Corrugating Rollers with Variable Flute Heights for Space Optimization
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional shipping containers are inefficient in terms of space utilization and material recycling, leading to increased shipping and storage costs due to their fixed sizes and multi-material composition, which often results in improper recycling and environmental harm.
Innovation Solution
A corrugated shipping container with offset flutes and score lines that allow for flexible conformability to product shape, reducing volume and enabling easy recycling by being made entirely of paper or plastic, thus minimizing material separation for recycling.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional shipping containers use multiple materials (paper and plastic) for construction, then the container provides adequate protection and structural integrity, but the recycling process becomes complex requiring manual separation of materials
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies homogeneity by constructing the entire shipping container from a single material type (either paper or plastic), eliminating the need for material separation during recycling. The container includes a body portion and a closure portion made of the same material, ensuring uniform composition throughout the structure while maintaining adequate protective properties.
2Ease of manufacture
If conventional shipping containers are made with fixed standardized sizes, then manufacturing and storage are simplified, but space utilization during shipping is inefficient leading to increased costs
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies dynamics by designing the shipping container body with an expandable structure that can adapt its volume to accommodate products of different sizes. The body includes a front wall, rear wall, and side walls that can be expanded or contracted, allowing the container to optimize its internal volume for the specific product being shipped, thereby improving space utilization while maintaining manufacturing simplicity.
3Strength
If conventional shipping containers use rigid structures, then structural strength is maintained, but the container cannot conform to different product shapes leading to wasted space
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies flexible shells by using a container body with expandable and contractable walls made from flexible material. The body includes a front wall, rear wall, and side walls that can flex and conform to the shape of the product inside, providing both structural strength and adaptability to different product geometries, thereby eliminating wasted space while maintaining protective integrity.
Data Source
AI summary
Corrugating rollers include an outer surface, a first flute on the outer surface, the first flute having a first height, and a second flute on the outer surface, the second flute having a second height that is different than the first height.