Shipping Insert with Popout Tabs and Air Gaps
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional shipping containers for fragile items like wine bottles are either bulky and offer limited impact protection or are expensive and difficult to recycle, as they often rely on molded inserts such as Styrofoam or plastic.
Innovation Solution
A one-piece blank of sheet material is folded to form a shipping insert with two internal receiving areas, providing enhanced protection through lateral extensions and popout tabs that create air gaps and multiple layers of material, allowing for secure closure without adhesives and facilitating easy assembly and disassembly for reuse or recycling.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If conventional cardboard shipping boxes are used, then cost and simplicity are maintained, but impact protection is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The insert is divided into multiple panels (front, back, side panels) connected by fold lines, creating a segmented structure that can collapse to absorb impact while maintaining protection. Each panel acts as an independent energy-absorbing unit that deformers during impact events.
Solution Approach 2:
The insert employs dynamic folding mechanisms with multiple fold lines that allow the structure to collapse and deform during impact events. The panels can rotate and fold relative to each other, transforming the rigid box into a dynamic energy-absorbing structure that adapts to impact forces.
2Strength
If shaped or molded inserts such as Styrofoam or plastic are used, then impact protection is improved, but cost increases and recyclability decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The insert is constructed entirely from homogeneous corrugated cardboard material throughout all panels and structural elements. This uniform material composition maintains recyclability while providing enhanced protection through the engineered folded geometry rather than requiring different materials like foam or plastic.
Solution Approach 2:
The insert utilizes the composite structure of corrugated cardboard itself (fluted paper between linerboards) to provide cushioning and protection. The fluted middle layer acts as a natural shock-absorbing composite material, eliminating the need for additional foam or plastic layers.
3Strength
If conventional cardboard boxes are used, then simplicity and low cost are maintained, but protection for fragile items is insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The insert contains nested folding structures where panels are folded within panels, creating a compact nested configuration during collapse. The multiple fold lines allow inner panels to nest within outer panels, maximizing protection while minimizing the inserted's footprint when not in use.
Solution Approach 2:
The insert transitions from a two-dimensional flat blank to a three-dimensional protective structure through multiple folding dimensions. The fold lines create vertical, horizontal, and diagonal folding planes, adding dimensional complexity that enhances protection capability from the same base material.
Data Source
AI summary
An insert formed from a one-piece blank of sheet material. The insert comprises a first half comprising a first plurality of connected panels; a second half connected to the first half and comprising a corresponding, second plurality of connected panels; a first and second end comprising lateral extensions extending from respective first and second opposing ends of two panels from each of the first and second plurality of panels; and a plurality of popout tabs extending outward from an outer surface of the insert. The first and second half define respective first and second internal receiving areas each surrounded on all sides and on opposing ends by (i) two layers of the sheet material and/or (ii) an air gap defined between the outer surface of the insert and an adjacent portion of an overwrap material. A one-piece blank of sheet material for forming a shipping insert is also provided.