Container having enhanced wall integrity and alignment element
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Solution Overview
Problem
Thin-walled disposable plastic containers are prone to bending, distortion, and instability due to their thin walls, and they often fail to nest properly when stacked, leading to increased space usage and potential instability.
Innovation Solution
The design incorporates a polygonal cross-sectional shape with a rotational alignment structure, featuring protruding or recessed elements that guide adjacent containers to align parallel, allowing for full nesting and enhanced structural rigidity without increasing material thickness.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If thicker material construction is used to strengthen containers, then container strength is improved, but production costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The container sidewall is segmented into multiple panel sections (e.g., five panel sections in a pentagonal configuration) that collectively form the cylindrical or polygonal sidewall. This segmentation allows the thin-walled container to achieve enhanced strength through geometric configuration rather than material thickness, resolving the contradiction between using thin material and achieving sufficient strength.
Solution Approach 2:
The container employs a composite structural approach by combining thin thermoplastic material with a geometric framework of multiple panel sections and corner regions. This composite structure achieves the strength of thicker material while maintaining the cost benefits of thin-walled construction.
2Volume of stationary object
If containers are stacked one on top of the other during shipment and storage, then space efficiency is improved, but nesting stability deteriorates when containers do not fully nest
Solution Approach 1:
The container design enables full nesting of stacked containers through specifically configured corner regions and panel sections. The corner regions with reinforced geometry allow adjacent containers to nest completely one within another, maximizing space efficiency while maintaining stack stability through proper geometric alignment.
3Shape
If non-round cross-sectional shapes are used for containers, then structural variety is improved, but nesting alignment deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The container employs asymmetric corner regions with protruding or recessed features that break the symmetry of simple polygonal shapes. These asymmetric elements serve as alignment guides during stacking, ensuring that containers with varied cross-sectional shapes (e.g., pentagonal, hexagonal) can still nest precisely and maintain proper orientation.
Solution Approach 2:
The corner regions act as intermediary alignment elements between adjacent panel sections and nested containers. These corner features mediate the interaction between containers during stacking, guiding them into proper alignment despite the non-circular cross-sectional shapes.
Data Source
AI summary
A container having enhanced wall integrity and a rotational element is provided that includes a sidewall having polygonal cross-sectional shape and an alignment structure formed therein. The alignment structure is adapted for orienting the container with respect to a second container such that the panel sections of the containers become parallel with one another and the containers may be fully nested one within the other. The alignment structure can be recessed into the sidewall to form peaks and valleys along an inner surface of the container. The peaks include first and second faces sloping in opposite directions designed to direct corners of the first container's sidewall toward the interior valleys of the second container in order to orient the containers as they are stacked.