Packaging Pillow Rip Cord for Rapid Deflation and Recycling
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Solution Overview
Problem
Air pillows used for shipping are difficult to deflate and recycle due to inconsistent inflation levels and the need for manual puncturing, leading to inefficient disposal and increased environmental impact.
Innovation Solution
A packaging pillow system with a rip cord attached to the surface, allowing for rapid deflation by pulling the cord to create a longitudinal aperture, facilitating easy disposal and recycling.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of time
If air pillows are discarded without deflation, then disposal time is reduced, but recycling quality deteriorates and environmental friendliness worsens
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by incorporating a rip cord into the air pillow structure before use. This rip cord enables the user to quickly and easily deflate the air pillow before disposal, ensuring the pillow is properly prepared for recycling without requiring significant time or effort from the consumer. The deflation mechanism is pre-built into the product, making the environmentally friendly disposal option practical and convenient.
2Ease of operation
If air pillows are punctured individually with sharp implements, then deflation is achieved, but the process becomes time-consuming and tedious
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the deflation function from the complex process of manual puncturing and squeezing. By incorporating a dedicated rip cord mechanism directly into the air pillow structure, the deflation process is simplified to a single pulling motion. This extraction of the essential deflation function eliminates the need for multiple puncture points and manual squeezing, dramatically reducing both the time and effort required.
Solution Approach 2:
The air pillow with rip cord applies self-service by providing its own deflation mechanism without requiring external tools or complex manual operations. The rip cord is an integral part of the pillow structure that the user can operate directly, eliminating the need for knives, scissors, or other sharp implements. The pillow essentially deflates itself when the rip cord is pulled.
3Adaptability or versatility
If air pillows are inflated to varying volumes, then production flexibility is maintained, but uniform deflation becomes difficult to achieve
Solution Approach 1:
The rip cord mechanism serves as a universal deflation solution that works effectively regardless of the air pillow's inflation level. Whether the pillow is inflated to 30%, 100%, or any intermediate level, the rip cord consistently provides reliable deflation. This multi-functional design allows the same deflation mechanism to handle varying inflation conditions without requiring adjustment or modification.
Data Source
AI summary
There is provided a packaging pillow as commonly inflated with air and used to cushion articles in shipping packages. The packaging pillow contains a rip cord which is attached to the surface of the packaging pillow and can be removed to creature an aperture in the pillow and thus enable the pillow to be rapidly deflated. The packaging pillow can be one of a series of packaging pillows, i.e., a system, produced in a continuous length which can be separated from the length in desired portions, and then used in packaging. Such a system of packaging pillows can be deflated using the rip cord by pulling on the rip cord across the length of the plurality of pillows in order to quickly deflate a series of pillows without undue effort. Upon their deflation the apertured pillows can be discarded such that they do not occupy an undesirable amount of refuse space.