Container Lid Seal Mechanism With Push-Button Flap Venting
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing container lids with sealable openings lack efficient mechanisms for secure closure and venting, leading to potential leakage and inconvenience in accessing the container's contents.
Innovation Solution
A lid assembly with a pivotable flap, a linearly movable latch, and a button-operated mechanism that secures and opens the flap, along with a vent seal, allowing controlled access and venting through a combination of seals and bias members for easy operation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a simple lid opening is used for easy access, then ease of operation is improved, but sealing reliability deteriorates leading to potential leakage
Solution Approach 1:
The lid opening is segmented into a fixed lid body and a movable flap that can independently pivot between open and closed positions. This segmentation allows the flap to provide a seal when closed while maintaining easy access when opened, resolving the contradiction between sealing reliability and ease of operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The flap is designed as a dynamic component that can pivot between closed (sealing) and open (access) positions. This dynamic behavior allows the same structure to provide both reliable sealing when needed and easy access when needed, eliminating the trade-off between these two requirements.
2Reliability
If a secure latch mechanism is added to prevent accidental opening, then sealing reliability is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The latch mechanism is designed to automatically engage when the flap is closed and automatically disengage when the button is pressed. This self-service mechanism provides secure closure without requiring complex manual operation or additional components, resolving the contradiction between reliability and complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The button simultaneously performs multiple functions: it acts as a pivot point for the flap, a trigger for the latch mechanism, and a vent plunger. By merging these functions into a single component, the design achieves secure closure (reliability) without increasing device complexity.
3Adaptability or versatility
If a vent opening is provided for pressure release, then functionality is improved, but sealing reliability deteriorates due to potential leakage
Solution Approach 1:
The vent seal is positioned specifically at the vent opening location to provide localized sealing. This allows the vent function to be maintained while preventing leakage at the critical sealing point, resolving the contradiction between venting functionality and seal integrity.
Solution Approach 2:
The vent seal acts as an intermediary component between the vent opening and the container interior. It mediates the pressure release function while maintaining seal integrity, allowing gas to escape through the designated vent path without compromising the overall sealing reliability of the container.
4Reliability
If multiple sealing components are added to prevent leakage, then sealing reliability is improved, but ease of operation deteriorates due to complex opening mechanism
Solution Approach 1:
The button merges multiple functions into a single operational element: it serves as the pivot point for the flap, the trigger for the latch mechanism, and the vent plunger. This consolidation allows the user to operate the complex multi-seal system with a single simple action, resolving the contradiction between sealing reliability and ease of operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The latch mechanism is pre-positioned to automatically disengage when the button is pressed, and the vent seal is pre-positioned to automatically open the vent path. These preliminary actions eliminate the need for separate manual operations, maintaining ease of operation despite the presence of multiple sealing components.
Data Source
AI summary
A lid assembly for a container. The lid assembly has a lid body, a flap, a seal and a button. The lid body has a lid opening. The flap is pivotally connected to the lid body and pivots away between an open position and a closed position. In the closed position the flap closes the lid opening. In the open position the lid opening is open and a cavity of the container is accessible therethrough. The seal is connected to one of the lid body or the flap to seal the opening when the flap is in the closed position. The button is pivotally connected to the lid body and pivots between an actuated and an unactuated position. When the button is moved to the actuated position the flap moves to the open position.