Medical Device Package With Corner Pocket For Shelf Removal

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Solution Overview

Problem

Packages, especially medical device packages, are difficult to remove from tightly packed shelving units due to their design, which often results in crowded and inaccessible storage configurations.

Innovation Solution

The package incorporates corner pockets, specifically chamfered corners with depth and lips, allowing for easy removal by inserting a finger and sliding or tilting the package out, enhancing accessibility even when stacked.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Quantity of substance

If packages are tightly packed on shelving units to maximize storage capacity, then the quantity of packages stored per unit length is improved, but the ease of removing a selected package deteriorates

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvenumber of packages storedVSAvoidease of package removal
Core Design Contradiction:
Quantity of substanceVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The package is segmented with a distinct corner pocket feature that separates the grip area from the main package body. This segmentation allows the user to interact with only a portion of the package (the pocket) when removing it, while the rest of the tightly packed packages remain undisturbed. The corner pocket acts as an independent access point that solves the contradiction between tight packing and easy removal.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The corner pocket serves as an intermediary element between the user's finger and the main package body. Instead of requiring direct contact with the package edges or surfaces that are blocked by neighboring packages, the user interacts with the corner pocket which is specifically designed to be accessible. This intermediary structure enables easy removal while maintaining tight packing of the overall package array.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Quantity of substance

If packages are stacked with minimal height clearance to maximize shelf space utilization, then the storage density is improved, but the accessibility for removing packages from the middle of stacks deteriorates

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvestorage densityVSAvoidpackage accessibility
Core Design Contradiction:
Quantity of substanceVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The corner pocket extends the package structure into a new dimensional space that protrudes slightly beyond the main package envelope. This dimensional extension creates an accessible grip point that reaches out from the tightly stacked package, allowing users to access and remove packages from middle positions in vertical stacks without requiring excessive clearance between shelves. The pocket creates a third dimension of access that resolves the contradiction between compact stacking and accessibility.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #17Another dimension (Dimensionality change)

Data Source

PatentEP3188971B1Package for a medical device
Publication Date: 2021.03.31 MEDTRONIC VASCULAR INC
  • EP3188971B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP3188971B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP3188971B1 patent drawingFigure 3

AI summary

A package (100) includes a box having an interior volume and a first pocket (120) disposed at a first comer of the box. The first pocket (20) includes a lip (122) configured for a finger of a user to be inserted therein for removal of the package (100) from a storage unit.