Time Programmable Container With Spacer Locking Mechanism
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional containers lack a mechanism to prevent unauthorized opening, particularly for time-sensitive substances like medicines and beverages, which can lead to misuse or spoilage.
Innovation Solution
A programmable container design featuring a base, lid, and spacer with time indicia that aligns and locks, preventing the lid from being opened by a targeted group of users, ensuring secure access and maintaining freshness.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a conventional container is used, then it is easy to open, but it cannot prevent unauthorized access or misuse
Solution Approach 1:
The container requires preliminary actions (aligning time indicia, rotating spacer to specific positions) before the lid can be opened. This preliminary setup creates a time-based access control mechanism that prevents unauthorized opening while allowing authorized users to open it at designated times.
Solution Approach 2:
The locking mechanism is dynamic rather than static. The spacer can be rotated to different positions corresponding to different times, and the lid transitions between locked and unlocked states based on the alignment of components. This dynamic behavior enables time-based access control.
2Reliability
If a locking mechanism is added to prevent unauthorized opening, then security is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The spacer serves multiple functions: it acts as a time indicator display, a locking mechanism, and a user interface for setting the unlock time. The time indicia on the spacer both indicate the current time and serve as the locking mechanism itself when aligned with corresponding markers on the lid. This multi-functionality reduces the need for separate components.
Solution Approach 2:
The locking mechanism is merged with the time indication system. The same spacer that displays time information also provides the locking function through its rotational position and alignment features. The finger protrusion and depression alignment combine to create both the visual time indicator and the mechanical lock in a single integrated system.
3Reliability
If the container allows easy opening, then ease of operation is improved, but it cannot preserve freshness or prevent spoilage of time-sensitive substances
Solution Approach 1:
The container requires preliminary setup of the unlock time before contents can be accessed. This ensures that time-sensitive substances remain sealed and fresh until the designated time, preventing premature exposure to air or contamination while allowing authorized access when needed.
Solution Approach 2:
The container automatically maintains its locked state to preserve freshness without requiring active monitoring or intervention. The mechanical locking mechanism inherently keeps the lid sealed until the predetermined time conditions are met, at which point it self-unlocks to allow access.
Data Source
AI summary
A time programmable container that includes a base, a reversible lid, and a spacer positioned intermediate the lid and the base. The spacer is positionable in a select one of a plurality of positions on the base. The spacer and the base contain time indicia such that each of the plurality of positions that the spacer can be placed upon the base corresponds to a different of time indication. The reversible lid includes a cavity on the bottom surface of a lip which mates with a tab on the spacer, such that when the spacer is placed upon the base and the lid is threaded onto the base, the tab secures prevents the removal of the lid from the base without first removing the tab from the cavity, and when the lid is reversed, the tab does not inhibit the removal of the lid from the base.