Bellows Dispenser Pump Mechanism for Foam Generation
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing liquid dispensers for soaps and similar fluids often require large quantities of liquid and can run off surfaces, making it inefficient to dispense them in a foamy form.
Innovation Solution
A pump mechanism utilizing a resilient flexible bellows member, integrated as a piston, which displaces both liquid and air to create a foam by moving between inner and outer chambers, allowing for efficient dispensing of a foamy liquid using a combination of liquid and air displacement.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If liquid soap is dispensed in liquid form, then the dispenser structure is simple, but large quantities of liquid are required and it runs off surfaces
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the physical state parameter of the dispensed soap from liquid to foam. The pump mechanism introduces air into the liquid soap stream, transforming it into a foamy substance that adheres better to surfaces and requires less total quantity while maintaining cleaning effectiveness
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs pneumatic principles by using a pump mechanism that draws in atmospheric air and mixes it with liquid soap. The air intake passage and mixing chamber facilitate the incorporation of air bubbles into the liquid, creating foam that reduces runoff and improves dispensing efficiency
2Device complexity
If liquid soap is dispensed in liquid form, then the dispenser structure is simple, but the soap runs off surfaces to be cleaned
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the physical state parameter of the dispensed soap from liquid to foam. The pump mechanism introduces air into the liquid soap stream, transforming it into a foamy substance that adheres better to surfaces and requires less total quantity while maintaining cleaning effectiveness
Solution Approach 2:
The patent utilizes phase transition by transforming liquid soap into a foam phase through air incorporation. This phase change from pure liquid to gas-liquid mixture (foam) fundamentally alters the dispensing characteristics, reducing runoff and improving surface adhesion
3Quantity of substance
If a pump mechanism with bellows member is used to dispense foam, then less soap liquid is required and runoff is reduced, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The bellows member serves multiple functions simultaneously: it acts as the pumping element to move liquid, the spring element to provide return force, and the air sealing component. This multi-functionality reduces the number of separate parts needed, thereby limiting the increase in device complexity while achieving foam dispensing
Solution Approach 2:
The patent merges the pump and spring functions into a single bellows member component. The resilient nature of the bellows allows it to perform both the pumping action and the spring return function, consolidating multiple mechanical functions into one integrated element
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 enables the efficient dispensing of a foamy liquid using less soap, reducing runoff and improving usability by effectively mixing air and liquid to produce a stable foam.
Implementation Method 1
a resilient flexible bellows member to function as a displacement pump and/or a spring
Implementation Method 2
pressurizes the air compartment thereby forcing liquid and air through the mixing member
Data Source
AI summary
A pump assembly with a first pump to displace a first volume and a second pump to displace a second volume greater than the first volume. The first pump draws liquid from a reservoir and dispenses it to the second pump. The second pump draws in the discharge from the first pump and an additional volume of air such that the second pump discharges both liquid and air. The first pump preferably has a piston movable in a first inner chamber and the second pump has the same piston movable in a second outer chamber. The first and second chambers communicate together. In one version, a one-way valve provides flow outwardly only from the first chamber to the second chamber and the first pump discharges while the second pump draws in, and vice versa.