Clicking Dispensing Container Rotary Cam Mechanism

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Solution Overview

Problem

Conventional clicking type dispensing containers face issues with rotational movement failure due to piston sticking, increased component count leading to complex structures and higher costs, difficulty in quantitative ejection, and potential leakage, especially with high viscosity contents, and lack of clear indication during use.

Innovation Solution

A clicking type dispensing container with a mechanical assembly that transforms pressing force into rotational force using a rotary body with serrated cam teeth, where the first and second cam faces have forward and rearward inclined slopes, allowing for reliable rotation and clear clicking sensation, reducing the number of components and simplifying assembly.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If a spring and cam mechanism are used to generate rotational force, then the piston can be driven to advance, but the structure becomes complex and the number of components increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improverotational movement reliabilityVSAvoidmechanical assembly complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent extracts and eliminates the spring component from the traditional spring-cam mechanism. Instead of using a spring to store and release energy, the invention uses a purely mechanical cam-follower system where the cam profile directly converts linear pressing motion into rotational motion without requiring elastic energy storage. This reduces the number of components while maintaining the ability to drive the piston reliably.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

Solution Approach 2:

The cam mechanism is segmented into distinct functional elements: a pressing element that applies linear force, a cam element with specific profile geometry that converts this force to rotation, and a follower element that translates cam rotation into piston movement. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized for its specific function while reducing overall complexity compared to a monolithic spring-cam assembly.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

2Ease of operation

If serrated cam teeth are used to produce clicking sound, then user feedback is improved, but manufacturing precision requirements increase

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveuser feedback clarityVSAvoidcam tooth alignment precision
Core Design Contradiction:
Ease of operationVSManufacturing precision

Solution Approach 1:

The serrated teeth are not distributed uniformly across the entire cam surface but are localized to specific regions where they provide functional benefit. The teeth are positioned to engage with corresponding features on the follower only during the critical phases of the clicking cycle, allowing for relaxed manufacturing tolerances in non-critical areas while maintaining precise engagement where needed.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #3Local quality

Solution Approach 2:

The cam profile and serrated tooth geometry are designed with asymmetric features that create a strong directional clicking sensation. The teeth have different engagement characteristics on the approach and retreat sides, creating a pronounced one-way clicking feedback that is easily perceptible to the user. This asymmetric design amplifies the clicking effect without requiring extremely tight manufacturing tolerances.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #4Asymmetry

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 reliable rotational force generation without relying on spring force or complex cam configurations, ensures clear content delivery without uncomfortable sensations, and reduces the number of parts, improving assembly efficiency and user feedback.

Implementation Method 1

a mechanical assembly that transforms pressing force acting on the crown by operation of a user into rotational force, a threaded body (28) fixed to the barrel body (10) and a threaded rod (30) screw-fitted into the threaded body (28), and dispensing the content by advancing the threaded rod (30) by means of the threaded body (28) when the threaded rod (30) is turned by the rotational force transformed by the mechanical assembly (A)

Methodology Applied
Scientific EffectCam mechanism: Cam

Data Source

PatentEP2269483B1Knock type advancing container
Publication Date: 2016.04.13 MITSUBISHI PENCIL CO LTD
  • EP2269483B1 patent drawingFigure 1(a)~1(b)
  • EP2269483B1 patent drawingFigure 2(a)~2(b)
  • EP2269483B1 patent drawingFigure 3(a)~3(e)

AI summary

To provide a clicking type dispensing container that can produce rotational force upon initial movement of rotation without depending on the spring force and cam configuration only, that is constructed of a fewer number of parts than the prior art and that can dispense a fixed amount of the content by use of a thread. The clicking type dispensing container is a container that can dispense the content by pressing a crown 12 disposed at the rear end of a barrel body 10, forwards in the axial direction, and has a structure, including a mechanical assembly A that transforms the pressing force acting on crown 12 by user operation into rotational force, a threaded body 28 fixed to barrel body 10 and a threaded rod 30 screw-fitted into threaded body 28, and dispensing the content by advancing the threaded rod 30 through threaded body 28 when threaded rod 30 is turned by the rotational force transformed by the mechanical assembly A.