Food Container Receptacle Platform Segmentation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing containers with small cups or receptacles for accompanying items, such as sauces or dressings, face issues like contamination, messiness, and instability due to heat transfer, non-sterility, and loose placement, which can lead to adverse effects on the main food item or other contents.
Innovation Solution
A container design featuring receptacle platforms with secure apertures and attachment lines allows for separate and stable placement of additional items, preventing contamination and instability by using score or cut lines for assembly, and accommodating multiple items depending on the container width.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a cup or receptacle is placed in the container with the main food item, then the additional item (sauce or dressing) can be held, but the cup or receptacle may become contaminated or cause contamination
Solution Approach 1:
The container is divided into separate compartments: a main container for the primary food item and a separate receptacle platform for the additional item (sauce or dressing). This segmentation prevents direct contact between the items, eliminating cross-contamination while maintaining a relatively simple overall container structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The receptacle holding the additional item is extracted from the main container body and positioned on a separate platform. This extraction ensures that the additional item is physically separated from the main food item, preventing contamination while the receptacle remains securely held within the container assembly.
2Temperature
If the main food item is hot, then it can be served warm, but it will heat the sauce or dressing in the cup or receptacle which may have adverse effects
Solution Approach 1:
By segmenting the container into separate compartments with thermal isolation, hot food items can be served at desired temperatures without transferring excessive heat to the sauce or dressing in the separate receptacle, preventing adverse thermal effects on the additional item.
Solution Approach 2:
The separate receptacle platform acts as an intermediary structure that physically and thermally isolates the sauce or dressing from the hot main food item, allowing the main item to be served hot while protecting the additional item from excessive heat exposure.
3Ease of operation
If the cup or receptacle is loose within the container, then it can be easily placed, but it may become dislodged or fall out before delivery
Solution Approach 1:
The receptacle is merged with the container assembly through secure attachment to the receptacle platform, ensuring it remains stable and cannot become dislodged during handling and delivery, while still allowing for relatively easy initial placement.
Solution Approach 2:
The receptacle is nested within the container structure and secured to the platform, creating a hierarchical arrangement where the receptacle is held firmly in place. This nesting approach provides stability while maintaining ease of initial insertion.
Data Source
AI summary
A container having a product cavity formed by a bottom panel, front and back panels and end panels extending upwardly from the bottom panel. The front and back panels, a receptacle platform and a pair of support panels for the platform extend outwardly from at least one end wall. The receptacle platform has a receptacle aperture. A cover panel can overlie the product cavity and the platform and may have an aperture above the platform aperture.