Hollow-Molded Hinge With Solid Knuckle for Container Lids
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Solution Overview
Problem
Standard plastic container lids often fail at the connection point due to wear and impact, lacking sufficient strength and wear resistance, and traditional molding processes are inefficient, producing lids one at a time.
Innovation Solution
A ruggedized plastic container lid with a hollow-molded hinge featuring a solid-molded protrusion for increased strength and a single-walled cover for light weight and rigidity, along with a method to mold two lids simultaneously, enhancing manufacturing efficiency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Weight of moving object
If a hollow-molded hinge is used to reduce weight, then the lid becomes lighter, but the strength and wear resistance at the connection point deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The hinge is designed with non-uniform wall thickness, featuring a thickened knuckle region at the connection point that provides enhanced strength and wear resistance, while the rest of the hinge maintains thinner walls for weight reduction. This local quality variation allows the hollow-molded hinge to simultaneously achieve lightweight construction and localized structural reinforcement where mechanical stress is highest.
2Strength
If a solid-molded hinge is used to increase strength, then the connection point becomes stronger, but the overall weight of the lid increases
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of uniformly solid-molding the entire hinge, the design implements localized thickening only at the knuckle region where connection strength is critical. The majority of the hinge structure remains hollow with reduced material content, achieving optimal balance between connection strength and overall weight reduction.
3Stability of the object's composition
If traditional single-piece molding is used to ensure structural integrity, then the lid structure is simplified, but the manufacturing efficiency deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The molding process is designed to form two complete lid-hinge assemblies simultaneously within a single mold cavity, combining multiple production operations into one unified process. This dual-cavity or multi-cavity molding approach doubles production output per cycle while maintaining the structural integrity of each individual lid through proper gate design and material flow control.
4Ease of operation
If the lid is made lightweight with hollow-molded construction, then ease of use improves, but the wear resistance deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The hollow-molded hinge incorporates a strategically thickened knuckle region that concentrates material where wear resistance is most critical for pivot connection durability. The thinner-walled portions of the hinge and the single-walled cover maintain lightweight construction for ease of operation, while the localized reinforcement ensures long-term reliability at the wear-prone connection interface.
Data Source
AI summary
The invention teaches a container lid product for controlling access to a container. The container lid comprises one or more hollow molded hinges with solid compressed area to eliminate any seam in use pivotally connecting the product to the container, a hollow-molded edge disposed adjacent to the one or more hollow-molded hinges, and a single-walled cover portion being connected to the hollow-molded edge. The single-walled cover has a length and a width and comprises a plurality of ribs extending the length of the single-walled cover. The single-walled cover has a peripheral rim with an undercut for stiffening. Each the one or more hollow molded hinges comprises an elongate knuckle. The hollow-molded edges comprises a top layer and a bottom layer.