Dispenser Piston with Apertures for Viscous Product Flow
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing dispensing taps struggle to effectively manage the flow of high to medium viscosity fluids, such as laundry care products, as they often result in product sticking to the outlet tunnel walls and inefficient dosing due to air access issues.
Innovation Solution
A dispensing tap design featuring a piston with dispensing apertures and a tubular terminal conduit of different cross-sectional shapes, combined with a resilient push button, allows for controlled flow and sealing of high viscosity products by moving between dispensing and sealing positions, ensuring product flow through a cylindrical product tunnel with a piston movement axis.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If a conventional dispensing tap is used for high viscosity products, then the structure is simple, but the product sticks to the outlet tunnel walls and dosing is inefficient
Solution Approach 1:
The outlet tunnel is divided into two sections with different cross-sectional shapes: a cylindrical product tunnel for product flow and a square terminal dispensing conduit for controlled dispensing. This segmentation prevents product sticking by eliminating the transition zone between different shapes, allowing complete emptying of high viscosity products without dosing inefficiency
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the dimensional geometry of the outlet tunnel by using a cylindrical cross-section for the product tunnel and a square cross-section for the terminal conduit. This dimensional change optimizes fluid flow characteristics for high viscosity products, preventing sticking while maintaining dosing efficiency
2Reliability
If a piston with dispensing apertures is used, then complete emptying without leakage is achieved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The piston is made mobile within the body, allowing it to dynamically transition between a dispensing position (with apertures aligned to allow flow) and a sealing position (blocking the orifice to prevent leakage). This dynamic positioning achieves complete emptying without leakage while maintaining reasonable device complexity through straightforward mechanical actuation
Solution Approach 2:
The piston acts as an intermediary element between the product tunnel and the dispensing orifice. By positioning the piston with its apertures to control product flow and then moving it to block the orifice, it mediates the complete emptying process while preventing leakage, balancing sealing performance with device complexity
3Ease of operation
If different cross-sectional shapes are used in the conduit, then controlled dosing and quick cut-off are achieved, but the manufacturing precision requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The invention employs asymmetric cross-sectional shapes: a cylindrical product tunnel transitions to a square terminal dispensing conduit. This asymmetry enables controlled dosing and quick cut-off of product flow by creating specific flow dynamics in the terminal conduit, while the straightforward geometric shapes remain manufacturable without excessive precision requirements
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 efficient dispensing of high viscosity products by preventing sticking and ensuring complete emptying of the container without leakage, while allowing controlled dosing and quick cut-off of product flow through the use of different cross-sectional shapes and a curved piston.
Implementation Method 1
a resilient push button for moving the piston from the second position to the first position, the button being biased to keep the piston in the second position and depressable to move the piston to the first position
Data Source
AI summary
A dispensing tap has a body which is attached or attachable to a container. The body has a dispensing orifice, and a piston movable within the body between a dispensing position in which flowable product can pass through the orifice and a sealing position in which fluid cannot pass through the orifice. The piston has one or more dispensing apertures through which product can pass when the piston is in the dispensing position to reach the dispensing orifice.