Child-Resistant Closure With Rotating Twist Ring
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Solution Overview
Problem
Child-resistant closures often require excessive force to open, making it difficult for adults, especially the elderly or infirm, to access contents, which can lead to incomplete closure and defeat the purpose of the child-resistant mechanism.
Innovation Solution
A closure design featuring a cap with a twist ring that allows alignment of an opening in the twist ring with a lift tab to facilitate easy opening by rotating the twist ring relative to the cap, reducing the force required and incorporating features like internal grooves and engaging lugs for secure engagement and disengagement.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If child-resistant features are incorporated into the closure, then child safety is improved, but the force required to open the container increases excessively
Solution Approach 1:
The closure is divided into functionally independent segments: a cap that remains on the container and a twist ring that can be rotated and removed. The child-resistant locking mechanism is isolated to the twist ring portion, allowing adults to apply force only to the twist ring for opening while children cannot manipulate the segmented components separately to bypass the safety feature.
Solution Approach 2:
The twist ring acts as an intermediary component between the container closure and the user. It provides a dedicated interface for force application with its rim and sidewall structure, mediating the opening action by requiring rotation to disengage from the cap while preventing direct lid opening by children.
2Reliability
If excessive force is required to open the closure, then child resistance is improved, but ease of operation for adults deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
By segmenting the closure into a stationary cap and a rotatable twist ring, the opening action is simplified for adults to a single rotational movement of the twist ring, while maintaining child resistance through the locked engagement between the twist ring and cap that children cannot manipulate.
Solution Approach 2:
The twist ring transitions from a static locked position to a rotated open position through controlled dynamic movement. The rim and sidewall structure allows smooth rotational motion for adults while the engagement mechanism with the cap maintains a static locked state that prevents children from opening it.
3Ease of operation
If a twist ring mechanism is added to facilitate easy opening, then ease of operation is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The complexity is contained within a separate, removable twist ring component rather than being integrated into the main cap structure. This modular approach allows the easy-opening mechanism to be added as an independent element that can be manufactured and assembled separately, simplifying the overall design and manufacturing process.
Solution Approach 2:
The twist ring serves as an intermediary component that introduces the easy-opening functionality without requiring fundamental changes to the basic cap structure. It mediates between the simple cap design and the desired easy-opening feature, adding minimal complexity through its rim and sidewall structure that engages with the cap.
Data Source
AI summary
A closure configured to be engaged with a container, wherein the closure includes a cap and a twist ring. According to aspects of the disclosure, the cap may include: a generally cylindrical main body, a lid, a sidewall extending substantially perpendicularly from the lid, a hinge which allows the lid to pivot between a closed position and an open position, and a lift tab configured to protrude outwardly from the cap. According to aspects of the disclosure, the twist ring may be configured to extend around the cap. Further the twist ring may include: a generally cylindrical main body, a rim extending in a substantially horizontal plane and a sidewall extending substantially vertically from the rim. According to aspects of the disclosure, the twist ring may be configured to be rotated in order to be positioned to selectively prevent the lid of the cap from being pivoted from the closed position to the open position.