Coil Cushioning with Central Void for Material Reduction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing coil-shaped cushioning products for packaging are inefficient in material usage and handling due to their uniform thickness and lack of central void space, which affects their ability to support objects effectively and reduces their weight-bearing capacity.
Innovation Solution
A coil-shaped cushioning product with a central area devoid of cushioning material, where the width dimension is approximately three times the thickness or 25% of the outer diameter, allowing for reduced material usage, increased efficiency, and easier handling, while maintaining effective cushioning properties through crumpled paper material.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of substance
If the coil-shaped cushioning product is manufactured with uniform thickness and no central void, then the cushioning coverage is maximized, but the material usage efficiency decreases and weight increases
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts the cushioning material from the central area of the coil, creating a void space that eliminates unnecessary material usage. The cushioning function is maintained by concentrating material in the radial outer regions where it is actually needed to support objects, thereby improving material efficiency without sacrificing cushioning reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention applies local quality by varying the distribution of cushioning material - dense in the radial outer regions where support is needed and absent in the central area where no support is required. This non-uniform distribution optimizes both material efficiency and cushioning performance.
2Reliability
If the coil-shaped cushioning product uses more material to ensure full coverage, then the cushioning reliability improves, but the handling ease decreases due to increased weight
Solution Approach 1:
By removing material from the central area where it provides no functional benefit, the overall weight of the cushioning product is reduced while maintaining cushioning reliability in the critical outer regions, thereby improving handling ease.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the parameter of material distribution from uniform to non-uniform, concentrating material where it provides maximum cushioning effect while reducing total material quantity, thus achieving both reliability and ease of handling.
3Productivity
If the coil-shaped cushioning product is produced with a reel, then the production process is standardized, but the device complexity increases and production efficiency decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts the reel from the manufacturing process, enabling direct formation of the coil structure without the need for complex winding equipment. This simplifies the device and improves production efficiency while maintaining product quality.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of winding material around a reel to create the coil structure, the invention inverts the approach by directly forming the coil shape through controlled deposition or molding, eliminating the need for reel-based manufacturing and associated complexity.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The design reduces material costs, increases production efficiency, and enhances handling by distributing weight-bearing support to the outer edges, ensuring effective cushioning without compromising the primary purpose of supporting objects.
Implementation Method 1
the cushioning material comprises a crumpled paper, preferably made from crumpled paper
Implementation Method 2
it has a significant and physically effective, for example elastically or plastically deformable, thickness
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3~4
AI summary
A coil-shaped cushioning product (10) for packaging purposes comprises a coil-shaped, three-dimensional, and elongated cushioning material (12), wherein the cushioning product (10) includes a central region (24) in which no cushioning material (12) is present. It is proposed that the central region (24) have a width dimension (26) that is at least approximately three times the thickness (16) of the cushioning material (12) or at least approximately 25% of an outer diameter (28) of the cushioning product (10).