Tray comprising a cardboard base for displaying food, tray side, method for manufacturing a tray
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing cardboard trays struggle with ease of use, stackability, and secure lid retention, often requiring complex manufacturing processes and difficulty in opening due to differences in cardboard and plastic strength.
Innovation Solution
A cardboard tray design with a basal wall featuring at least three walls, each with a double-layered structure and strategically positioned through-holes and projections, allowing for secure lid engagement and easy opening, while maintaining stackability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If a cardboard tray is designed with a simple single-layer structure, then the manufacturing process is simplified, but the tray lacks sufficient strength for secure lid retention and stackability
Solution Approach 1:
The tray utilizes a double-layer cardboard structure where two layers of cardboard are bonded together to form reinforced walls. This composite construction provides enhanced strength and rigidity for secure lid retention while maintaining the benefits of cardboard material, resolving the contradiction between manufacturing simplicity and structural strength.
Solution Approach 2:
The tray walls are divided into multiple functional segments: engagement zones with through-holes for lid attachment, projections for structural reinforcement, and distinct bonding areas. This segmentation allows each zone to perform its specific function optimally while maintaining overall manufacturing efficiency.
2Reliability
If the lid is tightly fitted to the cardboard tray, then the lid remains secure during restocking, but the tray becomes difficult to open without spilling contents
Solution Approach 1:
The engagement mechanism between lid and tray is designed to be dynamically adjustable. The through-holes and projections create a flexible connection that provides strong retention under normal conditions but allows for easy release when opening force is applied, resolving the contradiction between secure fitting and ease of opening.
Solution Approach 2:
Different regions of the tray have different engagement characteristics: the through-holes provide localized attachment points that secure the lid during restocking, while the projections create controlled stress points that facilitate easy opening. This local differentiation of engagement quality resolves the contradiction between security and ease of operation.
3Ease of manufacture
If cardboard trays are designed without through-holes and projections, then the manufacturing process is simpler, but the trays are not easily stackable when empty or full
Solution Approach 1:
The tray incorporates pre-formed engagement features (through-holes and projections) during the manufacturing process. These features are built into the tray structure in advance, enabling easy stacking when empty or full without requiring additional assembly steps, thus resolving the contradiction between manufacturing simplicity and stackability.
Solution Approach 2:
The through-holes and projections serve multiple functions: they provide attachment points for the lid, create structural reinforcement, and enable stacking of multiple trays. This multi-functionality achieves stackability and structural integrity without significantly complicating the manufacturing process.
4Quantity of substance
If the tray walls are made thinner to reduce material usage, then the manufacturing cost decreases, but the tray becomes difficult to stack when full and lacks durability
Solution Approach 1:
The tray employs a double-layer cardboard construction that provides enhanced strength and durability while maintaining reasonable material usage. The layered structure creates a stronger composite material that can withstand stacking when full and resists crushing forces, resolving the contradiction between material quantity and structural strength.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of increasing wall thickness in a single dimension, the design adds a second layer dimensionally, creating a multi-layer structure. This approach provides the necessary strength and durability for stacking and durability while being more material-efficient than simply thickening single-layer walls.
Data Source
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Figure 6
AI summary
Tray (21) comprising a cardboard base (1) and at least a first wall (3a) and a second wall (3b) formed of a first thickness and a second thickness each having at least one opening (6), said second thickness of said first wall having a first flat projection (12), forming an angle with said first wall between 30° and 90° arranged to retain a first embossing of a lid, said second thickness of said second wall having a second flat projection forming an angle with said second wall between 30° and 90° to retain a second embossing of the lid.