Paperboard Article with Interlocking Wings for Continuous Flange
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing paperboard articles for food packaging suffer from material wastage and production inefficiencies due to excessive planar development compared to container footprint, and issues with annular flange formation, including steps, gaps, and variable thickness, which complicate the forming process and thermoplastic layer application.
Innovation Solution
A paperboard article with a continuous annular frame and wings connected to it, where the wings are coplanar in a flat configuration and interlock to form a continuous, stiff bottom wall in the expanded configuration, allowing for a single-sheet material usage and minimizing waste, with the annular frame forming a continuous, constant-thickness annular flange.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If wings are folded towards the inside of the annular frame to form a continuous annular flange, then the annular flange continuity is improved, but the production time increases and the annular frame thickness becomes variable
Solution Approach 1:
The paperboard article is pre-formed with the annular frame and wings in their final positions before the container forming process. The wings are already connected to the annular frame in a configuration that will directly form the continuous annular flange when folded, eliminating the need for additional folding operations during production.
2Device complexity
If the paperboard article is made from a single sheet of material, then the manufacturing complexity is reduced, but material waste increases due to excessive planar development
Solution Approach 1:
The paperboard article utilizes the third dimension by forming the annular frame and wings in a three-dimensional configuration on the single sheet, rather than requiring all components to lie flat in two dimensions. This allows the planar development to closely match the final container footprint, minimizing material waste while maintaining single-sheet construction.
3Manufacturing precision
If multiple parts are glued together to form the paperboard article, then the structural precision is improved, but the manufacturing complexity and labor increase
Solution Approach 1:
The annular frame and wings are merged into a single integrated paperboard article made from one continuous sheet of material. The connections between components are formed through die-cutting and folding of the single sheet rather than through separate parts joined by gluing, simplifying manufacturing while maintaining structural precision.
4Area of stationary object
If the wings extend outwards from the annular frame, then the container footprint is reduced, but the material inside the annular frame is wasted
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of extending the wings outwards from the annular frame, the invention inverts the configuration by having the wings extend inwards towards the center of the annular frame. This allows the material inside the annular frame to be fully utilized for forming the bottom wall, eliminating waste while achieving compact container dimensions.
Data Source
AI summary
A paperboard article (1) for making a container (8) comprises an annular frame (2), which surrounds an internal zone (20), and a plurality of wings (3) connected to the annular frame (2). Each wing (3) comprises a first portion (31) and a second portion (32), wherein the second portion (32) is connected to the annular frame (2) and is interposed between the annular frame (2) and the first portion (31). The paperboard article (1) is configured to adopt a flat configuration and an expanded configuration. In the flat configuration, the paperboard article (1) has a substantially planar shape and the wings (3) are coplanar without overlapping each other. In the expanded configuration, the paperboard article (1) has a substantially tray-like shape, wherein the annular frame (2) forms an annular flange (71), the first portions (31) of the wings (3) form a bottom wall (72) and the second portions (32) of the wings (3) form lateral walls (73). For at least one pair of wings (3), the first portion (31) of a first wing has a seat (34) and the first portion (31) of a second wing has a projection (35) that is housed in the seat (34) of the first wing: in the expanded configuration, an edge section (37) of the projection (35) makes contact with an edge section (36) of the seat (34).