Low-Profile Cap Assembly with Snap-Fit Locking and Gas Exhaust
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional cap assemblies for bottles, especially in refrigeration systems, have a higher height due to threaded connections, which can increase the overall height of vehicles when used in vehicle refrigeration systems, making them less aesthetically and functionally efficient.
Innovation Solution
A cap assembly with a cap, inner cylinder assembly, elastic member, and blocking member, where the cap is held in place by locking portions and elastic forces without threads, allowing for a lower profile and enabling gas exhaustion through an exhaust passage when needed.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If threaded connections are used to secure the cap assembly to the bottle, then the connection strength and sealing reliability are improved, but the height of the cap assembly increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the threaded connection structure from the cap assembly, extracting the function of thread engagement entirely. Instead, it uses a snap-fit mechanism with locking portions that engage with the bottle mouth, achieving secure connection without the height increase associated with threaded structures.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of using external threading that protrudes outward increasing height, the patent inverts the approach by using internal locking portions that engage within the bottle mouth structure. The locking portions extend inwardly from the cap cavity and engage with corresponding features on the bottle, reversing the traditional external threading approach.
2Length of stationary object
If a lower height cap assembly is used to reduce vehicle height, then the aesthetic and functional efficiency are improved, but the connection strength and sealing reliability may be compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The elastic member is pre-compressed during assembly to store elastic energy, creating a preliminary force that maintains continuous contact pressure between the cap assembly and bottle. This preliminary action ensures strong connection without requiring additional height for threaded structures, as the elastic force is activated during the initial snap-fit engagement.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses curved or rounded locking portions that engage with corresponding curved surfaces on the bottle mouth. This curved geometry distributes contact forces more effectively compared to sharp threaded edges, maintaining connection strength while allowing for a more compact, lower-profile design.
3Stability of the object's composition
If locking portions extend inwardly from the cap cavity to prevent elastic member and blocking member from falling, then the structural stability is improved, but the cap cavity volume is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The locking portions extend only partially into the cap cavity, just enough to engage with the bottle mouth and prevent the elastic member and blocking member from falling. This partial extension provides sufficient structural stability without excessively reducing the cap cavity volume, applying just the necessary amount of intrusion rather than full-depth locking features.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The cap assembly achieves a lower height, ensuring secure sealing in a closed state while allowing gas exhaustion in an exhaust state, reducing the overall height and improving functionality in vehicle refrigeration systems.
Implementation Method 1
the elastic member is configured such that the elastic member applies opposite forces to the bottle and the cap when the at least one locking portion is accommodated in the at least one locking receiving portion, so as to hold the at least one locking portion in the at least one locking receiving portion
Data Source
AI summary
The present application provides a cap assembly and a bottle assembly. The cap assembly includes a cap, an inner cylinder assembly, an elastic member and a blocking member. The cap includes a cap top and a cap side portion. The cap side portion is formed by extending downwardly from an outer edge of the cap top, and the cap top and the cap side portion define a cap cavity. The inner cylinder assembly is connected to the cap top, is arranged in the cap cavity, and forms an annular receiving portion with the cap side portion. The elastic member is arranged in the receiving portion. The blocking member is arranged in the receiving portion below the elastic member. The cap is provided with at least one locking portion for preventing the elastic member and the blocking member from falling from the receiving portion. The cap assembly has a lower height, and gas in a bottle body cavity can be exhausted from the bottle through an exhaust passage during opening of the bottle assembly according to the present application, especially when in an exhaust state.