Ice Container Bail and Hook Assembly for Sanitary Handling
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional ice handling containers face contamination risks, ergonomic constraints, and increased shipping costs due to larger sizes, which hinder efficient handling and sanitization.
Innovation Solution
An ice handling container with a bail and handle assembly that allows for ergonomic handling, easy sanitization, and reduced shipping costs, featuring a recess for the handle assembly to prevent nesting and a design that facilitates hanging and drying to prevent contamination.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If containers are configured to hold greater volumes of ice, then ice carrying capacity is improved, but ergonomical constraints increase and user strain increases
Solution Approach 1:
The container is divided into modular components including a removable bail assembly with handle and hooks. This segmentation allows the heavy container body to be separated from the handling mechanism, reducing user strain while maintaining large ice carrying capacity.
Solution Approach 2:
The bail assembly acts as an intermediary between the user and the heavy container. By providing external hooks that can engage with support surfaces, the bail distributes the weight and reduces direct user strain when handling large volume containers.
2Quantity of substance
If containers are configured to hold greater volumes of ice, then ice carrying capacity is improved, but the risk of contamination increases
Solution Approach 1:
The bail assembly is designed as a removable component that can be taken out for separate sanitization. This extraction allows thorough cleaning of the handling mechanism without contaminating the ice storage interior, reducing contamination risk in large volume containers.
Solution Approach 2:
By segmenting the container into removable bail assembly and container body, each component can be sanitized separately according to its specific contamination risks, improving overall hygiene for large volume ice handling.
3Quantity of substance
If containers are configured to hold greater volumes of ice, then ice carrying capacity is improved, but shipping costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The removable bail assembly can be nested within or attached to the container body during shipping, allowing more containers to be shipped in the same space. This nesting approach reduces shipping costs while maintaining large ice carrying capacity for actual use.
4Quantity of substance
If containers are configured to hold greater volumes of ice, then ice carrying capacity is improved, but the container cannot be sanitized within a standard size dishmachine
Solution Approach 1:
The container is segmented into a main body and a removable bail assembly. The bail assembly can be detached and sanitized separately in standard dishmachines, while the large volume container body can be sanitized in place or using alternative methods, overcoming the size limitation.
Solution Approach 2:
By extracting the bail assembly as a separate removable component, it can be sanitized in standard dishmachines without requiring the entire large volume container to fit, thus maintaining sanitization capability for all components.
5Ease of operation
If a bail with handle and hook is permanently attached to the container, then handling capability is improved, but nesting of multiple containers becomes impossible
Solution Approach 1:
The bail assembly is designed with dynamic attachment - it can be permanently mounted or removably attached depending on the application. This dynamic configuration allows the same design to provide both permanent handling capability and nesting versatility when needed.
Solution Approach 2:
By segmenting the bail assembly as a separate component that can be removably attached, the system gains versatility - the bail can be attached for handling operations and detached or reconfigured to allow nesting of multiple containers when space is constrained.
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention is an improved ice handling container and methods for using the container. The container includes a bottom wall with upstanding sidewalls terminating in a mouth. A bail having an apex and opposing ends is pivotally attached to opposing sidewalls of the container. The bail has a handle generally at the apex and a hook extending generally outwardly from the bail generally near the apex of the bail for hanging the container with the mouth facing generally upward. One sidewall has a handle generally adjacent the bottom wall and a hook generally adjacent the handle extending generally outwardly and upwardly from the sidewall for hanging the container with the mouth facing generally downward.