Sterile Package With Separable Handling Portion
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing packages fail to maintain a sterile environment during product handling and removal, risking contamination and complicating the process with multiple steps and non-sterile surface contact.
Innovation Solution
A package design featuring a housing portion and a separable handling portion with a cuff and gripping portion, incorporating laser-scored lines of weakness for easy separation, allowing for sterile product presentation and handling without exposing the product to non-sterile surfaces.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the package is designed as a single integrated structure, then manufacturing is simpler, but sterile presentation is compromised due to contact with non-sterile exterior surfaces
Solution Approach 1:
The package is divided into two distinct portions: a housing portion that contains the product and maintains sterility, and a handling portion with a non-sterile exterior that can be separated. This segmentation allows the product to remain in the sterile housing while the handling portion provides a non-sterile interface for user interaction, thus resolving the contradiction between maintaining sterile presentation and enabling easy handling.
2Reliability
If the package requires multiple steps to open and remove the product, then sterile presentation is maintained, but the process becomes more complex and time-consuming
Solution Approach 1:
The package includes a separable handling portion that can be easily detached from the housing portion through a tear feature or breakable connection. This allows the user to quickly separate the non-sterile handling portion from the sterile housing portion in a single motion, maintaining sterile presentation while simplifying the opening process.
3Reliability
If the handling portion is made separable from the housing portion, then sterile presentation is improved, but manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The handling portion and housing portion are designed to be integrally formed as a single piece during manufacturing, creating an unitary structure that is then separated along predetermined tear features or breakable connections. This merging during manufacture simplifies production while the subsequent separation enables sterile presentation, resolving the contradiction between ease of manufacture and sterile presentation.
4Ease of manufacture
If the package uses traditional opening methods, then manufacturing is simpler, but contamination risk increases due to contact with non-sterile surfaces
Solution Approach 1:
The package is segmented into a sterile housing portion and a non-sterile handling portion that can be separated. This segmentation allows the product to remain isolated in the sterile housing while the handling portion provides a controlled interface for user interaction, minimizing contamination risk while maintaining simple construction.
Solution Approach 2:
The handling portion acts as an intermediary between the user's hand and the sterile product. It provides a non-sterile interface for handling that can be separated from the sterile housing, preventing direct contact between non-sterile surfaces and the product while maintaining simple package construction.
Data Source
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AI summary
A package configured to contain and provide for sterile presentation of a product. The package includes a housing portion, a handling portion integrally formed with the housing portion, and a separation feature. The housing portion defines an interior product storage cavity and extends from a first end to a second end. The handling portion includes a cuff at the second end of the housing portion and a gripping portion extending from the cuff. The gripping portion is configured to extend inside the cuff and toward the storage cavity. The separation feature is disposed between the cuff and the housing portion, and the separation feature is configured to separate the housing portion and the handling portion.