Rotatable Lid Assembly with Hinged Liner Seal
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing jar and lid assemblies for volatile and aggressive products lack effective sealing mechanisms, leading to product degradation and environmental contamination, as they fail to maintain airtight conditions under various conditions such as pressure differentials and weight loss thresholds.
Innovation Solution
A rotatable lid assembly with a hinge mechanism, lid ring, and biasing elements that pivot and move relative to the jar, ensuring a substantially air-tight seal by engaging inner and outer lid threads with jar threads, and utilizing a liner to contact the jar's circumferential edge, preventing product escape and maintaining a seal even under pressure and weight loss conditions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a traditional thread fastening mechanism with O-ring or gasket is used to seal the jar and lid, then the assembly is simple in structure and easy to manufacture, but it fails to maintain an effective airtight seal under pressure differentials and weight loss conditions, leading to product degradation and environmental contamination
Solution Approach 1:
The lid assembly is divided into multiple functional components: an outer lid portion, an inner lid portion, a lid ring with hinge portion, and a biasing element. Each component performs a specific function - the outer lid provides structural support, the inner lid contains the sealing liner, the lid ring enables pivotal movement, and the biasing element maintains sealing pressure. This segmentation allows the complex sealing mechanism to be manufactured and assembled from simpler individual parts while achieving reliable airtight sealing under various conditions
Solution Approach 2:
The lid ring incorporates a hinge portion that enables the lid assembly to pivot relative to the jar assembly, transitioning between open and closed positions. The biasing element dynamically adjusts to maintain constant sealing pressure on the liner against the jar's circumferential edge, compensating for pressure differentials and weight loss during product use. This dynamic mechanism ensures continuous effective sealing rather than a static connection
2Loss of substance
If the lid assembly is designed to be airtight and prevent product escape, then product loss and environmental contamination are reduced, but the complexity of the fastening and sealing mechanism increases
Solution Approach 1:
A liner is introduced as an intermediary sealing element between the inner lid portion and the jar's circumferential edge. The liner deforms elastically to conform to the jar opening, creating an effective airtight seal that prevents volatile and aggressive products from escaping. This intermediary component simplifies the sealing mechanism by concentrating the sealing function in a single flexible element rather than requiring complex mechanical interlocks or multiple rigid sealing surfaces
3Ease of operation
If a rotatable lid assembly with hinge mechanism is implemented, then the ease of operation for opening and closing is improved, but the device complexity and manufacturing difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
The hinge portion is merged directly into the lid ring structure, eliminating the need for separate hinge components and reducing the number of parts to manufacture and assemble. The biasing element is integrated to work in conjunction with the hinge mechanism, combining the pivotal movement function and the sealing pressure function into a unified assembly. This merging approach maintains ease of operation while simplifying manufacturing compared to using multiple discrete components
Data Source
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AI summary
A jar and lid assembly that includes a jar assembly configured to hold a product and a base configured to at least partially house the jar. The jar and lid assembly also includes a rotatable lid assembly pivotably coupled to the jar assembly and includes an outer lid portion and an inner lid portion. The rotatable lid assembly further includes a lid ring having: (i) a hinge portion configured to pivot on an axis of the base such that the rotatable lid assembly is pivotable relative to the jar assembly and (ii) a lid ring protruding portion disposed within the gap and a liner disposed on an underside of the inner lid portion and configured to contact the jar when the rotatable lid assembly is in a rotatably closed position. The outer lid portion and the inner lid portion are configured to be movable relative to the lid ring.