Fibrous Article With Rigid Core For Compact Shipping
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing fibrous structures containing active agents face challenges in achieving consumer-acceptable in-use properties such as flexibility, dissolvability, and optimal dimensions, while conventional packaging methods are labor-intensive and costly, leading to inefficiencies in shipping and storage.
Innovation Solution
The development of fibrous structures comprising filament-forming materials with releasable active agents, designed to exhibit specific dimensions and properties, paired with optimized product-shipping assemblies that minimize packaging volume while ensuring secure and protected transport.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional packaging materials such as bubble wrap and styrofoam are used, then article protection during shipping is improved, but shipping container size and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The article itself is designed to serve as its own packaging by incorporating a rigid core structure with flexible outer layers that provide both structural integrity and protective cushioning. This eliminates the need for separate protective packaging materials like bubble wrap and styrofoam, allowing the article to be shipped in a compact container that fits efficiently in mail slots while maintaining protection during transit.
Solution Approach 2:
The outer flexible layer of the article serves multiple functions: it provides structural support, acts as a protective barrier during shipping, and maintains the article's shape. This multi-functional design replaces the need for dedicated packaging materials, reducing shipping container volume while ensuring article protection.
2Ease of operation
If article flexibility is increased for consumer comfort, then consumer acceptance is improved, but article structural integrity during shipping deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The article is constructed as a composite structure with an inner rigid core made from resilient material that provides structural integrity and shape maintenance, surrounded by an outer flexible layer that provides consumer comfort and adaptability. This composite design allows the article to maintain its structural form during shipping while remaining flexible and comfortable during consumer use.
Solution Approach 2:
Different regions of the article have different mechanical properties: the core region is rigid to maintain structural integrity during shipping, while the outer surface region is flexible to provide consumer comfort during use. This spatial variation in material properties resolves the contradiction between structural strength and flexibility.
3Quantity of substance
If active agent loading is increased to improve consumer performance, then product effectiveness is improved, but article dissolution rate deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The resilient core material is configured with a porous or open structure that allows water to penetrate throughout the article, facilitating rapid dissolution. This porous structure enables high active agent loading while maintaining fast dissolution rates, as water can access and dissolve the active agents distributed throughout the core material efficiently.
Solution Approach 2:
The dissolution rate is controlled by adjusting parameters such as the porosity, surface area to volume ratio, and hydrophilicity of the core material. By optimizing these parameters, the article can accommodate high active agent loading while maintaining rapid dissolution performance through enhanced water penetration and diffusion pathways.
Data Source
AI summary
Product-shipping assembly containing a plurality of water-soluble articles are provided.