Extendable Plant Tray Assembly with Staggered Grid
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing plant tray assemblies are inefficient in optimizing plant spacing and surface use, as they require time-consuming manual or mechanical relocation of plants, often resulting in damage and suboptimal surface utilization, especially when plants need to be spaced apart in multiple directions.
Innovation Solution
An extendable plant tray assembly with a grid structure featuring a central rib and staggered plant holders, allowing for extension in one direction to effectively space plants apart in two transverse directions, maintaining the same width and minimizing the complexity of the extension system, thus reducing the time needed for spacing and optimizing surface use.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If plants are spaced apart in multiple directions by manual or mechanical relocation, then plant spacing is improved, but time consumption and plant damage risk increase
Solution Approach 1:
The plant tray assembly incorporates an extendable structure that can dynamically change its dimensions. The tray includes extendable sides with coupling mechanisms that allow the tray to expand from a compact configuration to an extended configuration, automatically creating spacing between plants in multiple directions without manual relocation
Solution Approach 2:
The extendable sides of the plant tray are designed to nest within each other when in the retracted position, allowing the tray to compact to a smaller size for transport or storage. When extended, these nested sides unfold to create additional spacing between plants, eliminating the need for time-consuming manual spacing operations
2Adaptability or versatility
If the tray is extended in multiple directions to space plants apart, then plant spacing is improved, but the surface area more than doubles
Solution Approach 1:
The plant tray is segmented into a modular structure with separate extendable sides that can be independently controlled. Each side includes coupling mechanisms that allow selective extension, enabling the tray to expand only in the directions necessary for plant spacing while maintaining a compact footprint in other dimensions, thus avoiding unnecessary doubling of total surface area
3Adaptability or versatility
If a two dimensional extension system is used to space plants in two directions, then plant spacing is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The plant tray design merges the extension functionality into a single directional mechanism. By extending one side of the tray, the system simultaneously creates spacing effects in two transverse directions due to the staggered arrangement of plant holders on the extendable side, eliminating the need for complex two-dimensional extension systems
Data Source
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AI summary
Extendable plant tray assembly comprising a plurality of plant holders in a grid structure, wherein in a first direction said plant holders are movably connected through an extension system arranged to move said assembly between a retracted position and an extended position, the assembly including at least one grid structure element comprising a central rib in a second direction transverse to said first direction, wherein a plurality of plant holders is mounted to said rib.