Lowered One-Piece Bottle Cap with Integrated Drip Stop
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing one-piece closure caps with integrated drip cutters for bottles face challenges in achieving a clean pouring process, particularly with edible oils, and have high production costs due to the complexity of multiple parts, leading to a need for a design that reduces material and weight while allowing for economical molding.
Innovation Solution
A one-piece closure cap design where the overall height of the base and pourer is optimized so that the drip-cutting spout is at the same level as the bottle neck, enabling a lowered assembly with reduced material and weight, and can be molded in a closed position to simplify the manufacturing process.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If a one-piece closure cap with integrated drip cutter is used, then manufacturing cost is reduced, but the height and material usage increase
Solution Approach 1:
The pourer is nested within the base structure, with the pourer body positioned inside the base's internal cavity. This nesting arrangement allows the drip cutter to be integrated into the base wall rather than extending outward, reducing the overall height while maintaining the one-piece construction that lowers manufacturing costs.
Solution Approach 2:
The drip cutter is repositioned from a vertical extension to a horizontal integration within the base wall thickness. By utilizing the radial dimension of the base wall instead of adding vertical height, the design achieves the drip-cutting function without increasing the closure cap's overall height, thus resolving the contradiction between manufacturing simplicity and dimensional constraints.
2Quantity of substance
If the drip cutter is integrated into the base wall, then material usage is reduced, but the pouring function may be compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The base wall thickness is locally varied to create the drip cutter functionality. Specifically, the base wall is designed with a localized thinning or protrusion at the pourer interface zone, creating the spout geometry needed for drip prevention. This localized modification achieves the pouring function with minimal material alteration, optimizing both material usage and functional performance.
3Device complexity
If the closure cap is designed to be molded in closed position, then manufacturing complexity is reduced, but the mold design becomes more difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The molding process is segmented into two stages: first molding the base and pourer as a preliminary assembly in closed position, then separately molding the cap that attaches to this assembly. This segmentation allows the initial structure to be molded in the space-efficient closed position, reducing overall manufacturing complexity while the cap molding can be optimized independently, balancing both concerns.
Data Source
Figure 1~3
Figure 4~6
AI summary
The stopper has a base (3) integrated to a neck (4) of a bottle (2) and surmounted by a pourer (5) covered by a cover (6) connected to the base by a hinge (7) and a tamper indicator i.e. tamper-evident tear-off strip (8). The pourer has a terminal zone constituted by an outer flange forming a drop-break nozzle (10). Height (H) of the nozzle outside the base and the pourer is such that a peak (S) of the nozzle is located at a level same as that of a peak (S') of the neck when the nozzle is placed to obtain a lowered stopper assembly for reducing the height to reduce material and weight. An independent claim is also included for a method for manufacturing a single-piece stopper.