Stackable Low Depth Tray With Interlocking Side Columns
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing low depth trays for storing and transporting beverage containers, such as plastic bottles, lack efficient stacking and nesting mechanisms, leading to instability and increased risk of damage during storage and transport.
Innovation Solution
A stackable low depth tray design featuring a base with peripheral walls, low-profile dividers, side columns, and end walls with handle openings, allowing for secure stacking and nesting of trays, with each lower tray's upper bar fitting into the recess of the higher tray, and side columns interlocking to provide stability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If existing low depth trays are used for storing and transporting beverage containers, then the trays can store bottles, but the stacking and nesting mechanisms are inefficient leading to instability and increased risk of damage
Solution Approach 1:
The tray is designed with a nesting mechanism where one tray can be placed inside another tray. The inverted U-shaped walls of one tray fit within the walls of the tray above it, creating a nested configuration that secures multiple trays together during storage and transport, eliminating the need for complex external fastening systems.
Solution Approach 2:
The tray structure is divided into distinct functional segments: base walls for support, inverted U-shaped walls for containment and interlocking, and recesses for positioning. This segmentation allows each component to perform its specific function while working together to provide overall stability without requiring complex integration.
2Productivity
If existing low depth trays are stacked, then storage capacity increases, but the risk of bottle damage increases due to instability
Solution Approach 1:
By nesting trays within each other, the design secures multiple trays together in a stable configuration. The inverted U-shaped walls of lower trays fit within the walls of upper trays, preventing lateral movement and instability that could cause bottle damage, while maintaining high storage efficiency through vertical stacking.
Solution Approach 2:
The recesses in the tray walls are positioned to receive and cushion the corresponding walls of nested trays before stacking occurs. This pre-positioned cushioning structure prevents impact and instability during the stacking process, protecting the bottles from damage while enabling efficient storage.
3Stability of the object's composition
If trays are designed with higher walls to prevent bottle movement, then stability improves, but the trays are no longer low depth and space efficiency decreases
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of increasing tray wall height to improve stability, the design uses nested trays where the walls of one tray are received within the walls of another. This provides stability through the interlocking nested configuration rather than through individual tray height, maintaining the low-depth characteristic while ensuring bottle support stability.
Solution Approach 2:
The stability solution moves from the vertical dimension (increasing wall height) to the horizontal and nested dimension. The inverted U-shaped walls extend horizontally and receive corresponding walls from nested trays, providing stability through lateral interlocking rather than vertical height, thus maintaining low-depth design.
Data Source
AI summary
A tray includes a base including a plurality of base walls each having a peripheral wall defining a container-receiving pocket therein. Adjacent pairs of the peripheral walls of the base walls are spaced apart to define low-profile lateral and longitudinal dividers. The base includes a generally horizontal upper divider wall connecting the peripheral walls. A plurality of side columns have outer walls extending up from upper portions of side walls and have inner walls extending down to the base. The side columns are arranged between spaced apart lower portions of the side walls. A pair of opposed end walls each include an upper bar and a lower bar extending between a pair of corner columns. A handle opening is defined between the upper bar and the lower bar. Each lower bar is connected to the base by an end inner wall.