Asymmetrical Connecting Bands for Container Cap Stability
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing bottle caps with security rings and breakable bridges often result in the cap being thrown away separately from the bottle, leading to improper disposal, and the length of connecting bands in newer designs affects the stability and ease of opening/closing, failing to balance these factors effectively.
Innovation Solution
A cap design featuring a retaining ring and closing element with asymmetrical connecting bands of different lengths, where the angular difference between the bands is between 5° and 45°, facilitating easy movement between open and closed conditions while maintaining stability, preventing the cap from being thrown away independently.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Stability of the object's composition
If the connecting bands are made short to maintain stability in open position, then the stability is improved, but the ease of operation deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies asymmetry by providing connecting bands of different lengths (first connecting band longer than second connecting band). This asymmetric configuration allows the closing element to have different degrees of freedom for different operations: the longer band permits easier movement and rotation during opening/closing operations, while the shorter band provides sufficient constraint to maintain stability in the open position. The angular difference between 5° and 45° optimizes this asymmetric geometry to balance stability and operability.
2Ease of operation
If the connecting bands are made long to improve ease of operation, then the ease of operation is improved, but the stability deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The asymmetric design with differently sized connecting bands resolves this contradiction by distributing functionality: the longer band facilitates operational movement while the shorter band maintains positional stability. This prevents both bands from being overly long (which would compromise stability) while still achieving ease of operation through the longer band's extended reach and flexibility.
3Reliability
If the connecting bands are made robust to prevent breaking, then the reliability is improved, but the ease of operation deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by making the connecting bands of different lengths, allowing each band to be optimized for its specific function. The longer band can be designed with appropriate robustness for withstanding operational stresses during opening/closing, while the shorter band provides stable anchoring. This localized optimization ensures that robustness is provided where needed without unnecessarily compromising ease of operation through uniform over-engineering of all connecting elements.
Data Source
AI summary
Described is closing cap for a container comprising a lateral wall extending about an axis, a separation line being provided on the lateral wall to define a retaining ring, which comprises a retaining portion which extends up to a free edge of the retaining ring and is configured to engage internally with a ring for locking a neck of the container in such a way as to remain anchored to the neck, and a closing element removably engageable with the neck, so as to open or close the container rotating the closing element about the axis. The separation line is circumferentially interrupted to define in the lateral wall a joining zone in which the retaining ring and the closing element are joined. The cap comprises in addition an incision line, which is also provided on the lateral wall to define, in association with the separation line at least a first connecting band and a second connecting band for connecting together the joining zone and the retaining portion. The incision line comprises a pair of lateral stretches wherein a first lateral stretch defines, with a first part of the separation line, the first connecting band and a second lateral stretch defines, with a second part of the separation line, the second connecting band. The lateral stretches differ in angular extension to define connecting bands of different lengths, the angular difference between the longest lateral stretch and the other lateral stretch being greater than or equal to 5° and less than or equal to 45°.