Corrugated Fiberboard Tray With Layered Side Walls
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
The existing corrugated fiberboard trays for fruit and vegetables are not strong enough to withstand top-to-bottom loads and have insufficient ventilation, leading to issues with stability and cooling during transportation and storage.
Innovation Solution
The trays are designed with side walls and end walls composed of two layers of vertical panels, reducing the height of the middle sections to enhance ventilation and using a third layer in the flanking sections for added stability, while maintaining efficient board usage by minimizing the overall blank length.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If the panels of corrugated fiberboard in the bottom of the tray extend in the longitudinal direction (Plaform design), then the tray structure is simple and easy to manufacture, but the long side walls have horizontal panels which are much less resistant to top to bottom load
Solution Approach 1:
The side walls are divided into multiple layers (first side wall layer and second side wall layer) with different panel orientations. The first layer has panels extending in the longitudinal direction while the second layer has panels extending in the transverse direction, creating a composite structure that combines ease of manufacture with enhanced load resistance.
Solution Approach 2:
The side walls are constructed as composite structures with two layers of corrugated fiberboard having different panel directions. This composite configuration allows the tray to maintain manufacturing simplicity while achieving superior strength characteristics through the combination of horizontal and vertical panel orientations.
2Ease of manufacture
If the panels of corrugated fiberboard in the bottom of the tray extend in the longitudinal direction (Plaform design), then the tray is easy to manufacture, but the ventilation in stacks of trays is insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The end walls are segmented into middle sections and flanking sections with different heights. The middle sections have reduced height to create ventilation channels, while the flanking sections maintain full height for structural support. This segmentation enables both easy manufacture and adequate ventilation.
Solution Approach 2:
Different parts of the end walls have different heights tailored to their specific functions. The middle sections have reduced height to facilitate ventilation, while the flanking sections maintain full height for load-bearing purposes. This local differentiation resolves the contradiction between manufacturing simplicity and ventilation requirements.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If the height of the middle sections is reduced to enhance ventilation, then ventilation and cooling improve, but the structural stability may be compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The end walls are divided into middle sections with reduced height for ventilation and flanking sections with full height for structural support. This segmentation allows the tray to achieve both improved ventilation and maintained structural stability through differentiated section design.
Solution Approach 2:
The end walls exhibit local quality variations where middle sections have reduced height optimized for ventilation while flanking sections maintain full height for structural integrity. This localized differentiation enables simultaneous achievement of ventilation efficiency and structural stability.
4Strength
If more board material is used to increase wall strength and ventilation, then load resistance and ventilation improve, but board consumption and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The tray design dynamically allocates material resources by using two layers of board in side walls and flanking sections where strength is needed, while using single layer in middle sections where ventilation is prioritized. This dynamic material distribution optimizes the balance between strength and board consumption.
Solution Approach 2:
Different wall sections use different numbers of board layers based on their functional requirements. Side walls and flanking sections use two layers for strength, while middle sections use one layer for ventilation. This local quality differentiation reduces overall board consumption while maintaining necessary strength characteristics.
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3a~3b
AI summary
There is provided a tray (20) for fruit or vegetables being foldable from a single piece of flat corrugated fiberboard (1), comprising: a bottom section having two long sides (11a, 11b) and two end sides (12a, 12b), wherein the panels of the corrugated fiberboard of the bottom section are parallel with the end sides; two opposed side walls (21a, 21b) extending from the long sides of the bottom section; and two opposed end walls (22a, 22b) extending from the end sides of the bottom section, wherein each side wall comprises two layers (13a, 13b, 14a, 14b) of corrugated fiberboard having horizontal panels, each end wall comprises a middle section (23a, 23b) and two flanking sections (24a, 24b) flanking the middle section, said middle section being composed of a single layer (15a, 15b) of corrugated fiberboard having horizontal panels and each flanking section comprising first (16a, 16b) and second layers (17a, 17b) of fiberboard having vertical panels and wherein the height of the middle section is less than the height of the two flanking sections.