Child-Resistant Closure Latch Arm Radial Release Mechanism
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing child-resistant dispensing closures do not effectively prevent access by children due to insufficient resistance mechanisms, allowing them to open the lid with ease.
Innovation Solution
A child-resistant dispensing closure design featuring a base with a dispensing opening, a peripheral skirt, and an inner wall for securing to a container, with a lid integrally molded and hinged to the base, including a latch arm with oppositely extending tabs that engage with laterally spaced ledges in an axial passage, requiring a specific radial inward movement to open, enhanced by a fulcrum for increased resistance.
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-resistant security deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The closure mechanism is divided into separate functional components: a latch arm with tabs for securing, a hinge for pivoting, and a fulcrum for mechanical advantage. This segmentation allows each component to perform its specific function while collectively providing both ease of operation for adults and resistance to child opening.
Solution Approach 2:
The latch arm is designed to be dynamically responsive to applied forces, pivoting about the fulcrum when sufficient force is applied from the radial direction. This dynamic behavior allows the closure to transition smoothly between locked and unlocked states while requiring excessive force from children to overcome the mechanical advantage provided by the fulcrum.
2Reliability
If a latch mechanism with tabs and ledges is used, then child-resistant security is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The latch arm combines multiple functions into a single component: it provides the tabs for engagement with the ledges, serves as the pivoting element about the fulcrum, and acts as the mechanical advantage lever. This merging reduces the total number of separate parts while maintaining the security function.
Solution Approach 2:
The latch arm serves multiple purposes: it secures the lid in the closed position through tab-ledge engagement, provides the pivot point for opening through the fulcrum, and presents the user interface for opening through radial engagement. This multi-functionality simplifies the overall device structure.
3Reliability
If a fulcrum is added to increase latch arm resistance, then child-resistant security is improved, but manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The fulcrum is merged with the base structure, forming an integral part of the closure assembly. This integration eliminates the need for separate manufacturing steps for the fulcrum component and simplifies assembly, while still providing the necessary mechanical advantage for child-resistant security.
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 significantly increases the difficulty for children to open the lid while allowing adults to easily access the contents by requiring two perpendicular actions, thus enhancing child-resistant security.
Implementation Method 1
One of the lid and the base has a latch arm resiliently extending from its periphery diametrically opposite the hinge
Implementation Method 2
A lid is molded integrally with the base and is coupled by a hinge to the base so as to be pivotable between closed and open positions
Implementation Method 3
The base preferably has a fulcrum on the deck adjacent to the axial passage for engagement by the latch arm to increase the resistance of the latch arm to bending within the axial passage
Data Source
AI summary
A child-resistant dispensing closure includes a base having a deck with a dispensing opening, a peripheral skirt extending from the deck, and an inner wall extending from the deck for securing the closure to a container. An axial passage extends from the deck between the peripheral skirt and the inner wall, and opens radially outwardly through the peripheral skirt. A pair of spaced ledges are disposed in the axial passage. A lid is molded integrally with the base and is coupled by a hinge to the base so as to be pivotable between a closed position overlying the deck and an open position spaced from the deck. The lid has a latch arm that resiliently extends from a periphery of the lid. The latch arm has a pair of oppositely extending tabs for engagement with the ledges to lock the lid in the closed position. The latch arm is directly manually engageable by a user from a radial direction external to the closure to pivot the latch arm radially inwardly within the passage and release the tabs from the ledges so that the lid can be pivoted toward the open position drawing the latch arm out of the axial passage.