Flat pack tray with curve on set-up and blank for forming the same
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Solution Overview
Problem
Rounded items pose challenges for shipping and production lines due to their tendency to roll, requiring a tray that can securely hold items of various sizes, weights, and shapes while being inexpensive, compact, and easily erected.
Innovation Solution
A tray formed from a sheet material blank with a bottom panel, top panel, side panels, and a locking band that transitions from a flat to an erect configuration, allowing the top panel to form a concave surface for holding rounded items, featuring hinged locking arm flaps and creases for stability and ease of assembly.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the tray is designed to hold rounded items securely, then the holding capability is improved, but the tray structure becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The tray utilizes a dynamic transformation mechanism where the top panel transitions from a flat configuration during shipping to a curved configuration during use. This dynamic reconfiguration allows the simple flat tray structure to become a complex curved structure capable of holding rounded items, resolving the contradiction between structural simplicity and holding capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The tray is divided into distinct functional segments: a bottom panel that remains flat, side panels for structural support, and a top panel that transforms into a curved surface. This segmentation allows each part to serve its specific function while the overall structure remains relatively simple during shipping.
2Volume of moving object
If the tray is designed to be compact for shipping, then the shipping efficiency is improved, but the ease of erection is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The dynamic transformation of the top panel from flat to curved configuration enables the tray to maintain a compact flat state for efficient shipping while allowing easy manual erection at the destination. The user simply needs to bend the top panel into its curved form, transforming the compact shipping state into the operational state without requiring complex assembly procedures.
3Adaptability or versatility
If the tray is designed to accommodate various items, then the adaptability is improved, but the structural stability is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The tray employs local quality differentiation where the bottom panel and side panels maintain a stable flat configuration for structural integrity, while only the top panel transforms into a curved configuration. This localized transformation allows the tray to adapt to different item sizes and shapes through the curved top surface while the rest of the structure remains stable and rigid for support.
Data Source
AI summary
A tray formed from a blank of sheet material includes a bottom panel, a top panel, first and second side panels, and a locking band connected to the bottom panel at opposite upper and lower edges thereof. The locking band extends across the top panel and holds an underlying portion of the top panel in face-contacting relationship with the bottom panel. The tray is configured to transition from a first, substantially flat configuration into a second, erect configuration in which the top panel defines a concave surface configured to hold in place a rounded item. The tray is configured to be transitioned from the first configuration to the second configuration by sliding the top panel relative to the bottom panel.