Segmented Sealing Sheet for Pill Containers
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing sealing sheets for pill containers do not provide easy, safe, and clean access to the containers, as they require breaking or peeling, which can result in pills coming into contact with adhesive glue, and allow for potential re-closure, posing security risks.
Innovation Solution
The improved sealing sheet features pairs of tearing lines on the top layer adjacent to cover pieces, allowing for easy peeling and splitting along the sides of the cover pieces, while the bottom layer has tearing lines and pulling tabs to facilitate peeling and prevent contact with adhesive glue, enabling secure and clean access to each container.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the sealing sheet is made with a solid top layer covering the container opening, then the container is securely closed and protected, but access to the container requires breaking or peeling the sealing sheet which can cause pills to contact adhesive glue and allows potential re-closure
Solution Approach 1:
The top layer is divided into multiple cover pieces, each covering a specific container cavity. Each cover piece can be individually removed by following tearing lines, allowing access to single containers without compromising the security of other containers. The cover pieces are segmented such that each can be detached independently while leaving the flange and adhesive intact.
Solution Approach 2:
Tearing lines are pre-punched in the top layer to guide the removal process. These tearing lines are positioned to allow easy separation of cover pieces from the container-defining sheet without requiring forceful breaking or peeling that could expose pills to adhesive glue. The preliminary positioning of tearing lines ensures controlled and clean access.
2Reliability
If the sealing sheet uses adhesive glue on the flanges to secure the cover, then the container remains closed, but the adhesive glue poses a contamination risk to pills during access and enables accidental re-closure
Solution Approach 1:
The sealing sheet is divided into a top layer with multiple separate cover pieces and a bottom layer with corresponding bottom pieces. This segmentation allows the cover pieces to be removed individually without disturbing the adhesive glue on the flanges, as the bottom pieces remain in place to protect the pills from glue contact.
Solution Approach 2:
The bottom pieces act as an intermediary protective layer between the adhesive glue on the flanges and the pills in the containers. When cover pieces are removed for access, the bottom pieces remain adhered to the flanges, preventing direct contact between pills and adhesive glue, thus eliminating the contamination risk while maintaining closure security.
3Ease of manufacture
If the sealing sheet is designed as a single solid piece, then manufacturing is simple, but accessing individual containers requires damaging the sealing sheet structure
Solution Approach 1:
The top layer is manufactured with pre-punched tearing lines that divide it into multiple cover pieces. These tearing lines are created during the manufacturing process using standard punching equipment, adding minimal complexity to production. The segmented design allows individual cover pieces to be removed for accessing specific containers while maintaining the integrity of the overall sealing sheet structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The sealing sheet design serves multiple functions: it provides secure closure for all containers, enables individual access to any container without damaging the sealing sheet structure, and maintains the integrity of the remaining containers. The tearing lines and cover piece configuration allow the sealing sheet to adapt to different access scenarios while preserving its manufacturing simplicity.
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
This design allows for easy and safe access to the contents of the containers while minimizing the risk of pills coming into contact with adhesive glue and preventing accidental re-closure, ensuring secure and clean separation of each container from the container-defining sheet.
Implementation Method 1
a top layer having an upper surface and a lower surface, the lower surface being covered with a pressure sensitive adhesive glue
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed is an improved sealing sheet for use to close a container-defining sheet having a top surface comprising a given number of spaced apart cavities embossed therein, each of the cavities being upwardly opened and thus defining a container that is surrounded by a flange that is part of the top surface of the container-defining sheet. This improved sealing sheet has a top layer with tearing lines punched therein in such a manner and position as to extend from one side of each cover piece that may be splitted from the sealing sheet to cover one of the cavities up to at least the adjacent corners of the bottom piece left on the corresponding cover piece. Such facilitates peeling of the bottom piece and of the corresponding part of the cover piece from the corresponding container to have access to the element(s) stored in it while preventing glue to be left on the flanges that surround the top opening of the container since such flanges are then still covered by non splitted parts of the sealing sheet.