Stackable Container Handle With Side Access Cavity
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Solution Overview
Problem
In vertically stackable containers, the design constraints on free space between containers limit the accessibility and stability of handles, which are often housed inside cavities, making them inaccessible when stacked and requiring modifications to the container configuration for access, leading to reduced stability and manageability.
Innovation Solution
A handle configuration with a fixing ring, gripping element, and attachment section that allows access and handling without modifying the container's cavity shape, featuring flexible tabs and sheet-like portions to maintain stability and accessibility, ensuring the handle is accessible even when stacked, using different manufacturing techniques and materials for the container and handle.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Volume of stationary object
If the handle is housed inside the cavity of the lower base to optimize volume, then the volume efficiency is improved, but the handle becomes inaccessible when containers are stacked
Solution Approach 1:
The handle is nested within the cavity of the lower base during stacking, allowing the gripping element to be received inside the cavity while still providing access through the side wall. This nesting arrangement optimizes volume efficiency while maintaining operational accessibility.
Solution Approach 2:
The handle configuration extends in a direction that allows access from the side wall of the container rather than requiring access from the top or bottom. This dimensional change enables the handle to be accessible while housed within the cavity structure.
2Ease of operation
If the handle configuration is modified to allow access from outside the stack, then the handle accessibility is improved, but the container configuration must be modified which reduces stability
Solution Approach 1:
The cavity is designed with differentiated local qualities: a region for receiving the handle that provides accessibility, and a support region that maintains stacking stability. This local differentiation allows the handle to be accessible while the support surfaces remain intact for stable stacking.
Solution Approach 2:
The cavity structure is segmented into distinct functional zones: one portion accommodates the handle for accessibility, while another portion maintains the support surface for stacking stability. This segmentation allows both requirements to be satisfied simultaneously without compromising overall stability.
3Adaptability or versatility
If a large cavity is created to house the handle in any orientation, then the handle versatility is improved, but the support region is considerably reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The handle is designed with articulation that allows rotation and adjustment to various orientations within the cavity. This dynamic capability provides versatility while the cavity geometry is optimized to accommodate these movements without requiring excessive space that would compromise the support region.
Data Source
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AI summary
The present invention relates to a handle for handling stackable containers that can be vertically stacked. More particularly, said handle is accessible when the containers are stacked and the neck to which the handle is fixed is housed entirely under the container located immediately thereabove in the stack, and therefore concealed in a cavity arranged in the lower base of said container arranged thereabove. This invention also relates to a container with a vertically stackable configuration comprising a handle that allows access to the neck of said container when stacked under another container without having to modify the configuration of the container so as to allow access to the handle from outside the stack.