Plastic Inner Container With Corrugated Walls For Foldable Stacking
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing inner containers for transporting and storing liquids have an unfavorable transport volume to transport weight ratio, leading to high transport costs, especially when produced at different manufacturing sites and not designed for efficient stacking until components are assembled.
Innovation Solution
The inner container features horizontal and diagonal corrugations that allow it to fold, reducing its height and enabling secure stacking and transportation, with the folding process facilitated by external loads applied to the surface centers and along the corrugations, ensuring the top and bottom walls align congruently.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If the inner container is designed with large capacity for transporting and storing liquids, then the capacity is improved, but the transport volume to transport weight ratio deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The inner container is designed with corrugations in the side walls that enable dynamic folding transformation. The container transitions from an expanded state (for capacity) to a compressed folded state (for transport), allowing the same structure to serve both large capacity and low transport volume requirements without adding weight
Solution Approach 2:
The container's physical parameters (volume, shape, height) are changed through the folding mechanism. The corrugations allow the container to change from a voluminous cylindrical shape to a compact folded configuration, optimizing the transport volume to weight ratio while preserving the original capacity when expanded
2Quantity of substance
If the inner container is designed with large capacity, then the capacity is improved, but the transport volume increases leading to unfavorable transport costs
Solution Approach 1:
The container employs dynamic folding capability through corrugations, transforming from a large-volume expanded state to a compact folded state for transport. This allows the container to maintain large capacity when needed while minimizing transport volume to reduce costs
Solution Approach 2:
The folded container can be nested within the outer jacket of the transport pallet, maximizing space utilization. The compact folded configuration allows efficient stacking and arrangement within the available transport volume
3Quantity of substance
If the inner container is made voluminous to ensure large capacity, then the capacity is improved, but the stacking efficiency deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The container transitions from a voluminous expanded state to a compact folded state, enabling efficient stacking. The defined folding lines and corrugations ensure consistent folding geometry that facilitates neat stacking arrangements
Solution Approach 2:
The container's own structure (corrugations and folding lines) enables it to fold into a compact configuration without external assistance. The elastic restoring forces and geometric design allow the container to achieve and maintain its folded state autonomously
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This design reduces transport costs by allowing for efficient stacking and storage of empty containers, maintaining capacity while optimizing the transport volume to weight ratio, and enabling precise folding with minimal folding forces.
Implementation Method 1
the horizontal corrugations in the side walls causing the side walls to fold in a defined manner against the elastic restoring forces of the inner container
Data Source
AI summary
The invention relates to an inner container (15) made of plastic for transporting and storing liquids, the inner container (15) having an outlet socket (18) for connecting an outlet fitting (17) on a front side, a bottom wall (20) connecting two side walls (23, 24), a rear wall (22) and a front wall (16) of the inner container (15) and serving to support the inner container (15) on a pallet floor (21) of a transport pallet (11) provided with an outer jacket (14) for receiving the inner container (15), and a top wall (25) located opposite the bottom wall (20) and provided with a filling opening, wherein the side walls (23, 24) each have a horizontal corrugation (47, 48), the horizontal corrugations (47, 48) being disposed in a shared central horizontal plane.