Foldable Locking Rim Closure for Tolerance-Compensating Sealing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing container closures fail to provide effective sealing due to manufacturing tolerances, leading to gaps and play between the closure and the container, compromising the integrity of the seal and the connection's stability.
Innovation Solution
A closure design featuring a foldable locking rim with integrated sealing ribs that adapt to manufacturing variations, ensuring a secure and sturdy engagement with the container's outer surface, even when dimensions vary.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a conventional closure with a rigid locking rim is used, then the structure is simple and easy to manufacture, but gaps and play occur between the closure and container due to manufacturing tolerances, compromising sealing integrity
Solution Approach 1:
The locking rim is designed with foldability, transitioning from a rigid static structure to a dynamic flexible one. The rim can be folded outward during assembly to engage with the container's peripheral ledge, then folded inward to create a tight sealing surface against the container's outer peripheral surface, accommodating manufacturing tolerances through this dynamic movement.
Solution Approach 2:
The locking rim functions as a flexible element that can deform elastically during engagement and sealing. This flexibility allows the rim to adapt to dimensional variations in the container, ensuring consistent sealing contact pressure and eliminating gaps that would occur with a rigid structure.
2Reliability
If manufacturing tolerances are strictly controlled to eliminate gaps, then sealing integrity improves, but manufacturing cost and complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of controlling dimensional parameters tightly, the invention changes the geometric parameter of the locking rim by adding foldability. This allows the rim to adjust its position and contact pressure dynamically, compensating for dimensional variations without requiring high manufacturing precision for the closure components themselves.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention converts the potential harm of manufacturing tolerances into a benefit by designing the locking rim to actively accommodate these tolerances. The foldable mechanism transforms dimensional variations from a source of gaps into an opportunity for adaptive sealing, where the rim naturally adjusts to find optimal contact.
3Stability of the object's composition
If the locking rim is made rigid and fixed, then the structure is simpler, but play in radial direction occurs due to manufacturing tolerances, reducing connection stability
Solution Approach 1:
The locking rim transitions from a fixed rigid structure to a dynamic foldable one, enabling it to adapt radially during engagement. This dynamic capability eliminates radial play by allowing the rim to flex and conform to the container's actual dimensions, providing stable connection without requiring complex adjustment mechanisms.
Data Source
AI summary
A closure includes an annular base to be fixed to an upper rim of a container and a lid moveable relative to the annular base between a closed position and an open position. The annular base includes a peripheral skirt with an integral non-removable end portion adapted to be arranged over the upper rim of the container and a peripheral locking rim integrally formed on the end portion of the peripheral skirt. A proximal end of the peripheral locking rim is hingedly connected to the peripheral skirt, allowing the peripheral locking rim to be folded inwardly towards an inner surface of the end portion of the peripheral skirt and allowing the distal end to move beyond and engage under the peripheral ledge of the container to lock the annular base to the upper rim of the container. The locking rim includes a surface radially inwardly and circumferentially extending sealing rib.