Inside-Surface Printing for Overwrap Durability
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Solution Overview
Problem
Medical product overwraps experience information loss due to wear during transportation and handling, as existing marking methods are not resistant enough.
Innovation Solution
Printing information on the inside of the overwrap, specifically as mirrored information on the first film that becomes the inside of the package, ensuring it remains readable through the film, using transparent or polymer-based films that can be thermoformed and sealed with a sealing mechanism to enclose the container.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If information is printed on the outside of the overwrap, then it is easily readable, but it is subject to wear during transportation and handling
Solution Approach 1:
The patent inverts the conventional approach by printing information on the inside surface of the overwrap rather than the outside. This inversion protects the printed information from wear during handling while maintaining readability through the transparent film, directly resolving the contradiction between durability and readability.
Solution Approach 2:
The transparent overwrap film acts as an intermediary layer between the printed information and the external environment. By printing on the inner surface of this intermediary, the information is shielded from mechanical wear while the transparency of the film mediates the readability requirement, allowing information to be read through the film without direct exposure to harmful factors.
2Reliability
If information is printed on the inside of the overwrap, then it is protected from wear, but it may be less readable
Solution Approach 1:
The patent utilizes optical properties of the transparent film and print materials to ensure readability from the outside. By carefully selecting print colors and film transparency characteristics, the printed information remains clearly visible through the film despite being printed on the inside surface, resolving the readability concern.
Solution Approach 2:
The transparent overwrap film serves as an optical intermediary that transmits light and visual information. Its transparency property allows the printed information on the inside to be read from the outside without significant loss of readability, thus resolving the contradiction between protection and detectability.
3Strength
If air is evacuated between the films and container, then the package is more compact and protective, but the sealing process becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs vacuum evacuation to remove air from the package, creating a vacuum state that provides protective strength. The sealing process is designed to maintain this vacuum state, using the phase transition from atmospheric pressure to vacuum pressure to achieve both protection and simplified sealing through integrated vacuum sealing technology.
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 solution provides enhanced durability and readability of product information, protecting it from wear and ensuring accurate identification even after handling, while allowing for unique and machine-readable codes.
Implementation Method 1
The printing is performed as mirrored information on the side becoming the inside of the package such that the printed information is readable through the first film
Implementation Method 2
The sealing may comprise any of: welding, gluing, heat sealing, or any combination thereof
Implementation Method 3
evacuating air between the first and second films and the container at sealing
Implementation Method 4
The method may further comprise thermoforming at least one of the first and the second film. The thermoforming of the first film may be performed after the printing
Data Source
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AI summary
A method for packing a container is disclosed. The method comprises feeding (300) a first film; printing (302) information on the first film; feeding (304) a second film, wherein the first and second films encloses a container to be packed; and sealing (306) the first and second films together along a line encircling the container to form a package. The printing (302) of information comprises printing information configured for the container to be packed, and the printing is performed on a side of the first film becoming the inside of the package. A packaging machine (100), a computer program for a controller of a packaging machine, and a package (126) for a container (102) are also disclosed.