURE 14 is an end view of an alternative bumper assembly having a
resilient material mounted to the bumper.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0021] With reference to FIGURE 1, an embodiment of a metal pallet 10 includes
a
first deck subassembly 12 that is connected to a second deck subassembly 14.
One
manner in which the two subassemblies can be connected will be described in
more
detail below. For ease of understanding the figures, the first deck
subassembly 12 may
also be referred to as the upper deck subassembly and the second deck
subassembly
14 may be referred to as the lower deck subassembly. These directional terms
are
used for the convenience of the reader and are not meant to be limiting to the
orientation of components with respect to one another. Moreover, throughout
the
description the orientation of components may be referred to using the term
"width"
*being the shorter of the two rectangular dimensions and the term "length"
being the
longer of two rectangular dimensions. This should not be taken to mean that
"width"
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parts could not be oriented in the longer rectangular dimension, or that
"length" parts
could not be oriented in the shorter rectangular dimension, or, for that
matter that the
pallet cannot be laid out with equal length and width dimensions. In other
words, the
pallet could be square if desired.
[0022] The metal pallet 10 is designed to be handled by pallet handling
equipment,
such as a conventional forklift truck or manual or powered floor pallet jacks.
In the
depicted embodiment, the upper deck subassembly 12 is spaced from the lower
deck
subassembly 14 to accommodate forks of the conventional pallet handling
equipment.
In an embodiment that does not include the -lower deck subassembly, the upper
deck
subassembly can be spaced from a support surface, e.g. ground surface, upon
which
the pallet rests, and be spaced from that surface a distance great enough to
allow for
the entry of forks. In the depicted embodiment, the pallet 10 has a generally
rectangular configuration and could be square. It is designed to allow 4-way
access for
the pallet handling equipment. It should be recognized, however, that the
pallet 10 can
take other polygonal configurations, such as hexagonal, etc.
[0023] The upper deck subassembly 12 includes a plurality of deck boards,
which in
the depicted embodiment will be referred to as upper deck support boards that
run
generally parallel to a greater dimension of the upper deck subassembly and
upper
deck boards that run generally parallel to a smaller dimension of the upper
deck -
subassembly. In the depicted embodiment, the boards are made from formed metal
sheets; however, the boards can be made in other manners and be made from
other
known materials, such as composites, etc.
[0024] With reference to FIGURE 2, the upper deck subassembly 12 includes
outside upper deck boards 30 that are disposed at opposite ends of upperdeck
support
boards 32. A plurality of inside or intermediate upper deck boards 34 are also
attached
to the upper deck support boards 32 and are interposed betweeri the outside
upper
deck boards 30.
[0025] The outside upper deck boards 30 each include a box formed outer
lateral
edge 36 disposed along an outer lateral edge of the first deck subassembly 12.
The
boxed lateral edge 36 strengthens the outside upper deck board 30 and stiffens
the
edge of the pallet 10. Each outside upper deck board 30 also includes a
corrugation 38
that stiffens and divides the deck board so that it includes first contact
surface 42 and a
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second contact surface 44 disposed on opposite sides of the corrugation 38.
While the
corrugation 38 is shown as being centrally positioned, it should be
appreciated that the
corrugation can readily be disposed at other locations on the upper deck board
30.
Thus, the first and second contact surfaces can be of different widths.
Moreover, while
the corrugation is shown in this embodiment as being rectangular, it could
take other
forms as well. Also more than one corrugation could be provided if desired.
The
contact surfaces 42 and 44 can reside in the same plane (see Figure 4). A
connection
flange 46 extends outwardly from an inner lateral edge of each outside upper
deck
board 30 opposite the boxed end 36. The connection flange 46 and the lower
surface
of the corrugation 38 contact the upper deck support boards 32 so that the
outside
upper deck boards 30 can connect to the upper deck support boards 32 via a
resistance weld, or another known manner of connection. The number of welds
can
vary, depending on application requirements.
[0026] Each inside upper deck board 34 includes a corrugation 52 that divides
each
inside upper deck board into a first contact surface 54 on a first side of the
corrugation
52 and a second contact surface 56 on an opposite side of the corrugation.
While the
corrugation is showri as being centrally located in this embodiment, it does
not have to
be so positioned. Thus, the first and second contact surfaces can be of
different widths.
Moreover, the corrugation can take other configurations, for example rounded
or
curved.. The contact surfaces 54 and 56 of the inside upper deck boards 34
reside in
the same plane as the contact surfaces 42 and 44 of the outside upper deck
boards 30
to define a flat surface upon which freight can be loaded. Each inside upper
deck board
34 also includes connection flanges 58 at opposite lateral edges for
facilitating
attachment of the intermediate width deck boards 34 to the length deck boards
32.
With reference again to Figure 1, in the depicted embodiment, the width boards
30 and
34 are grouped together in pairs such that a space, which can also be referred
to as a
slot, is disposed between adjacent pairs of width boards. Such a design
provides an
adequate contact area on the upper deck 12 needed to support multiple smaller
items
similarto conventional wood pallets that the metal pallet 10 is designed to
replace. The
slots between adjacent pairs of width boards are small enough so that smaller
packages do not fall through the openings in the upper deck assembly. On the
other
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hand, the width board spacing is designed to provide adequate strength and
durability
to the pallet 10 without utilizing too much material.
[0027] In the depicted embodiment, the upper deck upper deck support boards 32
are all in the same configuration. But, different configurations could be used
if desired.
With continued reference to FIGURE 2, each upperdeck support board 32 includes
first
and second lateral boxed ends 64 and a corrugation 66. The corrugation 66
stiffens
and divides the upper deck support boards into two contact surfaces 68 and 72,
respectively. Even though the corrugation is shown to be centrally located in
the upper
deck support board, it can be located elsewhere such that the two contact
surfaces can
be of different widths. The corrugation can take other configurations than
that which is
shown. In the depicted embodiment, the contact surfaces 68 and 72 of the upper
deck
support boards 32 reside all in the same plane and this plane is parallel to a
plane in
which the contact surfaces 42 and 44 of the outside upper deck boards 30 and
the
contact surfaces 54 and 56 of the inside upper deck boards 34 reside.
[0028] In the depicted embodiment, the pallet 10 includes a bumper system
around
the perimeter of the upper deck assembly 12. The bumper system works in
conjunction
with risers (which connect the upper deck assembly 12 to the lower deck
subassembly
14 and will be described in more detail below) upper deck support boards and
outer and
inner upper deck boards to improve impact resistance and absorb pallet
handling
equipment impact energy, by transferring the impact energy to other components
in the
pallet. The bumper system can also increase resistance to static load
deflection, so
that the pallet 10 can maintain substantially planar contact surfaces, i.e.
loading
surfaces, throughout its life and accommodate greater loads safely. With
reference to
Figure 3, the bumper system of the depicted embodiment includes two length
bumpers
80 that attach to opposite lengthwise sides of the upper deck assembly 12 and
two
width bumpers 82 that attach to opposite widthwise sides of the upper deck
assembly
12. In the depicted embodiment, the length bumpers 80 are disposed
perpendicularto
the width bumpers 82.
[0029] Where the upper deck assembly 12 or the pallet 10 takes an alternative
polygonal configuration, the bumpers can take alternative configurations and
be
disposed at angles other than perpendicular to one another. In the depicted
embodiment, once the bumpers 80 and 82 are attached to the upper deck assembly
12,
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substantially the entire perimeter of the upper deck assembly 12 is surrounded
by the
bumper system. Such a configuration allows the bumper system to absorb impact
energy from a pallet handling device from any side of the pallet 10 and to
transfer that
energy into other components of the pallet.
[0030] In the depicted embodiment, the length bumpers 80 include a plurality
of tabs
84 that are configured to be received in the space defined between a lateral
edge and
the central corrugation 38 or 52 of a respective upper deck width board
(either end
board 30 or intermediate board 34). As more clearly seen in Figure 1, the tabs
84
(depicted in phantom) contact a lower surface of a respective width board. The
tabs are
resistance welded to the bottom faces of the upper deck boards. If desired,
attachment
can be made in other known manners. Each tab 84 extends generally
perpendicular
from a vertical leg 86 (as per the orientation in Figure 3) of the length
bumper 80.
Accordingly, each tab resides in a plane that is generally parallel to the
contact surfaces
42, 44, 54, and 56 and thus the tower surfaces of the respective boards 30 and
34 to
which the tabs attach. A towerflange 88 also extends perpendicularly from the
vertical
leg 86 of the length bumper 80. The lower flange 88 attaches to a lower
surface of one
of the boxed ends 64 of a respective upper deck support board 32 of the upper
deck
assembly 12. Openings 90 in the lower flange 88 can receive material deposited
from a
MIG welding operation, or the like, to attach the lower flange to a lower
surface of the
boxed end 64.
[0031] The attachment of the width bumper 82 will now be described in more
detail
with reference to Figures 3 and 12. The width bumper 82 includes a rectangular
channel 92 that is dimensioned to receive the box-shaped end 36 of an outside
upper
deck board 30 of the upper deck subassembly 12. An integral flange 94 extends
outwardly from the portion of the width bumper 82 that defines the channel 92.
The
flange 94 resides in a plane that is parallel to a lower surface of the
outside upper deck
board 30 to allow for connection via a resistance weld between the width
bumper 82
and the outside upper deck board 30. If desired, the width bumpers 82 can also
include
a plurality of openings 96 (only visible in Figure 3). The openings 96 can be
provided
so that a MIG weld can be used to attach the width bumpers 82 to the upper
deck
assembly 12 and to the risers (described below). In this embodiment, the width
bumper
82 is made of a heavier gauge of metal than is the gauge of metal from which
the
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outside upper deck board 30 is made. As a result, the pallet is stiffened and
becomes
more resistant to impact by handling equipment.
[0032] With reference to Figure 5, the lower deck subassembly 14 also includes
a
plurality of deck boards. More particularly, the lower deck subassembly 14
includes
lower deck tab boards 110 that connect to lower deck slot boards 112. In the
depicted
embodiment, the lower tab boards 110 each have the same configuration. With
reference to Figure 6, the lower deck tab boards 110 are symmetrical with
respect to
two perpendicular axes and include polygonal rolled edges 114 and a
corrugation 118.
The corrugation 118 stiffens and divides the lower deck support board 110 so
as to
define contact surfaces 122 and 124 that typically rest on a surface upon
which the
pallet 10 will rest, for example the floor of a warehouse, the bed of a truck
or the contact
surface of another pallet disposed beneaffi the subject pallet. The
corrugation 118 is
shown as centrally located, but this is not required. The lower contact
surfaces 122,124
reside in the same plane. They are also generally parallel to the upper
contact surfaces
that were described with reference to the upper deck subassembly 12.
[0033] The lower deck tab boards 110 of the lower deck subassembly 14 also
include a plurality of tongues 126 that extend from widthwise ends of the
lower deck tab
board to facilitate loose interconnection of the components of the lower deck
subassembly 14. In the depicted embodiment, two tongues 126 extend from each
end
of the lower deck tab board 110, one on each side of the corrugation 118. Each
tongue
126 includes a raised lip 128. The raised lip 128 resides in a plane that is
generally
parallel to the contact surface 122.
[0034] With reference to Figure 5, the lower deck slot boards 112 each have a
similar confguration. With reference to Figure 8, similar to the lower deck
tab boards
110, the lower deck slot boards 112 each include polygonal rolled ends 152 and
a
corrugation 156. The corrugation 156 stiffens and divides the lower deck width
board
112 in a manner to provide a first lower contact surface 158 on a first side
of the
corrugation 156 and a second lower contact surface 162 on an opposite side of
the
corrugation 156. Again, the corrugation 156 need not be centrally located. The
lower
contact surfaces 158,162 of the lower deck slot board 112 reside generally in
the same
plane as the lower contact surfaces 122,124 of the lower deck tab board 110
being
separated by only one material thickness_ The lower deck slot board 112 also
includes
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a plurality of slots 164 that are configured to receive the tongues 126 of the
lower deck
tab boards 110. The raised lip 128 extends through the slot 164 in the lower
deck slot
board. This serves two main purposes. The first-is a loose fixturing/indexing
of the
pieces. The second purpose is to keep the end of the raised lip in place where
it cannot
be easily snagged on the floorwhen the pallet is pushed across or slides
across a floor
without being lifted.
[00351 With reference to Figure 10, the lower deck subassembly 14 can be
loosely
assembled by inserting the tongues 126 (only lip 128 of tongue being visible
in Figure
10) into the slots 164 so that the lips protrude outwardly from the polygonal
rolled end
152 allowing for space for a resistance weld or other means of connection
between the
lips and the upper surface of the lower deck slot board 112. When assembled,
the
lower deck slot boards 112 are situated perpendicular to the lower deck tab
boards 110
and one slot board is attached at each end of the lower deck tab board.
[0036] Use of both slot and tab boards for the lower deck subassembly 14
provides
an increase in strength (as compared to having lower deck boards that only run
in one
direction) and reduced deflection across the width of the pallet during static
loading.
When stacking loaded pallets 10 on top of each other, the lower deck boards in
the
=depicted embodiment also reduce pressure exerted on the load below by
increasing
surface contact area. Further, having lower deck boards that attach to one
another at
right angles increases the stability of the pallet 10 during handling when
forks are
inserted through a short side and when loaded pallets placed on top of each
other are
offset from each other.
[0037] With reference back to Figure 1, a plurality of risers is provided to
attach the
upper deck subassembly 12 to the lower deck subassembly 14. As seen in Figures
1
and. 4, the risers are appropriately spaced from one another to define fork
lift
receptacles 170 on all four sides of the pallet 10. In the depicted
embodiment, each of
the risers is formed from a one-piece stamped piece of metal to allow each
riser to be
produced in an economical manner. Regarding the embodiment depicted in Figure
1,
five different configurations of risers are provided to attach the first deck
subassembly
12 to the second deck subassembly 14. First corner risers 172 are disposed on
opposite diagonal corners of the pallet 10 and second corner risers 174 (only
one
visible in Figure 1) are disposed on the other corners of the pallet 10. In
this
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embodiment, the first corner riser 172 is a mirror image of the second corner
riser 174.
A third type of riser, which is referred to as a tall side riser 176, is
centrally located along
the longer lateral edges of the pallet 10.
[0038] A second type of side riser, which is referred to as a short side riser
178, is
disposed on the widthwise edge of the metal pallet 10.'The side risers 176 and
178 are
spaced from the respective'corner risers 172 and 174 an adequate distance to
define
forklift receptacles 170. Finally, a fifth type of center riser (not visible)
is centrally
located in the pallet 10. The center riser aitaches to the upper deck support
board 32
and to the lower deck support board 110. As seen in Figure 1, the corner and
side
risers 172, 174, 176, and 178 attach to an outer surface the bumpers 80 and
82.
Accordingly, when a pallet handling device contacts, i.e. hits the pallet,
energy that is
transferred to the bumpers 80 and 82 can be transferred into the risers 172,
174, 176,
and 178 which are typically made of a heavier gauge material as compared to
the deck
boards.
[0039] With reference to Figure 9, the second corner riser 174 will be
described in
more detail. It should be appreciated that the remaining risers will have
similar
configurations in that they will include surfaces to allow the riser to
connect to and
support the respective deck boards and bumpers. The corner risers 174 (and
each
riser) include openings 182 to facilitate a MIG welding operation between the
riser and
the component to which it attaches be it one of the bumpers or one of the deck
boards
of the metal pallet. The risers can also include a plurality of ledges 184 and
notches
186 that are appropriately dimensioned to allow the ledge 184 to contact an
appropriate
surface of a respective deck board so that the riser can be resistance welded
to the
respective deck board. It should be appreciated that the ledges 184 can also
support
loads. In the embodiment depicted in Figure 9, the risers can also include
rolled edges
188 for added strength and to provide a smooth rounded edge.
[0040] The bumper system can take alternative configurations from those that
are
shown in Figure 1. For example, with reference to Figure 11, an alternative
embodiment of a length bumperwill be described where like numerals having a
primed
(') suffix will correspond to components or portions thereof that are the same
or similar
to the embodiment depicted in Figure 3. In Figure 11, the bumper 280 includes
a
plurality of tabs 284 (only one shown) that are received underneath a
respective upper
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deck board 30' (additional deck boards, such as boards 34 shown in Figure 2
are not
visible in Figure 11). The length bumper 280 depicted in Figure 11 also
includes a
section or portion 298 that extends from a peripheral edge of the upper deck
assembly
12. In the embodiment depicted in Figure 11, the section 298 extends in a
direction
above and generally normal to a contact surface 42' (this can be similar to
contact
surfaces 42, 44, 54 and 56 depicted in Figure 2). The section 298, which can
be a
rolled section at the top of the profile of the bumper 280, covers the outside
edges of
the deck boards 30'. The rolled section 298 can cover and or protect the
exposed
edges of the pailet 10' to lessen the likelihood of packages and other items
catching the
exposed edges and perhaps ripping one of the width boards 30' off of the
u.pper deck
support boards 32'. Such occurrences can happen during the loading and
unloading of
packages from the pallet 10. The length bumper is made of a heavier gauge of
metal
than the metal of the deck boards 30' and upper deck support boards 32'. This
heavier
gauge material, combined with the section 298, serve to strengthen the bumper
280.
[0041] An alternative configuration for a width bumper will be described in
more
detail with reference to Figure 13. Many of the components are very similar to
components described with reference to Figures 1, 2 and 12. In the embodiment
depicted in Figure 13, a width bumper 382 attaches to an outside upper deck
board 330
that, instead of including a boxed end (as shown in Figure 3), includes a
downwardly
extending flange 340. The width bumper 382 includes a connection flange 404
that
.attaches to an undersurface of the deck board 330 in a similar manner as the
width
bumper 82 disclosed in Figure 3. The width bumper 382, however, does not
receive a
boxed end section. Instead, the width bumper includes a boxed end section 400.
The
additional bends in the bumper profi(e- of the width bumper 382 can increase
the
strength of the width bumper as compared to the width bumper 82 (Figure 3) not
having
as many bends. The box-end section 400 includes an upper ledge 402 that
resides in a
plane that is generally coplanar to a pair of contact surfaces 342 and 344 of
the upper
deck boards. The upper ledge 402 terminates at a flange 406 so that a space is
provided between the vertical flange 340 and the bumperflange 406.
Accordingly, the
bumper 382 can accommodate some lateral deformation'before contacting the
upper
deck board 330.
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[0042] With respect to Figure 14, another embodiment of the disclosure is
there
illustrated. The embodiment is quite similar to the embodiment of Figure 13.
Thus like
components are identified by like numerals with a primed (') suffix, and new
components are identified by new numerals. In this embodiment, a resilient
member
420, for example a rubber cushion or similar resilient component, can attach
to the
width bumper 382'. The resilient member 420 includes an outer portion 424, a
top
portion 426 and an inner portion 428. The inner portion 428 of the resilient,
or elastic,
member 420 can be sandwiched between the flange 406' of the upper ledge 402'
and
the vertical leg 340' of the end deck board 330'. This holds the resilient
member in
place. The resilient member 420 can help dissipate energy from contact with
the forks
of the handling equipment. An upper surface 430 of the resilient member 420
can
reside in the same plane as contact surfaces 342' and 344' of the width boards
330'.
[0043] To accomplish this,.the upper ledge 402' resides in a plane that is
vertically
beneath and generally parallel to a pair of contact surfaces 342' and 344' of
the outside
upper deck board 330'. This allows a space for a top surface of the top
portion 426 of
the resilient member420 to reside in generally the same plane as contact
surfaces 342'
and 344' of the outside upper deck board 330'. Differentfi bumper
configurations using
different profiles and/orthicknesses of material can be substituted without
changing the
deck board profile. It is apparent in Figure 14, the gauge of material from
which the
bumpers (for example bumper 382') are made can be thickerthan the gauge of
material
used for the deck boards.
[0044] It is often desirable to wirelessly identify, track and/or provide
information
about the location of pallets or the products held on them. One method of
tracking and
providing information about items is to attach a wireless communication device
such as
a radio frequency identification (RFID) transponder or other identification
device to the
item. Multiple RFID devices, one attached to each of the items on a pallet,
would then
be located on a single pallet. However, communication collisions may occur if
a pallet
contains more than one item with an RFID tag and the communication devices
communicate at the same frequency. Therefore, a better alternative is to
provide a
single RFID tag forthe pallet itself. While pallets often include more than
one item, the
items may be a plurality of the same type of item having the same information
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characteristics, such as date of manufacture, lot number or other information
that may
be communicated via a single RFID.
[0045] Therefore, an RFID tag provided on the pallet may be adequate to
communicate information about all the items held on the pallet. Alternatively,
the RFID
can communicate information about the pallet itself. As is well known, such
RFID
devices require the use of an antenna. In one embodiment of the present
invention,
either the entire metal pallet disclosed herein or some portion thereof, such
as one of
the boards, can be used as the antenna of an RFID device (not shown). This is
advantageous in order to eliminate the need for employing a separate pole
antenna or
slot antenna with the RFID tag. The RFID can be placed in a suitable desired
location
on the pallet to prevent damage thereto. The RFID tag can be secured to the
pallet by
suitable known means, such as a clip or adhesive. Moreover, the RFID tag can
be
grounded to a ground plane on the pallet.
[0046] Several embodiments of a metal pallet have been described herein.
Modifications and alterations will occur to those of average skill in the art
upon reading
and understanding of the foregoing detailed description. However, the
invention is not
limited to only the embodiments described above. Instead, the invention is
defined by
the appended claims and the equivalents thereof.
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