Interchangeable Consumer Care Package Cap Design
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Solution Overview
Problem
The complexity and cost of manufacturing consumer care product packaging, such as antiperspirants and deodorants, are increased due to the need for multiple injection molds and different caps for various product forms, which complicates the manufacturing process and requires more materials, especially when dealing with diverse product rheologies and dispensing requirements.
Innovation Solution
A dual-purpose outer cap that is interchangeable with both a factory seal component and a perforated dome dispensing cap, allowing for the same cap to be used across different product forms, and a package design that reduces the number of molds needed by using a dual-walled structure with a product chamber and outer jacket that can accommodate various product rheologies and dispensing mechanisms.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If different caps and packaging components are used for various product forms (solids, gels, liquids), then dispensing quality and product protection are improved, but device complexity and manufacturing cost increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies universality by designing a single outer cap structure that can accommodate multiple inner components (factory seal, perforated dome, or none) depending on the product form. This universal outer cap design allows the same mold to produce caps for solids, gels, and liquids by simply changing the inner component, reducing the number of molds from 50-75 to a manageable number while maintaining appropriate dispensing quality for each product type.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the cap system into modular components: an outer cap (universal) and interchangeable inner components (factory seal, perforated dome, or none). This segmentation allows each component to be optimized for specific product forms while sharing a common outer structure, enabling manufacturers to produce different product variants using the same outer cap mold but different inner component molds.
2Reliability
If multiple different caps and packaging components are manufactured, then adequate protection and dispensing for diverse product rheologies are achieved, but manufacturing time and expense increase
Solution Approach 1:
The universal outer cap design allows a single mold to produce caps for all product forms (solids, gels, liquids) by simply changing the inner component. This eliminates the need to produce different outer cap variants, significantly reducing manufacturing time and expense while maintaining adequate protection and dispensing functionality for each product type through the appropriate inner component selection.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent merges the protective and dispensing functions into a single integrated outer cap structure that works with different inner components. This consolidation eliminates the need for separate protective caps and dispensing caps, reducing the total number of parts and manufacturing steps while maintaining both protection during storage and appropriate dispensing for each product form.
3Strength
If different packaging components are used for various product offerings, then adequate strength and flexibility are maintained, but material usage and production cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The universal outer cap design allows a single mold to produce caps for all product forms, eliminating the need to manufacture multiple cap variants. This reduces material usage and production cost while maintaining adequate strength through the standardized outer cap design that has been optimized to work with all inner component types for solids, gels, and liquids.
Data Source
AI summary
An array of consumer care products is provided having a first dispensing package and a second dispensing package each having a product chamber with a top opening; an upper dispensing end having a top edge; a major axis, a minor axis, and a sidewall; a top ridged opening at the upper dispensing end of the product chamber, and an outer cap. The first dispensing package also has a seal component that covers the top opening. The second dispensing package also has a perforated dome cover that covers the top opening. The outer caps of the first dispensing package and the second dispensing package are interchangeable with each other. The dispensing packages may have the same source identifier.