Airless Dispenser Valve Elastic Pad Sealing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing airless dispensing devices fail to provide an automatic seal after the packaging is filled and before its first use, relying on negative pressure generated only after the first use, which compromises product integrity and contamination risk.
Innovation Solution
Incorporation of an elastic pad between the valve and the fixed nozzle part, acting as a spring to maintain the valve pressed against its sealing seat, ensuring watertightness immediately after filling, and allowing the valve to displace upon pressure application to allow product flow, then returning to a sealed position due to the packaging's memory and suction effect.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If an automatic sealing system using negative pressure is used, then sealing occurs after first use, but sealing does not occur immediately after filling
Solution Approach 1:
The elastic pad is pre-compressed during assembly to store elastic energy, which is then released to push the valve onto the sealing seat immediately after filling, providing preliminary sealing action before first use. This resolves the contradiction by enabling immediate sealing without waiting for negative pressure generation.
Solution Approach 2:
The sealing function is divided into two independent mechanisms: an immediate sealing mechanism using the elastic pad for post-filling sealing, and a secondary sealing mechanism using negative pressure for post-use sealing. This segmentation allows each mechanism to operate at different times, resolving the contradiction between immediate and delayed sealing requirements.
2Reliability
If the valve is kept pressed against the sealing seat, then watertightness is maintained, but product flow is blocked
Solution Approach 1:
The valve position is made dynamic rather than static. The elastic pad continuously pushes the valve against the sealing seat to maintain watertightness, but internal pressure from product can overcome this elastic force to open the valve for flow. This dynamic balance resolves the contradiction between maintaining sealing and enabling flow.
Solution Approach 2:
The force balance parameters are designed so that the elastic pad's pushing force is sufficient for sealing under normal conditions but can be overcome by internal pressure during dispensing. By carefully selecting the elastic pad's material and compression characteristics, the system transitions between sealed and flowing states based on pressure conditions, resolving the contradiction between watertightness and product flow.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Ensures immediate watertight sealing after filling, prevents air intake, maintains product integrity, and allows precise control of product ejection, suitable for various packaging types and products with different viscosities, reducing packaging costs and complexity.
Implementation Method 1
an elastic pad was inserted between the valve or plug and the fixed nozzle part. The elastic pad has the function of a spring, that is, it remains 'compressed' in the assembly, consequently, it has sufficient expansion force to keep the valve or plug pressed against its sealing seat
Implementation Method 2
the memory of the material of the package's flexible body tries to return to its original position and practically inverts that pressure. After that, a suction effect is produced and, at this point, the two extremity blocks of the outlet chamber defined by the lower plug and the elastomeric valve return to the initial watertight closing state
Data Source
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AI summary
DISPENSER DEVICE WITHOUT AIR INTAKE FOR APPLICATOR NOZZLES FOR VARIOUS TYPES OF FLEXIBLE PACKAGING, with an outlet chamber (1) that is hermetically controlled by a plug (2), an elastomeric valve(3) and an elastic pad (18); the vertical outlet chamber (1) is defined by a cylindrical capsule (4) and any nozzle (5) together with an internal elastomeric mass (6); the lower capsule (4) has a sealing seat (7) housing the plug (2), which works jointly with an elastic pad (18), so that between it and the lower capsule (4) a passage is formed for the product to be dispensed; the lower capsule (4) and the nozzle (5) are combined with variable parts (8a) and (8b) coupling with the nozzle (9) of any flexible container (10); the plug (2) is housed in the sealing seat (7) with enough clearance to be moved up and down when internal pressure occurs or ceases inside the flexible container (10) and allows the product to pass through the sealing seat (7) or to close it tightly; the elastomeric valve(3) has an elastic opening point (11) designed to open and close when the pressure inside the flexible container is interrupted or present (10).