subject: Pallet Racking For Warehouse Rack [print this page] A pallet racking for use in a gravity flow rack warehousing system, wherein the pallet is mounted on tracks. The pallet has a load bearing platform and a pair of supporting pads attached beneath the platform; the pads having one sloping wall and a load-bearing plate positioned on the lower surface of the platform; the plates providing a supporting contact between the pallet and the track and the sloping walls of the pads serving to guide the pallet along the tracks.
A pallet racking for use in a gravity-feed rack type of warehousing system rides on tracks and is always in what is known as a rack-loading condition, which means that the ends are supported and the bending moments are in the middle of the platform. The pallet of this invention has pads connected to the bottom of the platform and positioned beneath the platform. The pads have at least one sloping wall and are disposed between the tracks of the rack system and guide the pallet along the track. The bottom of the platform, along a pair of parallel edges, has a load-bearing plate which provides contact between the platform and the track of the system. This pallet design provides lateral positioning on the track and a load-bearing protected area on the bottom of the pallet.
The pallet racking provides a positioning means for both supporting the pallet on the track of the warehouse storage racks and for utilizing the supporting pads for guiding the pallet along the track as it is moved over the track. Some tracks may be slightly tilted from the vertical to utilize the forces of gravity to aid and assist the movement of the pallet, and pallets may be automatically directed and controlled in their movements. Prior art pallets were positioned on and above the tracks in the manner of a railway car riding upon the upper surfaces of the tracks. Lower surfaces of the platform of this pallet provide both a track contracting and load bearing surface, for supporting the pallet on the track; and the bases of the pallet, each with a sloping side, position the pallet between the tracks. The pads provide support when the pallet racking is on a floor or other supporting means when the pallet is handled by conventional fork lift trucks and stacked on a floor or other non- rack support.
