Lever-Actuated Tear-Open Stopper for Drink Containers
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing containers for drinks face issues with contamination and practicality in opening mechanisms, as they either disperse stoppers, risking health and environmental pollution, or require excessive effort due to tear-away actions.
Innovation Solution
A container design featuring a lever with a fulcrum and gripper end, connected to a flexible tongue, allows for easy opening of the stopper without contact with the substance, keeping it solid with the container, using a first-class lever mechanism that reduces the effort required to detach the stopper along a line of weakening.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If the stopper is completely removed from the container, then the aperture is fully opened for substance passage, but the stopper disperses in the environment causing pollution and health risks
Solution Approach 1:
The closing element is segmented into two parts: the stopper (closure element) and the lever (opening mechanism). The stopper remains attached to the container while the lever is removed, separating the functions of sealing and opening. This allows the aperture to be fully opened without the stopper dispersing into the environment.
Solution Approach 2:
The lever acts as an intermediary element that facilitates the opening of the stopper without requiring the stopper itself to be completely removed. The lever engages with the stopper during opening and is then discarded, while the stopper remains as an attached remnant on the container, preventing environmental dispersion.
2Reliability
If the line of weakening is not closed on itself, then the stopper remains connected to the container, but the external part of the stopper comes into direct contact with the substance inside
Solution Approach 1:
The closing element is divided into the stopper and lever components with distinct functions. The lever handles the opening action externally, while the stopper remains as a sealed remnant attached to the container. This segmentation ensures the stopper never contacts the substance during opening, eliminating contamination risk while maintaining connection reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of having the stopper itself perform the opening action (which would cause contamination), the invention inverts the approach by having the lever perform the opening action while the stopper remains passive and attached. This reversal of roles prevents contamination while maintaining the stopper's connection to the container.
3Reliability
If a flexible tongue is used to attach the stopper and lever, then the stopper remains solid with the container when open, but the tear-away action requires overall effort greater than other known containers
Solution Approach 1:
The closing element is segmented into the stopper and lever with the lever serving as the removable opening mechanism. The flexible tongue attaches the lever to the stopper, allowing the lever to be pulled away easily while the stopper remains attached to the container. This segmentation reduces the effort required compared to traditional flexible tongue designs where the entire closing element must be torn away.
Solution Approach 2:
The lever is extracted as a separate, removable component from the traditional flexible tongue closing element. By taking out the lever as a distinct element that performs the opening function, the design allows the stopper to remain attached to the container while requiring less overall effort to open compared to designs where the entire closing element must be removed or torn away.
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 ensures hygienic conditions by preventing stopper contact with the drink and reduces the effort needed to open the container, keeping the stopper connected and preventing environmental dispersion.
Implementation Method 1
a lever mechanism, which can be driven so as to at least partly remove said closing element from the remaining part of said central zone
Implementation Method 2
using a first-class lever mechanism that reduces the effort required to detach the stopper
Implementation Method 3
a flexible tongue, attached by one end to the upper wall and also attached both to the stopper and to the lever
Data Source
AI summary
A container for substances comprises an upper wall, which functions as a lid, with a central zone on which a closed line of weakening defines a stopper, in the shape of a tongue, which normally closes a relative aperture for the substance to pass through; a lever, associated with the tongue, which can be driven so as to remove the stopper, at least partly, from the upper wall, detaching it along the line of weakening and thus freeing the aperture; and a connection element of the flexible type which is connected both to the stopper and also to the upper wall. The lever has a first end pivoted in correspondence with a peripheral rib, a second end, which functions as a gripper element, disposed in substantial correspondence with the central zone, and an intermediate zone between the two ends, wherein the lever is connected to the stopper.