Container Base Area Support Projections for Cover Fixation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional containers for liquid and pasty products, such as milk, face issues with stability and reliable fixation of covers, leading to increased manufacturing costs and risk of damage due to insufficient reinforcement and detachment of covers.
Innovation Solution
The container design features radially inwardly projecting support projections on the bottom area, forming a profiling that stabilizes the base and allows reliable fixation of the cover, with the support projections also serving as a stacking aid and facilitating easy product removal.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If the wall thickness of the cup-like shell is reduced to lower manufacturing costs, then production costs decrease, but the stability and strength of the container bottom deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The bottom area of the shell is segmented into multiple recesses arranged in the circumferential direction, creating a profiled structure that distributes mechanical loads across multiple zones. This segmentation allows the thin-walled shell to maintain high stability by localizing stress at specific recess regions rather than distributing it uniformly, preventing catastrophic failure while using minimal material.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention transitions from a flat bottom surface to a three-dimensional profiled structure with multiple recesses having different depths and positions. This dimensional change creates a micro-topography on the bottom surface that provides both structural reinforcement and functional benefits for cover fixation, effectively adding strength without increasing overall wall thickness.
2Ease of manufacture
If a printed cover is added to stabilize the shell and reduce wall thickness, then manufacturing costs decrease, but the reliability of cover fixation deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of trying to make the cover stick to the smooth shell surface, the invention inverts the approach by creating recesses in the shell bottom that actively engage with the cover's lower edge. The cover is fixed not by adhesion to a flat surface but by mechanical interlocking with the profiled recess structure, reversing the traditional fixation paradigm.
Solution Approach 2:
The recesses act as an intermediary mechanical interface between the shell and cover. Rather than direct contact between the cover edge and flat shell surface, the recesses provide a mediating structure that converts the cover's radial inward force into stable positioning, ensuring reliable fixation while maintaining the ability to easily remove the cover.
3Stability of the object's composition
If multiple circumferential indentations are added to stabilize the bottom area, then bottom stability improves, but the ease of cover fixation deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
Different regions of the bottom surface are given different local qualities through varying recess depths, shapes, and distributions. Some recesses are deeper to provide primary structural support, while others are shallower to facilitate cover engagement. This local differentiation optimizes both stability and ease of cover fixation simultaneously.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention varies multiple parameters of the recesses including depth, width, circumferential spacing, and radial positioning. By optimizing these parameters, the recesses provide sufficient mechanical support for bottom stability while maintaining adequate clearance and engagement features that enable easy cover placement and removal without excessive force.
Data Source
Figure 1a~1b
Figure 2a~2b
Figure 3a~3b
AI summary
The container has a beaker-shaped shell (10) forming an inner limiting surface of the container, and a cover for covering an outer limiting surface of the shell. The cover is made from printable material, and the shell has a casing area (12) tapered from an upper opening to a base area (20). The base area has outwardly projecting supporting projections (22) arranged one behind the other in a circumferential direction of the shell. A lower edge of the cover is attached to upwardly-pointing limiting surfaces (24) of the projections, where the cover is made from plastic foil, paper or cardboard.