Flexible Tubular Package with Segmented Compartments
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional flexible tubular packages for edible products are difficult to open without sharp cutting tools and do not allow for simultaneous dispensing of two separate edible products in a visually appealing and organoleptically pleasing manner.
Innovation Solution
A squeezable, flexible tubular package with liquid-tight compartments separated by a partitioning membrane, featuring a tab that can be easily torn open and an array configuration allowing for detachment of individual packages, enabling the simultaneous dispensing of two edible products with different flavors and colors.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If conventional flexible tubular packages are used, then the package structure is simple, but the package is difficult to open without sharp cutting tools
Solution Approach 1:
The package opening structure is segmented into a tab portion and a sealed margin portion, with the sealed margin including a notch that creates a tear initiation point. This segmentation allows the package to be opened by manual tearing rather than requiring sharp cutting tools, while maintaining structural integrity during use.
Solution Approach 2:
A notch is pre-formed in the sealed margin at a predetermined location before the package is used. This preliminary action creates a stress concentration point that facilitates easy tearing when the tab is pulled, eliminating the need for sharp tools while maintaining package integrity during storage and transport.
2Adaptability or versatility
If conventional single-compartment packages are used, then the package structure is simple, but two separate edible products cannot be dispensed simultaneously
Solution Approach 1:
The package is divided into multiple sealed compartments within the tubular structure, with partitioning elements separating different edible products. This segmentation allows each compartment to hold and dispense different products simultaneously while maintaining a relatively simple overall package structure that resembles conventional single-compartment designs.
Solution Approach 2:
Multiple compartments are nested within the single tubular package structure, with partition walls creating separate chambers that fit within the outer envelope. This nesting approach enables multi-product dispensing while maintaining a compact, simple external form factor similar to conventional packages.
3Reliability
If the package is made fully liquid-tight for product protection, then product protection is improved, but the package becomes difficult to open manually
Solution Approach 1:
A notch is pre-formed in the sealed margin to create a predetermined tear initiation point. This preliminary structural feature maintains the liquid-tight seal during storage and transport while providing a stress concentration point that enables easy manual tearing when opening is required, resolving the contradiction between seal integrity and ease of opening.
Solution Approach 2:
The notch acts as an intermediary element between the sealed structure and the opening action. It provides a controlled initiation point for tearing that propagates along the sealed margin, allowing the liquid-tight seal to be broken in a controlled manner that requires minimal force while maintaining protection during storage.
Data Source
AI summary
A squeezable, flexible tubular package for an edible product is compartmented to simultaneously hold a first edible product in one compartment separate from a second edible product in another juxtaposed compartment. The package includes an elongated enclosure defined by a pair of transparent, flexible film strips bonded to one another around the periphery thereof by a liquid tight seal; and a membrane situated between the film strips, bonded to the periphery of the film strips by a liquid tight seal, partitioning the enclosure into a pair of juxtaposed, liquid tight compartments. An extrudable, edible product is separately contained in each of the compartments. Apparatus for continuously and successively forming, filling and sealing articulated arrays of such packaged products is also disclosed.