Finned Nozzle Orifice Design to Increase Toothpaste Dose Delivery
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional toothpaste nozzles often result in users applying less than the recommended dose, leading to inadequate delivery of active ingredients and aesthetic benefits.
Innovation Solution
A nozzle design featuring a partially occluded orifice with fins that direct the toothpaste extrusion off-axis, increasing the nurdle weight and enhancing sensory experience through shear and pressurization, resulting in improved flavor release and dispersibility.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If a conventional cylindrical nozzle is used, then the device complexity is low, but the quantity of substance dispensed is insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The nozzle orifice is segmented into multiple channels by introducing fins that extend into the orifice from the inner surface of the nozzle body. These fins divide the single large orifice into several smaller flow paths, increasing the surface area and promoting off-axis extrusion of the toothpaste, thereby delivering a greater quantity of substance.
Solution Approach 2:
The fins extend in the axial direction into the orifice space, creating a three-dimensional structure within the two-dimensional orifice plane. This dimensional addition redirects the flow from a purely axial path to include off-axis components, increasing the effective dispensing area and quantity.
2Reliability
If the orifice is partially occluded with fins, then the shear and pressurization enhance flavor release, but the manufacturing precision requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The fins are positioned to occlude only a portion of the orifice cross-section rather than the entire area, creating localized flow restriction zones. This partial occlusion generates sufficient shear and pressurization effects for enhanced flavor release while leaving enough open area to maintain reasonable manufacturing tolerances.
Solution Approach 2:
The fin geometry parameters (height, width, spacing, angle) are optimized to achieve the desired shear and pressurization effects within manufacturable tolerance ranges. By carefully selecting these parameters, the design achieves reliable flavor release enhancement without requiring excessively tight manufacturing precision.
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 nozzle design ensures a more effective delivery of toothpaste, providing a closer-to-recommended dose with enhanced flavor and foaming, while maintaining aesthetic appeal.
Implementation Method 1
enhancing sensory experience through shear and pressurization
Implementation Method 2
enhancing sensory experience through shear and pressurization
Data Source
AI summary
A nozzle for dispensing an oral care composition includes an orifice having a central axis and fins partially occluding the orifice, where each of the fins has an upper surface and a lower surface. In use, the nozzle may result in a dispensed oral care composition having an increased weight compared to the same composition being dispensed from a conventional, unobstructed circular orifice. Assemblies and methods are also provided.