Telescoping Waste Container Membrane for Odor Containment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing waste disposal devices with membranes that rely on rotational mechanisms to prevent odor leakage are complex and costly, and they often require direct contact with odiferous waste during bag removal, exposing users to unpleasant odors and potential hazards.
Innovation Solution
A height-adjustable waste container with a membrane that uses a telescoping wall construction and a bag handling assembly with a membrane having slots and reinforcement ribs, allowing for effective odor containment without rotational components, and enabling safe bag removal by sealing the bag above the membrane.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-generated harmful factors
If a rotational mechanism is used to engage and twist the bag to prevent odor leakage, then odor containment is improved, but device complexity and manufacturing cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the complex rotational mechanism from the system and replaces it with a simple membrane structure that achieves odor containment through its geometric design featuring slots and reinforcement ribs, eliminating unnecessary mechanical components while maintaining the core function of preventing odor leakage
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs a flexible membrane with slots and reinforcement ribs that engages the bag through elastic deformation and geometric interlocking, replacing rigid rotational mechanisms with a compliant thin-film structure that achieves the same odor containment function through material flexibility rather than mechanical rotation
2Object-generated harmful factors
If a rotational mechanism is used to engage and twist the bag, then odor containment is improved, but manufacturing cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and eliminates the costly rotational mechanism, replacing it with a membrane structure that can be manufactured using simpler molding processes, thereby reducing manufacturing cost while maintaining odor containment effectiveness
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the design parameters from complex mechanical components requiring precision assembly to a membrane structure with optimized slot geometry and rib reinforcement that can be produced more economically through injection molding or similar processes
3Object-generated harmful factors
If the membrane engages the bag through rotational twisting, then odor containment is improved, but user exposure to odors and hazards during bag removal increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the rotational twisting mechanism that requires users to manually manipulate and expose themselves to odiferous waste, replacing it with a membrane system that seals the bag through passive geometric engagement, thereby eliminating user exposure to harmful odors and hazards during the sealing process
Solution Approach 2:
The membrane structure performs the odor containment function automatically through its geometric design featuring slots and reinforcement ribs that self-eng age with the bag, eliminating the need for user intervention and direct contact with odiferous waste during the sealing operation
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution provides a simpler, cost-effective odor barrier that minimizes exposure to unpleasant odors and hazards during waste disposal, allowing for easy and safe removal of filled bags without direct contact with the waste contents.
Implementation Method 1
a membrane with at least one slot through which the bag passes when present
Data Source
AI summary
Waste container including a telescoping wall construction defining an interior space receivable of a bag and which has wall sections positionable in a plurality of different positions to provide the wall construction with different operational heights, and a bag handling assembly coupled to the wall construction. The wall sections can be locked into engagement with one another and released when desired. The bag handling assembly includes a bag support defining an opening and including a membrane having at least one slot. Each slot is defined by a pair of opposed walls, possibly parallel to one another. The opposed walls of each slot are spaced apart a distance to enable a bag, when inserted through the slot(s), to be pinched by the opposed walls.