Collapsible Container With Displaceable Bottom For Smokeless Tobacco
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing packaging solutions for smokeless tobacco products face issues with inconsistent sealing, leading to manufacturing waste and potential product spoilage due to interference of product constituents with the sealing interfaces of the lid and container.
Innovation Solution
A collapsible container design featuring a displaceable portion that can change from an expanded configuration to a collapsed configuration, providing improved sealing consistency and increased packaging density, with a lid that engages in a snap-fit manner and a label that hermetically seals the container.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If product constituents are placed in a conventional rigid container during filling, then the container provides structural support, but product constituents interfere with the sealing interface between the lid and container, leading to inconsistent seals
Solution Approach 1:
The container bottom includes a displaceable portion that can change position between expanded and collapsed configurations. During filling, the displaceable portion is in the expanded configuration to provide maximum interior space and prevent product interference with the sealing interface. After sealing, it transitions to the collapsed configuration to reduce overall container volume.
Solution Approach 2:
The displaceable bottom portion extends vertically below the container rim in the expanded configuration, utilizing the vertical dimension to create additional interior volume without increasing the container's footprint. This allows product constituents to be positioned away from the sealing interface while maintaining a compact overall structure.
2Productivity
If the container is designed with fixed volume, then manufacturing is simpler, but product density is reduced and manufacturing waste increases due to inconsistent sealing requiring rework
Solution Approach 1:
The container transitions from a static fixed-volume design to a dynamic variable-volume design. The displaceable bottom portion can be positioned in different configurations during different stages of the manufacturing process, allowing the same container structure to optimize for both filling efficiency and final product density.
Solution Approach 2:
The container's internal volume parameter is made variable through the displaceable bottom portion. By changing the position of the displaceable portion between expanded and collapsed states, the effective interior volume changes, allowing optimization of product density while maintaining manufacturing simplicity through a single mold design.
3Quantity of substance
If the container volume is reduced to increase product density, then packaging efficiency improves, but sealing consistency deteriorates due to reduced space for product constituents
Solution Approach 1:
The container volume is made dynamic rather than fixed. During filling, the displaceable bottom portion is in the expanded configuration to provide maximum space for product constituents, ensuring they do not interfere with the sealing interface. After sealing, the same portion collapses to reduce volume and increase product density, achieving both sealing reliability and packaging efficiency.
Data Source
AI summary
Articles of manufacture, products, and packaging methods are provided that include collapsible container. Collapsible containers provided herein can define an open interior space with a peripheral side wall having a top edge and a bottom edge and a bottom wall attached to the bottom edge of the side wall. The bottom wall can include a displaceable portion in an expanded configuration that extends below the bottom edge of the side wall and adapted to being displaced to a collapsed configuration that extends above the bottom edge of the side wall. Product constituents (e.g., pouches of smokeless tobacco) can be placed in a collapsible container provided herein while the collapsible container is in its expanded configuration. After installing a lid onto a collapsible container to enclose the product within the collapsible container, the container can be collapsed to its collapsed configuration.