Portable Urinal Unit with Nested Stacking for Compact Transport
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing urinal units are bulky and inefficient to transport, especially when used temporarily in public environments such as festivals or construction sites, due to their large product volume and lack of compact transport solutions.
Innovation Solution
A urinal unit with a L-shaped unit body, featuring a base platform and an upstanding wall, which allows for compact stacking and stability through a pair of male and female lock members that engage in a transport assembly, reducing transport volume and eliminating the need for additional fasteners.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If urinal units are designed with a robust configuration for frequent transport and use in public environments, then reliability and durability are improved, but product volume and transport efficiency worsen
Solution Approach 1:
The urinal unit is designed to nest within another identical unit during transport, with one unit placed inside the basin area of another unit. This nesting configuration reduces the transport volume by approximately 50% compared to transporting units side by side, while maintaining the robust construction needed for reliability in frequent transport and public environment use.
2Volume of stationary object
If urinal units are made compact for efficient transport, then transport volume is reduced, but stability during transport worsens
Solution Approach 1:
The design incorporates pre-integrated lock members (protrusions and recesses) on the base platform and upstanding wall that automatically engage when units are nested during transport. This preliminary integration of locking features ensures stability is maintained throughout the transport process without requiring additional fasteners or assembly steps, while keeping the compact nested configuration.
3Stability of the object's composition
If additional fasteners are added to secure urinal units during transport, then stability is improved, but device complexity worsens
Solution Approach 1:
The lock members (protrusions and recesses) are integrated directly into the structural components of the urinal unit - specifically into the base platform and upstanding wall - rather than being separate fasteners. This merging of locking functionality into existing structural elements provides stability during transport while avoiding additional parts, reducing assembly complexity, and maintaining a simple device design.
Data Source
AI summary
A urinal unit for temporary providing an urinal including a L-shaped unit body with a base platform which forms a pedestal to stand in front of a urinal and an upstanding wall which forms a privacy separation. At least one urinal is connected to a front side of the upstanding wall. The urinal unit includes a pair of a male and a female lock member to engage with each other in a transport assembly of an assembly of urinal units. In the transport assembly one of the urinal units is stacked in an upside down orientation onto another urinal unit in which the lock members engage with each other to provide stability. The transport assembly may be further compacted by collapsing the upstanding wall of each urinal unit.