Foldable Divider Panels for Flexible Tray Organization
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing containers lack efficient and sustainable solutions for organizing and displaying diverse articles, particularly food products, while minimizing material use and environmental impact.
Innovation Solution
A tray design featuring foldable panels and divider features that form compartments, allowing for flexible arrangement and separation of articles, and optionally incorporating locking mechanisms for stability, constructed from materials like paperboard or cardboard to enhance sustainability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If traditional containers are used for holding articles, then they provide basic holding functionality, but they lack efficient organization and display capabilities for diverse articles
Solution Approach 1:
The container is divided into multiple compartments using divider panels that partition the interior space. Each compartment can independently hold different types of articles, providing efficient organization and display capabilities while maintaining a relatively simple overall container structure.
2Strength
If plastic materials are used for container construction, then structural integrity is achieved, but environmental impact increases and sustainability decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The material composition parameter is changed from traditional plastics to alternative materials such as molded fiber, paperboard, or biodegradable polymers. These alternative materials maintain sufficient structural integrity for container functionality while significantly reducing environmental impact and improving sustainability.
3Stability of the object's composition
If fixed divider panels are used to create compartments, then stable organization is achieved, but flexibility and adaptability for different article arrangements are reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The divider panels are designed with movable or adjustable characteristics, allowing them to be repositioned, removed, or reconfigured according to different storage needs. This dynamic design maintains stable compartment organization when needed while providing flexibility and adaptability for different article arrangements.
4Ease of manufacture
If multiple separate components are used for container assembly, then ease of assembly and disassembly is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple container components such as the base, walls, and divider panels are integrated into a single molded piece or pre-assembled unit. This merging of components maintains ease of assembly and disassembly while reducing the overall number of separate parts, thereby simplifying the device structure.
Data Source
AI summary
A tray for holding one or more articles includes a plurality of panels extending at least partially around an interior space of the tray, the plurality of panels comprising a bottom panel, at least one side panel, and at least one end panel, a plurality of end flaps foldably connected to a respective panel of the plurality of panels, and divider features forming a plurality of compartments in the interior space of the tray, the divider features comprising at least one divider panel foldably connected to the bottom panel and at least partially separated from the bottom panel.