Tamper-Evident Container With Interlocked Tear Strips
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Solution Overview
Problem
Plastic containers for perishable goods often lead to bruising and contamination due to being opened and handled before purchase, degrading the quality of the goods.
Innovation Solution
A container design featuring a basket and lid with tear strips that are fixedly mated during shipping and display, requiring detachment to access the contents, providing tamper evidence and protection against damage and contamination.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the container is opened for handling goods before purchase, then the goods are accessible for inspection and handling, but the goods suffer from bruising and contamination that degrade quality
Solution Approach 1:
The container is designed with a tamper-evident seal that must be broken to access the goods, preventing premature opening and handling before purchase. This preliminary protective action ensures goods remain sealed and protected during transit and display, eliminating bruising and contamination risks until the consumer is ready to purchase.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If the container is sealed to prevent damage and contamination, then the goods are protected from harm, but consumers cannot inspect or access the contents until purchase
Solution Approach 1:
The tamper-evident seal incorporates color-changing or visually distinctive features that allow consumers to verify the seal's integrity and authenticity. The seal's design provides visual information about the product's protection status while maintaining the sealed condition, enabling consumer confidence without compromising the protective seal.
3Reliability
If a tamper-evident seal is added to the container, then tamper evidence and protection are provided, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The tamper-evident seal is integrated directly into the container's lid and base structure, merging the sealing function with the container's existing components. This integration approach provides tamper evidence and protection without adding separate, complex external mechanisms, thereby maintaining structural simplicity while achieving reliable tamper detection.
Data Source
AI summary
A container includes a basket and lid. The basket and lid each have a lip along at least a portion of a periphery and a tear strip connected along at least a portion of the lip. An outer edge of the lip includes notches and an inner edge of the tear strip complements the outer edge of the lip. The tear strip is connected to the lip by links arranged at notches of the outer edge of the lip. The basket tear strip is bonded to the lid tear strip to resist separation of the lid from the basket. The bonded basket tear strip and lid tear strip are detachable from the basket lip and the lid lip urged away from the basket and the lid, exposing the outer edge of the basket lip and the outer edge of the lid lip.