Child-Resistant Closure With Cut-Out Skirts for Deflection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing child-resistant 'squeeze-to-release' closures face challenges in balancing ease of access for adults while preventing access by children, often due to issues with the amount of deflection required to release the locking mechanism.
Innovation Solution
A child-resistant closure design featuring a base and lid with an inner and outer skirt, where the outer skirt has pressing zones and corresponding cut-outs in the inner skirt to allow greater deflection, enabling the locking mechanism to be released by pressing, thus reducing material usage and enhancing accessibility.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the outer skirt is designed to be pressed to release the locking means, then adult accessibility is improved, but the deflection required may be too great making it difficult for children to open
Solution Approach 1:
The inner skirt is segmented by introducing cut-outs that divide the continuous wall structure into sections. This segmentation allows the outer skirt to be pressed locally at the pressing zone while the cut-outs permit greater overall deflection, creating a balance between adult accessibility and child resistance
Solution Approach 2:
The pressing zone is located at a specific position on the outer skirt where localized pressing action is required to release the locking means. The cut-outs are positioned to correspond with this pressing zone, allowing local deflection while maintaining structural integrity elsewhere, thus enabling easy adult operation while preventing child access
2Ease of operation
If greater deflection is allowed to release the locking means, then ease of operation is improved, but material usage increases
Solution Approach 1:
Material is extracted from the inner skirt structure by introducing cut-outs that remove material in the region where greater deflection is needed. This extraction allows the outer skirt to deflect further without requiring additional material, as the cut-outs create the necessary flexibility through material removal rather than addition
Solution Approach 2:
The structural parameters of the inner skirt are changed by modifying the wall thickness and continuity through cut-outs. This parameter change allows the outer skirt to achieve greater deflection with the same or reduced material quantity, as the modified geometry inherently provides the necessary flexibility without requiring increased material mass
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 design effectively balances adult accessibility with child resistance by allowing greater deflection of the outer skirt to disengage the locking mechanism, reducing material usage and improving ease of use while maintaining safety.
Implementation Method 1
the outer skirt having one or more pressing zones which can be pressed to release the locking means... the inner skirt has one or more cut-outs in register with the or each pressing zone whereby to allow greater deflection thereof
Data Source
AI summary
A child-resistant closure (10) is provided and comprises a base (15) and a lid (20). The base has an inner skirt (50) and an outer skirt (25). The closure has locking means (81, 86) tor releasably locking the lid in a closed position. The outer skirt has one or more pressing zones (80, 85) which can be pressed to release the locking means. The inner skirt has one or more cut-outs (65, 70) in register with the or each pressing zone whereby to allow greater deflection thereof.