Nestable Beverage Crate Asymmetric Upper Bands Shingling Prevention
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Solution Overview
Problem
Nestable beverage crates experience undesirable 'shingling' when stacked, where the lower edge of one side wall rides on top of the upper edge of an adjacent crate, due to uneven vertical widths, which can be mitigated by reducing the vertical width of the upper band but increases storage and transportation inefficiencies.
Innovation Solution
The design incorporates asymmetric side and end upper bands with alternating peaks and valleys, ensuring that peaks of one crate align with valleys of another, maintaining a uniform effective vertical width to prevent shingling without increasing nesting height.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Volume of moving object
If the vertical width of the upper band is decreased to reduce nesting height, then storage and transportation efficiency is improved, but the possibility of shingling increases
Solution Approach 1:
The upper bands are designed with an asymmetric profile featuring alternating peaks and valleys. When crates are stacked, the peaks of one crate align with the valleys of the adjacent crate, creating an interlocking effect. This asymmetric geometry prevents shingling by ensuring that the lower edge of one side wall cannot ride up on top of the upper edge of an adjacent side wall, while maintaining a compact nesting height.
2Reliability
If the vertical width of the upper band is maintained to prevent shingling, then stability is improved, but nesting height increases reducing storage efficiency
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of increasing the vertical width of the upper band to prevent shingling, the invention introduces a horizontal dimension solution through the asymmetric peak-valley profile. The interlocking peaks and valleys create lateral constraints that prevent shingling without requiring additional vertical space, thus maintaining efficient nesting height while achieving reliable shingling prevention.
Data Source
AI summary
A nestable beverage crate includes a base, side walls and end walls. Each side wall includes a plurality of side columns connecting a side upper band to the base. Each end wall includes a plurality of end columns connected an end upper band to the base. The side upper band and the end upper bands each have a plurality of peaks and valleys and are asymmetric, such that adjacent crates will have peaks aligned with valleys and vice-versa. For purposes of preventing shingling, the effective vertical width of the side upper bands and the end upper bands of these two adjacent side walls is the full distance between the upper edge of the peak and the lower edge of the valley, but the nesting height of the crate is only the vertical width of the upper bands.