Recessed Container Base Structure to Prevent Bulging

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing packaging containers for liquid and pasty products, such as those described in German patent application DE 10 2011 100 171 A1 and US 2012/242012 A1, suffer from base deformation due to bulging during cooling or pressure changes, leading to stability issues and increased material usage, which affects manufacturing efficiency and costs.

Innovation Solution

A packaging container design featuring a recessed base with a circumferential side wall bounded by edges, creating discontinuities that enhance stability against axial forces, allowing reduced material usage while maintaining resistance to deformation.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Stability of the object's composition

If the material content in the base is significantly increased to prevent bulging, then the stability of the base is improved, but the overall weight and material costs increase

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvebase stabilityVSAvoidcontainer weight
Core Design Contradiction:
Stability of the object's compositionVSWeight of moving object

Solution Approach 1:

The base is segmented into different regions with different material thicknesses. The recess area has reduced material content while the surrounding area maintains sufficient thickness for structural support. This segmentation allows the base to resist bulging without requiring uniform thickening across the entire base, thus preventing weight increase.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The base structure is optimized with local quality variations: the recess area has specific geometric features (circles, ellipses, or polygons with rounded corners) that provide structural reinforcement locally, while other areas maintain standard thickness. This localized optimization prevents bulging at critical areas without increasing overall material usage.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #3Local quality

2Stability of the object's composition

If concentric circular grooves are embedded in the base to prevent deformation, then the base stability is improved, but the product settles between the grooves making emptying difficult

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvebase stabilityVSAvoidemptying ease
Core Design Contradiction:
Stability of the object's compositionVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

Instead of concentric circular grooves that create multiple recesses where product can settle, the invention uses a single recess with an asymmetric shape (circles, ellipses, or polygons with rounded corners). This asymmetric design provides structural stability while maintaining a smooth, continuous surface that facilitates product flow and easy emptying without creating accumulation zones.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #4Asymmetry

3Stability of the object's composition

If a recess with a continuous side wall is used to stabilize the base, then the base stability is improved, but the base can still deform under radial forces

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvebase stabilityVSAvoidresistance to radial force
Core Design Contradiction:
Stability of the object's compositionVSStrength

Solution Approach 1:

The recess is designed with curved boundaries (circles, ellipses, or polygons with rounded corners) instead of sharp angles. The curvature distributes radial forces more evenly across the base structure, preventing stress concentration and deformation. The rounded corners and curved edges maintain structural integrity under radial loading while preserving the stabilizing effect of the recess.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #14Spheroidality (Curvature)

Data Source

PatentEP4296180B1Packaging container
Publication Date: 2026.04.29 OPTIPACK
  • EP4296180B1 patent drawingFigure 1~2
  • EP4296180B1 patent drawingFigure 3
  • EP4296180B1 patent drawingFigure 4~5

AI summary

Packaging container for holding liquid and/or pasty products, in particular dairy products, with a container wall extending from an upper edge towards a bottom and circumferentially around a container central axis, wherein the bottom has a recess projecting towards the upper edge and circumferentially, wherein the recess has a circumferentially circumferential side wall which is bounded by a first edge circumferentially around the container central axis towards the bottom and by a second edge circumferentially around the container central axis towards the upper edge, characterized in that the side wall has at least one edge extending from the first circumferential edge to the second circumferential edge.