Mixing and Dispensing Container with Frangible Wall
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing dental mixing and dispensing containers face challenges in ensuring complete mixing of dental materials and preventing contamination by residual powder, particularly with low viscosity materials, which can lead to uncontrolled extrusion and user exposure.
Innovation Solution
A container design featuring a frangible main chamber, a liquid receptacle with a weakened portion, and a plunger that builds hydraulic pressure to mix and dispense dental materials, incorporating a compression zone to control extrusion and a mechanism for air venting and residual powder containment.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a conventional mixing and dispensing container is used, then the structure is simple, but incomplete mixing occurs and residual powder contaminates the material
Solution Approach 1:
The container is divided into distinct functional zones: a liquid receptacle with a plunger for hydraulic pressure generation, a powder chamber, and a compression zone. This segmentation allows each zone to perform its specific function effectively, ensuring complete mixing while maintaining a manageable overall structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention uses a plunger within the liquid receptacle to generate hydraulic pressure that forces liquid through a frangible seal into the powder chamber. This hydraulic mechanism ensures complete mixing by forcing all material through the mixing zone, eliminating residual powder contamination.
2Ease of operation
If low viscosity materials are used, then the dispensing is smooth, but uncontrolled extrusion and user exposure occur
Solution Approach 1:
The compression zone introduces friction and resistance parameters that counterbalance the low viscosity of the material. By adjusting the compression force and friction characteristics, the system maintains controlled dispensing of low viscosity materials without uncontrolled extrusion or user exposure.
3Reliability
If hydraulic pressure is applied to break the weakened portion, then the liquid enters the main chamber effectively, but the structure becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
A weakened portion is pre-formed in the inner transverse wall of the liquid receptacle at the location where liquid transfer is needed. This preliminary structural feature ensures that when hydraulic pressure is applied, the wall breaks at the precise location required for effective liquid transfer into the main chamber.
4Productivity
If the plunger traverses the entire length of the main chamber, then complete dispensing is achieved, but the force required increases
Solution Approach 1:
The front portion of the liquid receptacle is designed to break away and be discarded after serving its function of containing and pressurizing the liquid. This allows the plunger to traverse the entire length of the main chamber for complete dispensing without requiring excessive force, as the broken-away portion is removed from the system.
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 effective mixing and controlled dispensing of dental materials, reducing the risk of contamination and uncontrolled extrusion, particularly with low viscosity materials, by using hydraulic pressure to break the weakened portion and a compression zone to manage paste flow.
Implementation Method 1
pressure is applied to the plunger to build up hydraulic pressure by means of the liquid on the inner transverse wall so as to break the weakened portion hydraulically
Implementation Method 2
cause dispensation of mixed dental material into the dispensing nozzle by application of hydraulic pressure on the distal wall of the main chamber
Data Source
AI summary
A container (10) for mixing and dispensing material comprising a body (12) having a main chamber (17), a dispensing nozzle (26), a liquid receptacle (14) and a plunger (18). The liquid receptacle (14) has a side wall (37) and a front wall portion (36) which is caused to break away from the side wall under pressure being applied by a plunger (18) so that the plunger and front wall portion can traverse the entire length of the body (12). This enables a charge of material in the main chamber (17) to be dispensed through a frangible wall or membrane (22) into the nozzle (26). The container 10 has a compression zone with a stepped region (50) for providing limited resistance to movement of the plunger and broken away end wall for use with low viscosity material for reducing the risk of uncontrolled extrusion of low viscosity material.