Scissor-Expander Ring Mechanism for Hygienic Pouch Dosing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing packaging solutions for consumer products like food and cosmetics fail to maintain hygiene, safety, and product integrity while minimizing ecological impact, as they often require additional closing means that can contaminate the product and are inefficient for dosing and recycling.
Innovation Solution
An expander device with two rotatable elements forming a scissor-like mechanism that keeps a pouch opening open, allowing easy access to the contents and can be reused, reducing contamination risks and ecological footprint.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If the consumer leaves the product inside the original packaging after opening, then product contamination risk is reduced, but dosing accuracy deteriorates and product retrieval becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The expander device is divided into two separate elements that can be inserted and expanded independently within the pouch opening. This segmentation allows the device to maintain a small insertion profile while providing a large internal cavity for accurate dosing operations
Solution Approach 2:
The expander device transitions from a collapsed one-dimensional insertion state to an expanded three-dimensional working state. When expanded, the two elements create a rigid framework with a central cavity that provides stable geometry for precise dosing, eliminating the flexibility-induced inaccuracy that plagues soft pouch openings
2Duration of action of stationary object
If the consumer uses a storage box to store remaining product, then product can be stored for later use, but product integrity and safety are compromised due to contamination risk
Solution Approach 1:
The expander device serves as an intermediary structure between the pouch opening and the external environment. It creates a controlled access point that allows dosing operations while maintaining the pouch's sealed environment, eliminating the need to transfer product to external storage containers that cannot be properly sanitized
Solution Approach 2:
The expander device enables the pouch to serve its own storage function indefinitely. By maintaining the pouch opening in a stable, accessible state without compromising the seal, the system allows the original packaging to continue protecting the product without requiring external storage infrastructure
3Ease of operation
If the consumer uses fingers or spoon handle to widen the pouch opening for product access, then product retrieval becomes easier, but product contamination risk increases
Solution Approach 1:
The expander device acts as a sterile intermediary tool that performs the function of widening and maintaining the pouch opening without requiring direct contact between the user's fingers and the pouch interior. The device can be sanitized externally while maintaining the internal pouch environment's integrity
Solution Approach 2:
The manual mechanical action of fingers or spoon handles is replaced by the expander device's scissor-like expansion mechanism. This mechanical system provides controlled, consistent opening maintenance without the variability and contamination risk of human hands or utensils
4Ease of operation
If single-use closing means like rubber bands and clips are provided with each packaging, then pouch can be closed after opening, but ecological footprint increases due to inability to recycle
Solution Approach 1:
The expander device serves multiple functions: it acts as an opening maintainer, a dosing platform, and a potential closure support structure. This multi-functionality eliminates the need for separate single-use closing accessories, reducing material consumption and waste
Solution Approach 2:
The expander device is designed as a durable, reusable component that can be recovered and used across multiple packaging units. Unlike single-use rubber bands and clips that must be discarded after one use, the expander's robust construction allows it to be cleaned and reused, dramatically reducing waste generation
5Ease of operation
If the pouch opening is made large enough for easy product access, then dosing becomes easier, but product integrity deteriorates due to exposure to contaminants
Solution Approach 1:
The expander device segments the opening maintenance function from the dosing function. The two elements maintain the pouch opening in a stable configuration that provides adequate access, while the device itself creates a controlled environment for dosing operations without requiring the pouch opening to be excessively large
Solution Approach 2:
The expander device works with the flexible pouch material to create a stable opening geometry. The thin pouch film can be gently held apart by the expander's elements, maintaining an accessible opening without creating large gaps that would expose the product to contaminants
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 expander device maintains product hygiene and safety by minimizing contact with the pouch material, facilitates easy dosing, and reduces waste by being reusable, thus improving the environmental impact of packaging.
Implementation Method 1
The two elements are rotatably connected to each other in a scissor-like manner so that the inner ring sections together form a ring member. The ring member is convertible between a collapsed position and an expanded position.
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3~5
Figure 6A~6B
AI summary
The invention relates to an expander device (100) for keeping a pouch opening (411) of a pouch (400) open. The expander device (100) comprises two elements (110, 120), of which each comprises an inner ring section (111, 121) and an outer section (112, 122). The two elements (110, 120) are rotatably connected to each other about a rotation axis (RA) in a scissor-like manner so that the inner ring sections (111, 121) together form a ring member (130) with a central opening (131), and so that, when viewed perpendicularly onto the central opening (131), the outer sections (112, 122) of the elements (110, 120) surround the inner ring sections (111, 121) of the other element (120, 110), respectively. The ring member (130) comprises an outer circumferential fitment section (132) that surrounds the central opening (131) and faces away from the central opening (131) so as to be fitted against an inner side surface (412) of the pouch opening (411). The ring member (130) is convertible between a collapsed position, in which the inner ring sections (111, 121) are angled to each other to span an angle α=αcollapsed, and an expanded position, in which the inner ring sections (111, 121) span an angle α=αexpanded with αcollapsed<αexpanded. The invention further relates to a package system (200) comprising the expander device (100) and a pouch (400), and to a method for use of said package system (200).