Adjustable Card Box Tabs for Standard Cards and Top Loaders
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing packaging solutions require separate boxes for standard size gaming cards and top loaders due to their different dimensions, leading to inefficiencies and potential movement of items within the box.
Innovation Solution
A one-piece paperboard carton with foldable tabs and perforations that accommodate items of different sizes, reducing movement by using fold-down tabs as weak springs and a pop-up space reducer, allowing for a single box configuration that can be shipped and stored flat.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If separate boxes are used for standard size gaming cards and top loaders, then each item fits perfectly, but packaging complexity and storage space increase
Solution Approach 1:
The box incorporates movable and adjustable components including fold-down tabs that can be positioned at different heights, expandable side walls with score lines allowing the box to expand or contract, and a pop-up space reducer that can be deployed or retracted. These dynamic elements enable a single box to adapt its internal dimensions to accommodate different item sizes while maintaining a unified packaging structure
Solution Approach 2:
The packaging design integrates multiple functions into a single box structure: the same box can hold either standard size gaming cards or larger top loaders by adjusting the internal configuration elements. The fold-down tabs, expandable walls, and pop-up space reducer work together to provide universal accommodation for different product types, eliminating the need for separate specialized boxes
2Productivity
If a single box size is used for different sized items, then storage efficiency improves, but items may move and collide during shipping
Solution Approach 1:
The box interior is segmented into multiple functional zones using fold-down tabs that create individual compartments or barriers. These tabs can be positioned to divide the box into sections that match the dimensions of the items being shipped, preventing movement and collision while maintaining efficient space utilization. The segmentation is achieved through pre-scored fold lines that allow quick configuration
Solution Approach 2:
The fold-down tabs and pop-up space reducer act as intermediary elements between the box walls and the items being shipped. These intermediaries fill gaps and create custom-fit compartments that stabilize items of different sizes, preventing movement during transit while allowing the box to maintain its overall compact form for efficient storage
3Strength
If fold down tabs are made rigid, then structural strength increases, but the box cannot be compressed for flat storage
Solution Approach 1:
The fold-down tabs are designed with specific material properties and geometric parameters that allow them to exhibit different mechanical behaviors under different conditions. The tabs have sufficient stiffness to provide structural support and prevent item movement when deployed, but are constructed with appropriate thickness and material selection (such as corrugated board with specific flute profiles) that allow them to be compressed flat when the box needs to be stored or shipped in a compact state
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 solution effectively holds and stabilizes both standard gaming cards and top loaders, eliminating free space and preventing movement, thus optimizing storage and shipping efficiency.
Implementation Method 1
the fold down tab acts as the weak spring and the space reducer in the second plane
Data Source
AI summary
A box having a front section, a back section having a space reducing tab, two symmetrical side sections, each having a fold down tab, and a cover section. The box is for two or more different sized products comprising a box configuration that may be shipped and stored in flat condition.