Flacon Closing Device with Segmented Thruster and Annular Rib Seal
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing closing devices for flacons are mechanically complex, costly, and lack reliability in maintaining a hydraulic seal due to pressure variations, making them unsuitable for long-term use and difficult for elderly or ill users to operate.
Innovation Solution
A closing device with a single-piece molded thruster and closing portion, featuring a profile of preferential breaking and an annular rib for double hydraulic sealing, which is autonomous from the closing pressure and allows easy removal of the safety element for user convenience.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a selective opening mechanism integrated into the stopper is used to free a drinking path, then the user can drink the composition without removing the stopper, but the mechanical complexity of the stopper increases considerably and production costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The stopper is divided into separate functional components: a closing portion for sealing the flacon and a tank with a bottom wall that can be selectively opened. The opening mechanism is localized to the tank bottom rather than being integrated throughout the entire stopper structure, reducing overall mechanical complexity while maintaining drinking convenience.
Solution Approach 2:
The opening function is extracted as a separate, removable safety element that can be detached after use. This safety element is not permanently integrated into the stopper structure but is instead a distinct component that is removed after opening the tank, simplifying the permanent stopper structure while providing the needed opening functionality.
2Ease of manufacture
If closing pressure alone determines the hydraulic seal, then the structure is simple, but the seal reliability decreases over time due to pressure variations from impacts, friction, and heat dilations
Solution Approach 1:
An annular rib is pre-formed as an integral part of the closing portion structure, positioned to engage with the flacon neck before the closing operation. This rib creates a preliminary mechanical interlock and sealing interface that prepares the connection for reliable sealing, independent of the final closing pressure.
Solution Approach 2:
The annular rib acts as a compensating element that anticipates and counteracts pressure variations. By providing a rigid structural feature that maintains geometric stability, the rib compensates for deformations caused by impacts, friction, and thermal expansions, ensuring the hydraulic seal remains reliable throughout the product lifecycle.
Data Source
AI summary
A device for closing a container, in which to contain a first component to be introduced into the container in addition to a second component, comprising a tank for the first component, a mobile thruster by means of which to determine the opening of the tank, a closing portion stably associated with the tank and provided with closing means able to cooperate with a neck of the container to determine a releasable clamping. The closing portion houses slidingly inside it at least a part of the mobile thruster and has an opening for the passage of the mobile thruster toward the tank. The mobile thruster is selectively mobile between a first raised position of non-interference with the tank and a second lowered position in which it determines the opening of the tank to allow the passage of the first component inside the container. The mobile thruster is made by molding in a single piece with the closing portion, defining a profile of preferential breakage connecting said mobile thruster and said closing portion. A safety element is also provided, made in a single piece both with respect to said mobile thruster and also with respect to the closing portion, to prevent an accidental reciprocal movement of said mobile thruster with respect to said closing portion.