Dispenser Membrane Segmentation for Assembly Handling
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing dispensers with a pump chamber bounded by a soft plastic membrane face challenges in assembly and initial use due to problematic handling of the membrane part and air displacement during the assembly and first use of the device.
Innovation Solution
A dispenser design featuring a pump chamber with a deformable membrane part, rigid housing sections, and a mechanism that includes an actuating button and valves to manage pressure and air displacement, allowing for efficient liquid discharge and droplet formation, with a spring device and secure connection methods to facilitate assembly and operation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a soft plastic membrane part is used to bound the pump chamber for volumetric variation, then the pump chamber can be effectively deformed for liquid suction and pressurization, but the handling and coupling of the membrane part during automated assembly becomes problematic
Solution Approach 1:
The pump chamber is divided into a rigid housing portion and a separate deformable membrane portion. The membrane is secured to the housing at its peripheral edge, allowing the rigid part to provide structural support for automated assembly while the flexible membrane maintains its deformation capability for pump operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The rigid housing acts as an intermediary structure that supports the soft membrane during assembly. The membrane is coupled to the rigid housing at its periphery, allowing the rigid structure to facilitate automated handling while the soft membrane performs the pumping function.
2Productivity
If the pump chamber volume is reduced for efficient liquid delivery, then the device becomes more compact and efficient, but air displacement during first use becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The pump chamber is pre-filled with liquid before delivery to the user. This preliminary filling action ensures that air is displaced during manufacturing or initial setup, allowing the compact pump chamber to function immediately without requiring user intervention for air removal.
3Power
If the membrane part is made highly deformable for effective pump operation, then liquid pressurization is improved, but the minimum pump chamber volume increases
Solution Approach 1:
The pump chamber is segmented into a rigid housing that maintains the minimum volume and a deformable membrane that provides pressurization. The rigid housing prevents the overall chamber volume from increasing while the membrane deformation delivers the necessary pressurization power.
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 design enhances the ease of assembly and first-time use by ensuring effective air displacement and precise liquid delivery, reducing the minimum pump chamber volume and improving the handling of the membrane part, thereby overcoming previous issues with air entrapment and operational efficiency.
Implementation Method 1
the membrane part that is inherently deformable at least in sections and comprises a soft and hence readily deformable plastic at least in the region of a pump chamber wall
Implementation Method 2
pushing liquid in the direction of the delivery opening... opens at a positive pressure of about 0.5 bar in the pump chamber
Implementation Method 3
the dispenser has a spring device by which the actuating button is subjected to a force in the direction of the unactuated starting position
Implementation Method 4
an inlet valve that opens in the event of a reduced pressure in the pump chamber relative to the liquid reservoir
Implementation Method 5
an outlet valve that opens at a positive pressure in the pump chamber compared to a delivery channel that leads to the delivery opening
Data Source
AI summary
A dispenser for discharging pharmaceutical liquids in the form of individual drops, having a liquid store, a pump device with a pump chamber with a variable volume, and a dispensing opening. The dispenser additionally has a membrane part which delimits the pump chamber on one side and which changes the volume of the pump chamber by moving and/or deforming. The dispenser has a housing, within which the pump device is provided, and an actuation button movable relative to the housing between a non-actuated starting position and an actuated end position to move or deform the membrane part and to decrease the size of the pump chamber to discharge the liquid. The membrane part is secured to the housing and to the actuation button. The pump chamber achieves a high degree of compression and a toggle switch is used as the actuation button.