Glass Plate Pallet with Nested Pedestal for Upright Storage
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Solution Overview
Problem
The challenge is to efficiently store and transport large glass plates in standard containers without reducing load efficiency, as existing pallet designs either exceed container dimensions when in a horizontal posture or require unnecessary container customization due to increased height when in an upright posture.
Innovation Solution
A pallet design with a base part and a pedestal part where the lowermost portion of the pedestal is set lower than the base part's top surface, allowing glass plates to be packed in an upright posture with a reduced overall height, enabling storage in standard containers while maintaining load efficiency by optimizing the inclination angle.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Length of moving object
If glass plates are packed in a horizontal posture on a pallet, then the package body can be stored in a container, but the widthwise size of the container opening becomes insufficient for enlarged glass plates (2400 mm or larger)
Solution Approach 1:
The patent inverts the conventional packing approach by changing from horizontal to vertical posture. The glass plates are piled in a vertical posture (approximately perpendicular to the base part) instead of horizontal, which fundamentally changes the dimensional characteristics of the package body and enables compatibility with standard container openings.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transitions the packing orientation from the horizontal plane to the vertical dimension. By piling glass plates upright with their surfaces substantially perpendicular to the base part, the package body utilizes vertical space more efficiently, reducing the widthwise footprint to fit within standard container dimensions.
2Ease of operation
If glass plates are packed in an upright posture on a pallet with the pedestal part mounted on the top surface of the base part, then the package body height increases, but this exceeds the height directional size of the container opening
Solution Approach 1:
The patent embeds the pedestal part within the base part structure rather than mounting it on the top surface. The pedestal part is positioned such that its lowermost portion is at or below the top surface level of the base part, creating a nested configuration that reduces overall package body height while maintaining upright packing functionality.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent modifies the local structural arrangement by positioning the pedestal part's lowermost portion at or below the base part's top surface level. This localized structural optimization reduces the overall height of the package body without compromising the upright packing capability or loading efficiency.
3Adaptability or versatility
If glass plates are tilted considerably from vertical posture to fit in the container, then the package body can be stored, but the number of glass plates loadable in the container decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent inverts the conventional approach by maintaining a substantially vertical posture (perpendicular to the base part) rather than tilting from vertical. This inversion of the reference posture allows the glass plates to be packed upright without considerable tilting, maximizing the number of plates that can be loaded while ensuring container compatibility.
Data Source
AI summary
A pallet for packing a glass plate include a base part which is disposed at a bottommost portion, for supporting from below a plurality of glass plates piled one upon another in an upright posture, and has a fork insertion portion for insertion of forks of a forklift. The pallet also has a backside part rising from a rear side of the base part, for supporting the glass plates from a rear thereof, and a pedestal part mounted in engagement with at least one of the base part and the backside part so as to receive bottom side portions of the glass plates, in which a lowermost portion of the pedestal part is set lower than a substantial top surface of the base part.