Multi-compartment Airplane Tray Cover Holder
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Solution Overview
Problem
Commercial airplanes' seatback tray tables are among the dirtiest surfaces, with high microorganism concentrations, and existing tray cover solutions are bulky, inconvenient, and prone to cross-contamination, lacking a practical and hygienic way to store and transport multiple covers.
Innovation Solution
A multi-compartment holder system with a case that has separate, pivotally attached compartments, each with unique identification and a window for viewing contents, allowing for easy access and storage of multiple tray covers, and the ability to connect multiple cases for expanded capacity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If multiple individual tray covers are stored separately without a multi-compartment system, then each cover can be accessed independently, but the covers are prone to loss, cross-contamination, and are inconvenient to transport
Solution Approach 1:
The storage case is divided into multiple separate compartments, each capable of holding an individual tray cover. This segmentation allows each cover to be isolated from others, preventing cross-contamination while maintaining independent access. The case body includes first, second, third and fourth compartments that are spatially separated by partition walls.
Solution Approach 2:
Multiple individual tray covers are combined into a single integrated storage case. The case merges the functionality of storing multiple covers while providing a unified structure with coordinated doors and compartments. This combining approach prevents loss and makes transportation convenient while maintaining individual access through separate doors for each compartment.
2Quantity of substance
If a large bulky cover with pockets is used to store multiple tray covers, then multiple covers can be carried in one unit, but the cover becomes inconvenient to handle and already difficult to manage
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of using a single large bulky cover, the invention segments the storage into multiple smaller compartments within a compact case. Each compartment is sized appropriately for individual tray covers, making the overall case much more manageable in size and easier to handle while still accommodating multiple covers.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention transitions from a two-dimensional flat cover with pockets to a three-dimensional multi-compartment case structure. This dimensional change allows for vertical stacking and organized separation of covers, maximizing storage capacity within a compact footprint that is easy to carry and handle.
3Ease of operation
If individual tray covers are stored without unique identification, then the storage system is simpler, but it becomes difficult to identify and select specific covers
Solution Approach 1:
Each compartment is assigned a unique color code that corresponds to a specific passenger or family member. The first compartment has a first color, the second compartment has a second color, the third compartment has a third color, and the fourth compartment has a fourth color. This color-coding system enables rapid visual identification and selection of the correct tray cover without complex labeling or marking systems.
4Ease of operation
If the storage case has separate pivotally attached doors for each compartment, then each compartment can be accessed independently, but the door mechanism becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The case is equipped with multiple separate doors (first door, second door, third door, fourth door), each pivotally attached to the case body and corresponding to a specific compartment. This segmentation allows each door to be opened independently to access its respective compartment without affecting other compartments, providing convenient selective access while using a simple hinge mechanism for each door.
Data Source
AI summary
An airplane tray cover multi-compartment holder system and method for holding and transporting a plurality of airplane tray covers independent of and isolated from each other. The system and method generally includes a case with a plurality of individual compartments each adapted to hold an individual tray cover or item isolated from the other compartments. Each compartment has a separate door panel that is pivotable between open and closed positions to access an individual tray cover in a compartment. The door panels have windows through which the individual tray covers can be viewed. The tray covers and compartments each have indicia that uniquely identify them. The individual compartments are defined by an arrangement of exterior and interior panels. The exterior panels may have magnetic or other connectors that allow them to be releasably connected with panels of other compartments and cases in various configurations.