Knockdown Display Tray With Self-Aligning Folded Panels
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing PDQ display trays are time-consuming to assemble and ship, requiring multiple parts and labor, while maintaining aesthetics and rigidity is a challenge.
Innovation Solution
A knockdown display tray design using a unitary sheet of corrugated paperboard, featuring alignment and connection panels that fold into a stable display tray form, reducing assembly time and simplifying shipping.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If traditional PDQ display trays are assembled from multiple parts, then the tray maintains rigidity and aesthetics, but the assembly process becomes time-consuming and labor-intensive
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple separate parts into a single unitary blank of material. The display tray is formed from one continuous piece of material with integrated panels, fold lines, and connection features, eliminating the need to assemble multiple discrete components and significantly reducing assembly time and labor requirements
Solution Approach 2:
The unitary blank is designed with pre-defined fold lines and panel separations that allow the single piece of material to be folded and shaped into the three-dimensional tray structure. This segmentation within a unitary structure enables easy assembly while maintaining the benefits of a one-piece construction
2Productivity
If traditional PDQ display trays are assembled from multiple parts, then the tray maintains structural integrity, but shipping and storage space requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
By consolidating multiple parts into a single unitary blank, the patent eliminates the need for separate packaging for each component. The entire display tray structure is contained in one piece that can be flat-packed and shipped efficiently, reducing packaging material requirements and shipping volume
Solution Approach 2:
The unitary blank is designed to fold flat into a compact configuration for shipping and storage. The three-dimensional tray structure nests into a two-dimensional flat pack format, maximizing space efficiency during transportation while maintaining the complete tray structure for final assembly
3Ease of manufacture
If the knockdown design uses a unitary sheet of material, then assembly is simplified and labor costs are reduced, but maintaining rigidity and aesthetics becomes more challenging
Solution Approach 1:
The unitary blank incorporates fold lines and articulated panel connections that allow the structure to transition from a flat shipped state to an assembled three-dimensional tray. These dynamic folding mechanisms maintain rigidity in the assembled state while enabling simple assembly and compact shipping
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses corrugated material for the unitary blank, which provides inherent rigidity and structural strength. The corrugated structure maintains tray stiffness and load-bearing capacity while still allowing for the knockdown foldable design, resolving the conflict between simplicity and structural integrity
4Ease of operation
If the alignment panel is folded into face to face relation with the connection portion, then side panels and rear panel align into display tray positions, but the folding mechanism must be precise
Solution Approach 1:
The alignment panel is designed to automatically guide and align the side and rear panels into their correct positions during assembly. The fold lines and panel geometries are configured so that the act of folding itself produces the alignment, eliminating the need for complex adjustment mechanisms or high-precision manual positioning
Data Source
AI summary
A knockdown that can be assembled into a display tray, such as that of a PDQ style tray, having a bottom, front, rear and opposing side panels, and an alignment panel having an alignment portion and a connection portion divided by a fold line. The alignment panel provides for automatic alignment of the rear and side panels from the knockdown form to the display tray form. A display tray is also provided.