Insulated Container Folding Closure Waterproof Zipper
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Solution Overview
Problem
Soft-sided insulated containers with waterproof zippers become stiff, making it difficult to insert or remove items due to their rigid structure, requiring significant effort to open and close them.
Innovation Solution
A container design featuring a movable closure with U-shaped jaws and a waterproof zipper that unfolds to provide a larger opening, allowing for easier access and reducing stiffness by using a floating hinge and flexible fabric hinges.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a waterproof zipper and associated waterproof webbing or flanges are used, then waterproof integrity is improved, but the assembly becomes stiff and difficult to operate
Solution Approach 1:
The closure assembly is designed to be dynamic rather than static. The skirt extends and folds as the closure opens and closes, allowing the rigid waterproof zipper to remain protected while the overall assembly becomes flexible and easier to operate. The tracked fastener moves along the extended path, maintaining waterproof seal while accommodating the dynamic motion needed for easy operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The closure assembly adds a spatial dimension by extending the skirt outward from the container body. This extension creates additional space that allows the waterproof zipper to travel along a longer, more gradual path rather than a straight line across the container opening. This dimensional change reduces the stiffness perceived during operation while maintaining the waterproof barrier.
2Reliability
If the closure assembly with waterproof zipper is used, then waterproof integrity is improved, but the opening size is reduced making it difficult to insert objects
Solution Approach 1:
The closure assembly is segmented into multiple components: the cap, the extending skirt, the tracked fastener, and the reinforcement members. This segmentation allows each component to perform its specific function - the skirt extends to provide a larger effective opening area while the tracked fastener maintains the waterproof seal along its extended path.
Solution Approach 2:
By extending the skirt outward in the radial direction from the container body, the closure assembly effectively increases the opening area available for inserting objects. The waterproof zipper travels along this extended dimension, maintaining the seal while the projected opening area is larger and more accessible.
3Strength
If reinforcement members are added to the closure assembly, then structural strength is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
Reinforcement members are added only at specific critical locations within the closure assembly where structural strength is most needed, such as along the tracked fastener path and at the skirt attachment points. This localized reinforcement provides the necessary strength while minimizing the overall complexity increase compared to reinforcing the entire assembly uniformly.
Solution Approach 2:
The closure assembly uses composite construction combining the waterproof zipper material, the flexible skirt material, and the rigid reinforcement members. This composite approach allows each material to contribute its optimal properties - the zipper provides waterproofing, the skirt provides flexibility and extension, and the reinforcement members provide structural strength - while the overall assembly remains manageable in complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
A container assembly has an insulated wall structure and a chamber. The chamber has an opening governed by a closure member that is movable between open and closed positions. The closure may include a hood. The container assembly has a first periphery. The cap has a second periphery defining the opening. A skirt extends between the peripheries. The second periphery is longer than the body of the container assembly. The skirt is foldable. In the closed position the first and second margins being of the second periphery are secured to each other, and the skirt is at least partially folded. In the open position, the skirt is more unfolded than in said closed position, and at least a portion of one of the margins is located more distantly from the chamber, or the wall structure than when closed. The closure has a floating jaw-bone reinforcement arrangement.