Self-Folding Polygonal Food Box with PET-Coated Cardboard
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current packaging solutions for ready-to-eat meals and hot foods are prone to deformation, leakage, and increased costs due to material thickness requirements for heat resistance, and lack aesthetic appeal and ease of formation and disinfection, while also being inefficient in transportation and storage.
Innovation Solution
A self-folding, impermeable food box made of cardboard coated with PET film, which maintains shape at high temperatures and can be easily formed using a stainless steel tool without glues, ensuring health safety and competitive pricing, with transparent PET film for visibility and branding, and designed for easy formation and reuse.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If polymeric packages are used to protect food, then safety and protection are improved, but the packages are prone to deformation at high temperatures and require increased material thickness which raises costs
Solution Approach 1:
The invention uses a composite structure combining cardboard (providing structural rigidity and heat resistance) with polymeric film layers (providing barrier properties against moisture, oxygen, and fats). This composite approach allows the package to maintain shape at high temperatures while retaining protective barrier functions, eliminating the need for excessive material thickness.
2Manufacturing precision
If manual work is involved in packaging, then precision and care are improved, but production speed decreases and costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The packaging is divided into separate components (bottom, lid, and polymeric film layers) that can be manufactured independently using automated processes, then assembled. The blank is pre-cut and pre-folded into modular sections, enabling rapid assembly while maintaining precision through standardized connection elements.
Solution Approach 2:
The package structure includes self-aligning and self-locking features that enable automatic assembly without manual intervention. The folding lines and connection elements are designed to automatically position and secure components during the forming process, ensuring precision while maximizing production speed.
3Volume of moving object
If package volume is increased to accommodate food, then storage capacity is improved, but transportation and storage expenditures increase
Solution Approach 1:
The package is designed with collapsible and adjustable features that allow it to adapt its volume to the actual quantity of food being packaged. The structure can be compressed during transportation when not fully filled, reducing wasted space and transportation costs while maintaining adequate volume when in use.
4Object-generated harmful factors
If cardboard structure is visible on the outer side, then material authenticity is improved, but aesthetic appearance deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
A polymeric film is applied to the outer surface of the cardboard structure. This thin film layer provides a smooth, aesthetically pleasing surface that can be printed on, while the underlying cardboard structure remains intact to provide structural strength and rigidity. The film acts as a cosmetic covering that hides the cardboard texture.
Solution Approach 2:
The package combines cardboard (for structural integrity) with a polymeric coating layer (for aesthetic appearance and printability). This composite structure allows the outer surface to have the desired visual qualities while the inner cardboard structure maintains its simple, cost-effective construction.
5Reliability
If package is made impermeable to protect food, then food safety is improved, but material complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
Thin polymeric film layers are applied to the cardboard structure to create the impermeable barrier. These films are sufficiently thin to maintain flexibility and conform to the package structure, yet provide effective protection against moisture, oxygen, and fat penetration. The thinness of the films minimizes added complexity and cost.
Solution Approach 2:
The package uses a composite of cardboard and polymeric film where the film provides the impermeable barrier function. This division of functions allows the cardboard to handle structural requirements while the thin film handles protection, avoiding the need for a single complex material system.
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
The solution provides a cost-effective, leak-proof, and aesthetically pleasing packaging that maintains shape during hot food transport, reduces transportation and storage costs, and meets health and ecological standards, while being easily formed and disinfected.
Implementation Method 1
cardboard coated with a protective layer... which makes the self folding box acceptable for direct contact with food from the standpoint of health and microbiogical safety... impermeable food box made of cardboard coated with PET film
Implementation Method 2
self folding polygonal impermeable food box... formed by folding or erecting one or more blanks made of paper preparations by folding all the parts connected to the central panel... adjacent sides are interconnected by gusset folds
Data Source
AI summary
A self folding polygonal impermeable food box and a tool for its forming. The box is made from cardboard coated on its inside with PET film or foil. The box has a bottom, six lateral sides, two lateral sides and eight corner sides which are partially transparent and directed towards the inside of the box. The box is covered by a cover so that the sides of the cover rest on the outer surfaces of the lateral sides and seal the box. There is also a second variant of the box. The tool for forming the box, which is preferably made from stainless steel, has a bottom, six guides and two guides, which form the six lateral sides and the two lateral sides of the box.