Tamper-Evident Closure with Controlled 25-Degree Break
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing closure designs for containers, particularly bottles and composite packages, face challenges in ensuring a tamper-evident seal breaks predictably and consistently during initial opening, often resulting in uneven force application and potential material bridges breaking unpredictably, which complicates the opening process and may not guarantee secure attachment of the closure cap.
Innovation Solution
A closure design featuring a tamper-evident seal connected to the anchor ring via breakable elements that break after a maximum relative rotational movement of 25° between the closure cap and container, allowing for controlled force distribution and decoupling of the hinge element from the tamper-evident seal, ensuring consistent opening behavior and secure attachment without material bridges.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If breakable material bridges are attached between the closure cap and anchor ring to serve as tamper-evident seal, then the closure provides tamper evidence, but the material bridges break unpredictably and unevenly during initial opening
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the tamper-evident seal function from the connection structure by placing the breakable material bridges on the outer circumference of the anchor ring, separate from the hinge element connection. This allows the tamper evidence function to operate independently from the mechanical connection, ensuring predictable breaking behavior during initial opening.
Solution Approach 2:
The closure is divided into functionally independent segments: the hinge element for connection, the anchor ring for securing, and the breakable material bridges for tamper evidence. This segmentation allows each component to perform its specific function without interfering with others, particularly ensuring the tamper-evident seal breaks uniformly during opening.
2Reliability
If the anchor ring is securely connected to the closure cap via hinge element, then the closure cap remains attached even when opened, but the opening process becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of making the hinge element itself breakable to provide tamper evidence, the patent inverts the approach by making the anchor ring breakable while keeping the hinge element intact. This simplifies the opening process as the hinge element continues to function normally after opening, while the breakable anchor ring provides the tamper evidence.
3Force
If the hinge element is decoupled from the tamper-evident seal, then the opening forces are reduced and opening behavior is consistent, but the structure becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary structure where the breakable material bridges are positioned on the outer circumference of the anchor ring, acting as a mediator between the opening action and the tamper evidence function. This intermediary placement allows the hinge element to remain simple while the material bridges provide the decoupled tamper evidence, reducing opening forces by distributing the breaking action away from the hinge connection.
Data Source
AI summary
Closure for a container, in particular a bottle or a cardboard/plastic composite package, with a base element including a rotatably opening closure with lateral cap jacket, an anchor ring connected to the closure cap by means of a hinge element and a free gap running substantially in the circumferential direction between the anchor ring and cap jacket wherein the free gap connects on both sides next to the hinge element and wherein there are no material bridges between the anchor ring and closure cap in the free gap that can break on initial opening. To achieve low, constant and well controlled opening forces on first opening in a closure of this type, it is provided for the closure to have a tamper-evident seal which, in the unopened state, is connected to the anchor ring via at least one breakable element and by the tamper-evident seal on the anchor ring being designed in such a way that the at least one breakable element is broken after a relative rotational movement between the closure cap and container of a maximum of 25°.