Appeal No. 2002-0074 Page 10
Application No. 08/800,758
longitudinal base beams 52, a pair of lower horizontal end beams 54, four vertical
intermediate posts 62, four corner posts 60, a pair of upper horizontal end beams 64
and the conveyors 50.
Evans describes the method of operation of his system (column 5, lines 8-46) as
follows:
In operation, a pair of caskets 22 which are to be loaded in a rack 20 are
rolled longitudinally through an end of pallet 24 onto the upper and lower decks
formed by the conveyors 50. At this time the stop assemblies 78 are pivoted to
open position on the end through which the caskets 22 are loaded. When the
caskets 22 are fully mounted on the platforms of the pallet 24 the stop
assemblies 78 are pivoted to closed position. Then a lift truck 26 is driven to the
pallet 24 and its fork prongs 80 are guided into the fork receiving channels 56 of
the pallet 24. The lift truck 26 carries the pallet 24 and caskets 22 loaded
thereon to a rack 20 and is turned so that the longitudinal axis of pallet 24 is
aligned with the longitudinal axis of rack 22 and is also positioned directly in
alignment with one of the three rows of storage spaces on either end of the rack
20.
Then the pallet 24 is elevated by the lift truck 26 until one of the decks
thereof is substantially in horizontal alignment with a shelf of rack 20 having a
vacant space in which a casket 22 is desired to be stored. At this time a
workman opens the stop assembly 78 on the adjacent end of pallet 24 and rolls
a casket 22 therefrom over a roller 48 in the rack 20 and lodges its forward end
in a slide assembly 40 which has been slid outwardly to receive the casket 22.
The job is completed by pushing casket 22 into the rack 20 which causes the
engaged slide assembly 40 to slide inwardly until it rests against a slide stop 47.
In a like manner as many caskets 22 as there are available vacant spaces
in rack 20 may be loaded therein. To unload a casket 22 from rack 20 the
loading procedure is reversed. That is, the forklift truck 26 carries a pallet 24
adjacent to an end of rack 20 so that one of the decks of pallet 24 is in
longitudinal alignment with the space on a shelf of rack 20 from which a casket
22 is desired to be removed. The stop assembly 78 on the deck to be loaded is
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