Reusable Container With Alignment Lugs For Modular Stacking
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional containers used for transporting liquids in disaster situations become burdensome to dispose of and lack secondary uses that could aid in building or rebuilding efforts, as they often end up as litter due to the absence of proper disposal methods.
Innovation Solution
A multipurpose reusable container system that allows for vertical and horizontal stacking, featuring alignment features for easy assembly, and can be filled with substances like sand or soil to provide structural support, enabling the containers to form walls or barriers without requiring additional fasteners or modifications.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If conventional containers are used for transporting liquids, then liquid transportation function is achieved, but the containers become waste and lack secondary uses
Solution Approach 1:
The container is designed to perform multiple functions: first as a liquid transportation container, then as a structural building block. The container's geometry with flat primary and secondary faces, along with alignment features, enables it to function as a modular construction element after liquid transport, eliminating waste by giving the container a second life in disaster recovery shelter construction
Solution Approach 2:
The container transitions from holding liquid to being filled with flowable building materials like sand or soil. This parameter change in contents enables the container to transform from a transportation vessel to a structural element that can form walls or barriers in temporary shelters
2Stability of the object's composition
If containers are designed for stacking, then structural stability is improved, but alignment precision becomes more difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The alignment features (protrusions and recesses) are integrated directly into the container structure itself, allowing the container to self-align with adjacent containers during stacking. This eliminates the need for separate alignment tools or complex adjustment mechanisms, achieving both stable stacking and precise alignment through the container's own geometric features
Solution Approach 2:
The alignment features utilize asymmetric geometry with specific protrusions and complementary recesses that guide containers into precise alignment positions during stacking. This asymmetric design ensures proper orientation and stable configuration without requiring high-precision manufacturing tolerances across all surfaces
3Loss of substance
If containers are used as structural elements, then waste reduction is achieved, but additional fasteners or modifications are required
Solution Approach 1:
The container integrates multiple functions into a single structure: liquid containment, stacking capability, alignment features, and structural load-bearing capacity. By merging these functions into the container itself, the system eliminates the need for separate fasteners, connectors, or modification components, reducing overall system complexity while achieving waste reduction
Data Source
AI summary
A system may include at least one multipurpose container with a bottle portion and a cap portion, and the bottle portion may include a bottle wall about the interior and forming an outer surface. The outer surface may have primary faces configured to permit vertical stacking of the container on another container in a stack of containers, and secondary faces. Alignment features may facilitate alignment of the bottle portions in a stack of containers, and at least a pair of the alignment features may be located on the primary faces. The alignment features may include at least one aligning lug located on and protruding from the first primary face and at least one aligning recess located on and depressed into the second primary face to removably receive the at least one aligning lug of a said container in the stack of containers.