Corrugated Shipping Container With Offset Flutes for Conformable Packing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional shipping containers are inefficient in terms of storage and shipping costs due to their inflexible design, which requires multiple sizes to accommodate various product shapes and sizes, leading to increased storage and shipping volumes, and they are not easily recyclable, contributing to environmental waste.
Innovation Solution
A shipping container made of a corrugated medium with offset flutes and score lines that allows for flexible conformability to product shape, reducing volume and weight, and is entirely recyclable without disassembly.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional shipping containers with fixed sizes are used to accommodate various product shapes and sizes, then products are protected during shipping, but storage costs and shipping volumes increase due to unused space
Solution Approach 1:
The shipping container transitions from a rigid fixed-structure to a dynamic collapsible structure with movable walls and panels that can be adjusted or folded to match the dimensions of different products, allowing the container volume to adapt dynamically to the product being shipped
Solution Approach 2:
The container's physical parameters (volume, shape, dimensions) are changed by collapsing or folding the walls and panels to match the product's specific dimensions, transforming the container from a standardized fixed size to a customized fit that eliminates wasted space
2Adaptability or versatility
If multiple standardized shipping container sizes are stored to accommodate different products, then various product sizes can be shipped, but storage costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
A single collapsible shipping container design serves multiple functions by adjusting its volume and shape to accommodate different product sizes, replacing the need for multiple standardized container sizes and enabling one container to perform the role of several different sized containers
3Reliability
If conventional bubble mailers made of multiple materials are used for shipping, then product cushioning is provided, but recycling becomes difficult requiring manual separation
Solution Approach 1:
The shipping container is constructed from a single homogeneous corrugated fiberboard material throughout its structure, eliminating the need for manual separation of different materials and enabling straightforward recycling of the entire container as one material type while still providing cushioning through the corrugated structure
Data Source
AI summary
The present disclosure is directed to a shipping container with a corrugated medium that lines an interior pocket of the shipping container as well devices and components (e.g., corrugating rollers, corrugating machines, scoring rollers, and scoring machines) that are utilized to manufacture the shipping containers. The corrugated medium has flutes that cushion, support, and protect a product that is shipped within the shipping container. The corrugated medium may include a first portion with first flutes and a second portion with second flutes that are offset relative to the first flutes. The offset first flutes and second flutes results in peaks of the first flutes nesting within valleys of the second flutes, and peaks of the second flutes nesting within valleys of the first flutes.