Produce display pad
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional produce display pads are fragile, aesthetically unappealing, provide minimal protection, and are prone to decomposition in humid environments, lacking durability and effectiveness in preventing bruising and bacterial growth.
Innovation Solution
A monolithic produce display pad constructed from closed cell foam with a grid pattern of shallow pockets and dividing members that retain produce securely, offering protection and an aesthetically pleasing display, while being reversible and easy to manufacture and ship.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional cardboard or paper-based display pads are used, then they are simple to manufacture and initially provide basic display functionality, but they are fragile, decompose quickly in humid environments, and provide minimal protection for produce
Solution Approach 1:
The display pad is constructed from closed-cell foam material, which combines the benefits of durability, water resistance, and cushioning protection in a single monolithic structure. This composite material approach resolves the contradiction by providing reliable, long-lasting display functionality while maintaining manufacturing simplicity through extrusion processes.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the fundamental material parameter from organic (cardboard/paper) to synthetic foam material. This parameter change transforms the display pad's properties: it becomes impervious to water and mold, resistant to decomposition, and provides superior cushioning while maintaining structural integrity in humid refrigerated environments.
2Strength
If conventional disposable display pads are used, then they are easy to replace and simple in design, but they are aesthetically unappealing and provide minimal protection from bruising
Solution Approach 1:
The closed-cell foam material provides inherent cushioning properties that protect produce from bruising while maintaining manufacturing simplicity through extrusion. The material's cellular structure absorbs impact forces, resolving the contradiction between providing strong protection and keeping manufacturing straightforward.
Solution Approach 2:
The foam display pad is extruded with segmented pockets and dividing members formed directly into the material during manufacturing. This segmentation creates protective compartments for individual produce items while maintaining the simplicity of a single-extrusion manufacturing process, avoiding complex assembly steps.
3Duration of action of stationary object
If conventional paper-based display pads are used, then they are inexpensive and simple to produce, but they decompose quickly especially in refrigerated display cases where produce is regularly misted
Solution Approach 1:
Changing the material parameter from organic paper to synthetic closed-cell foam fundamentally alters the display pad's interaction with moisture. The foam's hydrophobic cellular structure prevents water absorption and mold growth, enabling the display pad to withstand repeated misting in refrigerated cases without decomposing, thereby extending service life indefinitely.
Solution Approach 2:
The closed-cell foam structure creates an inert, non-nutritive environment that resists microbial growth. The material's chemical inertness and physical barrier properties prevent mold and bacteria from penetrating or thriving on the display pad surface, even in humid conditions, thus extending durability.
4Manufacturing precision
If a monolithic foam structure with pockets and dividing members is used, then it securely holds produce and prevents movement, but it requires precise molding and forming processes
Solution Approach 1:
The pockets and dividing members are segmented features that are formed directly into the foam material during the extrusion process. This integration of segmentation into the manufacturing process itself, rather than requiring post-production assembly, achieves precise pocket formation while maintaining manufacturing efficiency through continuous extrusion.
Solution Approach 2:
The pocket structures and dividing members are pre-formed during the extrusion process before the display pad is installed or used. This preliminary formation of structural features eliminates the need for subsequent complex molding or assembly operations, resolving the contradiction between precision and ease of manufacture.
Data Source
AI summary
A monolithic display device for the point-of-sale display of produce manufactured out of a closed cell foam material and of solid construction, with a plurality of pockets formed into the top surface of the device and arranged in horizontal rows separated by upwardly extending horizontal dividing members, with upwardly extending intermediate dividing members separating adjacent pockets within each row. The display device is used in a retail setting by first being placed onto a table or other means of support, and then having produce placed onto the top surface within the pockets. The horizontal dividing members and the intermediate dividing members hold the produce in place on the device, while the foam construction of the device protects the produce from damage. In some embodiments different sized pockets are formed into the lower surface of the device so that the device can be used with different sized produce.