Patent ID: 7802527

Claim:
A pallet comprising: first, second, third, and fourth pallet units, each pallet unit having a respective supporting surface comprising a front edge, a rear edge, and a first side edge extending from the front edge to the rear edge, each pallet unit further comprising a first side wall depending from the first side edge, the first side wall extending from the front edge to the rear edge; wherein: the first side wall of the first pallet unit is adjacent to the first side wall of the second pallet; the first side wall of the third pallet unit is adjacent to the first side wall of the fourth pallet unit; the rear edge of the first pallet unit is adjacent to the front edge of the third pallet unit: and the rear edge of the second pallet unit is adjacent to the front edge of the fourth pallet unit; the first side walls of the first and second pallets each define respective first and second grooves each having open ends proximate the respective front and rear edges, the first and second grooves facing each other, being aligned with each other, and lying in a same first plane; the first side walls of the third and fourth pallets each define respective third and fourth grooves each having open ends proximate the respective front and rear edges, the third and fourth grooves facing each other, being aligned with each other and lying in the same first plane; and an open end of the first groove being adjacent to an open end of the third groove and an open end of the second groove being adjacent to an open end of the fourth groove, such that the first, second, third and fourth grooves are aligned and lie in the same first plane; the pallet further comprising: a single connecting member within the entire first, second, third, and fourth grooves to connect the first, second, third, and fourth pallet units to each other, the single connecting member extending an entire length from the front edges of the first and second pallets to the rear edges of the third and fourth pallets.