Aerial Bucket Tool Tray with Sloped Ramps for Gloved Access
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Solution Overview
Problem
Utility linemen face difficulties in handling and manipulating small tools and hardware while wearing thick gloves, leading to lost hardware and reduced productivity due to the instability of tools on the lip of aerial buckets.
Innovation Solution
A tool tray apparatus with an interior tray section, attachment saddles for securing to aerial buckets, and sloped ramps for easy access, along with a removable dowel and stanchion for organizing hardware, and optional magnets for securing tools, addresses the challenge of handling small items with gloved hands.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If tools and hardware are stored on the lip of the aerial bucket, then they are easily accessible to linemen, but they have a high probability of falling off the lip
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a tray as an intermediary device between the aerial bucket lip and the tools. The tray attaches to the lip and provides a contained workspace with vertical walls that prevent tools from falling off, while still maintaining easy access for gloved hands to retrieve and manipulate hardware items.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If linemen wear thick electrically insulated gloves for safety, then they are protected from electrical hazards, but it becomes significantly more difficult to grasp and manipulate small objects
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the physical parameters of the storage surface by introducing vertical walls around the tray's interior surface. This creates a contained environment where small hardware items are prevented from rolling away, compensating for the reduced dexterity caused by thick gloves. The vertical walls provide a physical barrier that eliminates the need for precise manual control to prevent items from falling.
3Reliability
If a bag type storage device with pockets is used to contain tools, then tools are organized and contained, but linemen have great difficulty retrieving and manipulating specific items in the pockets
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the storage space by dividing it into a main tray area and separate compartments created by partitions. This segmentation organizes different types of hardware in distinct sections, making it easier for linemen to locate and retrieve specific items without having to search through a single large pocket or container. The partitions create visual and physical separation that aids in quick identification.
4Reliability
If the tray has high vertical walls to prevent tools from falling, then tool retention is improved, but access for gloved hands becomes more difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies partial action by providing vertical walls that extend only to a specific height - sufficient to prevent tools from falling off the aerial bucket lip, but not so high as to block access for gloved hands. The wall height is optimized to provide just enough containment while maintaining ease of retrieval and manipulation of hardware items.
Data Source
AI summary
Novel tool tray systems and devices. In at least one exemplary embodiment of a tray of the present disclosure, the tray comprises an interior tray section configured to receive one or more items, the interior tray at least partially surrounded by at least one sidewall having a height, a first ramp portion in communication with the interior tray section, the first ramp portion defining a sloping surface that extends from the interior tray section to a top of the at least one sidewall, wherein the at least one tray is configured to be secured to an inner lip of an aerial bucket liner.