Deformable Floating Lid for Retort Container Closure
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing closures for containers fail to provide easy access to sterilized products after high-temperature, high-pressure sterilization processes, especially for users with low grip strength, due to high removal forces required to separate the closure from the container.
Innovation Solution
A closure system featuring a deformable floating lid and a lid-retainer ring that includes pressure-limiting and torque-limiting mechanisms, allowing the lid to change shape during sterilization to reduce pressure and vacuum forces, and a pry-off feature to minimize the force needed for removal.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If a rigid closure system is used to maintain structural integrity during retort, then the container can withstand high pressure and temperature, but the removal force becomes excessively high for users with low grip strength
Solution Approach 1:
The closure system employs a deformable floating lid that dynamically changes its shape during the retort process to accommodate pressure variations, while the lid-retainer ring provides stable attachment. This dynamic adaptation allows the closure to maintain integrity under high pressure during sterilization but reduce resistance during removal, resolving the contradiction between structural strength and ease of operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The floating lid is designed to change its physical state and shape in response to pressure parameters during retort. By allowing controlled deformation of the lid under high pressure conditions, the system maintains seal integrity during sterilization but reduces the force required for removal after cooling, effectively managing the trade-off between strength and operability.
2Ease of operation
If the floating lid is made deformable to reduce removal force, then ease of operation improves, but the container may not withstand high pressure during sterilization
Solution Approach 1:
The closure system is segmented into distinct functional components: a deformable floating lid for pressure accommodation and ease of removal, and a rigid lid-retainer ring for structural support and secure attachment to the container. This segmentation allows each component to specialize in its function, with the lid providing deformability for ease of operation while the retainer ring ensures reliability during retort.
Solution Approach 2:
The closure system combines materials with different mechanical properties - the floating lid uses a deformable material that can accommodate pressure changes, while the lid-retainer ring uses a more rigid material for structural integrity. This composite approach allows the system to simultaneously achieve ease of operation through lid deformability and reliability through ring rigidity during the retort process.
3Reliability
If high torque is applied during closure installation to ensure tight sealing, then sealing reliability improves, but the force required to remove the closure increases excessively
Solution Approach 1:
The system changes the pressure parameter dynamics during the retort process. The floating lid deforms under high pressure during sterilization to maintain seal integrity, but after cooling and pressure equalization, the seal becomes easier to break. This parameter change over time and pressure conditions allows high sealing reliability during retort while enabling easy removal afterward without requiring excessive torque.
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 closure system reduces the force required to open the container to less than 15 in-lbs, making it accessible to users with low grip strength and ensuring the container can withstand retort processes without damage.
Implementation Method 1
The deformable floating lid is configured to change in shape during the high-pressure, high-temperature retort process. During heating of the canister, the deformable floating lid is configured to bulge outwardly away from the container to increase a volume of the canister.
Implementation Method 2
During cooling of the canister, the deformable floating lid is configured to bulge inwardly toward the container to decrease a volume of the canister. As a result, vacuum in the product-storage region is reduced during cooling due to the decrease in the volume.
Implementation Method 3
Together, the lid-retainer ring and the floating lid cooperate to establish force-limiting means for limiting a closure-removal force required to separate the closure from the container to less than about 15 in-lbs after the canister survives a high-temperature, high-pressure retort process
Implementation Method 4
The lid pry-off feature is configured to engage only a small portion of an edge of the floating lid during rotation of the lid-retainer ring in a closure-opening direction so as to convert the floating lid into a lever with a fulcrum located 180 degrees from the small portion. As a result, force applied to the lid-retainer ring is concentrated near the lid pry-off feature so as to overcome vacuum force in the product-storage region and separate the floating lid from the closure.
Data Source
AI summary
A closure for mounting on top of bottles and other containers includes a floating lid and a lid-retainer ring. The closure is configured to withstand a high pressure and high temperature sterilization process known as retort.