Shopping Basket Pull Handle Guide Rail and Locking Mechanism
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing shopping baskets with pull handles are complex to assemble and costly to manufacture, requiring multiple parts and additional assembly steps, which increases investment and manufacturing costs.
Innovation Solution
A shopping basket design featuring a pull handle with a guide rail and guide tunnel, where the guide rail has a latching element that prevents complete removal, allowing for simplified assembly by inserting the guide rail into the tunnel and securing it with a locking mechanism, potentially eliminating the need for a multi-part handle and reducing manufacturing complexity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If multiple handle parts are used in existing shopping baskets, then the pull handle can be extended and retracted, but the assembly complexity and manufacturing costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the guide rail and locking element into a single integrated pull handle component. The guide rail is inserted as one piece through the guide tunnel, and the locking element is formed as an integral part of the guide rail, eliminating the need for separate handle parts and reducing assembly steps while maintaining the extension and retraction functionality.
Solution Approach 2:
The pull handle is divided into functional segments: the guide rail portion that slides through the guide tunnel and the locking element portion that engages with the guide tunnel. This segmentation allows the handle to perform multiple functions (guiding and locking) while remaining a simplified single-component structure that reduces assembly complexity.
2Ease of operation
If multiple handle parts are used, then the pull handle functionality is achieved, but the manufacturing costs and investment costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
By merging the guide rail and locking element into a single pull handle component, the patent reduces the number of parts that need to be manufactured, stored, and assembled. This integration directly reduces manufacturing costs and investment costs while preserving the full pull handle functionality of extension and retraction.
3Device complexity
If the guide rail is designed to be removable, then assembly is simplified, but the stability and reliability of the handle connection decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The locking element is designed to automatically engage with the guide tunnel upon insertion of the pull handle. This preliminary locking action ensures that the handle is securely connected before any operation begins, maintaining reliability while keeping the assembly process simple and straightforward.
Solution Approach 2:
The locking element is designed to self-engage with the guide tunnel structure when the pull handle is inserted. This self-locking mechanism provides reliable connection stability without requiring additional fastening operations or complex assembly procedures, thus maintaining both simplicity and reliability.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This design simplifies assembly, reduces production costs, and allows for a more stable and versatile pull handle that can be locked in an extended position for easy maneuvering, enabling both pulling and pushing the basket, while also being stackable and adaptable for additional baskets.
Implementation Method 1
the guide rail has at least one locking element that protrudes from an outer surface of the guide rail and, in the mounted state of the pull handle, prevents the guide rail from being completely pulled out of the guide tunnel
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention relates to a container (10) with a base (22) and a peripheral lateral wall (24) which adjoins the base (22). The base (22) and the lateral wall (24) delimit an inner region (26) of the container (10), and the container (10) is designed in a rollable manner. The container (10) additionally has a pull handle (12) with a guide rail (14) and a handle (16), and a guide tunnel (37) is provided in a region of the lateral wall (24) for guiding and at least partly receiving the guide rail (14) of the pull handle (12). The guide rail (14) has at least one latching element (38) which is lifted out of an outer surface of the guide rail (14) and prevents the guide rail (14) from being completely pulled out of the guide tunnel (37) in the assembled state of the pull handle (12).