Tab With Emboss and Deboss Beads for Beverage Containers
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing stay-on-tab ends for beverage containers lack effective methods for conveying detailed information and strengthening, with previous techniques such as printing, incising, and laser ablation failing to provide visually appealing and durable solutions.
Innovation Solution
The development of a tab with emboss and deboss strengthening beads that form tactile indicia on a larger billboard surface, incorporating a pigment-carrying layer and relief features, allowing for more detailed and visually stimulating designs while reducing material usage and enhancing structural integrity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If traditional methods (printing, incising, laser ablation) are used to convey information on tabs, then the tab can display information, but the information conveyance is limited and visually unappealing
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the physical state of the tab surface by creating embossed and debossed relief features. The embossed beads create raised tactile elements while the debossed areas create recessed elements, transforming the flat surface into a three-dimensional tactile interface that conveys information more effectively than traditional printing or incising methods.
Solution Approach 2:
The tab incorporates a multi-layer composite structure including the base metal tab, embossed relief features, debossed relief features, and an optional pigment-carrying layer. This composite approach allows different layers to serve different functions: the metal provides structural integrity, the embossed/debossed features provide tactile information, and the pigment layer provides visual enhancement.
2Strength
If the tab is made stronger to improve durability, then the tab can withstand repeated use, but the material usage increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local strengthening by concentrating material displacement into specific embossed and debossed bead regions rather than uniformly thickening the entire tab. The relief features are strategically placed at the lift end and along the tab body where stress concentration occurs during opening, providing localized reinforcement without excessive material usage throughout the entire component.
Solution Approach 2:
The embossed and debossed beads create curved, three-dimensional relief features that distribute stress more effectively than flat surfaces. The spherical or rounded bead geometries create gradual stress transitions rather than sharp corners, improving structural integrity while using material efficiently through the curvature of the relief features.
3Loss of information
If the billboard surface area is increased to convey more information, then the information display capacity increases, but the tab complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions from two-dimensional information display (printing on a flat surface) to three-dimensional tactile information conveyance through embossed and debossed relief features. This dimensional change allows information to be conveyed through touch and texture rather than just visual printing, enabling more sophisticated information communication without proportionally increasing planar complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The relief features serve multiple functions simultaneously: they convey information through tactile relief, provide structural strengthening, and create visual interest through three-dimensional form. The embossed and debossed beads act as both information carriers and structural elements, eliminating the need for separate information display and strengthening components.
Data Source
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AI summary
A container has a selectively openable panel 20 defined at least in part by a frangible score groove 22 in a surface of the container. The frangible score groove 22 is selectively fracturable by a lifting action administered by a user to a secured to the container. The tab 26 has a nose portion 30 separated from a lift end 32 by a central webbing 42. The central webbing 42 has a hinge region 44 and a rivet island 46. The rivet island 46 is at least partially surrounded by a first void region 48. The central webbing 42 also has a grab portion 54 at the lift end 32 of the tab 26. The grab portion 54 has an enclosed region defining a billboard surface 58. The billboard surface 58 has a top side and a bottom side opposite the top side. A bead 68 created by displacing the material of the central webbing 42 is located on the billboard surface 58. A pigment-carrying layer 110 covers at least a portion of the billboard surface 58. A tactile indicium 98 is located on the billboard surface 58.