Multi-compartment smoking package with interlocking lids
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing packaging for smoking and tobacco-related articles lacks efficient mechanisms for opening and closing, leading to unintentional product displacement and difficulty in accessing separate contents.
Innovation Solution
A package design with two separate compartments, each with a lid that communicates with the other to ensure only one compartment is open at a time, featuring a separating member that automatically closes the other compartment when one lid is opened, allowing for easy access and preventing product displacement.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a multi-compartment package is designed to separate different products, then product separation and independent consumption are improved, but the complexity of the opening and closing mechanism increases
Solution Approach 1:
The package is divided into multiple compartments (first compartment and second compartment) that are physically separated by a partition wall. Each compartment can be independently accessed through its own lid, allowing different products to be stored and consumed separately without affecting the other compartment.
Solution Approach 2:
The opening and closing actions of the two lids are mechanically coupled through a communication mechanism. When one lid is opened, the other lid automatically closes, and vice versa. This merging of operations simplifies the overall mechanism by ensuring that only one compartment is accessible at a time, preventing product displacement while maintaining independent access capability.
2Reliability
If a mechanism is added to automatically close one lid when the other is opened, then product displacement is prevented, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The lid communication mechanism provides automatic feedback between the two lids. The mechanical coupling ensures that the state of one lid (open or closed) automatically triggers the opposite state in the other lid. This feedback mechanism reliably prevents both lids from being open simultaneously, thereby preventing product displacement without requiring complex electronic or manual control systems.
3Ease of operation
If the package is designed to be opened from opposite sides, then ease of operation with one hand is improved, but the structural complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The two lids are positioned on opposite sides of the package (first lid on one lateral side, second lid on the opposite lateral side), creating an asymmetric arrangement that facilitates one-handed operation. The user can grasp the package with the palm covering one lid while the fingers access the other lid from the opposite side, enabling convenient operation without requiring both hands.
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention relates to a package for smoking articles and/or tobacco related article and a method. The package comprises at least a first compartment and a second compartment which are separate from each other and which are configured such that only one of the compartments is accessible at the time.