Container Lid With Pull-Tab Partial Opening and Reclosure
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing containers lack a convenient and efficient mechanism for accessing and reclosing articles within the container, particularly for flowable products with small particle sizes, while maintaining a secure seal.
Innovation Solution
A container design featuring a body with a separable upper marginal portion, a curled free edge, a barrier member, and a reclosable lid with a pull tab, allowing partial separation and reattachment for easy access and closure, using materials like paperboard and aluminum foil.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the container uses a traditional fixed lid design, then the seal is secure, but accessing articles requires opening the entire container which increases risk of spillage and loss of contents
Solution Approach 1:
The lid is divided into a removable first portion and a remaining portion that stays attached to the container. This segmentation allows users to remove only the portion needed for accessing articles while the remaining portion maintains the seal, resolving the contradiction between ease of access and seal integrity.
Solution Approach 2:
The first lid portion is nested within or attached to the second lid portion, allowing the first portion to be removed while the second portion remains in place. This nested configuration enables selective access while preserving the overall seal structure.
2Productivity
If the container allows easy opening for access, then articles can be retrieved quickly, but the container cannot be securely reclosed maintaining the seal
Solution Approach 1:
The container is pre-configured with a reclosable mechanism where the lid portions can be detached and reattached. The first lid portion includes attachment features that enable quick reclosure after access, allowing users to quickly retrieve articles and securely reclose the container without compromising the seal.
3Strength
If the upper marginal portion is permanently attached to the body, then the container structure is strong, but the container cannot be opened for accessing articles
Solution Approach 1:
The upper marginal portion is segmented into a first portion and a second portion, with the first portion being separable from the body while the second portion remains attached. This segmentation provides a line of weakness that allows easy separation for access while maintaining overall structural strength through the remaining attachment.
4Ease of operation
If the container uses a fully removable lid, then access to articles is easy, but the container cannot maintain a secure seal when closed
Solution Approach 1:
The lid is segmented into two portions where only the first portion is removable while the second portion remains attached to the container body. This partial removability allows convenient access to articles while the remaining attached portion maintains the seal, resolving the contradiction between access convenience and seal security.
Data Source
AI summary
A container includes a body extending at least partially around an interior and including a lower marginal portion, a central portion, and an upper marginal portion at least partially separably connected to the central portion at a line of weakening, the upper marginal portion curled toward the interior of the container and defining a free edge, a closed bottom engaged with the body, a barrier member positioned in the interior of the container, and a lid member positioned in the interior of the container proximate the free edge of the upper marginal portion of the body and having a central portion, a peripheral marginal portion at least partially attached to the upper marginal portion of the body, and a pull tab extending away from the peripheral marginal portion for facilitating at least partial separation of the upper marginal portion of the body from the central portion of the body.