Pallet sled and delivery system
AssigneeRehrig Pacific Company
InventorsRobert Lee Martin, Jason Crawford Miller, Dane Gin Mun Kalinowski
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A pallet sled includes a pair of tines extending forward from a base. A load wheel supports each of the pair of tines. The load wheels are each configured to move away from the respective tine to lift the respective tine upward relative to a support surface on which the load wheel is supported. A processor on the pallet sled records usage of the sled, such as lift cycles, location over time, battery condition, lift height, weight lifted, distance traveled, and the like. A communication circuit may be configured to send data from the pallet sled to a remote server. An identification reader may be configured to read an identification tag of an object supported on the pair of tines, such as an rfid tag on a pallet.
Claims26
A pallet sled comprising:
- a base;
- a pair of tines extending forward from the base;
- a weight sensor configured to weigh objects on the pair of tines;
- a load wheel supporting each of the pair of tines, the load wheels each configured to move away from the respective tine to lift the respective tine upward relative to a support surface;
- a communication circuit configured to send data from the pallet sled to a remote server;
- and
- at least one processor programmed to monitor usage of the pallet sled, including weight lifted by the pallet sled each time the pair of tines are lifted, and to communicate data regarding the usage of the pallet sled, including weight lifted by the pallet sled each time the pair of tines are lifted, to the remote server via the communication circuit.
A pallet sled comprising:
- a base;
- a pair of tines extending forward from the base;
- a load wheel supporting each of the pair of tines, the load wheels each configured to move away from the respective tine to lift the respective tine upward relative to a support surface;
- a communication circuit configured to send data from the pallet sled to a remote server;
- and
- a processor programmed to monitor usage of the pallet sled and to communicate data regarding the usage of the pallet sled to the remote server via the communication circuit;
- wherein usage of the pallet sled that the processor is programmed to monitor includes number of cycles that the pair of tines are raised to a lift position and unloading time in a store.
A delivery sled comprising:
- a base;
- a pair of tines extending forward from the base for supporting an object thereon;
- a load wheel supporting each of the pair of tines, the load wheels each configured to move away from the respective tine to lift the respective tine upward relative to a support surface on which the load wheel is supported;
- a gps receiver determining a location of the delivery sled;
- and
- a processor configured to determine if the object should be delivered based upon the location of the delivery sled.
A pallet sled comprising:
- a base;
- a pair of tines extending forward from the base;
- a load wheel supporting each of the pair of tines, the load wheels each configured to move away from the respective tine to lift the respective tine upward relative to a support surface;
- at least one processor recording data reflective of usage of the pallet sled, wherein the at least one processor is configured to record the data reflective of usage of the pallet sled including at least one of distance, weight, elapsed time, or temperature during usage of the pallet sled;
- and
- a communication circuit configured to send the data from the pallet sled to a remote server.
A pallet sled comprising:
- a base;
- a pair of tines extending forward from the base;
- a load wheel supporting each of the pair of tines, the load wheels each configured to move away from the respective tine to lift the respective tine upward relative to a support surface;
- at least one processor recording data reflective of usage of the pallet sled;
- and
- a communication circuit configured to send the data from the pallet sled to a remote server, wherein the at least one processor is configured to determine a quantity of returnable packaging or pallets that is being returned from a store on the pallet sled and to communicate the quantity via the communication circuit.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.