Collapsible Shipping Tote with Foldable Panels and Hook-and-Loop Fasteners
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing shipping containers face challenges in achieving high return ratios due to inefficiencies in design, durability, and weight, leading to suboptimal reuse rates.
Innovation Solution
A collapsible shipping tote with a tubular body and foldable panels, utilizing hook-and-loop fasteners and sewn textile material for lightweight construction and easy customization, allowing for efficient reconfiguration between erected and collapsed states.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Weight of moving object
If traditional shipping containers are used, then durability is maintained, but weight is excessive and return ratios are low
Solution Approach 1:
The container employs dynamic panels that can transition between erect and collapsed configurations. The panels are designed to be rigid when erected for shipping but can be folded flat for return transport, allowing the container to adapt its structural properties based on operational needs rather than maintaining a fixed rigid structure throughout.
Solution Approach 2:
The container utilizes thin-walled panel structures that provide sufficient strength when erected but can be collapsed for return transport. These panels are designed with appropriate thickness and material properties to maintain durability during use while enabling lightweight collapse for efficient return journeys.
2Productivity
If collapsible design is implemented, then return ratios improve, but structural complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The container is divided into modular panels that can independently fold and collapse. Each panel is a discrete unit with standardized connection points, allowing the overall structure to be segmented into manageable sections that simplify the collapsing mechanism while maintaining structural integrity during erection.
Solution Approach 2:
Multiple functional elements are combined into integrated panel assemblies. The panels incorporate both structural support functions and collapsing mechanisms within unified components, reducing the number of separate parts and simplifying the overall structure despite the added collapsibility feature.
3Weight of moving object
If lightweight materials are used, then weight is reduced, but manufacturing precision requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The manufacturing method transitions from rigid material joining to textile-based sewn connections. This parameter change in the joining process allows for greater tolerance in panel dimensions and connection point locations, reducing the precision requirements compared to rigid metal or plastic assemblies while maintaining structural integrity.
Solution Approach 2:
The container employs composite construction combining textile panels with reinforcing elements. This composite approach allows the use of lightweight textile materials while incorporating strategic reinforcement at critical stress points through sewing patterns and panel design, achieving lightweight construction without requiring extreme manufacturing precision throughout the entire structure.
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 collapsible design enhances reuse rates by being lightweight, durable, and easily customizable, facilitating efficient use in shipping and assembly line applications while minimizing material waste.
Implementation Method 1
the fasteners may be hook-and-loop fasteners, such that the fastener parts are strips of textile material respectively comprising hooks and loops
Implementation Method 2
a substantial portion of each shipping tote is constructed of sewn textile material
Implementation Method 3
the body may have body panels that are respectively foldably connected to one another, so that the body can be reconfigured between the erected configuration and a collapsed configuration
Data Source
AI summary
A body of a collapsible shipping tote extends around an interior space of the tote while erected. The body has a series of body panels that are respectively foldably connected to one another so that the body can be reconfigured between the erected configuration and a collapsed configuration. The tote has end assemblies that each have an end panel and flaps respectively foldably connected to edges of the end panel. Each of the end assemblies is configured for being moved between an open configuration for opening a respective end of the body while the body is in the erected configuration, and a closed configuration for closing the respective end of the body while the body is in the erected configuration. Fasteners releasably secure the flaps to the body for releasably securing the body in the erected configuration.