Modular Insulated Container Design to Reduce Weight and Cost
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing insulated containers for temperature-controlled product storage are expensive, heavy, and prone to damage due to their monolithic design, which makes them costly for all users, including careful ones, and lacks efficient recycling options.
Innovation Solution
A multi-component container design using stacked U-shaped elements made of insulating material with independent metal frames and a monolithic door, allowing for easy assembly and replacement of damaged components, made from expanded cellular material for improved insulation and resistance, and facilitating recycling by reducing the number of components and assembly complexity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a monolithic box design is used to ensure resistance to handling shocks, then the container durability is improved, but the manufacturing cost and weight increase
Solution Approach 1:
The container is divided into modular components: a monolithic door and a body composed of stacked box elements that can be assembled and disassembled. This segmentation allows the door to be reinforced as a single piece for durability while the body uses lighter, replaceable modules, reducing overall manufacturing cost and weight compared to a fully monolithic design.
Solution Approach 2:
The monolithic door is specifically reinforced to provide local strength and resistance at the opening area, which is the most vulnerable point during handling. The body elements use insulating material with sufficient but not excessive strength, optimizing the distribution of material properties to achieve durability where needed while minimizing weight and cost elsewhere.
2Reliability
If a monolithic box design is used to ensure resistance to handling shocks, then the container durability is improved, but the container weight increases
Solution Approach 1:
By segmenting the container into a monolithic door and modular body elements, the design concentrates the heavy, durable material only where structurally necessary (the door), while the body uses lighter insulating material. This reduces overall weight while maintaining durability at critical points.
Solution Approach 2:
The monolithic construction is applied locally to the door where strength is most needed for handling resistance, rather than throughout the entire container. The body elements use lighter insulating material with appropriate but reduced strength requirements, optimizing the weight-strength ratio.
3Temperature
If traditional composite walls with glass-resin laminate are used, then the insulation capacity is improved, but the recycling difficulty increases
Solution Approach 1:
The body elements are made from a single homogeneous insulating material (expanded cellular material) rather than composite glass-resin laminate. This homogeneous structure maintains adequate insulation capacity while being significantly easier to recycle, as it can be processed without the complexity of separating multiple material layers.
Solution Approach 2:
The modular body elements made from homogeneous insulating material can be easily disassembled, discarded, and recovered for recycling. The simple material composition facilitates recycling processes compared to composite materials, allowing for more efficient material recovery and reduced environmental impact.
4Temperature
If traditional composite walls with glass-resin laminate are used, then the insulation capacity is improved, but the manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The body elements use homogeneous expanded cellular material instead of composite glass-resin laminate, simplifying the manufacturing process. This single-material approach eliminates the need for complex layering, bonding, and assembly operations required for composite walls, while still providing sufficient insulation capacity.
Solution Approach 2:
The container body is segmented into pre-manufactured box elements that can be produced independently and then assembled. This segmentation simplifies manufacturing by allowing each element to be made from simple homogeneous material, avoiding the complexity of manufacturing large composite structures as single pieces.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution results in lighter, less expensive containers with maintained insulation capacity and extended lifespan, enabling cost savings for users and easier recycling, while ensuring resistance to handling shocks and abrasions.
Implementation Method 1
a box made of rigid insulating material... These body elements, the end elements and the door are monolithic and made of expanded cellular material, for example expanded polypropylene
Implementation Method 2
reinforced by independent metal frames exerting on their transverse walls a compressive force
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2~3
Figure 4~6
AI summary
The invention relates to a container comprising an insulating body, a door (D) made of an insulating material, and means (G) for locking the door in the closed position. The problem addressed by the invention is that of providing a multi-component container the space of which can be adapted to the request, said container being less heavy and less expensive, whilst having good resistance to wear and to blows. According to the invention, the body of said container is formed by stacking body elements (A) which are made of an insulating material and which are each generally U-shaped, the ends of the wings (2) thereof defining the access opening (1), said elements (A) being inserted between end elements (B) which, having the same U-shaped cross-section as said elements (A) but being closed at one side by a bottom (15), are reinforced by independent metal frames (C) which exert thereon a compressive force which is produced by metal clamping rods (F). Said rods extend between the two frames (C) and pass through the body elements (A) and the end elements (B) via holes (14) and (19).