Coaxial Refill Connector with Thrust Piston for Fluid Flow Initiation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing fluid product refill systems face difficulties in connecting bottles due to parallel arrangement of fluid and air connectors, leading to complex operations and issues with fluid and air flow initiation, particularly due to capillarity phenomena.
Innovation Solution
The system features coaxial internal fluid and air passages, allowing for a single, unitary connection and the use of thrust pistons to initiate fluid and air flow, ensuring easy and efficient refilling without visible air connection, facilitating user operation and minimizing leakage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If parallel arrangement of fluid and air connectors is used, then fluid and air transfer functions are provided, but connection operation becomes complex and difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the fluid connector and air connector into a single integrated connector unit. The fluid passage and air passage are arranged coaxially within the same connector structure, allowing simultaneous connection of both fluid and air pathways through a single connection action, thereby simplifying the connection operation while maintaining both transfer functions
Solution Approach 2:
The air passage is nested within or around the fluid passage in a coaxial arrangement. One passage is positioned inside or surrounding the other, allowing both passages to occupy the same spatial region without interfering with each other, thus reducing overall device complexity while providing both functions
2Productivity
If small passage section connectors are used, then device size is reduced, but capillarity phenomena hinder fluid and air flow initiation
Solution Approach 1:
The patent incorporates thrust pistons that are pre-positioned to push fluid and air into their respective passages upon connection. This preliminary action overcomes the capillarity resistance that would otherwise prevent flow initiation in small passage sections, ensuring reliable flow start-up without requiring larger passages
Solution Approach 2:
The thrust pistons act as intermediary elements between the connection action and the fluid/air flow. They transfer the mechanical connection force into directed thrust that overcomes capillary forces, enabling flow initiation in small passages without increasing passage size
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 coaxial arrangement simplifies the connection process, ensures easy fluid and air flow, and reduces the risk of leakage, making the refill system more user-friendly and efficient.
Implementation Method 1
the pushing means comprise at least one pushing piston to push the fluid product towards the fluid product inlet
Implementation Method 2
the piston being moved against the action of the return spring when connecting the two connectors
Implementation Method 3
it turned out that the crossed fluid and air flows have difficulty initiating, this most certainly due to capillarity phenomena linked to the small passage section of the connectors
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3
Figure 4a~4b
AI summary
The invention relates to a system for refilling a fluid product, including: a source bottle (S); a refillable mobile bottle (N) including a dispensing pump (A), the mobile bottle (N) having a smaller capacity than that of the source bottle (S); a connecting means (C) for connecting the two bottles (F, N) together in order to fill the mobile bottle (N) with the fluid product from the source bottle (S), said connecting means including a fluid-product intake (Ip) and an air outlet (Oa) on the source bottle (S), and a fluid-product outlet (Op) and an air intake (Ia) on the mobile bottle (N), the connecting means (C) defining an internal fluid-product passage connecting the fluid-product intake (Ip) to the fluid-product outlet (Op), and an internal air passage connecting the air intake (Ia) to the air outlet (Oa), characterised in that the internal fluid-product and air passages are arranged coaxially, the air passage surrounding the fluid-product passage or vice versa.