Gable-Top Paper Container with Lateral Scoring for Easy Opening
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional gable top type paper containers are difficult to open for individuals with large hands, small containers, or reduced gable roof-shaped top portions, and pose hygiene concerns due to the need for finger insertion and visibility issues for visually impaired users.
Innovation Solution
A gable top type paper container with a lateral score line on the body panel, a grammage of 230 g/m² to 350 g/m², yield angle of 70° or less, thickness of 280 µm to 600 µm, and an antibacterial layer near the opening, allowing easy deformation and maintaining the widened space for finger insertion, along with a longitudinal score line for enhanced ease of opening.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Volume of stationary object
If the gable roof-shaped top portion height is reduced for space saving, then the container volume is reduced, but the space for finger insertion becomes too small to open easily
Solution Approach 1:
A lateral score line is provided on the upper side of the gable wall forming panel before use. When opening, the user pushes the region between the top lateral folding line and the lateral score line inward, which causes the panel to deform along the pre-formed score line and widen the finger insertion space, making opening easy despite the reduced container size
2Ease of operation
If the lateral score line is deformed mountain-folded on the outside of the container, then the container can be deformed to widen finger insertion space, but the deformation is difficult for children, elderly, and people with disabilities
Solution Approach 1:
The paper base material is specified with a grammage of 230-350 g/m², yield angle of 70° or less, and thickness of 280-600 µm. These parameter specifications ensure the material is soft enough to be easily deformed by light force while maintaining sufficient strength, allowing children, elderly, and people with disabilities to open the container easily
3Ease of operation
If the container is deformed to widen the finger insertion space, then opening becomes easier, but the container may return to its original shape when the finger is released
Solution Approach 1:
The lateral score line is pre-formed on the container before use. When the user pushes the region inward, the panel deforms along this pre-formed score line, creating a stable widened configuration that maintains the opened state rather than returning to the original shape, ensuring reliable opening operation
4Ease of operation
If a finger is inserted into the space to open the container, then the sealed surfaces can be peeled apart, but there are hygiene concerns when users touch the vicinity of the opening side
Solution Approach 1:
The lateral score line and deformation mechanism are positioned on the exterior surface of the container, allowing users to open the container by pushing the external region inward without inserting fingers into the interior space. This extracts the opening action from the interior, eliminating hygiene contamination risks while maintaining ease of opening
Data Source
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AI summary
An object is to provide a gable top type paper container that is easily deformed and hardly returns to the original shape. Provided as a solution is a gable top type paper container formed of a paper base material including base paper and thermoplastic resin layers formed on both front and back surfaces thereof, the paper base material satisfying all of (a) to (c) below, in which a body panel on an opening side has at least one lateral score line on an upper side thereof, and, when a region between an upper edge of the body panel (a top lateral folding line) and the lateral score line is pushed inward, the gable top type paper container can be deformed so that a space for inserting a finger is widened: (a) a grammage of the base paper is 230 g/m2 or more and 350 g/m2 or less; (b) a yield angle at the lateral score line portion of the paper base material from 0° to 90° is 70° or less; and (c) a thickness of the paper base material is 280 µm or more and 600 µm or less.