Biodegradable Shell Container With Removable Inner Bag
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current packaging solutions for liquids face challenges such as high energy consumption, non-biodegradability, and inefficient recycling due to the need for material separation, particularly with glass, plastics, and laminated cardboard containers, which often end up in landfills and occupy excessive space.
Innovation Solution
A container design featuring a hollow biodegradable shell with a moisture-resistant or waterproof bag inside, where the bag extends through a dispensing aperture and is secured to the outside, allowing for easy filling and dispensing without contacting the shell, enabling the shell to be made from non-food standard materials like recycled wood or paper pulp, and facilitating separate disposal and recycling.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If glass bottles are used for packaging beverages, then the packaging can be recycled, but the energy consumption for manufacturing is high and the weight is heavy
Solution Approach 1:
The packaging system is divided into two separate components: a reusable rigid shell and a disposable flexible bag. The shell can be recycled while the bag is disposed of separately, allowing the high-recyclability feature to be maintained while reducing the overall material usage and energy consumption.
Solution Approach 2:
The flexible bag is designed as a disposable component that is replaced rather than recycled. This eliminates the need for energy-intensive manufacturing of recyclable containers while maintaining the ability to recycle the durable shell, thus reducing overall energy consumption.
2Weight of moving object
If plastic bottles are used for packaging beverages, then the packaging is lightweight, but the material is not biodegradable and occupies excessive space in landfills
Solution Approach 1:
The disposable bag is made from flexible thin-film material that can be biodegradable, replacing traditional rigid plastic bottles. This maintains the lightweight advantage while enabling biodegradation and reducing landfill volume through the flexible, collapsible design.
Solution Approach 2:
The flexible bag is placed inside the rigid shell, creating a nested structure. This allows the biodegradable bag to be contained within a reusable container, maintaining lightweight properties while enabling proper disposal and biodegradation of the inner bag.
3Quantity of substance
If laminated cardboard containers are used for packaging liquids, then the cardboard can be recycled material, but the waterproof coating prevents full decomposition and makes recycling difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The packaging is segmented into a permanent shell and a disposable bag. The shell can be made from recycled cardboard with waterproof coating and reused multiple times, while the bag is disposed of separately, allowing the cardboard to be fully recycled without contamination from mixed materials.
Solution Approach 2:
The disposable bag is extracted as a separate removable component from the shell. This allows the cardboard shell to be recycled independently without the complications of separating waterproof coatings and other laminated materials, improving overall recyclability.
4Adaptability or versatility
If separate components are used for different functions in packaging, then each component can be optimized, but the complexity of separating materials for recycling increases
Solution Approach 1:
The packaging is divided into a reusable shell and a disposable bag, creating clear functional segmentation. The shell provides structural support and can be recycled, while the bag contains the product and is disposed of separately. This simple two-component design minimizes material separation complexity while allowing functional optimization of each component.
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention relates to a container (1) having a hollow shell defining a body with a dispensing aperture, and a bag (4) within the shell (2), the open end of the bag extending through the dispensing aperture and being secured with respect to the outside of the shell. The bag (4) is made from a material suitable for containing the intended contents of the container (1). Therefore the shell (2) may be formed from a material that would not be suitable for containing the intended contents of the container alone. The shell (2) may be formed from a biodegradable material, such as wood or paper pulp. The bag (4) may be separated from the main body of the container to allow for separate disposal. The container (1) may be sealed by providing a spout through which the contents of the container are to be dispensed, and by folding the spout over to create a nip which seals the container.