Modular Snap-Fit Toolset Organizer for Space-Efficient Wrench Storage
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Solution Overview
Problem
Toolboxes often become disorganized due to bulky wrench trays, racks, or compartment slots that waste space, making it difficult to access and identify various wrenches efficiently.
Innovation Solution
A toolset organizer with progressively sized polygonal connectors that allow wrenches to be snapped together and rotated, featuring male and female interfaces with ridges for secure friction fit, enabling organized storage and easy access to a set of box-end wrenches of different sizes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Stability of the object's composition
If wrench trays, racks, or compartment slots are used to organize tools, then organization is improved, but device complexity and space consumption increase
Solution Approach 1:
The organizer is divided into multiple individual connectors, each capable of independently holding a wrench. These segmented units can be connected in series to form the complete organizer structure, allowing for modular organization without requiring a single complex tray or rack system.
Solution Approach 2:
The connectors are designed with nested male and female interfaces that allow one connector to be inserted into another, creating a compact telescoping structure. This nesting principle enables the organizer to collapse into a minimal space when not in use, dramatically reducing the space required in the toolbox.
2Stability of the object's composition
If traditional wrench trays or racks are used, then wrench organization is achieved, but volume of space occupied increases
Solution Approach 1:
The connectors utilize nested male and female interfaces where smaller connectors fit inside larger ones, creating a telescoping structure that collapses the entire organizer into a compact form. This nesting design reduces the volume occupied in the toolbox from what would be required by traditional rigid trays or racks.
Solution Approach 2:
The organizer transitions from a static, fixed-volume structure (traditional trays) to a dynamic, collapsible structure. The connectors can be extended to organize wrenches when needed and collapsed to minimal volume when not in use, adapting the occupied space to the actual needs of the user.
3Quantity of substance
If wrenches are stored in traditional trays, then storage is achieved, but ease of access and identification deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The connectors are designed to rotate individually around a central axis, allowing users to easily access specific wrenches by rotating only the needed connector rather than moving other tools. This dynamic rotation capability significantly improves ease of access while maintaining storage capacity for multiple wrench sizes.
Solution Approach 2:
Each wrench is held in its own separate, independently rotatable connector segment. This segmentation allows for individual access to each wrench by rotating only the specific connector containing the desired tool, improving identification and access compared to wrenches stored together in a single tray.
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 toolset organizer provides efficient wrench organization, accessibility, and identification, allowing individual wrench rotation while maintaining others in a locked position, thereby optimizing toolbox space and ease of use.
Implementation Method 1
male and female interfaces with ridges for secure friction fit
Data Source
AI summary
A toolset organizer includes a first connector that includes a first male connector body adjacent to a first flange along an axis, a female interface formed through the first flange and at least partially into the first male connector body to define a female interface to receive and retain a second male connector body of a second connector along the axis. Each connector is friction fit to essentially “snap” into an adjacent connector to retain a tool such as a box-end wrench between each adjacent pair of connectors with the ability to rotate the tool on a respective connector about an axis A while retaining the other connectors together. Each connector may be progressively sized to accommodate a full set of tools such as a box-end wrench set.