Reclosable Package Opening Device with Rotary Cutter
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing reclosable opening devices for pourable food packages face issues such as poor oxygen barrier performance, increased production time and cost, jagged cuts, and interference with the pour-out flow due to frayed edges and residual cut-off parts, especially when dealing with tough materials like barrier materials covered with organometal or metallocene-catalyzed polymers.
Innovation Solution
A reclosable opening device featuring a frame with a tubular cutter that moves along a predetermined path combining pure translation and rotary motion to cleanly cut the pierceable portion, ensuring no residual threads and folding the cut-off part away from the pour opening, and a frame configuration that maximizes the pour opening diameter to accommodate larger packages without interfering with sealing bands.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a conventional cutter is used to open the package, then the cutting action is simple, but the cut produces jagged edges and residual threads that interfere with pour-out flow
Solution Approach 1:
The cutter is designed with dynamic movement comprising both translational and rotational components. The cutter translates axially toward the pierceable portion while simultaneously rotating about its axis. This combined dynamic motion enables the cutter to engage the material and then rotate to fold back the cut-off portion, eliminating jagged edges and residual threads that would otherwise interfere with pour-out flow.
Solution Approach 2:
The cutting action is extended into a second dimension by adding rotational motion to the axial translation. The cutter does not merely move linearly through the material but combines axial movement with rotational movement, creating a spiral cutting path that allows the cutter to fully engage and fold back the cut-off portion, thereby improving cut quality while maintaining operational simplicity.
2Area of stationary object
If the frame diameter is increased to accommodate larger packages, then the pour opening is larger, but the opening device interferes with sealing bands
Solution Approach 1:
The frame is designed with a predetermined optimal diameter that is calculated to maximize the pour opening area while ensuring that the outer perimeter of the frame does not intersect with or interfere with the sealing bands. This preliminary design consideration allows the opening device to accommodate larger packages without compromising the integrity or function of the sealing bands.
3Device complexity
If the cutter moves only in translation, then the mechanism is simpler, but residual cut-off parts remain inside the package interfering with pour-out
Solution Approach 1:
The cutter is designed with dynamic movement comprising both translational and rotational components. The cutter translates axially toward the pierceable portion while simultaneously rotating about its axis. This combined dynamic motion enables the cutter to engage the material and then rotate to fold back the cut-off portion, eliminating jagged edges and residual threads that would otherwise interfere with pour-out flow.
Solution Approach 2:
The rotational component of the cutter's movement, which adds complexity to the mechanism, is utilized to convert the potentially harmful residual cut-off parts into a beneficial folded-back configuration. The rotation allows the cutter to turn the cut-off portion inside out and fold it back against the frame, transforming what would be a harmful residue into a contained element that does not interfere with pour-out.
Data Source
AI summary
A reclosable opening device for a sealed package of a pourable food product includes a frame fitted about a pierceable portion of the package and defining a through pour opening; a removable threaded cap that screws onto the frame to close the pour opening; a tubular cutter engaging the pour opening and having a cutting device which cooperates with the pierceable portion to unseal the package; a first connector connecting the cap to the cutter, and which, as the cap is unscrewed, pushes the cutter towards the pierceable portion and a second connector connecting the frame to the cutter, and which, in use, feed the cutter along a predetermined piercing path through the pierceable portion in response to unscrewing of the cap; and the piercing path, as the cap is unscrewed, has a first portion of pure axial translation, followed by a second portion of both axial and rotary motion.