Modular Refrigeration Container Assembly with Adjustable Bin Widths
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional refrigeration systems have static container assemblies that cannot accommodate items with diverse shapes and sizes, limiting storage flexibility and adaptability.
Innovation Solution
A refrigeration system with a container assembly featuring modular bins that allow for adjustable widths through translational sections, using sliders and rails to adjust bin dimensions while maintaining overall assembly width, and an attachment mechanism for synchronized or independent lateral movement.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If traditional static container assemblies are used, then structural simplicity is maintained, but storage flexibility and adaptability are limited
Solution Approach 1:
The container assembly is divided into multiple independent bins, each bin further segmented into a first section and a second section. The second section of each bin can be independently translated relative to the first section, allowing individual bin width adjustment without affecting the entire container structure. This segmentation enables flexible adaptation to different storage needs while maintaining overall structural integrity.
Solution Approach 2:
The container assembly transitions from a static structure to a dynamic one through the introduction of translatable second sections in each bin. These sections can move along rails within the first section, allowing the bin width to be adjusted dynamically based on the size and shape of items to be stored. The dynamic capability is enabled by sliders that engage with rails, providing controlled movement while maintaining stability during use.
2Volume of moving object
If bin width is increased to accommodate larger items, then storage capacity for large items improves, but space available for other items decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The bin width is made dynamically adjustable through the translatable second section mechanism. Users can expand or shrink the width of individual bins based on the specific items to be stored. This dynamic adjustment allows optimization of space utilization for each storage compartment without permanently sacrificing space that could be needed for different items at different times.
Solution Approach 2:
The width parameter of each bin can be changed by translating the second section relative to the first section. This parameter change is achieved through mechanical movement along rails, allowing continuous adjustment of bin width to match the dimensions of stored items, thereby optimizing storage efficiency across all bins in the container assembly.
3Ease of operation
If individual bins are made independently movable, then access to individual bins is improved, but structural stability may be compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The container assembly is segmented into multiple independent bins with movable second sections, allowing individual access to each bin while maintaining the overall structural framework. The segmentation is designed so that movement of one bin's second section does not affect the structural integrity of other bins or the container assembly as a whole.
Solution Approach 2:
Rails and sliders act as intermediary mechanisms between the movable second sections and the fixed first sections. These intermediaries provide guided movement paths that maintain structural stability while enabling easy access and adjustment. The rails constrain the movement to specific trajectories, preventing instability, while the sliders facilitate smooth operation.
Data Source
AI summary
A container assembly includes a first bin and a second bin, each of the first bin and the second bin including a first section and a second section, the second section being translatable relative the first section in a longitudinal direction. A slider is disposed on the first section of each of the first bin and the second bin, and a rail is disposed on the second section of each of the first bin and the second bin, the rail engaging the slider to allow for translation of the second section relative the first section in the longitudinal direction. An attachment mechanism releasably couples the second section of the first bin and the second section of the second bin, and allows the first bin and the second bin to translate in tandem in the longitudinal direction and move independently in a lateral direction.