Dispensing Package Screw Assembly for Controlled Product Dosing
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Solution Overview
Problem
The consumer products industry faces increased design, manufacturing, and inventory costs due to the variety of new product packages needed for dispensing and delivering diverse consumer products, necessitating an improved packaging solution that can serve multiple products effectively.
Innovation Solution
A dispensing package design featuring a shell with protrusions and a screw assembly that includes a screw base, spindle, and elevator platform, allowing for controlled dispensing of products through a mechanism of protrusions and threads, providing both macro- and micro-dosing capabilities and preventing product weeping.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If multiple different package platforms are created for diverse consumer products, then product dispensing and delivery capabilities are improved, but design, manufacturing, and inventory costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies universality by designing a single standardized package platform that can dispense multiple types of consumer products. The package includes a shell with a chamber that can contain different products, a screw assembly with a spindle that can engage different cap structures, and a valve assembly that can work with various product viscosities. This allows one package design to serve multiple product types, reducing the need for separate package platforms for each product.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the package into modular components: a shell, a screw assembly with cap, and a valve assembly. These segments can be configured differently to accommodate various products while maintaining compatibility with the same basic package structure. The screw assembly can be removed and replaced, and the valve can be adjusted, allowing the same shell to work with different product formulations and dispensing requirements.
2Device complexity
If a standardized package platform is used for multiple products, then manufacturing and inventory costs are reduced, but the ability to provide controlled dispensing for diverse products may be compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The patent incorporates dynamic elements that allow the standardized package to adapt to different products. The valve assembly can be adjusted to control flow rates for different product viscosities, the screw assembly can engage different cap structures to provide different sealing levels, and the elevator mechanism can be positioned at different heights to accommodate various product fill levels. This dynamic adjustability maintains dispensing control across diverse products while using a single package platform.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent utilizes parameter changes to maintain dispensing precision across different products. The valve opening size can be adjusted, the screw thread pitch can vary to control rotation-to-dispense ratios, and the cap geometry can be modified to change sealing pressure. These parameter adjustments allow the same basic package structure to provide controlled dispensing for products with different viscosities, densities, and dispensing requirements.
3Reliability
If a screw assembly with spindle and elevator mechanism is implemented, then controlled dispensing and weeping prevention are improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies the nested doll principle by placing the elevator mechanism inside the screw assembly, which itself is contained within the shell. The spindle is housed within the screw base, and the elevator platform moves within the chamber. This nested arrangement consolidates multiple functions (sealing, dispensing control, weeping prevention) into a compact integrated structure, reducing overall device complexity while maintaining reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent merges multiple functions into the screw assembly: the threading mechanism provides both sealing and dispensing control, the spindle connects the cap rotation to elevator movement, and the elevator platform simultaneously prevents weeping and controls product flow. By combining these functions into a single integrated assembly rather than separate components, the patent reduces device complexity while achieving reliable weeping prevention and controlled dispensing.
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 and controlled dispensing of consumer products, reducing weeping and providing clear dosing indicia, thus enhancing user experience and reducing packaging complexity and costs.
Implementation Method 1
a spindle extending coaxially to the longitudinal axis from the screw base through the bottom wall into the chamber; and an elevator platform movably engaged to the spindle of the screw assembly
Data Source
AI summary
A dispensing package, the dispensing package includes a longitudinal axis; a shell including a chamber disposed within the shell, a first end, a second end opposite the first end, a first plurality of shell protrusions extending upwardly away from the first end, and a second plurality of shell protrusions extending downwardly in a direction opposite the first plurality of shell protrusions; a screw assembly including a screw base disposed adjacent to the first end and rotatably associated with the shell, a spindle extending from the screw base through the bottom wall into the chamber coaxial to the longitudinal axis of the package; and an elevator platform movably engaged to the spindle of the screw assembly.