Transformable Paperboard Mold for Compact Dessert Storage
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional plastic molds for desserts like cheesecakes are rigid and occupy excessive space in packaging, leading to increased packaging size and material usage, which negatively impacts the environment and shipping efficiency.
Innovation Solution
A mold formed from a paperboard blank with fold lines and support members that can transform between a stowed configuration and a ready-to-use configuration, using engagement members to maintain shape and counteract fold biases, allowing for compact storage and easy assembly without additional materials.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If a rigid plastic mold is used to prepare desserts, then the mold can maintain its shape and provide structural support, but the mold occupies excessive space within the package and increases packaging size
Solution Approach 1:
The mold is divided into multiple panels that can be folded together to form the complete mold structure. These segmented panels can be stored in a compact, folded state within the packaging, significantly reducing the volume occupied while still providing the necessary structural support when assembled into the complete mold form
Solution Approach 2:
The mold transitions from a static, rigid structure to a dynamic, transformable structure that can change between a compact folded state for storage and an expanded ready-to-use state. This dynamic capability allows the mold to occupy minimal space during shipping while maintaining full structural integrity during use
2Strength
If a rigid plastic mold is used to prepare desserts, then the mold provides adequate structural support, but the overall package size increases and more packaging material is required
Solution Approach 1:
By segmenting the mold into foldable panels, the design eliminates the need for excessive packaging material that would be required to protect a rigid plastic mold. The compact folded configuration requires minimal protective packaging, reducing both the quantity of packaging material and the environmental impact
Solution Approach 2:
The mold utilizes flexible paperboard panels instead of rigid plastic, which inherently require less packaging material for protection during shipping. The flexibility of these thin film-like panels allows them to be folded and stored compactly without requiring bulky protective packaging
3Volume of stationary object
If fold lines are created in the mold blank, then the mold can be transformed into a compact configuration for storage, but the fold lines create bias that may affect the mold's ability to maintain its desired shape
Solution Approach 1:
Gussets are pre-formed at the corners and edges of the mold panels before assembly. These pre-formed gussets provide structural reinforcement that counteracts the bias introduced by fold lines, ensuring that when the panels are folded together, the mold maintains its desired shape and stability without deformation
Solution Approach 2:
The mold structure combines paperboard panels with reinforcing elements such as gussets and potentially coating layers. This composite construction provides the necessary rigidity and shape stability to counteract the flexibility introduced by fold lines, allowing the mold to be folded for storage while maintaining its structural integrity when assembled
Data Source
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AI summary
A method of forming a mold includes providing a primary member including at least one area for receiving a support member, providing at least one support member, connecting a first end and a second end of said primary member, and affixing said at least one support member to said at least one area for receiving a support member to maintain said primary member in a desired shape.