Compostable Child-Resistant Container Locking Mechanism
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current child-resistant packaging designs, such as 'Push Down And Turn' and 'Squeeze Lock Closure', are inadequate in preventing children from accessing hazardous materials, necessitating further improvements for enhanced safety and compliance with safety standards.
Innovation Solution
The development of compostable and recyclable child-resistant container systems featuring a deformable locking clip mechanism, which includes a tubular container body, cap body, and a bendable locking pin, designed to align apertures and registration marks for secure closure, ensuring compliance with regulations like 16 CFR 1700.20 and ISO/ASTM standards.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional child-resistant packaging designs (Push Down And Turn, Squeeze Lock Closure) are used, then basic closure function is achieved, but they are inadequate in preventing children from accessing hazardous materials
Solution Approach 1:
The locking mechanism is divided into separate functional components: a cap with integrated locking arms, a container body with corresponding apertures, and a deformable locking pin. This segmentation allows each component to perform its specific function while maintaining overall system effectiveness in preventing child access.
Solution Approach 2:
The locking mechanism incorporates dynamic elements including deformable locking arms that can flex during opening/closing operations and a deformable locking pin that changes shape under applied force. These dynamic characteristics enable the mechanism to transition between locked and unlocked states while maintaining reliability.
2Reliability
If non-compostable locking mechanisms are used, then durability and functionality are achieved, but environmental sustainability is compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The locking mechanism materials are selected and designed to change their degradation parameters over time, transitioning from a durable locked state to a compostable degradation state. The locking arms and pin are made from materials that maintain structural integrity during use but decompose under composting conditions, resolving the contradiction between durability and environmental sustainability.
Solution Approach 2:
The packaging system utilizes composite material construction where the locking mechanism components are made from compostable materials that combine the necessary mechanical properties for reliable locking with the chemical composition required for biodegradation. This allows the mechanism to be both durable during use and environmentally friendly after disposal.
3Ease of manufacture
If a simple locking mechanism is used, then ease of manufacture is achieved, but compliance with safety standards (16 CFR 1700.20) is difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The locking arms are pre-formed with specific geometric configurations during manufacturing that inherently provide the required safety features. The apertures are pre-positioned on the container body to ensure proper alignment with the locking arms, eliminating the need for complex post-assembly adjustments while ensuring compliance with safety standards.
Solution Approach 2:
The locking mechanism is designed to be self-regulating and self-verifying. The deformable locking arms automatically engage with the apertures when the cap is closed, and the geometry of the components ensures that proper engagement can only occur when safety requirements are met. This self-service characteristic simplifies manufacturing while ensuring safety standard compliance.
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 proposed solution effectively prevents unauthorized access to hazardous materials by using a compostable and recyclable locking mechanism that aligns with safety standards, providing a secure and environmentally friendly child-resistant container system.
Implementation Method 1
a bendable locking pin has a first linear length, a second linear length, and a semicircular length... the locking mechanism is of a different design than the currently known 'Push Down And Turn' and 'Squeeze Lock Closure' designs... A deformable locking clip design can operate to prevent the container system from being opened
Data Source
AI summary
Systems and methods for providing improved child-resistant safety container systems. Exemplary container systems include a container body having a registration mark and two apertures, a cap body having a registration mark and two apertures, and a locking pin. The container body and cap body can be configured so that when they are engaged, there is alignment between the registration marks of the container and cap bodies, and there is vertical alignment and radial alignment between respective apertures of the container and cap bodies so as to allow insertion of the locking pin through the apertures.