Collapsible Container With Arched Hinges And Integrated Liner
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Solution Overview
Problem
Collapsible containers made of metal and paperboard struggle to contain fluids without leaking, as flexible liners can tear and inner containers are inconvenient, while injection molded thermoplastics with living hinges face issues with 'plastic memory' that make it difficult to maintain the desired collapsed or expanded position.
Innovation Solution
A collapsible container design featuring resilient wall panels connected by flexible hinges, including arched hinges, and a lid with a peripheral groove and latch mechanism to securely close the container, which helps maintain the expanded position and prevent leakage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If flexible liners are added to metal or paperboard containers to prevent leakage, then fluid containment is improved, but the risk of tearing and leakage increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses a flexible plastic liner formed as a continuous shell that lines the interior of the container, including the lid. This flexible shell prevents fluid leakage while being resistant to tearing due to its continuous structure and integration with the container walls and lid.
2Reliability
If inner containers are added to prevent leakage, then fluid containment is improved, but convenience and space utilization deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the liner and container into a single integrated structure where the flexible plastic liner is formed as one piece with the container walls and lid. This eliminates the need for separate inner containers while maintaining fluid containment, improving convenience and space utilization.
3Adaptability or versatility
If injection molded thermoplastics with living hinges are used, then collapsibility is improved, but plastic memory causes difficulty in maintaining desired position
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by creating varying thicknesses in the plastic material - thicker sections at the hinges and thinner sections in the wall panels. This allows the hinges to have sufficient rigidity to maintain position while the overall structure remains collapsible. The hinge regions have enhanced local properties that prevent unwanted movement.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses curved or arched hinge designs instead of straight rigid joints. The curved geometry of the hinges provides natural mechanical advantage that maintains the collapsed and expanded positions, countering plastic memory effects while preserving collapsibility.
4Volume of moving object
If collapsible metal or paperboard containers are used, then space saving is improved, but fluid containment without leakage deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses a composite structure combining rigid container walls (metal or paperboard) with a flexible plastic liner. This composite design provides both the collapsibility of the outer structure and the reliable fluid containment of the plastic liner, eliminating leakage issues while maintaining space-saving capabilities.
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 allows for efficient storage and containment of fluids without leakage, while minimizing the issues of plastic memory and maintaining the container's shape in both expanded and collapsed positions, ensuring stability and convenience.
Implementation Method 1
resilient wall panels connected by flexible hinges
Implementation Method 2
including arched hinges
Data Source
AI summary
A container includes a plurality of resilient wall panels. Each wall panel is connected to each adjacent wall panel at a hinged connection, and the wall panels are arranged so as to articulate at the hinged connections between a collapsed position and an expanded position defining a bottom wall and a plurality of side walls extending upwardly from the bottom wall and defining an upper lip. At least one of the hinged connections between adjacent side walls is an arched hinge. The container also includes a downwardly projecting bracket disposed proximate the upper lip on an exterior side of a side wall.