Dispensing Container With Segmented Locking And Sealing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing containers for consumable products, particularly pharmaceuticals and tobacco products, lack effective child resistance, moisture protection, and metered dispensing features, which are essential for safety and product integrity.
Innovation Solution
A container design featuring a clamshell-like outer casing body with a locking mechanism, a dispensing tray, and a sealing member that allows for child-resistant operation, moisture protection, and metered dispensing of a single product unit through a controlled dispensing aperture.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a traditional cap is used that requires downward pressure and twisting to remove, then child resistance is provided, but immediate access to entire contents is provided once opened and there is no secondary prevention mechanism
Solution Approach 1:
The container is divided into multiple functional components: an outer casing body, a dispensing tray, a sealing member, and a locking mechanism. This segmentation allows each component to perform a specific function - the locking mechanism provides child resistance while the dispensing aperture provides controlled access, resolving the contradiction between reliability and ease of operation.
Solution Approach 2:
A sealing member is introduced as an intermediary between the outer casing body and the dispensing tray. This sealing member creates a seal that prevents moisture ingress while allowing the locking mechanism to maintain child resistance. The intermediary enables both child protection and controlled access without compromising either function.
2Ease of operation
If the container is opened to access product, then product is accessible, but unrestricted access to entire contents occurs and sanitation is compromised due to touching multiple units
Solution Approach 1:
The dispensing tray features a localized dispensing aperture that is specifically designed to accommodate only a single product unit. This local quality enhancement at the dispensing interface allows users to access only one unit at a time through the aperture, maintaining sanitation by preventing contact with multiple units while preserving ease of operation for single-unit retrieval.
3Ease of operation
If the container provides handheld size for convenience, then portability is improved, but protection from environmental moisture may be compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The sealing member merges the moisture protection function with the dispensing access function. By integrating the sealing member into the interface between the outer casing body and dispensing tray, the design maintains a hermetic seal for moisture protection while allowing controlled access through the dispensing aperture. This merging enables both portability and moisture protection without compromise.
Data Source
AI summary
A container adapted for dispensing a product is provided. The container includes an outer casing body for receiving a dispensing tray. The dispensing tray has an internal storage compartment for storage of a plurality of units of a product to be dispensed, and includes a cover plate defining at least one dispensing aperture through which a stored unit of product is accessible when the outer casing body is in a dispensing position. The container includes a locking mechanism that releasably locks the outer casing body in the closed and locked position.