Shipping Container Suspension Insert for Waste Reduction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing shipping container systems are inefficient and costly, as they often require filling empty spaces with materials like air-filled plastic pouches or shredded paper, resulting in excessive waste and high expenses.
Innovation Solution
A shipping container system comprising an outer container with upstanding walls and closure flaps, and a suspension insert with a product retention compartment and suspension units that create a suspended compartment with air spaces around the product, securing it in length, width, and height.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Volume of moving object
If traditional shipping containers use filling materials like air-filled plastic pouches or shredded paper to fill empty spaces, then the container can be fully filled to maximize volume utilization, but it results in excessive waste and high expenses
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the traditional filling materials (air-filled plastic pouches, shredded paper) from the shipping container system and replaces them with a suspension insert structure that provides product retention without requiring additional filling materials, thereby eliminating waste while maintaining volume utilization
Solution Approach 2:
The suspension insert is designed to be self-contained with integrated retention elements that automatically secure the product in the container without requiring external filling materials or additional packaging components, making the system self-sufficient and waste-free
2Ease of operation
If traditional shipping containers use plastic film and cardboard to secure products, then the product can be positioned in the cavity, but it uses excess materials including expensive waste materials
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and removes the excessive materials (plastic film, cardboard) from the product securing system and replaces them with a streamlined suspension insert structure that achieves product positioning through integrated retention elements without requiring additional packaging materials
Solution Approach 2:
The suspension insert combines multiple functions (product retention, positioning, and structural support) into a single integrated component, eliminating the need for separate packaging materials like plastic film and cardboard that were previously used to achieve the same objectives
3Reliability
If the suspension insert creates air spaces around the product, then product safety is improved through cushioning, but the container volume is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The suspension insert creates air spaces around the product before shipping to provide cushioning and protection during transit, and this design is optimized to minimize the volume reduction while maximizing product safety through the retained air pockets
Data Source
AI summary
There is provided a container system comprising an outer container comprising a base and a plurality of upstanding walls defining a cavity, a closure flap extending from a top of one of the upstanding walls wherein the first closure flap covers an opening formed by the top ends of the upstanding walls when the outer container is in a closed configuration, and wherein the closure flap includes a retention element that extends from the closure flap downward into the cavity of the outer container when the outer container is closed, and an suspension insert including a product retention compartment and a plurality of suspension units extending outwardly from the suspension unit creating a suspension gap on all sides of the product retention compartment when the suspension insert is installed in the outer container, wherein the retention element exerts a retention force on a the suspension insert.