Silicone Vessel Coupling via Rigid Annular Rings
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing flexible material vessels, such as feeding bottles, face challenges with reliability, ease of assembly, manufacturing complexity, and contamination risks due to excessive deformability and the use of plastic components, which affect hygiene and design freedom.
Innovation Solution
A vessel design featuring a flexible material container with a tubular sleeve and a coupling system comprising two independent rigid annular rings for secure compression and assembly, ensuring tightness and ease of manufacturing, while minimizing contact with potentially contaminated plastic components and allowing for safe and hygienic use.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If the vessel is made entirely of flexible silicone material, then hygiene and user comfort are improved, but assembly difficulty and handling difficulty increase due to excessive deformability
Solution Approach 1:
The coupling system is divided into two independent rigid annular rings that can be assembled separately onto the flexible container, avoiding the need to assemble flexible components together while maintaining full silicone contact with the liquid
Solution Approach 2:
Rigid annular rings serve as intermediary elements that bridge the flexible container and closure device, providing stable assembly points without compromising the all-silicone liquid contact surface
2Stability of the object's composition
If overmolding technique is used to manufacture the coupling system with silicone, then integration is improved, but manufacturing complexity and design freedom are reduced due to unmolding difficulties
Solution Approach 1:
The coupling system is segmented into two separate rigid annular rings that can be manufactured independently using standard molding techniques, eliminating unmolding constraints and maximizing design freedom while maintaining structural integration through their cooperative assembly
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the material parameter from flexible silicone to rigid material for the coupling rings, which fundamentally alters the manufacturing approach from overmolding to independent molding followed by assembly, thereby simplifying the manufacturing process
3Ease of operation
If rigid material is used for the coupling system, then assembly ease and manufacturing ease are improved, but reliability decreases due to translation and detachment risks under pressure
Solution Approach 1:
The first rigid annular ring is inserted into a housing formed in the flexible container, creating a nested structure where the rigid ring is securely received within the flexible material, preventing translation and detachment while maintaining easy assembly
Solution Approach 2:
The coupling system combines rigid annular rings with the flexible silicone container in a composite structure, where each material type contributes its advantageous properties: rigidity for stable assembly and flexibility for reliable coupling under pressure
4Ease of manufacture
If plastic components are used in the coupling system, then manufacturing ease is improved, but hygiene deteriorates due to potential contamination by endocrine disruptors
Solution Approach 1:
All components that contact the liquid are made of the same silicone material, creating material homogeneity that eliminates contamination risks from plastic-endocrine disruptor interactions while maintaining compatibility with standard manufacturing processes
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 provides a robust, hygienic, and user-friendly vessel that is easy to assemble and manufacture, with enhanced reliability and design flexibility, ensuring safe contact between the liquid and silicone while reducing the risk of contamination and manufacturing complexities.
Implementation Method 1
a first annular ring (16) delimiting a first thread (18) and a collar (161) adapted to be inserted, by elastic deformation of the proximal end of the sleeve (15), into a housing (21) formed in combination with the container (11) by the proximal end of the sleeve
Implementation Method 2
whose distal end delimits an upper opening (13) enabling the flow of the fluid towards or from the inner volume (12) and including an upper shoulder (151) projecting radially outwards of the sleeve (15), by elastic deformation of the upper shoulder
Implementation Method 3
a second annular ring (17) delimiting a second thread (19) meshing with the first thread (18) by screwing of the second annular ring (17) relative to the first annular ring (16), so that the lower shoulder (221) of the removable closure device (22) and the upper shoulder (151) of the sleeve (15) are adapted to be tightly held and compressed together
Data Source
AI summary
A vessel intended to contain a fluid including a container delimiting an inner volume made of a flexible material and topped with a tubular sleeve whose proximal end delimits a housing. The sleeve includes an upper shoulder projecting radially outwards of the sleeve. The vessel also comprises a removable closure device made of a flexible material including a lower shoulder adapted to interact with the upper shoulder of the sleeve so that tightness is ensured when the lower shoulder and the upper shoulder are compressed against one another. The vessel also includes a coupling system enabling holding and mutual compression of the lower shoulder of the removable closure device and of the upper shoulder of the sleeve.