Moveable Bottom Tray for Rapid Item Transfer
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing systems for handling high volumes of items in industrial settings are inefficient due to poorly designed trays and equipment, leading to time-consuming and labor-intensive loading, transporting, and unloading processes.
Innovation Solution
A tray with a moveable bottom that can transition between two positions, allowing for easy loading and unloading of items by forming a continuous surface with the loading/unloading surface, and efficient transportation of items within the tray.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If items are manually loaded and unloaded from trays in traditional systems, then handling flexibility is maintained, but processing time increases significantly and productivity decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The tray bottom is designed to be moveable between different positions (first position for loading/unloading, second position for transportation). This dynamic configuration allows the tray to adapt to different operational phases, enabling automated item transfer while maintaining efficient transportation capability, thus resolving the contradiction between productivity and time loss
Solution Approach 2:
The moveable bottom acts as an intermediary mechanism between the loading/unloading surface and the tray cavity. By transitioning between positions, it facilitates smooth item transfer without requiring manual handling, thereby reducing processing time while maintaining handling flexibility
2Ease of operation
If the tray bottom is fixed, then structural simplicity is maintained, but item loading and unloading becomes inefficient
Solution Approach 1:
The tray bottom transitions from a static fixed structure to a dynamic moveable structure that can shift between positions. This dynamic design enables efficient item loading and unloading operations while maintaining reasonable structural complexity through the use of guide tracks and position-maintaining mechanisms
3Productivity
If the moveable bottom is added to enable efficient loading and unloading, then productivity increases, but tray structural complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The tray is segmented into distinct components: the tray body, the moveable bottom, guide tracks, and position-maintaining mechanisms. This segmentation allows each component to perform its specific function efficiently while enabling modular manufacturing and assembly, thus managing structural complexity while achieving high productivity
Solution Approach 2:
The moveable bottom mechanism provides dynamic adaptability for efficient item transfer operations. By confining movement to a single degree of freedom along the loading/unloading axis with defined stop positions, the design achieves high productivity without excessive complexity in the mechanical system
Data Source
AI summary
Features for loading, transporting and unloading of items are disclosed. Systems, devices and methods for such operations using a tray are described. In some embodiments, a tray having a moveable bottom allows for switching between a configuration for loading and unloading items in and out of the tray and a configuration for transportation of items inside the tray. The trays may also be stacked, for transportation of multiple trays at once, and nested, for saving space when storing the trays. In some embodiments, the trays may be used in conjunction with loading and unloading systems.