Multi-Panel Laboratory Media Bottle for Label Visibility and Storage
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional media bottles in laboratory settings are difficult to identify due to obscured labels and require manual dexterity for handling, leading to inefficiencies in storage and use, particularly in microbiology and cellular biology where incorrect identification can result in costly mistakes and time losses.
Innovation Solution
A container design with seven panels, including a front and back panel, two side panels with angled edges, a base panel, and two angled upper panels, allowing for easy identification and handling, featuring a cover that can be opened at an acute angle for pipette access and promoting stable stacking to prevent contamination and optimize storage space.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Volume of moving object
If conventional round or square bottles are used, then storage space efficiency is improved, but label visibility and identification ease deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The bottle is divided into multiple flat panels (front, back, sides, top, bottom) that can be independently positioned and oriented. This segmentation allows each panel to be optimally oriented for either storage efficiency or label visibility, resolving the contradiction between compact storage and easy identification.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention transitions from conventional 3D round or square bottle shapes to a multi-panel structure that can be folded or articulated. This dimensional change enables the bottle to present labels in multiple orientations simultaneously, improving visibility while maintaining compact storage footprint.
2Ease of operation
If bottles are stored side by side in rows, then accessibility to labels is improved, but storage space efficiency deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple labeling surfaces are merged onto a single multi-panel bottle structure, allowing labels to be viewed from multiple angles simultaneously. This eliminates the need to lift bottles to see labels on rear or side panels, improving accessibility while maintaining compact storage.
Solution Approach 2:
The bottle design allows labels to be accessed in multiple spatial dimensions (front, side, top, bottom panels), transforming a 2D labeling problem into a 3D solution that provides comprehensive label visibility without requiring additional storage space.
3Ease of manufacture
If conventional bottles are used, then manufacturing simplicity is maintained, but identification accuracy and error prevention deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The invention incorporates color-coded panels or markings on different bottle surfaces to indicate contents, storage conditions, or usage information. This visual coding system improves identification accuracy and prevents errors while remaining compatible with conventional manufacturing processes.
Solution Approach 2:
The bottle is segmented into multiple panels that can each display different identification information (contents, expiry date, storage conditions, batch numbers). This segmentation provides multiple verification points for accurate identification without significantly complicating manufacturing.
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3A~3B
AI summary
The invention relates to systems and methods for marketing and using products such as liquid materials, especially liquid reagents for use in microbiological and cellular biological laboratory settings include the use of unique color and simple numeric or alphanumeric identifiers to quickly and easily identify any product from a catalog list of products Methods of marketing, advertising and producing such products are also disclosed. Particular embodiments include products, product packaging and product labeling. The invention also relates to collars and sleeves for containers, as well as related methods of use