Bucket Lid and Stacking Lug Design for Easy De-Nesting
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Solution Overview
Problem
Nested buckets often experience vacuum or friction issues, making them difficult to separate, and there is a need for a bucket that can maintain a suitable environment for transporting perishable goods by controlling the headspace gas composition.
Innovation Solution
A bucket design with a lid featuring a septum for injecting inert gases, combined with stacking lugs to reduce friction and a gas barrier material for maintaining a controlled atmosphere, allowing for easier nesting and extended storage of perishable items.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Volume of moving object
If buckets are nested tightly to save space, then storage efficiency is improved, but vacuum or friction forms between buckets making separation difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The bucket is divided into a body portion and a separate lid portion that can be independently manipulated. The lid can be removed from the nested bucket configuration, allowing the body portions to nest tightly while the lids remain accessible for easy separation of nested buckets.
Solution Approach 2:
A breaking mechanism is provided on the lid that can engage with the nested bucket to create a breaking force, separating the vacuum seal between nested buckets. This intermediary mechanism allows easy separation without directly manipulating the nested buckets themselves.
2Strength
If buckets are made with sufficient strength to serve as seating, then structural strength is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The bucket lid is designed to serve multiple functions: it acts as a closure for the bucket, a component for nesting configurations, and when combined with the body, forms a seat capable of supporting human weight. This multi-functionality allows the same structure to achieve both strength requirements and simple design.
3Reliability
If headspace is flushed with inert gases to preserve perishable goods, then product preservation is improved, but device complexity increases due to additional components needed
Solution Approach 1:
The lid serves multiple functions including providing access to the bucket interior, serving as a breaking mechanism for separation, and providing access to the headspace for gas flushing operations. This consolidation of functions into a single component achieves product preservation without proportionally increasing device complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The lid design allows users to easily access the headspace for gas flushing without requiring complex sealing mechanisms or specialized equipment. The simple removable lid design enables self-service gas flushing operations that preserve perishable goods while maintaining design simplicity.
Data Source
AI summary
The receptacle including stacking lugs to help reduce vacuum and friction when de-nesting the receptacles. The receptacle including a lid that helps when storing certain types of goods and/or serves as a seat. A septum or receptacle molded into the lid to allow for injection of inert gases or flushing headspace.