Sealed Container With Pivotal Lid And Flexible Scoop Holder
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current packaging for granular or powdered products is difficult to handle, prone to spillage, and inefficient in sealing, leading to contamination and waste, with challenges in manufacturing due to dimensional tolerance issues and pressure differentials affecting container integrity.
Innovation Solution
A sealable container design featuring a pivotally attached lid with a sealing flange and gasket system, a scoop holder, and flexible materials to enhance sealing, prevent spillage, and accommodate dimensional variations, while also incorporating features for easy handling and pressure control.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the scoop is positioned against an interior or exterior wall for convenient access, then the scoop is easier to locate, but it becomes difficult to grasp and remove requiring more than one hand
Solution Approach 1:
The scoop is designed with a flexible handle that can bend and deform to allow removal from tight spaces. The handle's flexibility enables it to navigate around the container walls and sealing flange structure, allowing single-handed removal while maintaining convenient positioning against the container wall for easy location.
2Reliability
If the container uses rigid sealing structures to prevent spillage, then sealing effectiveness improves, but the container becomes difficult to manufacture with consistent dimensional tolerances
Solution Approach 1:
The sealing system transitions from rigid geometric sealing to flexible material-based sealing. The elastomeric gasket and flexible membrane can deform to accommodate dimensional variations in the container structure, maintaining effective sealing without requiring tight manufacturing tolerances. The flexibility of these components allows them to conform to the actual geometry of the sealing flange and container walls.
3Reliability
If the container is designed with tight and closed spaces to maintain product integrity, then product protection improves, but the last bits of powder become inaccessible requiring container inversion
Solution Approach 1:
The container interior is segmented into accessible zones using the flexible membrane and gasket system. The membrane can be selectively engaged or disengaged from the sealing flange to create access pathways to otherwise inaccessible areas near the container walls and corners, allowing complete product removal without inversion while maintaining protection when engaged.
4Reliability
If the container uses adhesive or mechanical retainers to secure the scoop, then the scoop remains stable during transport, but the scoop becomes difficult to grasp and remove
Solution Approach 1:
The scoop holder uses a flexible membrane instead of rigid adhesive or mechanical retainers. This flexible film can conform to the scoop handle and container geometry, providing stable retention during transport through friction and conformal contact, while allowing easy grasping and removal by the user due to its flexibility and ability to deform around the handle.
Data Source
AI summary
A container (210) for holding granular or powdered material and formed by a top wall (212), a bottom wall (214), a front wall (216), a rear wall (218), a first side wall (220), and a second side wall (222). A rotatably removable lid (D) is interiorly mounted with a scoop (32) and is pivotally hinged to a collar (300) that includes a sealing gasket (330). The collar (300) mounts to the walls of the container (210). A sealing wall 240 of the lid (D) cooperates with the gasket 300 to prevent the contents from spilling. The container (210) incorporates additional sealing features wherein the gasket (330) projects inwardly from the collar (300) into an interior space (H, I) of the container (210) to be biased against the sealing flange (284). The sealing wall includes modifications that funnel powder into the interior space (H,I) of the receptacle (280).