Packaging System for Stacked Carton Units
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current shipping containers are not designed to both protect and display stacked products effectively, leading to the need for additional containers and increased time for retailers to organize and display goods in retail stores.
Innovation Solution
A packaging system comprising feed conveyors and a stacking station with lifting assemblies and a controller, which retrieves and stacks carton units, allowing for efficient conversion from a shipping configuration to a display configuration within a single container.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If standard shipping containers are used to protect products during transit, then product protection is improved, but the ability to display and provide access to products in retail stores deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The container is divided into multiple compartments or sections, each capable of holding individual cartons. The container includes internal dividers and structural elements that create separate display zones, allowing the single container to simultaneously provide protection and organized display of multiple products
Solution Approach 2:
The container is designed to perform multiple functions: it serves as a protective shipping container during transit and transforms into a display container at the retail location. The container includes features such as removable dividers, accessible openings, and structural elements that enable both protection during shipping and easy product access and display in the store
2Ease of operation
If separate display containers are used to provide access to products in retail stores, then product accessibility is improved, but the number of containers required increases
Solution Approach 1:
The invention merges the shipping container and display container functions into a single integrated unit. The container includes features such as removable dividers, accessible openings, and structural elements that enable both protection during shipping and easy product access in the store, eliminating the need for separate display containers
Solution Approach 2:
The container is designed to perform multiple functions: it serves as a protective shipping container during transit and transforms into a display container at the retail location. The container includes features such as removable dividers, accessible openings, and structural elements that enable both protection during shipping and easy product access and display in the store
3Reliability
If traditional packaging systems are used, then shipping protection is improved, but the time required for retailers to organize and display products increases
Solution Approach 1:
The container is pre-configured with dividers, compartments, and structural elements during manufacturing that facilitate easy organization and display of products. The container includes pre-positioned features such as removable dividers, accessible openings, and structural supports that enable retail staff to quickly organize and display products without extensive assembly or reconfiguration time
Data Source
AI summary
A packaging system includes a plurality of feed conveyors configured to carry a plurality of carton units thereon and a stacking station. The stacking station includes a stacking conveyor and a plurality of lifting assemblies. Each lifting assembly of the plurality of lifting assemblies is selectively moveable over the stacking conveyor and a corresponding feed conveyor of the plurality of feed conveyors. The packaging system further includes a controller communicatively coupled to the stacking conveyor and the plurality of lifting assemblies. The controller is configured to control a first lifting assembly of the plurality of lifting assemblies to retrieve a first carton unit from a first feed conveyor of the plurality of feed conveyors and control the first lifting assembly to deposit the first carton unit on the stacking conveyor in a stacked relationship with a second carton unit.