Stackable Containers with Interlocking Recesses for Pallet Shipping
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing methods for shipping irregularly shaped containers are costly and time-consuming due to the need for packaging in boxes to ensure safe stacking and shipping, as these containers cannot be stacked directly on pallets.
Innovation Solution
The development of stackable containers with integrally formed vertical side surfaces, a shoulder portion on the top surface, and a stacking recess on the bottom surface, allowing for vertical and horizontal interlocking, along with a method of wrapping pairs of containers with flexible material and stacking them on pallets, eliminating the need for slip sheets between layers.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If irregularly shaped containers are packaged in boxes for shipping, then the containers can be shipped safely, but the process becomes costly and time-consuming
Solution Approach 1:
The container features a stacking recess at the bottom that receives the shoulder portion of another container, allowing containers to be nested vertically. This nesting structure enables direct stacking on pallets without requiring external boxes, thereby maintaining safe shipping while improving productivity
Solution Approach 2:
The invention transitions from horizontal packaging (boxes containing containers) to vertical stacking (containers stacked on pallets). By utilizing the vertical dimension with stacking recesses and shoulder portions, containers can be arranged in multiple layers, eliminating the need for box packaging and improving shipping efficiency
2Ease of operation
If containers are designed with stacking features, then they can be stacked directly on pallets, but the container structure becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The container structure is segmented into distinct functional portions: a shoulder portion at the top and a stacking recess at the bottom. This segmentation allows each portion to serve a specific stacking function while keeping the overall design simple and modular, balancing ease of operation with structural simplicity
3Stability of the object's composition
If additional packaging materials are used for stacking, then stability is improved, but shipping costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The container is designed with self-stabilizing stacking features where the shoulder portion and stacking recess create an interlocking mechanism. This self-service design provides stacking stability without requiring additional packaging materials, thereby reducing shipping costs while maintaining stability
Data Source
AI summary
Stackable containers that, in various embodiments, are adapted to be vertically and/or horizontally interlocked with other, like, containers to, for example, increase the stability of stacks of the containers. In one embodiment, a stackable container comprises: (A) a top surface comprising a shoulder portion that extends upwardly from the top surface and that is substantially disposed within a perimeter defined by the top surface; (B) a bottom surface defining a stacking recess; (C) a plurality of substantially vertical side surfaces that extend between the top surface and the bottom surface. In various embodiments, a recessed portion of the bottom surface adjacent the stacking recess is adapted to substantially mate with at least a portion of a shoulder portion of a like container.