Pallet with Magnetic Anti-Tipping Feature

Abstract

A pallet includes a deck and a plurality of legs extending downward from the deck. At least one permanent magnet is disposed on the underside of the deck adjacent to at least one tine entry location defined between the legs. The magnet is configured to attract the tines of a forklift to provide a magnetic retention force that resists tipping of the pallet when lifted and moved by the forklift. Preferred examples include nestable polymer pallets.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A pallet for lifting by a forklift, the pallet comprising:
 (a) a deck;   (b) a plurality of hollow legs extending downward from the deck and defining a plurality of tine entry locations between the legs; and   (c) at least one permanent magnet disposed on an underside of the deck adjacent to at least one of the tine entry locations, the magnet configured to attract the tines of the forklift to provide a magnetic retention force that opposes tipping of the pallet when lifted by the forklift.   
     
     
         2 . The pallet of  claim 1 , wherein the pallet is a nestable polymer pallet and wherein the legs are hollow and configured for nesting with legs of other similar pallets. 
     
     
         3 . The pallet of  claim 1 , further comprising skids extending between the legs, the magnet being disposed adjacent to a tine entry location beneath which the skids do not pass. 
     
     
         4 . The pallet of  claim 1 , wherein the permanent magnet is disposed on the underside of the deck adjacent to at least two tine entry locations. 
     
     
         5 . The pallet of  claim 4 , wherein the deck is rectangular, and the magnets are disposed adjacent to two tine entry locations on each of two opposite sides of the deck. 
     
     
         6 . The pallet of  claim 4 , wherein the deck is square, and the magnets are disposed adjacent to two tine entry locations on each of four sides of the deck. 
     
     
         7 . The pallet of  claim 1 , wherein the pallet is a rectangular pallet having a longer side and a shorter side, and wherein the magnets are disposed adjacent to two tine entry locations on each of the shorter sides. 
     
     
         8 . The pallet of  claim 1 , wherein the magnetic retention force provided by the at least one permanent magnet adjacent to one tine entry location is between 40 N and 100 N. 
     
     
         9 . The pallet of  claim 5 , wherein the combined magnetic retention force provided by the magnets adjacent to two tine entry locations on a single side of the deck is between 40 N and 100 N. 
     
     
         10 . The pallet of  claim 6 , wherein the combined magnetic retention force provided by the magnets adjacent to two tine entry locations on a single side of the deck is between 40 N and 100 N.