Removable Portion Cup with Channel for Dual Access
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional dual access mode containers, such as dip and squeeze containers, are difficult to open, leading to unwanted spillage and require significant modifications to existing fill and seal equipment for manufacturing, making them inefficient and challenging to use.
Innovation Solution
A container design featuring a removable portion with a line of reduced strength that allows for easy access to the contents through a channel, enabling both squeezing and dipping, while being compatible with standard fill and seal equipment without major modifications.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If conventional dual access mode containers are designed to allow both squeezing and dipping access, then the container provides versatile product removal options, but the container becomes difficult to open resulting in unwanted spillage
Solution Approach 1:
The container is segmented into separate functional zones: a sealed channel for squeezing access and a separate opening for dipping access. The removal line strategically divides the container wall to expose only the channel end, allowing controlled product removal through the channel while maintaining the option for lid removal for dipping access.
Solution Approach 2:
The removal line is pre-formed during manufacturing to create a predetermined breaking path. This preliminary structural preparation allows the user to easily break open the container at the specified location without requiring force or complex manipulation, thereby preventing spillage while enabling dual access.
2Reliability
If conventional dual access mode containers are designed with complex sealing mechanisms, then the container provides reliable product containment, but the manufacturing process requires significant equipment modifications
Solution Approach 1:
The sealing mechanism relies on standard thermal sealing parameters and materials that are already compatible with existing form-fill-seal equipment. The container body and lid are designed with standard sealing flanges and surface characteristics that require no special equipment modifications, maintaining reliability through conventional sealing methods.
Solution Approach 2:
The container design uses universal sealing components and methods that can be manufactured on existing equipment. The removal line formation integrates with standard container forming processes, and the sealing mechanism works with conventional fill and seal machines without requiring entirely new equipment or significant modifications.
3Ease of operation
If the removal line extends through the channel, then the channel is easily exposed for product removal, but the structural integrity of the container is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The removal line is strategically positioned to extend through non-critical portions of the container wall while avoiding the channel structure itself. The channel maintains its full structural integrity and sealing, while the removal line creates a controlled weakness in the surrounding material for easy opening. This localized approach preserves overall container strength while enabling easy access.
Solution Approach 2:
The removal line acts as an intermediary element that connects the external environment to the channel end without compromising the channel's structural integrity. It provides a controlled access path through the container wall, allowing the channel to remain structurally sound while enabling easy product removal when needed.
Data Source
AI summary
A container can include a body having a volume defined therein for retaining a product. The body can include a top surface adapted to be sealed by a lid. The container further includes a channel defined in a portion of the body such that the channel is in fluid communication with the internal volume at a first end and sealed by a portion of the body at an oppositely disposed second end. The container further includes a top flange surrounding the top surface of the body and includes a portion that borders the channel, with removal line disposed in the container to define a removable portion. The removal line extends from a first edge to a second edge and through the channel such that the removable portion can be removed from the body along the removal line to expose the channel.