Handling Container With Multiple Gripping Surfaces and Inverted Stacking
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing containers for transporting and pouring flowable materials lack multiple leverage points for secure handling, often leading to contamination issues and inadequate sanitation when not in use, especially when stacking or storing multiple vessels.
Innovation Solution
A container design featuring a closed bottom with multiple gripping surfaces, a pivotable handle, and posts or feet for non-nested stacking, allowing for secure handling and easy cleaning, along with a hanger for vertical suspension to prevent contamination and facilitate drainage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a single handle is provided on the container, then the device complexity is reduced, but the ease of operation deteriorates because users lack multiple leverage points for secure handling
Solution Approach 1:
The container is segmented by adding multiple gripping surfaces at different locations (side gripping surface, bottom gripping surface, and handle) instead of relying on a single handle. This segmentation provides users with multiple leverage points and choice of gripping locations based on their needs, directly improving ease of handling without requiring a completely complex new mechanism.
Solution Approach 2:
The container body itself is designed to serve multiple gripping functions through its geometry. The side portion, bottom portion, and handle all function as gripping surfaces, making the container multi-functional in terms of handling. This universal design allows the same structure to provide various leverage points without adding separate specialized devices.
2Reliability
If the container is allowed to rest on its bottom surface for storage, then the device complexity is reduced, but the reliability of sanitation deteriorates because contaminants on exterior surfaces can transfer to interior surfaces
Solution Approach 1:
The container is designed to be stored in an inverted position (open end downward) rather than resting on its bottom surface. This inversion prevents contaminants on the exterior bottom surface from contacting the interior bottom surface, maintaining sanitation integrity. The feet extending from the bottom surface facilitate this inverted storage by providing stable support in the reversed orientation.
Solution Approach 2:
The feet are extracted as separate elements from the bottom surface, allowing the container to be elevated and stored inverted. This separation enables the bottom surface to serve dual purposes: providing structural support when upright and facilitating inverted storage when flipped, thereby protecting the interior from contamination without requiring a completely new storage system.
3Ease of operation
If multiple gripping surfaces are added to the container, then the ease of operation is improved, but the ease of manufacture deteriorates due to increased molding complexity
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple gripping surfaces (side gripping surface, bottom gripping surface, and handle) are merged into a single integrated container structure rather than being separate components. This combining allows all gripping features to be formed in one molding operation, improving ease of gripping while avoiding the manufacturing complexity of assembling multiple separate parts.
Solution Approach 2:
The container body is designed with universal multi-functionality where the same structural elements (side walls, bottom, handle) serve both structural and gripping functions. This multi-functionality reduces the need for additional specialized gripping components, maintaining ease of manufacture while providing multiple gripping options.
4Volume of moving object
If containers are stacked in a nested arrangement for storage, then the volume efficiency is improved, but the sanitation reliability deteriorates because contaminants can transfer between nested containers
Solution Approach 1:
Containers are designed to be stacked in an inverted arrangement (open ends facing each other) rather than nested with open ends outward. This inverted stacking prevents exterior surfaces from contacting interior surfaces of adjacent containers, maintaining sanitation reliability while still achieving compact vertical storage. The feet facilitate this inverted stacking by providing stable contact points.
Data Source
AI summary
A container assembly for carrying and pouring flowable materials and that includes a bucket that is defined by a closed bottom portion, an upstanding side portion, and an upper rim area that at least partially defines an open top. A handle is attached near the upper rim area and a plurality of gripping surfaces are located in the closed bottom portion of the bucket and/or defined by the side portion to permit multiple means of gripping the container. The container includes one or more posts or feet that facilitate a stacked and only partially nested association between containers oriented in a vertically stacked configuration.