Cement sack pallet and handling equipment

Claim 1

IN COMBINATION, A GENERALLY HORIZONTALLY EXTENDING PALLET FOR SUPPORTING COMMINUTED CEMENT FILLED SACKS IN POSITION FOR TRANSPORTATION AND STACKING, THE SACKS EACH HAVING OVERALL LENGTH AND WIDTH DIMENSIONS GREATER THAN THE SACK NOMINAL THICKNESS DIMENSIONS WHEN LAID FLAT AND FACE DOWN, COMPRISING A RELATIVELY STIFF CORRUGATED METAL SHEET FORMING MULTIPLE LATERALLY SPACED AND LONGITUDINALLY HORIZONTALLY EXTENDED RECESSES OPENING UPWARDLY ALONG THEIR LENGTHS AND HAVING OPEN ENDS, THE SHEET HAVING WALLS SPACED APART AT LATERALLY OPPOSITE SIDES OF EACH RECESS TO CONFINE AGAINST SPREADING APART BEYOND A PREDETERMINED LIMIT THE MAJOR FACES OF SACKS PLACED WIDTHWISE VERTICALLY IN THE RECESS, THE DEPTH OF EACH RECESS BEING SUBSTANTIALLY EQUAL TO THE DEPTH OF THE CEMENT IN THE SACK WHEN CONFINED IN THE RECESS, THE PALLET HAVING PLATEAU REGIONS EXTENDING OUTSIDE THE TOPS OF THE RECESES TO UNDERLIE ADDITIONAL SACKS STACKED FACE DOWN AND IN ADJACENT COLUMNS OVERLYING THE PLATEAU REGIONS AND RECESSES TO BE SUBSEQUENTLY SUPPORTED BY SACKS PREVIOUSLY PLACED IN SAID RECESSES AND AFTER PALLET REMOVAL FROM UNDERSUPPORTING RELATION TO ALL THE SACKS, SAID LIMIT BEING GREATER THAN SAID SACK NOMINAL THICKNESS DIMENSION, AND AN UPRIGHT SACK PUSHER FACING LONGITUDINALLY TOWARD THE ZONE DIRECTLY ABOVE THE PALLET AND HAVING LEGS DEPENDING INTO SAID RECESSES FOR APPLYING FORCE HORIZONTALLY AND LONGITUDINALLY AS THE PALLET IS REMOVED FROM BENEATH THE SACKS.