Manual Pump Safety Element Impact Protection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing manual pumps with safety elements fail to protect the pump from damage during impacts, as the safety elements come off during severe drops, leaving the pump unprotected and susceptible to strain and deflection.
Innovation Solution
A manual pump with a C-shaped safety element that is snap-fitted onto the dispenser, featuring ribs and projections to prevent rotation and deformation, ensuring the safety element remains securely attached during impacts, made from elastic materials like PET or PP to absorb shocks without breaking.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a safety element is added to protect the pump, then protection against impacts is improved, but the safety element comes off during severe drops leaving the pump unprotected
Solution Approach 1:
The safety element is segmented into a C-shaped structure with multiple ribs extending inward, creating multiple contact points with the dispenser. This segmentation allows the element to flex and absorb impact forces while maintaining attachment through distributed contact rather than a single rigid connection.
Solution Approach 2:
The safety element incorporates dynamic flexibility through its elastic material composition and C-shaped geometry, allowing it to deform elastically during impacts. The ribs can flex inward and outward to accommodate impact forces while the element remains attached, transitioning from a static rigid barrier to a dynamic energy-absorbing component.
2Strength
If the safety element is made rigid to prevent deformation, then protection effectiveness is improved, but the element cannot absorb shocks and may break during impacts
Solution Approach 1:
The safety element's material parameters are specifically selected to balance rigidity and flexibility. Made from elastic materials like PET or PP with controlled durometer values, the element maintains sufficient structural strength to protect the pump while possessing the flexibility to deform elastically and absorb impact energy without fracturing.
Solution Approach 2:
The safety element utilizes elastic polymer materials that combine rigid and flexible properties within a single material system. These composite-like materials provide both the structural integrity needed for protection and the elasticity required for shock absorption, eliminating the need for separate rigid and flexible components.
3Reliability
If the safety element is designed to be secure during impacts, then protection is improved, but assembly and removal become difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The C-shaped geometry with inherent elasticity allows the safety element to be easily assembled by flexing the open end onto the dispenser and secured through elastic retention. The same elastic properties that provide secure attachment during impacts also enable simple manual assembly and removal by applying sufficient force to overcome the elastic retention.
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 safety element effectively minimizes the risk of damage to the pump by remaining attached during impacts, absorbing shocks and preventing rotation, thus protecting the pump from strain and deflection, while being easy to assemble and remove.
Implementation Method 1
made from elastic materials like PET or PP to absorb shocks without breaking
Data Source
Figure 1~5
Figure 6~10
AI summary
Manual operated pump (1) for the delivery of a fluid, equipped with a main part (2, 3, 4) comprising a dispenser (2) coupled with a hollow stem (3) of the pump, through which the fluid is dispensed, and a ring nut (4) for fastening the pump to a container (20) designed to contain the fluid to be dispensed, the pump being equipped with a safety element (5), configured to be snap-fitted onto a cylindrical part (2A) of the dispenser through an opening (7) therein so as to be interposed between at least one surface (6) of the dispenser (2) and the ring nut (4), thereby preventing the dispenser from moving closer to the ring nut in the event of an impact during transportation, the safety element (5) featuring at least a first rib (8A) and a second rib (8B) running parallel to the axis of the cylindrical part (2A) of the dispenser onto which the safety element is fitted, the said first rib (8A) and second rib (8B) being positioned near the said opening (7); the main part of the pump comprises a first projection (11A) and a second projection (11B), which are intended to cooperate respectively with the first rib (8A) and the second rib (8B) to limit or prevent rotation of the safety element (5) with respect to the main part of the pump.