Beverage Crate with Constant-Diameter Pockets for Stacking Stability
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional beverage cases with tapered columns lack sufficient support for bottles, leading to instability when stacked, and fail to securely hold a wide variety of bottle shapes and sizes during shipping and storage.
Innovation Solution
A stackable crate design featuring central columns and pylons with orthogonal bottle-contacting surfaces, forming constant diameter pockets to securely hold bottles, and allowing for cross-stacking to enhance stability and safety.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If conventional cases use tapered columns to facilitate stacking, then stacking is easier, but bottle support and stacking stability are insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the geometric parameter of the columns from tapered to constant diameter, which maintains consistent bottle support throughout the column height while preserving stacking capability. This parameter change resolves the contradiction by providing both ease of stacking and improved stability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces bottle-contacting surfaces with specific orientations (orthogonal to the floor plane) at critical locations where bottles make contact. This local quality enhancement provides focused support at bottle contact points while maintaining overall structural simplicity for easy stacking.
2Ease of manufacture
If conventional cases use simple pocket structures, then manufacturing is simpler, but they fail to securely hold various bottle shapes
Solution Approach 1:
The patent enhances specific local regions of the pocket structure by adding bottle-contacting surfaces to the columns and pylons. These localized features provide secure contact points for various bottle shapes without requiring complete redesign of the entire pocket structure, thus maintaining manufacturing simplicity while improving versatility.
Solution Approach 2:
The constant diameter columns with orthogonal bottle-contacting surfaces serve multiple functions: they provide structural support for stacking, secure contact points for various bottle shapes, and maintain consistent geometry for manufacturing efficiency. This multi-functionality resolves the contradiction between simplicity and adaptability.
3Reliability
If cases are designed for stable stacking, then transportation safety improves, but storage space efficiency may be reduced
Solution Approach 1:
By changing from tapered to constant diameter columns, the patent optimizes the space utilization within the case structure. The constant diameter allows for more efficient packing of bottles and better nesting of stacked cases, improving storage space efficiency while maintaining transportation safety through enhanced bottle support.
Data Source
AI summary
A nestable crate or container for holding bottles. The crate has a floor portion substantially in a first plane having a plurality of bottle seating areas, with each bottle seating area being adapted to receive a lower portion of a bottle. The crate also includes a peripheral wall surrounding the floor portion and extending upward from the floor portion, a plurality of central columns extending upward from the floor portion and oriented proximate to a longitudinal centerline of the crate, and a plurality of pylons extending upward from the floor portion along the periphery of the crate. Each central column includes at least one first bottle-contacting surface and each pylon includes at least one second bottle-contacting surface. Both the first and second bottle contacting surfaces are substantially orthogonal to the first plane.