Ice Handling Container With Hanging Bail for Hygiene and Drying
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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 ergonomically designed ice handling container with a bail and handle assembly that allows for easy hanging, pouring, and drying, featuring a tapered mouth to minimize spillage and a recess for the handle assembly to prevent nesting, enabling efficient handling and reduced shipping costs.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If the container size is increased to hold greater volumes of ice, then the ice carrying capacity is improved, but the ergonomics deteriorate and user strain increases
Solution Approach 1:
The container is divided into two main parts: a large-capacity container body and a separate bail assembly with handle. This segmentation allows the container body to be optimized for ice capacity while the bail assembly is optimized for ergonomic handling, resolving the contradiction between size and ease of operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The bail assembly acts as an intermediary between the user's hand and the heavy container body. By providing a dedicated lifting mechanism with optimized handle geometry, the bail mediates the interaction, allowing users to easily lift and maneuver large containers without direct hand contact with the container body.
2Quantity of substance
If the container size is increased to hold greater volumes of ice, then the ice carrying capacity is improved, but the shipping space requirement increases and costs rise
Solution Approach 1:
The bail assembly is designed to nest within or alongside the container body when not in use. This nesting capability allows the container to occupy less shipping space while maintaining full ice-carrying capacity, resolving the contradiction between capacity and shipping efficiency.
3Device complexity
If traditional containers are used for ice handling, then the design is simple, but the risk of contamination increases
Solution Approach 1:
The bail assembly is extracted as a separate, removable component from the container body. This extraction allows the bail to be easily removed and sanitized separately from the container, reducing contamination risk while maintaining overall design simplicity. The separate bail can be sterilized independently and reattached as needed.
4Ease of operation
If the container is designed for easy handling, then the ergonomics are improved, but the container may become misused leading to contamination
Solution Approach 1:
The bail assembly incorporates dynamic elements such as pivot points and adjustable positioning that allow the container to be easily manipulated for legitimate handling tasks. However, these same dynamic features can be controlled to prevent inappropriate operations that might lead to contamination, balancing ease of use with contamination prevention.
Data Source
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.