Clamshell Carton Slotted Lid Hinge for Reliable Opening
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Solution Overview
Problem
Commonly used carry-out food containers, particularly those made of cardboard, paper, or paperboard, often have unreliable opening and closing mechanisms, which can lead to difficulties in securely transporting and serving food items.
Innovation Solution
A clamshell carton with a slotted lid hinge is designed, featuring a moveable joint between the rear side panel and lid side panel, with slots that allow the lid to be easily opened and closed, and can be separated from the body by tearing along a weakened fold line, providing a secure and practical solution for food transport and serving.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a moveable joint with slots is used to connect the lid to the body, then the reliability of opening and closing is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The moveable joint is segmented into discrete slots formed in the rear side panel, which guide and constrain the rear lid side panel during opening and closing movements. This segmentation provides reliable motion control while maintaining relative structural simplicity.
Solution Approach 2:
The slots act as an intermediary element between the rigid body panel and the movable lid panel, providing a controlled path for movement that ensures reliable opening and closing without requiring complex mechanical joints or fasteners.
2Ease of operation
If the fold line is weakened via perforations or slits to enable separation, then the ease of operation is improved, but the strength of the connection is worsened
Solution Approach 1:
The fold line is pre-weakened through perforations or slits during manufacturing, creating a predetermined separation path that requires minimal force to break. This preliminary action enables easy user separation while maintaining adequate connection strength for normal use through the distributed structure of the perforations.
3Ease of operation
If slots are added to the moveable joint, then the ease of operation is improved, but the manufacturing precision requirements are worsened
Solution Approach 1:
The slots are formed using standard perforation or slitting parameters that can be easily integrated into existing paperboard manufacturing processes. By utilizing conventional manufacturing parameters rather than requiring new precision techniques, the ease of operation is improved without significantly increasing manufacturing precision requirements.
Data Source
AI summary
A clamshell carton with a slotted lid hinge and method of using same. The clamshell carton may include a container body, which may include, a floor panel and a plurality of side panels extending about a periphery of the floor panel, the plurality of side panels may include a first side panel, a second side panel, and a rear side panel. The clamshell carton may further include a container lid a top panel, which may include a plurality of a lid side panels extending about a periphery of the top panel, the plurality of lid side panels may include a first lid side panel, a second lid side panel, and a rear lid side panel. The clamshell carton may further include a moveable joint formed between the rear side panel and the rear lid side panel, wherein the container lid may be connected to the container body by the moveable joint, and wherein the container lid may be configured to be movable between a closed position and an opened position; and one or more slots formed along the moveable joint