Compact Incontinence Package with Hinged Closure and Collapsible Sheath
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing male incontinence product packages are bulky, prone to cracking, and not discreet, occupying more space than necessary, which makes them inconvenient and costly to manufacture.
Innovation Solution
A compact package design that includes a male incontinence product with a flexible penile sheath and drainage portion, utilizing a retention element to maintain the product in a collapsed state, allowing for reduced storage space and automated, cost-efficient packaging, using materials like latex or silicone, and a package structure with rigid portions and a hinge mechanism for easy opening.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the incontinence product is packaged in a ready-to-use configuration with a longitudinally extending drainage portion, then the product is easy to use, but the package becomes bulky and occupies excessive space
Solution Approach 1:
The drainage portion is designed to be flexible and capable of transitioning between different configurations. In the packaged state, it can be collapsed or folded into a compact form. During use, it extends to its functional longitudinal configuration, providing both compact storage and ease of operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The drainage portion is configured to nest within or alongside the penile sheath when collapsed, allowing the entire incontinence product to occupy minimal space in the package while maintaining full functionality when deployed.
2Ease of manufacture
If the package is made opaque for discretion, then privacy is improved, but the product becomes difficult to locate and verify
Solution Approach 1:
The package incorporates a transparent or translucent window in an otherwise opaque packaging structure. This localized transparency allows users to visually locate and verify the product while the rest of the opaque package maintains discretion and privacy.
3Reliability
If the drainage portion has a relatively large wall thickness for connection to urine collecting bag, then connection reliability is improved, but the product complexity and manufacturing cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The drainage portion features varying wall thicknesses optimized for different functional requirements. The distal tubular part has increased wall thickness specifically at the connection point to the urine collecting bag for reliable attachment, while other portions maintain thinner walls to reduce overall material usage and complexity.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution results in a compact, discreet, and cost-effective packaging system that reduces storage and transportation space, while ensuring the product remains sterile and easy to use, with the ability to maintain its compact state for extended periods without deformation.
Implementation Method 1
at least one of the penile sheath and the drainage portion is sufficiently flexible to allow collapsing of the incontinence product when in its rolled-up configuration
Data Source
AI summary
A packaged incontinence treatment device includes a catheter enclosed in a package having a closure jaw. The package has a lower portion coupled to an upper portion by a hinge plate that forms a rear wall of the package. The hinge plate allows the upper portion to pivot away from the lower portion to open the package. The closure jaw includes a first wall that is attached to the lower portion by a hinge line and an overlap wall that is attached to the first wall by a front wall. The overlap wall is releasably secured to the upper portion of the package.