IP Library › Granted Patent US 12,617,580
Granted Patent B2
US 12,617,580 · App. 18/785,347 · Granted May 5, 2026

Digitalizable and returnable packaging structure for various modular items

Inventor: Duyuan Yu (Monticello, NY)
B65D19/004B65D71/0096B65D2519/00034B65D2519/00069B65D2519/00268B65D2519/00288B65D2519/00318B65D2519/00338B65D2519/00412B65D2519/00825
View Patent ↗
Loading inventors, assignments & file history…
Monitor This Case
Get email alerts when status or documents change.
Order Certified Copies
Most orders are placed with the USPTO same day — all within 24 business hours.
Order via The Patent Place →
Pre-filled with this patent's details
Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 12,617,580
App. No.
18/785,347
Granted
May 5, 2026
Kind
B2
Abstract

This invention presents a digitalizable, returnable packaging structure for a range of modular items, such as photovoltaic modules, combining environmental sustainability with advanced technology. Central to this design is a pallet featuring equidistantly spaced and concavely shaped support legs with reinforcement grooves for stability. These legs also have electronic labels (RFID, barcode, QR code) for efficient tracking. Stacked on top of the pallet is a packaging box, or multiple boxes, secured by a cover plate with placement slots and banding notches, along with binding straps for added stability. The pallet body includes side strips for module placement and features like side slots and circular grooves to optimize weight and integrity. This design ensures secure packaging and efficient transport, reducing recognition errors. Using plastic materials provides cost savings and environmental benefits, significantly enhancing photovoltaic module packaging.

Claims (29)

1 . A digitalizable and returnable packaging structure for various modular items, comprising:

a pallet with a pallet body having sides and an upper end and an opposed lower end;

a plurality of side strips affixed to an outer portion of the upper end of said pallet body;

a plurality of side slots on the sides of said pallet body;

a plurality of grooves arranged at either the upper end or the lower end of said pallet body;

a plurality of strap slots at the lower end of said pallet body;

a plurality of concavely shaped support legs integrally formed with and extending downwards from said pallet body;

a plurality of label positions on the exterior of said support legs; and

a cover plate positioned on an upper end of a packaging box.

2 . The packaging structure of claim 1 , further comprising a plurality of binding straps for securing said pallet, packaging box, and cover plate.

3 . The packaging structure of claim 1 , wherein said side strips are arranged in multiple equidistant sections along the outer portion of the upper end of said pallet body, with gaps between adjacent said side strips.

4 . The packaging structure of claim 1 , wherein said grooves are equidistantly arranged.

5 . The packaging structure of claim 4 , wherein each of said grooves is substantially circular in shape.

6 . The packaging structure of claim 1 , wherein said support legs are equidistantly arranged and are organized into between four and six columns within said pallet body.

7 . The packaging structure of claim 6 , wherein each of said support legs further comprises internal reinforcement grooves.

8 . The packaging structure of claim 1 , wherein said label positions are correspondingly established on the outermost said support legs.

9 . The packaging structure of claim 8 , wherein said label positions contain electronic labels, configured in a tripartite format comprising RFID, barcode, and QR code components.

10 . The packaging structure of claim 1 , wherein said cover plate comprises:

a cover plate body having an upper end and an opposed lower end and adjoining the upper end of said packaging box, and placement slots and banding notches located at the upper end of said cover plate body.

11 . A digitalizable and returnable packaging structure for various modular items, comprising:

a pallet with a pallet body having sides and an upper end and an opposed lower end;

a plurality of side strips affixed to an outer portion of the upper end of said pallet body, arranged in multiple equidistant sections along the outer portion of the upper end of said pallet body, with gaps between adjacent said side strips;

a plurality of side slots on the sides of said pallet body;

a plurality of grooves arranged at either the upper end or the lower end of said pallet body, equidistantly arranged, wherein each of said grooves is substantially circular in shape;

a plurality of strap slots at the lower end of said pallet body;

a plurality of concavely shaped support legs integrally formed with and extending downwards from said pallet body, equidistantly arranged and organized into between four and six columns within said pallet body, each of said support legs further comprising internal reinforcement grooves;

a plurality of label positions on the exterior of said support legs, correspondingly established on the outermost said support legs, containing electronic labels configured in a tripartite format comprising RFID, barcode, and QR code components; and

a cover plate positioned on an upper end of a packaging box, said cover plate comprising a cover plate body having an upper end and an opposed lower end and adjoining the upper end of said packaging box, with placement slots and banding notches located at the upper end of said cover plate body.

12 . The packaging structure of claim 11 , further comprising a plurality of binding straps for securing said pallet, packaging box, and cover plate.

Continuity (2)
Provisional Application 63624937 · Jan 25, 2024
Related Publication 20250242967A1 · Jul 31, 2025
References Cited (74)
US 3828965A · Yarbrough · 1974 [cited by applicant]
US 5052307A · Morrison · 1991 [cited by applicant]
US 5566624A · Brown et al. · 1996 [cited by applicant]
US 5755162A · Knight et al. · 1998 [cited by applicant]
US 7819068B2 · Apps et al. · 2010 [cited by applicant]
US 7948384B1 · Kennedy · 2011 [cited by applicant]
US 8146771B1 · Segeleon · 2012 [cited by examiner]
US 8511239B2 · Lin · 2013 [cited by applicant]
US 8697801B2 · Zwick · 2014 [cited by examiner]
US 11420790B2 · Neeld · 2022 [cited by examiner]
US 11427385B1 · Cutter · 2022 [cited by applicant]
US 11851239B2 · Lopez Uran et al. · 2023 [cited by applicant]
US 11866250B2 · Argentti · 2024 [cited by examiner]
US 20040025757A1 · Fan · 2004 [cited by examiner]
US 20050199623A1 · Elder et al. · 2005 [cited by applicant]
US 20080143514A1 · Valentinsson · 2008 [cited by applicant]
US 20090050030A1 · Apps et al. · 2009 [cited by applicant]
US 20110005433A1 · Pichereau · 2011 [cited by applicant]
US 20110061572A1 · Liu et al. · 2011 [cited by applicant]
US 20110132801A1 · Elder · 2011 [cited by applicant]
US 20110265695A1 · Moore et al. · 2011 [cited by applicant]
US 20130174762A1 · Hedley et al. · 2013 [cited by applicant]
US 20130274387A1 · Zwick · 2013 [cited by applicant]
US 20140000218A1 · Kelly · 2014 [cited by examiner]
US 20140231429A1 · Frankenberg · 2014 [cited by applicant]
US 20150135999A1 · Takyar et al. · 2015 [cited by applicant]
US 20150284169A1 · Nehring · 2015 [cited by applicant]
US 20170081075A1 · Bruce et al. · 2017 [cited by applicant]
US 20170137212A1 · Erm · 2017 [cited by applicant]
US 20170327271A1 · Spadavecchia · 2017 [cited by applicant]
US 20190168912A1 · de Bokx et al. · 2019 [cited by applicant]
US 20200062449A1 · Marovac et al. · 2020 [cited by applicant]
US 20200109004A1 · Martin, Jr. et al. · 2020 [cited by applicant]
US 20200317398A1 · Gordon · 2020 [cited by applicant]
US 20210053722A1 · Berman et al. · 2021 [cited by applicant]
US 20210276761A1 · Banik · 2021 [cited by applicant]
US 20210362905A1 · Bangalore et al. · 2021 [cited by applicant]
US 20220097907A1 · Neeld · 2022 [cited by applicant]
US 20220120491A1 · Lee et al. · 2022 [cited by applicant]
US 20220144540A1 · Argentti · 2022 [cited by applicant]
US 20220258915A1 · Srichai · 2022 [cited by applicant]
US 20220287284A1 · Martínez Escribano et al. · 2022 [cited by applicant]
US 20230196054A1 · Dwyer et al. · 2023 [cited by applicant]
US 20230202711A1 · Feider et al. · 2023 [cited by applicant]
US 20230312171A1 · Vinke · 2023 [cited by applicant]
US 20230356885A1 · Baker et al. · 2023 [cited by applicant]
US 20240017880A1 · Asensio Cotillas et al. · 2024 [cited by applicant]
CN 104680346A · 2015 [cited by applicant]
CN 204957317U · 2016 [cited by applicant]
CN 110316452A · 2019 [cited by applicant]
CN 211568714U · 2020 [cited by applicant]
CN 213594760U · 2021 [cited by applicant]
CN 214777344U · 2021 [cited by applicant]
CN 113911505A · 2022 [cited by applicant]
CN 215437403U · 2022 [cited by applicant]
CN 115959359A · 2023 [cited by applicant]
CN 117228123A · 2023 [cited by applicant]
DE 29608831U1 · 1996 [cited by applicant]
DE 102005004839A1 · 2006 [cited by applicant]
DE 102005059950A1 · 2007 [cited by applicant]
DE 102008006924A1 · 2009 [cited by applicant]
DE 102009038963A1 · 2011 [cited by applicant]
EP 1731434A1 · 2006 [cited by applicant]
WO WO2011092652A2 · 2011 [cited by applicant]
Industry News, Jun. 27, 2024, Shanghai Huayuan Electronic Co. Ltd., https://www.huayuansh.com/why-use-rfid-pallet-tags-for-supply-chain-automation/. [cited by applicant]
“Module Packaging,” 2022, Enlog LLC., https://www.enlog.us/packaging. [cited by applicant]
“Pallet Level Tagging: Using RFID to Track Pallet Loads,” Supply Chain Traceability, May 30, 2024, iGPS,https://igps.net/pallet-level-tagging-using-rfid-to-track-pallet-loads/. [cited by applicant]
“Lip service: Does size really matter?” Latest News, Jan. 6, 2017, goplasticpallets.com, https://www.goplasticpallets.com/news/pallet-lips-size-matters. [cited by applicant]
“Adjustable, collapsible, reusable pallets engineered for solar panels.” 2024, Pvpallet, Inc., https://www.pvpallet.com/solar-panel-pallet. [cited by applicant]
Mar. 8, 2019, Polymer Solutions International, Inc., https://prostack.com/2019/03/08/choosing-rfid-pallets/. [cited by applicant]
“Supply Chain Intelligence with Built-in RFID,” 2023, iGPS, https://igps.net/resources/rfid-tracking/. [cited by applicant]
2024, SimplyRFID, https://www.simplyrfid.com/faq/how-do-i-tag-pallets-with-rfid/. [cited by applicant]
SmartX HUB, https://smartxhub.com/how-we-can-improve-rti-returnable-transportation-items-reusable-assets-flow/. [cited by applicant]
Claire Swedberg, “Asset-Tracking Technology Helps iGPS Rescue Its Pallets,” RFID Journal, Mar. 5, 2012. [cited by applicant]