Olive Seal Ribbed Wall for Easier Container Plug Removal
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing olive seals in container lids are difficult to remove due to tight clamping, requiring significant force, especially for individuals with limited manual strength, and lack flexibility for angled removal, compromising ease of use and accessibility.
Innovation Solution
The olive seal features a ribbed inner wall surface with longitudinal grooves that reduce clamping force when angled, allowing easier removal while maintaining sealing integrity, and a tamper-evident tear-off ring for secure closure.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the olive seal is designed with a smooth, closed inner wall surface to ensure rigidity and sealing, then sealing integrity is improved, but removal force required increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The inner wall surface of the olive seal is segmented into multiple longitudinal grooves that divide the wall into separate rib sections. This segmentation allows the wall to flex and compress more easily during angled removal while maintaining sealing contact through the rib structures, thereby reducing removal force while preserving sealing integrity.
Solution Approach 2:
The grooves create local variations in wall thickness and flexibility along the inner surface. The ribbed sections maintain rigidity for sealing contact, while the groove regions provide flexibility for compression during removal. This local differentiation allows the seal to exhibit both rigidity and flexibility in different zones simultaneously.
2Reliability
If the olive seal is tightly clamped in the container neck to ensure secure sealing, then sealing reliability is improved, but the force required to separate the peripheral wall and olive seal from the container neck increases
Solution Approach 1:
The grooved design transforms the static, rigid structure into a more dynamic configuration where the ribbed wall can flex and deform during removal. The grooves allow the wall to compress and adapt to the removal motion, enabling the seal to be pried off with less force while maintaining adequate clamping during the sealed position.
3Reliability
If the olive seal wall thickness is increased to maintain rigidity and sealing contact, then sealing performance is improved, but removal difficulty increases due to greater structural strength
Solution Approach 1:
By segmenting the wall into ribs separated by grooves, the design achieves flexibility without requiring reduced wall thickness. The grooves act as stress relief zones that allow the rib structures to flex during removal, effectively reducing removal difficulty while maintaining adequate wall thickness for sealing performance.
Data Source
Figure 1~2
AI summary
The stopper for a container, with a lid having a circumferential wall encompassing the neck of the container and with an olive seal (7) provided with an outer circumferential annular bead for clamping engagement in the container opening, is characterized in that the olive seal (7) has a ribbed wall surface on its inside, which is formed by a plurality of longitudinally extending grooves (5) and webs (6) of the wall of the olive seal (7).