Child-Resistant Closure With Spring Features For Liquid Medicaments
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing child-resistant closures for liquid medicaments require additional structures and increased manufacturing costs due to the need for independent elements to impart child-resistance, while triggerable passive valves alone do not meet industry standards for safety.
Innovation Solution
A triggerable passive valve closure system that includes a collar with spring features, a plunger, and a tapered valve seal, which engages with a dosage cup to require dual compressive and rotational forces for opening, thereby providing a compact, child-resistant access mechanism without the need for bulky additional structures.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If additional structures are added to the closure to impart child-resistance, then child-resistant performance is improved, but device complexity and manufacturing costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the child-resistant closure mechanism with the passive valve system into a single integrated assembly. The closure structure merges the valve body, plunger, and child-resistant locking features into one unit, eliminating the need for separate child-resistant components while maintaining both child-resistant performance and controlled dispensing functionality.
Solution Approach 2:
The closure structure serves multiple functions simultaneously: it acts as a passive valve for controlled dispensing, provides child-resistant locking through the plunger and rim engagement mechanism, and prevents leakage. This multi-functionality eliminates the need for additional dedicated child-resistant structures, reducing overall device complexity.
2Reliability
If additional structures are added to the closure to impart child-resistance, then child-resistant performance is improved, but manufacturing costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
By merging the child-resistant mechanism with the passive valve structure, the patent reduces the total number of parts that need to be manufactured and assembled. The integrated design eliminates separate child-resistant components, thereby reducing manufacturing costs while maintaining child-resistant performance.
Solution Approach 2:
The multi-functional closure structure performs child-resistant locking, valve control, and leakage prevention within a single manufactured component. This reduces the number of manufacturing steps and assembly operations required, leading to lower overall manufacturing costs.
3Ease of operation
If a passive valve is used alone for dispensing, then ease of operation is improved, but child-resistant performance deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the passive valve mechanism with a child-resistant locking system where the plunger must be pushed down and the rim must be rotated to open. This combined mechanism maintains the ease of operation for intended use while providing child-resistant performance by requiring coordinated actions that children cannot perform.
Solution Approach 2:
The closure structure integrates both passive valve functionality for easy dispensing operation and child-resistant locking features into a single system. The multi-functional design ensures that the valve operates easily for adults while remaining securely locked against child access.
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 system effectively meets current child-resistant closure standards with fewer components, reducing manufacturing costs and ensuring controlled access to liquid medicaments while preventing unintentional leakage or spillage.
Implementation Method 1
The closure has a collar, a plunger, and a tapered valve seal, such that the collar has spring features which permit compression in a downward direction
Data Source
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AI summary
A passive valve closure for liquid medicaments, configured to permit irreversible attachment to a pre-existing bottle and reversible engagement with a dosage cup bearing lugs such that when the dosage cup engages skirt lugs on the closure, a child-resistant closure is effected. In one embodiment, the closure has a collar, a plunger, and a tapered valve seal, such that the collar has spring features which permit compression in a downward direction and skirt lugs for engagement of complementary, mated lugs of a dosage cup, said skirt lugs being positioned such that engagement requires compression of the spring features.