Foldable Crate Latch and Stiffening Mechanism
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional crates for transporting fruits, vegetables, and meat face issues such as damage during stacking due to lateral forces, incorrect folding leading to instability, and inadequate ventilation for cooling liquids, resulting in inefficiencies in transport capacity and product freshness.
Innovation Solution
The crate design incorporates a continuous stiffening member for enhanced stability, movable hinges allowing arbitrary folding, a latch mechanism to prevent unintended unlocking, and dedicated inlets for cooling liquids, ensuring secure stacking and effective cooling.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If crates are stacked in a 5-down configuration with three crates forming a row in the width direction abutting their shorter end walls against the longer side walls of two crates, then transport capacity is optimized, but lateral forces on the side walls increase causing damage during transport
Solution Approach 1:
The side wall is segmented into multiple sections with recesses and protrusions that interlock with adjacent crates. This segmentation distributes the lateral forces across multiple contact points rather than concentrating them on single side walls, reducing the risk of damage while maintaining the 5-down stacking configuration for optimal transport capacity.
2Productivity
If foldable crates are designed with overlapping side walls to achieve minimum folded height, then transport efficiency of empty crates is improved, but incorrect folding sequence causes parts to extend beyond minimum height
Solution Approach 1:
The folding mechanism incorporates self-aligning features where protrusions on one wall automatically guide and constrain the folding sequence of adjacent walls. This self-service mechanism ensures that even if a user folds the walls in any sequence, the structural features guide the walls into the correct overlapping configuration, achieving minimum folded height without requiring knowledge of a specific folding sequence.
3Use of energy by moving object
If conventional ventilation openings are provided in crate walls, then air circulation is enabled, but cooling liquids with ice particles cannot pass through the openings
Solution Approach 1:
The wall openings are designed with a dual-function structure that serves both ventilation and cooling liquid flow purposes. The openings are sized and shaped to allow adequate air circulation for ventilation while simultaneously being large enough to permit passage of cooling liquids containing ice particles. This multi-functional design eliminates the need for separate ventilation and cooling openings, optimizing both functions within the same structural feature.
Data Source
AI summary
A crate includes a bottom, two end walls, and two side walls. The end walls and the side walls are configured to be foldable with respect to the bottom. The end walls and the side walls comprise respective latch elements engaging with each other to form a latch when the end walls and the side walls are in the unfolded state. A latch release mechanism is provided at the respective end walls or at the respective side walls, wherein the latch release mechanism and/or the latch elements on the respective walls are configured to be movable so as to extend at least partly above an upper edge of the crate for releasing the latch.