Impact-Resistant Composite Pallet Legs for Electronics Protection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Pallets are prone to damage during routine use, particularly due to impacts from forklift trucks, and existing designs do not adequately protect integrated electronics like GPS, RFID, and IoT tags.
Innovation Solution
A pallet design featuring legs partially or fully filled with foam inserts and reinforced with concrete, especially at high-impact areas, to enhance durability and protect integrated electronics.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Weight of moving object
If legs are filled with foam inserts to reduce weight, then the overall weight of the pallet is reduced, but the strength and impact resistance of the legs deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies different filling materials to different locations of the legs based on their specific functional requirements. High-impact areas receive concrete or steel reinforcement for maximum strength, while lower-impact areas use foam inserts for weight reduction. This localized differentiation resolves the contradiction by optimizing each region's properties according to its actual needs rather than applying a uniform solution throughout the entire leg structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs composite construction by combining multiple materials (foam inserts, concrete, steel reinforcement) within the leg structure. This composite approach allows the legs to simultaneously achieve lightweight characteristics from the foam and high strength/impact resistance from the concrete and steel components, directly resolving the contradiction between weight reduction and strength enhancement.
2Reliability
If legs are reinforced with concrete to enhance strength and impact resistance, then the durability of the pallet is improved, but the weight of the pallet increases
Solution Approach 1:
Concrete reinforcement is strategically applied only to specific high-impact zones within the legs rather than filling the entire leg structure. This localized reinforcement approach enhances durability where it is most needed while minimizing the overall weight increase that would result from complete concrete filling of all legs.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent combines concrete with foam inserts and steel reinforcement to create a composite leg structure. This composite material system achieves high durability and impact resistance through the concrete and steel components while the foam inserts contribute to weight reduction, thereby resolving the contradiction between enhanced durability and weight control.
3Adaptability or versatility
If electronics are integrated into the pallet for tracking purposes, then the functionality and traceability of the pallet is improved, but the vulnerability to damage during impacts increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent incorporates foam inserts and concrete enclosures around the integrated electronics before any impact occurs. These materials serve as pre-positioned protective barriers that cushion and absorb impact forces, protecting the electronics from damage during forklift operations or other impacts, thus resolving the contradiction between enhanced functionality and increased vulnerability.
Solution Approach 2:
The electronics are housed within composite structures combining foam and concrete materials that provide both structural protection and impact absorption. This composite protective enclosure allows the pallet to maintain full electronic functionality while significantly reducing the harmful impact effects on the integrated electronics.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The design significantly reduces pallet damage and protects integrated electronics by distributing impact forces and preventing water ingress, while maintaining a lightweight and cost-effective structure.
Implementation Method 1
The pallet further includes foam inserts to reduce the overall weight of the pallet
Implementation Method 2
The ECC gives the legs the strength to withstand a forklift truck pushing two or more pallets into the back of a trailer
Implementation Method 3
The foam insert can help to further dampen the impact
Data Source
AI summary
A pallet includes a deck and one or more leg-plank bridges that extend from the deck. The leg-plank bridges include one or more legs and a plank that extends between the legs. The legs and plank are integrally formed together and attached to the deck. The legs have one or more internal walls that define one or more cavities. Concrete fills the cavities of the legs located on a lead end of the pallet. The remaining cavities in the legs are filled with foam. The cavities in one version are wedge shaped. Other legs of the deck are filled entirely with foam.