Collapsible tray storage rack
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional food tray carts and storage devices are not configured for placement on a shelf and cannot be easily disassembled for shipping, leading to high shipping and transport costs.
Innovation Solution
A modular, collapsible tray storage rack featuring removably coupled rail assemblies, front, and rear panels, with securing components like fasteners and lugs to prevent movement on a shelving unit, allowing for easy assembly and disassembly.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If conventional food tray carts are manufactured with permanent metal shelving or injection molded plastic structures, then structural strength and stability are improved, but ease of disassembly for shipping deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The tray storage rack is divided into separate modular components including rail assemblies, front panels, and rear panels that can be easily detached from one another. This segmentation allows the structure to be disassembled for shipping while maintaining structural integrity when assembled, directly resolving the contradiction between strength and ease of disassembly.
Solution Approach 2:
The rack transitions from a permanent, fixed structure to a dynamic, reconfigurable structure where components can be attached and detached as needed. The removable couplings between rail assemblies and panels enable the rack to adapt between assembled (strong) and disassembled (shippable) states, resolving the contradiction between structural strength and ease of disassembly.
2Volume of stationary object
If food tray storage devices are designed as box-shaped structures, then storage capacity is improved, but ease of disassembly for shipping deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The box-shaped storage structure is segmented into detachable rail assemblies and panels that can be easily separated. This allows the rack to maintain its box-shaped storage capacity when assembled while enabling simple disassembly for shipping, resolving the contradiction between storage capacity and ease of disassembly.
3Stability of the object's composition
If conventional food tray carts are designed for standalone use, then structural stability is improved, but adaptability for shelf placement deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The rack is designed with universal features that enable it to function both as a standalone cart and as a shelf-mounted storage unit. The modular rail assembly design allows the same structure to provide structural stability when standalone while adapting to shelf placement when mounted, resolving the contradiction between stability and adaptability.
4Strength
If permanent metal shelving is used in food tray carts, then load-bearing capacity is improved, but shipping cost efficiency deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The rack is segmented into removable components that can be collapsed or disassembled for compact shipping, dramatically reducing shipping volume and cost. When assembled, the structure maintains sufficient load-bearing capacity to support food trays, resolving the contradiction between load-bearing capacity and shipping cost efficiency.
Solution Approach 2:
The rack transitions from a rigid permanent structure to a dynamic modular structure that can be configured for either load-bearing operation or compact shipping. This dynamic reconfigurability allows the rack to maintain load-bearing capacity when needed while minimizing shipping costs through easy disassembly, resolving the contradiction between strength and shipping cost efficiency.
Data Source
AI summary
A rack features a front panel, a rear panel, a first rail assembly and a second rail assembly. The first rail assembly includes (i) support members extending in a first lateral direction, (ii) a first set of edge connectors extending in a first longitudinal direction for coupling with a first attachment mechanism of the front panel, and (iii) a second set of edge connectors extending in a second longitudinal direction for coupling with a third attachment mechanism of the rear panel. The second rail assembly includes (i) support members extending in a second lateral direction opposite the first lateral direction, (ii) a third set of edge connectors extending in the first longitudinal direction for coupling with the second attachment mechanism of the front panel, and (iii) a fourth set of edge connectors extending in the second longitudinal direction for coupling with the fourth attachment mechanism of the rear panel.