Side Opening Cigarette Package Lid Alignment Mechanism
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Solution Overview
Problem
Cigarette packages often suffer from lid misalignment issues when opened and closed, which can lead to reduced protection and freshness maintenance of the cigarettes.
Innovation Solution
A cigarette package design featuring an outer box with a side opening hinged lid and an inner frame that prevents lid misalignment, utilizing a tab and notch mechanism for secure closure and an angled vanguard to reduce snags during reclosure.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a side opening hinged lid is used for the outer box, then ease of operation is improved, but lid misalignment occurs during opening and closing
Solution Approach 1:
The inner frame is pre-positioned within the outer box with notches formed at predetermined locations. These notches are designed in advance to engage with tabs on the hinged lid, ensuring proper alignment is established before the lid closing action occurs. This preliminary structural arrangement prevents misalignment during operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The inner frame serves as an intermediary component between the outer box and the hinged lid. Through the tab-and-notch mechanism, the inner frame mediates the interaction between the lid and box, guiding the lid into proper alignment and distributing closure forces, thereby preventing direct misalignment between the lid and outer box edges.
2Ease of operation
If the hinged lid is designed to open past the inner frame, then ease of operation is improved, but misalignment and snags occur during reclosure
Solution Approach 1:
The vanguard feature on the inner frame is designed to preemptively counteract the snagging problem during lid reclosure. As the lid approaches the closed position, the vanguard makes contact first to guide alignment and prevent the lid edges from catching on the inner frame, thereby eliminating the harmful snagging effect before it can occur.
Solution Approach 2:
The angled geometry of the vanguard changes the interaction parameters between the lid and inner frame during reclosure. By introducing a specific angle and shape to the vanguard feature, the closure process is modified to reduce edge-to-edge contact and prevent snags, transforming a potentially problematic interaction into a smooth reclosure action.
3Reliability
If a tab and notch mechanism is added to secure the lid, then reliability of closure is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The tab and notch features are merged into the existing structural elements of the package. The notches are formed as integral parts of the inner frame, and the tabs are incorporated into the hinged lid design. This merging approach allows the closure security mechanism to be achieved without adding separate, complex components, as the tab-and-notch system is unified with the basic structural elements.
Data Source
AI summary
A cigarette package, which includes an outer box and an inner frame. The outer box includes a lower box portion and a side opening hinged lid. The inner frame includes a front panel, a back panel, and a side panel extending between the front panel and the back panel. The outer box includes a tab and the inner frame includes a notch, such that the notch engages the tab when the hinged lid is in a closed position.