Flexible Crop Container With Modular Stiffeners
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current plant containers for urban gardens are often bulky, heavy, and lack modularity, making them difficult to transport and adapt to varying spaces, while flexible bags offer limited modularity and require pre-planning.
Innovation Solution
A flexible container system comprising a central strip with lateral edges and stiffeners, where connecting devices maintain the strip's ends to form the container's bottom and sides, allowing for customizable dimensions and easy assembly by cutting and connecting the strips.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If traditional rigid plant containers are used, then structural strength and stability are improved, but weight and volume increase making them difficult to transport and handle
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a flexible band as the primary container structure, replacing traditional rigid materials with a flexible membrane that provides sufficient containment while dramatically reducing weight. The flexible band can be folded and compressed for easy transport, then expanded to form the container structure at the destination.
Solution Approach 2:
The container is divided into modular components: a flexible band that forms the container body, separate stiffeners that provide structural support only where needed, and connecting devices that assemble them. This segmentation allows the flexible band to remain lightweight while stiffeners add localized strength without requiring the entire structure to be heavy.
2Stability of the object's composition
If traditional rigid plant containers are used, then structural stability is improved, but volume and weight increase making them bulky
Solution Approach 1:
The flexible band forms a thin-walled container structure that encloses the required volume without adding significant mass. The flexibility allows the container to be collapsed or folded into a compact form for storage and transport, then expanded to full volume at the installation site.
Solution Approach 2:
By separating the containment function (flexible band) from the structural support function (stiffeners), the design achieves necessary stability with minimal material volume. The stiffeners are only present where structural support is needed, while the majority of the container volume is enclosed by the thin flexible band.
3Volume of moving object
If flexible bags are used as containers, then volume and weight are reduced, but modularity and adaptability are limited requiring pre-planning
Solution Approach 1:
The container system is segmented into standardized components: flexible bands of fixed dimensions, stiffeners, and connecting devices. These modular units can be assembled in various configurations to create containers of different sizes and shapes, allowing adaptation to different plant types and space requirements without requiring completely different pre-manufactured containers.
Solution Approach 2:
The container configuration is dynamic rather than fixed. The flexible bands can be cut to different lengths, and stiffeners can be positioned at various locations along the band, allowing the container to be adapted and reconfigured on-site according to specific gardening needs, plant requirements, and available space.
4Volume of moving object
If flexible bags are used as containers, then volume and weight are reduced, but modularity is limited once installed
Solution Approach 1:
The container is provided as separate assembleable components rather than a pre-formed single piece. The flexible band, stiffeners, and connecting devices can be easily assembled or disassembled using simple connecting mechanisms, allowing users to modify the container configuration even after initial installation by adding or removing components.
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention relates to a container (A) comprising a flexible band (1) with a central part (1c) and two lateral borders (la and 1b), and at least two stiffeners (2a, 2b) arranged in the width of the band so that at least one of the ends (3a or 3b) of each of said stiffeners extends over the associated border, and at least one connecting device (4) of two ends of stiffeners arranged on opposite borders, the connecting device thus keeping the two ends raised so that the central part (1c) of the band forms the bottom of the container and the borders of the band (la and 1b) form the lateral walls of said container.