Integral Medal Retainer for Tamper-Resistant Packaging
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current containers lack effective mechanisms for tracking, anti-counterfeiting, and tamper-indication, which are essential for ensuring product authenticity and usage verification.
Innovation Solution
The integration of a medal into the container design, where the medal is non-removably retained through a one-piece construction with the container wall, allowing for unique appearance sharing and potential reactive materials that change appearance upon exposure to air or electricity, indicating use or tampering.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a separate label or attachment is used for tracking and anti-counterfeiting, then the container lacks integrated authentication mechanisms, but adding separate components increases device complexity and potential failure points
Solution Approach 1:
The patent integrates the authentication mechanism directly into the container wall by forming a medal retainer as an integral part of the container structure. The retainer is molded as one piece with the container wall, eliminating the need for separate labels or attachments. This merging of functions improves reliability by reducing potential failure points while maintaining structural simplicity.
Solution Approach 2:
The medal retainer serves multiple functions: it provides structural support as part of the container wall, enables authentication through the integrated medal mechanism, and offers tamper-indication capabilities. This multi-functionality resolves the contradiction by achieving reliable authentication without adding separate components, as the same structural element performs multiple roles.
2Ease of operation
If a medal is made removable from the container, then ease of operation is improved, but tamper-resistance and anti-counterfeiting capabilities are compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The retainer features a localized frangible portion that is designed to break under specific conditions. The majority of the retainer maintains strong integral attachment to the container wall, while a specific localized area (the frangible portion) is weakened to allow controlled breaking. This enables the medal to be removed only after deliberate tampering or authentication events, balancing ease of operation with tamper-resistance.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent incorporates reactive materials into the medal or container that change appearance upon exposure to air, electricity, or other stimuli. These color or appearance changes provide visual indication of tampering or authentication events, allowing the system to maintain strong attachment while enabling controlled removal through detectable changes in the material properties.
3Reliability
If reactive materials are added to the medal or container, then usage verification capabilities are enhanced, but manufacturing complexity and material costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The reactive materials are pre-integrated into the medal or container during the initial molding process. The frangible portion and reactive materials are formed as part of the container manufacturing sequence, eliminating the need for separate assembly steps. This preliminary integration enhances usage verification capabilities while maintaining manufacturing simplicity by combining multiple functions into the base manufacturing process.
Data Source
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AI summary
A container (10, 110, 210, 310, 410, 510, 710, 810, 910, 1010, 1110, 1210) and a method of making the container, which may include a wall and a medal (12, 112, 312, 412, 512, 612, 712, 812, 912, 1012, 1112, 1212) retained to the wall by container material (36, 136, 234, 336, 436, 536, 736, 836, 936, 1036, 1136, 1236} of integral one-piece construction with the wall and extending over at least a portion of the medal. The medal and one or more portions of the container adjacent the medal may have a shared unique appearance. A package may include a flaccid loop (1080) coupled between a closure (1042) and a container (1010) to which the closure is coupled, and a medal (1012) coupled to the flaccid loop.