Torque-Limiting Lid Ratchet Mechanism for Drink Container
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional children's drink containers often leak due to improper seating of removable lids, leading to excessive tightening and damage of sealing gaskets, which reduces the container's durability and useful life.
Innovation Solution
A torque-limiting lid system with ratchet teeth and pawls that provides audible and tactile feedback when the proper torque level is reached, preventing further tightening and ensuring a secure seal without damaging the sealing gasket.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the lid is tightened as much as possible to improve the seal, then leakage is reduced, but the sealing gasket is damaged and durability decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a torque-limiting mechanism with ratchet teeth and pawls that provides mechanical feedback to the user. When the lid is tightened to the predetermined torque level, the ratchet mechanism engages to prevent further tightening, providing both tactile and audible feedback. This feedback system ensures the lid is tightened sufficiently to create a seal while preventing over-tightening that would damage the sealing gasket, thus resolving the contradiction between seal integrity and container durability
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the mechanical parameter of torque application by introducing a predetermined torque limit through the ratchet mechanism. Instead of allowing continuous torque increase, the system establishes a specific torque threshold that prevents exceeding the damage threshold of the sealing gasket. This parameter control enables achieving adequate seal integrity while protecting the gasket from damage, thereby extending the container's useful life
2Duration of action of stationary object
If the lid is not tightened enough, then the sealing gasket is protected, but leakage occurs
Solution Approach 1:
The ratchet mechanism provides clear feedback indicators (tactile resistance and audible clicking) that inform the user when the optimal torque level is reached. This feedback ensures the lid is tightened sufficiently to create an effective seal while stopping before the gasket is damaged, simultaneously achieving both seal effectiveness and gasket durability
Solution Approach 2:
The torque-limiting mechanism is pre-configured with ratchet teeth and pawls set at the optimal torque level during manufacturing. This preliminary setup ensures that during normal use, the lid will automatically stop tightening at the correct torque, eliminating the need for user judgment and ensuring consistent seal effectiveness while protecting the gasket
Data Source
AI summary
A drink container with torque-limiting lid is provided. The drink container includes a lid that can be threadably coupled to a container body having a volume to hold fluids. The lid can include an inner lid assembly concentric with an outer lid assembly. The inner lid assembly can include a multiple ratchet teeth along an outer perimeter and the outer lid assembly can include one or more ratchet pawls along an inner perimeter and configured to engage the ratchet teeth. Rotational force on the outer lid assembly can be transferred to the inner lid assembly from the ratchet pawls to the ratchet teeth to threadably couple the inner lid assembly to the container body. Once a torque limit is reached, the ratchet pawls can slip along the ratchet teeth preventing further tightening of the inner lid assembly to the container body.