Airless Pump Bag Inflation Using Periodic Air Jets
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for inflating a deformable bag within a rigid container to dispense fluid substances are prone to bag breakage and incomplete cavity filling due to adhesion and non-uniform thickness, leading to air pockets and variable bag volume, which affects the aesthetic and functional integrity of the container.
Innovation Solution
A method involving three staged air jet inflation with interruptions to allow venting, ensuring the bag separates from the container walls and uniformly fills the cavity, maintaining a consistent thickness and preventing adhesion, using a preform with spaced radial ribs and teeth to facilitate even expansion and contraction.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a bag of elastically deformable material is inflated within a rigid container using conventional methods, then the bag forms and adheres to the container walls, but the bag is subject to breakage and does not uniformly fill the cavity due to adhesion and non-uniform thickness
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies periodic action by using three successive air jets separated by time intervals to inflate the bag. The first air jet inflates the bag to separate it from container walls, the second air jet follows after a time interval to further expand the bag, and the third air jet completes the inflation. This periodic inflation process prevents adhesion and ensures uniform cavity filling while maintaining consistent bag thickness, resolving the contradiction between reliability and manufacturing precision.
2Productivity
If the bag is inflated continuously without interruptions, then the inflation process is faster, but air pockets remain trapped between the bag and container walls resulting in incomplete cavity filling
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs periodic action by introducing two interruption periods between three successive air jets. The first interruption period allows trapped air to vent after the first jet, and the second interruption period allows further air venting before the third jet. This periodic inflation with controlled interruptions eliminates air pockets while maintaining efficient production, resolving the contradiction between productivity and manufacturing precision.
3Device complexity
If the preform is inflated without spaced radial ribs and teeth, then the inflation process is simpler, but the bag exhibits non-uniform thickness and does not expand evenly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by incorporating spaced radial ribs and teeth at specific locations on the preform. The radial ribs are positioned at predetermined intervals around the preform circumference, and teeth are located at the distal end of the preform. These localized structural features guide the inflation process to proceed uniformly, ensuring even bag expansion and consistent thickness without requiring complex overall preform design, thus resolving the contradiction between device complexity and manufacturing precision.
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
The bag is less susceptible to breakage, fills the container uniformly, and maintains a constant capacity, ensuring complete filling and preventing air pockets, enhancing the aesthetic and functional performance of the container.
Implementation Method 1
a first air jet is fed into the bag to inflate the bag so that it at least partially occupies said body cavity
Implementation Method 2
The main drawback of the aforesaid device is that the deformable bag must be filled with fluid substance before the bag is inserted into the respective rigid container and that the operation involved in inserting the bag into the container is very delicate because the bag can be easily torn while being inserted into the container interior
Data Source
AI summary
A container comprising a rigid body (5) having a neck (6) defining an aperture providing access to the container cavity and a bag (9) positioned in the interior of the body (5), the bag being formed of thermoplastic material and itself having a neck (2) from which there radially extends a flange (3) which rests on a free edge of the neck (6) of the body (5) and defines a hole for providing access to the cavity of the bag (9) and for sealedly housing the body of a hermetic pump (P) operable manually to withdraw the fluid substance (F) from the bag and feed it to the outside through its dispensing stem (S), the bag being formed by hot blow molding of a preform placed directly within the container, said bag having a substantially uniform thickness and being detached from the container along its entire outer surface.