Collapsible Container Sliding Support Members for Ergonomic Access
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing container designs often require workers to walk around or bend to access products, leading to ergonomic strain and increased risk of injury, and they may not maximize product density, resulting in higher shipping costs due to reduced capacity.
Innovation Solution
A container with sliding support members and rollers that allow products to be easily accessed from the front, reducing the need for workers to stretch or reach, and featuring multiple layers for increased density and efficient loading/unloading, with stabilizers to prevent rotation and maintain orientation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If products are stored in containers requiring workers to walk around or bend to access them, then product storage capacity is maximized, but worker ergonomic safety deteriorates due to strain and injury risk
Solution Approach 1:
The support members are designed to be movable along tracks within the container, allowing the storage levels to dynamically adjust position. This enables products to be moved closer to the worker's optimal working zone, eliminating the need for workers to bend or reach excessively while maintaining high storage capacity through multiple adjustable levels.
Solution Approach 2:
The container is divided into multiple independent support members that can move separately along tracks. This segmentation allows different sections of the container to be accessed independently, and support members can be positioned to optimize worker access without compromising overall storage capacity.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If container length is reduced to eliminate the need for workers to walk around, then worker safety improves, but product storage capacity decreases
Solution Approach 1:
Movable support members allow the effective storage space to be optimized within a compact container length. The support members can be repositioned to accommodate different product sizes and access requirements, maximizing storage capacity without increasing container dimensions that would require worker movement.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention utilizes vertical movement of support members along tracks rather than horizontal container extension. This dimensional change allows multiple storage levels to be accessed from a single location, maintaining high storage capacity while keeping the container length compact enough that workers don't need to walk around.
3Productivity
If multiple layers of products are stored to increase density, then shipping efficiency improves, but worker ergonomic safety deteriorates due to bending and reaching
Solution Approach 1:
The movable support members in multiple layers can be independently repositioned along vertical tracks. This allows workers to bring lower layers closer to optimal access height by moving the support members upward, maintaining high shipping efficiency through multi-layer storage while eliminating the need to bend or reach excessively for lower layers.
Solution Approach 2:
The movable support members act as intermediaries between the fixed container structure and the products. They mediate the access problem by providing a mechanism to bring products from lower layers closer to the worker, reducing ergonomic strain while preserving the benefits of multi-layer high-density storage.
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 design enhances ergonomic safety by reducing strain on workers and increases product density, thereby improving efficiency and reducing shipping costs by allowing more products to be transported in a single container.
Implementation Method 1
rollers move along tracks within the container
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention provides a collapsible container for holding product therein during shipment and being returned for reuse that has a collapsible body, tracks attached to opposite sides of the collapsible body, and a plurality of support members extending between the tracks. Sliders are located at the ends of flexible supports, the sliders being slidable in the tracks to move the support members. The support members support dunnage for supporting products for storage or shipment.