Container Button Release Mechanism for Child Resistance
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current product packaging, such as vials, often fail to provide easy configuration for different product types and requirements, particularly lacking in child resistance and environmental protection features.
Innovation Solution
A container design featuring a movable lid with a release mechanism that transitions from a locked to unlocked position through radial and axial movements, allowing for easy opening while maintaining a moisture-tight seal and preventing accidental access.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a simple lid is used for easy opening, then ease of operation is improved, but child resistance and environmental protection are worsened
Solution Approach 1:
The release mechanism is divided into two independent movements: radial movement to unlock the latch and axial movement to disengage the lid. This segmentation allows the mechanism to provide both easy opening (through the button) and child resistance (through the two-step process requiring deliberate action).
Solution Approach 2:
The release mechanism transitions from a static locked state to a dynamic unlocking process requiring sequential actions. The lid is held in a closed position by a latch that must be actively disengaged through radial and axial movements, providing both ease of operation for intended users and protection against accidental or child access.
2Reliability
If a secure seal is used to protect from environment, then reliability is improved, but ease of operation is worsened
Solution Approach 1:
The release mechanism acts as an intermediary between the user and the sealed lid. By providing a dedicated button-operated release system, it maintains the integrity of the seal while offering a simple, controlled method for authorized opening, thus resolving the contradiction between secure sealing and ease of operation.
3Reliability
If a complex release mechanism is used for child resistance, then reliability is improved, but device complexity is worsened
Solution Approach 1:
The locking and unlocking functions are merged into a single integrated release mechanism. The radial movement of the button simultaneously engages the latch, and the axial movement disengages it, combining multiple functions into one compact mechanism that provides child resistance without excessive complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The release mechanism utilizes two dimensional movements (radial and axial) within a compact housing. This dimensional approach allows the mechanism to provide secure locking and easy releasing within a small space, achieving child resistance without requiring a complex multi-component system.
Data Source
AI summary
A container includes container body (120) defining an interior (122) and an opening (124) leading to the interior. A lid (140) is movable with respect to the container body to move the container between a closed position in which the lid covers the opening and an opened position in which the opening is exposed. A housing (180) is affixed to an upper portion of the container body, adjacent to the opening. A release (160) is movably housed within the housing. The release is configured to move between a locked position in which the release retains the lid in the closed position, and an unlocked position, in which the release permits the lid to move into the opened position. The release moves from the locked position to the unlocked position by a first movement in a radially inward direction of the container, followed by a second movement in an axially upward direction of the container.