Shelving system with interlocking containers
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Solution Overview
Problem
Inventory storage facilities face challenges in adapting to changing numbers and varieties of stored items, as existing storage mechanisms lack flexibility and efficient access solutions.
Innovation Solution
The development of modular storage containers assembled from flat blanks, which can be folded and configured with insertable dividers to create customizable partitions and easy access points, utilizing score lines for folding and interlocking mechanisms for stacking and securing multiple containers.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If traditional fixed storage mechanisms are used, then storage structure is simple, but adaptability to changing inventory needs is poor
Solution Approach 1:
The storage system is divided into modular components including stackable containers with standardized interlocking features. Each container can be independently configured and stacked, allowing the overall storage system to adapt to varying inventory requirements without requiring complete system replacement.
Solution Approach 2:
The storage system incorporates adjustable and reconfigurable elements such as movable dividers and flexible stacking arrangements. These dynamic features enable the storage mechanism to be easily reconfigured as inventory needs change, providing adaptability while maintaining relatively simple individual components.
2Productivity
If modular containers with interlocking mechanisms are used, then adaptability and stacking efficiency are improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The interlocking mechanism features universal design elements that serve multiple functions: stacking containers vertically, securing containers during transport, and enabling stable arrangement in various configurations. This multi-functionality improves stacking efficiency without requiring separate mechanisms for each function, thereby limiting the increase in overall complexity.
3Ease of manufacture
If containers are designed for easy assembly from flat blanks, then ease of manufacture is improved, but manufacturing precision requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
Score lines are pre-marked on the flat blanks at precise locations before manufacturing. These pre-defined folding guides ensure that when workers assemble the containers, the critical folding operations occur at accurate positions, thereby maintaining manufacturing precision while preserving the ease of assembly from flat blanks.
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed are various embodiments for storage containers that may be used with a storage assembly. The storage assembly can include a shelf system and multiple containers. The shelf system can include multiple shelves, where a shelf includes multiple holes. Each container can include multiple slots and multiple tabs. The tabs of one container can be configured to be inserted through the holes of a shelf into the slots of another container.