Closure With Storage Chamber Safety Sealing

Resolve Bottlenecks,
Find Innovative Solutions
Generate Solutions

Solution Overview

Problem

Closures with storage chambers, commonly used in extemporaneous preparations and beverages, suffer from product leakage due to material relaxation and design tolerances, leading to contamination and unsightly partial mixing before first use.

Innovation Solution

A closure design featuring a removable second part with a storage chamber and a sealing mechanism that includes a safety chamber to prevent leakage, where the dispensing opening is sealed by a closing member and a safety chamber to collect any minor leaks, ensuring product containment until first opening.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If a closing member is used to seal the dispensing opening, then product containment is improved, but material relaxation and clearance tolerances cause product leakage into the container

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveproduct containmentVSAvoidproduct leakage
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSObject-generated harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The sealing system is divided into multiple independent sealing portions (first sealing portion at the dispensing opening, second sealing portion at the safety chamber outlet). This segmentation ensures that if one sealing portion leaks, the other can prevent product contamination, thus resolving the contradiction between containment reliability and leakage prevention.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

A safety chamber is introduced as an intermediary element between the storage chamber and the container. This safety chamber acts as a buffer zone that collects any leaked product, preventing direct contamination of the container contents while maintaining the sealing function of the closing member.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Object-generated harmful factors

If a safety chamber is added to collect leaked product, then contamination is prevented, but device complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvecontamination preventionVSAvoidclosure structure
Core Design Contradiction:
Object-generated harmful factorsVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The safety chamber is merged with the existing closing member structure, forming an integrated component rather than a separate addition. The safety chamber is defined by the closing member itself, combining the sealing function and the leakage collection function into a single structural element, thus minimizing the increase in device complexity.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #5Merging (Combining)

3Object-generated harmful factors

If the dispensing opening is sealed tightly, then product leakage is prevented, but manufacturing tolerances and material relaxation cause sealing failure

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveproduct leakageVSAvoidsealing clearance tolerance
Core Design Contradiction:
Object-generated harmful factorsVSManufacturing precision

Solution Approach 1:

The safety chamber serves as a pre-prepared cushioning zone that can accommodate any product leakage caused by manufacturing tolerances or material relaxation. This beforehand cushioning ensures that even if the primary seal fails due to tolerance variations, the product will be collected in the safety chamber rather than contaminating the container.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #11Beforehand cushioning (Prior cushioning)

Data Source

PatentEP3157834B1Closure with storage chamber
Publication Date: 2018.07.25 GUALA CLOSURES SPA
  • EP3157834B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP3157834B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP3157834B1 patent drawingFigure 3

AI summary

The present invention relates to a closure (10) comprising a first stationary part (20) and a second removable part (30). The second part (30) comprises a storage chamber (31) and a dispensing opening (32). The first part (20) comprises a closing member (22) and at least one passage opening (23). Upon first opening, the second part (30) moves relative to the first part (20) from a first configuration to a second configuration to cause the dispensing opening (32) to disengage from the closing member (22) and allow the product (P) in the storage chamber (31) to flow out into the container (1). In the first configuration, the first part (20) engages the second part (30) to form a first sealing portion (41), a second sealing portion (42) and a safety chamber (40) arranged between the first sealing portion (41) and the second sealing portion (42).