Liquid Container Lens Array for Cost-Effective Optical Display
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional lenticular labels on containers are costly and require high lens counts, leading to reduced image quality and increased manufacturing costs due to the need for thicker materials and complex fabrication processes.
Innovation Solution
Shaping the container sides into lens or lens arrays with a uniform thickness, allowing the clear fluid inside to complete the lens effect, which reduces manufacturing costs and eliminates the need for printing in register or additional materials, enabling a clear and bright display with articulated lens contours.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Illumination intensity
If lenticular labels are used on containers, then lensing effects are achieved, but manufacturing costs increase and image quality deteriorates due to high lens counts required
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the lens structure and label into a single integrated component. The lens array is formed directly in the container wall during molding, and the label is printed directly onto this integrated lens structure, eliminating the need for separate lens manufacturing and assembly steps, thereby reducing manufacturing costs while maintaining optical performance
Solution Approach 2:
The container wall serves multiple functions simultaneously: it provides structural containment, acts as the lens array for optical display, and serves as the substrate for the label. This multi-functionality eliminates the need for separate components and reduces overall manufacturing complexity and cost
2Illumination intensity
If lenticular labels are used on containers, then lensing effects are achieved, but the number of displayable images decreases due to high lens counts per inch
Solution Approach 1:
The lens array is divided into multiple discrete lens elements arranged in an array pattern within the container wall. Each lens element can independently focus light to display separate images, allowing multiple images to be displayed simultaneously without requiring excessive lens density, thus preserving image quality and display capacity
3Strength
If lenses are molded into container walls to achieve proper strength, then container strength is improved, but material volume increases and fabrication becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The lens array structure is integrated directly into the container wall during the molding process, combining the structural and optical functions into a single component. This eliminates the need for separate lens installation steps and complex assembly operations, reducing fabrication complexity while maintaining both strength and optical performance
Solution Approach 2:
The container wall thickness and lens curvature parameters are optimized during molding to achieve the required strength requirements while minimizing material usage. By carefully controlling these parameters during fabrication, the design achieves proper structural integrity without excessive material volume or complexity
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution provides an optimally clear and bright display with reduced manufacturing costs and improved image quality, allowing for flexible container shapes and configurations, including dual-display options and efficient use of materials, while maintaining the lens effect without increasing the container's thickness or material usage.
Implementation Method 1
one of which is shaped as the surface of a lens or lens array, and whose focal plane lies at the back of an opposing, smooth, planar side
Implementation Method 2
shaping the container sides in the form of the surface of lenses or lens arrays... act in conjunction with the contained clear fluid to complete the lens effect
Data Source
AI summary
Method and apparatus for creating highly articulated lenses and lens arrays from the combined effect of a clear-sided container of clear liquid whose sides are of uniform, conventional thickness, and may therefore be manufactured with conventional methods at conventional prices. The container's sides are shaped into the form of the surface of a lens or lens array, and in combination with the clear fluid within, whose index of refraction is close to that of the container wall, performs the function normally performed by a single lens of glass or plastic and focuses light on a plane within, or outside of said container. Such a container can be used both as an enhanced labeling display for clear fluid containers such as water, soda, liquors, liquid soap and many other liquid products, as well for as a display device only, enabling otherwise impractically thick and expensive lenses.