Integral Condiment Pocket Structure for Unitary Food Containers
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing food containers for bite-size foods lack an integral condiment pocket, leading to increased material and manufacturing costs, and do not efficiently separate and serve different food products.
Innovation Solution
A unitary blank is designed to form a container with a base panel, back and front body panels, side panels, and a pocket portion, allowing for the formation of a container with an integral condiment pocket by separating the support panel from the front body panel and joining it to the back body panel, creating a pocket between them.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If an integral condiment pocket is added to the container, then the ability to separate and serve different food products is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The container is divided into distinct functional zones: a main body for food items and an integral pocket portion for condiments. The blank includes a base panel, back body panel, front body panel, side panels, and a separately defined pocket portion with its own panels and closure flap, allowing independent organization of different food products while maintaining a unified container structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The pocket portion is integrally formed with the container body from a single unitary blank, combining the container and condiment storage into one unified structure. This merging eliminates the need for separate condiment containers while maintaining structural simplicity through continuous material formation.
2Ease of manufacture
If a unitary blank design is used to form the container with integral pocket, then manufacturing costs are reduced, but the manufacturing precision requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The container is designed as a unitary blank with all panels, fold lines, and pocket portions pre-defined in a flat sheet configuration before forming. The blank includes predetermined fold lines and panel boundaries that guide the forming process, allowing the container to be assembled through folding and joining operations rather than requiring complex multi-step manufacturing.
3Adaptability or versatility
If the pocket portion is separated from the front body panel and joined to the back body panel, then the condiment storage functionality is improved, but the number of joining operations increases
Solution Approach 1:
The pocket portion is extracted as a distinct element from the front body panel and repositioned to join with the back body panel. The blank defines the pocket portion with its own panels and closure flap that can be independently formed and attached, creating a separate condiment storage compartment that enhances functionality while maintaining clear structural definition.
Data Source
AI summary
Unitary blank for forming a container includes a base panel, a back body panel, a front body panel, a first side panel, a second side panel, and a pocket portion. The pocket portion includes a support panel, a pocket flap, a first side tab, and a second side tab. The first and second side panels are configured to be joined to the back body panel such that the front and back body panels and the first and second side panels define a container. A support panel of the pocket portion is configured to be separated from the front body panel along a front upper edge and joined to the back body panel such that the pocket portion and the back body panel define a pocket therebetween. A container and a method for forming a container from a unitary blank are also provided.