Flexible Paper Packaging for Optical Elements
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Solution Overview
Problem
The current methods for packing and unpacking spectacle lenses are laborious, time-consuming, and require substantial packaging material, often necessitating additional protective inlays for adequate protection during transport and storage.
Innovation Solution
A flexible paper sheet material is used to form a packaging that radially holds the circumference of optical elements, with radially inward protruding portions providing axial support to the rim, allowing for efficient stacking and protection of multiple lenses without the need for separate inlays or excessive packaging material.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional individual packagings with foam inlays are used for each spectacle lens, then adequate protection for the optical surfaces is achieved, but the packaging material consumption increases substantially and the packing process becomes laborious and time-consuming
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple individual lens packagings are merged into a single common packaging structure. The flexible paper sheet material forms a common packaging that can accommodate multiple spectacle lenses simultaneously, eliminating the need for separate foam inlays for each lens while maintaining adequate protection through the collective structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The flexible paper sheet material serves multiple functions simultaneously: it provides radial support to hold the circumference of each lens, offers axial support through inward protruding portions to protect the optical surfaces, and enables efficient stacking of multiple lenses. This multi-functional design replaces the need for separate protective inlays for each lens.
2Reliability
If traditional individual packagings with separate inlays are used for each spectacle lens, then adequate protection during transport is achieved, but the packing and unpacking process becomes laborious and time-consuming
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple lens packaging operations are merged into a single process. The common packaging structure allows multiple spectacle lenses to be packed and unpacked together as a unit, significantly reducing the time required for each individual packaging operation while maintaining protection through the integrated design.
Solution Approach 2:
The flexible paper sheet material is pre-formed with radial and axial support structures before the lenses are inserted. The inward protruding portions are already positioned to provide axial support, and the radial structure is pre-configured to hold the lens circumferences, eliminating the need for time-consuming assembly during the packaging process.
3Loss of substance
If flexible paper sheet material with radial and axial support structures is used, then packaging material consumption is reduced, but the structural complexity of the packaging increases
Solution Approach 1:
The packaging structure utilizes changes in the physical parameters of the flexible paper sheet material. By controlling the flexibility, radial strength, and axial rigidity of the paper sheet, the structure achieves both material efficiency and functional complexity without requiring additional components or assembly steps.
Solution Approach 2:
The flexible paper sheet material forms its own support structures without requiring external components. The radial and axial support features are created directly from the paper sheet itself through folding, shaping, or forming operations, eliminating the need for separate inlays, mounts, or protective elements that would increase structural complexity.
Data Source
Figure 1~3
Figure 4A~4C
Figure 5A~5C
AI summary
The invention relates to a packaging for a plurality of optical elements (6). The packaging comprises a flexible paper sheet material (1) for radially holding the circumference of the optical element, the flexible paper sheet material further comprising radially inward protruding paper sheet material portions (5) for axial support of the rim of the optical element. The invention further relates to methods for packing optical elements into such packagings.