Storage Bag Closure Dimples for Grip and Identification
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Solution Overview
Problem
Plastic storage bags with zipper-like closure mechanisms are difficult to seal and unseal due to slick surfaces, and distinguishing between different bags is challenging, especially in crowded storage environments like refrigerators or freezers.
Innovation Solution
The storage bag features a closure profile with interlocking members and dimples or textured areas that provide tactile and visual cues for easy sealing and unsealing, along with colored lips to differentiate between bags.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If the closure mechanism uses smooth plastic surfaces, then the bag is easy to manufacture, but the surfaces are difficult to grasp for sealing and unsealing
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by adding dimples only to specific areas of the closure profile where user interaction is needed, rather than changing the entire surface. The dimples are localized to the graspable regions, providing enhanced grip where necessary while maintaining the smooth, easy-to-manufacture surface elsewhere on the bag body.
Solution Approach 2:
The dimples introduce curved, spherical indentations to the otherwise flat closure surface. These curved features provide tactile feedback and improved grip areas, transforming the smooth flat surface into one with beneficial geometric variations that enhance user interaction without complicating the overall manufacturing process.
2Quantity of substance
If multiple storage bags are stored together, then storage capacity is maximized, but it becomes difficult to distinguish between different bags
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies color changes by incorporating colored lips or colored portions on the closure profiles of different bags. This allows users to quickly distinguish between bags containing different items through visual color cues, solving the identification problem while maintaining the ability to store multiple bags together for maximized storage capacity.
3Reliability
If the interlocking members are made fully engaged throughout their length, then the seal is more reliable, but it requires proper technique that users may not be aware of
Solution Approach 1:
The dimples provide tactile feedback to users during the sealing process. As users press the closure members together, the dimples create noticeable resistance points and engagement sensations that indicate when the interlocking members are properly engaged. This feedback mechanism guides users to achieve full engagement without requiring them to know the proper technique in advance.
Solution Approach 2:
The dimples are pre-positioned on the closure profile to correspond with the engagement points of the interlocking members. This preliminary arrangement of geometric features prepares the closure mechanism to guide user fingers into the correct positioning and motion, ensuring reliable sealing before the user even begins the sealing action.
Data Source
AI summary
A storage bag has first and second closure profiles adjacent to an opening to the interior of the bag. The first and second closure profiles are provided with dimples that are aligned opposite to each other. The dimples of the first closure profile are formed as a concave surface on the side of the first closure profile facing the interior of the bag and a convex surface on the side of the first closure profile facing the outside of the bag. The dimples of the second closure profile are formed as a convex surface on the side of the second closure profile facing the interior of the bag and a concave surface on the side of the second closure profile facing the outside of the bag. The dimples of the first closure profile are at least partially within the dimples of the second closure profile when the bag is being sealed.