Core Tray With Integrated Handles and Stacking Ribs
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing core trays lack standardization and ergonomic design, making them difficult to handle, stack, and identify, particularly in diverse mining and geological applications where different sizes and materials are used, and they often fail to protect samples from environmental factors.
Innovation Solution
A core tray with integrally formed handles on both axes, ribbed channels for sample support, and a flat underside for easy sliding, along with color coding and RFID capabilities, designed to facilitate handling, stacking, and electronic identification, while being made from UV-stabilized plastics to withstand environmental exposure.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If core trays are made from traditional materials (wood, metal, plastic) without standardized design, then local resource availability and manufacturing skills are utilized, but the trays become difficult to handle, stack, and identify across different mining operations
Solution Approach 1:
The core tray is designed with standardized dimensions and features that make it universally applicable across different mining operations. The tray includes integrated handles on opposite sides for easy carrying, stacking ribs on the bottom surface for stable stacking, and color-coding capabilities for quick identification. These universal features resolve the contradiction by providing ease of operation without increasing device complexity, as the standardization itself simplifies the overall system.
Solution Approach 2:
The tray incorporates color-coding capabilities through colored inserts or markings that allow for quick visual identification of different core sample types or locations. This addresses the identification difficulty mentioned in the contradiction while maintaining simple tray structure, thus improving ease of operation without adding complexity.
2Reliability
If core trays lack ergonomic design features, then manufacturing is simpler, but user safety and efficiency in handling are reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The tray design segments the handling function by incorporating integrated handles as separate structural elements within the tray body. These handles are positioned at opposite sides and shaped for ergonomic gripping, allowing users to safely carry the tray even when it contains heavy core samples. This segmentation improves reliability by dedicating specific structural elements to the handling function without making the overall device complex.
Solution Approach 2:
The tray incorporates stacking ribs that extend vertically from the bottom surface, creating a third dimension for stacking functionality. These ribs allow trays to be stacked securely on top of each other, improving safety by preventing accidental displacement and efficiency by enabling compact storage. The vertical dimension addition resolves the contradiction by improving reliability without significantly increasing device complexity.
3Productivity
If core trays are not designed for stacking, then manufacturing is simpler, but storage space utilization and transport efficiency are reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The tray design incorporates nesting capabilities through complementary stacking features: protruding stacking ribs on the bottom surface of one tray fit into recesses on the top surface of another tray. This nested arrangement allows multiple trays to be stacked vertically, dramatically improving storage space utilization and transport efficiency. The nesting principle resolves the contradiction by enabling compact stacking without significantly increasing the complexity of individual tray manufacturing.
Data Source
AI summary
A core tray is provided, comprising a body including at least one channel arranged to hold at least one core sample, wherein the body includes at least one set of handles arranged to, in use, allow a user to grip the core tray to assist in moving the core tray.