One-Piece Polymeric Closure with Angled Ratchet Locking
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing polymeric closures face difficulties in locking securely to container finishes due to interference with threads, making application challenging and leading to environmental waste during recycling.
Innovation Solution
A one-piece polymeric closure design featuring a polymeric top wall portion and annular skirt with internal and external helical thread formations, along with angled serrated ratchet teeth threads, which engage with container lugs to create a secure lock, allowing easy application and preventing removal.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a closure with locking feature is used to lock securely to the container, then the closure reliability is improved, but the ease of operation deteriorates due to large interference between locking feature and threads
Solution Approach 1:
The closure is divided into two separate functional portions: a first closure portion with the locking feature (ratchet teeth) and a second closure portion with the threading feature (internal threads). This segmentation allows each portion to perform its specific function independently without interference, resolving the contradiction between secure locking and easy application.
Solution Approach 2:
The container neck is designed with two distinct features: ratchet catch lugs that engage with the closure's ratchet teeth, and external threads that engage with the closure's internal threads. These intermediary features on the container mediate between the locking and threading functions, allowing them to operate simultaneously without interference.
2Loss of substance
If a one-piece closure design is used to reduce waste, then environmental friendliness is improved, but the device complexity increases due to integrated locking and threading features
Solution Approach 1:
The first closure portion (with locking feature) and the second closure portion (with threading feature) are merged into a single integrated closure component. This combining allows the closure to provide both secure locking and proper threading engagement in one piece, reducing material waste while managing complexity through functional integration.
Data Source
AI summary
A package includes a container and a one-piece closure. The container has a neck portion defining an opening, an external helical thread formation and ratchet catch lugs. The closure fits to the neck portion of the container for closing the opening. The closure includes a first and a second closure portion. The closure includes a top wall portion and an annular skirt portion. The annular skirt portion includes an internal helical thread formation for mating engagement with the external helical thread formation. An interior surface of the annular skirt portion includes helical ratchet teeth threads. At least one of the ratchet catch lugs mechanically catches and locks with a respective one of the helical ratchet teeth threads so as to prevent or inhibit the closure from being removed from the container. The closure opens by flipping via a hinge.