Sealing Cap with Active Material Receptacle
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing closures for containers with sensitive products face challenges in precisely controlling the shelf life of products due to uncontrolled activation of desiccants or oxygen scavengers before the closure is gas-tight, leading to increased production costs for moisture or oxygen-proof packaging.
Innovation Solution
A sealing cap with a cap body, a receptacle for active materials, and a holding element that keeps the receptacle gas-tightly enclosed until the cap is fixed on the container, allowing precise control over the active material's activation and extending its in-use life cycle.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If the receptacle is open to the atmosphere before the sealing cap is fixed on the container, then the active material can be easily loaded and the structure is simple, but the active material loses its regulation capacity before use, making it difficult to control shelf life
Solution Approach 1:
The sealing cap is divided into distinct functional components: a cap body, a separate receptacle for the active material, and a holding element. This segmentation allows the receptacle to be loaded independently while maintaining control over when the active material becomes active, resolving the contradiction between ease of loading and reliability of activity control.
Solution Approach 2:
The receptacle is pre-loaded with the active material during manufacturing while remaining sealed and inactive. The holding element maintains the receptacle in a closed state during storage and transport, ensuring the active material does not activate prematurely. This preliminary preparation allows easy loading while preserving control over activation timing.
2Reliability
If the receptacle is sealed in a cavity before use, then the active material remains inactive and shelf life is controlled, but additional packaging is required, increasing production cost
Solution Approach 1:
The holding element serves multiple functions simultaneously: it seals the receptacle within the cap body cavity to maintain an inactive state, provides structural support, and integrates with the cap body without requiring separate external packaging. This merging of functions achieves reliable activity control while minimizing device complexity and production cost.
Solution Approach 2:
The cap body cavity serves dual purposes: it acts as both the structural housing for the sealing cap components and the sealed environment for maintaining the active material in an inactive state. This multi-functionality eliminates the need for additional dedicated packaging, reducing complexity while ensuring reliability.
3Productivity
If the gas-permeable wall is exposed to the atmosphere before the sealing cap is fixed on the container, then the active material starts working immediately, but it is impossible to predict the shelf life of the product
Solution Approach 1:
The holding element prevents premature activation of the active material by maintaining the receptacle in a sealed state within the cap body during storage, transport, and assembly. This preliminary protective action ensures that the active material only becomes active when intended, allowing precise prediction of shelf life while maintaining rapid activation capability when the sealing cap is fixed on the container.
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 sealing cap ensures that the active material remains inactive until the container is sealed, allowing for reliable prediction of the active material's life cycle and precise control over the shelf life of sensitive products, while maintaining low production costs.
Implementation Method 1
a gas-permeable wall
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3~4
Figure 5~7
AI summary
This sealing cap (2) is configured to close an opening of a container and comprises: - a cap body (3) comprising a fixing element (34) configured to cooperate with a corresponding fixing element of the container, - a receptacle (4) for receiving an active material capable of regulating an atmosphere in the container, the receptacle (4) having a gas-permeable wall, - a sealing member (51) configured to provide a gas-tight seal between the cap body (3) and the container when the sealing cap (2) is fixed on the container, wherein the sealing cap (2) further comprises at least one holding element (5) configured to hold the receptacle (4) relative to the cap body (3), such that: - before the sealing cap (2) is fixed on the container, the receptacle (4) is held by the at least one holding element (5) in a first position in which the gas-permeable wall is gas-tightly enclosed in a cavity of the cap body; and - when the sealing cap (2) is fixed on the container, the receptacle (4) is released to a second position in which the gas-permeable wall is exposed to the atmosphere in the container.