Candy Manufacturing Support Pallet and Method of Use

Abstract

A manufacturing support pallet includes a support with a substantially planar support surface, and a plurality of rails oriented substantially normal to the support surface and positioned adjacent to the support. The support surface defines a plurality of holding slots where each holding slot is sized substantially identically and configured to receive a manufactured product package. The product package can be a candy cane tray. A method for manufacturing boxes includes producing a consumer product, such as a candy cane tray, aligning one or more of the consumer products in a point of sale insert, and placing the point of sale insert into a holding slot that is located on a support pallet. A manufacturing system includes a support tray defining a plurality of receiving areas configured to receive a manufactured product package, a plurality of support rails, and a transport tray configured to receive a plurality of support trays and a plurality of support rails.

1 . A manufacturing support pallet, comprising:
 a support with a substantially planar support surface;   wherein the support surface defines a plurality of holding slots, each holding slot being sized substantially identically and configured to receive a manufactured product package; and   a plurality of rails oriented substantially normal to the support surface and positioned substantially adjacent to the support.   
     
     
         2 . The manufacturing support pallet of  claim 1 , wherein the holding slots are arranged such that the holding slots form a column. 
     
     
         3 . The manufacturing support pallet of  claim 1 , wherein the holding slots are substantially rectangular. 
     
     
         4 . The manufacturing support pallet of  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of rails are connected to the support. 
     
     
         5 . The manufacturing support pallet of  claim 4 , wherein the holding slots are aligned such that centroids of the rectangular holding slots in the column are linear. 
     
     
         6 . The manufacturing support pallet of  claim 1 , wherein the holding slots are arranged such that the holding slots form a column; and
 wherein the manufacturing support pallet includes multiple supports to form a pallet with multiple columns of holding slots.   
     
     
         7 . The manufacturing support pallet of  claim 1 , wherein the rails are connected to the support;
 wherein the holding slots are substantially rectangular; and   wherein adjacent edges of the rectangular holding slots are spaced less than 2 inches apart.   
     
     
         8 . A method for manufacturing boxes, comprising:
 producing a consumer product;   aligning one or more of the consumer product in a point of sale insert;   placing the point of sale insert in a holding slot, the holding slot located on a support pallet.   
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 8 , further comprising:
 removing the point of sale insert; and   positioning a display over the point of sale box.   
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein the consumer product is candy cane; 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 9 , further comprising placing the support pallet in a storage location. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 8 , further comprising placing the support pallet in a carrier and storing the carrier. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 12 , further comprising removing the carrier from storage; and
 using the carrier in a point-of-sale display.   
     
     
         14 . A manufacturing system, comprising:
 a support tray defining a plurality of receiving areas configured to receive a manufactured product package;   a plurality of support rails; and   a transport tray configured to receive a plurality of support trays and a plurality of support rails.   
     
     
         15 . The manufacturing system of  claim 14 , wherein the manufactured product package is a candy cane package. 
     
     
         16 . The manufacturing system of  claim 14 , wherein the receiving areas are substantially rectangular. 
     
     
         17 . The manufacturing system of  claim 16 , wherein the plurality of support trays are arranged in one column in the transport tray. 
     
     
         18 . The manufacturing system of  claim 16 , wherein the plurality of support trays are arranged in the transport tray with a plurality of rows and a plurality of columns of support trays. 
     
     
         19 . The manufacturing system of  claim 17 , wherein a plurality of transport trays are stacked on top of each other. 
     
     
         20 . The manufacturing system of  claim 19 , wherein the stack of transport trays is used in a consumer point-of-sale display.