Child-Resistant Container With Removable Tamper Strip
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing packaging solutions lack effective child-resistant and tamper-evident mechanisms that securely control access to contents while ensuring easy opening and closing, particularly for products like cleaning agents and laundry pods.
Innovation Solution
A package design featuring a container with a lid and collar, utilizing a removable tamper-evident strip to expose actuatable tabs that engage with angled receivers for locking and unlocking, providing a child-resistant and tamper-evident mechanism for secure closure and controlled access.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a simple lid closure is used, then ease of operation is improved, but child resistance and tamper evidence are compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The lid closure system is segmented into multiple functional components: a removable tamper-evident strip, actuatable tabs with locking apertures, and a collar with protrusions. This segmentation allows each component to perform its specific function - the strip provides tamper evidence, the tabs provide child-resistant locking, and the collar provides the locking mechanism - while collectively ensuring both security and ease of operation for authorized users
Solution Approach 2:
The package is provided with a pre-applied tamper-evident strip that covers the actuatable tabs before use. This preliminary action serves dual purposes: it provides immediate tamper evidence capability and guides the user on how to open the package by indicating that the strip should be removed first to access the opening mechanism
2Reliability
If a secure locking mechanism is implemented, then reliability is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The locking mechanism is designed to be self-servicing through the interaction of passive geometric features. The actuatable tabs have locking apertures that automatically engage with protrusions on the collar when the lid is closed, creating a self-latching mechanism that requires no additional components or complex actuation. The angled receiver segments further assist by guiding the tabs into the locked position automatically
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of using a complex mechanism to prevent opening, the design uses simple geometric interlocking where the lid structure itself creates the locking action. The tabs and collar protrusions are shaped so that closing the lid naturally drives them into engagement, inverting the traditional approach where separate locking components are actively engaged
3Reliability
If tamper evidence features are added, then reliability is improved, but manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The tamper-evident strip is merged with the sealing function of the lid closure system. The same strip that provides tamper evidence also serves as the initial seal for the package, eliminating the need for a separate sealing mechanism and simplifying the manufacturing process by using a single integrated component for both security and sealing purposes
Solution Approach 2:
The tamper-evident strip incorporates weakened areas with specific geometric parameters that allow it to be easily removed under normal opening conditions. These parameter changes in the strip's structural properties enable it to provide robust tamper evidence when intact but allow clean removal during legitimate opening, achieving both security and manufacturability
Data Source
AI summary
A package includes a container and a lid. The container may include a tamper evident feature, a child resistant feature, or both.