Activatable Cling Wrap Structure for Easy Unwind and Reuse
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional food grade wrap films face a trade-off between cling ability and dispensability, often resulting in reduced ease of use and handling due to excessive tackiness or adhesive loss after a single use.
Innovation Solution
Thermoplastic cling wrap films with tailored three-dimensional deformation and controlled amounts of cling additives, allowing selective activation by stretching or compressing to enhance cling and improve dispensability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the cling wrap's composition is modified to increase clinging nature (tackiness), then the cling ability is improved, but the ease of dispensability deteriorates (causes the cling wrap to stick to its own roll and become difficult to unroll, cut, and dispense)
Solution Approach 1:
The cling wrap film is divided into multiple layers with different functions: at least one layer contains adhesive material while other layers are substantially free of adhesive. This segmentation allows the adhesive to provide cling ability only where needed, preventing the entire film from sticking to itself and improving dispensability.
Solution Approach 2:
Adhesive material is applied locally to specific layers or regions of the film rather than uniformly across the entire film. This localized application ensures that cling properties are enhanced at specific contact points while other portions of the film remain non-tacky, allowing easy handling and dispensing.
2Reliability
If adhesive is placed in recesses in one side of the film, then the ability to cling to an object is provided while allowing for easy dispensability, but the adhesive loses its ability to cling or adhere to an object after a single use
Solution Approach 1:
The cling wrap film is designed with adhesive capability on both sides, allowing it to function as a reusable closure. After opening a container sealed with the adhesive cling wrap, the same film can be folded back and used to reclose the container, extending its useful life and eliminating the need for additional adhesive wraps.
Solution Approach 2:
The film is pre-configured with adhesive layers positioned and oriented to enable both initial sealing and subsequent reclosing actions. The adhesive properties are maintained throughout the film's service life through proper material selection and layer configuration.
3Reliability
If the film is made too tacky to ensure good cling, then the cling ability is improved, but the film aggressively sticks to itself causing blocking and making the film difficult to unwind from a roll
Solution Approach 1:
The film structure is segmented into adhesive-containing layers and non-adhesive layers. This segmentation ensures that adhesive contact occurs only between the cling wrap and the wrapped object, not between adjacent layers of the cling wrap itself, thereby preventing blocking while maintaining effective cling.
Solution Approach 2:
Non-adhesive layers act as intermediaries between adhesive layers, preventing direct adhesive-to-adhesive contact that would cause blocking. These intermediate layers allow the adhesive to perform its clinging function against the external object while isolating it from interacting with other portions of the cling wrap.
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 films achieve higher cling levels while maintaining ease of dispensability and handling, reducing the tendency to stick to themselves, and providing effective sealing and protection.
Implementation Method 1
thermoplastic cling wrap films of one or more embodiments include tailored three-dimensional deformation and tailored amounts of cling additives
Implementation Method 2
The tailored amount of cling additive increases the ability of the film to cling or seal about an object
Implementation Method 3
a user can stretch or extend the cling wrap film in the X/Y direction and/or compress the cling wrap film in the Z-direction to activate either side of the cling wrap film
Implementation Method 4
Activation of the cling wrap film flattens the three-dimensional forms of the cling wrap film to expose more effective surface area
Data Source
AI summary
An activatable wrap material includes a film material a first side and a second side opposite the first side. The wrap material includes a plurality of protrusions extending outward from the first side of the wrap material and oriented in a pattern across the first side of the wrap material and a plurality of planar portions defined within the first side of the wrap material and throughout the plurality of protrusions. The wrap material exhibits an average peel adhesion force, when activated against a surface, between about 1.50 g/in to about 3.25 g/in. The wrap material further exhibits an average roll unwind force, when wound on a roll, between about 1.50 g/in to about 5.0 g/in. The wrap material also exhibits an average blocking force, when contacting itself, between about 0.4 g/in2 to about 1.30 g/in2.