Maintainable pallet

Abstract

In one embodiment, a maintainable pallet is provided with interchangeable support structures and sensors for identifying any damage that the interchangeable support structures may experience. The maintainable pallet may include two side supports, two end supports coupled to the two side supports end-to-end to form a rectangle, a central support position between the two side supports, a plurality of top transverse support fastened onto the two side supports to form a top loading surface and the central support with two-part releasable fasteners, and two bottom transverse supports fastened to the ends of the two side supports to form a bottom surface with two-part releasable fasteners. Sensors, in some embodiments, may be embedded in the two side supports to measure, for example, acceleration, location, or other logistic information. When a damaged piece is identified, the maintainable pallet can be disassembled by unfastening the two-part releasable fasteners to remove the damaged piece; and a new interchangeable piece will replace the damaged piece.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A maintainable pallet with replaceable portions, the maintainable pallet comprising:
 a loading surface;   a bottom surface positioned below the loading surface by a distance, wherein a volume is defined between the loading surface and the bottom surface;   at least one releasable fastener that includes a first portion secured to one of the bottom surface or the loading surface, and a second portion configured to couple to the first portion, wherein the first portion remains secured to the bottom surface or the loading surface when it is not coupled to the second portion;   one or more supports disposed at least partially between the loading surface and the bottom surface and adjacent at least a portion of the perimeter of the loading surface, wherein at least one support of the one or more supports has at least one opening configured to receive the at least one releasable fastener;   an interior support disposed at least partially within the volume and configured to support at least a portion of the loading surface; and   a sensor configured to detect a physical condition of the maintainable pallet.   
     
     
         2 . The maintainable pallet of  claim 1 , wherein the interior support further includes at least one opening configured to receive the at least one releasable fastener. 
     
     
         3 . The maintainable pallet of  claim 1 , wherein the sensor is a GPS sensor configured to detect and record location data of the maintainable pallet. 
     
     
         4 . The maintainable pallet of  claim 1 , wherein the sensor is an identification sensor. 
     
     
         5 . The maintainable pallet of  claim 1 , wherein at least a portion of the support forms an “M” shape in a side view, wherein the “M” shape is configured to receive one or more forks of a lift. 
     
     
         6 . The maintainable pallet of  claim 5 , wherein the support includes one or more edges that are chamfered. 
     
     
         7 . The maintainable pallet of  claim 1 , wherein the sensor is embedded within the maintainable pallet. 
     
     
         8 . The maintainable pallet of  claim 1 , wherein the sensor is a plurality of sensors, and includes an accelerometer. 
     
     
         9 . The maintainable pallet of  claim 1 , wherein the sensor is further configured to record the detected physical condition of the maintainable pallet. 
     
     
         10 . The maintainable pallet of  claim 1 , wherein the support extends from a first end of the loading surface to an opposed second end of the loading surface. 
     
     
         11 . A maintainable pallet, with replaceable portions, the maintainable pallet comprising:
 a loading surface;   a first side support and a second side support, wherein the first side support is separated from the second side support by a first distance, and the first side support and the second side support are configured to be coupled to the loading surface;   a front-end support coupled to the first side support adjacent an end of the first side support, and coupled to the second side support adjacent an end of the second side support;   two or more releasable fasteners positioned about a corner of the maintainable pallet at an angle relative to one another, and configured to couple the loading surface to the first side support; and   a sensor configured to detect a physical condition of the maintainable pallet.   
     
     
         12 . The maintainable pallet of  claim 11 , wherein the first side support forms an “M” shape in a side view, wherein the “M” shape of the first side support is configured to receive a fork of a lift. 
     
     
         13 . The maintainable pallet of  claim 12 , wherein the second side support forms an “M” shape in a side view, wherein the “M” shape of the second side support is configured to receive a fork of a lift. 
     
     
         14 . The maintainable pallet of  claim 13 , wherein an edge of the first side support and the second side support are chamfered. 
     
     
         15 . The maintainable pallet of  claim 11 , wherein the sensor is further configured to record the detected physical condition of the maintainable pallet. 
     
     
         16 . A method for using a maintainable pallet, the method comprising:
 detecting a physical condition via a sensor, wherein the sensor is configured to detect the physical condition of the maintainable pallet;   wherein the maintainable pallet includes at least one releasable fastener configured to secure at least one support of a plurality of supports to one or more members of the maintainable pallet, wherein the at least one releasable fastener includes a first portion configured to couple to a surface of the maintainable pallet, and a second portion configured to couple to the first portion, wherein the first portion remains secured to the surface when it is not coupled to the second portion; and   triggering an alert that the physical condition of the maintainable pallet has exceeded a predefined value when it is determined that the physical condition of the maintainable pallet, as detected by the sensor, has exceeded the predefined value.   
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein the physical condition is a force. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 17 , wherein the detecting the force via the sensor comprises collecting data corresponding to whether an acceleration of the maintainable pallet has exceeded the predefined value. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein the sensor is embedded in the maintainable pallet. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein the physical condition is a location.