Deformable Container Collapsing to Eliminate Viscous Product Waste
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing dispensing systems for viscous or semi-solid food products, such as ice cream, face challenges including inefficiency in product dispensing, contamination risks, and environmental impact due to non-deformable containers that leave remnants and require significant space, as well as the need for adaptable and hygienic solutions for both household and commercial use.
Innovation Solution
A collapsible, deformable container with a stepped configuration and a dispensing apparatus that allows for the extrusion of products from prefilled containers, featuring a plunger-driven mechanism for efficient dispensing and automatic removal of empty containers, which collapses into a flattened shape with minimal remnants and is designed for adaptability and hygiene.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of substance
If conventional non-deformable containers are used for dispensing viscous products, then the container maintains its structural integrity, but the container leaves food remnants inside after dispensing and requires significant space for transportation and waste management
Solution Approach 1:
The container transitions from a rigid static structure to a dynamic deformable structure that can change its shape during dispensing. The deformable container collapses as product is dispensed, allowing the walls to flex inward and eliminate dead spaces where product would otherwise remain trapped, thereby reducing food waste while maintaining adequate space efficiency during transport.
Solution Approach 2:
The container employs flexible deformable walls that can bend and collapse during the dispensing process. These flexible walls allow the container to conform to the remaining product volume, ensuring complete evacuation of viscous products without leaving remnants, while the thin-walled design reduces the overall volume required for transportation and waste management.
2Productivity
If scoop dispensing method is used from large containers, then production and transport costs are low, but dispensing speed is slow and contamination risk increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses disposable single-serving deformable containers that are pre-filled and sealed. Each container is used once and then discarded, eliminating the need for cleaning and sanitization between uses. This approach maintains high hygienic standards while enabling faster automated dispensing compared to manual scooping from large reusable containers.
Solution Approach 2:
The deformable container is designed to work with a simple automated plunger mechanism that self-regulates the dispensing process. The container's deformation during dispensing naturally controls the product flow, reducing the need for complex dispensing equipment and manual intervention, thereby increasing dispensing speed while maintaining hygiene.
3Productivity
If soft serve machines are used for dispensing frozen desserts, then automated dispensing is achieved, but power requirements are high and manufacturing cost is expensive
Solution Approach 1:
The system replaces complex mechanical soft serve machines with a simple plunger-based dispensing mechanism. The deformable container's own structural properties provide the necessary product flow control, eliminating the need for high-power motors, complex mixing mechanisms, and temperature control systems required by traditional soft serve machines, thereby significantly reducing power consumption while maintaining automated dispensing capability.
4Adaptability or versatility
If multiple flavors are stored in large freezers for scoop dispensing, then product variety is provided, but freezer size becomes large and bulky
Solution Approach 1:
The system divides the product storage into multiple small individual containers, each containing a single serving of a specific flavor or product type. This segmentation allows a wide variety of flavors to be stored in a compact arrangement compared to large bulk containers, reducing the overall freezer volume required while maintaining extensive product variety. Each small container can be independently dispensed without requiring access to large bulk storage.
Data Source
AI summary
A collapsible, deformable container and dispensing apparatus is disclosed herein. The deformable container includes an end wall section; a first annular wall section connected to the end wall section; a curved wall section connected to the first annular wall section; and a second annular wall section connected to the first annular wall section via the curved wall section, the second annular wall circumscribing a central void. Upon extrusion of a dispensable product from the deformable container by a force exerted upon the end wall section, the curved wall section is configured to deform into the central void circumscribed by the second annular wall section, and the first annular wall section is configured to deform into and invert within the central void circumscribed by the second annular wall section. The dispensing apparatus includes a container removal component for removing the deformable container after a dispensable product has been extracted therefrom.