Display Package Locking Tab and Slot Mechanism
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional display packages require special tooling for assembly and are difficult to open, making them inefficient and insecure for retail display and recycling.
Innovation Solution
A display package design featuring a product cradle with a locking slot and a backboard with a locking tab, allowing for secure attachment without heat sealing or lacquering, enabling easy assembly, self-standing capability, and enhanced security against theft.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional heat sealing or permanent gluing is used to attach the display card to the blister, then the package provides secure attachment, but special tooling is required and assembly becomes complex
Solution Approach 1:
The backboard is divided into a front face and a back face that can be separately assembled to the product cradle. The locking tab is a separate component that engages with the locking slot, allowing the backboard to be segmented into manageable parts for simpler assembly without requiring complex tooling.
Solution Approach 2:
A locking tab serves as an intermediary component between the backboard and the product cradle. This locking tab with locking slot mechanism provides secure attachment without requiring heat sealing or permanent gluing, eliminating the need for specialized tooling while maintaining attachment reliability.
2Stability of the object's composition
If the display card and blister are heat sealed or permanently glued, then the package structure is stable, but the package becomes difficult and unsafe to open
Solution Approach 1:
The locking tab is designed to be foldable along fold lines, transforming from a rigid locked state during display to a flexible opening state. This dynamic structure allows the package to maintain stability during normal use while enabling safe and easy opening when needed, as the locking tab can be manually manipulated to release the lock.
3Reliability
If conventional blister packages are used, then the package provides product protection, but plastic material usage increases and recycling becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The backboard is designed as a separate, removable component that can be easily separated from the product cradle for recycling. The locking tab mechanism allows the backboard to be detached without damaging the plastic cradle, enabling recovery and recycling of the plastic material while the backboard can be disposed of or recycled separately.
4Reliability
If specialized tooling is used for attaching the display card to the blister, then the attachment is secure, but manufacturing cost and complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The locking tab is designed to be self-aligning and self-locking through its geometry and the locking slot configuration. The fold lines and locking mechanism work together to automatically secure the backboard to the product cradle without requiring external tooling or complex assembly equipment, significantly reducing manufacturing complexity and cost while maintaining attachment security.
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 eliminates the need for specialized tooling, facilitates easy and safe opening, promotes recycling, and provides a theft deterrent, while being cost-effective and environmentally friendly.
Implementation Method 1
The backboard includes a contact adhesive with a thickness that secures the front and back faces to one another and forms the plurality of grooves between the front and back faces
Data Source
AI summary
A theft deterrent display package for at least one article comprises a product cradle having an interior space with a perimeter. A peripheral flange extends outwardly from the perimeter of the interior space. A locking slot is configured along the perimeter of the interior space. At least one self-standing leg extends downwardly from the interior space upon which the display package stands alone. A backboard is defined by a front face and a back face. A locking tab comprises a free end extends outwardly from one edge of the back face. The locking tab includes two angled fold lines used in assisting the free end of the locking tab to be inserted into the locking slot to securely enclose the display package.