Tray-Sleeve Locking Structure for Child-Resistant Access Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing containers lack effective access control mechanisms that restrict access to certain articles, particularly for children or other individuals, while maintaining ease of use for intended users.
Innovation Solution
A tray and sleeve system with locking features, comprising a tray with foldable locking flaps and a sleeve with corresponding locking openings, allowing secure engagement and controlled access through interlocking mechanisms.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If locking features are added to restrict access, then access control is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The locking mechanism is segmented into separate functional components: locking flaps on the tray and corresponding locking openings on the sleeve. This segmentation allows each component to perform its specific function independently while working together to provide access control, resolving the contradiction by making the complexity distributed and manageable rather than concentrated in a single complex mechanism.
Solution Approach 2:
The locking flaps are nested within the structural framework of the tray, with each flap integrated into the side walls. The locking openings are nested within the sleeve structure. This nesting approach allows the locking features to be incorporated without adding external complexity, as the locking components are embedded within the existing container structures.
2Reliability
If locking features are added to restrict access, then security against undesired users is improved, but ease of operation deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The locking flaps are designed as dynamic, movable elements that can be easily deflected or pressed by intended users to access the container. The locking mechanism transitions between locked and unlocked states through simple mechanical movement, allowing intended users to access articles easily while maintaining security against undesired users who cannot operate the mechanism.
Solution Approach 2:
The locking mechanism is designed to be self-operating through simple mechanical interaction. When articles are placed in or removed from the container, the locking flaps automatically engage or disengage with the locking openings without requiring additional mechanisms or complex operations, providing ease of use for intended users while maintaining access control.
3Reliability
If locking flaps extend away from the tray, then locking engagement with the sleeve is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The locking flaps are merged with the side walls of the tray, forming an integrated structure where the flaps are extensions of the existing container walls rather than separate components. This merging approach provides effective locking engagement with the sleeve while avoiding the addition of separate locking components, thereby maintaining structural simplicity.
Solution Approach 2:
The locking flaps extend in a direction perpendicular to the main body of the tray, utilizing the vertical dimension to create the locking engagement feature. This dimensional approach allows the locking mechanism to function effectively without adding horizontal complexity to the tray structure, as the locking feature is achieved through vertical extension rather than lateral addition.
Data Source
AI summary
A system for holding one or more articles includes a tray and a sleeve for at least partially receiving the tray. The tray includes a plurality of panels at least partially extending around an interior of the tray and including a bottom panel, at least one side panel, and at least one end panel, a plurality of end flaps, and locking features including at least one locking flap foldably connected to a respective end flap of the plurality of end flaps, at least a portion of the at least one locking flap extending away from the tray. The sleeve includes a plurality of panels extending at least partially around an interior of the sleeve, at least one panel of the plurality of panels of the sleeve having a locking opening for at least partially receiving the at least a portion of the at least one locking flap.