Methods of making, packaging, and delivering compressed hollow coreless reformable roll products
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional absorbent paper products, such as tissue rolls, have a large central core that increases volume and weight, making transportation costly and storage inefficient, while attempts to compress them to reduce volume often result in poor re-shaping and aesthetic issues for consumers.
Innovation Solution
Compressed hollow coreless rolls with a substantially collapsed central axial cavity that can be re-formed into a cylindrical shape for dispensing, using a tubular dispensing core that is smaller than the original cavity, allowing for significant volume reduction without compromising product quality or consumer acceptance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Volume of moving object
If the central core is eliminated and the roll is compressed to reduce volume, then transportation efficiency and storage flexibility are improved, but the roll fails to recover its cylindrical shape sufficiently, causing aesthetic issues for consumers
Solution Approach 1:
A cylindrical support member is inserted into the hollow coreless roll before compression to maintain the cylindrical shape of the absorbent paper product during the compression process. This preliminary structural support ensures that when the roll is later used, it can properly fit into conventional dispensers and maintain an aesthetically pleasing cylindrical appearance despite having been compressed for transportation.
Solution Approach 2:
The cylindrical support member acts as an intermediary element between the compression process and the final product form. It provides temporary structural support during manufacturing and packaging, allowing the roll to be compressed efficiently while ensuring shape recovery and aesthetic quality when the product reaches the consumer.
2Shape
If a conventional paperboard core is used to maintain roll shape, then aesthetic appearance and dispenser compatibility are improved, but weight and volume increase, reducing transportation efficiency
Solution Approach 1:
The traditional paperboard core is completely removed from the absorbent paper roll. By eliminating this heavy, rigid central structure, the product achieves significant weight and volume reduction while still maintaining compatibility with conventional dispensers through the use of a collapsible hollow coreless design that can be compressed for efficient transportation and storage.
Solution Approach 2:
The core structure transitions from a rigid, heavy paperboard tube to a flexible, collapsible hollow coreless configuration. This parameter change in the core's structural properties allows the roll to be compressed efficiently for transportation while still providing the necessary cylindrical shape for dispenser compatibility when in use.
3Volume of moving object
If the roll is compressed to eliminate the hollow center space, then volume reduction is achieved, but the product does not recover its overall cylindrical shape, failing to satisfy consumer aesthetic demands
Solution Approach 1:
The cylindrical support member is inserted into the hollow coreless roll before compression to maintain the cylindrical shape of the absorbent paper product during the compression process. This preliminary structural support ensures that when the roll is later used, it can properly fit into conventional dispensers and maintain an aesthetically pleasing cylindrical appearance despite having been compressed for transportation.
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 solution achieves volume reductions of up to 40% and weight savings of 25% compared to conventional cored products, enhancing transportation efficiency and storage flexibility while maintaining product quality and consumer acceptance.
Implementation Method 1
the exteriors of the roll are flattened to some extent, increasing the packability of the array of rolls over that which would be predicted based solely on the uncompressed roll diameter. It seems that consumers do not find such rolls objectionable, most likely due to substantial recovery of the cylindrical shape resulting from the resilient nature of absorbent paper products.
Data Source
AI summary
A compressed hollow coreless roll of absorbent paper sheet produced by way of providing a roll of absorbent paper sheet by winding the sheet about a forming core member having a diameter in the range of 30 mm to 50 mm; removing the forming core member such that there is provided a hollow coreless roll of absorbent paper sheet with an axial cavity having a diameter in the range of 30 mm to 50 mm and compressing the hollow coreless roll such that the axial cavity is substantially collapsed. The compressed hollow coreless rolls are readily re-formed into cylindrical shape. Space-saving packages of the rolls are overwrapped with tubular polymer film to provide a flexible reconfigurable package of a series of individually encased rolls. Volume reductions of about 10 to about 20%, about 14% to about 20%, 30%, 40% and more as compared with conventional products are realized.