WO2007070478A2

WO2007070478A2 - Method and associated system for manufacturing pallets

Info

Publication number: WO2007070478A2
Application number: PCT/US2006/047246
Authority: WO
Inventors: John R. Perazzo; Richard Kunkel
Original assignee: Pallets Unlimited, Llc
Priority date: 2005-12-13
Filing date: 2006-12-12
Publication date: 2007-06-21
Also published as: WO2007070478A3

Abstract

A pallet 12 includes a number of runners 14 which may be sandwiched between upper and lower face sheets of corrugated paperboard. One system for manufacturing a pallet according to this invention includes a runner 14 holding station adapted to receive a supply of runners. A conveyor is used to transfer selected runners 14 from the runner holding station toward an assembly station 50. The assembly station 50 receives an upper deck sheet 16 and a lower deck sheet 18 and the selected runners 14 from the conveyor and assembles them into a pallet 12. A gluing station 80 applies an adhesive to each of the deck sheets 16, 18 prior to assembly with the selected runners 14 at the assembly station 50. A stacking station receives each of the assembled pallets 12 and forms a stack of pallets with each newly added pallet being added to a bottom of the stack such that the weight of the stack is supported by the newly added pallet to set the adhesive joining the deck sheet and the selected runners of the newly added pallet together. The up-stacking capability of the stacking station offers convenience and efficiency to the manufacturing process by collecting the assembled pallets 12 for shipping or use while utilizing the weight of the stack of pallets to set the glue which joins the runners 14 to the individual deck sheets 16, 18 of each pallet 12 in the stack.

Description

METHOD AND ASSOCIATED SYSTEM FOR MANUFACTURING PALLETS

Background of the Invention

This invention relates to a method and an associated system for manufacturing a pallet for use in the storage and/ or transport of goods and, more particularly, to such a system and method for manufacturing non-wooden pallets.

For many years, various types of objects have been used to separate and support loads that are stored and transported generally in a stacked arrangement. The equipment that is primarily used for performing this stacking arrangement is a front end loader, lift truck or fork lift truck which raises the individual loads so that they can be stacked one on top of the other or on a rack. To separate the loads from each other, off the rack or off of the floor, a pallet is commonly positioned beneath the load so as to allow space for the insertion of the forks of the lift truck or the like for moving and positioning the loads for storage or transportation. Traditionally, the load supporting pallets are mainly made from wood and consist of platforms having parallel runners longitudinally and/or transversely secured to the underside 'by nails, staples, strapping or other suitable fasteners.

While such wooden pallets in the past have been found to be satisfactory in many regards for their intended use in transporting and storage of materials and articles from one location to another, there are many disadvantages associated with wooden pallets. Increased environmental awareness has become a significant factor in the packaging, transportation and shipping industries. Wood is difficult to readily recycle and, hence, many wood packaging or pallet components are finally disposed of in land fills. However, available land fill sites are becoming full and, if available, require significant fees for dumping such materials.

For the international shipment of goods, wooden pallets present additional environmental problems because they tend to serve as hosts for germs and bugs. Wooden pallets are often quarantined or burned upon arrival in the destination country according to governmental regulations or general precautionary practices to avoid the spread of undesirable insects, bugs or germs.

Moreover, wood pallets are relatively expensive to manufacture due in large part to the rising cost of wood and the labor intensive assembly techniques. Pallets manufactured from wood and secured in assembly by nails or other fastening devices typically are manufactured by manual labor, thereby adding substantial cost to the pallet production process.

To overcome at least some of the objections to the use of wood pallets, alternative pallet designs utilize materials such as corrugated paperboard, scrapped paperboard, plastics, aluminum and other materials. While solving certain problems associated with wood pallets, pallets and runners from non-wood materials often have significant deficiencies. While non-wood pallets may be light weight and inexpensive for some applications, their strength and rigidity under static and dynamic loading is insufficient to permit wide spread general use for all types of goods. Such non-wood pallets often have excessive deflection and lack beam strength which causes their sagging under loads thereby making the handling, stacking and racking of the pallets impractical and even dangerous. Many so called improved pallet designs do not offer the strength necessary to withstand buckling, crushing or compression when placed upon a rack under a load.

Solutions to many of these problems associated with wood and non- wooden pallets are disclosed in one of the present co-inventor's own prior U.S. Patent Nos. 6,095,061 and 6,453,827, each of which is incorporated entirely herein by reference and discloses a reinforced, rackable and recyclable pallet and runner. The pallet/runner designs disclosed in the O61 and '827 patents are light weight and provide significant strength and increased load bearing capability and resistance to compression and crushing while still providing the significant advantages of being entirely processable in a paperboard recycling system or the like for convenient, economical and ecological disposal.

Such pallets include at least two spaced generally parallel runners and each of the runners is constructed of a number of layers of corrugated paperboard glued together in face-to-face orientation with the flutes of the corrugations being generally aligned in a generally vertical direction. Each of the runners may also include at least one generally vertically oriented reinforcing insert positioned between adjacent layers of the corrugated paperboard. The runners are secured to a top deck sheet, and in many cases a bottom deck sheet also, to form the pallet.

Current manufacturing methods, directed at producing non- wooden pallets, are entirely manual. Manual manufacture of pallets is slow and inefficient due to the repetitive and specialized manual manipulations of the runners and deck sheets required to produce and assemble such a pallet. From the inventors' experience, a three person crew can assembly only about two to three pallets per minute in a manual operation.

One automated process for the production of the runners alone is disclosed in one of the present co-inventor's own U.S. Patent No. 6,899,039, which is hereby incorporated by reference entirely. The system and method disclosed in the O39 patent provide economies of production and automation for the production of the runners while also overcoming certain problems and pitfalls previously experienced with the production of runners, particularly associated with delamination and separation of the adhesively bonded layers of the runner.

Nevertheless, the production of entire pallets remains largely a manual process and, as such, suffers from the attendant delays, inefficiencies and high costs associated there with. Therefore, a need exists in the industry for solving these problems by providing a fully or semi- automated production system and associated method which will reduce the costs and inefficiencies currently associated with making non-wood cardboard pallets and further provide consistently high quality pallets. Summary of the Invention

The improved method and associated system for manufacturing a pallet adapted to support a load during transit and storage overcomes the above-described disadvantages. Advantageously, the manufacturing method and system for a pallet according to this invention economically, efficiently and reliably produces a pallet having the needed strength and durability to replace wooden pallets, such as the pallets disclosed in U.S. Patent Nos.6,095,061 and 6,453,827. Moreover,, the improved manufacturing method and system produces a pallet with minimal, if any, manual intervention to thereby increase the efficiency of production and reduce the costs previously realized with manual production.

Specifically, one system for manufacturing a pallet according to this invention includes a runner holding station adapted to receive a supply of runners. The runners in one embodiment each include a number of layers of corrugated paperboard bonded together with at least one reinforcing insert to provide added strength and rigidity to the runner, as described in U.S. Patent No. 6,899,039. A conveyor is used to transfer selected runners from the runner holding station toward an assembly station. A feed conveyor advances a supply of the runners to the runner holding station in a direction generally perpendicular to the conveyor.

The runner holding station in one embodiment includes a flight of individual picker rods traversing in a closed loop path in which the picker rods are positioned to contact the selected runners at the runner holding station and advance them toward the assembly station. Guide channels are positioned relative to the conveyor to guide the selected runners toward the assembly station. The assembly station is adapted to receive an upper deck sheet and a lower deck sheet and the selected runners from the conveyor and assemble them into a pallet. A gluing station applies an adhesive to each of the deck sheets prior to assembly with the selected runners at the assembly station. Alternatively, the adhesive is applied to each of the selected runners prior to assembly with the deck sheets. A stacking station receives each of the assembled pallets and forms a stack of pallets with each newly added pallet being added to a bottom of the stack such that the weight of the stack is supported by the newly added pallet to set the adhesive joining the deck sheet and the selected runners of the newly added pallet together. The up-stacking capability of the stacking station offers convenience and efficiency to the manufacturing process by collecting the assembled pallets for shipping or use while utilizing the weight of the stack of pallets to set the glue which joins the runners to the individual deck sheets of each pallet in the stack. In one embodiment of this invention, the stacking station includes an elevating platform adapted to raise and temporarily support the stack of assembled pallets. A pair of paddles selectively support the stack of assembled pallets above the elevating platform as the elevating platform is lowered in preparation for a subsequent pallet to be added to the bottom of the stack. The paddles are selectively retracted to release the stack onto the elevating platform and selectively extended to support the stack during lowering of the elevating platform.

The associated method for manufacturing a pallet according to one embodiment of this invention includes adhesively bonding a number of runners in spaced relation to each other to an upper and a lower deck sheet to form an assembled pallet. The assembled pallets are stacked upon each other such that the weight of the stack is supported by the pallet at the bottom of the stack to set the adhesive joining the deck sheets and the selected runners of the bottom pallet together. Advantageously, each newly assembled pallet is added to the bottom of the stack. The stack is raised to accommodate each pallet added to the bottom of the stack. The raised stack is temporarily supported by a pair of paddles which extend to engage and support the stack and retract to allow the stack to be supported on an elevating platform.

As a result of the automated manufacturing system and associated method for producing recyclable paperboard pallets according to this invention, the production rate of about two to three pallets per minute with a three person crew is expected to be increased to eight pallets per minute for a one person operation. The production efficiency is greatly increased and the cost of product is significantly lowered for pallet production with this invention.

Brief Description of the Drawings The objectives and features of the invention will become more readily apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of one embodiment of a system and associated method for manufacturing pallets according to this invention; Fig. 2 is view similar to Fig. 1 with a number of runners queued in the system for manufacturing pallets;

Figs. 3 thru 6 are sequential views similar to Fig. 2 with the runners progressing through the system and deck sheets being introduced for combining with the runners to assembly the pallets; Fig. 3A is side elevational view of the runners being advanced through the system from a first direction to a second direction;

Fig. 4A is a side elevational view of the runners being guided through the system in an aligned fashion; Fig. 5A is a side elevational view of the runners being elevated prior to assembly with the deck sheets;

Fig. 6A is a side elevational view of the runners and deck sheets being combined to form a pallet;

Fig. 7 is a view similar to Fig. 6 with an assembled pallet being elevated to begin up-stacking a number of assembled pallets according to one aspect of this invention; and

Fig. 7A is a side elevational view of the up-stacking operation of assembled pallets.

Detailed Description of the Invention Referring to Figs. 1-7, one embodiment of a system 10 for manufacturing a pallet according to this invention is shown. The pallet 12 includes a plurality, three of which are shown in Fig. 7, of generally parallel runners 14. It will be readily understood that the pallet 12 supports a load and may include two, four (Fig. iA) or another number of runners 14 within the scope of this invention. The runners 14 are sandwiched between an upper deck sheet 16 adhered, preferably by adhesive or the like, to an upper surface of each of the runners 14 and a lower deck sheet 18, likewise adhered by adhesive or the like, to a lower surface of the runners 14. The lower deck 18 sheet contributes to the structural integrity of the pallet 12 when rolling down the rollers of a conveyor (not shown), without crushing or collapsing the pallet 12 under the load. The lower deck sheet 18 as such aids in the alignment of the runners 14 for proper vertical orientation while used on the conveyor. However, in certain applications, it would be understood that the lower deck sheet 18 and/or the upper deck sheet 16 may be eliminated. The pallet 12 supports the load during transportation of the load or storage thereof, for example, on the spaced beams of a rack.

The runners 14 are spaced and generally parallel to one another so that tines of a lift truck (not shown) or the like may be inserted between the runners 14 below the upper deck sheet 16 and above the lower deck sheet 18 for lifting, maneuvering and/or transporting the pallet 12 and load. Each of the runners 14 further includes a pair of spaced notches 20 which are generally aligned with the notches 20 in the other runners 14 of the pallet 12 and extend the width of the respective runner 14. The notches 20, according to one presently preferred form of the invention, are open to the bottom face of the runner 14 and provide for entry of the tines of the lift truck into the runner 14 for lifting the pallet 12 and the load for maneuvering and/or transporting the pallet 12 and load combination. Alternatively, the runners 14 may include portals (not shown) formed as through holes generally perpendicular to the runner 14. As a result, the spaced runners 14 and notches 20 or portals thereof provide for four-way entry to the pallet 10 by the tines of the lift truck or the like as is common in the popular Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA) type pallets.

The runner 14 is preferably constructed of a plurality of layers of paperboard, each of which are corrugated and built up and adhered in face to face relation by an adhesive such as polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) or another suitable adhesive commonly known in the industry. A center reinforcing insert of one- quarter inch thick hardboard may be included in each runner 14. While various aspects of the pallets 12 and runners 14 are shown and disclosed herein, more details are provided in U.S. Patent Nos. 6,899,039; 6,453,827; and 6,095,061, each hereby incorporated by reference. Nevertheless, these various aspects of the pallets and runners are exemplary only and this invention is readily utilized with other pallet and runner designs.

Referring to Figs. 1-7, one embodiment of the system 10 for manufacturing pallets 12 according to this invention is shown. The system 10 includes a feed conveyor 22 having a belt 24 trained around a pair of spaced rollers 26, at least one of which is rotationally driven to drive the belt 24 in the direction of arrow A. The longitudinal axis of the feed conveyor 22 is oriented generally perpendicular relative to the longitudinal axis of a holding station 28. The holding station 28 includes a generally planar, stationary support table 30. Suspended over the table 30 and oriented generally perpendicular to the feed conveyor 22 is a picker assembly ₃2. The picker assembly 32 includes a pair of spaced generally parallel rotating shafts 34. Each shaft 34 has a pair of sprockets 36 each of which is mounted at a terminal end of the associate shaft 34 and aligned with a corresponding sprocket 36 on the complementary shaft 34. A pair of chains 38 are mounted around the corresponding sprockets 36 on the respective shafts 34 and a motor (not shown) rotationally drives the chains 38 in the direction of arrow B.

A number of flights 40, two of which are shown in Figs. 1-7, are mounted to the chains 38 of the picker assembly 32. Each flight 40 includes a cross bar 42 and opposite ends of the cross bar 42 are each mounted to one of the chains 38. The flights 40 and associated cross bars 42 extend laterally across the holding station 28. Each cross bar 42 of each flight 40 has a number of picker rods 44 projecting perpendicularly outwardly from the cross bar 42. Three picker rods 44 are shown on each cross bar 42 in Figs. 1-7. The picker rods 44 positioned and oriented the selected runners 14 supported on the table 30 of the holding station 28 as will he described later herein. A main conveyor assembly 46 is aligned with the longitudinal axis of the holding station 28 and located downstream from the holding station 28. The main conveyor assembly 46 includes a generally planar, rectangular support table 48. The main conveyor assembly 46 is adapted to transfer selected runners 14 from the holding station 28 toward a downstream assembly and/ or stacking station 50. The main conveyor assembly 46 has two sets of gutters 52, 54 which are adapted to guide the selected runners 14 from the holding station 28 toward the assembly station 50. The main set of gutters 52 is oriented upstream from a secondary set of gutters 54 and each set of gutters 52, 54 has three pair of spaced guide channels 56. Each pair of guide channels 56 is adapted to align and direct a selected runner 14 in appropriate position and orientation to the assembly station 50. The guide channels 56 are spaced from the upper surface of the table 48 on the main conveyor assembly 46 and an outwardly flared upstream end of each pair of guide channels 56 forms a mouth 58 adapted to receive the runner 14 introduced to the gutter. The main conveyor assembly 46 also includes a number of spaced bars 60 extending laterally across the gutters 52, 54 and the table 48. The bars 60 are interposed between the guide channels 56 and the upper surface of the table 48 and are connected to a pair of main conveyor chains 62 spaced on opposite sides of the table 48. Each chain 62 is trained around four sprockets 64, at least one of which is rotationally driven and synchronized with the complementary chain 62 to move the bars 60 in the direction of arrow C. An elevated staging plateau member 66 is provided, beneath the secondary set of gutters 54 at the downstream end of the main conveyor assembly 46.

The assembly station 50 is located downstream from the main conveyor assembly 46 and includes an elevating platform 68 which is adapted to vertically lift assembled pallets 12. The elevated platform 68 is mounted atop a base 70 and connected to the base 70 by a pair of scissor assemblies 72 adapted to raise and lower the platform 68. The assembly station 50 also includes a pair of spaced support paddles 74, each connected by a stem 76 to a pneumatic cylinder 78 or the like. The pneumatic cylinder or similar device 78 is adapted to extend and retract the support paddles 74 toward and away from each other as shown in Fig. 6.

A gluing station 80 is positioned laterally from the assembly station ₅0 and is adapted to apply an adhesive to at least one face along specified portions of the generally planar deck sheet 16, 18. The deck sheet 16, 18 is fed from the gluing station 80 toward the assembly station 50 in the direction of arrow D as shown in Fig. 3 for mating with the selected runners 14 at the assembly station. In one embodiment, the adhesive gluing stations 44, 46 are commercially available from Osama Technologies, Wood Working Machinery in San Gimignano, Italy. The operation of the system 10 and the associated method of producing pallets 12 will now be described. A supply of runners 14 is fed by the feed conveyor 22 toward the holding station 28 in the direction of arrow A. The runners 14, which may be manufactured according to the invention disclosed in U.S. Patent No. 6,899,039, are juxtaposed side-to-side and similarly oriented on the feed conveyor 22 in an upside-down or inverted orientation. The runners 14 are continually fed toward the holding station 28 to abut against a detent or stop

(not shown) on a lateral end side of the holding station 28.

As the flight assemblies 40 circumvent the sprockets 36 in an endless path, the picker rods 44 engage the tail ends 14a of selected runners 14 on the holding station 28 as shown in Fig.3A. Continued movement of the flight assemblies 40 and associated picker rods 44 push the contacted runners 14 toward the main conveyor assembly 46 and into the mouths 58 of the aligned guide channels 56. The picker rods 44 are positioned on the cross bars 42 to be aligned with the respective guide channels 56 in the main set of gutters 52 on the main conveyor assembly 46. As the selected runners 14 are transferred from the holding station 28 to the main conveyor assembly 46, the feed conveyor 22 continues to advance the supply of runners 14 to thereby fill in the gaps on the holding station 28 resulting from the removal of the selected runners 14 to the main conveyor assembly 46. As such, when subsequent flight assemblies 40 pass around the sprockets 36, they contact additional selected runners 14 to be advanced once again to the main conveyor assembly 46 and into the main set of gutters 52.

As the selected runners 14 are fed into the mouth 58 of the aligned gutters 52 on the main conveyor assembly 46, the bars 60 traversing over the table 48 push the tail end 14a of the runners 14 as shown in Fig. 4A thereby advancing them through the main conveyor assembly 46 and within the guide channels 56. The movement of the flight assemblies 40 of the holding station 28 and the bars 60 of the main conveyor assembly 46 are synchronized to maintain a generally continuous flow of selected runners 14 through the system 10. As the runners 14 progress through the main conveyor assembly

46, they approach the secondary set of gutters 54 and are pushed upwardly onto the plateau member 66 by the bars 60 as shown in Fig. 5A. Once again, the runners 14 are guided and aligned in proper orientation for assembly with the deck sheets 16, 18 by the secondary set of gutters 54.

Upper and lower deck sheets 16, 18 are fed through the gluing station 80 in the direction of arrow D such that glue or adhesive is applied to at least one face of each deck sheet 16, 18 in the appropriate location for securing the runners 14 to the deck sheet 16, 18. Since the runners 14 are delivered to the assembly station 50 upside-down or inverted, the appropriate face of the deck sheet 16, 18 has the adhesive applied to it by the gluing station 80. The deck sheets 16, 18 are then passed in the direction of arrow D to the elevated platform 68 at the assembly and stacking station 50 as shown in Fig. 6A.

The assembled pallet 12 is then elevated by the scissor mechanisms 72 coupled to the elevating platform 68 in the direction of arrow E of Fig. 6A to the position shown in Fig. 7A. At this time, the supporting paddles 74 are extended toward each other to engage the lower surface of the pallet 12 as shown in Fig. 7A. At that time, the elevated platform 68 is lowered and the pallet 12 and any pallets stacked thereon are supported by the paddles 74. As subsequent pallets 12 are assembled on the now lowered platform 68, they are likewise elevated to support the previous lowermost pallet 12. As subsequent pallets 12 are raised to add to the stack of previously assembled pallets 12, the supporting paddles 74 are retracted and extended as required. Therefore, the most recently assembled pallets 12 are added to the stack of pallets as shown in Fig. 7A at the bottom and the weight of previously assembled pallets 12 adds pressure to the setting adhesive joining the runners 14 to the deck sheets 16, 18. The inventors estimate that each pallet 12, according to one embodiment of this invention, weighs approximately 17 pounds and a stack of approximately ten pallets produces approximately 170 pounds of force on the lowermost pallet thereby aiding in the formation and curing of the adhesive during assembly of the pallets.

From the above disclosure of the general principles of the present invention and the preceding detailed description of at least one preferred embodiment, those skilled in the art will readily comprehend the various modifications to which this invention is susceptible. Therefore, we desire to be limited only by the scope of the following claims and equivalents thereof.

We claim:

Claims

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1. A system for manufacturing a pallet having a plurality of spaced runners attached to one face of a deck sheet and adapted to support a load during transit and storage, the system comprising: a runner holding station adapted to receive a supply of runners; a conveyor adapted to transfer selected runners from the runner holding station; an assembly station adapted to receive at least one deck sheet and the selected runners from the conveyor and assemble them into a pallet; a gluing station for applying an adhesive to one of the deck sheet and the selected runners prior to assembly at the assembly station; and a stacking station adapted to receive each of the assembled pallets and form a stack of pallets with each newly added pallet being added to a bottom of the stack such that the weight of the stack is supported by the newly added pallet to set the adhesive joining the deck sheet and the selected runners of the newly added pallet together.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein the stacking station further comprises: an elevating platform adapted to raise and temporarily support the stack of assembled pallets.

3. The system of claim 2 wherein the stacking station further comprises: at least one paddle adapted to selectively support the stack of assembled pallets above the elevating platform as the elevating platform is lowered in preparation for a subsequent pallet to be added to the bottom of the stack. 4- The system of claim 3 wherein the paddle is selectively retracted and selectively extended to release the stack onto the elevating platform and support the stack during lowering of the elevating platform, respectively.

5. The system of claim 1 wherein the assembly station is adapted to receive an upper and a lower deck sheet each for assembly with the selected runners to form the pallet.

6. The system of claim 1 further comprising: a feed conveyor adapted to feed a plurality of the runners to the runner holding station.

7. The system of claim 6 wherein the feed conveyor is oriented generally perpendicular to the conveyor.

8. The system of claim 1 wherein the runner holding station further comprises: a flight of individual picker rods traversing in a closed loop path in which the picker rods are positioned to contact the selected runners at the runner holding station and advance them toward the assembly station.

9. The system of claim 1 further comprising: a plurality of guide channels juxtaposed to the conveyor to guide the selected runners toward the assembly station. io . A system for manufacturing a pallet having a plurality of spaced runners attached to one face of a deck sheet and adapted to support a load during transit and storage, the system comprising: a runner holding station adapted to receive a supply of runners; a conveyor adapted to transfer selected runners from the runner holding station; an assembly station adapted to receive an upper deck sheet and a lower deck sheet and the selected runners from the conveyor and assemble them into a pallet; a gluing station for applying an adhesive to each of the deck sheets prior to assembly with the selected runners at the assembly station; and a stacking station adapted to receive each of the assembled pallets and form a stack of pallets with each newly added pallet being added to a bottom of the stack such that the weight of the stack is supported by the newly added pallet to set the adhesive joining the deck sheet and the selected runners of the newly added pallet together; wherein the stacking station includes an elevating platform adapted to raise and temporarily support the stack of assembled pallets and a pair of paddles adapted to selectively support the stack of assembled pallets above the elevating platform as the elevating platform is lowered in preparation for a subsequent pallet to be added to the bottom of the stack; wherein the paddles are selectively retracted to release the stack onto the elevating platform and selectively extended to support the stack during lowering of the elevating platform.

11. The system of claim io further comprising: a feed conveyor adapted to feed a plurality of the runners to the runner holding station.

12. The system of claim ii wherein the feed conveyor is oriented generally perpendicular to the conveyor.

13. The system of claim 10 wherein the runner holding station further comprises: a flight of individual picker rods traversing in a closed loop path in which the picker rods are positioned to contact the selected runners at the runner holding station and advance them toward the assembly station.

14. The system of claim 10 further comprising: a plurality of guide channels juxtaposed to the conveyor to guide the selected runners toward the assembly station.

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15- A method of assembling a plurality of pallets comprising the steps of: adhesively bonding a plurality of runners in spaced relation to each other to a deck sheet to form an assembled pallet; stacldng a plurality of assembled pallets upon each other such that the weight of the stack is supported by the pallet at the bottom of the stack to set the adhesive joining the deck sheet and the selected runners of the bottom pallet together; and adding each newly assembled pallet to the bottom of the stack.

16. The method of claim 15 further comprising: raising the stack to accommodate insertion of each assembled pallet at the bottom of the stack.

17. The method of claim 15 adhesively bonding step further comprises: adhesively bonding both a both and upper and a lower deck sheet to the plurality of runners to form the assembled pallet.

18. The method of claim 15 further comprising: accumulating a supply of similarly oriented runners; and picking the plurality of runners from the supply for assembly into the pallet prior to the adhesively bonding step.

19. The method of claim 18 further comprising: conveying the plurality of runners from the supply along guide channels.

20. The method of claim 16 further comprising: temporarily supporting the raised stack of pallets to accommodate the insertion of an assembled pallet at the bottom of the stack.