Reclosable Package Sealing Flange and Interlock Design
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing reclosable packaging solutions for food and non-food products often fail to provide an effective airtight seal, leading to limited product life and increased labor costs, and lack innovative sealing mechanisms like channels and projections.
Innovation Solution
A reclosable package design featuring a tray with a sealing flange and a lid that includes intermittently spaced interlocks and a secondary seal formed by a channel and projection, providing a primary and secondary seal to maintain product freshness and integrity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If a reclosable package uses a simple lid and tray design, then the device complexity is reduced, but the sealing effectiveness deteriorates leading to limited product life
Solution Approach 1:
The sealing system is segmented into multiple independent components: a primary seal formed by the sealing flange and lid, and a secondary seal formed by the channel and projection interlocks. This segmentation allows each seal to perform its specific function independently, with the primary seal providing the main barrier and the secondary seal providing additional protection, thereby improving overall sealing effectiveness without requiring a completely complex redesign of the entire package structure
Solution Approach 2:
The channel and projection interlocks are pre-formed as integral parts of the lid and tray during manufacturing. These interlocks are positioned and configured in advance to automatically engage with each other when the lid is placed on the tray, creating the secondary seal without requiring additional assembly steps or complex mechanisms. This preliminary action ensures reliable sealing while maintaining relatively simple package structure
2Duration of action of moving object
If a hermetically sealed package with inert gas is used, then the product life is extended, but the manufacturing complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts the essential sealing function from complex hermetic systems and implements it through simple geometric interlocks (channel and projection) that are integrated into the lid and tray. By taking out only the critical sealing mechanism and implementing it through simple pre-formed interlocks rather than complex hermetic systems, the package achieves extended product life through effective sealing without requiring the complexity of inert gas filling, vacuum sealing equipment, or specialized hermetic materials
Solution Approach 2:
The channel and projection interlocks are designed as simple, inexpensive geometric features that can be easily molded into the lid and tray during standard manufacturing processes. These simple interlocking elements provide reliable sealing functionality without requiring expensive specialized components, making the solution economically viable for extended product life protection
3Adaptability or versatility
If overwrapping with sealing film is performed at retail outlets, then the sealing can be applied locally, but additional labor costs are incurred
Solution Approach 1:
The channel and projection interlocks are pre-formed as integral parts of the lid and tray during manufacturing. These interlocks are positioned and configured in advance to automatically engage with each other when the lid is placed on the tray, creating the secondary seal without requiring additional assembly steps or complex mechanisms. This preliminary action ensures reliable sealing while maintaining relatively simple package structure
Solution Approach 2:
The channel and projection interlocks are designed to automatically engage and form the secondary seal through the natural placement of the lid on the tray. The geometric shapes self-align and lock together without requiring manual intervention, specialized equipment, or additional sealing operations at the retail outlet, thereby eliminating labor costs while maintaining adaptability
Data Source
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AI summary
A package (10) for packaging food and non-food products. The package may include a tray (12) with a cavity (16) to receive the product, and a reclosable lid (14) to help protect the product within the tray. The lid may lock into an interior portion of the tray below its upper surface. The cavity may be sealed with a primary seal (17) that helps to maintain the integrity of the product and/or to help preserve a food product within the cavity. A sealing flange (18) used to form the primary seal (17) is located below the upper surface of the tray and within the interior region of the tray. A removable sealing layer (22) may be sealed to the sealing flange to form a hermetically sealed cavity. A secondary seal may be provided to help maintain freshness of a food product after the primary seal has been broken, and/or to stabilize or maintain the integrity of the package. One or more interlock features (26,28) may be provided for releasably securing the lid to the tray. The interlocks may be located external to the cavity and within the interior region of the tray below its upper surface. The interlocks may include a snap-fit configuration that generates an audible sound that signals when the lid is secured to and/or removed from the tray.