Modular Top Frame for Load Stabilization
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional top frames used in material handling are either heavy, require excessive resources for manufacturing and maintenance, and have compromised mechanical resistance due to their geometry and design, especially under torsion forces, and often become unusable when damaged, leading to inefficiencies in packaging, transportation, and logistics.
Innovation Solution
A modular top frame system comprising a set of stringers with a specific geometry and assembly arrangement that distributes stress effectively, allowing for easy assembly and disassembly, reducing the number of components needed, and enabling the replacement of damaged sections, thereby enhancing mechanical resistance and logistical efficiency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If conventional top frames are made as single-piece structures, then manufacturing is simplified, but mechanical resistance under torsion forces is compromised and repairability is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The top frame is divided into multiple modular components including corner elements and stringers that can be assembled together. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized for its specific function while maintaining overall structural strength, particularly resistance to torsion forces, and enables replacement of damaged sections without replacing the entire frame.
2Strength
If top frames are designed with heavy materials for strength, then mechanical resistance is improved, but weight increases and storage space requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The frame utilizes composite construction combining different materials and structural elements (corner elements with stringers) to achieve high mechanical resistance with reduced weight. The modular design allows optimization of material usage in each component, providing strength where needed while minimizing overall weight and storage space requirements.
3Stability of the object's composition
If top frames are made as single-piece structures, then structural integrity is maintained, but repairability is lost and component replacement becomes impossible
Solution Approach 1:
The frame is constructed from separable modular components (corner elements and stringers) that can be disassembled and reassembled. This segmentation maintains structural integrity when properly assembled while enabling easy repair by replacing only damaged components rather than the entire frame structure.
4Strength
If conventional frames use excessive materials for strength, then mechanical resistance is improved, but manufacturing resources and costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The modular segmented design allows precise placement of material only where structurally necessary, optimizing material usage while maintaining mechanical resistance. Each corner element and stringer is designed to contribute specifically to the overall strength, reducing total material consumption compared to conventional single-piece designs that require excess material throughout.
5Ease of operation
If top frames are designed as single-piece structures, then assembly is simplified, but storage space efficiency decreases and transport costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The frame segments into compact modular components that can be stored and transported in collapsed or nested configurations, significantly reducing storage space requirements and transport costs. The components are designed for tool-free assembly using snap-fit or interlocking mechanisms, maintaining ease of operation while enabling space-efficient storage and transport.
Data Source
AI summary
The present disclosure relates to a top frame-type structural system for load fixing. The system can be used together with pallets that can support a product/merchandise or goods, which are supported, stowed and/or palletized, and subsequently fastened/fixed by a rope, tape and/or strap. In particular, the top frame of the present system is configured to mechanically interact with the strap and efficiently distribute the generated stresses derived from the force tension to which it is subjected to ensure the integrity and bracing of the product. The present system includes a set of structural components, manufactured in a modular manner, which can be assembled and disassembled/taken to pieces, which offers a practical product, easy to handle and transport, and specifically, being manufactured in a modular manner, such that the present structural system can be advantageously transported, packaged using less space, thus improving its logistics and handling.