Optical Instrument Container With Deformable Ball Cushioning
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional packaging methods for optical instruments during transport often fail to effectively mitigate shock and collision forces, leading to potential damage due to the settling or movement of packaging materials.
Innovation Solution
A container with an interior surface featuring ball-receiving concavities that house elastically deformable balls, which project into the container cavity to accommodate and support optical instruments, absorbing shock forces and preventing collisions by distributing and dissipating energy.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If conventional packaging material (foam, packing paper, bubble wrap) is used to house optical instruments, then the container is simple and easy to manufacture, but shock forces and collision forces are transmitted to the optical instrument causing potential damage
Solution Approach 1:
The container interior surface is segmented into multiple ball-receiving concavities, each housing an individual elastically deformable ball. This segmentation allows the shock absorption function to be distributed across multiple discrete elements rather than relying on a single continuous packaging material, thereby reducing the transmission of shock forces to the optical instrument while maintaining a relatively simple overall container structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The elastically deformable balls are pre-positioned within the ball-receiving concavities before the optical instrument is placed in the container. These balls are designed to deform elastically upon impact, providing beforehand cushioning that absorbs shock forces and collision forces before they can reach the optical instrument, thus protecting the instrument without requiring complex active protection systems.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If peanut foam is used to reduce movement of the optical instrument, then movement and associated collision forces are reduced, but the peanut foam settles or moves around inside the box during transport, leaving parts of the optical instrument unprotected
Solution Approach 1:
The ball-receiving concavities are pre-formed as integral parts of the container interior surface, and the elastically deformable balls are pre-positioned within these concavities before the optical instrument is inserted. This preliminary action ensures that the balls remain in their designated locations throughout transport, providing consistent and reliable protection without settling or moving around, thereby eliminating the reliability issues associated with loose packaging materials like peanut foam.
Solution Approach 2:
The ball-receiving concavities act as intermediaries that constrain the elastically deformable balls in specific locations. These concavities serve as a mediator between the container structure and the protective balls, ensuring that the balls remain stationary relative to the container walls during transport, thus providing consistent protection to the optical instrument without the balls settling or moving to unprotected areas.
3Ease of operation
If the container cavity is sized to accommodate the optical instrument, then the instrument fits properly, but shock forces are transmitted through the box to the optical instrument
Solution Approach 1:
The container employs local quality by incorporating ball-receiving concavities at specific strategic locations within the interior surface. Each concavity houses an elastically deformable ball that provides localized shock absorption at critical impact zones. This localized approach allows the container cavity to maintain its proper size for accommodating the optical instrument while simultaneously providing targeted shock force transmission prevention at the most vulnerable areas.
Solution Approach 2:
The container combines rigid container walls with elastically deformable balls as a composite protective system. The rigid walls provide structural integrity and define the container cavity size for proper instrument accommodation, while the elastically deformable balls provide shock absorption. This composite approach allows the container to simultaneously achieve proper instrument fit and shock force reduction by integrating materials with complementary properties.
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 deformable balls effectively reduce the transmission of shock forces to the optical instruments, minimizing damage by gradually absorbing kinetic energy and preventing sudden impacts, thus providing enhanced protection during transport.
Implementation Method 1
The container comprises a plurality of elastically deformable balls, each ball located in a corresponding one of the ball-receiving concavities and projecting from the interior region of the corresponding one of the ball-receiving concavities through the opening of the corresponding one of the ball-receiving concavities and into the container cavity such that the balls are deformed to accommodate the optical instrument in the container cavity
Implementation Method 2
The deformable balls effectively reduce the transmission of shock forces to the optical instruments, minimizing damage by gradually absorbing kinetic energy and preventing sudden impacts
Data Source
AI summary
A container for housing optical instruments is described. The container includes a case having an interior surface shaped to define a container cavity for holding an optical instrument. The interior surface is further shaped to define a plurality of ball-receiving concavities which open into the container cavity. Each ball-receiving concavity is shaped to have an opening at its edge and an interior region. The container also includes a plurality of elastically deformable balls, each ball located in a corresponding ball-receiving concavity and projecting from the interior region of the corresponding ball-receiving concavity through the opening and into the container cavity such that the balls are deformed to accommodate the optical instrument in the container cavity.