Hot-Fill Container with Collapsible Body and Vacuum Panels
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current hot-fill plastic containers face issues such as deformation, structural weakness, and limited design flexibility due to internal vacuum pressures during cooling, leading to aesthetic and handling problems, as well as increased material usage and costs.
Innovation Solution
A hot-fill container design featuring a collapsible body portion, vacuum panels, and strategically placed ribs, allowing for thinner walls and improved structural integrity while accommodating vacuum pressures, enabling better weight distribution and top loading performance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If vacuum panels are incorporated into the container sidewall to control deformation during cooling, then container structural integrity is improved, but container aesthetics deteriorate and design flexibility is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The container sidewall is divided into multiple zones with different wall thicknesses. Thinner wall sections are positioned in areas where vacuum deformation is less critical, while thicker sections are placed where structural support is needed. This segmentation allows the container to maintain structural integrity without requiring visible vacuum panels, thereby improving aesthetics and design flexibility.
Solution Approach 2:
Different portions of the container sidewall are given different thickness characteristics tailored to their specific functional requirements. The variable wall thickness distribution optimizes structural performance in critical areas while allowing thinner, more aesthetically pleasing sections in non-critical areas, eliminating the need for visible vacuum panels.
2Strength
If wall thickness is increased to prevent sidewall deformation, then container strength is improved, but material usage and weight increase
Solution Approach 1:
The container employs variable wall thickness where thicker sections are strategically placed only in areas requiring additional strength, while other areas use thinner walls to reduce material consumption and weight. This localized quality optimization resolves the contradiction between strength and weight.
Solution Approach 2:
The wall thickness parameter is varied continuously or in steps throughout the container sidewall based on structural requirements. This parameter change allows the container to achieve necessary strength with minimal material, reducing both weight and material costs.
3Stability of the object's composition
If vacuum panels are used to accommodate internal vacuum pressure, then container deformation is controlled, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The vacuum panel feature is extracted and eliminated from the container design. Instead of adding complex vacuum panel structures, the patent uses a simplified variable wall thickness approach that achieves the same shape stability function without the complexity of discrete vacuum panels.
Solution Approach 2:
The container uses continuous parameter variation in wall thickness to achieve shape stability, replacing the discrete, complex vacuum panel structure with a simpler geometric parameter change that accomplishes the same functional goal.
4Strength
If prescribed wall thickness is used to limit deformation, then structural integrity is maintained, but manufacturing flexibility and cost-effectiveness deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The wall thickness parameter is optimized through variation rather than using a single prescribed thickness. This parameter optimization allows the container to achieve required structural integrity with reduced material usage, improving manufacturing cost-effectiveness while maintaining strength.
Solution Approach 2:
Different wall thicknesses are applied locally based on specific structural needs rather than using a uniform prescribed thickness throughout. This local quality approach optimizes material usage and manufacturing efficiency while maintaining necessary structural integrity.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The container effectively manages internal vacuum pressures, maintains structural integrity, and reduces material usage, resulting in a lightweight, aesthetically pleasing design with enhanced stacking and handling capabilities.
Implementation Method 1
as the product cools to room temperature, such as 72 degrees F. (22.2 degrees C.), a negative internal pressure or vacuum forms within the sealed container
Data Source
AI summary
A hot-fill container may have a shoulder portion, body portion, bottom portion, and numerous strengthening grooves and a thin-walled, flexible, bag-like, collapsible portion in the body portion. The collapsible portion may be located between the strengthening ribs. The container structure may also employ one or more vacuum panels in the body portion that may lie between the collapsible portion and the bottom portion. The vacuum panels and the collapsible body portion may move toward a central vertical axis when the container is subjected to an internal vacuum pressure. Strengthening grooves may border the collapsible body portion, which may be circular in pre-vacuum cross-section but polygonal in post-vacuum cross-section. Part of the collapsible portion may be concave inward toward a central vertical axis of the container while part of the collapsible portion may move away from the central vertical axis. Vertical columns may support the collapsible portion.