Keyed Spout Fitment for Reliable Household Liquid Refills

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing household liquid dispensers fail to ensure consistent operation, easy refill replacement, and prevention of low-quality liquid substitution, particularly for skin care and cleansing products, while maintaining low manufacturing costs.

Innovation Solution

A household liquid dispenser design featuring a housing with a pump, supply conduit, and a rigid wall with protuberances and channels on the spout fitment, allowing for secure and easy insertion of a refill container with discontinuous beads, ensuring proper alignment and sealing, and a removable frame for supporting the spout fitment within the dispenser.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Ease of operation

If a simple refill interface is used, then ease of refill replacement is improved, but reliability of dispensing deteriorates

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveease of refill replacementVSAvoidreliability of dispensing

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of operationVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The spout fitment uses asymmetric discontinuous beads with channels that must align with corresponding protuberances on the rigid wall, creating a keyed interface. This asymmetric design ensures proper orientation and secure connection while remaining simple to replace

Inventive Principle:

Principle #4Asymmetry

Solution Approach 2:

The spout fitment is nested within the rigid wall aperture, with the beads fitting over the protuberances. This nested configuration provides a secure, reliable connection that is also simple to insert and replace

Inventive Principle:

Principle #7Nested doll (Nesting)

2Reliability

If a keyed arrangement with protuberances and channels is implemented, then reliability of dispensing is improved, but device complexity worsens

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveconsistent operationVSAvoiddevice complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The keyed interface with protuberances and channels is applied locally only at the spout fitment connection point, rather than throughout the entire dispenser. This localized complexity provides reliable, consistent operation without significantly increasing overall device complexity

Inventive Principle:

Principle #3Local quality

Solution Approach 2:

The spout fitment with its keyed interface is designed as a disposable component that is replaced with each refill. This allows for a more complex connection mechanism at this single point without increasing the complexity of the permanent dispenser housing

Inventive Principle:

Principle #27Cheap short-living objects (Disposable)

3Reliability

If a secure fitment connection is used, then prevention of low-quality liquid substitution is improved, but ease of refill replacement worsens

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveprevention of substitutionVSAvoidease of refill replacement

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The discontinuous beads with channels create an asymmetric keyed interface that prevents substitution of incompatible refills while remaining simple to replace with the correct refill type. The asymmetric design provides security without making replacement difficult

Inventive Principle:

Principle #4Asymmetry

Data Source

PatentUS7832595B2Household liquid dispenser with keyed spout fitment and refill

Publication Date: 2010.11.16 CONOPCO INC

AI summary

A household liquid dispenser has a spout fitment with discontinuous beads or screw threads which define axial channels to interface with a pump inlet in a lock and key arrangement so as to maintain consistent quality of liquids dispensed by preventing the substitution of product refills of uncertain quality. Refills may be readily manufactured and at low cost. Mechanical and motorized dispensers may be used with the inventive spout fitment.