Locking Bottom Box Blank Scoring for Stronger Scrap-Free Folding
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current box designs with a 'locking' bottom suffer from limited strength, generate excessive scrap material, and are inefficient for high-throughput manufacturing due to cutouts that weaken the bottom structure and require manual removal of scrap material.
Innovation Solution
The box blank design incorporates a web pattern score system with score lines and cuts that allow for easy folding and assembly, reducing scrap material and enhancing structural strength without cutouts, enabling efficient high-throughput manufacturing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If cutouts are used in current locking bottom box designs to enable easy folding, then ease of operation is improved, but strength is reduced due to lack of material overlap
Solution Approach 1:
The bottom flaps are divided into multiple sections by score lines that create foldable segments. The web pattern scores divide each bottom flap into regions that can fold independently while maintaining material continuity, enabling easy assembly without compromising structural integrity.
Solution Approach 2:
The solution transitions from two-dimensional cutouts to three-dimensional web pattern scores that create folded structures. The scores form a network of creases that guide the material through controlled folding in multiple directions, transforming the flat bottom flaps into a three-dimensional locked structure that maintains strength.
2Ease of operation
If material is removed from bottom flaps to enable folding, then ease of operation is improved, but loss of substance increases due to scrap material generation
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of removing material through cutouts, the invention extracts only the necessary folding functionality by introducing score lines. The scores remove the need for material removal while still enabling the bottom flaps to fold and lock into place, eliminating scrap generation.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the physical state of the material at the score lines by creating compressed or weakened zones that facilitate folding without removal. The web pattern scores modify the material parameters locally to enable bending and folding while maintaining overall material continuity and eliminating waste.
3Ease of operation
If multiple cut outs are used in box blanks, then ease of operation is improved, but device complexity increases due to manual scrap removal and die maintenance
Solution Approach 1:
The web pattern scores enable the box blank to self-fold and self-lock during assembly without requiring external intervention for scrap removal. The score lines guide the material through automatic folding sequences, and the locking mechanism engages autonomously, eliminating the need for manual die maintenance and scrap clearance.
4Strength
If web pattern scores are used instead of cutouts, then strength is improved through material retention, but ease of manufacture may be affected by score line complexity
Solution Approach 1:
The invention merges multiple functions into the web pattern score system: the scores simultaneously create fold lines, define locking mechanisms, and eliminate the need for separate cutout operations. This consolidation simplifies the manufacturing process by replacing multiple discrete operations with a single integrated scoring pattern.
Data Source
AI summary
Box blanks, boxes, and corresponding methods of forming the same are provided. The box blank comprises a plurality of panels and bottom flaps. Each of the plurality of panels and the plurality of bottom flaps are connected along a foldable section score line. The plurality of panels are connected to the plurality of bottom flaps along a panel score line. At least one web pattern score extends in one of the plurality of bottom flaps comprising a first score line and a second score line extending within the bottom flap. A first subsection is defined between the second score line and the section score line, and a second subsection is defined between the first score line and the second score line. The at least one web pattern score enables folding such that the first subsection folds towards the second subsection when the box blank is being formed into the box.