Tearable Caps Strip with Plastic Coating for Injury Prevention
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Solution Overview
Problem
Bottle caps with tearable strips made from aluminum or strain-hardened aluminum alloy pose a risk of injury due to sharp edges when opened, as the tears are not always continuous and linear, leading to aggressive edges.
Innovation Solution
A cap design featuring a tearable circumferential strip covered by a continuous layer of rigid plastic material that adheres to and remains connected during tearing, guiding the tear along weakened lines and reducing the risk of injury by creating a more stable break and minimizing secondary tears.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a tearable circumferential strip is used to enable removal of the cap, then the cap can be easily opened and removed, but the tear edges become sharp and pose a risk of injury to the user
Solution Approach 1:
A plastic coating layer is applied as an intermediary between the user's fingers and the metal tearable strip. This coating layer remains connected to the strip during tearing, guiding the tear along weakened lines while providing a protective barrier that prevents direct contact with sharp metal edges, thus reducing injury risk without compromising ease of removal
Solution Approach 2:
The surface properties of the tearable strip are changed by coating it with plastic material. This modifies the mechanical behavior of the strip, making the tear more controlled and continuous along the weakened lines, and transforms the harmful sharp metal edges into a safer plastic surface that is less likely to cause injury
2Strength
If the tearable strip is made from strain-hardened aluminum alloy to increase strength, then the cap structure becomes more durable, but the tear edges become more aggressive and increase injury risk
Solution Approach 1:
The plastic coating acts as a mediator that covers the strain-hardened aluminum strip, maintaining its structural strength while neutralizing the harmful effect of its sharp tear edges. The coating layer ensures that users contact the softer plastic material rather than the hard metal edges during cap removal
Solution Approach 2:
The cap incorporates a composite structure combining strain-hardened aluminum alloy for structural strength and plastic coating for safety. This composite approach allows the metal strip to provide necessary durability while the plastic layer provides a safer tearing surface that reduces edge aggressiveness
3Quantity of substance
If the plastic coating covers only part of the tearable strip to reduce material cost, then manufacturing cost decreases, but the tear stability decreases and secondary tear lines form increasing injury risk
Solution Approach 1:
The plastic coating is strategically applied to cover the critical areas of the tearable strip where tear initiation and propagation occur. This localized coating approach provides sufficient tear guidance and stability to prevent secondary tear lines while using less plastic material than a complete coverage would require
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 plastic coating significantly reduces the risk of injury by distancing fingers from the tear zone, providing additional support, and ensuring a continuous break along the weakened lines, thus minimizing the risk of cut edges when removing the cap.
Implementation Method 1
a layer of a plastic material (300) covering said tearable circumferential strip (4) and remaining rigidly connected to said tearable circumferential strip (4) when removing the latter by tearing said weakened lines (11, 12)
Data Source
AI summary
The invention relates to a stopper capsule, having an axial direction, including a shell, with a head, a skirt, and a joint, where a) the joint is a form joint, b) the form joint has b1) a resilient layer, a set of adjacent layers, b2.1) a barrier layer, b2.2) a malleable support layer with the function of providing the set of adjacent layers a global malleable property such that the joint can be shaped without creation of folds, b2.3) an outer layer having an outer surface which can be compressed by the axial compression resulting from stoppering such as to match the form of the mouth of the neck. The invention further relates to a method of production of the capsule and a method of stoppering.