Stackable Bin Movable Handle Asymmetric Platform Nesting
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional storage bins require a lateral offset to be nested, resulting in an angled orientation that makes shipping inconvenient and unstable.
Innovation Solution
The design incorporates movable handles that allow storage bins to be stacked or nested without lateral offset, using a flip handle mechanism that supports the bins in a straight orientation for both stacked and nested arrangements.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If storage bins are nested with lateral offset, then nesting capability is achieved, but the nested arrangement becomes angled and unstable
Solution Approach 1:
The handle is designed with asymmetric geometry where the inner surface of the handle includes a platform that is asymmetrically positioned relative to the handle's central axis. This asymmetry allows the platform to interface with the channel of an adjacent bin in a way that prevents lateral offset during nesting, while still allowing the bin to be nested without requiring angular orientation
Solution Approach 2:
The platform-channel interface acts as an intermediary mechanism between the handle and the nesting operation. The platform on the inner surface of the handle engages with the channel on the outer surface of the adjacent bin, serving as a mediating structure that guides and constrains the nesting motion to be straight rather than angled, thereby achieving stable nesting without lateral offset
2Adaptability or versatility
If storage bins are stacked vertically, then stacking capability is achieved, but the bins require lateral offset which makes shipping inconvenient
Solution Approach 1:
The asymmetric positioning of the platform on the handle's inner surface allows the handle to function dual-purpose: when the bin is stacked, the platform provides a stable support surface for the bin above, and when nested, the same asymmetric platform interfaces with the channel to prevent lateral offset. This eliminates the need for lateral offset in both stacking and nesting operations
Solution Approach 2:
The handle structure with its asymmetric platform serves multiple functions: it provides a gripping surface for manual handling, a support platform for stacking operations, and a nesting interface through the platform-channel engagement. This multi-functionality allows the same structural feature to enable both stacking and nesting without lateral offset, improving shipping convenience
Data Source
AI summary
The present disclosure relates to a first storage bin having a main body with a base wall, side walls, a rear wall, and a front wall defining an open top, a partly open front, and a rim with built-in handles. Each side wall has an inner surface with a platform and an outer surface with a channel. The platform has a stacking surface adjacent to the rim. The bin also includes a movable handle attached to the rim, which is movably connected to the main body. The flip handle can be in an opened position, allowing stacking of the first storage bin with a second storage bin, or in a closed position, allowing nesting of the first storage bin with the second storage bin, without any lateral offset between the first and second storage bins so that there is no lean in either the stacked or nested arrangements.