Interlocking Packaging Sub-Members for Stable 3D Shape Retention
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional packaging members formed from a single sheet material struggle with maintaining the three-dimensional shape and preventing positional shifting and erroneous arrangement of components, particularly when incorporating features like protrusions and holes.
Innovation Solution
A packaging member comprising a first tube-shaped sub-member with a housing region and a second U-shaped sub-member, featuring concavities and convexities that interlock to stabilize the position of the first sub-member within the second, ensuring proper alignment and reducing material usage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Shape
If a single sheet material is bent into a three-dimensional shape with protrusions and holes, then the packaging member can be formed with structural features, but the three-dimensional shape cannot be reliably maintained and positional shifting occurs
Solution Approach 1:
The packaging member is divided into multiple separate components (first packaging sub-member, second packaging sub-member, etc.) that are assembled together. Each sub-member can be formed from simpler sheet materials, and their relative positions are maintained through the interlocking design of protrusions and recesses, solving the stability issue while maintaining the three-dimensional shape.
Solution Approach 2:
The first packaging sub-member is inserted into the second packaging sub-member, creating a nested structure. The protrusions of one sub-member fit into the recesses of another, providing mechanical interlocking that maintains the three-dimensional shape and prevents positional shifting of the nested components.
2Stability of the object's composition
If conventional packaging members use protrusions and holes to maintain shape, then structural retention is achieved, but positional shifting and erroneous arrangement of components occur
Solution Approach 1:
The protrusions and recesses are designed with asymmetric geometries that allow only one correct orientation for assembly. This asymmetric design ensures that components can only be assembled in the proper orientation, preventing erroneous arrangement while maintaining shape retention through the interlocking features.
Solution Approach 2:
The protrusions and recesses are pre-formed during the manufacturing process of each sub-member, so that when the components are assembled, the alignment is automatically guided by these pre-formed features. This preliminary formation of interlocking features ensures precise component alignment without requiring additional alignment steps.
3Stability of the object's composition
If multiple packaging sub-members are used with interlocking features, then positional shifting is suppressed, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The packaging member is segmented into multiple sub-members with interlocking protrusions and recesses, which provides positional stability. However, each sub-member is formed from simple sheet materials using conventional forming processes, so the complexity is managed by keeping individual components simple while achieving overall stability through their assembly.
Data Source
AI summary
A packaging member includes a first packaging sub-member and a second packaging sub-member. The first packaging sub-member is formed in a tube shape extending in a first direction and internally includes a housing region for housing an article to be packaged. The second packaging sub-member is formed in a U-shape when viewed from the first direction and internally includes a housing region for housing the first packaging sub-member. The second packaging sub-member includes a pair of side wall portions that is arranged to be opposed to each other in a second direction orthogonal to the first direction and a concavity that is formed at an upper edge of each of the pair of side wall portions and is recessed downward. The first packaging sub-member includes a convexity that is arranged to be opposed to the concavity and is inserted into the concavity.