Chocolate Egg Container with Recessed Connecting Strip
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing containers for chocolate eggs, designed for safety and child handling, become irreversibly damaged after opening, making them non-reusable and non-recyclable, which is a drawback in terms of resource management and cost efficiency.
Innovation Solution
A container design featuring two half-shells with a strip that connects them in a recessed area of the lateral delimiting walls, allowing for safe handling and processing while maintaining structural integrity for reuse and recycling, by using a snap coupling mechanism and recessed strip placement.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the lateral delimiting walls have weakened lines that break upon opening, then the container achieves safe handling and structural resistance to traction and torsion, but the container structure is irreversibly deteriorated and cannot be reused
Solution Approach 1:
The container is divided into two half-shells connected by a longitudinal strip, allowing the structure to be segmented for opening while maintaining overall integrity through the connecting strip that preserves reusability
Solution Approach 2:
The recess is created locally in the lateral delimiting walls to accommodate the connecting strip, providing a specific structural feature that enables both safe opening and reusability without compromising the overall container design
2Strength
If the container structure is designed for irreversible opening with broken lines, then mechanical resistance to traction and torsion is ensured, but the container cannot be correctly reused for its containing function
Solution Approach 1:
The recess is pre-formed in the lateral delimiting walls to receive the connecting strip, allowing the container to be opened safely while preserving the structural framework for future reuse of the containing function
Solution Approach 2:
The container design allows the containing function to be recovered after opening by maintaining the structural integrity of the half-shells and connecting strip, enabling the container to be reused for its original purpose
3Ease of manufacture
If the strip is positioned outside the lateral delimiting wall, then the container can be easily manufactured, but the container cannot settle inside the egg without damage during processing
Solution Approach 1:
The connecting strip is nested within a recess in the lateral delimiting wall, allowing the container to have a compact profile that enables it to settle inside the egg without damage during automated packing processes
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3
Figure 4
AI summary
A container (1) for surprises, particularly for chocolate eggs, comprises two half-shells (2, 3) and at least one strip (4) by means of which said half-shells (2, 3) are operatively connected together between a closed configuration and an open configuration of the container, both the half-shells (2, 3) featuring a respective lateral delimiting wall (5, 9) having a first exterior surface portion (6, 10) which extends along generatrices of a cylinder and a second exterior surface portion (7, 12) that extends inside said cylindrical generatrices, in the closed configuration of the container (1) the strip (4) being superimposed at least on the lateral delimiting wall (5, 9) of both half-shells and mainly or completely positioned within a recess (26) present in at least the second exterior surface portion (7, 12) of the lateral delimiting wall (5, 9) of both half-shells (2, 3).