Octagonal Box Flap Locking System with Sift-Proof Bottom
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current foldable cardboard box designs face challenges in securely locking flaps, especially at the bottom where weight and stress are significant, leading to disengagement issues, and often require external fastening methods that can damage internal liners, and they fail to prevent leakage through corners.
Innovation Solution
An octagonal foldable box design with a flap locking system featuring trapezoidal tabs and fold-over regions on interior flaps that interlock externally without protruding into the box interior, creating a sealed and self-locking bottom and corners.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If tape or external fastening methods are used to hold bottom flaps securely, then flap security is improved, but the interior space of the box is reduced and liners can be damaged
Solution Approach 1:
The locking mechanism is extracted from the interior space and positioned entirely on the exterior of the box. The lock tabs are formed on the outer surface of the bottom flaps, allowing the locking function to be achieved without any protruding elements inside the box that could damage liners or reduce interior volume.
Solution Approach 2:
The lock tabs act as intermediary elements that bridge the gap between opposing flaps from the exterior. These tabs interlock with corresponding recesses on adjacent flaps, providing a mechanical locking action that secures the bottom assembly without requiring internal fasteners or tape.
2Reliability
If lock tabs protrude up and through the bottom inside of the box to secure flaps, then flap locking is improved, but interior space is reduced and liners can be caught and torn
Solution Approach 1:
The locking mechanism is completely relocated to the exterior surface of the box bottom. The lock tabs are formed on the outer surface and extend laterally to interlock with adjacent flaps, eliminating any need for protruding elements that would occupy interior space or contact liners.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of having lock tabs protrude inward from the bottom flaps, the design inverts the approach by having the locking mechanism engage from the exterior. The tabs and recesses are positioned on the outer surface, reversing the conventional inward-protruding tab design.
3Ease of manufacture
If conventional bottom flaps are used without sealed corners, then manufacturing simplicity is maintained, but leakage through bottom corners cannot be prevented
Solution Approach 1:
The corner sealing function is merged with the existing bottom flap structure. The fold-over regions are integrated into the flap design itself, combining the structural support function with the sealing function in a single continuous piece of material without requiring separate sealing components.
Solution Approach 2:
The fold-over regions are pre-formed during the box manufacturing process, creating sealed corners before the box is assembled and used. The double-layer construction is built into the flap structure itself, ensuring leakage prevention is already in place before the box encounters any liquids or stresses.
Data Source
AI summary
An octagonal shaped foldable box having a flap locking system. The foldable box includes: eight sidewall sections; a pair of opposing locking flaps extending from two of the eight sidewall sections, each opposing locking flap having a generally trapezoidal shaped tab cut therein for locking a first opposed locking flap with a second opposed locking flap; and a pair of opposing interior flaps, wherein each opposing interior flap extends from three of the eight sidewall sections, and wherein each opposing interior flap includes a first and a second flap edge, and each flap edge includes a fold-over region for forming a sealed corner with two sidewall sections.