Nested Conveyor Chute Sections for Lower Shipping Volume
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conveyor chutes for internal building use inefficiently utilize shipping resources due to their hollow, constant-diameter design, leading to high shipping costs due to excessive volume per unit weight.
Innovation Solution
The design incorporates sets of discrete sections with varying cross-sectional areas, including tapered sections that nest for increased packing density, and a method of palletizing these sections to optimize shipping efficiency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If conveyor chutes are designed with hollow constant-diameter sections, then they can convey objects efficiently, but they occupy excessive volume per unit weight during shipping
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies nesting by placing smaller diameter chute sections inside larger diameter sections during shipping. This allows multiple chute components to be stacked concentrically, dramatically reducing the total volume occupied during transport while maintaining the full range of sizes needed for installation.
Solution Approach 2:
The chute is divided into multiple discrete sections of varying diameters rather than a single continuous hollow tube. This segmentation allows each section to be optimized for its specific function while enabling efficient nested packing during shipping.
2Quantity of substance
If conveyor chutes use discrete sections with varying cross-sectional areas, then packing density increases, but manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent varies the cross-sectional area parameter of different chute sections to optimize packing density. By systematically changing the diameter parameter from section to section, the design achieves efficient nested packing while maintaining manufacturability through controlled parameter variation.
3Volume of stationary object
If conveyor chutes are shipped disassembled, then shipping volume is reduced, but assembly complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The nested arrangement of discrete sections during shipping naturally guides the assembly process. The sections are designed to fit one inside another in a specific sequence, which simplifies assembly by providing intuitive alignment and positioning cues rather than requiring complex alignment procedures.
Data Source
AI summary
A chute apparatus for conveying objects by gravity inside a building from a higher story to a lower story includes one or more sets of discrete sections having passages forming an elongated conduit which pass through one or more floors of the building. Each set includes an intake section which has a tubular body having a first passage and a tapered portion having a second passage. The second passage decreases in transverse cross section in a given longitudinal direction and a passage of at least one other section in each set has a passage which increases in transverse cross-section. A terminal portion of at least one of the section is received within another section by an adjustable distance to accommodate variations in distance between adjacent floors of the building. Substantially the entirety of said two of the sections can be housed within the intake section during shipment.