Single-Material Flexible Container with Integrated Oxygen Barrier
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing plastic containers for packaging products are difficult to manufacture, contribute to pollution due to non-recyclable components, and result in significant residual product waste, while also failing to adequately protect contents from oxidation.
Innovation Solution
A flexible container made from a single piece of plastic material, formed by rolling and blowing a sheet into a tube, with specific wall thicknesses and design features to facilitate easy consumption and recycling, and incorporating an oxygen-tight barrier to prevent oxidation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If complex multi-layer plastic films with aluminum coating are used to prevent oxidation, then product protection is improved, but manufacturing complexity and recycling difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the material parameter from complex multi-layer films to a single-layer thermoplastic elastomer with specific properties (hardness 40-80 Shore A, elongation at break 100-500%). This single material achieves both the flexibility needed for the container and the barrier properties to prevent oxidation, eliminating the need for complex multi-layer construction while maintaining product protection.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses a composite material approach by selecting a thermoplastic elastomer that inherently combines the properties of both structural material and barrier layer. The material has specific compositional characteristics including being composed of at least one thermoplastic elastomer with defined mechanical properties, providing both structural integrity and oxidation resistance in a single homogeneous material system that is easier to manufacture and recycle.
2Reliability
If multi-layer plastic films with aluminum coating are used, then oxidation barrier is improved, but recyclability deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies homogeneity by using a single thermoplastic elastomer material throughout the entire container structure, from the body to the suction member. This homogeneous material composition eliminates the need to separate different material layers during recycling, making the entire container recyclable as a single material type while still providing effective oxidation barrier properties through the elastomer's inherent characteristics.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts the aluminum coating and other barrier layers from the traditional multi-layer structure, replacing them with a thermoplastic elastomer that provides barrier functionality without requiring metallic or complex polymeric layers. This extraction simplifies the material composition to a single recyclable thermoplastic material while maintaining the necessary oxidation protection.
3Ease of operation
If separate suction member and container body are assembled, then functionality is improved, but manufacturing cost and complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the suction member and container body into a single integrated component made from the same thermoplastic elastomer material. The suction member is formed as an integral part of the container body, eliminating the need for separate assembly steps and reducing manufacturing complexity. This unified structure maintains all necessary functional properties including flexibility for consumption and oxidation barrier capabilities.
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 reduces manufacturing costs, minimizes residual product, and effectively protects contents from oxidation, while being easier to recycle and consume.
Implementation Method 1
the tube is obtained by rolling a sheet of plastic material
Implementation Method 2
a flexible container made from a single piece of plastic material, formed by rolling and blowing a sheet into a tube
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention relates to a container (1) obtained by blow-moulding of a rolled tube, the container (1) comprising a body (10) that extends along a longitudinal axis (X) between a base (11) and a neck (12) that are integral with the body (10), the body (10) having, vertically along the longitudinal axis (X), a wall with a thickness of between 0.05 mm and 0.4 mm, and the neck (12) having, vertically along the longitudinal axis (X), a wall with a thickness of between 0.4 mm and 0.8 mm.