Adjustable Leg Crate Maintaining Horizontal Orientation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing food delivery equipment, such as trays with fixed legs, cannot maintain a horizontal surface on varying support surfaces, leading to inefficiencies and increased risk of food spillage or damage during transport.
Innovation Solution
A collapsible crate with an adjustable leg that can rotate between a stored and extended configuration, allowing the crate to maintain a horizontal orientation on both horizontal and sloped surfaces, and featuring additional components like a grate, divider, and storable cup holders for secure food transport.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a fixed leg is used in the crate, then the structure is simple and easy to manufacture, but the crate cannot maintain a horizontal surface on varying support surfaces
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies the dynamics principle by transforming the fixed leg into an adjustable leg that can rotate between a stored configuration (parallel to the base panel) and an extended configuration (extending away from the crate). This rotational movement allows the leg to adapt to varying support surfaces while maintaining a relatively simple structural design through the use of a pivot slot and leg pin mechanism.
2Reliability
If an adjustable leg is added to the crate, then the crate can maintain horizontal orientation on sloped surfaces, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies segmentation by dividing the leg mechanism into distinct components: the leg itself, the leg pin, and the pivot slot with pivot sections. This segmentation allows each component to perform its specific function while keeping the overall mechanism simple and easy to manufacture, thereby improving reliability without excessive complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The adjustable leg mechanism uses dynamics to provide rotational movement between stored and extended configurations. The leg pin rotating within the pivot slot allows the leg to extend at different angles, ensuring the crate maintains horizontal orientation on sloped surfaces while using a simple mechanical mechanism.
3Reliability
If the leg is always extended, then the crate maintains stability on sloped surfaces, but the crate cannot be efficiently stored or transported
Solution Approach 1:
The adjustable leg provides dynamic configuration, allowing it to rotate between an extended position (for stability on sloped surfaces) and a stored position (parallel to the base panel for compact storage). This dynamic capability enables the crate to maintain reliability when needed while minimizing storage volume during transport.
Solution Approach 2:
When the leg is in the stored configuration, it lies substantially parallel to the base panel and can be fully received within the bottom recess of the crate. This nesting arrangement minimizes the overall volume of the crate when storage is required, while still providing the capability to extend for stability when needed.
4Adaptability or versatility
If the leg rotates to extend away from the crate, then the crate can be used on sloped surfaces, but the structural complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The leg mechanism is segmented into simple, manufacturable components: a leg pin that rotates within a pivot slot defined by opposing projections. This segmentation allows each part to be manufactured separately using standard machining processes, maintaining ease of manufacture while enabling rotational movement for adaptability.
Solution Approach 2:
The rotational movement of the leg is achieved through a simple pivot mechanism consisting of a leg pin and pivot slot with pivot sections. This dynamic mechanism allows the leg to extend at different angles for usability on different surfaces while maintaining manufacturing simplicity through the use of basic mechanical elements.
Data Source
AI summary
A crate can include a base panel that defines a bottom surface of the crate and a plurality of side panels extending upwardly from the base panel to define an interior cavity of the crate. The crate can further include an adjustable leg that can be moveably coupled to the base panel. The adjustable leg can be configured to move relative to the base panel between a stored configuration, wherein the adjustable leg is substantially parallel with the base panel, and an extended configuration, where the adjustable leg extends away from the plurality of side panels.