Reconfigurable Mobility Device Container for Cargo-Hold Loading
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Solution Overview
Problem
The challenge of efficiently transporting and storing mobility devices like motorized wheelchairs on vehicles, such as aircraft, due to their large dimensions and configuration, which leads to damage, handling difficulties, and reduced cargo capacity, is addressed.
Innovation Solution
A container designed with a selectively positionable orientation and retractable wheels, allowing it to be oriented upright or on its side, with retractable mechanisms to facilitate easy loading and secure storage, and open sides for visibility and protection.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the motorized wheelchair is loaded into the cargo hold in upright orientation, then the wheelchair is protected from damage, but the large dimensions prevent it from fitting through the door
Solution Approach 1:
The container is designed to be dynamically reconfigurable between upright and side orientations. The container can be positioned in upright orientation during loading to protect the wheelchair, then rotated to side orientation for storage, allowing the system to adapt to different operational requirements rather than being fixed in one configuration
Solution Approach 2:
The mobility device is nested within a container that provides structural protection. The container acts as a protective shell that can be maneuvered through doors in side orientation while keeping the wheelchair secured inside, preventing direct exposure to damage risks during handling and storage
2Length of moving object
If the motorized wheelchair is positioned on its side for loading, then it can be inserted through the door, but this leads to damage and handling difficulties
Solution Approach 1:
The wheelchair is nested within a rigid container that maintains its structural integrity during side-oriented handling. The container protects the wheelchair from damage that would occur during side-positioned loading, while still allowing the assembly to fit through standard door openings
Solution Approach 2:
The container is prepared in advance with the wheelchair secured inside before handling. This preliminary securing action ensures the wheelchair is protected from damage during the side-oriented loading process, eliminating the need for careful manual handling that would be required if the wheelchair were handled directly
3Ease of operation
If personnel manually lift and move the motorized wheelchair, then it can be positioned in the cargo hold, but this requires larger workforce and increases injury risk
Solution Approach 1:
The container is equipped with wheels that allow it to be rolled into the cargo hold rather than lifted. This creates an equipotential handling system where the container can be moved horizontally along the floor at constant elevation, eliminating the need for personnel to lift the heavy wheelchair vertically and reducing injury risk
4Productivity
If the motorized wheelchair is stored with bulk cargo, then cargo hold capacity is maximized, but other cargo may contact and damage the wheelchair
Solution Approach 1:
The wheelchair is nested within a protective container that acts as a barrier between the wheelchair and surrounding bulk cargo. This nested configuration allows the container to be stored among other cargo items while the container walls prevent contact damage to the wheelchair inside
Data Source
AI summary
A container to contain a mobility device during transport on a vehicle. The container has a first side, a second side, and a wheel side. Wheels are connected to the wheel side. The container is selectively positionable between an upright orientation and a side orientation. The upright orientation positions the first side downward to contact a support surface and with the wheels spaced away from support surface. The side orientation comprises the first wheel side positioned downward towards the support surface and with the first side and the second side spaced away from the support surface.