Bucket Connector Air Gap Mechanism for Stacked Storage
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Solution Overview
Problem
Standard 5-gallon buckets often stick together when nested and stacked, making them difficult to transport and separate due to frictional forces caused by heat expansion, weight, or dirt accumulation, and there is a need for a secure connection that allows easy stacking and separation.
Innovation Solution
A bucket connector that can be attached to standard buckets with converging sidewalls, featuring a biasing arm with a hook to capture the upper lip of a lower bucket and a stop surface to limit downward movement, creating an air gap between the buckets to prevent friction and allow easy separation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Volume of moving object
If buckets are nested and stacked tightly to save space, then storage compactness is improved, but the buckets become stuck together due to frictional forces making separation difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary component (the connector with protrusion and recess) between the upper and lower buckets. This intermediary mechanism allows the buckets to be tightly nested for compact storage while providing a controlled interface that prevents the buckets from sticking together, enabling easy separation when needed.
Solution Approach 2:
The connector is divided into separate functional elements: a protrusion that engages with a recess, a biasing arm for automatic engagement, and a hook for securing. This segmentation allows each component to perform its specific function independently, enabling compact nesting while maintaining ease of separation through the modular design.
2Volume of moving object
If the upper bucket is inserted deeper into the lower bucket to maximize nesting, then storage compactness is improved, but frictional forces increase making separation more difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The connector acts as a mediator between the upper and lower buckets, allowing maximum nesting depth while preventing direct contact between the bucket surfaces. The protrusion and recess mechanism maintains the necessary clearance to reduce frictional forces even when the buckets are inserted deeply.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts the friction problem from the nesting configuration by introducing the connector mechanism. This separates the nesting function (maximizing compactness) from the separation function (reducing friction), allowing both objectives to be achieved simultaneously through the designed interface.
3Reliability
If a secure locking mechanism is added to hold buckets together, then stacking security is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The connector is designed to be self-servicing through the biasing arm that automatically engages with the protrusion and recess when the buckets are nested. This automatic engagement provides secure locking without requiring additional complex mechanisms or manual intervention, maintaining simplicity while ensuring reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
Multiple functions are merged into a single connector component: the protrusion and recess provide alignment and positioning, the biasing arm provides automatic engagement and security, and the hook provides additional locking. This merging reduces overall device complexity while achieving reliable stacking security.
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
Enables secure stacking and easy transportation of buckets using the handle on the upper bucket while maintaining an air gap to prevent sticking, allowing for effortless separation by applying a deforming force to disengage the hook.
Implementation Method 1
The air gap prevents the sidewalls of the two buckets from touching and creating frictional forces that prevent their separation
Data Source
AI summary
A connector is used to securely attach two nested, stacked buckets so they may be easily transported using the handle on the upper bucket but also maintains an air gap between the sidewalls of the buckets when in a nested, stacked configuration, enabling the buckets to be easily separated. Each bucket connector includes a biasing arm extending downward from an apron formed on the buckets. The biasing arm includes a hook that automatically engages the upper lip onto a lower bucket when the upper bucket is stacked inside the storage cavity formed in the lower bucket. The biasing arm disengages the hook from the upper lip. Formed on the biasing arm is a stop surface configured to limit the downward movement of the upper bucket into the storage cavity. The stop surface forms an air gap between adjacent sidewalls when the upper bucket is stacked over the lower bucket.