Tamper-Evident Lock With Resilient Flanges for Food Containers
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for securing food containers, such as taping or heat-sealing, are ineffective in ensuring tamper-evidence, especially with hot containers and in fast-paced delivery environments, as they can be easily compromised or require costly equipment.
Innovation Solution
A tamper-evident lock with an elongated body and angled resilient flanges that fits through front flaps of a food container, requiring the container to be broken to open, providing visual confirmation and ensuring the lock is irreversibly engaged.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If adhesive tape is used to secure the food container, then the container can be easily sealed, but the tape adhesive is easily released by hot containers and steam
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the chemical bonding mechanism of adhesive tape with a mechanical locking system. The lock device uses a body with a locking mechanism that physically engages with the container flaps through aligned apertures, eliminating reliance on adhesive that fails under heat and steam. The mechanical engagement provides reliable securing without being affected by thermal conditions.
2Productivity
If the container is taped shut quickly in a fast-paced delivery environment, then sealing speed is improved, but the tape may be misapplied or ill-applied
Solution Approach 1:
The lock device is designed to be self-aligning and self-securing. The body is inserted through aligned apertures in the flaps, and the locking mechanism automatically engages without requiring precise manual application or pressing. The system guides itself into the correct position, eliminating human error in application while maintaining fast sealing speed suitable for delivery environments.
3Reliability
If heat sealing is used to secure the container, then tamper-evidence is improved, but equipment and time requirements increase cost
Solution Approach 1:
The lock device is designed as an inexpensive, single-use component that can be manually applied without expensive heat sealing equipment. The body and flanges are simple plastic components that provide adequate tamper-evidence for their intended use cycle. This disposable approach eliminates the need for costly automated heat sealing machinery while maintaining sufficient security for food delivery applications.
4Reliability
If a lock mechanism is designed to be irreversible, then tamper-evidence is improved, but the locking mechanism complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The lock device is divided into distinct functional segments: the body for insertion, the flanges for engagement, and the aperture system for alignment. This segmentation allows each component to perform its specific function simply, creating an irreversible locking action through the combination of parts rather than through a complex integrated mechanism. The modular design maintains simplicity while achieving the desired tamper-evidence.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The lock allows for quick, irreversible sealing of food containers, providing evidence of tampering and being inexpensive, intuitive, and usable with various container types, ensuring the integrity of the contents during delivery.
Implementation Method 1
The front end of the elongated body has at least one, and preferably two, angled resilient flanges that each have a distal end adapted to flex towards the body temporarily in a compressed position when under force. Thereafter each flange springs back to a natural position when the force is removed from pressing the flanges inward toward the elongated body.
Data Source
AI summary
A lock for a food container of the type having a lower front flap and a partially-overlapping upper front flap, comprises an elongated body that has a tapered front end, a rear end, and a transverse stop disposed between the front end and the rear end. The front end of the elongated body has at least one angled resilient flange that has have a distal end adapted to flex towards the body temporarily in a compressed position when under force. Thereafter the at least one flange springs back to a natural position once inserted through front flap apertures of the container, inhibiting the removal thereof without breaking a perforated section or an otherwise frangible section of the container, thereby leaving evidence that the container has been opened. An embodiment that includes a clasp for receiving the front end of the body with a bag therebetween is also disclosed.