Concentric Annular Foamer Valve for Better Air-Liquid Mixing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing dispensing devices for foam, such as U.S. Pat. No. 5,037,006, suffer from suboptimal mixing of air and liquid, leading to unsatisfactory foam quality and complex structures with many components, which complicate production and reduce foam quality due to bent passages slowing down air and liquid streams.
Innovation Solution
A dispensing device with a manually compressible container and a foam-forming assembly featuring annular mouths for the air and liquid passages, arranged concentrically, and a conical valve body made from flexible material, which simplifies the structure and enhances mixing by distributing the liquid and air over a larger surface area, and includes a constriction in the dispensing passage to accelerate the foam flow.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Volume of moving object
If the air passage and liquid passage are bent to fit the housing, then the device structure is compact, but the speed of liquid and air stream decreases
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of bending the passages to fit the housing, the patent inverts the approach by making the housing accommodate straight passages. The housing is designed with a shape that naturally allows straight air and liquid passages to fit within it, eliminating the need for bent passages while maintaining compactness.
2Device complexity
If the mouth of air passage and liquid passage are made small, then the device structure is simple, but the mixing of air and liquid is not optimum
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions from small circular mouths to large annular mouths, effectively increasing the surface area in two dimensions. This annular configuration allows for much larger opening areas while maintaining simple passage structures, enabling optimal mixing without increasing complexity.
3Device complexity
If the valve body is made from flexible material, then the number of components is reduced, but the sealing reliability may be compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the material parameters of the valve body by using flexible elastomeric materials that can dynamically adapt to pressure changes. This flexibility allows the valve body to maintain reliable sealing through deformation under pressure while still reducing component count, as the flexible material inherently provides both valve and seal functions.
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 solution improves the quality of the foam by ensuring a better mixture of air and liquid, simplifies the device construction, and maintains the speed of the liquid and air streams, resulting in a more efficient and effective foam-dispensing process.
Implementation Method 1
By compressing/squeezing the container, the pressure in the container is increased and thus the pressure in the liquid passage and the air passage. As a result of this elevated pressure, the valve body on the mouths of the air passage and the liquid passage gives way
Implementation Method 2
After the container has been squeezed, the container will essentially return to its original state, either by the elasticity of the container itself or by restoring means which are provided in order to return the container to its original state
Data Source
AI summary
The invention relates to a dispensing device for dispensing a foam, comprising a manually compressible container (2) for storing a liquid and air, which container comprises an opening (3), a rigid housing (4, 5) to be fitted in or on the opening, the housing comprising an air passage (11, 12) and a liquid passage (9), which are in communication with a dispensing passage (14) which ends in a dispensing opening (8), and a valve body (6) which, in a rest position, covers a mouth of the liquid passage and a mouth of the air passage (10) in a sealing manner in order to prevent a flow from the liquid passage and the air passage to the dispensing passage, and which, during dispensing, opens the mouth of the liquid passage and the mouth of the air passage in order to allow mixing of air and liquid to take place in the dispensing passage. The invention is characterized by the fact that the mouth of the air passage and the mouth of the liquid passage are—substantially annular and are arranged substantially concentrically with respect to one another.