Hinged-Lid Folding Box With Tab-Lock Closure and Nesting
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing disposable containers for salads and side dishes are expensive to manufacture, limited in filling capacity, and difficult to recycle, with clamshell boxes being particularly costly and inefficient in space utilization.
Innovation Solution
A hinged-lid box design featuring a polygonal base, outwardly inclined side walls, triangular tabs, and a hinged lid that can be easily folded and secured without glue, allowing for efficient filling, closing, and nesting, with improved space utilization and condensation management.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If clamshell boxes are used for salads, then product security is maintained, but manufacturing cost increases and filling capacity is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The box is divided into a lower part with side walls and a separate hinged lid, allowing independent manufacturing and assembly. This segmentation enables simpler, cheaper production while maintaining the secure closure function through the lid's engagement with the lower part.
Solution Approach 2:
The hinged lid nests over the lower part to form the complete box, with the lid's insertion tab engaging between the dust flaps and side wall. This nested structure provides secure product containment while using simpler, less expensive components than traditional clamshell designs.
2Ease of manufacture
If traditional folding boxes are used, then manufacturing is simple, but closing security is insufficient without gluing
Solution Approach 1:
The box structure is designed to self-secure through the insertion tab engaging between the dust flaps and side wall when the lid is closed. This mechanical interlocking provides closing security without requiring gluing or additional fastening elements, maintaining manufacturing simplicity while improving reliability.
3Reliability
If boxes are designed with two shell parts hinged together, then closure is achievable, but filling capacity for small-sized product is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The hinged lid provides dynamic closure capability, allowing the lid to be opened for filling and then securely closed. The hinge mechanism enables repeated opening and closing while maintaining sealing effectiveness, and the dust flaps can be adjusted during filling to accommodate different product quantities and sizes.
Solution Approach 2:
The dust flaps can be positioned at different angles and heights to accommodate various product types and quantities. This adjustable parameter allows optimal filling capacity for small-sized products while maintaining secure closure, overcoming the fixed geometry limitations of traditional two-part clamshell boxes.
4Volume of stationary object
If boxes are stacked for transport, then space efficiency improves, but condensation management becomes problematic
Solution Approach 1:
The air gap created by the hinged lid's slight upward bend in the center provides a curved pathway for condensation to drain toward the edges. This subtle curvature in the lid's position facilitates natural condensation flow and evaporation, preventing water accumulation even when boxes are stacked for transport.
Data Source
AI summary
A folding box having a lower part and a hinged lid positionable relative to the lower part to a closed position of the folding box. The lower part having a bottom wall, a plurality of side walls, and a plurality of dust flaps. At least one of the plurality of side walls has an upper edge comprising a free edge and is arranged between two adjacent side walls having an upper edge foldably connected to a dust flap. The hinged lid has a top wall foldably connected to one of the plurality of side walls and at least one insertion tab. The at least one insertion tab is for insertion into a gap between that at least one of the plurality of side walls with the free edge and the dust flaps of the two adjacent side walls when the hinged lid is in the closed position.