Bottom-Dispensing Squeeze Bottle for Viscous Fluid Waste Reduction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing dispensers for high-volume fluid and sauce dispensing in restaurants and industrial settings face issues with waste reduction, sanitation, and productivity due to the difficulty in extracting remaining contents, refilling, and cleaning, as well as high costs and complexity of prior art solutions.
Innovation Solution
A dispenser system featuring an elongated bottle with a bottom dispensing cap, a squeezable mid-section inversion tube, and a pre-filled liner that allows for efficient dispensing of viscous materials by increasing internal pressure and neutralizing pressure with air entry, reducing waste and eliminating the need for refilling and thorough washing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If traditional plastic squeeze bottles are used for dispensing sauces, then ease of operation is maintained, but waste of substance increases due to difficulty in extracting remaining contents
Solution Approach 1:
The patent inverts the traditional dispensing approach by placing the dispensing valve at the bottom of the bottle rather than at the top. This inversion allows gravity to assist in directing remaining sauce toward the dispensing valve, enabling complete evacuation of contents while maintaining easy operation through simple squeezing motion.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the dispensing parameter from top-down gravity-assisted flow to bottom-up pressure-driven flow. By positioning the dispensing valve at the bottom and applying pressure from the top through squeezing, the system achieves complete content evacuation while maintaining operational simplicity.
2Productivity
If inverted bottles with leak-resistant valves are used in restaurants, then productivity is improved by ready dispensing, but loss of time increases due to washing and refilling requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs disposable bottles that are discarded after single use, eliminating the time-consuming washing and refilling operations. The low cost of these disposable bottles makes them economically viable for high-volume restaurant applications, converting a time loss into a minimal material cost.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of washing and recovering bottles for refilling, the system discards used bottles and replaces them with new pre-filled ones. This approach recovers the time that would be spent on cleaning operations by transitioning to a disposable model, where the time cost is replaced by minimal material replacement time.
3Loss of substance
If bulk containers are used for refilling inverted bottles, then loss of substance decreases, but object-generated harmful factors increase due to contamination risks
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the dispensing system into individual pre-filled bottles rather than using bulk containers. Each bottle is independently sealed and sterile, eliminating cross-contamination risks associated with bulk storage and manual refilling operations while maintaining efficient sauce dispensing.
Solution Approach 2:
The bottles are pre-filled and sealed in a controlled manufacturing environment before reaching the point of use. This preliminary action ensures sterility and prevents contamination during storage and handling, eliminating the contamination risks associated with on-site bulk container refilling operations.
4Loss of substance
If complex prior art dispenser systems are implemented, then waste reduction is achieved, but device complexity increases leading to higher costs
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the complex internal mechanisms from prior art dispensers and replaces them with a simple disposable bottle containing pre-filled sauce and a basic dispensing valve. This extraction eliminates complex moving parts, pistons, and inversion mechanisms while achieving complete content evacuation through simple pressure application.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of using expensive, complex, reusable dispenser systems that require maintenance and cleaning, the patent employs inexpensive disposable bottles. These simple single-use containers achieve complete content evacuation without complex mechanisms, reducing both device complexity and cost while maintaining waste reduction effectiveness.
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 system effectively reduces waste, improves productivity, and lowers costs by allowing intuitive use, minimizing training requirements, and maintaining sanitation, with a cost-effective design that is adaptable for high-volume applications.
Implementation Method 1
squeeze the bottle to increase internal pressure in the bottle and forcing sauce out of the bottle
Implementation Method 2
upon release, the system allows air to enter and replace the forced-out sauce and neutralizes the pressure in a space between the liner and an interior of the bottle
Data Source
AI summary
Systems, methods, and processes are disclosed for the manufacture, filling and dispensing of flowable contents. The dispenser system generally includes a dispenser bottle, a dispensing cap, a pre-filled container, and an optional inversion tube wherein the pre-filled container contains flowable contents therein for dispensing when a dispenser bottle is squeezed, pumped or sprayed. A user grasps the bottle, squeezes it to increase internal pressure, and forces out through the dispensing cap the flowable contents. Upon release, the system allows air to enter and replace the forced-out flowable contents and neutralize the pressure in the space between the container and the bottle. An inline process of manufacturing and filling the containers is provided.