Dual-Open Storage Bin Lid for Stacked Ingredient Access
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional storage bins face issues such as contamination during scoop handling, difficulty in accessing ingredients, especially when stacked, and spilling due to poorly designed lids and scoop positioning, which complicates the removal of ingredients and storage efficiency in commercial kitchens.
Innovation Solution
The storage bin assembly features a dual-open position lid that can move rearward or forward, a scoop suspended from the bin's side for easy access without touching the contents, and a removable partition wall that allows ingredients to self-level, reducing spilling and facilitating easy filling and removal.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the scoop is left sitting on or standing in the ingredients within the bin for repeated use, then accessibility to remove food ingredient is improved, but the risk of contaminating the ingredients increases
Solution Approach 1:
The scoop is extracted from the ingredient bulk and suspended from the lid structure, separating the tool from the material it processes. This prevents the scoop handle from resting on or touching the ingredients, eliminating the contamination pathway while maintaining easy accessibility.
Solution Approach 2:
The lid structure serves as an intermediary support system, holding the scoop in a suspended position above the ingredients. This intermediary structure allows the scoop to be accessible without direct contact between the handle and ingredients, resolving the contradiction between accessibility and contamination prevention.
2Productivity
If the bin is stacked under another bin to reduce space, then storage efficiency is improved, but the ability to open the cover and access ingredients is worsened
Solution Approach 1:
The lid is designed with dynamic opening capabilities that work in the stacked configuration. The lid can be fully removed or opened from the side, providing adaptability to the constrained space conditions of stacked storage while maintaining ingredient accessibility.
Solution Approach 2:
The lid assembly is segmented into removable components, allowing the lid to be completely detached from the bin body. This segmentation enables the lid to be stored separately or positioned to allow access even when bins are stacked, resolving the conflict between compact storage and ingredient accessibility.
3Productivity
If the lid cover is only partly opened to access ingredients in a stacked bin, then space efficiency is maintained, but the user must use one hand to hold the lid making it cumbersome
Solution Approach 1:
The lid is extracted as a fully removable component rather than a fixed partially-opening cover. This allows complete removal of the lid for ingredient access, eliminating the need to manually hold a partially opened lid and freeing both hands for ingredient handling.
4Quantity of substance
If the bin is made relatively large to store bulk food ingredients, then storage capacity is improved, but the amount of space occupied increases
Solution Approach 1:
The bins are designed to nest within each other through the removable lid configuration and compact footprint. Multiple bins can be stacked vertically, with each bin nesting into the space above, maximizing storage capacity while minimizing the floor space occupied by the storage system.
Data Source
AI summary
A storage bin assembly has a container base with a front, a back, a bottom, a perimeter side wall extending up from the bottom, and a storage space above the bottom within the side wall. A base lid is positioned over a top of the storage space. An access opening into the storage space is positioned near the front of the container base. A cover is selectively movable relative to the lid between a closed position closing off the access opening and two optional open positions. One of the positions is a rear position rearward of the access opening and the other of the positions is a front position forward of the access opening. Each optional open position exposes the storage space through the access opening.