Container Assembly with Sealed Humidity Control Compartment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current packaging solutions fail to maintain a consistent relative humidity within containers, leading to product freshness issues, as they often require loose pouches that can contaminate products, are inconvenient, and lack a method for adding or removing moisture during use.
Innovation Solution
A container assembly with a compartment for humidity control material, where a sealing membrane allows moisture flow to maintain a predetermined humidity level, ensuring product freshness without direct contact with the product and allowing for moisture addition or removal during use.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If loose pouches containing salt solution are used to control humidity, then humidity control function is achieved, but product contamination risk increases and consumer convenience deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The harmful aspect (loose pouches that can contaminate products) is extracted and removed from the packaging system. Instead, a sealed container with integrated humidity control is used, eliminating the contamination risk while maintaining the humidity control function.
Solution Approach 2:
A sealed container acts as an intermediary between the humidity control material and the product. This intermediary structure allows humidity control to function while preventing direct contact between the control material and the product, thus eliminating contamination risk.
2Reliability
If loose pouches are used for humidity control, then humidity regulation is achieved, but ease of operation deteriorates due to potential discarding by consumers
Solution Approach 1:
The humidity control function is merged with the product container itself rather than being a separate loose component. This integration ensures that consumers cannot accidentally discard the humidity control material and understand its purpose as part of the container system.
Solution Approach 2:
The container serves multiple functions: it holds the product, provides structural protection, and integrates humidity control. This multi-functionality eliminates the need for separate loose pouches and improves consumer ease of operation.
3Reliability
If dehumidification pouches are stored intermingled with products in the container, then moisture absorption is achieved, but product contamination risk increases and consumer convenience deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The container is segmented into distinct compartments: one for the product and another for the humidity control material. This segmentation allows moisture absorption to occur while preventing direct contact and contamination between the product and the control material.
Solution Approach 2:
A sealed container structure acts as an intermediary that allows the humidity control material to perform its moisture absorption function while physically isolating it from the product, thus preventing contamination.
4Device complexity
If traditional packaging without integrated humidity control is used, then device complexity is reduced, but product freshness maintenance deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The humidity control function is merged with the product container in an integrated design. This combination maintains relative simplicity in the overall packaging structure while significantly improving product freshness maintenance through built-in humidity regulation.
Solution Approach 2:
The container is designed with multi-functionality, serving as both the product holder and the humidity control system. This universal design improves product freshness maintenance without substantially increasing device complexity.
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
This solution effectively maintains product freshness by regulating humidity within a predetermined range, preventing contamination and inconvenience, while allowing for dynamic moisture adjustment, thus enhancing the storage conditions for sensitive products like pharmaceuticals and foods.
Implementation Method 1
The sealing membrane is configured to allow moisture flow therethrough to maintain the predetermined humidity in the storage cavity
Implementation Method 2
A moisture control material is positioned within the compartment
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 1A
Figure 3~12
AI summary
A container assembly configured to maintain a predetermined humidity for storing a product therein. The container assembly includes a container having a body with a body wall and a mouth opening into a storage cavity and a cap having a top wall. The cap is selectively mountable over the mouth of the container to substantially enclose the storage cavity in a mounted configuration. A sidewall extends substantially perpendicularly from one of the body wall and the top wall. The sidewall defines an opening and a compartment and has an opening edge adjacent the opening. A moisture control material is positioned within the compartment. A sealing membrane has a peripheral portion. The peripheral portion is secured to the sidewall proximate the opening edge. The sealing membrane is configured to allow moisture flow therethrough to maintain the predetermined humidity in the storage cavity.