EPS Container Hinge Design for Compact Storage
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing EPS boxes are inefficient in terms of storage and transportation when empty due to their volume and lack of strength, leading to wastage and environmental impact.
Innovation Solution
A container apparatus made from EPS with integrated hinges and ledge portions that allow for compact folding and enhanced structural integrity, enabling robust assembly and storage in a flat form, reducing storage space requirements and improving durability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If EPS boxes are formed as single-piece expanded structures, then dimensional accuracy and structural integrity are improved, but storage space requirements and transportation efficiency deteriorate when empty
Solution Approach 1:
The EPS box is divided into multiple planar surfaces (base, sides, top) that are separately formed and then assembled together using hinge members, transforming the single-piece expanded structure into a modular segmented structure that can be flattened for compact storage
Solution Approach 2:
The box structure is designed to be dynamic rather than static, allowing it to transition between an expanded three-dimensional container form and a collapsed flat form for storage, with hinge members enabling controlled movement between states
2Volume of stationary object
If EPS boxes are made collapsible with hinge joints, then storage efficiency is improved, but strength and structural stability deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The hinge member combines rigid EPS material with a recessed channel structure, creating a composite joint that provides both the flexibility needed for collapsing and the structural strength to maintain integrity when assembled
Solution Approach 2:
The hinge channel is formed as a recess within the EPS material itself, nesting the pivot mechanism inside the wall structure rather than requiring external components, which maintains structural compactness and strength
3Ease of manufacture
If cardboard boxes are used for packaging, then cost and formability are improved, but durability and resistance to liquids and impact deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The material parameter is changed from cardboard to expanded polystyrene, which fundamentally alters the properties to provide liquid impermeability, impact resistance, and durability while maintaining the ability to be formed into desired container shapes
Data Source
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AI summary
An expanded polystyrene container consists of a substantially planar blank having a plurality of regions, the regions including a base, side walls, end walls and a lid. The blank is able to be converted into a first unassembled configuration in which regions of the blank are pivoted around the hinges connecting the regions in relation to other regions, to form a rectangular slab in which compact mode blanks are able to be stacked, and a second configuration in which the blank is erected to form the container, which has a cuboidal structure of substantially uniform cross-section, for the storage of articles. The hinge comprises a recess the recess defining a point of minimum cross section. The base of a container may also include ledge portions at each of the comers of the base, which ledge portions provide support for hinges.