Concentric Foam Pump Assembly With Bottom Air Outlet Drainage
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional foam dispensing assemblies face issues with liquid ingress into the air pump chamber, leading to accumulation and potential malfunction of the air piston pump, which existing solutions attempt to mitigate but not fully address.
Innovation Solution
The foam dispensing assembly is designed with an air outlet located at or near the bottom of the air pump chamber, allowing liquid to flow towards the liquid cylinder and be pumped out during the actuation stroke, reducing accumulation and ensuring the air piston pump operates effectively.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If the air outlet is positioned at the top or side of the air pump chamber, then the structure is simpler and easier to manufacture, but liquid accumulates in the air pump chamber causing malfunction
Solution Approach 1:
The air outlet is positioned at the bottom of the air pump chamber instead of the conventional top or side position. This inverted positioning allows liquid that enters the air pump chamber to drain out through gravity toward the bottom outlet, preventing liquid accumulation and pump malfunction while maintaining manufacturing simplicity
2Reliability
If additional features are added to prevent liquid ingress into the air pump chamber, then liquid accumulation is reduced, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The harmful liquid is extracted from the air pump chamber by providing a dedicated drainage path through the bottom-positioned air outlet. This allows liquid to be removed from the system without requiring complex sealing mechanisms or additional components, maintaining device simplicity while improving reliability
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
This configuration significantly reduces the risk of air piston pump malfunction by efficiently removing liquid from the air pump chamber, ensuring consistent operation and preventing foam or liquid from entering the air pump chamber during dispensing.
Implementation Method 1
any liquid present in the air pump chamber will flow due to gravity to a region opposite the air piston, i.e. close to the location where the air outlet of the air pump chamber is arranged
Implementation Method 2
By actuation of the air pump the liquid may be pumped out of the air pump chamber
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention provides a dispensing assembly to dispense a foam, comprising: ? - a double cylinder element (2) mounted or to be mounted in an opening of a container (100), comprising a liquid cylinder (3) and an air cylinder (4), wherein the liquid cylinder has a smaller diameter than the air cylinder, and wherein the liquid cylinder and the air cylinder are arranged substantially concentrically, and ? - a piston assembly (10) comprising a liquid piston (11) and an air piston (12) for reciprocal movements in the liquid cylinder and air cylinder, respectively, and a common operating part for operating the liquid piston and air piston, ? wherein a liquid pump chamber (14) is at least delimited by the liquid cylinder and the liquid piston, said liquid pump chamber having a liquid inlet (15) and a liquid outlet (16), ? wherein an air pump chamber (25) is at least delimited by the air cylinder, the air piston and the liquid piston, said air pump chamber having an air inlet (26) and an air outlet (27), ? wherein the piston assembly (10) further comprises a dispensing channel (28) in fluid communication with the liquid outlet and the air outlet, wherein the dispensing channel ends in a dispensing opening (29), ? characterized in that the air outlet (27) is provided in the liquid piston in a region of the air pump chamber opposite to the air piston (12).