Child Resistant Cap With Button Actuation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing child-resistant safety caps for pharmaceutical containers are either too difficult for elderly individuals and those with rheumatoid arthritis or Parkinson's disease to open, or they fail to effectively prevent young children from accessing the contents.
Innovation Solution
A three-piece child-resistant cap assembly comprising an outer lid, an activate button, and an inner lid, where the activate button, when depressed, engages recesses within the outer lid to allow the cap to disengage from the medicine bottle, while also incorporating a desiccant basket to protect the medication from moisture.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a child-resistant cap uses a plastic shrink-band or requires pressing down hard on the cap to open, then young children are prevented from opening the container, but elderly individuals and those with rheumatoid arthritis or Parkinson's disease find it too difficult to open
Solution Approach 1:
The cap is divided into three separate components: an outer lid, an inner lid, and an activate button. The outer lid screws onto the container and features circumferentially spaced grooves that engage with the activate button when depressed, allowing the inner lid to rotate independently and disengage from the container. This segmentation enables the child-resistant function (outer lid locked in place) while providing an easy-to-operate mechanism for adults (simple button press and rotate motion).
Solution Approach 2:
The cap transitions from a static locked state to a dynamic unlocked state through a simple button-press-and-rotate sequence. The activate button moves between engaged and disengaged positions, dynamically controlling the rotation lock mechanism. This dynamic system allows easy operation for elderly users while maintaining child safety when not activated.
2Duration of action of stationary object
If the cap assembly includes a desiccant package to protect medication from moisture, then the shelf life of the medication is extended, but there is a risk that elderly or patients may unintentionally swallow the desiccant package
Solution Approach 1:
The desiccant package is nested within a basket structure that is integrated into the cap assembly. The basket has a mesh bottom that allows moisture absorption while physically containing the desiccant material. This nested configuration protects the medication from moisture exposure while preventing direct contact between the desiccant and users, eliminating the swallowing risk.
Solution Approach 2:
The basket acts as an intermediary barrier between the desiccant package and the user. It allows the desiccant to perform its moisture-absorbing function while physically separating it from the user's mouth, preventing unintentional swallowing. The mesh structure serves as an intermediary that permits moisture transfer but blocks direct contact.
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 effectively prevents young children from opening the container while allowing elderly individuals and those with disabilities to access the medication with minimal effort, and the desiccant basket extends the shelf life of the medication by protecting it from moisture.
Implementation Method 1
The desiccant protects the medication from moisture
Data Source
AI summary
A child-resistant cap assembly that is adapted to attach to the various shapes of the containers has an outer lid, an activate button body, an inner lid, and an optional desiccant basket for packaging container applications. The outer lid is adapted to receive and engage the rigid fingers when the activate button body assembly is depressed. The inner lid has latched grooves that position the rigid fingers. The rigid fingers are connected to a button with a flexible pivotable hinge and are radially moved upwards and/or outwards by a shaped protrusion or a ramp to engage circumferentially spaced grooves, allowing the cap assembly to be rotated counter-clockwise to disengage from the container. Clockwise rotation locks the cap assembly onto the container; otherwise, it functions as a child-safety feature.