Reusable Opening Device for Pourable Packages
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current packaging solutions for pourable food products, such as Tetra Brik Aseptic packages, require significant polymer usage for fixed opening devices, leading to a desire for alternatives that reduce polymer consumption while maintaining functionality.
Innovation Solution
A reusable opening device is designed to be removably connected to the package, featuring a piercing body with a rounded tip to minimize user risk and a sealing layer for secure attachment, allowing for multiple uses and reducing plastic waste by avoiding the need for a new opening device with each package.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If a fixed opening device is mounted onto the package, then the opening device can effectively dispense the product, but the polymer consumption increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The opening device is divided into a reusable main body and a disposable tip portion. The main body contains the flow channel and closing element, while the tip (piercing portion) is replaceable. This segmentation allows the expensive polymer components to be reused while only the consumable tip is discarded, significantly reducing overall polymer consumption.
Solution Approach 2:
The main body of the opening device is designed to be universal and can be attached to multiple different packages. The closing element and flow channel structure can serve multiple packages sequentially, making the device multi-functional and reducing the need for separate opening devices for each package.
2Quantity of substance
If a reusable opening device is used across multiple packages, then polymer consumption is reduced, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
By segmenting the device into modular components (reusable main body and disposable tip), the complexity is managed through standardization of interfaces. Each module remains relatively simple in design, but their combination creates a reusable system that reduces overall polymer consumption.
Solution Approach 2:
The disposable tip is discarded after use, while the main body is recovered and reused for subsequent packages. This approach simplifies the reusable portions by designing them for durability and repeated use, while the disposable portion handles the complex piercing and sealing functions that would otherwise require sophisticated reusable mechanisms.
3Ease of manufacture
If the piercing body has a sharp tip for effective opening, then the opening function is improved, but user safety is compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The piercing function is separated into a disposable tip that can have a sharp edge for effective opening, while the main body contains the flow control mechanisms. This allows the sharp piercing element to be replaced after each use, eliminating the safety risk of reusing sharp edges while maintaining opening effectiveness.
Solution Approach 2:
The tip portion with the sharp piercing edge is designed as a disposable, short-living component. It performs the dangerous piercing function once and is then discarded, eliminating the need to handle or store sharp edges after use. This disposable approach maintains opening effectiveness while prioritizing user safety.
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2a
Figure 2b
AI summary
There is described a reusable opening device (3, 3', 3", 3‴, 3ʺʺ) for a package (1) filled with a pourable product and having a designated pour opening surface area (7) . The opening device (3, 3', 3" , 3' ' ' , 3"") being configured to be removably connected to a main body (2) of the package (1) and comprises an outer body (16) configured to be placed outside of the main body (2) and having an outlet opening (21) configured to allow for an outpouring of the pourable product; and a piercing body (17) configured to pierce the designated pour opening surface area (7) and to be placed within the package (2). The opening device (3, 3', 3", 3‴, 3ʺʺ) comprises a flow channel (23) extending between at least one inlet opening (22) and the outlet opening (21). The piercing body (17) carries and/or comprises the inlet opening (22), the inlet opening (22) allowing the inlet of the pourable product into the flow channel (23).