Configurable Pallet Structure for Custom Loads and Compact Storage
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional pallets are heavy, expensive, and inflexible, requiring standardized sizes that may not fit all goods, leading to inefficient shipping, high storage costs, and limited recyclability.
Innovation Solution
A configurable pallet system comprising a plastic base with protrusions and a cardboard base with openings, allowing customization to specific dimensions, reducing weight and storage space, and enabling efficient stacking and recyclability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If conventional standardized pallets are used, then manufacturing and storage are simplified, but shipping efficiency decreases due to inability to fit all goods configurations
Solution Approach 1:
The pallet is divided into multiple interchangeable components including side rails, deck boards, stringers, and blocks that can be reconfigured to create different pallet sizes and configurations, enabling both ease of manufacture through standardized parts and shipping efficiency through custom configurations
Solution Approach 2:
The pallet system transitions from static standardized designs to dynamic reconfigurable structures that can be adjusted based on specific shipping requirements, allowing the same set of components to serve multiple pallet size requirements
2Area of stationary object
If standardized pallet sizes are used, then storage requirements are reduced, but storage costs increase due to empty pallets needing to be shipped back to storage locations
Solution Approach 1:
By segmenting the pallet into modular components, the system enables compact storage of disassembled parts and facilitates local reconfiguration at distribution points, eliminating the need to ship empty standardized pallets back to centralized storage locations
Solution Approach 2:
The system enables recovery and reuse of pallet components at local levels rather than requiring return to centralized storage, with components being discarded from one configuration and recovered for use in another configuration at the destination
3Strength
If heavy conventional pallets are used, then structural strength is sufficient, but transportation energy costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The pallet employs composite construction combining wood, metal, and plastic materials to achieve high structural strength with reduced weight compared to traditional all-wood pallets, lowering transportation energy requirements while maintaining load-bearing capability
Solution Approach 2:
The design optimizes physical parameters including member dimensions, wall thicknesses, and structural geometry to minimize weight while maintaining required strength levels, directly reducing the energy needed for transportation
4Quantity of substance
If conventional pallets are used, then initial purchase cost is high, but recyclability is limited
Solution Approach 1:
Segmenting the pallet into separate material components enables different parts to be recycled through appropriate channels - metal components through metal recycling, plastic through plastic recycling, and wood through wood recycling or composting programs
Solution Approach 2:
The design facilitates discarding of worn or damaged components and recovery of valuable materials, with each component type being recoverable through established recycling infrastructure for its respective material
Data Source
AI summary
This disclosure provides a configurable pallet or load-bearing platform, such as a pallet, for supporting goods. The load-bearing platform may include one or more plastic bases having two or more protrusions connected by one or more bridge pieces. The two or more protrusions are spaced apart one or more distances. The load-bearing platform further includes a cardboard base having openings spaced apart an amount wherein the openings are configured to receive the two or more protrusions of the plastic base. A load distribution member may be included and configured to contact at least a portion of the plastic base. The load distribution member may support at least a portion of the goods and distributes at least a portion of the weight of the goods to at least a portion of the plastic base. The size of the cardboard base, as well as other components of the load-bearing platform, in certain implementations, may be customized on demand.