Foldable Plastic Utility Enclosure With Hinged Detent System
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing utility enclosures, particularly concrete and plastic ones, face challenges such as bulkiness, difficulty in transportation and installation, and safety concerns due to weight, while also occupying excessive space and being prone to damage during transport.
Innovation Solution
A foldable plastic/composite utility enclosure with a hinged design that allows for significant reduction in thickness when folded, featuring a unique hinge mechanism and detent system for easy assembly and disassembly, enabling lightweight and compact storage and transportation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If concrete utility enclosures are used to withstand heavy loads, then load-bearing capacity is improved, but weight and difficulty of transportation increase
Solution Approach 1:
The utility enclosure is divided into multiple modular sections that can be assembled together. Each section is lighter than a complete concrete enclosure, allowing easier transportation while maintaining overall load-bearing capacity through the modular structure and interlocking design.
Solution Approach 2:
The enclosure uses composite materials (such as fiber-reinforced polymers or metal-composite combinations) that provide high strength-to-weight ratio, enabling the structure to withstand heavy loads while significantly reducing the overall weight compared to solid concrete enclosures.
2Weight of moving object
If plastic utility enclosures are used to reduce weight, then ease of transportation is improved, but load-bearing capacity deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The plastic enclosure incorporates composite materials with reinforcement fibers (glass, carbon, or aramid) that dramatically increase strength and load-bearing capacity while maintaining the lightweight advantage of plastic materials.
Solution Approach 2:
The enclosure structure features varying wall thicknesses and localized reinforcement in areas subjected to highest loads, optimizing material distribution to provide maximum strength where needed while minimizing overall weight.
3Strength
If traditional utility enclosures are used for protection, then structural integrity is improved, but space occupied during transportation increases
Solution Approach 1:
The enclosure is segmented into collapsible modular sections that can be folded or nested together, reducing the volume occupied during transportation and storage while maintaining full structural integrity when assembled and installed.
Solution Approach 2:
The enclosure incorporates dynamic, collapsible structural elements that allow the structure to transition between an expanded protective state and a compressed transport state, optimizing both protection and space efficiency.
Data Source
AI summary
A foldable extension enclosure for a utility enclosure, each having first, second, third, and fourth sides connected by hinges and each folding only in one direction by means of detents on the sides. A first end of the first side slidably overlaps a second opposite end of the third side and a first end of the second side slidably overlaps a second opposite end of the fourth side. There is an internal top ledge on each side in an interior near a top end of the extension enclosure and the utility enclosure and an external bottom ledge on each side on an exterior near a bottom end of the extension enclosure, to mount the extension enclosure to the utility enclosure with concave and convex detents. Convex detents are at the top end of the utility and extension enclosures and concave detents are at the bottom end of the extension enclosure. The convex detents also reversibly lock a lid to the tops of the utility and extension enclosures.