Two-Tier Boot Tray Stand for Umbrella Drip Containment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing solutions for organizing and drying wet umbrellas and outdoor footwear near entryways are often bulky, impractical, and do not effectively prevent water and dirt from reaching the floor, posing a hazard and causing damage to flooring materials.
Innovation Solution
A multipurpose two-tiered stand with a bottom tray and top tray, featuring raised sidewalls and parallel ridges for air circulation, along with a drip holder for umbrellas, allows for easy assembly and disassembly, and includes hollow posts that mate frictionally or threadably to support umbrellas and footwear in a vertical orientation, preventing puddles and dirt from reaching the floor.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If a large box section rack is used to hold umbrellas and footwear, then the device can accommodate multiple items, but the device becomes bulky and impractical for entryway use
Solution Approach 1:
The device is divided into two separate trays: a bottom tray for footwear and a top tray for umbrellas. This segmentation allows each tray to be optimized for its specific function while reducing the overall bulk compared to a single large container. The trays are connected by posts to form a compact two-tiered structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The design transitions from a single-level horizontal arrangement to a two-level vertical arrangement. By stacking the umbrella tray above the footwear tray and connecting them with vertical posts, the device utilizes vertical space efficiently, reducing the horizontal footprint and overall bulk while maintaining capacity for both item types.
2Device complexity
If parallel rods are used to support footwear, then the structure is simple, but water and dirt easily fall onto shoes and hats on shelves underneath
Solution Approach 1:
A mesh bottom is introduced as an intermediary element between the footwear support rods and the items stored on lower shelves. This mesh screen acts as a barrier that allows air circulation while blocking water and dirt from falling onto stored items, thus protecting them from contamination while maintaining the simplicity of the rod support structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The harmful function of water and dirt falling through the rod structure is extracted and isolated by introducing the mesh bottom. The mesh captures and retains water and dirt particles, preventing them from reaching lower shelves, while allowing the simple rod support structure to remain intact for footwear support.
3Ease of operation
If shelves are used to store footwear, then items can be organized, but the shelves cannot stop puddling water from running over the shelf sides
Solution Approach 1:
Raised perimeter walls are added to the trays to create containment boundaries that prevent water from overflowing. These walls elevate the effective storage level, ensuring that even when water accumulates in puddles, it remains contained within the tray boundaries and does not spill over onto the floor or adjacent areas.
4Productivity
If electrical blowers are installed to dry umbrellas and footwear, then drying efficiency is improved, but the device requires wall plug installation and creates potential hazards near wet umbrellas
Solution Approach 1:
The design eliminates the need for external electrical blowers by utilizing natural air circulation. The open structure with posts and mesh bottoms allows ambient air to flow through and around the umbrellas and footwear, providing passive drying functionality without requiring electrical power, wall installations, or creating safety hazards near wet items.
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 stand effectively organizes and dries wet footwear and umbrellas, preventing water and dirt from reaching the floor, reducing clutter and hazards while being versatile and easy to use, thus addressing the limitations of prior art devices.
Implementation Method 1
hollow posts that mate frictionally or threadably to support umbrellas and footwear in a vertical orientation
Data Source
AI summary
Stands, devices, systems and methods for supporting umbrellas in vertical orientations and different levels with raised ridges and sidewalls for allowing outdoor footwear to dry. The stands can include two tier levels, each with raised sidewalls and posts for allowing a top tier to be supported over a bottom tier. The tiers can have parallel raised ridges for allowing drying and airflow under wet outer footwear placed on each tier. Male members and female sockets on the trays can be attached to hollow posts in order to attach the trays to one another. At least one opening in the top tier can allow for a wet umbrella to be stored. The trays can prevent water, rain, melted snow, dirt and mud from getting on the floor while holding the umbrellas and outer footwear in an organized manner.