Flexible Shell Fluid Dispensing Device Preventing Air Ingress
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing fluid dispensing devices, such as nasal inhalers and spray delivery devices, often suffer from inconsistent spray quality, require upright orientation to avoid air aspiration, and result in waste due to the need for repeated actuations to achieve desired spray characteristics.
Innovation Solution
A fluid dispensing device with a flexible shell container and a discharge assembly comprising movable members that create negative pressure to expel a well-defined dose of liquid substance, ensuring air-tightness and reproducible spray characteristics regardless of device orientation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a rigid container structure is used, then the device structure is stable and simple, but air ingress occurs after liquid withdrawal leading to poor spray quality
Solution Approach 1:
The container employs a flexible shell that can deform elastically and/or plastically to accommodate liquid withdrawal without creating air ingress pathways. The flexible material allows the container to maintain its sealed structure while adapting to volume changes, preventing air from entering the cavity and compromising spray quality.
2Reliability
If the device is kept upright to avoid air aspiration, then spray quality is maintained, but the device lacks operational versatility in different orientations
Solution Approach 1:
The flexible shell container eliminates the need for upright orientation by preventing air ingress through its deformable structure. Unlike rigid containers that require gravitational assistance to prevent air aspiration, the flexible container maintains its sealed integrity regardless of orientation, allowing the device to be used in any position while maintaining consistent spray quality.
3Reliability
If repeated actuations are performed to achieve desired spray characteristics, then spray quality is improved, but liquid substance is wasted
Solution Approach 1:
The flexible container is pre-configured to maintain a consistent liquid environment from the first actuation. By preventing air ingress beforehand through its deformable sealed structure, the container ensures that the liquid substance remains free of air bubbles and maintains optimal spray characteristics from the initial dose, eliminating the need for repeated actuations and reducing waste.
4Reliability
If a flexible shell is used to prevent air ingress, then spray quality and sterility are maintained, but the container structure becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The flexible shell serves as both the container structure and the air-tight seal simultaneously. This single-component design integrates the containment and sealing functions into one element, avoiding the need for complex multi-component assemblies with separate seals and rigid structures. The flexibility of the shell material provides the necessary air-tight properties while maintaining structural simplicity.
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 device provides reliable, reproducible spray delivery with reduced waste and increased patient safety by preventing air ingress, maintaining sterility, and allowing for oxygen-sensitive formulations, while being compact and easy to use.
Implementation Method 1
The flexible material, hence, the at least one flexible shell portion supports and allows an elastic and/or plastic deformation of the shell and hence of the container when a portion of the liquid substance is withdrawn or expelled from the container
Implementation Method 2
the at least one flexible shell portion of the shell serves to provide a pressure equilibrium of the pressure inside the cavity with regards to a surrounding pressure outside the cavity
Implementation Method 3
The negative pressure inside the cavity may be caused by a movement of the first member and the second member relative to each other along the first direction
Data Source
AI summary
The present disclosure relates to a fluid dispensing device (10) comprising: a housing (11) sized to accommodate a container (20) filled with a liquid substance (21), the container (20) comprising a cavity (22) confined by a shell (23), the shell (23) comprising at least a flexible shell portion (24); a discharge assembly (30) comprising a first member (40) and a second member (50), the first member (40) comprising a hollow tubular section (41) in flow communication with the cavity (22); and the first member (40) and the second member (50) being movable relative to each other along a first direction to discharge a dose of the liquid substance (21) from the cavity (22).