Folding Insulated Container with Nested Walls
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Soft-sided insulated containers or bags lack versatility as they are either too large when full or too bulky when empty, making them inconvenient for storage and use in various settings.
Innovation Solution
A folding soft-sided insulated container or bag that can be configured to change its interior volume, allowing it to be used in multiple sizes by folding and rearranging its walls and retainer system, enabling it to be compactly stored when not in use.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If the container is designed with a fixed large size to accommodate various uses, then it provides sufficient capacity for different items, but it becomes bulky and inconvenient for storage when empty
Solution Approach 1:
The container employs foldable walls with hinge joints that enable dynamic transformation between expanded and collapsed states. The walls can be folded inward along predetermined hinge lines, allowing the container to transition from a large storage configuration to a compact folded state, resolving the contradiction between maintaining large capacity when needed and reducing storage bulk when empty
Solution Approach 2:
The foldable wall structure allows the container walls to nest within each other when collapsed. The second and third walls fold inward to lie against the first wall, creating a nested configuration that significantly reduces the overall volume for storage while maintaining the full container capacity when expanded
2Temperature
If the container is designed with insulation layers to maintain temperature, then it provides thermal protection for contents, but it increases the overall size and weight of the container
Solution Approach 1:
The container uses flexible insulation layers that can be integrated into the foldable wall structure. These thin film insulation layers provide thermal protection while occupying minimal space, allowing the container to maintain insulation functionality without significantly increasing the overall size or weight, especially in the collapsed storage state
3Stability of the object's composition
If the container uses a retainer system to maintain structural integrity, then it provides stability when expanded, but it adds complexity to the folding mechanism
Solution Approach 1:
The container wall is divided into multiple segments connected by hinge joints, allowing independent folding of each wall section. The retainer system is similarly segmented with retainers attached to specific walls that can engage with corresponding features on adjacent walls, maintaining structural integrity during expansion while enabling simple folding movements through the hinge joints
Data Source
AI summary
A folding container assembly has a soft-sided wall structure that is collapsible from either a fully expanded condition or from a partially expanded condition, wherein the container assembly defines an interior chamber for storing articles, into a carry pouch format wherein the container assembly is folded down on itself such that the interior chamber of the container assembly is not accessible for use. Accordingly, the folding container assembly has a first configuration wherein the container assembly defines a first interior cavity having a first interior volume for storing articles, a second configuration wherein the container assembly defines a second interior cavity having a second interior volume, wherein the second interior volume is less than the first interior volume, and a third configuration wherein the container assembly is folded down on itself into a compact form such that the interior cavity or chamber is not accessible for use.