Load bearing structure for a shipping pallet

A shipping pallet for supporting a load, comprising:

• a load bearing deck that defines an upper surface for receiving said load and a lower surface opposite said upper surface, said load bearing deck comprising a plurality of intersecting arch rows, each arch row comprising a plurality of adjacent arches,
• wherein each of said plurality of arches comprises an apex and two legs that extend from said apex to said lower surface of said deck, said arch rows being arranged such that said arches intersect approximately at their apexes thereby defining a plurality of domes that form an array of domes;
• and
• said deck further comprising structural fill that extends between legs of adjacent domes, said structural fill connecting said adjacent domes to translate forces between said adjacent domes, thereby strengthening said deck.

A shipping pallet for supporting a load, comprising:

• a load bearing deck that defines an upper surface for receiving the load and a lower surface opposite said upper surface, said load bearing deck comprising a plurality of domes, each dome defined by an apex located proximate to said upper surface and a plurality of legs extending from said apex and ending at said lower surface, said domes arranged in an array including a plurality of adjacent domes;
• structural fill extending between a plurality of legs of said adjacent domes, said structural fill connecting said adjacent domes to translate forces between said adjacent domes, thereby strengthening said deck;
• and
• a plurality of posts that extend from said lower surface of said deck,
• wherein at least some of said domes comprise an open dome structure defined by a plurality of arches having apexes that define said dome apex and two legs extending from each of said arch apexes that define said dome legs, thereby forming said open dome structure that has open areas between said dome legs,
• wherein said arches comprise a partial dome configuration defined by said legs having a substantially non-vertical orientation at said lower surface, and
• wherein said plurality of domes are situated in a plurality of dome rows that extend in a least two directions and intersect each other at a non-zero angle to form a pattern.