Dual-Piston Foam Pump Outlet Path to Prevent Clogging
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Solution Overview
Problem
Commercial foam pumps often clog due to oxidation or drying of the mixture, especially when unused for extended periods, and the porous members used to improve foam characteristics are difficult to fabricate and costly.
Innovation Solution
A dual piston pump engine with an air cylinder and fluid cylinder, featuring a mixing chamber and an outlet chamber with a flow path defined by stacked and spaced disks or orifice plates, which creates foam without the need for a porous member, ensuring consistent foam quality and reducing clogging risks.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a porous member is used to improve foam characteristics, then foam quality is improved, but the pump becomes susceptible to clogging and more costly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the porous member from the pump system entirely. Instead of using a porous screen or mesh to create foam, the invention employs a dual-chamber mixing system where air and liquid are mixed in a mixing chamber and then pass through a series of expansion chambers that naturally create foam through pressure differential and turbulence, eliminating the need for porous components that clog
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces expansion chambers as intermediary elements between the mixing chamber and the outlet. These chambers provide a transition zone where the mixed air-liquid solution can expand and form foam naturally without requiring porous media, serving as a mediator that achieves foam generation through volume expansion rather than filtration
2Manufacturing precision
If a porous member is used to homogenize foam, then foam uniformity is improved, but the porous member becomes difficult to fabricate and costly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the foam generation process into multiple discrete expansion chambers rather than using a single porous member. Each chamber provides a stage for foam development, allowing uniform foam creation through sequential expansion stages. This segmentation replaces the need for precisely manufactured porous structures with simpler, easily fabricated chamber components
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transitions from a two-dimensional porous surface (screen or mesh) to a three-dimensional expansion chamber system. By adding the dimension of volume expansion, the system achieves foam homogenization through spatial expansion rather than surface filtration, simplifying manufacturing while maintaining foam uniformity
3Ease of operation
If the pump is unused for an extended period, then convenience is maintained, but the porous member becomes clogged due to oxidation or drying
Solution Approach 1:
The patent eliminates the porous member that is susceptible to clogging during storage. By removing the porous screen or mesh component entirely and replacing it with open-chamber expansion geometry, the system prevents clogging issues that occur when pumps are stored unused, as there is no porous structure for oxidized or dried material to block
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 effectively creates and dispenses foam without clogging issues, enhancing foam quality and reducing manufacturing complexity and costs by eliminating the need for porous members.
Implementation Method 1
a dual piston pump engine having an air cylinder and fluid cylinder, said cylinders having an air piston and a liquid piston, respectively
Implementation Method 2
an outlet chamber providing a flow path with successive turns, whereby when air and fluid is fed into said mixing chamber foam is created which passes into the outlet chamber, through the flow path
Data Source
AI summary
A foam pump assembly for dispensing foam comprises a dual piston pump engine having an air cylinder and fluid cylinder each with pistons, a mixing chamber in communication with the liquid cylinder for receiving liquid, and in communication with the air cylinder for receiving air, an outlet chamber providing a flow path with turns, whereby when air and fluid is fed into said mixing chamber foam is created which passes into the outlet chamber, through the flow path and out of the pump outlet.