Plastic Can Package With Inward Protrusions For Single-Handed Handling
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Solution Overview
Problem
Standard #10 size cans used in restaurants and industrial kitchens are awkward to handle due to their size, requiring both hands and posing challenges in storage and handling on existing vertical storage racks, necessitating a more manageable and durable container solution.
Innovation Solution
A plastic container with a cylindrical body, inward protrusions forming a graspable handle, and circumferential ribs for rigidity, designed to fit standard #10 size dimensions, featuring a metal foil seal and snap-on cap for ease of use and storage compatibility.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If standard #10 size cans are used to maintain compatibility with existing storage racks and inventory systems, then storage compatibility and inventory management are improved, but handling difficulty increases requiring both hands and reducing operational efficiency
Solution Approach 1:
The can surface is segmented into functional zones: smooth areas for rack contact and grip areas with protrusions for hand handling. This segmentation allows the same surface to serve dual purposes of storage compatibility and improved handling.
Solution Approach 2:
Specific local regions of the can are modified with inward protrusions and grip features to provide enhanced hand contact points, while the rest of the can maintains the standard cylindrical shape for rack compatibility. The local quality change is confined to specific zones rather than the entire can.
2Ease of operation
If the can size is reduced to improve handling ease, then operational efficiency is improved, but storage capacity and inventory density deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of reducing can size, the solution adds dimensional features (inward protrusions extending into the can body) that create grip points without significantly reducing the overall can volume. This allows improved handling while maintaining storage capacity.
3Ease of operation
If grip features are added to the can body to improve handling, then ease of operation is improved, but structural complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The can body is segmented with simple inward protrusions that create distinct grip zones. These segmented features are geometrically simple and easy to manufacture, avoiding complex structural additions.
Solution Approach 2:
The can body maintains a thin-walled cylindrical structure with minimal material addition. The grip features are formed as simple protrusions from the existing shell rather than adding separate complex components.
Data Source
AI summary
A package includes a container having a closed bottom, an open top having an outwardly extending flange, and a body having an enclosed generally cylindrical perimeter surrounding a longitudinal axis between the bottom and the top. The body can include an opposed pair of longitudinally extending inward protrusions forming a graspable handle dividing the body into a front label surface occupying at least 180° of the body and a back label surface smaller than the front label surface. Each inward protrusion can include a plurality of longitudinal ridges on a forwardly facing surface to facilitate single handed grasping of the package. A plurality of circumferential ribs can be situated between an upper end of the inward protrusions and the outwardly extending flange to preserve the package shape during storage on commercial food storage racks.