Child Resistant Box Packaging with Perforation and Food Void
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing child-resistant packaging for medicines is inadequate in preventing access by children, especially when medicines are mixed with solid food items like chocolate or candy, as children are more inclined to attempt to open such packages due to the appealing nature of the contents.
Innovation Solution
A child-resistant packaging design that incorporates a box-shaped format with corresponding perforations and recesses or holes in both the packaging and the solid food item, requiring a specific alignment and force to open, increasing the complexity and safety by ensuring that only intentional and forceful action can access the medicine, thereby enhancing child safety.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If medicines are mixed with solid food items like chocolate or candy to improve willingness to take medicine, then patient compliance is improved, but child safety is worsened as children are more inclined to attempt to open such packages
Solution Approach 1:
The solid food item is placed inside a hollow perforated portion of the packaging, creating a nested structure where the food item is contained within the packaging's own material. This nesting requires the child to first pierce through the packaging material to access the food item, adding a barrier layer that was not present in conventional packaging where food simply sits inside a container.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention transitions from a conventional two-dimensional packaging surface to a three-dimensional integrated structure where the packaging material itself forms a hollow cavity containing the food item. The perforation extends through the packaging thickness, creating a depth dimension that requires penetrating force rather than simple opening actions.
2Ease of operation
If a button mechanism is used for opening the package, then ease of opening for adults is improved, but child resistance is reduced as children will try to push buttons they see
Solution Approach 1:
The invention removes the separate button mechanism from the packaging design and instead integrates the opening function directly into the packaging material itself through the perforation. This extraction eliminates the visual cue of a button that would attract children while maintaining the required force for opening.
Solution Approach 2:
The hollow perforated portion of the packaging is designed to correspond in shape and position with the solid food item it contains. This copying of the food item's form into the packaging structure creates a precise fit that guides the piercing action while maintaining child resistance.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If the perforation is placed close to the edge of the solid food item, then child safety is improved as finger placement becomes less accurate, but manufacturing precision requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The hollow perforated portion is designed with asymmetric positioning relative to the solid food item, placing it closer to one edge rather than being centrally located. This asymmetric placement creates an intentional offset that makes accidental piercing by children less likely while still allowing adults to locate and pierce the perforation deliberately.
Data Source
AI summary
A child resistant package comprising a child-resistant packaging containing there within a solid food item comprising a medicine, wherein the packaging has the shape of a box. The packaging is provided with a perforation and the solid food item is provided with a ‘void’, such as a recess, cut, indentation or hole. The perforation defines a portion of the packaging that is separated at least in part from the remainder of the packaging when the perforation is pierced/punched. The position and shape of the void in the solid food item and the perforation in the packaging correspond, such that, when opening the packaging, the void in the food item facilitates piercing the perforation by enabling the portion of the packaging defined by the perforation to be pushed into the void in the solid food item.