Viscous Product Container with Selective Lipid Coating for Evacuation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing containers for viscous products face challenges in efficient product release and stability, with existing coatings affecting the appearance and stability of the product, and often leaving residual amounts due to incomplete access or instability during shipment.
Innovation Solution
A container with a selective coating applied to a portion of the inner surfaces, specifically 70-90% of the side wall, maintaining product stability and allowing for improved evacuation by using a saturated, colorless lipid composition with low viscosity, ensuring the product adheres to uncoated areas and preventing oiling-off or overrun collapse.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If a release coating is applied to the entire inner surface of the container, then product evacuation is improved, but product stability deteriorates due to oiling-off or overrun collapse
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies release coating only to specific localized areas of the container inner surface (shoulder portions and bottom portion) rather than the entire surface. This selective application allows the coating to provide evacuation assistance where needed while leaving uncoated areas that maintain product stability and adhesion.
Solution Approach 2:
The container inner surface is divided into multiple zones with different coating applications: coated shoulder portions for evacuation assistance, uncoated upper portions for product stability, and coated bottom portions for residual product removal. This segmentation allows each zone to perform its specific function without interfering with overall product stability.
2Productivity
If the container geometry is modified to improve product release, then evacuation efficiency is improved, but manufacturing cost increases due to new molds
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the product release function from the container geometry itself and transfers it to a separate release coating material applied to specific areas. This allows the container to maintain its original geometry (avoiding mold costs) while still achieving improved evacuation through the coating's release properties.
Solution Approach 2:
The release coating acts as an intermediary between the container surface and the product, providing the evacuation assistance function without requiring changes to the container's physical geometry. The coating mediates the interaction between container and product to achieve improved release.
3Productivity
If soybean or olive oil coating is applied to transparent container, then product evacuation is improved, but visual appearance deteriorates due to color change
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies coating only to localized areas (shoulder and bottom portions) rather than the entire container surface. This reduces the total amount of coating material needed and limits the impact on visual appearance, while still achieving evacuation benefits in the coated zones.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses a thin, minimal amount of coating material that provides sufficient evacuation assistance without creating significant visual interference. The coating is applied sparsely to achieve function with minimal aesthetic impact.
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 achieves greater than 90% product evacuation efficiency at both room and refrigeration temperatures while maintaining product stability and appearance, with minimal residual product and no visible voids or bubbles, enhancing consumer satisfaction.
Implementation Method 1
a first or holding portion having at least a side wall defining a cavity for containing the viscous material and an outlet portion defining an opening into the cavity for dispensing the viscous material. Preferably, the container has both a side wall and a bottom wall to define the cavity. Each of the side wall, the bottom wall, the outlet portion has inner surfaces.
Implementation Method 2
The entire container inner surface may be corona or plasma treated to modify the surface energy/wetting tension ability of the packaging material or a release coating may be applied to the entire inner surface of the container to provide a surface that the material may more easily release from.
Implementation Method 3
with the coating applied to only portions of the container inner surfaces, the viscous material generally does not adhere to these coated portions but generally adheres to the uncoated portions.
Data Source
AI summary
A container that has improved release properties for a viscous material configured to minimize residual material remaining in the container upon normal use thereof and also generally maintains the physical stability of a material in the container. The container includes a coating applied to a portion of the inner surfaces thereof that is effective to provide the improved release properties.