Fan-Folded Container Carrier String With Oval Apertures
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for storing and applying container carriers result in uneven accumulation and tangling, known as 'birdsnesting', due to the fan folding of elongated strings, especially when features like handles are present, leading to inefficient packing and potential breakage during unwinding.
Innovation Solution
A package design with fan-folded stacks of container carriers featuring oval-shaped apertures and perforations between adjacent carriers, allowing for flat and continuous folding, minimizing tangling and uneven accumulation, and enabling efficient storage and uninterrupted removal.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Volume of stationary object
If container carriers are fan folded into boxes or cartons for storage, then space-efficient storage is achieved, but uneven accumulation and tangling (birdsnesting) occur during stacking and unwinding
Solution Approach 1:
The container carrier string is segmented into individual container carriers by providing dividing apertures and perforations between adjacent carriers. This segmentation allows each carrier to be clearly defined and separated, preventing the material from bunching unevenly during fan folding and stacking operations, thereby eliminating birdsnesting while maintaining space-efficient storage.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies different structural features at different locations along the container carrier string. Specifically, dividing apertures are provided at intervals to separate individual carriers, while perforations are provided in attachment areas to facilitate clean separation. This local differentiation ensures uniform folding and stacking characteristics throughout the entire string, preventing uneven accumulation during storage and retrieval.
2Duration of action of moving object
If reels are used to store and dispense container carriers, then continuous supply is maintained, but the circular shape limits the number of reels that can be assembled onto a single pallet
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of winding the container carrier string into circular reels, the patent inverts the storage approach by fan folding the string into rectangular boxes or cartons. This inversion of the storage geometry allows multiple units to be efficiently arranged on pallets in a grid pattern, maximizing pallet space utilization while still providing continuous supply through the fan folded structure.
3Adaptability or versatility
If container carriers include handles or extraneous features, then functionality is improved, but uneven stacking and tangling during fan folding becomes more problematic
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the potential problem elements (handles, extraneous features) from the critical folding and stacking zones by providing dividing apertures and perforations that create clear separation points between carriers. These features are positioned such that they do not interfere with the fan folding process, allowing functional features to be retained while preventing them from causing uneven stacking or tangling during storage and retrieval operations.
Data Source
Figure 1~3
Figure 4
Figure 5
AI summary
A generally continuous string of container carriers typically forming a package of fan-folded container carriers wherein the generally continuous string of container carriers are folded within a carton along a first attachment area and a second attachment area between adjacent container carriers of the plurality of container carriers and perforations are formed at least partially across the first attachment area and the second attachment area and include a series of small cuts and dividing apertures.