Vertical Carousel Shelving With Guide Rails to Prevent Jamming
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing carousel shelving units for home storage are complex, inefficient, and lack widespread acceptance due to design flaws such as excessive space between shelves, jamming issues, and inaccessibility for individuals with physical limitations, leading to suboptimal storage capacity and retrieval ease.
Innovation Solution
A motor-driven vertical carousel system with a simple guide system and connecting lever that ensures shelves are properly spaced, preventing collisions and maintaining chain tension, allowing for easy installation, quiet operation, and accessible item retrieval at any height.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If traditional carousel shelving units are used, then storage capacity is improved, but the design becomes too complex to be affordable and reliable
Solution Approach 1:
The shelving unit is divided into multiple independent shelves that can be individually positioned along the vertical track, allowing each shelf to be independently adjusted and removed without affecting others, simplifying the overall system while maintaining storage capacity
Solution Approach 2:
The vertical track and carriage mechanism serves multiple functions: it provides structural support, enables vertical movement, allows positioning at any height, and facilitates easy removal and installation of shelves, replacing what would otherwise require multiple separate adjustment mechanisms
2Reliability
If shelves are spaced far apart vertically to prevent contact, then collision is avoided, but space is wasted and storage capacity is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The shelves are given angular velocity through the connecting lever mechanism during movement, dynamically preventing contact between shelves as they travel from front to back and vice versa, allowing shelves to be positioned close together without risk of collision
Solution Approach 2:
The angular velocity parameter is introduced to the shelf movement, changing the motion characteristics from simple linear movement to rotational movement that prevents shelf-to-shelf contact while maintaining minimal vertical spacing
3Ease of operation
If open top shelves are used, then accessibility is improved, but jamming occurs when items that are too tall are placed on the shelf
Solution Approach 1:
The top enclosure prevents jamming issues before they can occur by blocking tall items from entering the shelf space, while still allowing normal access to items on the shelf, thus maintaining accessibility while preventing the harmful effect
4Ease of manufacture
If a simple guide system is used, then installation is easier and the system is quieter, but shelves may swing unnecessarily
Solution Approach 1:
The guide function is extracted from a complex integrated system and implemented as separate, simple guide rails that attach to the vertical track, reducing overall system complexity and ease of installation while the geometry of these simple guides inherently prevents swinging through proper alignment and constraint
Data Source
AI summary
A motor driven storage unit is configured to bring individual shelves to a standard handicapped accessible height for viewing and selection of product on shelves. The shelves are controllable and move in a continuous path that has both a front vertical path and a rear vertical path. Stationary guide tracks and complimentary tracking elements connected to the shelves are used to keep shelves stable. A connecting lever is used to attach the shelves to the chain or other transport means and along with the tracking system ensures that fill storage utilization of the shelves and the space between them can occur.