Drip Concentrating Member for Container Spout Messiness
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing container transitions fail to prevent excess product from flowing out around or beneath the spout, leading to messiness during dispensing, and lack simplicity in design and process steps.
Innovation Solution
A transition with a collar, spout, and drip concentrating member featuring at least one drain hole and a retarding portion, made from specific plastics, which connects the collar and spout, and includes an attachment mechanism to securely fix the collar to the container, effectively slowing down the flow of excess product to prevent it from escaping.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a conventional transition with spout is used, then the structure is simple, but excess product flows out around or beneath the spout causing messiness
Solution Approach 1:
The drip concentrating member is segmented into multiple functional zones: an upper portion for collecting excess product, a retarding portion with drain holes for controlled drainage, and a lower portion for directing flow back to the container. This segmentation allows each zone to perform its specific function, preventing messiness while maintaining manageable complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The drip concentrating member acts as an intermediary component between the spout and the container opening. It intercepts excess product that would otherwise flow out around or beneath the spout, and mediates its return to the container through controlled drainage, thereby solving the messiness problem without requiring fundamental changes to the spout design
2Ease of operation
If drain-back transitions are used to allow product to flow back into the container, then some product recovery is achieved, but excess product still flows out beneath or around the spout causing messiness
Solution Approach 1:
The drip concentrating member provides localized product recovery directly at the spout outlet area. The upper portion collects excess product locally, the retarding portion with drain holes provides controlled local drainage, and the lower portion directs flow back locally to the container. This localized approach prevents excess product from traveling outward to create messiness while achieving effective product recovery
3Ease of operation
If a transition with drip concentrating member and retarding portion is added, then messiness is prevented, but manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The drip concentrating member merges multiple functions into a single integrated component: product collection, controlled drainage through retarding portions, and flow direction back to the container. By combining these functions into one piece rather than multiple separate components, the design achieves messiness prevention while maintaining ease of manufacture through reduced assembly steps
4Ease of operation
If the drip concentrating member is made non-planar with retarding portions, then product flow is controlled and messiness reduced, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The drip concentrating member employs non-planar, curved surfaces to control product flow. The upper portion, retarding portion, and lower portion are connected through curved transitions that guide product flow naturally along the surfaces. This curvature-based design achieves effective flow control and messiness prevention while maintaining relatively simple geometry that does not significantly increase device complexity
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 significantly reduces messiness and enhances user appeal by preventing excess product from flowing out during dispensing, while being scalable and fabricated inexpensively with minimal process steps.
Implementation Method 1
a drip concentrating member comprising at least one drain hole and at least one retarding portion... effectively slowing down the flow of excess product to prevent it from escaping
Data Source
AI summary
A transition for dispensing a composition from a container comprises a collar; a spout comprises an opening, said spout being capable of directing the flow of the composition out of the container; a drip concentrating member having at least one drain hole functionally connecting the collar and the spout; wherein the drip concentrating member is at least partially non-planar.