Segmented Suitcase with Independent Door Access
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Solution Overview
Problem
Rigid containers, such as trunks and suitcases, face challenges in organizing and efficiently retrieving multiple tools and instruments due to their cumbersome and heavy design, which makes it difficult to access items located deeper without disarranging the entire contents.
Innovation Solution
A container design featuring a first half-shell with a door that can move independently to provide additional access to the internal compartment, allowing for the inclusion of drawers that can be partially or fully extracted, along with modular inserts and a removable deck to enhance organization and accessibility.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If the container is designed with a single closed half-shell structure to ensure shock resistance and hermetic seal, then the structural strength and protection level are improved, but the accessibility and ease of retrieving objects located deeper inside deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The container is divided into two functional parts: a first half-shell with a door providing access to a first compartment, and a second half-shell that can be opened to access a second compartment. This segmentation allows users to access frequently used items in the first compartment without disturbing the protected environment of the second compartment, thereby improving accessibility while maintaining shock resistance.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention adds a dimensional aspect to access by creating multiple entry points (front door and side opening) and multiple compartments at different spatial levels. This allows users to retrieve items from different locations without having to open the entire container or disturb other items, resolving the contradiction between maintaining a closed protective structure and enabling easy access.
2Quantity of substance
If the container size is increased to accommodate more tools and instruments, then the quantity of objects that can be stored is improved, but the weight and cumbersome nature of the container worsen
Solution Approach 1:
The container is segmented into multiple compartments (first compartment accessible via door, second compartment accessible via opening in first half-shell). This allows efficient spatial organization of tools and instruments, maximizing the storage capacity of the container volume without requiring an increase in overall size, thereby avoiding additional weight.
Solution Approach 2:
The design nests multiple compartments within the container structure, with the first compartment containing drawers for smaller items and the second compartment providing additional storage space. This nested arrangement optimizes the use of internal volume, allowing a high quantity of tools to be stored in a compact configuration that does not proportionally increase weight.
3Ease of operation
If multiple drawers and compartments are added to organize tools and instruments, then the organizational capability and ease of retrieval are improved, but the device complexity and number of moving parts worsen
Solution Approach 1:
The container is segmented into two main compartments with the first compartment containing multiple drawers. This segmentation provides systematic organization of tools by frequency of use or type, improving retrieval efficiency. The segmentation is achieved through straightforward structural divisions rather than complex mechanisms, keeping the overall device complexity manageable.
Solution Approach 2:
The first compartment incorporates movable drawers that can be independently opened and closed, providing dynamic access to different groups of tools. This dynamic element enhances organizational capability and retrieval ease without requiring complex automation, as the drawers are simple mechanical components that slide along guides.
4Reliability
If the container is designed to be fully enclosed for protection, then the hermetic seal and shock resistance are improved, but the ability to quickly access and extract tool kits deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The container is segmented into a protected second compartment that maintains hermetic seal and shock resistance, and a first compartment with a door that can be quickly opened for rapid access to frequently used tools. This segmentation allows the container to simultaneously provide both quick access (improving productivity) and protected storage (maintaining reliability).
Solution Approach 2:
The design extracts the access function from the main enclosed structure by providing a separate first compartment with a door that can be independently opened. This allows users to quickly extract and access tool kits in the first compartment without compromising the hermetic seal of the second compartment, thereby improving access speed while maintaining protection.
Data Source
AI summary
A container, of the type of trunks, suitcases, trolley cases, and the like, which includes at least one first half-shell, which can be closed at a free edge thereof by a second half-shell, when the second half-shell is arranged in a first configuration, in order to define an internal compartment that is designed to accommodate objects. The second half-shell can move from the first configuration to at least one second configuration, of free access to the compartment, and vice versa.The first half-shell has a door arranged, in a first arrangement of use, to close an opening that is provided along at least one first side wall of the first half-shell and is such as to define an additional, independent, access to the compartment. The door moves between the first arrangement and at least one second arrangement, in which the door is at least partially distanced from the opening, in order to allow free access to the compartment, even when the second half-shell is arranged in the first configuration.