Plastic Coffee Container Pass-Through Handle Ergonomics
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Solution Overview
Problem
Plastic containers for particulate coffee are difficult to handle due to the requirement of significant friction for pinch handles, leading to user fatigue and wrist strain, and they often lack ergonomic design for easy access and stacking.
Innovation Solution
A plastic container with a pass-through handle that allows easy gripping and holding, featuring a large opening for easy access, a shoulder connection for strength, and a design that facilitates stacking, along with a pass-through handle that reduces wrist strain and allows for better weight management.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If pinch handles are used on plastic coffee containers, then the container can be made robust and air-tight, but the user experiences significant hand fatigue and wrist strain due to the friction required to hold the container
Solution Approach 1:
The handle is segmented into a pass-through configuration that allows the hand to grip the container body directly rather than pinching a separate handle element. This segmentation separates the gripping function from the container wall, allowing the hand to distribute force across the palm and fingers while holding the container body, eliminating the wrist strain associated with pinch handles.
Solution Approach 2:
The handle transitions from a two-dimensional pinch surface to a three-dimensional pass-through opening. The opening has depth and volume, allowing the hand to insert and grip in multiple dimensions, providing better leverage and reducing the friction force required to hold the container securely.
2Ease of operation
If the container opening is made large for easy product access, then user access is improved, but the structural strength of the top may be compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The top structure employs local quality variations with reinforced ribs strategically positioned around the large opening. These localized reinforcements maintain structural integrity in critical areas while preserving the large opening for easy product access. The ribs provide additional support exactly where the large opening creates structural weakness, without reducing the opening size.
3Reliability
If the container is made robust to withstand pressure buildup from coffee gases, then containment reliability is improved, but the container becomes more difficult to handle
Solution Approach 1:
The robust structure is segmented into the container body and a separate pass-through handle opening. This allows the container body to maintain its robust, pressure-resistant construction while the handle opening provides an ergonomic gripping feature. The segmentation enables the hand to grip the container body directly through the opening, making the robust container easier to handle without compromising pressure containment integrity.
Data Source
AI summary
A plastic container for a particulate product has a footprint and includes a base and at least two and preferably four sides upstanding therefrom which generally define a container main interior volume. A top connects to the sides and includes a large opening which is closed by a lid. One side includes a pass-through handle located therein having a generally vertical segment which may define a hollow cavity in communication with the main interior volume. The opening of the top is sufficiently large to extend over a portion of the hollow cavity; or is sufficiently wide to receive about a 5″ diameter cylinder therethrough, and has a ratio of a minimum span to a bottom diagonal of at least about 2:3. A shoulder between the top and sides has an angle of less than about 40°. The handle is configured and sized for easy grasping and holding.