Resilient Lid with End Supports for Container Closure
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing container lids with securing mechanisms such as screws, hinges, and clasps add cost and occupy valuable space, making them inefficient for applications requiring occasional access to the container's contents.
Innovation Solution
A flexible, resilient lid that uses end and side supports to secure to a base without mechanical fasteners, allowing easy installation and removal by bending and releasing the lid ends into corresponding supports.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If mechanical fasteners (screws, hinges, clasps) are used to secure the lid, then the lid remains securely in place, but the cost and space occupation increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes mechanical fasteners (screws, hinges, clasps) from the container lid system entirely. Instead, it uses the container walls themselves as integral retention structures through molded-in recesses and resilient lips that engage with the lid edges, eliminating the need for separate fastening components while maintaining secure closure.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent combines the lid retention function with the container wall structure itself. The recesses and resilient lips are molded directly into the container walls, merging the sealing and retention functions into the container body rather than requiring separate mechanical fastener components.
2Reliability
If mechanical fasteners are used to secure the lid, then the lid remains securely in place, but material and installation costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The retention structures (recesses and resilient lips) are molded as integral parts of the container walls in a single manufacturing process. This eliminates the need for separate fastener components and their associated assembly steps, reducing both material costs and manufacturing complexity while maintaining secure lid retention.
3Ease of operation
If the lid is made flexible and resilient, then installation and removal become easy, but the lid may deform under pressure
Solution Approach 1:
The lid is designed with differentiated local properties: the peripheral edges are made resilient and flexible to enable easy engagement with the container recesses and facilitate simple installation/removal operations, while the central portion maintains greater rigidity and structural integrity to prevent deformation when the lid is in its closed, load-bearing position.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Provides a cost-effective and space-efficient solution for accessing container contents by eliminating the need for mechanical fasteners, reducing material and installation costs while ensuring the lid remains securely in place.
Implementation Method 1
a flexible, resilient lid portion, the lid portion configured to be installed to the base portion utilizing the resilience in the lid portion for inserting each end of the lid portion into the at least one end support
Data Source
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AI summary
A container comprising a base portion, the base portion having at least one side support; and at least one end support at each end of the base portion; and a flexible, resilient lid portion, the lid portion configured to be installed to the base portion utilizing the resilience in the lid portion for inserting each end of the lid portion into the at least one end support. Further, a method for installing a flexible, resilient lid to a container, the container comprising a base portion having a side support at each side of the container and an end support at each end of the base portion, the method including bending the lid by applying pressure to each end of the lid; aligning the lid with each end support; and releasing the lid, wherein the lid re-forms into a flat lid within the end supports.