Disposable Container Double-Wall Sealed Chamber Rigidity

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Solution Overview

Problem

Conventional plastic containers require thicker walls for stability, leading to excessive material consumption and difficulty in reducing waste volume when discarded, as thin walls result in deformability issues and increased material usage for rigidity.

Innovation Solution

A double-walled container structure with a sealed chamber, pressurizable or at atmospheric pressure, provides structural rigidity during use and allows for easy deformation and volume reduction upon disposal by opening the chamber, using minimal material and a discharge valve or similar mechanism.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Strength

If the wall thickness is increased to provide rigidity for manual handling, then the container stability is improved, but the material consumption increases and the difficulty in reducing waste volume increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvecontainer rigidityVSAvoidmaterial consumption
Core Design Contradiction:
StrengthVSLoss of substance

Solution Approach 1:

The container wall is segmented into a double-wall structure with an inner wall and an outer wall separated by a chamber. This segmentation allows each thin wall to provide structural support while the air chamber provides rigidity, eliminating the need for thick single walls and reducing material consumption.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The air chamber between the inner and outer walls is pressurized to provide structural rigidity to the container. The pressurized air acts as a structural support element, allowing the container to maintain its shape and resist deformation during handling without requiring thick walls, thus reducing material consumption.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #29Pneumatics and hydraulics

2Stability of the object's composition

If the wall thickness is increased to prevent deformability, then the container stability is improved, but the difficulty in reducing waste volume when discarded increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvecontainer stabilityVSAvoidwaste volume
Core Design Contradiction:
Stability of the object's compositionVSVolume of stationary object

Solution Approach 1:

The container's rigidity is dynamically controlled through the pressurized air chamber during use, providing stability when needed. During disposal, the chamber can be vented to equalize pressure, allowing the container to be easily compressed and reduced in volume without requiring thick walls that would resist compression.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #15Dynamics

Solution Approach 2:

The double-wall structure with the compressible air chamber between them allows the container to maintain its shape during use but be easily compressed during disposal. The segmented structure enables volume reduction by allowing the walls to collapse toward each other when the chamber pressure is released.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

3Loss of substance

If thin walls are used to reduce material consumption, then the material consumption is reduced, but the container becomes excessively deformable and hardly manipulable

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvematerial consumptionVSAvoidcontainer rigidity
Core Design Contradiction:
Loss of substanceVSStrength

Solution Approach 1:

The pressurized air chamber between the thin inner and outer walls provides the necessary structural support and rigidity. The pressure differential across the chamber walls creates outward force that maintains the container's shape and prevents deformation during handling, allowing thin walls to be used without sacrificing strength.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #29Pneumatics and hydraulics

Solution Approach 2:

The pressurized air in the chamber acts as a counterbalancing force that opposes the inward pressure from external forces during handling. This internal pressure provides structural support that compensates for the minimal material thickness, maintaining container rigidity without requiring thick walls.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #8Anti-weight (Counterweight)

4Ease of operation

If thin walls are used to facilitate volume reduction during disposal, then the ease of deformation is improved, but the container becomes excessively deformable and hardly manipulable during use

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveease of deformation for disposalVSAvoidcontainer stability
Core Design Contradiction:
Ease of operationVSStability of the object's composition

Solution Approach 1:

The container's mechanical properties are dynamically adjusted through pressure control. During use, the pressurized chamber provides rigidity for stable handling. During disposal, the chamber pressure is released, allowing the thin walls to be easily deformed and compressed for volume reduction, thus providing ease of operation at different stages.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #15Dynamics

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 double-walled structure maintains rigidity for handling and thermal insulation while enabling significant volume reduction post-use, minimizing material consumption and storage space, especially for larger containers.

Implementation Method 1

a sealed chamber, which, as previously mentioned, can even be pressurized

Methodology Applied
Scientific EffectPressure: Pressure Increase

Implementation Method 2

acts as a heat barrier which is of especial interest when the container is intended for marketing drinks that must be consumed cold or hot

Methodology Applied
Scientific EffectThermal insulation: Thermal Insulation

Data Source

PatentEP2347962B1Disposable container.
Publication Date: 2015.12.16 LORENTE ECHEVARRIA IGNACIO
  • EP2347962B1 patent drawingFigure 1~3
  • EP2347962B1 patent drawingFigure 4~5
  • EP2347962B1 patent drawingFigure 6~7

AI summary

The invention relates to a disposable container. As containers for drinks, foodstuffs and other products may have very different common configurations, the container according to the invention allows obtaining a container that is sufficiently rigid during its use as a container while being easily deformable when being discarded in order to reduce the volume it occupies as a waste product. To that end, the body (1) of the container includes a double wall (3-3') determining a narrow surrounding sealed chamber (4), such that said wall includes plastic sheets of reduced thickness which as a result of the chamber defined therebetween, provide the container with a significant deformation resistance. The container may be provided with a valve element or the like to allow deflating/inflating it in order to modify the volume it occupies.