Ergonomic Dispensing Container With Contoured Sides
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing containers with offset dispensing orifices require visual orientation, which can be challenging, especially for visually impaired users or in low-light conditions, and do not automatically facilitate the correct orientation for efficient dispensing.
Innovation Solution
A container with contoured surfaces that allow automatic orientation upon grasping, featuring discontinuous contours to differentiate sides and an asymmetrical dispensing end, enabling tactile guidance for proper positioning without visual assessment.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the container has an offset dispensing orifice, then dispensing functionality is improved, but orientation difficulty increases
Solution Approach 1:
The container employs asymmetrical contouring on its body and asymmetrical features on the dispensing end (such as a non-circular dispensing aperture or asymmetric cap configuration). These asymmetrical elements create tactile differences that allow users to automatically orient the container correctly through touch alone, without requiring visual assessment. The asymmetrical contouring includes differentiated grip zones with varying surface textures or geometric patterns that guide proper hand placement and container orientation.
2Measurement precision
If visual assessment is required for orientation, then orientation precision can be achieved, but usability for visually impaired users deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The container's asymmetrical contouring and dispensing end features enable self-service orientation through tactile feedback. When a user grasps the container with asymmetrical contours, their hand naturally orients itself based on the tactile differences, automatically positioning the dispensing orifice in the correct orientation without requiring visual input or cognitive processing of visual information.
3Ease of operation
If the container is contoured about its entire circumference, then gripping ease is improved, but orientation guidance capability deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The container features localized asymmetrical contouring rather than uniform circumferential contouring. Specific portions of the container body have differentiated tactile characteristics (such as raised patterns, textured zones, or varying curvature radii) that provide orientation guidance, while other portions maintain smooth contours for comfortable gripping. The dispensing end incorporates localized asymmetrical features that guide orientation without compromising overall grip comfort.
Data Source
AI summary
A container having sides with contours that readily and essentially automatically orient the container upon grasping the container. The container may have distinct, discontinuous contours on opposite sides, defining grasping sides of the container. If a dispensing portion is offset from the container's central axis, then upon grasping the container at the distinct contoured grasping sides, the dispensing orifice is automatically positioned at a predetermined orientation with respect to the user's grasping hand. Such contours thus provide a tactile indicator of the orientation of the container, permitting orienting of the container in a user's hand without the need for visual assessment or inspection of the container. The container closure may further be shaped and configured to provide another tactile indicator of the container orientation. For instance, the closure may be asymmetrical. Preferably, such asymmetry is about the axis extending between the container's contoured sides.