Food Container with Interlocking Enlarged Flaps for Stacking
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional folded paperboard, corrugated, and foam containers lack structural integrity, making them unsuitable for stacking without damage, which is a critical requirement for efficient use and cost-effective manufacturing in the fast food industry.
Innovation Solution
A container design featuring a tapered cover and interlocking tray with enlarged flaps that include straight, arcuate features, and notches, providing enhanced structural strength by allowing multiple containers to be stacked securely.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If conventional folded paperboard, corrugated, and foam containers are designed with simple structures and minimal materials, then manufacturing cost and complexity are reduced, but structural integrity and stacking capability deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The container is divided into distinct functional components: a tray portion and a cover portion, each with specialized structural features. The tray includes enlarged flaps at specific locations while the cover has corresponding engagement features, allowing each component to be optimized independently for its specific function while maintaining overall structural integrity.
Solution Approach 2:
Enlarged flaps are strategically positioned at specific locations on the tray (not uniformly distributed) to provide localized reinforcement where needed for stacking and handling. The cover features corresponding engagement structures at matching locations, creating targeted structural enhancement rather than uniform strengthening throughout the entire container.
2Device complexity
If the container structure is simplified with minimal components, then device complexity and manufacturing cost are reduced, but stacking capability and structural integrity worsen
Solution Approach 1:
The tray and cover are designed as integrated components that work together through complementary features. The enlarged flaps on the tray engage with corresponding structures on the cover to form a unified assembly that maintains structural integrity during stacking, combining the functionality of two separate components into a reliable stacking system.
Solution Approach 2:
The cover portion is designed to nest over the tray portion, with the enlarged flaps on the tray providing engagement structures that interlock with the cover. This nested configuration allows the cover to rest securely on the tray, creating a stable stacked arrangement that maintains structural integrity.
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention provides a container configured to selectively enclose a food product or the like, including: a tray including a first side wall, a second side wall, a front wall, a back wall, and a bottom that collectively define a compartment configured to hold a food product or the like, wherein the first side wall and the second side wall each include an enlarged flap; and a tapered cover including a first side wall, a second side wall, a front wall, a back wall, and a tapered top, wherein the first side wall, the second side wall, the front wall, the back wall, and the top are substantially coextensive with the tray, and wherein the first side wall and the second side wall each include an enlarged flap that is configured and positioned to interlock with the corresponding enlarged flap of the first side wall and the second side wall of the tray.