Non-Combustible Inhaler Tray With Hollow Frame for Impact Protection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional packaging members fail to adequately protect heat-not-burn flavor inhalers from impacts and vibration.
Innovation Solution
A tray is designed with a recess to accommodate the inhaler, surrounded by a cushioning frame body with a hollow cushioning space, featuring inclined and curved frame portions for enhanced protection, and a bottom-face cushioning body, using a cardboard blank with a basis weight of 400 gsm or greater.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If conventional packaging members are used, then manufacturing simplicity is maintained, but protection capability against impacts and vibration is insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The packaging tray is divided into multiple functional regions: a recess for accommodating the inhaler, hollow cushioning frame portions surrounding the recess, and a bottom-face cushioning body. This segmentation allows each region to perform its specific protective function while maintaining overall structural integrity.
Solution Approach 2:
The hollow cushioning frame portions and bottom-face cushioning body are designed to provide cushioning protection in advance before any impact or vibration occurs. These cushioning structures are pre-formed with air-filled hollow spaces that will absorb and dissipate impact energy when needed.
2Strength
If a single sheet of cardboard is folded multiple times, then manufacturing ease is maintained, but adequate protection against impacts and vibration cannot be achieved
Solution Approach 1:
The cardboard blank is designed with varying structural qualities in different regions. The cushioning frame portions and bottom-face cushioning body have different thicknesses, fold patterns, and structural configurations optimized for their specific protective functions, while the overall tray remains manufacturable from a single blank.
Solution Approach 2:
The packaging tray utilizes the cardboard material in a composite structural configuration, combining flat panels, folded edges, and hollow chamber formations to create multiple protective functions from a single material type, achieving enhanced protection without requiring multiple different materials.
3Manufacturing precision
If the recess opening follows the outer shape of the inhaler, then fitting precision is improved, but manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The recess structure is segmented into the main tray body and the cushioning frame portions, allowing the opening shape to be defined by the assembly of these segments rather than requiring a complex single-piece mold. This enables precise fitting while maintaining manufacturing simplicity.
Data Source
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AI summary
This tray for a non-combustible flavor inhaler comprises a recessed part that is formed by folding a blank, and that is able to accommodate a non-combustible flavor inhaler, a hollow cushioning frame surrounding the recessed part, and a cushioning space formed in the interior of the cushioning frame, wherein the cushioning frame is formed so as to fit with and retain a non-combustible flavor inhaler accommodated in the recessed part.