Horticultural Container Tag Slot with Chamfer Security
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Horticultural container tags are prone to curling, sagging, or collapse due to exposure to water and sunlight, and unscrupulous customers can swap tags to misrepresent the price of plants, leading to unauthorized price manipulation.
Innovation Solution
The horticultural container features a tag slot with a chamfer radially outwardly spaced from the slot to receive the ears of a tag, securing it in place and preventing unauthorized removal, using a design that includes guide ribs for alignment and a mechanism to trap the tag, ensuring it cannot be easily removed or reused.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If a simple tag slot is used to hold the tag, then the device complexity is reduced and ease of manufacture is improved, but the tag can be easily removed or swapped by customers
Solution Approach 1:
The upper rim is segmented into distinct functional zones: a tag slot receiving zone for inserting the tag, and a chamfer receiving zone for securing the tag ears. This segmentation allows each zone to perform its specific function optimally while maintaining overall simplicity in manufacturing.
Solution Approach 2:
The chamfer acts as an intermediary security feature between the tag slot and the tag ears. It provides a receiving surface that secures the tag in place without requiring complex locking mechanisms, thus maintaining ease of manufacture while improving tag security.
2Ease of manufacture
If the tag is made thin and flexible for ease of manufacture and low cost, then the ease of manufacture is improved, but the tag tends to curl, collapse, or sag when exposed to water and sunlight
Solution Approach 1:
The tag design incorporates local quality variations: the head portion is made rigid to maintain visibility and information display, while the neck and body can be more flexible for insertion. The ears are designed with specific rigidity to engage with the chamfer. This localized differentiation allows the tag to be manufactured simply while resisting curling and sagging.
Solution Approach 2:
The tag head is designed with a curved or rounded shape that extends above the container rim, providing structural stability and preventing the tag from collapsing or sagging downward. The curved geometry distributes stress and maintains the tag's integrity when exposed to environmental factors.
3Reliability
If the tag is secured firmly to prevent unauthorized removal, then the reliability is improved, but the ease of operation for removal by end user may be reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The tag securing mechanism is designed to be dynamic rather than static: the ears can flex during insertion to pass through the tag slot, then engage with the chamfer to provide secure holding. The rigid head extending above the rim provides leverage points for authorized removal, allowing the tag to transition between secured and removable states as needed.
Data Source
AI summary
Provided is a horticultural container including a body, a base extending from a bottom of the body, and an upper rim extending from a top of the body. The upper rim has a tag slot extending therethrough for receiving a tag and a chamfer radially outwardly spaced from and adjacent to the tag slot for receiving ears of the tag when the tag is in the tag slot. In this way, the tag is received in the tag slot and chamfer to secure the tag to hinder or prevent unauthorized removal of the tag.