Leak Resistant Tray Gusset Trough Panel Design
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing container trays, especially those made from folded materials like paperboard or corrugated cardboard, often fail to completely prevent fluid leakage due to weaknesses in the gusset areas or material openings, which compromises their leak resistance and vertical stacking strength.
Innovation Solution
A leak-resistant tray design featuring a blank with specific panel configurations, including a bottom panel, side panels, end portions, and gusset panels, where the gusset trough panels are folded to create a continuous barrier against fluid leakage, and the corrugated cardboard material's flutes are oriented vertically for enhanced strength.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If a simple gusset construction is used to connect side panels, then the manufacturing complexity is reduced, but fluid leakage occurs through the gusset area
Solution Approach 1:
The gusset area is segmented into multiple components: gusset panels, gusset trough panels, intermediate panels, and outer end panels. These segmented elements work together to create a multi-layered barrier that prevents fluid leakage while maintaining manufacturing feasibility through standardized folding operations.
Solution Approach 2:
The gusset trough panels are folded to create a three-dimensional trough structure that extends vertically upward from the gusset area. This dimensional transformation creates an additional barrier layer that blocks fluid leakage paths without significantly increasing planar manufacturing complexity.
2Strength
If corrugated material is used to optimize vertical stacking strength, then the structural strength is improved, but fluid can enter through openings in the material
Solution Approach 1:
The corrugated material acts as a flexible shell that maintains structural strength while the overlaid gusset and trough structures create additional barriers. The combination of the corrugated material's inherent strength and the overlaid leak-resistant structures resolves the contradiction between strength and leak prevention.
Solution Approach 2:
The tray construction combines corrugated material with additional gusset panels and trough structures to create a composite structure. The corrugated material provides vertical stacking strength while the overlaid panels provide leak resistance, achieving both requirements simultaneously.
3Reliability
If a complex panel configuration with gusset trough panels is used, then leak resistance is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple functions are merged into the gusset trough panel structure: it reinforces the gusset area, creates a fluid barrier, and provides structural support. This merging reduces the need for separate components, thereby improving leak resistance without proportionally increasing overall complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The gusset trough panels serve multiple purposes: preventing fluid leakage, providing structural reinforcement, and creating a barrier against fluid entry. This multi-functionality allows the structure to achieve high leak resistance without requiring additional separate components for each function.
Data Source
AI summary
A leak resistant tray and a method of forming the tray from a blank. The blank comprises a bottom panel, first and second side panels, and first and second end portions connected to peripheral edges of the bottom panel. Each end portion includes inner end panel structure having a lower end panel and an upper end panel. Each end portion further includes first and second intermediate panels connected to the first and second side panels, first and second outer end panels connected to respective first and second intermediate panels, and first and second triangular gusset panels, each gusset panel connected between one of the intermediate panels and the lower end panel. First and second gusset trough panels are connected to a respective one of the gusset panels and to a lower edge of one of the outer end panels.