Rotating Container with Spring Bias for Self-Closing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing containers for consumer goods, such as smoking articles, lack a convenient and secure mechanism for opening and closing, leading to potential accidental opening and loss of contents.
Innovation Solution
A container design featuring an outer shell and an inner housing with a resilient member, such as a compression spring, allowing for rotational movement between closed and open positions, ensuring the container self-closes after use, preventing accidental opening and maintaining freshness.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a conventional hinge lid pack or separate shell and slide container is used, then the container can be opened and closed, but it lacks a secure mechanism that prevents accidental opening and requires two hands for operation
Solution Approach 1:
The container employs a resilient member (spring) that provides dynamic force to automatically return the inner housing to the closed position after opening. This dynamic mechanism ensures the container self-closes, preventing accidental opening while allowing easy single-handed operation by simply releasing the container after opening.
Solution Approach 2:
The resilient member is arranged to automatically bias the inner housing back to the closed position without requiring user intervention. The container self-closes after being opened, providing a secure mechanism that prevents accidental opening while maintaining ease of operation.
2Ease of operation
If the inner housing is made rotatable for opening, then single-handed operation is enabled, but the container may accidentally open if not properly secured
Solution Approach 1:
The resilient member is pre-loaded to exert a closing force on the inner housing, creating a preliminary counter-action that prevents accidental opening. The spring maintains continuous pressure to keep the container securely closed unless deliberately opened by applying sufficient force to overcome the spring bias.
Solution Approach 2:
The rotational movement of the inner housing is combined with a resilient member that provides dynamic restoring force. When the user rotates the inner housing to open the container, the spring compresses and stores energy, then automatically returns the housing to the closed position when released, preventing accidental opening while enabling easy operation.
3Reliability
If a resilient member is added to bias the inner housing closed, then accidental opening is prevented, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The resilient member is formed as a thin laminar sheet with folds, creating a flexible spring structure that provides the necessary closing force without requiring a bulky or complex mechanical assembly. This thin-film approach minimizes the increase in device complexity while achieving the self-closing function.
Solution Approach 2:
The resilient member utilizes changes in the physical state or properties of the material (elastic deformation of the laminar sheet) to provide the closing force. By changing the shape and configuration of the thin laminar sheet through folding, the design achieves a functional spring mechanism without adding significant structural complexity.
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
The container provides a convenient single-handed opening mechanism while ensuring the contents remain secure and fresh by using a resilient member that biases the inner housing back to the closed position, reducing the risk of accidental opening and maintaining freshness.
Implementation Method 1
a resilient member arranged between the outer shell and the inner housing, wherein the inner housing is resiliently biased towards the closed position by the resilient member
Implementation Method 2
The resilient member is a compression spring, which is compressed as the inner housing is moved from its closed position to its open position
Data Source
AI summary
A container for consumer goods comprising an outer shell, an inner housing and a resilient member arranged between the outer shell and the inner housing. The inner housing has an opening and is mounted within the outer shell for rotational movement relative thereto between a closed position, in which the opening is covered by the outer shell and an open position in which the opening is at least partially exposed. The inner housing is resiliently biased towards the closed position by the resilient member.