Foam Dispensing Pump Decompression to Eliminate Foam Tail
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional foam dispensers often leave residual foam in the delivery tube, leading to a 'foam tail' that can drip and create a sticky residue, causing mess and waste.
Innovation Solution
A foam pump dispenser with a decompression feature that uses a liquid piston and gas piston mechanism to fully mix liquid and air, preventing residual foam from hanging in the delivery tube by vacuuming it back and eliminating the foam tail through a combination of piston movements and valve operations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of substance
If conventional foam dispensers are used to dispense foamed liquid, then the dispensing function is achieved, but residual foam remains in the delivery tube creating foam tail and dripping
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies reverse action by creating a vacuum phase after dispensing that pulls residual foam back from the delivery tube into the mixing chamber, thereby eliminating the foam tail problem through decompression and reverse flow
2Productivity
If a liquid piston and gas piston mechanism is used to mix and dispense foam, then complete mixing and dispensing is achieved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the liquid piston and gas piston into a single integrated assembly where both pistons move together within a common housing, sharing structural components and reducing overall device complexity while maintaining complete mixing and dispensing functionality
Solution Approach 2:
The piston assembly serves multiple functions: mixing liquid and air, pressurizing the foam, controlling flow through valve operations, and enabling vacuum decompression to eliminate residual foam, thereby achieving high productivity without proportionally increasing complexity
3Loss of substance
If the air piston and liquid piston move simultaneously in both directions, then complete foam discharge is achieved, but control complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The piston assembly automatically performs vacuum decompression and residual foam retrieval through its own reverse movement, eliminating the need for separate control mechanisms and reducing control complexity while achieving complete foam discharge
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
Effectively eliminates the foam tail and dripping, ensuring complete discharge of foamed liquid without residue, reducing waste and mess, and is inexpensive and simple to manufacture.
Implementation Method 1
An actuator moves the liquid piston and the air piston in a first direction such that the air piston delivers air from an air chamber to a mixing chamber and the liquid piston delivers a liquid from a liquid chamber to the mixing chamber where the air and liquid are mixed in the mixing chamber to create a foam
Implementation Method 2
The movement of the liquid piston and the gas piston in a second direction draws residual foam from the delivery tube and delivers the residual foam from the delivery tube to the air chamber
Data Source
AI summary
A dispenser comprises a liquid piston and a gas piston coupled for movement. The pistons are mounted for movement relative to one another to define a mixing chamber therebetween. An actuator simultaneously moves the pistons in a first direction such that the air piston delivers air from an air chamber to the mixing chamber and the liquid piston delivers a liquid from a liquid chamber to the mixing chamber where the air and liquid are mixed in the mixing chamber to create a foam. Movement of one of the air piston and the liquid piston is stopped such that the pistons move relative to one another such that only air is delivered to the mixing chamber. The movement of the pistons in a second direction draws residual foam from a delivery tube and delivers the residual foam to the air chamber.