Cargo Support Receptacle for Corrugated Container Walls
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Solution Overview
Problem
Securing cargo support devices to corrugated shipping containers is challenging due to the corrugated walls, which lack a stable surface for attachment.
Innovation Solution
A device with a receptacle and lateral flaps that engage the corrugated surface at an acute angle, combined with a slot for a second elongated support to secure the device to the container's base, allowing for horizontal or vertical cargo support and restraint.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If cargo support devices are secured to shipping container walls, then cargo support and restraint is improved, but the corrugated wall surface prevents stable attachment
Solution Approach 1:
The device features a receptacle with a flat bottom surface specifically designed to engage with the corrugated wall surface, creating a localized stable attachment point. The lateral flaps extend at acute angles to specifically target and engage the corrugations, providing localized gripping action where needed while maintaining overall device stability.
Solution Approach 2:
The lateral flaps are configured with curved bottom surfaces that match the convex shape of the corrugations. This curvature allows the flaps to conform to and engage the rounded surfaces of the corrugations, creating effective mechanical interlocking despite the irregular wall surface.
2Ease of operation
If the device structure is simplified for easy installation, then ease of operation is improved, but securing mechanism reliability may be compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The device utilizes the existing corrugated structure of the shipping container walls as part of its securing mechanism. The lateral flaps are designed to engage the corrugations directly, converting the wall's structural features into a self-providing anchoring system that requires no additional fasteners or complex installation procedures.
Solution Approach 2:
The receptacle acts as an intermediary element between the elongated support and the corrugated wall. It provides a stable interface that translates the irregular wall surface into a secure attachment point, while the lateral flaps serve as intermediaries that engage the corrugations to prevent device rotation or displacement.
3Strength
If adhesive is applied to enhance attachment, then bonding strength is improved, but installation time and complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The device geometry, particularly the acute-angle lateral flaps and flat receptacle bottom, is pre-configured to provide mechanical engagement with the corrugated surface. This preliminary structural design ensures immediate mechanical stability upon installation, allowing adhesive to be applied as a supplementary bonding agent rather than the primary attachment mechanism, thereby reducing overall installation time.
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
The device effectively secures cargo by exerting tensile force on the corrugated walls, providing a stable deck for cargo support and restraint without requiring tools, while being inexpensive and reusable.
Implementation Method 1
the first elongated support is in compression and thus exerts a tensile or axial force on the devices and the walls
Implementation Method 2
causing the walls to exhibit resilient properties
Implementation Method 3
The device may also include an adhesive affixed to the bottom surface of the receptacle and the bottom surfaces of the lateral flaps
Data Source
AI summary
A device securable to a corrugated surface of a shipping container by an elongated support for supporting cargo within the shipping container. The device comprising a receptacle defining a cavity for receiving an end of the elongated support, the receptacle having a bottom surface forming a plane for engaging the corrugated surface of the shipping container; and a pair of lateral flaps associated with and disposed about the receptacle for engaging the corrugated surface, each lateral flap having a bottom surface, the bottom surface of each lateral flap extending at an acute angle relative to the plane for engaging the corrugated surface of the shipping container. The device may further define a slot for receiving an end of an other elongated support. A method of making with the device a deck for supporting cargo in a shipping container having a pair of opposed corrugated surface and a base.