Beverage Tap Valve Using Pressure-Biased Membrane to Stop Dripping
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing dispensing assemblies for beverages, such as carbonated beverages, face issues like leaking and dripping due to pressure, complex designs requiring metal springs, and suboptimal flow patterns leading to splattering, and lack of effective solutions for non-fixed containers.
Innovation Solution
A dispensing assembly with a movable valve body and deformable wall or membrane that uses beverage pressure to close and open the outlet channel, ensuring a concentrated and controlled flow, eliminating the need for external springs and minimizing dripping by utilizing the pressure of the beverage to bias the valve into a closed position.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a valve mechanism with spring biasing is used to control beverage flow, then the valve can be reliably opened and closed, but the device complexity increases and metal springs are required
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the spring component from the valve mechanism, extracting the problematic element that caused complexity and material constraints. The springless design uses the beverage pressure itself and the geometry of the outlet channel to control valve opening and closing, eliminating the need for metal springs while maintaining reliable flow control.
Solution Approach 2:
The valve mechanism becomes self-regulating by using the beverage pressure and the outlet channel geometry to automatically open and close the flow path. The system serves itself by utilizing the fluid's own properties rather than requiring external spring mechanisms, reducing device complexity while maintaining control reliability.
2Device complexity
If beverage pressure is used to open the valve, then the system is simple and springless, but the tap may leak due to pressure acting on the valve body
Solution Approach 1:
The outlet channel is designed with a curved cross-section that transitions from a larger upstream area to a smaller downstream opening. This curvature creates a pressure distribution that pushes the valve body toward the closed position while maintaining controlled flow, preventing leakage by ensuring the valve remains properly seated under pressure.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the geometric parameters of the outlet channel, specifically the cross-sectional area variation along the flow direction. This parameter change creates a pressure gradient that controls valve position and prevents leakage, allowing the simple springless design to function reliably without harmful leaking.
3Ease of manufacture
If the outlet channel has a simple straight geometry, then the design is simple, but the beverage jet is not well-defined and causes splattering
Solution Approach 1:
The outlet channel incorporates a curved cross-section that guides the beverage flow smoothly. This curvature focuses the liquid into a well-defined jet pattern, preventing splattering while maintaining manufacturing simplicity. The curved geometry naturally directs the flow without requiring complex additional components.
4Ease of operation
If a spout is used to guide beverage, then the flow direction is controlled, but beverage becomes trapped in the spout and drips after valve closure
Solution Approach 1:
The patent eliminates the separate spout component that caused beverage trapping. Instead, the outlet channel itself provides the flow guidance function, and its curved geometry ensures complete drainage by preventing beverage accumulation, thus removing the dripping problem associated with traditional spouts.
Solution Approach 2:
The curved cross-section of the outlet channel creates a flow path that promotes complete drainage. The geometry ensures beverage flows smoothly through and exits cleanly without becoming trapped, eliminating post-dispensing dripping while maintaining flow direction control.
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 effectively prevents leaking and dripping, provides a concentrated and well-defined beverage jet, and simplifies the design by eliminating the need for external springs, making it easier to construct and use, while maintaining a self-contained dispensing system without external pressurization.
Implementation Method 1
A dispensing assembly with a movable valve body and deformable wall or membrane that uses beverage pressure to close and open the outlet channel
Implementation Method 2
eliminating the need for external springs and minimizing dripping by utilizing the pressure of the beverage to bias the valve into a closed position
Data Source
AI summary
Dispensing assembly comprising a container, containing a pressurized beverage, connected to or provided with a dispense assembly, wherein the dispense assembly comprises an outlet channel closable by a valve body and a chamber between the container and the valve body, which chamber is at least partly closed by a movable and/or deformable wall part connected to the valve body or a valve seat, such that pressurized beverage from the container filling the chamber forces the wall part, into a position biasing the valve body or the valve seat in a position closing the outlet channel and by pushing the wall part the valve body or the valve seat can be forced into a position opening the outlet channel, wherein preferably at least during use there is an open connection between said chamber and a beverage compartment of the container.