Under-Cabinet Storage Bin With Retaining Tabs and Wheels
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Solution Overview
Problem
The space between the bottom of tool storage cabinets and the floor is often unused and difficult to access due to the need to bend down and reach under the cabinet, making it inefficient for storing items.
Innovation Solution
A storage bin with wheels and retaining features that fits under the cabinet, allowing easy sliding and rolling, with protruding tabs to prevent complete removal, ensuring easy access while maintaining position.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If items are stored in the space between the tool storage cabinet bottom and the floor, then storage capacity is increased, but accessibility to items deteriorates due to the need to bend down and reach under the cabinet
Solution Approach 1:
The storage bin incorporates wheels that enable dynamic movement between stored and accessible positions. This transforms the static, hard-to-reach under-cabinet space into a dynamically accessible storage solution where items can be easily rolled in and out without bending down.
Solution Approach 2:
The storage bin acts as an intermediary between the under-cabinet space and the user. It provides a platform that bridges the gap between the difficult-to-access space and easy accessibility, allowing items to be stored in the under-cabinet area while maintaining ease of access through wheel-based movement.
2Ease of operation
If the storage bin is made movable with wheels, then ease of operation is improved, but reliability deteriorates due to the risk of the bin being completely removed from under the cabinet
Solution Approach 1:
The retaining features are selectively applied only at specific locations (the ends of the bin) rather than throughout the entire structure. This localized approach provides necessary position retention while preserving the overall mobility of the bin, allowing it to be easily moved within the under-cabinet space but preventing complete removal.
Solution Approach 2:
The retaining features provide preliminary counter-action against the force that would completely remove the bin from under the cabinet. By having these features in place beforehand, the system prevents the undesirable outcome of complete bin removal while maintaining the desired mobility for normal operation.
3Reliability
If retaining features are added to prevent complete removal, then reliability is improved, but device complexity increases due to additional structural elements
Solution Approach 1:
The retaining features are segmented into discrete elements located at the ends of the bin rather than forming a continuous complex structure. This segmentation allows for simple, modular retention mechanisms that are easy to manufacture and install while providing effective position retention without significantly increasing overall device complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
A storage container, basin, bin, or basket (referred to herein as a storage bin) with wheels. The storage bin includes retaining features or tabs that protrude on one side higher than a plane formed by an upper edge of the storage bin to keep the storage bin located under a tool storage cabinet or toolbox. The retaining features allow the storage bin to be slid under the tool storage cabinet or toolbox with the retaining features disposed between opposing front and back flanges on the bottom of the tool storage cabinet or toolbox. This allows the storage bin to be slid out and back under the tool storage cabinet or toolbox, while the retaining feature restricts the storage bin from being slid completely out from under tool storage cabinet or toolbox.