Concept Report
Haohan Yu
Introduction
A Day in the Life of someone who worries about food delivery
There is a man who is busy working at home and doesn’t have much time to cook by
himself. He lives in the suburban area and most of the restaurants are located in the
nearby downtown. Therefore, most of the restaurants are far away from his house.
Usually, he has the baked bread and coffee for breakfast and he orders the food delivery
for lunch and dinner. Because of the distance, the food is getting cold on its way to his
house. As a result, every time when he picks up the food, it is not warm. He is frustrated
with the heat loss of the food because of the distance and sometimes the traffic.
Figure 1, requirements in delivery process
The problem is how to keep food warm or cold&fresh after delivery? Usually the people
who don’t cook by themselves because of busy work, laziness or poor cooking skills
will ask for the food delivery. But the fact is that, in many cases the food tastes bad
because of the heat exchange. One solution is that to design a new heat preservation
box that ensure a low heat transfer rate. Also, other requirements like cost and
portability will be considered.
Preliminary sketch
Figure 2, the preliminary sketch
Mind mapping
Figure 3, mind map
System level requirements
Customer requirements
Functional requirements
Technical interpretations
The hot food should be warm after
delivery
Heat preservation
Prevent the heat transfer from food to air and
the box
The cold food should stay cold and
fresh
Cold preservation
Prevent the heat transfer from air and box to
the food
The box should be relatively light
The weight should be low
The mass of the box is relatively small
The box should be strong and sturdy
The structure should be
stable and firm
The strength of connections and faces of the
box are within the range of requirements
The box should contain as much food
as possible
The box should have a large
space
Large food capacity
The box should be easy to carry
User experience
Comfortable handles
The box is safe when using
Safety
The product should be able to pass the safety
test of CPSC (customer product safety
mission)
Table 1, system level requirements
Components requirements
Components
Requirements
Technical interpretations
Handle
Stainless and comfortable
Ergonomic and stainless
steel alloy
Snap-fit
Ease of assembly
In general, snap-fits will
encounter the most stress
during
attachment
and
should return to
their
neutral position once the
joining
process
completed.
Cover of the box
It should seal well
Tightness of the sealing.
Table 2, subsystem level requirements
Three alternatives
is
Dimensions (LxWxH, mm)
584 x 350 x 375
Weight (g)
1500
Outer Material
1680D Polyster
Insulation Material
10mm PE Foam
Price (USD)
40
Table 3, alternative 1 specifications
Figure 4, alternative design 1
Dimensions (LxWxH, mm)
420 x 330 x 470
Weight (g)
3100
Outer Material
1680D PVC Nylon Oxford Fabric
Insulation Material
Heat insulated Pearl Cotton materials
Price (USD)
80
Table 4, alternative 2 specifications
Figure 5, alternative design 2
Dimensions (LxWxH, mm)
600 x 450 x 300
Weight (g)
1200
Outer Material
Expanded Polypropylene
Insulation Material
Expanded Polypropylene
Price (USD)
30
Table 5, alternative 3 specifications
Figure 6, alternative design 3
Pugh matrix
Requirements
Alternative 1
Alternative 2
Alternative 3
Insulation
4
4
3
Low weight
2
4
5
Capacity
2
3
5
Stability
4
4
4
Safety
5
5
4
User experience
4
5
3
Portability
4
5
4
Cost
3
1
4
Sum
28
31
32
Table 6, pugh matrix of 3 alternative designs
From the pugh matrix, the innovation design is considered to be the best choice. It has
great advantages on the budget cost, the capacity and the low weight. The product
shoots for a different market target from the other 2 products. It is aimed at lowering
the cost and performs as well as possible.
Customer interviews
A: One thing should be considered is the portability. The box has to be carry with a car
and it would be better if it can be easily mounted on and took off from the car.
B: There are essentially two ways of preserving the heat, one is passive due to the
special material and mechanism, the other one is active by using some sort of energy to
maintain the temperature.
C: If the cost of the box is totally borne by the restaurants, they may not be willing to
approve it. So one of the key points that make it happen is to cut down the cost and
make it beneficial for both the customers and merchants
D: If the box is supported by some energy, I would recommend using solar power,
which does no harm to the environment.
E: The food box not only guarantees the quality of the food, but also ensures the food
hygiene since it won’t allow excessive people to be in touch with the food.
Risk analysis fishbone
Figure 7, fishbone of risks
Updated customer requirements and specifications
Customer requirements
The hot food should be
warm after delivery
Functional
requirements
Heat preservation
Technical interpretations
Technical specifications
Prevent the heat transfer from
food to air and the box
The heat transfer coefficient
should be tested to meet the
requirement
The thermal conductivity lays
in the range of 0.11 to 0.44
W/Mk
The cold food should stay
cold and fresh
Cold preservation
Prevent the heat transfer from
air and box to the food
Same as above
The box should
relatively light
be
The weight should be
low
The mass of the box is
relatively small
The density of the material
ranges from 18 to 260 g/L
The box should be strong
and sturdy
The structure should be
stable and firm
The strength of connections
and faces of the box are
within
the
range
of
requirements
The compressive strength
ranges from 150kPa to 3000
at 50% strain
The box should contain as
much food as possible
The box should have a
large space
Large food capacity
The inner space is expected to
contain the volume of 80L
The box should be easy to
carry
User experience
Comfortable handles
The material of the handle is
considered to be stainless
steel, with the density from
7.85 to 8.06 lb/ft^3
The box is safe when
using
Safety
The product should be able to
pass the safety test of CPSC
(customer product safety
mission)
A good material security and
the factor of safety should be
below 5
Table 7, updated customer requirements and specifications
Gantt chart
Figure 7, gantt chart
Conclusion
The innovation comes from real experiences. The food delivery, for example, a pizza,
is usually not hot enough when it arrives and it is covered by a simple kraft box. So the
problem is, how to keep the food warm in the delivery, and make sure people can enjoy
their food. This is also a problem for cold things.
There are two major beneficiaries, the restaurants and the customers. I believe they have
an impact on each other. For example, If the restaurants deliver the food just like it was
cooked, the customers will really enjoy the food. This is the benefit for customers. As
a result, the customers will be satisfied with the restaurants and definitely will bring up
the income for them eventually. This constitutes a virtuous circle.
Figure 8, the virtuous circle
To meet the requirements, there are several features of the design: First, it will use the
thermal insulation material to ensure a low heat transfer. Second, it will have a strong
bearing capacity to support a wide range of applications. And then, it comes with a low
weight and budget price which are important to the product. Considering the user
experience, it is also designed with handles, grooves and snap-fits on both sides. The
snap-fit ensures a stable locking and also an easy opening. There is a clearance of 2mm
between the snap which will make the 3D printing more feasible.