Boxed Container System with Integrated Handle and Spout Apertures
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional containers are cumbersome to stack and transport due to thick walls and protruding handles, which increase manufacturing costs and prevent efficient pouring without removing them from boxes, while also limiting storage capacity and flexibility in material usage.
Innovation Solution
A container system with chamfered corners, a handle integrated into the top, and a box design with separate apertures for the handle and spout, allowing the container to be stacked and poured from without removal, using a cardboard box to support the container and reduce plastic material usage, with a spout that can be easily attached and packaged within the box.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If thick plastic walls are used to support large quantities of liquid, then container strength is improved, but manufacturing cost increases and material usage increases
Solution Approach 1:
The invention uses a composite system combining a thin-walled plastic container with a cardboard box structure. The container walls are made thin (0.030-0.060 inches) to reduce material usage, while the cardboard box provides external structural support to compensate for the reduced wall thickness, achieving both cost reduction and adequate strength.
Solution Approach 2:
The cardboard box acts as an intermediary structural element between the thin-walled container and the external environment. It provides the necessary mechanical support that would otherwise require thicker container walls, allowing the plastic material usage to be minimized while maintaining container integrity.
2Ease of operation
If protruding handles are added to containers for carrying, then ease of operation is improved, but stacking capability deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The handle is repositioned from a protruding external feature to an integrated feature within the box structure. The handle aperture is formed in the box top surface, allowing the handle to be accessed through the box rather than protruding from the container, enabling both easy carrying and proper stacking.
Solution Approach 2:
The box serves as an intermediary structure that provides the carrying handle function without requiring the container itself to have protruding handles. The handle aperture in the box top allows users to access and carry the container through the box structure, preserving the container's smooth exterior for stacking.
3Strength
If containers are placed in boxes for structural support, then container strength is improved, but device complexity increases and pouring requires removal from box
Solution Approach 1:
The box is designed to serve multiple functions simultaneously: it provides structural support for thin-walled containers, enables stacking through its rigid structure, provides the carrying handle interface through apertures in the top, and allows pouring through apertures that access the container opening. This multi-functionality reduces overall system complexity despite the container-box integration.
Solution Approach 2:
The box and container are merged into a single integrated system where the box provides both protective support and operational interfaces. The handle aperture and spout aperture are incorporated directly into the box structure, combining the support function with the user interface functions in one element.
4Ease of operation
If non-planar top portions are added to containers for pouring, then ease of operation is improved, but stacking capability deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The pouring function is moved from the container top surface to the box top surface. The spout aperture is formed in the box top, allowing the spout to be accessed and used for pouring without requiring any non-planar features on the container itself. The container maintains a flat top for stacking, while the box provides the pouring interface.
Data Source
AI summary
A container system includes a container for holding a fluid. The container may be positioned within a box that provides structural support to the container while allowing the container system to be stacked. The container may include chamfered corners and a glug mitigation mechanism. The box may include corresponding chamfered corners and one or more access apertures for providing access to the container handle and container opening that are positioned within and below the top surface of the box.