Foldable Door Tray Assembly for Elevated No-Contact Delivery
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing delivery solutions for food items are often unsanitary and inconvenient, as they are typically left on the ground or floor, requiring users to exit their dwelling to retrieve them.
Innovation Solution
A foldable door tray assembly that can be hung on an exterior door surface, providing a raised, covered surface for receiving and storing delivered items, thus maintaining hygiene and convenience.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If delivery items are placed on the ground or floor for no-contact delivery, then convenience of retrieval is improved, but sanitation and hygiene deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions the delivery location from horizontal ground/floor placement to vertical door surface placement. By mounting the tray vertically on the door, items are elevated to an easily accessible height while maintaining containment for hygiene. This dimensional change resolves the contradiction by providing both convenience (items at waist level) and sanitation (contained tray with lid).
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs a tray with a lid that can cover and contain delivery items. This flexible enclosure system protects items from environmental contaminants while allowing easy access when needed, thus improving sanitation without sacrificing retrieval convenience.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If a table or additional object is used to raise delivery items off the ground, then sanitation is improved, but device complexity and space requirements worsen
Solution Approach 1:
The patent integrates multiple functions into a single door-mounted tray system: it provides elevation for sanitation, offers containment with a lid for protection, and utilizes the existing door structure for support. This multi-functionality achieves sanitation benefits without requiring separate tables or additional complex structures.
Solution Approach 2:
The door itself serves as an intermediary structure, repurposed to support the delivery tray. By using the existing door as the mounting surface, the patent avoids introducing complex additional support structures while still achieving elevated, sanitary item placement.
3Ease of operation
If a fixed delivery surface is installed on the door, then convenience and sanitation are improved, but adaptability and aesthetic appearance worsen
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a foldable tray design that can be collapsed when not in use and deployed when needed. This dynamic configuration allows the tray to adapt between providing a functional delivery surface and being unobtrusive, thus maintaining both convenience and adaptability.
Solution Approach 2:
The tray is designed as a segmented, foldable structure that can be broken down into compact sections. This segmentation enables easy storage and adaptation to different door configurations while maintaining the functional delivery surface when deployed.
Data Source
AI summary
A foldable tray assembly configured for hanging on an exterior surface of a door. More particularly, the invention relates to a device configured to support and accept delivered items to facilitate a more hygienic mechanism for no contact delivery. The assembly is comprised of a hanger portion, a tray portion, and a cover portion configured for fitment together to form a cohesive and assembled device. The hanger portion is generally configured to allow for placement of the device along a vertical surface of a door the device is placed upon, the tray portion provides a resting surface for a delivered item, and the cover portion provides a protective enclosure. The tray portion and cover portion are capable of hinged movement between a pair of positions.