Composite Pallet Support Feet for Lightweight Load Stability
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing transport pallets, particularly wooden and cardboard pallets, face issues such as high weight, instability, susceptibility to pests, high cost, and difficulty in recycling, with cardboard pallets being unstable and not suitable for heavy loads, and insulating materials obstructing fork-lift access.
Innovation Solution
A pallet design using uniformly spaced support feet formed from mineral wool carrier elements enclosed by cardboard layers, providing high compressive strength, stability, and allowing four-way fork-lift access, with a cover plate and adaptable foot configuration for varying loads, and a production method utilizing recycled materials.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Stability of the object's composition
If wooden pallets are used, then stability and load-bearing capacity are sufficient, but weight is high and pest infestation occurs
Solution Approach 1:
The pallet combines cardboard layers with mineral wool carrier elements to create a composite structure that achieves both stability and reduced weight. The cardboard provides structural framework while the mineral wool provides load-bearing capacity, replacing traditional wood while solving the weight problem.
Solution Approach 2:
The mineral wool carrier elements provide a porous, lightweight structure that maintains stability and load-bearing capacity without the weight of solid wood. The porous structure allows for weight reduction while preserving mechanical properties through the distributed fiber network.
2Weight of moving object
If cardboard pallets are used, then weight is reduced, but stability and compressive strength are insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The invention creates a composite structure where cardboard layers are combined with mineral wool carrier elements. The mineral wool provides the necessary compressive strength and structural stability, while the cardboard layers provide framework and protection, achieving both weight reduction and strength requirements.
Solution Approach 2:
The mineral wool carrier elements are strategically positioned at critical load-bearing points within the pallet structure. This local placement provides enhanced compressive strength where needed while maintaining overall lightweight construction through selective material distribution.
3Temperature
If insulating materials are used as support bodies, then insulation properties are improved, but fork-lift access is blocked
Solution Approach 1:
The insulating mineral wool is segmented into discrete carrier elements rather than forming a continuous mass. This segmentation allows the insulation material to be positioned in specific locations while maintaining open spaces for fork-lift access, resolving the conflict between insulation continuity and operational accessibility.
Solution Approach 2:
The insulating material is applied locally at specific positions within the pallet structure rather than uniformly throughout. This localized placement provides necessary insulation properties while preserving access pathways for fork-lift trucks, allowing different regions of the pallet to serve different functions.
4Strength
If wooden pallets are used, then structural integrity is sufficient, but recycling difficulty increases
Solution Approach 1:
The pallet is segmented into distinct recyclable components: cardboard layers and mineral wool carrier elements. This segmentation allows each material to be separated and recycled independently, with cardboard being readily recyclable and mineral wool capable of being processed through existing insulation recycling streams, significantly improving recycling ease compared to wooden pallets.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the material parameters from natural wood to composite materials (cardboard and mineral wool) that have different recycling characteristics. These parameter changes enable the pallet to be disassembled and recycled through different processes, improving recyclability while maintaining structural integrity through the engineered composite structure.
Data Source
Figure 1~2a
Figure 2b~2c
Figure 3
AI summary
The invention relates to a pallet (1, 20) for transporting products, consisting of at least two support feet (2) spaced apart from one another and a cover plate (3) arranged thereon. Each support foot (2) is formed from at least two, preferably three carrier element bodies (5), which are preferably square and spaced apart preferably uniformly from one another and which are enclosed together by at least one layer of a first cardboard (4) in an arrangement direction F. The cover plate (3) is formed from a second cardboard (23), to the lower face (7) of which the support feet (2) are fixed.