Stackable Storage Containers With Self-Locking Mechanism
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Solution Overview
Problem
In industrial settings, such as construction and repair shops, managing and organizing a multitude of tools becomes unmanageable without effective storage solutions, leading to issues like loss and difficulty in accessing necessary tools due to the lack of efficient and quick ways to stack and secure storage containers.
Innovation Solution
A system of stackable storage containers with a tri-state lock mechanism that automatically aligns and locks when stacked, featuring protrusions and detent slots for alignment and locking, along with a lock status indicator to show the locking state, allowing for easy assembly and disassembly without manual locking.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If storage containers are designed to stack automatically without manual locking, then ease of operation is improved, but reliability of the stacking connection may worsen
Solution Approach 1:
The stacking system employs self-aligning protrusions and detent slots that automatically engage when containers are stacked, eliminating the need for manual locking operations. The weights themselves perform the locking function through gravity-assisted engagement of the alignment features.
Solution Approach 2:
The protrusions and detent slots are pre-configured in specific positions and orientations on the containers before stacking. This preliminary arrangement ensures that when containers are placed together, the alignment features automatically engage in the correct configuration without requiring manual intervention or adjustment.
2Reliability
If a lock mechanism is added to secure stacked containers, then reliability of stacking connection is improved, but device complexity worsens
Solution Approach 1:
The alignment and locking functions are merged into a single integrated system of protrusions and detent slots. These features simultaneously provide both alignment guidance and secure locking engagement, eliminating the need for separate locking mechanisms and reducing overall system complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The stacking containers perform their own locking function through the automatic engagement of pre-configured protrusions and detent slots. The system is self-sufficient and does not require external locking devices, manual operations, or additional complex mechanisms to secure the stacked configuration.
3Ease of operation
If protrusions and detent slots are used for automatic alignment, then ease of operation is improved, but manufacturing precision requirements worsen
Solution Approach 1:
The protrusions and detent slots are designed with asymmetric geometries that provide built-in alignment guidance. The asymmetric shapes ensure that the containers can only engage in the correct orientation, automatically correcting minor misalignments and reducing the precision requirements for manufacturing while maintaining reliable automatic alignment.
Data Source
Figure 1A
Figure 1B
Figure 1C
AI summary
A storage box comprises latch mechanism 700 that includes lock receiver 701 having body 705 and lock receiver edge 706, latch 702, latch pivot 703, lock edge 704, lock status indicator 707, cam 709 having a short end 710 and a long end 711 and a cam pivot 708. The cam 709 is coupled with the lock status indicator 707 via cam pivot 708. When the long end 711 of the cam 709 engages tabs extending from latch 702, it causes the lock edge 704 to lift up around the latch pivot 703 and disengage lock edge 704 from lock receiver edge 706 and open or unlock the latch 702. Similarly, when the short end 710 of the cam 709 engages tabs extending from latch 702, it causes the lock edge 704 to move down around the latch pivot 703 and engage lock edge 704 with lock receiver edge 706 and close or lock the latch 702.