Seam-Integrated Vent Structure for Tear-Resistant Closed Containers
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Solution Overview
Problem
Flexible container walls with vents are prone to tears or rips under stress, compromising the structural integrity and leakage prevention, especially in liquid-retaining applications like battery pouches, due to the need for apertures that can become weak points.
Innovation Solution
A closed container design featuring a seam around the vent that eliminates the need for an aperture in the container wall, using a gas-tight seam and a vent material with a pocket structure to allow gas exchange while maintaining structural integrity, utilizing a laminate or expanded polymer materials for enhanced durability and gas diffusion.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-generated harmful factors
If an aperture is provided within the container wall to allow gas escape, then gas venting function is improved, but structural integrity and leakage prevention deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The vent is merged with the seam structure itself rather than being a separate aperture in the wall. The seam that joins container walls is designed to incorporate the venting function, combining the sealing function of the seam with the venting function in a single integrated structure, thereby eliminating the need for separate apertures that would compromise structural integrity.
Solution Approach 2:
A vent assembly acts as an intermediary element within the seam structure. The vent assembly includes a vent body with porous material that mediates between the need for gas passage and the need for structural integrity, allowing gas to escape while the surrounding seam structure maintains the overall strength and sealing of the container.
2Object-generated harmful factors
If an aperture is provided within the container wall to allow gas escape, then gas venting function is improved, but resistance to tears and rips deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The venting function is merged into the seam structure, eliminating separate apertures that would serve as weak points. The seam structure that provides mechanical strength and tear resistance is designed to incorporate the vent, so that the same structural element that prevents tears also enables gas escape.
Solution Approach 2:
The container walls are made from flexible materials such as laminates or coated fabrics that can accommodate the vent structure while maintaining their inherent tear and rip resistance. The flexible nature of these materials allows them to flex around the vent assembly without compromising their structural integrity or resistance to mechanical damage.
3Strength
If a seam structure with integrated vent is used, then structural integrity is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The vent assembly is segmented into distinct functional components (vent body, porous material, sealing elements) that can be manufactured separately and then assembled into the seam structure. This segmentation allows for simplified manufacturing of individual components while achieving the integrated function when assembled, reducing overall complexity compared to creating a fully integrated complex structure in one piece.
Solution Approach 2:
The seam structure is designed with multi-functionality, serving both as a structural joint that maintains container integrity and as a venting pathway. By making the seam multi-functional, the number of separate components is reduced, as the same structural element performs both sealing and venting functions, thereby reducing overall device 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 solution ensures a gas-tight and burst-resistant container that maintains structural integrity by allowing gas exchange without apertures, effectively preventing pressure buildup and leakage, while allowing for efficient gas diffusion through the vent material.
Implementation Method 1
gas passes from the interior of the closed container to the exterior of the closed container through the gas conduit
Implementation Method 2
vent material with a pocket structure to allow gas exchange
Data Source
AI summary
There is presented herein a closed container comprising at least one container wall, a seam connecting two edges of the at least one container wall and a vent, wherein at least a portion of the seam is formed around the vent.