Collapsible Extended-Length Bulk Bin Design
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing extended-length bulk bins are costly to produce and difficult to customize due to high tooling investment and handling challenges, leading to increased shipment costs and susceptibility to damage, especially when made from plastic.
Innovation Solution
A collapsible extended-length bulk bin design using identical plastic molded end pieces and standardized metal and sheet materials for internal connections, reducing tooling costs and allowing for easy length adjustment, with features like integrated hinges and latches to simplify construction and reduce part costs.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If custom extended-length containers are manufactured from various materials (plastic, wood, steel), then specific application requirements are met, but production cost increases significantly and recycling becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The container is divided into standardized end pieces and customizable intermediate sections. The end pieces are identical plastic molded components that can be mass-produced, while the intermediate sections can be adjusted in length and material to meet specific application requirements. This segmentation allows customization without requiring complete custom manufacturing of the entire container.
Solution Approach 2:
The standardized end pieces serve multiple functions across different container configurations and lengths. These universal components can be used in various extended-length container applications, reducing the need for application-specific custom parts while maintaining adaptability through different intermediate section configurations.
2Productivity
If plastic injection molds are used for extended-length bulk bins, then production efficiency increases, but capital investment in tooling becomes very high due to the size of the parts
Solution Approach 1:
The container design segments the structure into reusable end pieces and intermediate sections. The end pieces are molded as complete assemblies including integrated hinges, latches, and connection points, allowing them to be mass-produced with a single mold investment. This segmentation enables the expensive molded portions to be standardized while the less critical intermediate sections can be produced through simpler, lower-cost processes.
Solution Approach 2:
Multiple functional elements (hinges, latches, connection points, structural components) are merged into integrated plastic molded end pieces. This consolidation allows a single mold to produce complete functional assemblies rather than requiring separate molds for each component, significantly reducing total tooling investment while maintaining production efficiency.
3Adaptability or versatility
If larger container sizes are used to accommodate oversized products, then product fit improves, but the number of containers per trailer decreases, increasing shipment cost per container
Solution Approach 1:
The container system uses standardized end pieces that can be combined with intermediate sections of varying lengths. This allows containers to be precisely sized to match the dimensions of oversized products, minimizing wasted space within each container while maintaining the ability to stack and arrange multiple containers efficiently in a trailer.
Solution Approach 2:
The container length parameter can be adjusted by selecting different intermediate section lengths while keeping the end pieces standardized. This parameter change allows optimization of container size to closely fit oversized products, improving space utilization per container and potentially increasing the number of containers that can be efficiently loaded per trailer.
4Volume of stationary object
If plastic extended-length bulk bins are made larger, then capacity for oversized products increases, but handling with fork lifts becomes more difficult and damage susceptibility increases
Solution Approach 1:
The container is designed with standardized end pieces that concentrate the heavy structural components at the ends, creating balanced weight distribution that facilitates stable fork lift handling. The intermediate sections can be made lighter while maintaining overall structural integrity, allowing larger capacity without proportionally increasing handling difficulty.
Solution Approach 2:
The standardized end pieces act as intermediary structural elements that provide robust handling interfaces (fork lift pockets, lifting points) while supporting larger container capacities. These end pieces mediate between the large capacity requirement and the handling constraint by providing dedicated strength at the handling points without requiring the entire container structure to be oversized.
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention is directed to a flexible extended-length bulk bin comprising: a first plastic molded end piece; a second plastic molded end piece; a first rail extending from a first side of the first plastic molded end piece to the first side of the second plastic molded end piece; a second rail extend from a second side of the first plastic molded end piece to the second side of the second plastic molded end piece; and a first bottom panel extending between the first rail and the second rail.