Multi-Door Cooler with Collapsible Shelf for Flexible Product Access
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing coolers provide limited visibility and access to stored products, making it difficult for consumers to identify and retrieve desired items.
Innovation Solution
A cooler design featuring a top door with a curved transparent panel and a vertical door, along with a collapsible shelf that moves between extended and retracted positions, allowing increased visibility and flexible access to products through multiple access points.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a single access portal (door) is used in traditional coolers, then the structure is simple, but product visibility and accessibility are limited
Solution Approach 1:
The cooler is divided into multiple access portals: a top door providing access to an upper product compartment and a vertical door providing access to a lower product compartment. This segmentation allows consumers to access different product regions independently, improving visibility and accessibility without requiring the entire cooler to be opened.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention adds a vertical dimension to the traditional horizontal access portal by introducing a vertical door that opens downward. This creates two distinct access dimensions (top and front), allowing consumers to reach products from different directions and improving overall product accessibility.
2Adaptability or versatility
If a collapsible shelf is added to improve product accessibility, then flexibility increases, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The shelf is designed as a collapsible structure that can dynamically change its configuration between extended and retracted positions. This dynamic capability allows the shelf to adapt to different storage needs and improve product accessibility while maintaining a relatively simple mechanical implementation.
Solution Approach 2:
The collapsible shelf provides selective accessibility to specific product zones without requiring the entire shelving structure to be complex. By implementing collapsibility in only the necessary portions of the shelf, the design achieves improved flexibility while minimizing overall device complexity.
Data Source
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AI summary
Coolers for dispensing products, such as beverages, having multiple doors for accessing a single product compartment. A cooler may include a housing defining a product compartment; a top door coupled to a top surface of the housing at a hinge, the top door comprising a curved transparent panel; a vertical door coupled to a vertical front surface of the housing; a collapsible shelf disposed in the product compartment that is configured to move between an extended position and a retracted position; and a lower shelf disposed below the collapsible shelf in the product compartment. A product disposed on the collapsible shelf may be accessible through the top door when the collapsible shelf is in the extended position and a product disposed on the lower shelf may be accessible through the top door when the collapsible shelf is in the retracted position.