Single-Piece Container With Spacer Tabs For Impact Protection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional containers made of cardboard or paperboard with inner liners require manual assembly or complex automated processes, posing challenges in erection and impact protection for fragile items.
Innovation Solution
A single-piece container design featuring an outer shell and inner shell connected by spacer tabs, allowing for fully automated, single-stage erection and providing impact resistance through the use of spacer tabs that connect the inner and outer shells, facilitating machine-based assembly and enhancing protection for fragile products.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If a separate inner liner is used in conventional containers, then impact protection for fragile items is improved, but assembly complexity increases requiring manual steps or multiple stage automation
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the inner liner and outer shell into a single integrated container structure made from one piece of sheet material. The inner shell is formed by folding and bonding portions of the same blank that also forms the outer shell, eliminating the need for separate assembly of distinct components while maintaining impact protection functionality.
Solution Approach 2:
The single blank is segmented into different functional zones that form the inner shell, outer shell, and connecting elements through folding and bonding. This segmentation allows the container to achieve complex three-dimensional structure with integrated protection features while remaining manufacturable from a single piece.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If conventional separate piece container construction is used, then impact protection is provided, but manufacturing process complexity increases requiring multiple stages
Solution Approach 1:
The manufacturing process merges the formation of inner shell, outer shell, and connecting elements into a single-stage automated process. All folding, bonding, and structural formation operations are completed in one continuous manufacturing pass from a single blank, eliminating multiple assembly stages.
Solution Approach 2:
The blank is pre-configured with fold lines, bonding zones, and structural features before the manufacturing process begins. This preliminary design allows the automated machine to form the complete three-dimensional container structure in a single operation without requiring intermediate assembly steps.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If manual assembly is used for conventional containers with inner liners, then impact protection is achieved, but productivity decreases and labor requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The container structure is designed to self-form into its final three-dimensional configuration during the automated manufacturing process. The fold lines and bonding zones are positioned such that the structure naturally assembles itself under machine guidance, eliminating the need for manual manipulation or complex robotic assembly operations.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces manual mechanical assembly with a automated single-stage manufacturing process. A specialized machine performs all folding, bonding, and forming operations in one continuous operation, dramatically increasing production speed and eliminating labor-intensive assembly steps while maintaining the protective structure.
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 container can be easily and reliably erected using a simple automated process, offering improved impact resistance and protection for fragile items, such as bottles, while eliminating the need for manual assembly and complex automation steps.
Implementation Method 1
The use of one or more spacer tabs to connect the inner shell and the outer shell provides a degree of resilience to the connection between the inner and outer shells. This may provide impact resistance, helping to protect a product when located in the inner shell in use.
Implementation Method 2
The container is formed from a single piece blank. The container includes an outer shell and an inner shell, wherein the inner shell (e.g. one of the side wall panels thereof) is integrally connected to the outer shell along a foldline.
Data Source
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AI summary
A single piece container (200) is provided that is made from cardboard, paperboard or other lightweight foldable sheet material. The container (200) includes an outer shell (210), an inner shell (202) and at least one spacer tab (41, 51). The outer shell (210) has a first end and a second end, and includes a plurality of side wall panels (62, 64, 66) hingedly connected to one other about respective outer shell sidewall foldlines and extending between the first end and the second end of the outer shell (210). The second end of the outer shell (210) is a closed end. The inner shell (202) includes a first end, an opposite second end, and a plurality of side walls (7, 9, 11, 13) hingedly connected to one another about respective inner shell sidewall foldlines and extending between the first end and the second end of the inner shell (202). The inner shell (202) is integrally connected to the outer shell (210) along a foldline. The at least one spacer tab (41, 51) connects the inner shell (202) and the outer shell (210), the spacer tab (41, 51) being released from a respective side wall panel (7, 9, 11, 13) of the inner shell (202). A single piece blank for said container (200) is also provided.