Food Pouch Holder With Spout Locking Against Accidental Discharge

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Solution Overview

Problem

Squeezable food pouches are prone to accidental discharge when squeezed, posing a mess and inconvenience, especially for infants, toddlers, and individuals with disabilities or medical conditions affecting pressure control.

Innovation Solution

A hard-plastic container with a slot for the pouch spout and rotatable doors to secure the pouch, preventing sliding and unintended ejection, allowing controlled consumption through the spout.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Ease of operation

If the food pouch is made squeezable for convenient feeding, then ease of operation is improved, but accidental discharge and mess occur due to uncontrolled squeezing

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveease of feedingVSAvoidaccidental discharge

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of operationVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The container is divided into a rigid outer shell and an inner pouch compartment, separating the structural support function from the food storage function. This allows the pouch to be squeezable while the container provides protective constraints

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The rigid container acts as an intermediary between the user and the food pouch, mediating the squeezing action to prevent accidental discharge while still allowing controlled feeding through the spout

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Object-affected harmful factors

If the container encloses the food pouch to prevent accidental discharge, then safety is improved, but the child cannot access the food independently

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveaccidental discharge preventionVSAvoidindependent feeding access

Core Design Contradiction:

Object-affected harmful factorsVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The spout is pre-positioned and pre-configured in the container, allowing the child to immediately access food by sucking through the spout without requiring complex operations to open or access the container

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

Instead of requiring the child to open the container to access food, the design inverts the approach by having the spout protrude outward, allowing the child to access food by placing the spout in their mouth while the container remains closed

Inventive Principle:

Principle #13The other way round (Inversion)

3Reliability

If the spout is held fixed in the container to prevent sliding, then reliability is improved, but the pouch cannot be compressed effectively

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvespout position stabilityVSAvoidpouch compression

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The spout assembly is segmented into a fixed mounting portion and a flexible tube portion, allowing the spout to be securely positioned while the tube remains flexible for effective pouch compression

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The spout incorporates a flexible plastic tube that can bend and deform during pouch compression, maintaining reliable connection to the pouch while allowing effective squeezing of the food contents

Inventive Principle:

Principle #30Flexible shells and thin films

Data Source

PatentUS8875929B1Container for collapsible food pouch

Publication Date: 2014.11.04 FORNEY DONNAMARIE

AI summary

A container for holding a collapsible food pouch that includes a hard-plastic bottom segment forming an elongated concave dish and a rotatably attached top segment. The top end of the bottom segment and optionally the top end of the top segment has a slot sized to receive a plastic discharge tube of the collapsible food pouch such that when the pouch's pliant material is placed below the top end, the discharge port of the pouch is positioned outside the top end of hard-plastic bottom segment. When the top segment is rotated closed, the top segment engages the plastic neck to hold it within the slot. The top segment may have two doors. A loop of hard plastic may serve as a tethering point and a lock may lock the container closed. Vent holes permit entry of air into the container.