Fresh Fish Transport Container with Cambered Insert Drainage
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing transport containers for fresh fish, especially those with ice, face issues with ice melt and fish juice drainage, leading to unhygienic conditions and instability during transport, as they either retain fish liquid or have limited capacity causing mixtures with meltwater.
Innovation Solution
A container design featuring a cambered insert with downward-pointing ribs and a skirt-like wall to drain thawing ice and fish juice into a lower channel, preventing liquid sloshing and allowing for secure stacking and handling, with access openings and a lid configuration for easy assembly and secure stacking.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If a simple container design is used for transporting fresh food, then manufacturing cost and structural simplicity are improved, but it cannot be used to transport fresh fish covered with broken ice due to inadequate drainage capability
Solution Approach 1:
The container is divided into functional zones: a cambered base part with outwardly projecting upper edge, side walls, and an insert with cambered bearing surface. The base part includes a cambered area surrounded by a deepened channel for liquid collection, while the insert has a cambered bearing surface surrounded by a deepened channel with downwardly open openings. This segmentation allows different regions to perform specific functions (drainage, liquid collection, fish placement) that together solve the problem of transporting fresh fish with ice.
Solution Approach 2:
The insert is provided with a cambered bearing surface that curves upward toward the container opening, creating a three-dimensional drainage path. The cambered area is surrounded by a deepened channel that collects liquid and directs it downward through openings. This dimensional configuration (curved surface + deepened channel + downward openings) enables effective drainage of meltwater and fish juice, transforming the simple container into one suitable for fresh fish transport.
2Ease of operation
If melting ice and fish liquid are allowed to flow into a limited capacity cavity, then drainage is achieved, but the capacity is limited causing fish to swim in the mixture of meltwater and fish liquid after a while
Solution Approach 1:
The container volume is segmented into multiple functional spaces: the main container volume for holding fish and ice, a deepened channel surrounding the cambered area for liquid collection, and downwardly open openings in the insert for drainage. This segmentation creates adequate capacity for liquid mixture without compromising the fish holding space, as liquids are channeled to specific drainage zones rather than filling the entire container.
Solution Approach 2:
The cambered bearing surface of the insert curves upward toward the container opening, creating a three-dimensional drainage architecture. The cambered area is surrounded by a deepened channel that collects liquid and directs it downward through openings in the insert. This dimensional configuration maximizes the effective drainage capacity while maintaining sufficient space for fish, preventing fish from swimming in accumulated liquid mixture.
3Stability of the object's composition
If the outer edge of the insert is positioned close to the inside of the side walls, then liquid sloshing is prevented, but access for lifting or inserting the insert becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The insert is provided with access openings in its edge region, segmenting the insert structure to allow manual access. These openings enable fingers or tools to grip the insert for lifting or insertion operations. The access openings are positioned in corner regions that project against one another, providing adequate grip points while maintaining the overall compact configuration that prevents liquid sloshing.
Solution Approach 2:
The access openings are arranged in corner regions of the insert that are positioned diagonally to one another, creating asymmetric grip points. This asymmetric arrangement provides adequate access for manual handling while maintaining the insert's compact edge configuration that prevents liquid sloshing during transport. The corner regions project against one another, creating natural grip points that facilitate insertion and removal operations.
4Productivity
If containers are moved on conveyor systems with abrupt stops and restarts, then transport efficiency is improved, but condensation water below the insert sloshes back and forth in an uncontrolled manner making stable transport difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The space below the insert is subdivided by several ribs that extend downward from the cambered bearing surface toward the container bottom. These ribs create multiple small compartments that restrict the movement of condensation water. During conveyor transport with abrupt stops and restarts, the liquid is confined within these rib-defined zones, preventing uncontrolled sloshing and maintaining stability throughout the transport cycle.
Solution Approach 2:
The cambered bearing surface of the insert curves upward toward the container opening, and the ribs extend downward from this curved surface. The curved configuration of the cambered area, combined with the rib subdivision, creates a controlled liquid management system that accommodates the dynamic conditions of conveyor transport while preventing uncontrolled liquid movement.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Ensures hygienic transport of fresh fish by effectively draining liquids and preventing sloshing, allowing for stable movement on conveyor systems and secure stacking of inserts and lids, maintaining a clean and stable environment.
Implementation Method 1
The curvature of the insert ensures that, for example, thawing ice and the juice from the fresh fish can drain into the surrounding channel and from there through the openings into the lower area of the container
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention relates to a container for transporting fresh foods, in particular fish, consisting of a floor part and side walls rising up from said floor part, wherein the top edge of the side walls is formed to the outside and wherein there is an insert in the interior of the container for receiving the product to be transported and the container can be closed by means of a lid, wherein the contact surface of the insert is designed to be cambered and the curvature of the cambering is directed to the container opening and the cambered part of the insert is enclosed by a recessed channel having openings arranged therein, and an edge region (14) directed laterally upward extends from the channel (12), the outer edge of which contacts the inner side of the side walls of the container, and the insert is enclosed by a circumferential, apron-like wall which is directed downward.