Honeycomb Container Support Structure for Dense Pharmaceutical Packing

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing supporting structures for pharmaceutical, medical, and cosmetic containers suffer from low packing density, complex and costly manufacturing, and inadequate stiffness, leading to increased production time and material costs.

Innovation Solution

A supporting structure with polygonal receptacles arranged in a regular pattern, featuring shared partition walls and symmetrical hollow honeycomb design, allowing for high packing density and improved stiffness while simplifying injection molding.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Quantity of substance

If cylindrical receptacles with circumferential side-walls are formed close together to increase packing density, then the packing density improves, but the manufacturing complexity and cost increase due to thin-walled structures

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvepacking densityVSAvoidmanufacturing complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

Quantity of substanceVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent merges adjacent cylindrical receptacles by forming common partition walls between them. Instead of creating separate thin-walled receptacles, the invention combines adjacent receptacles to share thick common walls, thereby achieving high packing density without the manufacturing difficulties of thin-walled structures. The common partition walls serve dual purposes: separating adjacent receptacles while providing structural strength.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #5Merging (Combining)

2Quantity of substance

If thin-walled rib-like contours are used to achieve small distances between receptacles, then the packing density improves, but the service life of the mold decreases and cycle time increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvepacking densityVSAvoidmold service life

Core Design Contradiction:

Quantity of substanceVSDuration of action of stationary object

Solution Approach 1:

The invention combines adjacent receptacles to share common partition walls, eliminating the need for thin-walled rib-like structures. This merging approach creates thicker, more durable walls that can withstand repeated injection molding cycles, thereby extending mold service life while maintaining high packing density.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #5Merging (Combining)

Solution Approach 2:

The invention changes the wall thickness parameter from thin (in rib-like structures) to thick (in common partition walls). This parameter change improves both mold durability and cooling efficiency during injection molding, reducing cycle time while maintaining compact receptacle arrangement.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #35Parameter changes

3Ease of manufacture

If vertical positioning pins with large clearance are used to hold containers, then the ease of manufacture improves, but the packing density decreases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveease of container insertionVSAvoidpacking density

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of manufactureVSQuantity of substance

Solution Approach 1:

The invention applies different clearance characteristics to different regions of the receptacle. The common partition walls provide tight fitting and lateral support adjacent to containers, while the open tops allow easy container insertion. This local differentiation of quality achieves both easy manufacture and high packing density.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #3Local quality

Solution Approach 2:

The receptacle structure is segmented into functional zones: common partition walls for lateral support and positioning, and open receptacle tops for easy insertion. This segmentation allows each zone to optimize its function without compromising the other.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

4Ease of manufacture

If large distances between receptacles are used to simplify manufacturing, then the ease of manufacture improves, but the packing density decreases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvemanufacturing simplicityVSAvoidpacking density

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of manufactureVSQuantity of substance

Solution Approach 1:

The invention merges adjacent receptacles to share common partition walls, eliminating the need for large distances between separate receptacles. This combining approach simplifies manufacturing by reducing the number of individual wall structures while maintaining adequate spacing for container insertion and removal.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #5Merging (Combining)

Data Source

PatentUS12465552B2Supporting structure for concurrently supporting a plurality of containers for substances for pharmaceutical, medical or cosmetic applications, and transport structure comprising the same

Publication Date: 2025.11.11 SCHOTT PHARMA SCHWEIZ AG

AI summary

A supporting structure for concurrently supporting a plurality of containers for substances for pharmaceutical, medical or cosmetic applications, comprises a plurality of receptacles. The receptacles are arranged in a regular arrangement, are formed by circumferential side-walls, and an upper side of the supporting structure is formed as a plate-shaped carrier. The receptacles are polygonal in shape when viewed in a plan view. A side-wall is formed as a common partition wall between respective two directly adjacent receptacles of the plurality of receptacles. The receptacles can be directly adjacent to each other, which enables optimum packing density, especially with a hexagonal basic shape of the receptacles. Due to the shared partition wall, filigree, double-walled structures can be effectively avoided, which considerably simplifies production by injection molding from a plastic material. Thereby, also a very high inherent stiffness of the supporting structure can be achieved.