Wet Wipes Dispenser Hinge With Warning Position for Lid Closure
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Solution Overview
Problem
Wet wipes dispensers often suffer from premature evaporation and contamination due to improperly closed lids, and existing solutions require additional components like springs to maintain desired lid positions, increasing manufacturing complexity.
Innovation Solution
A moist wipes dispenser design featuring a top and bottom hinged together with a pivot mechanism that includes a warning position to alert users of incomplete closure, eliminating the need for additional components by using integrally molded pins and open knuckles to guide the lid into sealing and dispensing positions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a latch or snap mechanism is used to hold the lid closed, then the lid can be securely closed to prevent evaporation and contamination, but users may fail to properly engage the mechanism resulting in improper closure
Solution Approach 1:
The hinge mechanism incorporates a warning position that provides tactile and audible feedback to the user when the lid is not properly closed. The lid naturally rests at an angled warning position that is easily detectable, informing users that closure is incomplete without requiring them to understand complex latching mechanisms.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses visual indicators (color-coded zones on the lid) to show users the closure status. The lid displays different colored regions that become visible as the lid is closed, providing intuitive visual feedback about whether proper closure has been achieved.
2Ease of operation
If springs are used to urge the lid into open or closed positions, then the lid can be automatically positioned, but this adds manufacturing complexity and requires non-recyclable components
Solution Approach 1:
The hinge mechanism combines multiple functions into a single integrated component. The same hinge that allows lid rotation also provides the warning position, the closed position restraint, and the urging force through its geometric design, eliminating the need for separate springs or positioners.
Solution Approach 2:
The hinge mechanism is self-contained and uses its own geometry and the weight of the lid to create the urging force. The open knuckle and pin configuration automatically generates the force needed to urge the lid toward the closed position without requiring external energy sources or additional components.
3Reliability
If the lid is held firmly in the closed position by a restraining mechanism, then evaporation and contamination are prevented, but a significant force is required to open the lid
Solution Approach 1:
The hinge mechanism transitions from a static latched state to a dynamic opening process. The open knuckle allows the lid to pivot and gradually overcome the restraining force, converting a sudden high-force requirement into a controlled progressive motion that reduces the peak force needed.
Solution Approach 2:
The hinge mechanism segments the closing action into distinct phases: the lid first engages at an angled warning position, then progressively closes further, and finally latches at the closed position. This segmentation allows the closing force to be applied gradually rather than all at once.
Data Source
AI summary
A moist wipes dispenser has a top attached to a bottom along a hinge. The top is adapted to pivot about the hinge's axis of rotation. The top is adapted to assume a closed position and a dispensing position. In one embodiment, the top can assume a warning position adapted to warn a user that the top is not shut. The top is urged to the warning position if the top is angularly disposed in a red zone that extends between the closed position and the warning position. The warning position is angularly displaced from the closed position by at least five degrees. In another embodiment, the hinge includes a pin integrally molded with the top or bottom, and an open knuckle integrally molded with the other of the top and bottom. The hinge is adapted to urge the top into closed and dispensing positions in selected angular ranges.