Hermetic Flexible Container Opening Strip With Staggered Tabs
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing devices for opening flexible containers, such as bags or sachets, fail to maintain a hermetic seal when the contents are under vacuum or overpressure due to communication between the tear tab and gripping tab punchings, leading to difficulties in opening and re-closing, especially when the strip is heat-sealed to the container wall.
Innovation Solution
A heat-sealable strip with staggered gripping and tear tabs, where the heat-sealing area excludes the gripping tab, ensuring a hermetic seal while allowing easy opening by manually pulling the tear tab and re-closing by exposing the self-adhesive band for re-sealing, thus preventing pressure leakage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the strip is heat-sealed to the container wall with the punching defining the tear tab in direct communication with the punching in the wall, then the hermetic seal is maintained, but the container cannot be opened under vacuum or overpressure conditions
Solution Approach 1:
The strip is divided into distinct functional zones: a heat-sealing area that maintains the hermetic seal, and a tearing area with the tear tab that is separated from the heat-sealing area. This segmentation allows the seal to remain intact while enabling controlled opening through the tear tab without compromising the hermetic integrity under vacuum or overpressure conditions.
Solution Approach 2:
The tearing function is extracted from the heat-sealing area. The tear tab and its associated punching are positioned in an area that does not communicate with the heat-sealed punching in the wall. This extraction allows the tearing operation to occur independently without creating a pressure pathway that would compromise the hermetic seal.
2Ease of operation
If the punching defining the tear tab is set in register with the punching in the wall, then the opening is simplified, but a passage of flow is created between inside and outside of the container
Solution Approach 1:
Different areas of the strip are assigned different qualities and functions. The heat-sealing area maintains full hermetic integrity, while the tear tab area is designed for controlled tearing. The tear tab punching is deliberately offset from the wall punching to create a localized tearing path that does not compromise the overall hermetic seal.
3Reliability
If the strip is heat-sealed to the container wall, then the hermetic seal is maintained, but the user has to overcome the resistance of two relatively wide surfaces that are welded to one another to open the container
Solution Approach 1:
The strip is segmented into a heat-sealing portion and a tearing portion. The tearing portion includes a narrow tear tab that is separated from the heat-sealed area, creating a localized tearing path. This segmentation reduces the opening effort required by concentrating the tearing action on a narrow path rather than requiring the user to overcome the resistance of two wide welded surfaces.
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 allows for effective opening and re-closing of containers under vacuum or overpressure conditions without compromising the seal, enhancing user convenience and maintaining the container's internal pressure integrity.
Implementation Method 1
make the strip - in an altogether equivalent way - with a heat-sealable material so as to be able to apply it by means of heat sealing to the wall of the container
Implementation Method 2
application of a label on the back of the strip, in a position corresponding to the punching defining the tear tab
Data Source
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AI summary
Described herein is a device for opening hermetic flexible containers (1), comprising a flexible strip (7) heat-sealed to the internal surface of a wall (3) of the container (1) and incorporating a tape-like thread (9) having a tear tab (10) to cause tearing of the strip (7), and the consequent tearing of the wall (3) of the container (1), via a gripping tab (5) of said wall (3). The gripping tab (5) and tear tab (10) are staggered with respect to one another and hermetically isolated by a heat seal (19) between the strip (7) and the wall (3) of the container (1).