Portable Food Container With Flexible Walls and Temperature Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing food delivery and catering containers are cumbersome, heavy, and difficult to transport due to their rigid construction, and they lack effective temperature control for maintaining food at desired temperatures during delivery.
Innovation Solution
A portable container with flexible walls and a support feature that allows for temperature control within the compartment, enabling the maintenance of food items at desired temperatures through movable walls and integrated temperature control sources, facilitating efficient loading and unloading and reducing weight and space requirements.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If rigid walls and heavy-duty carts are used for food containers, then structural strength and stability are improved, but weight and ease of transport deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs flexible plastic walls instead of rigid metal or rigid plastic construction. The container includes a flexible bottom wall, flexible side walls, and a flexible top portion that can be collapsed, providing structural adaptability while significantly reducing weight for easier transport.
2Strength
If rigid walls and heavy-duty carts are used for food containers, then structural strength and stability are improved, but ease of transport deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The container features a dynamic flexible top portion that can be collapsed or expanded as needed. This dynamic structure allows the container to be easily folded for transport and then expanded for use, significantly improving ease of transport while maintaining structural integrity when in use.
3Temperature
If temperature control sources are added to containers, then temperature control capability is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The temperature control source is integrated directly into the container structure itself, merging the temperature control function with the container body. This integration approach adds temperature control capability while minimizing the increase in device complexity by combining functions rather than adding separate systems.
4Weight of moving object
If flexible walls are used for portable containers, then ease of transport and weight are improved, but structural strength deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The flexible walls are designed to be dynamic rather than static, allowing the container to adapt its shape and structure during transport and use. The flexible bottom wall and side walls can deform to absorb stresses, maintaining structural integrity without requiring heavy rigid materials.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The portable container effectively maintains food at desired temperatures, is lightweight and easy to transport, and allows for flexible loading and unloading, addressing the challenges of rigid and heavy containers.
Implementation Method 1
The temperature control source is adapted to be disposed within the control compartment to effect thermal energy transfer between the control compartment and the interior compartment
Data Source
AI summary
A portable container includes flexible walls defining an interior compartment and a support feature within the interior compartment providing a surface to support an item within the interior compartment, where the item is suspended above a wall. In at least some implementations, one of the walls is a lower wall and the support feature holds the item above the lower wall. In other implementations, a container includes a plurality of walls connectable together to define an interior compartment. At least two separate walls are selectively movable to and from open and closed positions. One movable wall is an upper wall and another movable wall is a wall adjacent to the upper wall. This permits, for example, items to be loaded into and unloaded from the container both through the top and through a front, rear or side wall.