Flexible Mixing Container for Construction Materials
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional methods for mixing and dispensing construction materials such as tile grout, thinset mortar, and drywall mud are time-consuming and require substantial cleanup efforts due to their inefficiency and complexity.
Innovation Solution
A flexible container system with a mixing tool that allows for easy loading, mixing, and dispensing of construction material components, featuring a collapsible and evertible design to facilitate efficient mixing and cleanup, utilizing a liquid impervious flexible body that maintains shape during loading and collapses to dispense the mixture, and a mixing tool with a soft flexible paddle for thorough mixing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If conventional mixing methods are used, then construction materials can be mixed, but the process is time-consuming and requires substantial cleanup efforts
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a disposable mixing container that is discarded after single use, eliminating the need for cleaning and reducing cleanup time to nearly zero. The container is designed to be used once and then thrown away, which resolves the contradiction between mixing efficiency and cleanup time by removing the cleanup requirement entirely.
Solution Approach 2:
The mixing container serves multiple functions: it acts as the mixing vessel, the mixing tool holder, and the dispensing mechanism. This multi-functionality integrates several separate operations into one unified system, improving productivity while minimizing the time required for additional cleanup operations.
2Stability of the object's composition
If a rigid container is used for mixing, then the container maintains its shape during mixing, but it is difficult to dispense the mixture completely and requires more cleanup
Solution Approach 1:
The container transitions from a rigid state during mixing to a flexible, collapsible state during dispensing. This dynamic change allows the container to maintain shape stability when needed (during mixing) and become easily collapsible when needed (during dispensing), resolving the contradiction between shape stability and dispensing ease.
Solution Approach 2:
The container is made from a flexible material that allows it to be collapsed completely for dispensing. This flexible shell design enables the container to deform and collapse under manual pressure, forcing all mixture material out of the container, thereby improving ease of operation during dispensing while maintaining sufficient rigidity during the mixing phase.
3Ease of operation
If a flexible container is used for mixing, then the container can be collapsed for dispensing, but it may lose its shape during loading and mixing
Solution Approach 1:
The container material properties are specifically selected to provide optimal balance: sufficient rigidity to maintain shape during loading and mixing operations, yet enough flexibility to allow complete collapse for dispensing. The parameters of the material (flexibility, strength, stiffness) are changed or selected to resolve the contradiction between collapsing capability and shape maintenance.
4Ease of manufacture
If conventional mixing containers are used, then mixing can be performed, but substantial cleanup efforts are required
Solution Approach 1:
The mixing container is designed as a disposable item that is manufactured cheaply and used once, then discarded. This eliminates the need for cleaning and maintenance (repair in this context), resolving the contradiction between mixing capability and cleanup effort by removing the cleanup requirement entirely.
Solution Approach 2:
The cleanup function is extracted from the system by using a disposable container. Instead of requiring the container to be cleaned and reused, the entire container is removed after use, taking the cleanup requirement out of the process and resolving the contradiction between ease of manufacture and cleanup effort.
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 system significantly reduces mixing time and cleanup efforts by allowing for easy dispensing and cleaning of construction material mixtures, maintaining the integrity of the container during use and facilitating thorough mixing without damaging the container.
Implementation Method 1
collapsing the flexible body inward toward the longitudinal axis to decrease a volume of the interior to force the construction material mixture out of the mouth
Implementation Method 2
The flexible body comprises a liquid impervious material constructed to prevent passage of the construction material mixture components through the flexible body
Data Source
AI summary
Systems and methods for preparing construction material mixtures. A container can include a flexible body having an interior for receiving and holding construction material mixture components to be mixed. The construction material mixture components can be mixed in the interior by rotating a mixing tool. The flexible body is collapsible for forcing the construction material mixture out of a mouth of the container. The flexible body can be everted to facilitate cleaning the interior of the flexible body. The system can also include a stand, a mixing tool, a funnel, and/or a measuring cup.