Package Opening Device With Retained Cutter for Controlled Pouring
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing opening devices for pourable food packages, such as those used in Tetra Brik Aseptic packages, require improvements for better control and ease of use while maintaining cost-effectiveness.
Innovation Solution
An opening device comprising a collar with a moveable cutter and a retaining mechanism to control the movement of the cutter within a flow channel, allowing for controlled rupture of a separation membrane and a rotatable closure for selective pouring, integrated through molding or adhesive bonding with the package material.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a cutter is provided in the opening device to pierce and cut the separation membrane, then the membrane can be opened in a controlled manner, but the cutter may become detached and ejected during operation
Solution Approach 1:
The cutter is nested within the collar structure, specifically positioned within the flow channel. The collar acts as a retaining structure that holds the cutter in place during operation, preventing ejection while allowing the cutter to perform its function of piercing and cutting the separation membrane.
Solution Approach 2:
The cutter is pre-positioned within the collar at a location where it can engage the separation membrane before the opening operation begins. This preliminary positioning ensures that the cutter remains constrained within the flow channel throughout the opening process, eliminating the risk of detachment and ejection.
2Ease of manufacture
If the collar is made as a single-piece molded structure, then manufacturing is simplified and cost is reduced, but control over cutter movement may be insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The collar is designed with locally differentiated features: a flow channel portion that guides and constrains the cutter movement, and a retaining structure portion that prevents cutter ejection. This local quality differentiation within the single-piece molded structure provides precise cutter control while maintaining manufacturing simplicity.
Solution Approach 2:
The collar incorporates a dynamic flow channel that allows the cutter to move freely within controlled limits during the opening operation, while the retaining structure provides static constraints that prevent excessive movement and ejection. This combination of dynamic and static elements achieves both ease of manufacture and operational control.
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3~4
AI summary
There is described an opening device (3) for a package (1) having a designated pour opening covered with a separation membrane and filled with a pourable product. The opening device (3) comprises at least a collar (15, 15') delimiting a flow channel (16) extending between an inlet opening (18) of the collar (15, 15') configured to allow for the inlet of the pourable product into the flow channel (16) and a pouring outlet (19) of the collar (15, 15') configured to allow for an outflow of the pourable product from the flow channel (16) and a cutter (17) configured to break the separation membrane and being at least partially arranged within the flow channel (16). The opening device (3) comprises a retaining device (30) having a retaining element (31, 31') protruding from an inner surface (20) of the collar (21) and an interaction element (32) connected to the cutter (17).