Removable Wheel Assembly for Collapsible Cooler
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional portable coolers are heavy and bulky, making them difficult to transport and requiring significant storage space when not in use, which limits their usability and retail display options.
Innovation Solution
A collapsible cooler design with a removable wheel assembly and wheel fastening system that allows for easy attachment and detachment of wheels, along with a telescoping handle and collapsible walls made of flexible membranes, enabling compact storage and versatile use.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If wheels are permanently attached to the cooler base, then the cooler can be easily transported, but the device complexity increases and storage space requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The wheel assembly is divided into a separate removable component from the cooler base. The base includes a recessed portion that can receive and retain the wheel assembly, allowing it to be attached or detached as needed. This segmentation enables the cooler to be easily transported when wheels are attached, while reducing device complexity and storage requirements when wheels are removed.
Solution Approach 2:
The wheel assembly transitions from a static permanently-attached state to a dynamic removable state. The fastening system allows the wheel assembly to be selectively attached to or removed from the base, providing adaptability between different operational modes (transport mode vs. storage mode) without being locked into a fixed configuration.
2Reliability
If the cooler is designed with fixed walls, then the cooler maintains its structural integrity and capacity, but it requires large storage space when not in use
Solution Approach 1:
The cooler walls are constructed from flexible membrane material instead of rigid fixed walls. This flexible membrane allows the cooler to be collapsed to a compact size for storage while still maintaining sufficient structural integrity to hold items when in use. The membrane material provides the necessary reliability to contain items while enabling the volume reduction needed for compact storage.
3Volume of stationary object
If the cooler is made collapsible with flexible membranes, then storage space is reduced, but the manufacturing precision and material requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The flexible membrane is designed with specific structural features including reinforced portions at corners and edges, and attachment mechanisms for the wheel assembly. These design features ensure that the membrane maintains sufficient strength and structural integrity while enabling collapsibility. The manufacturing precision requirements are managed through standardized membrane construction with defined reinforcement patterns and attachment points.
Data Source
AI summary
A cooler includes a main body which includes a base, an upper rim, and one or more cooler walls extending therebetween. The cooler in some embodiments further includes a removable wheel assembly which includes two coaxial wheels, and an axle. The two coaxial wheels are removably securable to the axle. The cooler still further comprises a wheel fastening system configured to secure the removable wheel assembly to the base of the main body which includes a mount, a clip hingedly connected to the mount, and a locking clasp configured to lock the clip into a closed position to secure the wheel assembly. The cooler yet further comprises a lid including two wheel storage recesses, each being sized and dimensioned to receive and retain one of the coaxial wheel of the wheel assembly, and an axle storage recess sized and dimensioned to receive and retain the axle of the wheel assembly.