Flexible-Container Adapter Kit for Gun-Type Sauce Dispensers

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing sauce dispensers face inefficiencies due to the use of cylindrical cartridges, which occupy large volumes, are expensive, and difficult to recycle, and refillable plastic tubes are inconvenient to fill and maintain.

Innovation Solution

Adapting gun-type sauce dispensers to use flexible-walled containers through a kit comprising a nose piece and dispensing tube, allowing for efficient dispensing from flexible-walled containers that can be packed densely and recycled easily.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If cylindrical cartridges with stiff walls are used to package sauces, then the sauces can be dispensed using gun-type dispensers, but the cartridges occupy large volumes and are expensive and difficult to recycle

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvedispensing reliabilityVSAvoidcontainer volume

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSVolume of moving object

Solution Approach 1:

The patent replaces stiff-walled cylindrical cartridges with flexible-walled containers that have thin plastic film walls. These flexible containers can be compressed and packed densely while still maintaining their structural integrity during dispensing operations, directly reducing the volume occupied by the containers.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #30Flexible shells and thin films

Solution Approach 2:

The invention changes the physical parameters of the container walls from stiff and rigid to flexible and thin. This parameter change allows the containers to be compressed into smaller volumes for storage and transport while still being functional for dispensing, thereby reducing the volume parameter without sacrificing dispensing reliability.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #35Parameter changes

2Reliability

If cylindrical cartridges with stiff walls are used to package sauces, then the sauces can be dispensed using gun-type dispensers, but the cartridges are expensive and difficult to recycle

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvedispensing reliabilityVSAvoidrecycling ease

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSEase of manufacture

Solution Approach 1:

The flexible-walled containers made from thin plastic film are simpler in structure compared to stiff-walled cylindrical cartridges. This simplified structure made from common plastic materials makes them easier to manufacture and significantly easier to recycle, as flexible plastic containers can be more readily processed in recycling facilities.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #30Flexible shells and thin films

Solution Approach 2:

The invention employs disposable flexible-walled containers that are inexpensive to manufacture from common plastic materials. These containers are designed for single-use or limited-use applications, reducing the need for expensive, durable stiff-walled cartridges while maintaining dispensing reliability throughout their service life.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #27Cheap short-living objects (Disposable)

3Volume of moving object

If refillable plastic dispensing tubes are used, then the container volume can be reduced, but the tubes are inconvenient to fill and require labor-intensive cleaning and maintenance

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecontainer volumeVSAvoidfilling convenience

Core Design Contradiction:

Volume of moving objectVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The invention uses disposable flexible-walled containers that come pre-filled with sauce. This eliminates the need for refilling operations entirely, making the process as convenient as simply replacing a cartridge. The containers are designed for single-use, eliminating cleaning and maintenance requirements while maintaining compact volume.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #27Cheap short-living objects (Disposable)

Solution Approach 2:

The invention extracts the refilling and cleaning operations from the dispensing system by using pre-filled, disposable containers. This removes the labor-intensive tasks of filling and maintaining refillable tubes, leaving only the simple operation of replacing the container when empty.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

4Reliability

If cylindrical cartridges are used, then gun-type dispensers can dispense sauces, but the cartridges occupy large volumes for the quantity of sauce contained

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvedispensing functionVSAvoidstorage efficiency

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSProductivity

Solution Approach 1:

The flexible-walled containers can be compressed and stacked efficiently due to their flexibility, allowing much higher storage density compared to rigid cylindrical cartridges. This improves productivity by maximizing the use of storage space while maintaining the dispensing function throughout the container's service life.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #30Flexible shells and thin films

Data Source

PatentUS9937519B2Kit for adapting dispensers to dispense materials from flexible-walled containers

Publication Date: 2018.04.10 FRANKE TECH & TRADEMARK LTD

AI summary

A kit for converting a gun-type sauce dispenser to dispense flowable materials such as sauces from flexible-walled containers comprises a nose piece, a dispensing tube and a supplemental piston. The nose piece has a forward end adapted to be attached to an end stop of the sauce dispenser. An opening extends axially through the nose piece. The nosepiece is adapted to be coupled to the dispensing tube such that the dispensing tube is held axially relative to the nose piece. A top sheet of a flexible-walled container may be retained between the nose piece and the dispensing tube. The nose piece may comprise a member arranged to tension the end sheet of the container.