Segmented Belt Closure for Hermetic Container Drum Sealing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing container drums lack hermetic closure systems suitable for humidity-sensitive materials, leading to inefficiencies, waste, and potential contamination, especially in pharmaceutical and food industries where sanitary standards are critical.
Innovation Solution
A container drum with a segmented belt that can switch between open and sealed configurations, ensuring a hermetic seal and allowing for multiple uses, featuring a wrapping element with hinged segments and an opening handle for easy manipulation between configurations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a non-reusable hermetic closure system with a tear-off belt is used, then hermetic sealing is achieved, but the container becomes unusable after a single use and generates enormous waste
Solution Approach 1:
The belt is divided into multiple separable segments that can be detached from each other. When the container needs to be opened, only the necessary segments are removed while the remaining segments stay attached to the container, allowing the container to be reused multiple times without generating complete waste of the closure system.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of discarding the entire belt after single use, the invention allows selective discarding of only the used segments while recovering and retaining the remaining segments on the container for subsequent sealing operations, thereby reducing waste and enabling multiple uses.
2Reliability
If a tear-off belt with weakened portions is used for hermetic closure, then sealing is achieved, but residues or tiny plastic portions may detach during tearing and compromise the contents
Solution Approach 1:
The belt is segmented into distinct sections that detach cleanly from predetermined separation points. This segmentation ensures that tearing occurs along controlled lines without generating residues or tiny plastic portions that could contaminate the container contents, while still achieving hermetic sealing when the segments are intact.
3Adaptability or versatility
If a reusable hermetic closure system is implemented, then the container can be sealed multiple times, but the system becomes more complex compared to simple snap-action closures
Solution Approach 1:
The closure system uses segmented belts with simple interconnection mechanisms that allow multiple sealing cycles. Each segment can be independently manipulated, and the segmentation actually simplifies the reusability mechanism compared to complex integral designs, as segments can be selectively removed and reattached without requiring complex locking or sealing mechanisms.
Solution Approach 2:
The closure system incorporates dynamic elements that allow the belt to transition between sealed and open states multiple times. The segments can be easily detached and reattached, providing adaptable reusability without requiring complex mechanical systems, thereby achieving versatility with relatively simple structural changes.
Data Source
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AI summary
A container drum (1) for containing humidity-sensitive liquid, solid or powdered materials, comprising: - a prismatic container body (2) having a mouth (26) which allows access to the internal volume thereof; - a closing cover (3) engageable with the container body (2) at said mouth (26) to close the access to the internal volume; - a belt (4) applicable around said mouth (26) to stably and hermetically constrain the engagement between the closing cover (3) and the container body (2). The belt (4) comprises a wrapping element (40) with distinct segments that are and hinged to one another, so that the belt (4) switches from an open configuration (O) to a sealed configuration (S), and vice versa.