Multi-Container Carrier Structure for Secure Holding and Easy Access
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing packaging solutions fail to provide efficient, organized, and secure transport and handling of multiple containers, particularly for consumer products like beverage bottles and food jars, lacking structural support and convenient handling features.
Innovation Solution
A carrier system comprising an attachment panel with container openings and foldable retention tabs, a handle panel, and a lower tray structure, allowing modular assembly and easy access to containers, with materials like glass, plastics, and metals.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If containers are transported without a structured carrier system, then handling is simple, but containers are not securely held or organized
Solution Approach 1:
The carrier is divided into multiple functional sections: an upper carrier portion with individual container openings and retention tabs for each container, and a lower tray portion for additional container support. This segmentation allows each section to independently secure containers while maintaining overall structural integrity, resolving the contradiction between secure holding and structural simplicity.
Solution Approach 2:
The carrier design nests multiple containers within a single structured system - the upper carrier portion holds containers through integrated openings and retention tabs, while the lower tray portion provides additional nested support. This nesting approach maximizes container securing capacity without proportionally increasing overall structure complexity.
2Reliability
If a carrier system is designed to securely hold multiple containers, then container retention is improved, but access to individual containers becomes more difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The upper carrier portion is segmented into multiple independent container openings with individual retention tabs. This segmentation allows users to access and remove specific containers without disturbing others, maintaining secure retention for all containers while enabling easy individual access through the modular opening structure.
3Ease of operation
If a handle panel is added to the carrier, then handling convenience is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The handle panel is merged with the upper carrier portion as an integrated component rather than a separate attachment. This merging provides convenient handling capability while minimizing additional complexity, as the handle functionality is incorporated into the existing carrier structure through foldable connections and integrated panel design.
4Ease of manufacture
If retention tabs are made foldably connected to the attachment panel, then ease of assembly is improved, but structural strength may be reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The retention tabs are designed with foldable connections that transition from a flat assembled state during manufacturing to a three-dimensional engaged state during use. This dynamic design allows easy assembly through simple folding actions while maintaining sufficient connection strength through the folded engagement geometry that distributes loads effectively.
Data Source
AI summary
A carrier for holding multiple containers may include an upper carrier portion having several carrier sections. Each carrier section may include an attachment panel that at least partially defines multiple container openings for at least partially receiving respective containers and may include container retention tabs foldably connected to the attachment panel and extending into the container openings for at least partially engaging the containers. A handle panel may be foldably connected to each attachment panel. The carrier may further include a lower tray portion having panels that extend at least partially around an interior of the lower tray portion, including a bottom panel, at least one end panel, and at least one side panel. The interior of the lower tray portion may at least partially receive the containers, and each carrier section may be separably connected to at least one side panel of the lower tray portion.