Spring-Operated Metering Valve With Bactericidal Coating
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing metering devices for liquid preparations are complex, expensive, unreliable, and prone to faults, with inadequate precision and susceptibility to drying out or contamination.
Innovation Solution
A spring-operated outlet valve is positioned at the end of the outlet channel, guided in a separate recess, with a bactericidal coating or insert to prevent contamination and drying, and a simplified design with fewer parts, including a one-piece cap and pump piston, and a friction-reduced storage container with a polyethylene coating.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If a complex metering device with many individual parts is used, then metering precision can be improved, but device complexity and production cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple individual parts into integrated components. The outlet valve assembly combines the valve body, spring, and sealing elements into a single integrated unit that fits into the metering device housing. This integration maintains precise metering control while reducing the total number of separate parts, thereby lowering device complexity and production costs.
Solution Approach 2:
The outlet valve assembly serves multiple functions simultaneously: it controls liquid flow metering, provides sealing to prevent leakage, and incorporates a spring mechanism for automatic closure. By combining these functions into a single integrated component rather than separate parts, the device achieves precise metering without proportionally increasing complexity.
2Ease of operation
If the outlet valve spring is placed in direct contact with the liquid preparation, then valve operation can be simplified, but contamination and drying out of the spring occurs
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the spring from direct contact with the liquid preparation by providing it with a dedicated recess or cavity within the outlet valve assembly. The spring remains housed in this protected space, performing its valve-closing function through mechanical contact with the valve body, while the liquid flows through separate channels that do not intersect with the spring's location. This prevents contamination and drying out while maintaining simple valve operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The outlet valve body acts as an intermediary between the spring and the liquid preparation. The spring contacts the valve body internally to transmit force for closing the outlet, while the valve body itself interfaces with the liquid flow. This intermediary structure allows the spring to operate the valve simply through mechanical contact without being exposed to the liquid, thereby preventing contamination.
3Ease of manufacture
If multiple separate components are used for cap and pump piston, then ease of assembly is improved, but production cost and device complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the cap and pump piston into a single integrated component molded as one piece. This integration eliminates the need for separate assembly steps between these two parts, reducing assembly complexity while maintaining manufacturing efficiency. The single-piece construction allows for streamlined production processes and reduces the total number of parts that require quality control inspection and assembly.
4Strength
If the storage container has high friction surfaces, then sealing is improved, but liquid flow and metering precision deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies different surface friction characteristics to different locations within the storage container. The regions requiring sealing (such as gasket contact surfaces and piston seal areas) have high friction to ensure effective sealing, while the liquid flow channels and metering passages maintain smooth, low-friction surfaces to ensure accurate liquid flow and precise metering. This localized differentiation of surface properties resolves the contradiction between sealing effectiveness and metering precision.
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
Ensures precise metering, prevents contamination, reduces production costs, and maintains sterility, while being compact and easy to produce with improved functionality and ecological benefits.
Implementation Method 1
a spring-operated outlet valve is disposed in the region of the end of the outlet channel, the spring of which is guided in a separate recess
Implementation Method 2
the liquid conveyed out of the interior of the metering device exerts a pressure against the valve spring and the valve piston so that the piston moves in the direction of the spring and releases the outlet opening
Implementation Method 3
the outlet channel and/or the valve body have an agent acting as a bactericide. This can be effected such that the relevant parts are formed either directly from the agent acting as a bactericide, such as for example silver, or in that the corresponding regions have a coating acting as a bactericide
Data Source
AI summary
A metering device for metered dispensing of liquid preparations, in particular for metering medicinal, pharmaceutical and cosmetic liquid preparations, the use of preservatives being able to be dispensed with.