Stepped Support Block Pallet Impact Resistance
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional pallets are prone to damage and have a shortened lifespan due to impacts from material handling equipment, leading to increased repair frequency and early removal from service, and existing solutions either fail to adequately address durability or increase production costs.
Innovation Solution
A pallet design featuring a base and cargo layer with spaced apart end and connector boards, and support blocks with stepped top and bottom surfaces that dissipate impact energy over the length of the pallet, allowing for thinner intermediate deck boards and reduced costs while enhancing resilience.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If conventional support blocks with flat top surfaces are used, then the pallet structure is simple and easy to manufacture, but the end deck boards cannot effectively resist impact forces from material handling equipment
Solution Approach 1:
The support block top surface is segmented into multiple levels (first level and second level) that correspond to different deck board positions. This segmentation allows impact forces to be distributed to multiple structural elements (end deck boards and connector boards) rather than concentrating stress at a single point, thereby improving impact resistance while maintaining a relatively simple block geometry.
Solution Approach 2:
The support block is designed with different surface levels at different locations to match the specific structural requirements of each deck board position. The first level provides enhanced support for end deck boards that require impact resistance, while the second level provides appropriate support for connector boards, creating local quality variations that optimize overall pallet strength without uniformly increasing complexity throughout the entire structure.
2Strength
If intermediate deck boards are made thicker to improve pallet strength, then the pallet can better withstand impacts, but the production cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The impact resistance function is extracted from the intermediate deck boards and transferred to the support block structure and connector boards. By designing the support blocks with stepped surfaces that distribute impact forces to the connector boards' end grains, the patent removes the requirement for thick intermediate deck boards, thereby maintaining pallet durability while reducing material costs and simplifying manufacturing.
Solution Approach 2:
The connector boards serve as intermediary elements that transfer impact forces from the end deck boards through the support blocks to the pallet structure. The end grain of the connector boards acts as a mediator that absorbs and dissipates impact energy, allowing thinner intermediate deck boards to be used while maintaining overall pallet strength and durability.
3Strength
If end deck boards are dadoed or undercut into runners to strengthen the pallet, then impact resistance improves, but the manufacturing process becomes time-consuming and expensive
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of modifying the end deck boards by dadoing or undercutting them into the runners (as in conventional designs), the patent inverts the approach by modifying the support block top surfaces to have stepped levels. This reversal of the modification location simplifies the manufacturing process, as the stepped surfaces can be more easily formed on the support blocks without requiring complex dadoing operations on the deck boards, thereby improving manufacturing efficiency while maintaining enhanced strength.
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 stepped surface design effectively absorbs impact forces, increasing the pallet's durability and lifespan without increasing production costs, making it more resilient to material handling impacts compared to conventional block pallets.
Implementation Method 1
when an impact force is applied to an end deck board, the force is advantageously transmitted to the ends of the connector boards
Implementation Method 2
the energy of the impact is dissipated over the length of the pallet
Implementation Method 3
The end grain of the connector boards absorb the impact force instead of the nail joints used to secure an end deck board to the support blocks
Data Source
AI summary
A pallet includes a base layer and a cargo layer. The cargo layer includes a pair of spaced apart end deck boards, and a pair of spaced apart connector boards orthogonal to the pair of spaced apart end deck boards. Spaced apart support blocks are coupled between the base and cargo layers and form a gap therebetween for receiving a lifting member. Each support block includes a stepped top surface having a first level for receiving an end deck board and second level for receiving a connector board.