Foam-Dispensing Pump Valve Seat Backflow Prevention
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional foam-dispensing pump containers face usability issues due to backflow of liquid or air into the pump after foam discharge, leading to reduced foam quality and increased operational force required to push down the nozzle head, as residual foam or liquid can flow backward into the air passage and solidify, blocking the flow path.
Innovation Solution
A foam-dispensing pump container with a rod-shaped valve body and a flexible valve seat portion that controls the connection between the air-liquid mixing unit and the liquid chamber, where the flexible valve seat comes into contact with the rod-shaped valve body before the nozzle head starts rising, significantly reducing backflow by closing the connecting portions between the liquid chamber and the air passage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a rod-shaped valve body with a latch portion is used to close both liquid chamber outlet and air passage outlet simultaneously, then backflow prevention is improved, but device complexity increases and timing delay causes backflow during the transition period
Solution Approach 1:
The valve mechanism is divided into two separate functional components: a rod-shaped valve body for closing the liquid chamber outlet and a ring-shaped valve body for closing the air passage outlet. This segmentation allows each valve to operate independently with optimized timing, eliminating the need for a complex single valve structure while achieving reliable backflow prevention throughout the entire cycle.
Solution Approach 2:
A seal ring is introduced as an intermediary element between the ring-shaped valve body and the air passage outlet. This seal ring ensures complete sealing of the air passage when the ring-shaped valve body closes it, preventing backflow through the air passage while maintaining a simpler overall valve structure.
2Productivity
If the nozzle head is pushed down to discharge foam, then foam discharge function is improved, but residual liquid flows backward into the air passage causing blockage
Solution Approach 1:
The ring-shaped valve body closes the air passage outlet in advance before the rod-shaped valve body closes the liquid chamber outlet. This preliminary action ensures that the air passage is sealed before residual liquid can flow backward into it, preventing blockage while maintaining efficient foam discharge operation.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of using a single valve to close both passages simultaneously, the invention uses two valves with different closing sequences. The air passage is closed first (in reverse order of what might be intuitively expected), preventing backflow before it can occur, while the liquid chamber outlet is closed afterward to complete the sealing process.
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 effectively prevents backflow of foam or liquid into the air passage, improving the usability of the foam-dispensing pump container by maintaining a stable air supply and reducing the operational force needed to discharge foam, ensuring consistent foam quality.
Implementation Method 1
a flexible valve seat portion which includes a plate-like member having flexibility at least in a downward direction
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2(a)~2(b)
Figure 3(A)~3(C)
AI summary
The foam-dispensing pump container according to the present invention has the valve seat portion (36) which protrudes inwardly below the air-liquid mixing unit (C) and which is formed of the flexible member that can come into contact with the outer peripheral face of the latch portion of the rod-shaped valve body (40a), and immediately after the nozzle head starts rising, the flexible valve seat portion (36) comes into contact with the rod-shaped valve body (40a) before the upper opening end of the liquid chamber comes into contact with the rod-shaped valve body, thereby significantly reducing a backflow of the foam or liquid into the air passage, and consequently improving the usability of the foam-dispensing pump container.